Saved by a Bear (Legends of Black Salmon Falls Book 2) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Epilogue

  Saved by a Bear

  Legends of Black Salmon Falls | Book 2

  Lauren Lively

  Copyright and Disclaimer

  Copyright © 2017 by Lauren Lively

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Facebook: Lauren Lively

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright and Disclaimer

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Epilogue

  Uoria (Series Preview)

  Tales from Angondra (Sample)

  Saved by a Dragon (Sample)

  EXCLUSIVE – The Bear’s Princess

  EXCLUSIVE – The Dragon Slave

  Special Invitation

  More from the Author

  Prologue

  The night was dark and moonless. The cloud cover blotted out the light, casting the world around him in darkness and gloom – a darkness and gloom made even deeper by the dense forest that surrounded him. He looked around, sniffing the air, searching for them. He knew they were out there, but he couldn't see them through the foliage surrounded by inky dark shadows.

  “Come out, you cowards,” he shouted into the darkness.

  They were out there. He'd caught them stalking him back in town – had scented them on the air. And not willing to go down without a fight, he'd lured them into the woods where he thought he had an advantage. But as he moved through the forest, he realized that he wasn't losing them. No matter how fast he ran or how many twists and turns he made through the closely packed trees, they were still back there. Shadowing him.

  He started to grow anxious, a little voice in the back of his mind whispering worrisome things. The voices told him that rather than him having the upper hand like he thought he'd have, they actually had him right where they wanted him.

  He'd heard about some of the others disappearing. They'd been mostly younger and from some of the other clans. The weaker clans. But he was N'gasso – one of the strongest clans in the Pacific Northwest. Nobody dared mess with the N'gasso. Not without suffering dire consequences.

  But something about the people out there stalking him was – different. He couldn't explain how or why, but there was something sinister about them. Something dangerous. Had to be, given that six other bears had been abducted over the last month.

  He was assuming that the people stalking him were responsible for the disappearances – which, given that the disappearances crossed clan boundaries, seemed reasonable. This didn't seem like a clan making a power play or seeking to weaken another clan. The abductions impacted all of the clans in the region with no one clan gaining an advantage because of those who'd gone missing.

  And now, he was caught in their sights.

  Furtive footsteps sounded somewhere out in the distance. He strained his ears and with his heightened senses, heard the soft scrape of a foot on stone and the quiet snapping of a twig buried in the soft mulch of the undergrowth.

  They were out there and they were closing in on him.

  He growled low in his throat and felt his anger rising. He didn't like being hunted. He didn't like feeling like he was in danger. He was a bear – he was used to being the one who struck fear into others. But knowing they were out there, knowing they were hunting him, and knowing they were dangerous, he would have been lying to himself if he didn't admit that he was worried.

  They might be hunting him, but he decided that he wasn't going to make it easy for them to take him down. He was going to fight them every step of the way. He threw his head back and let out a scream that turned into a deep, throaty roar as his body changed – as he shifted and took on his bear form.

  He dropped down onto all fours, scanning the area around him. He roared into the darkness again – a challenge this time. In his bear form, he was strong. Powerful. Not easily cornered or captured. His rumbling growl was letting them know that if they tried to take him, they would bleed in the effort.

  Knowing they were likely closing in on him, he turned and sprinted off into the darkness. In his bear form, he was faster and more agile than he was in his human skin. The only downside though, was that he knew he also made a lot more noise.

  But if he could put some distance between himself and the people stalking him, he might have a chance. He knew these woods better than practically anybody. Certainly better than any humans did. They didn't travel as deep into the forest as the bears did. They didn't know the terrain. Couldn't navigate it like he could. Especially in the dark.

  All he had to do was make it over Baker's Ridge and he thought he'd be home free. After that, he could circle back through the deeper, less traveled part of the forest and make it to the N'gasso compound.

  He had to make it back. He had to tell Asher what happened – Asher had to know.

  He thundered through the darkness, rampaging through the undergrowth and tearing through the foliage. Knowing he was going to be heard no matter what he did, he decided to just power forward. If he couldn't outrun them, he was screwed anyway, so it didn't really matter whether he was loud or not.

  He heard voices in the distance behind him. They were muffled, but plenty loud enough to hear. The hunters weren't even trying to be stealthy anymore. But they were fading into the darkness behind him. He had opened up a lead and was widening the gap between them and him. And by the time he'd reached the base of Baker's Ridge, he was feeling confident that he'd be able to lose them.

  It was a feeling of confidence that was incredibly short lived, though.

  The muffled sound of the shot – more like a pop really – registered in his ears a moment before the silver webbing of the net entangled him. The silver burned as it met his flesh
and he roared in pain. He wrestled with the netting, trying to get it off of him, knowing that if he didn't, the burning of the silver mesh net was going to be the least of his worries.

  With a powerful slash of his paw, he broke through the netting. His flesh stung from where it had seared him, but his problems were only just beginning. He'd been so busy tracking the hunters behind him, he didn't think about them having a team in front of him.

  It was a mistake – and as three men stepped out from behind the trees with large weapons in their hand, he wondered if it was going to be a fatal mistake.

  Rising up to stand on his hind legs, extending his height to an imposing eight feet, he roared in defiance at the hunters before him. They took a nervous step backwards and brought their weapons to bear. They were dressed in what looked like black military fatigues. They wore helmets and night vision goggles that covered most of their face, making any chance of identifying them impossible – and explained how they'd been able to track him so easily in the dark.

  The three men before him spread out, their weapons still trained on him. He growled low in his throat, watching them. With them spread out like they were, there was no way he would be able to get at one of them without opening himself up to the others. He roared in frustration, the sound of his booming voice echoing through the woods.

  He couldn't wait any longer – he knew that he had to do something before the rest of the team got there or he was done. He might already be done anyway, but he was going to go out swinging. He lunged at the first man to his left – and immediately, the man on the right fired his weapon. A dart embedded itself in his haunch, emitting a powerful pulse of electricity that made him howl in agony.

  He stumbled backward, pain radiating throughout his body. The three men, suddenly emboldened, took a step forward, their weapons trained on him. Knowing he was in deep trouble and that he was no match for their electric darts, he did the only thing he could – he turned to run.

  And that's when he felt the impact of the three darts punch him square in the chest. The team that had been trailing him had finally caught up.

  Rather than electricity though, he felt a warmth spreading out from where the point where the darts had pierced him. He opened his mouth to roar, but what came out was a pitiful sounding mewl. He suddenly started to feel lightheaded and his vision began to blur.

  Though he didn't shift, he felt himself melting back into his human form again. He stood there, leaning against a tree, human and naked, the pain from the electrical dart still coursing through him at the same time he grew weary from whatever they'd drugged him with. He reached down and picked the darts out of his skin, angrily tossing them away. He looked up and felt his head swimming, a wave of nausea washing over him.

  Two of the team who'd hit him with the drug darts pulled off their helmets as they approached him – a man and a woman. A tide of anger welled up within him and he staggered forward on unsteady legs, taking a swing at the man. He missed badly and wound up face down in the dirt and debris that littered the forest floor.

  He rolled over onto his back as the six people stood over him laughing. Their voices sounded fuzzy, distorted – almost inhuman. He tried to focus on the faces of the two who'd removed their helmets. Tried to memorize their features. If he ever managed to find a way out of his predicament, he wanted to remember them so he could deliver one nasty payback.

  “Excellent work, people,” said the guy without his helmet. “Quick, efficient, clean. It's gonna net us a nice payday. Well done. Now, let's get this animal trussed up and back to the pen. After that, the first round is on me.”

  His words were met by cheers and howls. The men in black drifted away as blackness spilled across his vision like a pool of ink spreading across the water. The woman though, hovered over him, looking down at him. She cast a nervous glance around and then looked him in the eye, silently mouthing two words that only he could see. He cocked his head, not sure he was seeing right, but it looked like she was saying – “I'm sorry.”

  It was the last thing he saw before the darkness claimed him, pulling him deep beneath the waves.

  Chapter One

  Luca

  He had his back to me as I approached. He just stood there on the small rise between two trees, staring off into the distance. The morning light filtered in through the canopy of the forest and the smell of the earth, musky and moist, saturated the air. All was still. Peaceful. It was one reason I loved living amongst the woods of the Pacific Northwest.

  Black Salmon Falls is where I was born and where I would eventually die – and I wouldn't have it any other way.

  “Welcome home,” he said, slowly turning around to face me.

  I smiled and stepped forward, pulling him into a fierce hug. Stepping back, I chucked him on the shoulder and laughed. I'd been away for several weeks on Clan business and couldn't have been happier to put my boots back on home soil again.

  “Glad to be home, Asher,” I said. “Or, I suppose I should be calling you, your Majesty or something, right?”

  “You do that, I'll kick your ass.”

  “Please,” I said. “You haven't been able to do that since we were kids.”

  He grinned. “I’d put up a hell of a fight though,” he replied. “And, I've been working out.”

  I laughed. “It's cute that you think working out is gonna help you.”

  “We'll see,” he replied. “We'll get into the sparring ring.”

  “I'll look forward to dropping you like a sack of dirty laundry like I always do,” I said. “And hopefully, in front of a large crowd.”

  “Yeah, good luck with that.”

  We laughed and then shared a moment of brotherly silence, just taking in the natural beauty around us. Asher and I had grown up together. And although we came from different clans, we were closer than actual brothers. I would have laid down my life for Asher without a moment's hesitation – and not just because my clan, the Langayan Clan, was the oldest and closest ally of Asher's Q'lapa Clan. It was because he was family and I loved him.

  “I'm sorry to bother you out here,” I said softly. “Rose told me where I could find you.”

  “No, it's okay,” he said. “I just like to come out here most mornings and breathe in the air. Just like to...”

  His voice trailed off, but he didn't need to tell me why he came out to commune with the woods. I already knew.

  “I'm sorry I couldn't be here when he took the Walk,” I said softly. “I wanted to be –”

  “It's okay, Luca,” he said. “There's nothing for you to be sorry about, my friend.”

  We stood in silence for a few moments, looking out at the woods beyond us. A few birds chirped high up in the canopy and with my heightened senses, I could hear the sound of small game rustling in the undergrowth all around us. Beautiful sounds. Peaceful sounds. The sounds of home.

  “Have you seen him?” I asked quietly.

  Asher shook his head. “No, not yet,” he replied. “Is it ridiculous that I come out every day to look for him?”

  I turned and faced Asher. “Why would that be ridiculous? He's your father.”

  “Was,” Asher responded. “Was my father. Now he's just – a bear in the woods. Like any other bear out there.”

  I shook my head. “That doesn't make him any less your father.”

  He gave me a small nod and a tight smile. “I just come out here to look for him because somehow, I still feel connected to him. I'll sit out here and talk to him – tell him about some of the things going on,” he said. “Just sort of unburden myself of everything in my head and heart. And I imagine that he can hear me.”

  “Maybe he can.”

  Asher flashed me a wry smile. “I somehow doubt it,” he said. “My dad is more animal than man now – and those small pieces of humanity that may be left inside of him are shrinking by the day.”

  “Your dad is part of nature, brother,” I said. “He's all around us. He may not have a physical form anymore, but tha
t doesn't mean he's not still here. With us. All around us. So, why wouldn't he be able to hear you?”

  He chuckled softly. “I always forget that you're a little more on that woo-woo mystical side of things than I am.”

  I shrugged. “I just prefer to believe in the traditions of our people, man,” I said. “In our notions of spirituality. It's beautiful, if you stop to really consider it.”

  Asher looked down at the ground and kicked a small stone into the underbrush. “I just never really took to the religious side of things the way you did.”

  “I don't know that I'd call myself religious,” I replied. “Spiritual perhaps. When you consider what we are, we're a part of nature. We're not man, obviously. We're more connected to the Earth than most people. It's a good feeling to be really plugged in to the natural world around us, brother. Helps some things make sense. Puts things in perspective.”

  “Religion, spirituality,” Asher said, a grin on his face. “Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.”

  I laughed. “If you say so,” I said. “But tell me this – does coming out here and talking to your dad make you feel better? Does it lighten your load a little bit?”

  He hesitated for a moment, looking at me like he feared that I would judge him or think him crazy. Me, of all people. But then he lowered his eyes and shook his head, knowing he had no reason to fear anything from me.

  “Yeah, it does, actually,” he finally said. “It makes no sense and we most definitely had our differences, but I always feel like he just gave me solid advice. And when I come out here to talk to him, it's like I'm asking for more of that advice – even though he obviously can't give it to me.”

  “If it clarifies your thinking, brings you peace and eases your soul,” I said, “then I think you're on the right path. It certainly seems that your talks with your dad do all of those things.”

  He nodded vaguely, looking off into the distance. “Yeah, I guess they do.”

  “There's nothing wrong with seeking out a little peace and comfort in your soul, Asher,” I said. “And if talking to your dad helps, there's nothing wrong with it.”

  “I bet some of the others would think I'm nuts,” he said. “Probably even question my ability to lead, citing my – instability.”