Free An Unbreakable Bear: BBW Shifter Romance by Stella Bryce Page B

more human than bear.
    She was getting sleepy. So sleepy. Just a little nap. She put her head on the ground. “Just a little nap...” she said.
    “No! Don’t go to sleep. Wake up. We need to get help. Come on, you can do it. Just come over a little closer.” He tried to coax her into moving. Her shoe was soaked in blood. He needed to help her cut off the flow. A tourniquet would help.
    “I’m tired.” Her voice was soft.
    “Talk to me.” Helping her took his mind off of his own situation. It was excruciating, but changing his focus helped alleviate at least some of the agony.
    “You’re a bear.” Bears don’t talk.
    “I’m a man. I’m a shifter. I won’t hurt you. My name is Ian. Ian Knox. What’s your name?” If he could keep her talking, they’d stand a chance.
    “Dallas,” she whispered back, lacking any energy.
    “Dallas. I need you to move closer. I want to help you. You need to trust me. We have to slow down your bleeding,” he cautioned.
    Dallas looked at him, tilting her head to the side. “You’re going to help me?”
    “Yes. I’m going to help you. You need to move closer.”
    She decided to try. She wouldn’t get out of the woods alone. She was too weak to stand or walk on her foot. Even dragging herself out of the wooded trail would take hours at the rate she could move.
    “That’s it,” he encouraged as she inched over, dragging her foot behind her, and sliding on her belly.
    “I can’t.” She stopped to cry. “It hurts so badly.”
    “I know it does. We’re going to get help. I can’t do it without you. Come on, you’re almost close enough.” He urged her to keep going.
    Up on her elbows she started again. Finally close enough, she dropped her head to the ground.
    Ian’s leg was howling with pain, but he forced himself to stay focused on Dallas. Wrapping his shirt as tightly as he could around her ankle, higher than the wound, he hoped would be enough to help the blood flow.
    He looked at the woman with tangled blonde hair, a few strands hanging in her face, as she pressed to the ground. He hadn’t seen her before. He didn’t think she was from Mountain View Crest, but he could be wrong. He knew most people, having lived there most of his life, and somebody as pretty as her, he was sure he’d have noticed.
    Her breathing was slow and steady. She took a few deep breaths and then thanked him for the help. “I don’t know if I can open the trap. I’m sorry. I’ll try.”
    “I think the springs are broken,” he said, having pried at it.
    “It’s homemade. I adjusted it. You need to pull it apart, but only after you wedge a special metal piece in the bottom. It’s a lock I made.” She mumbled, thinking she made sense, but her words were slurred.
    “Huh?” He was lost. Some of the words were audible, the others sounded like mish-mash.
    She dug in her pocket for a sliver of metal. “Slide this in underneath. There’s a slot I added. It won’t open unless this is in place. I rigged it differently, to outsmart them.”
    Together, after what felt like hours, they were able to wedge the metal piece in and pop the springs. It hurt as much coming off as it did going on. At first there was relief, but then blood rushed to the area, making it feel tender and raw. His leg was free, but Ian wasn’t sure he’d be able to stand on it. Could he make a crutch out of a branch? Maybe they could lean on each other.
    Yes! That was it. They each had one good leg, and if they worked together...

Chapter 3
    “O n the count of three,” he started.
    “Wait, wait, I’m not ready.” Dallas tried to gather her inner strength.
    The idea was to lean against one another, both using the other person like a crutch. Between them they had two good legs. They were hoping to gain some ground and make it out to a more visible area. They’d have to work together. Neither of them would get far without the other.
    “It’s not going to get any easier. It’s going to hurt. Accept that the