“Thank you, Dr. Butcher!”

She laughed, leaning in closer to examine the nearly healed wound. “Any idea what caliber?”

“Looked like a forty-five.”

“A forty-five to stop a mighty bear-cat? Foolish full-humans.”

“Stop calling me that.” He moved his shoulder around. “You hungry?”

“Starving,” she admitted.

“At this hour, we have two choices in Ursus County. The hospital cafeteria or . . .” He motioned to the window, and Blayne focused her gaze outside at the snow-covered land—and the small family of deer walking past. She grinned, her stomach growling in approval.

“I’m for the ‘or,’” she said. “Definitely the ‘or.’ Besides,” she clapped her hands together, “I want to see what you look like when you’re shifted!” She was amazed what nature could come up with when species combined! She couldn’t wait, but Bo looked a little freaked out about it. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. But you can’t laugh.”

“Laugh? Why would I laugh?”

Instead of answering, Bo shifted. Right there on the bed. Blayne didn’t laugh, although, she did squeal, forced to jump off the bed by the sheer size of Bo Novikov’s animal form.

An animal form that was, basically, a sixteen-hundred-pound, twelve-foot-long . . . white lion male. His front paws were like all lion’s but his hind paws were polar and the size of dinner plates. White fur covered those paws, each with nine-inch-long black claws. His ears were too small for what had grown into an absolute giant mane, and his face was clearly feline with the flat black muzzle rather than the longer polar snout.

Yet what fascinated Blayne the most were his fangs. Openly ogling them, she could only think of prehistoric saber-toothed cats. Easily two inches thick and seven and a half inches long, they were dangerously sharp, the front incisors stretched past his bottom lip to beneath his chin.

When human he may be more bear, but when he shifted he was just one giant cat, bigger and longer than a liger and, she bet, all the male-lion aggression one could fit into him.

He watched her closely, probably worried she’d try and run on him again. But she was too fascinated!

Blayne sprung back on the bed and bounced right on top of him. Laughing, she pulled her hands through his mane and down his body. Eager to see him move and hunt, she scrambled off him again and dashed to the window. She pulled it open, ignoring the blistering cold that tore in, and shifted. She dashed outside and quickly turned so she could watch him.

Bo dived off the bed and right through the window, not even touching the floor. For all his size, he moved as liquid as a feline. And she knew as she ran after him that she was in big trouble. Because she’d never seen anything more beautiful before in her life than a shifted Bo Novikov. The intensity of it was so powerful itreminded her of something her mother once told her when she was way too young to really get it. “I loathed your father until I saw him take down an elk. That combined with him on his Harley—I was lost, baby. Lost.”

Yep. She finally got it.

CHAPTER 17

Blayne sensed a presence in front of her. She knew it wasn’t Bo. He was behind her and had been the entire night, holding her in his big arms, those razor-sharp claws near extremely vital organs, but she’d never once felt unsafe. Not with Bo. Not ever again. But someone else in their human form was coming at them from the front, leaning in close. Blayne didn’t even open her eyes before she wrapped her mouth around the face close to her and bit down.

It was a male, and he went down screaming, trying to throw her off.

“Fabi found ’em,” someone said off in the distance.

“Get her off me! Get her off me!” She guessed the one called Fabi screamed.

Large, human arms wrapped around her and pulled her back. Since she knew those arms belonged to Bo, she released the male she had a good hold of.

More bears in human form showed up, surrounding them. Some on snowmobiles and some on foot. They all wore T-shirts that read URSUS COUNTY POLICE. The older polar Blayne had met the night before walked up to them. He was the only one not wearing any police department gear.

“We’ve been looking everywhere for you two. Get back to the hospital and get dressed. Her people are coming for her.”

Her people? Blayne didn’t have any people but her father, and good God, she hoped that he didn’t know anything about this. He still hadn’t let her live down when she’d gotten lost in a department store when she was ten. So for her to get caught off guard and picked off by trackers? Christ, Mr. Cranky Wolf would make sure to have it put on his tombstone to ensure she’d never forget.

“She nearly bit my nose off!” Poor Fabi. But who sticks their face near the muzzle of a sleeping wolfdog? Why not just put your arm in their mouth or try and take their food? Either of these would make as much sense.

“You shouldn’t have gotten so close, you idiot,” Bo said in that friendly way he had. But how he wasn’t freezing to death, she’d never know. Then again, how could any of them not be freezing to death? The grizzlies and black bears had on long sleeve tees and jeans while some of the polars had on T-shirts and shorts.

Even with fur, Blayne was cold, and she knew she’d be colder if she weren’t being held by Bo. Even human his body kept her warm.

“I see you haven’t changed, Speck,” the polar she’d bitten shot back at Bo.

And without Bo saying a word, Blayne sensed his change. Felt his body become tense, his attitude darken. She immediately responded to that change, her own body tensing, a low growl rolling past her muzzle.