Free An Unbreakable Bear: BBW Shifter Romance by Stella Bryce

Chapter 1
    I an Knox flexed his taut body, giving it a good stretch. His strong, sinewy arms were laced with striations of worked out muscle. It was time to work his legs. As he took off, he launched with long strides, finding his pace. A good, hard run would take his mind off of his troubles. Lost in thought, he pushed through the wooded trail, bounding over tree roots and trying to avoid rocks that might trip him up. The snap was the only noise he heard before the crushing agony washed over him.
    Ian howled in pain as his bear came out, his body morphing and shifting into its primal mode, trying to escape the overpowering sensation. Crying out in misery, he turned to find the metal jaws of a steel trap wrapped tightly around his leg. The jagged teeth of the trap tore at his flesh. Trying to pry it off was useless. It wouldn’t budge. He slowly lost his strength as the adrenalin drained out of his body.
    **
    D allas Beckett moved silently through the woods. She wasn’t far off when she heard the trap and howl. The yelping was louder than she would have expected. Inching closer, she raised her gun. Those damn wolves kept taking her sheep. She’d had enough. She tried less violent measures, but none of those had worked, and if she wanted to save her farm she’d have to tackle the problem head-on.
    Dallas froze on seeing the thrashing bear, his leg caught in the trap. Scared, she held her gun, her hands trembling. He was growling and frothing at the mouth. She lined up her sights.
    A man’s voice pierced the air. “Don’t shoot!”
    Dallas panicked and dropped the barrel downward, but her finger was still engaged. She pulled the trigger, unable to stop the process. Dallas screamed as the bullet went into her foot. The pain of the bullet tearing at her flesh yanked her down to the ground. Rolling on her side, she pulled her leg toward her. She was losing blood, half of her shoe and foot was mangled.
    Did that bear just ...she closed her eyes, trying to clear her head, but the gunshot wound clouded her mind. She was hallucinating. She swore the bear was part man, but that was impossible. She heard his voice in the distance as she slowly slipped into unconsciousness, the pain being unfathomable.
    Coming to, Dallas looked over at the bear. She was at a safe enough distance that he couldn’t reach her. She hadn’t expected to get a bear. It was the wolves she was after; the ones coming in and stealing her livestock late at night.
    The bear looked back at her.
    ***
    I an was tangled in the trap. Watching the woman on the ground, he watched her fade in and out. She was losing blood. She was taking too long to clot. He knew he should help her, but he didn’t know how. And yet, he was angry. This was probably her damn trap, and now his leg was worthless. Who knows how much permanent damage it would cause?
    “Hey,” he called out. He was caught between forms. He tried to shift fully, but he didn’t have the energy. He was part man, part bear still, but at least he could talk. “Hey, lady, are you okay?”
    She responded to his voice. She looked at him, dazed and confused. “Are you talking to me? Is this a dream? Bears don’t talk.” She was trying to push herself up from the ground, but her strength was diminished.
    “Can you help me?” He didn’t know where to start. If she could free him, maybe he could help her. “My leg is caught.”
    “Bears don’t talk,” she said before fading again, trying to convince herself of the fact.
    “Shit,” Ian muttered. The pain wasn’t getting any better. He howled again in agony. Reaching for the steel jaws, he attempted to open them...still nothing. If he had the strength, he’d be able to release the springs. Between the two of them, they could probably do it. Somebody had rigged this trap, making it damn near impossible to open.
    Dallas came too, this time her head feeling less foggy. She took in the situation again. “What are you?” She finally spit out. He was only