Free Marked by the Moon by Lori Handeland Page B

bears couldn’t climb trees. Could they?
    Alex ran deeper into the forest, thinking that perhaps she’d find a place so dense that she could fit through but the great white beast could not.
    The earth trembled beneath her feet; the animal’s hot, stinky breath brushed her ass. What was a polar bear doing in the forest anyway? Didn’t they live on the ice?
    Alex bore down. She couldn’t keep up this pace for long, but she had to put some distance between them.
    Suddenly Barlow stepped from behind a tree. Alex was so startled she forgot if she had two feet or four and got them tangled, tripping, skidding, almost falling. She managed to right herself, but those few seconds cost her.
    The bear slapped Alex with one massive paw.
    She heard her ribs crack, felt her skin tear, smelled the blood as it splattered. The blow lifted and tossed her several yards, where she landed in a heap at Barlow’s feet.
    Alex glanced all the way up his tall, broad, naked body. Too bad she was in too much pain to enjoy the view.
    Why had he bothered to reveal himself? Without weapons, in this form, Barlow could do no more than she against this massive foe. They’d both be torn to bits, and they wouldn’t be able to heal wounds like that completely until night fell again, and they shifted.
    Barlow’s gaze flicked over her, and his blue eyes darkened to black; then he threw back his head and emitted a bellow of fury that seemed to shake the leaves upon the trees.
    The sound caused the polar bear to pull up short. Barlowthrew out his arms, hands spread wide, and at the very edge of his fingertips something twinkled.
    Then he was shifting in the blink of an eye, so fast Alex couldn’t tell the exact instant he changed from man to beast.
    Â 
    Fury turned Julian into an animal. Rain or shine, sun or shadow, if he became enraged enough, he changed. That was how he’d become what he was in the first place.
    He shot out his hands, reached for his magic, believed he could become a wolf in the sunlight, and he did.
    As he leaped over Alex’s inert body, the scent of fear that oozed from her pores only infuriated him more, made him stronger, faster, better. She was one of his now. She should be afraid of nothing, no one.
    But him.
    Julian stalked around the polar bear, which had the good sense to turn away from Alex and keep an eye on him. Unfortunately Alex didn’t have the same good sense. Instead of running, she lay there and watched.
    Against his better judgment, Julian took his gaze from the bear and met hers, lifting his lip, jerking his head. Her eyes widened; he thought she understood. He was wrong.
    â€œJulian!” she shouted, an instant before the bear hit him broadside.
    Flesh tore; bones broke. He might be magic, but he couldn’t prevent that.
    Julian hit the ground and rolled, stifling a whimper when his wounds howled at the impact and the movement. He whirled, teeth snapping, but his jaws closed upon empty air. The polar bear had reared up, roaring, taking wild swipes at Alex as she poked him in the chest with a stick.
    What was she thinking? She could barely walk, hunched to the side and bleeding. She was doing nothing but infuriating the animal with the smell of her blood and the annoyance of that stick.
    Julian hurried forward, crowding her back, meeting the beast with bared teeth.
    â€œHe’ll kill you,” she managed, pain in every word.
    Doubtful, Julian thought, then wondered why she cared. Why hadn’t she run off and left him to be torn to pieces, or perhaps climbed a tree and watched? He knew why he felt compelled to protect her . But why on earth would she protect him ?
    Alex stepped around Julian, then poked the bear again. The thing growled and swatted at her, giving Julian the opening he needed. He dived in and tore a chunk out of the soft underbelly. The animal cried out, then fell back onto all fours where Alex promptly poked it in the eye.
    The bear tried to