Free Claimed By The Military Bear: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance Standalone (Paranormal Shifter Romance, BBW Shifter Romance, WereBear Romance) by Alicia Wild Page B

finally, she spotted it.
    Deep within the gloom and the half chewed moonlight, Melissa saw a figure, saw light reflect off eyes and the growl of an animal.
    Wolf.
    Had she walked into a den? Had she pushed her boundaries too much?
    Melissa didn’t know, but felt her insides seize when she recognized the animal must have been following her… stalking her.
    Out of the jaws of one monster and into another. Melissa felt the anger flare under her skin, more at herself than anyone else this time.
    With a huff, she began to backpedal, trying to keep her eyes on the beast behind, but away from its gaze. Don’t look it in the eye, Mel. Animals will always attack if you look them in the eye.
    She could run, pretend she hadn’t seen the animal… make it continue stalk her while she tried to find away out.
    Idiot. It’s a wolf.
    So what?
    Wolves travel in packs.
    Melissa turned and ran. Grass and dead foliage crunched hard beneath her boots, knotting beneath her feet in unstable juts that made her stumble in her escape.
    Something slammed into her arms, scratching deep into her face and making her cry out in surprise. It was a branch, and she could feel its ends yank at her wool coat like fingers.
    Melissa let out another yelp, shrieking when she suddenly fell, her back landing roughly against dirt as she slid down an unexpected decline. Pain exploded through her limbs but her adrenaline was pushing her harder.
    It was becoming impossible to run, as her limbs were already exhausted from running away, and her lack of endurance was spelling escape as incapable.
    Please… please… please…
    The thought flashed through her mind like neon letters even as Melissa pushed herself up and continued trying to escape.
    A stitch grew on her side, her hands ached and stung, and a cramp was beginning in one of her calves… still, Melissa trudged on, heaving through gritted teeth as she limped onward.
    She could hear the noises of the forest now. Echoing through the black soup of the forest’s belly and leaving chills, Melissa could hear faint footfalls and synchronized panting.
    The pack… she hadn’t a chance at all did she?
    Pain made her footsteps stop and Melissa tripped, her knees landing roughly over stone and rocks. Biting back a groan of pain, she forced herself back up.
    Even as she moved, the adrenaline was ebbing to the cold now sinking its teeth into her fingers and chest. Melissa swallowed, tasting salt and earth and blinking up blearily up ahead of her.
    Her breath stopped the moment she saw it.
    A dream?
    No… A cabin…
    It was small and angular, standing firm while everything else curled and stretched without restraint. This small little house of wood and glass was in the distance, a small little space of vibrant gold flickering through the small windows, smoked curled over its roof.
    A safe spot… a hiding place.
    Sanctuary.
    Melissa felt life stream back into her aching limbs and the ring resting against her breast reminded her that maybe she still had someone watching over her. This was hope and Mel would be an idiot not to run after it. It was just a matter of reaching it before the pack closed in on her.
    Melissa didn’t know whether or not she would make it, but she knew that if she didn’t try, she might as well be dead.
    Catching her breath, the young woman felt her fingers drag down to her knee and finally over the knot of flesh beneath her skin. She rubbed at it fervently, hoping that the meager heat of friction could ease the tension enough for her to run again.
    The pain was harsh but it soon began to fade and when Melissa could press her weight on it evenly, she dared to hope again.
    Drawing in a breath, Melissa began to build her strength within her body, let it shake and tremble into her fingertips with the anxious desire to move. She probably couldn’t outrun the wolves, but she could make an effort.
    She took a step, then another until she knew she had no more time to waste. With a final step forward,