Free Bitten (Black Mountain Bears Book 2) by Ophelia Bell, Amelie Hunt Page A

him against the cabin’s door and the white bear’s teeth sank into the man’s shoulder. The coppery scent of blood reached Jasper’s nostrils and made him want to retch. He couldn’t let Gunnar kill him. He ran forward and raked a claw down Gunnar’s white-furred flank, just hard enough to draw blood, but not injure him severely.
    It was enough. Jasper shifted, his chest heaving from their run. A second later, Gunnar stood before him in his human shape.
    “You clawed my ass!” Gunnar said, twisting around and staring down at the parallel stripes that graced his perfect backside, red droplets welling up and dripping on the white snow under his feet.
    Jasper grinned. “Didn’t plan it that way, but I like it.”
    Gunnar glowered at him for a second before turning and hauling the other male up by the collar of his shirt.
    “What the fuck did you do with Autumn, Aidan?”
    The cabin door opened and Jasper’s lungs suddenly had trouble taking in air.
    Autumn stood in the doorway, wearing nothing more than a short, peach-colored sundress. Her red-gold hair spilled over her pale shoulders in messy waves, a stark contrast to her pristine alabaster skin. Jasper didn’t think he’d ever seen skin so perfect.
    “Let him go, Gunnar,” she said. “There are a lot of things we need to talk about.”
    She turned sad eyes to Jasper and looked like she was about to say something to him. Instead, she only gave him a small smile and a nod and turned to go back inside, leaving the door open behind her.

Chapter Eight
    T he inevitability of Jasper and Gunnar’s arrival hadn’t sunk in until they’d actually shown up on the doorstep. Autumn had been too wrapped up in reliving the past, she hadn’t prepared herself to see them again. He’d come . . . they’d both come, but Gunnar could always go back as a Windchaser.
    When she reached the side of the small bed on the back wall of the cabin, she stared down at the rumpled blankets for a second, gathered her courage, then turned.
    “You shouldn’t have come,” she said, staring Gunnar square in the eyes, “and you definitely shouldn’t have brought him.” Gaia, she needed strength to do this, to break their hearts and her own.
    “It was my choice,” Jasper said. “I knew the stakes. Believe me, I knew what I would be giving up, too. I love you, Autumn. Both of you. If being together means leaving my family behind, then so be it. At least I know they’re safe and loved. I need to know you are, too.”
    Autumn bit hard into her lower lip, struggling to keep her composure. Fuck, she loved this man, and she barely even knew him. They’d shared one kiss when he was barely coherent. After Emma had revived her cousins, she’d tried talking to him, but only managed a few shy exchanges, too overwhelmed with emotion every time she was within a few feet of him to form words.
    “Do you both love her?” Aidan said, coming forward with purpose and glancing between the two other men. Gunnar hadn’t managed to break skin, but his teeth had left angry red welts on Aidan’s neck that he rubbed absently.
    Autumn stared at him, surprised by his interjection.
    “More than anything,” Jasper said.
    Gunnar smiled at her. Without taking his eyes off hers, he said, “I’ve loved her my entire life.”
    “There’s something you need to know about us,” Aidan said. “Something I did a long time ago that I regret, but the biggest regret is what it did to her. She’s carried the responsibility of our actions for the last two centuries. It isn’t on her, though—it’s on me. It always has been.”
    “No . . . ” Autumn whispered, the understanding of Aidan’s intentions dawning with a cold tingle down her spine, but he held up a hand to stop her.
    “Come inside and sit, this may take a while,” Aidan said. When he ushered them into the cabin and they were seated, he began telling their story.
    * * *
    Autumn endured his retelling in silence, her palms clammy and her heart