Free The Color of Love (The Color of Heaven Series) by Julianne MacLean

devouring that was going on behind me.
    I scrambled over some large wet rocks, rounded a bend and found myself in a small cove where the beach ended abruptly with a vertical wall of rock. There was no way around it unless I had a boat—which I didn’t—and as bad luck would have it, the tide was coming in.
    I glanced up at the steep stony cliffs and realized the only way to avoid being swept out to sea with the oncoming tide was to turn around and go back. Find another way off the beach.
    I wondered if the bear had eaten his fill by that point. Maybe he’d be gone. I prayed it would be so.

Chapter Twenty-four

    Rounding the bend slowly, I peered out from behind the rock face to check on the herd of walruses.
    Everything appeared calm. They were back, sunning themselves again, and I saw no sign of the huge bear.
    Nevertheless, my heart pounded wildly as I maneuvered around some fat boulders and stepped over the slippery terrain.
    Soon I was able to walk at a brisk pace toward the gently sloping path where I had descended from the ridge originally.
    I noticed a thick pool of blood on the rocks where the bear had gobbled up the young walrus.
    With a blast of adrenalin pumping through my veins, I picked up my pace and hurried along the beach. Soon the path was within sight, but I kept my eyes and ears attuned for anything.
    I was nearly there when a strange sound from somewhere behind me caused me to stop. It resembled a cow moaning in pain, and my heart sank.
    Turning slowly, I found myself trapped in the bear’s ferocious gaze.
    He stood on the beach about twenty yards away. The white fur around his mouth and front paws was stained with blood.
    Suddenly he roared at me.
    Maybe it was the wrong thing to do, but I was so terrified, I bolted. I ran faster than I’d ever run in my life, though I’d never been pursued by a polar bear before.
    It was yet another first. One of many to come.
    o0o
    Scrambling up the path, I didn’t stop to look back until I reached the top of the ridge. Then I turned.
    He was still chasing me!
    Briefly, I considered dropping my pack so I could run faster, but I couldn’t possibly survive without it and the thought of coming back for it didn’t appeal to me either. So I sprinted like a son of a bitch across the snow covered rocks while the bear growled with exasperation, halfway up the path.
    I don’t know what suicidal notion came over me, but I headed straight for the opposite edge of the ridge and took a flying leap over the side. One would think I’d had a parachute strapped to my back.
    The next thing I knew, I was sliding down the stony slope on my backside, screaming my head off, tumbling head over heels like a bouncing ball, smacking into a few jagged boulders along the way.
    I must have hit my head at some point because I have no memory of reaching the bottom. All I remember is regaining consciousness.
    Slowly I sat up and looked around. I was surrounded by low-lying, snow-covered evergreen shrubs shivering in the wind.
    The bear?
    Apparently he had elected not to pursue me down the slope, which came as a great relief, of course.
    Until the excruciating pain began.
    When it didn’t let up, I wondered if I might have been better off if he’d followed.

Chapter Twenty-five

    As I limped across the snowy ground toward a patch of stunted spruce trees that would offer some cover from the wind, I wondered if my positive thinking and cheerful optimism had been simply a big crock of stupid naiveté.
    I felt totally defeated by Mother Nature. Even my spirit felt bruised. As for physical damage, my tooth had gone through my lip and I was spitting out blood. On top of that, my entire head was throbbing. I suspected I’d cracked a cheekbone and might have even fractured my skull.
    All I wanted to do was lie down and not move a muscle until the spring thaw.
    Before long, I came to a large spruce that must have toppled in a storm, or been struck by lightning. It was resting against another tree