Free Shifters Forever The Boxed Set Books 1 - 6 by Elle Thorne Page B

throat. Blood spurted.
    At the same moment, Derek pulled the trigger again, delivering another round into Grant, then the man collapsed.
    Grant fell on top of Derek, crushing him before he rolled over.

Chapter 18
    C helsea stared at the bear that had attacked Derek. Huge, furry, it lay still. Derek was bleeding from his neck and lying very, very still. There was no way he’d lived through that mauling. She couldn’t say that she was upset. Did this mean the nightmare of running was over? She backed up, afraid that the bear would still be alive and attack her.
    Mae was crying, reaching for the bear, and kept repeating Grant’s name.
    Chelsea grabbed for Mae’s shoulder. “Let’s go.” If the huge animal came to, it would kill them both with a single swipe. “Grant’s not here. Let’s go. Now. Before it wakes up. Hurry,” she hissed.
    Mae shrugged her off. “No. Don’t you get it? I can’t leave him. I won’t. Don’t you know?”
    A part of Chelsea did. A memory was returning. Being carried...
    But she didn’t want to... no, that couldn’t be. But her memory said it was true. She sat next to Mae, buried her head in her hands, and rubbed her temples.
    Mae was talking to the bear, beseeching it. “Please, Grant. You know you can’t die. It doesn’t work like that.”
    “Woman. You’re killing me. Quit with the smothering. And what the hell were you doing?”
    Grant’s voice?
    Chelsea’s head snapped up. It was him. His shoulder was bloody, a mess of flesh, torn up, but not as bad as... Was it possible it wasn’t as bad as it had been a few seconds ago? How could that be?
    He healed fast. Was that related to the bear? She couldn’t tear her eyes off his wound. “You—”
    “Now you know my secret.” His voice was a groan. A small smile, tempered with pain, played on his lips.
    “I was starting to wonder if I knew it. I’m remembering that night. And I don’t think it was a hallucination.”
    He shook his head. “It wasn’t.” He groaned in pain.
    Mae put her hand on Grant’s shoulder. “You had me so worried.”
    “And what were you thinking, coming out here like some damned vigilante?” He put his hand on Mae’s.
    Everything came crashing down on Chelsea.
    Grant and Mae.
    She stood, rubbed her hands together. “I—” What the hell was she going to say? She couldn’t leave. She had no car. She had no way to get to her car. Jeff was dead in his SUV. She would have to stay while they called the police. At least she was done running from Derek, but she’d have to deal with avoiding these two while everything wrapped up. More running, it would seem.
    “Chelsea.” Grant rose to his feet, wincing as he rolled his shoulder. “Wait.”
    “I’m sorry.” Chelsea shook her head. “I never meant to come between you two. I feel so guilty. I was confused. What happened... that shouldn’t have happened.”
    “Chelsea,” Grant started again. “Please, wait.”
    Chelsea turned to Mae. “I’m so very sorry. I didn’t mean to do anything to hurt you. I wasn’t planning to.”
    “I think there’s a misunderstanding.” Mae looked from Grant to Chelsea. “Chelsea, Grant is more like my nephew.”
    Chelsea laughed mirthlessly. The pain of all this stung too deeply, penetrating the shock of the last few hours’ events. “He’s too—you’re too—no, he’s not. You’re about the same age.” Was Mae trying to make her feel better?
    “Mae was married to my second cousin,” Grant added.
    “And that means...?” Chelsea didn’t want to get her hopes up.
    “It means you’re the one I want.” Grant pulled her close to him.
    Chelsea shivered, but ignored the cold. She looked at the blood on his shirt. She couldn’t process what he’d just said. It didn’t want to sink in fully, so she did what she always did: she opted for a practical detour with a question. “Don’t you need to see a doctor?”
    “No. I don’t. Though I’ll see Doc Evans shortly, just to make sure.” He