Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 22478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
My eyes water and I cough, looking around for the cause of it. Earl doesn’t seem to notice at all while he casually walks behind the counter. “Try that blue sports drink. The kids are all obsessed with it.”
He grabs his newspaper and opens it as my legs nearly buckle. I grab onto the counter to steady myself as I gulp down more air, relishing the sweet burn of it.
It awakens my bear. He’s on full alert now.
“What’s that smell?” I ask in a deep raspy voice that I hardly recognize.
“Huh?” Earl asks as he barely glances up. “I don’t smell nothing.”
I suck down another lung-full and goosebumps rise all over my body. It’s the most heavenly scent I’ve ever experienced.
Earl looks at me and it dawns on him. “Does it feel like a sweet fire burning down your throat and smoldering in your lungs?”
My eyes are watering. “Yes.”
Earl laughs in delight. “I think you found her.”
“Who?”
“Your mate.”
“My… mate?”
Of course. Once he says it, it becomes abundantly clear. I’m smelling my mate’s sweet scent.
I think my grizzly bear already knows it. He’s ready to burst out and claim her.
“Where is she?” I growl in a possessive tone. “Is she in the back?”
“Nobody is here,” Earl says as he keeps his eyes on me. “It must be that nice girl who left.”
“Her?” I say with my heart racing. “The psycho in the bus?”
“She was a very nice young lady. She bought me a beef jerky.”
I rush over to the window and look outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of that big blue bus rolling down the street. The road is empty.
“Where did she go?” I snap.
My bear is already trying to claw his way out. I grit my teeth, flex my body, and push him back down.
“I don’t know where exactly,” Earl says absentmindedly.
I lunge at the counter and grab him by the shirt. “Think harder,” I hiss through gritted teeth as I yank him forward.
His eyes widen in surprise and I instantly release him, feeling like a fucking asshole.
“Sorry,” I grunt as I grip a fistful of my hair while pacing around the shop. “I’m a little on edge. I need to find her.”
Earl straightens back up and smooths out his shirt with a grin on his face. “She made her way all the way here from New York City. You’ll find her.”
But what if that was my one shot and I blew it?
What if we were supposed to have an epic, love-at-first-sight moment and instead, I honked my horn at her like a fucking prick?
No. It can’t be like that.
I won’t let it be like that.
“Where was she going?” I ask in a desperate tone.
“She said she was going to hole up in the mountains and hang out for a while.”
“Where? What mountains?”
Earl backs away and shrugs. “She didn’t say.”
“She didn’t say,” I growl as I head for the door and yank it open. “Fuck!”
My stomach drops as I step outside and look at the enormous mountain range all around me. She could be anywhere. I might never find her.
Unless…
Maybe I can catch up to her on the road. That bus can’t be that hard to find.
“Thanks, Earl!” I shout as I race to my truck. “Sorry about the grabbing!”
“No worries,” he says as I start the engine and back up before I even have the door closed. “Good luck!”
He waves as I floor it down the road, desperately trying to catch up to her. I get to the interstate and look both ways. I don’t see any giant blue buses.
I don’t see anything. The highway is empty.
“Fuck it,” I grunt as I turn left and floor it. Every second spent debating which direction is a second she gets further from me.
I drive for an hour, but I don’t see her.
All the while, my grizzly gets more and more impatient. He’s growling and snarling in my ear. He keeps charging to the surface, raging at me to be released.
“Fuck off,” I snarl back at him.
He rushes forward, furious at being held back. This time, he almost breaks through. My truck swerves onto the shoulder as long black claws pierce my fingertips.
My chest swells up. My gums sear with heat as his canines rip through. Brown fur flashes on my forearms.
I squeeze my eyes shut and slam on the brakes as I force him back down. My truck skids to a stop, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The guy driving behind me lays on the horn as he flies by.
I turn the engine off and try to focus on my breathing, desperate to calm him down.
It just enrages him further. He charges forward again with the force of a thousand bulls.
I won’t be able to stop him. I can tell…
Never has he been this strong or this enraged, but he’s never caught the scent of our mate either.