Free Black Bear Rising: A BWWM Paranormal Romance (Black Bear Saga Book 1) by Tia Wilson Page B

frantically to himself.

    His world went dark as the bear snapped his jaws shut over Nasaks face. He screamed into the dark wet void of the bears mouth smelling his own blood on the bears mouth. The bear ground his teeth against his skull and sounds like trees being hit by lightening and exploding on impact blasted his eardrums. Blood ran down the back of Nasaks throat as he screamed weakly, he tried to kick out again and he felt disconnected from his body as if he was nothing more than a spirit living in a dark cave. He heard the bones of his skull begin to crack under the massive pressure of the bears crushing jaws. A sound like boulders crashing in to each other reverberated through his head until everything went dark.

    He stood in a dark wood, a full moon over head illuminating his way. A thin path wound through some low bushes, silvery grey in the light. He looked down and he was naked as he walked along the path. He stopped and smelt the air. He could smell smoke and ash and if he stood perfectly still he could hear a far off crackle. The woods are burning he thought to himself, I have to get free of them. He walked on a few steps and then stopped frozen to the spot, head held high sniffing the air. He heard the sound of something large pushing its way through the under growth and heading in his direction. He tried to move and his feet seemed embedded in the ground. An orange glow bounced off the trees ahead. Branches snapped and broke as the shape continued to come forward. He could not move. A thick layer of bushes burst into flame as a figure burst forth.  

    A black bear was on all fours and engulfed in flames. Sitting atop the bear straddling its shoulders was a man with a scarred face. The flames touched the man’s skin and didn’t seem to effect him. He raised a hand and pointed directly towards him. The bears paws dug into the forest litter and he charged forward. The flames shot up higher as he increased his speed. His black eyes flickered in the flames as he charged. The man held his arms up as the sped towards him, both bear and rider looking directly at him. He could feel the heat from the flames singe his skin as the bear approached, its heavy footfalls vibrating under the Nasaks feet. The bear charged and at the moment of impact the Nasak opened his eyes.

    Nasak looked down at the ground below him. The sand was tacky with blood and a swarm of black flies buzzed around the sticky mess. His legs dangled free of the earth and blood streaked both of them. Nasak raised his head slowly and looked around in a daze. His eyes finding it difficult to focus. His arms felt like they were on fire and burning sensations emanated from his shoulders. Nasak looked over at his outstretched arms and tried to understand what he was seeing. His wrists were tied with rope and attached to a wooden beam above him. His arms were fully extended on both sides. His head fell heavy against his chest as he tried to hold onto consciousness. His feet swayed gently below him. I’m strung up, he thought to himself as a searing pain tore through his back from his neck to the base of his spine.

    He lifted his head again and twisted to try and look over his shoulders. The pain flared in his broken wrist and he clenched his jaws tight as he tried to stave off unconsciousness. He twisted painfully and looked at his shoulder. A thick metal ring was threaded through the flesh of his shoulder and attached by a rope to the beam above. Another ring pierced the flesh on the other side.  

    A roar escaped his lips, a half mad sound of a young man struggling to comprehend his situation. Blood ran from wounds all over his body and pain ripped through him from multiple points of his broken frame. “Help me.” He said in a cracked whisper. He looked around and all he could see was smeared blurs from every direction. “Cut me down.” He begged as tears ran down his cheeks cleaning a thin path through the caked on blood.  

    A sound like a swarm