Embracing The Lion (Gray Bears 6) Read Free Page B

worrywart.
    “I just need to let my
lion out for a bit,” Gareth said.
    Gareth's lion was always
closer to the surface when the moon was full. The full moon didn't
trigger an involuntary shift, but his lion just preferred to be let
out at this time. He could force his lion down by sheer force of
will, but it was like having a humongous itch and refusing to scratch
it. It was tormenting and pointless.
    So he just went ahead and
scratched his itch long and hard. He simply let his lion out and ran
through the woods until the big beast was exhausted.
    “Just...be careful,”
Winston said gruffly. Kaylee and Olivia waved to him as the car
pulled away from the curb.
    Gareth glanced back at his
pub as he strolled away. The Round Table might look like just a hole
in the wall on the outside, but the inside was done up real nice. He
had spent a lot of time, money and effort to redo the interior of The
Round Table. Gareth wanted his customers to feel as though they had
just stepped into a medieval castle. There were ornate swords and
daggers, flags, and even a full-sized knight's armor on display in
the pub. Gareth was real proud of his small establishment. Business
was good, and The Round Table was packed most nights.
    Gareth took a few shortcuts
and reached the edge of the town fairly soon. He knew his way well
around Shadow Point. He'd lived in this small town almost all his
life.
    He crossed the quiet road and
headed towards the edge of the forest. His lion growled low,
rippling impatiently under his skin.
    Gareth plunged into the woods
and shifted as he ran. He ran smoothly and soundlessly between the
trees in his lion form, his amber eyes glowing in the darkness.
    There was a strange scent in
the air, a scent he had never smelled or tasted before. The scent
tasted both sweet and bitter on his tongue. There was an undertone
of death in the scent, death and hope, anger and relief.
    Gareth ran faster, sniffing
the air furiously to follow the scent. It was the unmistakable scent
of a female, and the smell of blood and death wrapped around the
woman's sweet scent like a pall.
    The woman wasn't dead, but
she was close to death.
    Gareth growled as he raced
through the woods. He needed to find this female. He
couldn't let her die.
    But from the strange,
sickening sweetness of the scent, he could tell that this female
longed for death. Those who fought death as they died released a
sharp, acrid scent. This sweet, cloying scent was released by those
who embraced and welcomed death.
    His mother had fought off a
home intruder and died protecting her two young sons. Gareth had
scented that stinging, acrid scent just before she breathed her last.
His dad passed away only after both Winston and Gareth had reached
adulthood. A sweet, poignant scent had filled their father's room
hours before he passed on. Their father had been waiting for death,
welcoming it with open arms. He wanted to be reunited with his
beloved wife in death, and he had died peacefully, with a smile on
his face.
    Gareth ran harder, faster.
He had to reach this woman before she released her hold on life. She
was fading, but he could hear her soft breathing and quiet murmurs
now. She was so near, so close…
    Gareth caught a glimpse of a
small, pale hand in the grass. He charged towards the dark shape on
the ground, and heard a gentle sigh and a whisper.
    Shifting back to human form
in a heartbeat, he scooped the woman up in his arms and stared into
her beautiful, ashen face.

CHAPTER
SIX

    Gareth laid the woman on his
bed and bent over her. He was panting a little and he was
perspiring, but his sweat felt cold on his skin. He had carried the
unconscious woman in his arms and ran all the way, taking the most
deserted and direct shortcuts he knew home. Racing up to his
bedroom, he'd lowered her onto his bed and promptly drawn all the
curtains.
    He didn't know if sunlight
would destroy her, but he wasn't taking any chances. It was still
quite a few hours to sunrise, and these