He tries to toss us off, but Jax sinks his teeth in deeper, making him whine. He abruptly stands up and leaves us hanging from his neck by our teeth. In the meantime, Winnie with Rabies is trying to fling his arms blindly, all to get us off his back.
Jax snarls as he realizes that it’s either we lose a goddamn tooth or let go. He is forced to let go and slide onto his feet across the grass, about ten feet away from the force of being tossed off.
Casen has already managed to kill a smaller bear, who bit into his flank, and now, he is fighting another one while three stand around Eziah’s naked form. His hands glow and they stare, completely mesmerized.
“What the fuck is he doing? Showing them a magic trick?” Casen snarls through the mind link at me.
The bear Jax tried to take down just moments ago also turns his head to look at Eziah. He cocks his head to the side.
The light in Eziah’s hands grows larger and the bears back up as a wide, nearly vicious grin spreads across Eziah’s lips. “Always enjoyed hunting, but I must say you have a lovely pelt,” he says as his eyes zero in on the bear with a malt color fur.
I knew this guy was crazy, but now he looks like a maniac as he smiles and scans the furs of the bears. I must admit, as useless as he has been so far, now, at least for once, he’s doing something.
The bears back up some more, while their eyes focus on his hands. Eziah rolls the sphere between his hands and lets it grow bigger while his power surges through it. The enormous bear I was fighting against suddenly roars and runs at him. Jax is quick on his heels, about to rip into him, when Eziah raises his hand and slams the ball of light at the ground, right under his feet.
The ground lifts like a wave, and my eyes widen when I am suddenly blasted backwards. All I see is black fur coming at my face as the bear I was about to attack flies toward me and we both hit the ground. Holy shit, how much does this fatass weigh? The air is expelled from our lungs in a quick wheeze, and I feel some of Jax’s ribs crack. The bear lands on top of us and Jax struggles to get out from under the big bastard.
Jax squirms, but the bear suddenly gets off us and shakes himself. I glance around at the other bears, who start charging straight at Eziah. He tosses a sphere of gold in the air like he is about to play a game of dodgeball.
Nearly all the trees around us have fallen, completely uprooted, except for the spot where Eziah stands – it is perfectly intact and looks untouched. He and the patch of dirt beneath his feet look so out of place. Everywhere else looks like a tornado has passed through.
He smiles, and the beast charges at him, snarling and growling – all claws and teeth. Eziah raises his hand, and then, suddenly, he disappears as fur engulfs my vision of him, and all I can see is only the black bear.
The huge black bear roars and stands up, raising its paws as the other bears slide across the ground and come to halt at their leader’s order. The bear’s shoulders drop in what looks like submission, and the black bear turns to face Eziah, who waves to him.
“Do you mind stepping aside? I don’t want you as a rug, I want that one,” Eziah says as he peers around the giant bear and points his finger to a malted brown bear. I’m sure the bear already shit himself, but when Eziah sends him a wink, I’m sure I hear a whimper.
The black bear suddenly shifts back to his overgrown human form, and honestly, I didn’t ask for the full view of his naked ass. Jax and I frown as the man drops on one knee. The fuck?
“Sorry, I didn’t know you were the Moon Goddess’s kin, your majesty.” He keeps his eyes cast down as he apologies and all the bears drop on their paws and bow to him.
Eziah huffs and taps his foot, clearly annoyed. Whatever for – I have no idea. It isn’t he who was nearly made into a bear snack just moments ago, so I honestly have no idea why he is so upset.
“Mom always ruins my fun!” Eziah whines. Oh, that’s what he is so upset about. I swear, Kat has spoiled him too much. He’s acting like a spiteful kid, even at this age. “I was really looking forward to skinning that one,” he pouts and winks at the same beat he pointed at earlier.
The bear shudders and backs up, bumping into one of his friends as he does. Alright, so first of all, this is a brand new development, but what really breaks my freaking brains is how the heck do they know about the Moon Goddess.
Casen shifts back, drenched in blood, with a massive claw swipe down the center of his chest. He rips the spear out of his side and blood gushes down his abs and leg as he covers it with his hand while it heals. He snarls, stalking toward us.
“Well then, you best show me to my mate,” Casen growls as he grips the leader’s shoulder and turns to face him. The man glares at him but Casen flashes his canines at him, clearly over this run-in and ready to prove to everyone just how over he is. “My mate, where is she?” he growls in pure rage.
Eziah also stares at Casen, and I have no idea what to think of anything anymore. I just want this shit over so I can go home to my mates.
However, as my mind runs though so many questions, now I’m not sure why I feel the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’m not sure if it is caused by all this drama with bears or if it’s coming from Kyan and Kaif. Perhaps it’s a mix of both.
Once I shift back, the first thing I do is double over and throw up next to a tree. There is something seriously wrong with me. I clutch my stomach as a new, more intense wave of pain ripples through me.
“Jonah!” Eziah calls out, but I just shake my head and wheeze. Barely, but I manage to raise my hand, just to keep him at a distance. I feel like something is crushing my chest and just a few moments later, I find it extremely difficult to breathe.
“I will take you to her,” the bear-man-leader says after Casen shoves him forward with a loud snarl. The man gets back to his feet without paying Casen a bit of attention. Meanwhile, those who came here with him shift back to their human forms.
I try to catch my breath, but everything suddenly aches and the pain intensifies. A dulling throb resides behind my eyes, and I stagger to clutch a nearby tree trunk.
“Can your friend walk?” the leader asks, I assume, to Eziah.
I wave him off and force myself upright. We have to get to Rose and bring her home. However, as I turn around, vertigo washes over, and I suddenly see everything is doubled. Just a few seconds later, everything goes black.