Courted by her Cougar (Cougar Creek Mates Shifter Romance Series Book 3) Read online

  Yasmin’s wide dark eyes were fixed on Flint, not the male charging towards her.

  Flint roared and sprang, sailed through the air to land on the bear’s back and send him slamming face first into the earth. The male recovered quickly, pushing back onto his paws, but Flint moved faster, sank his claws into the male’s thick hide and brought his head down hard.

  The bear cried out as Flint’s fangs penetrated his flesh. The tinny tang of blood flooded Flint’s mouth and he sank his fangs deeper, driving them as far as they would go before he pulled his head back. The bear’s cry became a roar of agony as Flint’s fangs ripped free, leaving huge grooves in the male’s shoulder that welled with blood.

  He could sense the bear’s distress and his pain.

  But it wasn’t enough to force him to shift. Didn’t even come close.

  What the bear did to Flint had him almost losing his grip on his cougar form though.

  The huge beast twisted with him into a roll that happened so fast Flint didn’t have a chance to spring away before his left rear leg had been crushed beneath the male’s weight. He cried out as fire swept through his bones, an inferno so hot that it blinded him, and gritted his teeth as he felt the sickening snap of something in his leg.

  “Flint,” Yasmin gasped.

  He growled and mustered his strength to claw wildly at the bear, lashing out at his back with his front paws, rending long gashes in the male’s skin. The bear moved, but only to deliver another blow. The male rose off him enough to rake long thick claws down his back, sending another white-hot wave of pain rolling through him and ripping another cry from his throat.

  “He’s got this.” Cobalt didn’t sound sure as he held Yasmin back.

  When the bear went to rake claws down him again, Flint managed to roll out of his reach. The bear grunted. Flint hissed as he shuffled backwards, heat blasting up his left leg whenever he tried to put weight on it.

  Son of a fucking bitch.

  He clamped his teeth and focused through the pain so it didn’t force him to shift back. He just needed a minute, a moment for his advanced healing to kick in and start the process. It would take a couple of days for the bone to mend completely, but if he had a few minutes it would heal enough that he could put weight on it.

  Bear didn’t give them to him.

  The male advanced, his head bowed, the broad top of it directed at Flint.

  A defensive tactic to protect his throat.

  It left the male’s spine open, but it would be too difficult for Flint to get his teeth into that area with enough precision to hit that spine and reach it through the layer of fat and muscle.

  Flint hunkered down and then growled as he forced himself to stand his ground, rising onto all four paws and facing the male head on.

  He needed to deliver a blow that would wound the male, would pain him enough to drive him out of his bear form.

  He eyed the male.

  There was another vulnerable spot on the bastard.

  It would be a low blow, literally, but beggars couldn’t be choosers, and if it meant emerging the victor and ending the fight quickly, before he was injured further, he would do it.

  Of course, there was the possibility the brute would kill him for it.

  Or worse, pay him back.

  Flint shuddered at the thought as he slowly limped right, circling with the bear, giving his body time to heal and gathering the courage to go through with it. Rath and Cobalt wouldn’t be impressed. None of the assembled males would be. Everyone was going to be feeling this one.

  When the bear began to advance rather than circle, Flint sucked down a slow breath, waiting for the right moment.

  The bear lunged, huge paw swinging right at his face.

  Flint leaped, a grunt leaving him as his left leg protested, and sailed over the bear. He landed behind the male in a crouch, pivoted and swiped at the brute’s backside, raking claws down through his fur.

  He knew the moment he had hit his target.

  There was a collective hiss as all the males flinched.

  And bear went wild.

  The male roared and kicked out, slamming his back left paw into Flint and sending him flying across the dirt, rolling to land in a heap near Yasmin and the others.

  “Low blow, my man,” Cobalt muttered.

  Flint hissed at him and sprang forwards, intending to strike while the bear was vulnerable.

  Only the bastard had to have balls of steel because he was on his feet, thundering towards Flint, his sharp fangs exposed as he swiftly closed the distance between them. Flint sprang, but the bear smashed a paw into his stomach, flipped him head over heels onto his back on the dirt, and raked claws down his chest.

  Flint roared in agony, both from the blow as it sent fire and lightning buzzing through him and from the way his body tried to shift, the pain pushing him to return to his human form. His bones distorted, his left leg screaming, and he tried to fight it but he wasn’t strong enough.

  He lost his hold on his cougar form, his bones lengthening and transforming, and bloodstained skin replacing his golden fur. The bear snorted as he slammed a heavy paw down on Flint’s bare chest, obvious satisfaction in it.

  If the son of a bitch thought he had won, then he was mistaken.

  The plan had been to force the bear to shift back into his human form so Flint could get hold of his throat and suffocate him until he submitted.

  Part of that plan was still in effect. Only Flint would be the one in his human form when he strangled the bastard and forced him to surrender.

  Flint bowed upwards, forcing the bear’s paw up with him, and as soon as he had enough room, he rolled from beneath the male’s grip. He came to his feet and into as much of a sprint as he could manage, trying to get around to behind the bear before he could catch up.

  The crowd jeered as the bear turned, meeting Flint just as he tried to get close enough to launch onto his back. Flint grunted as the male slammed a paw into his face, sending his vision wobbling as his head twirled, and staggered sideways.

  He tripped to a halt and shook his head, trying to clear it.

  “You want your sweats?” Cobalt hollered, a teasing reminder that he was naked, and a confidence boost. His brother didn’t sound worried about him, and that helped him push out the nerves that were threatening to rise up again to consume him. He wasn’t sure whether his brother was looking at Rath or Yasmin as he said, “He’s got this. He’s lived through worse odds.”

  And he was going to live through this too.

  He tried getting behind the bear again, and the male rose onto his hind legs to dwarf Flint, a wall of muscle and fur and sharp fangs and claws that dared him to come at it.

  Flint was all about dares right now.

  He ducked left, and when the bear twisted his big body that way, anticipating his move, he dodged right and ran hard.

  Reached striking distance.

  Screamed as fire lanced his left side and his ribs crushed inwards, the bear’s claws sinking deep into his flesh. He hit the dirt, barely managed to roll in time to avoid being skewered again, and scrambled across the dirt, trying to get back onto his feet.

  He gripped his ribs, his hand slipping in the blood, and swallowed the bile that rose into his throat as his vision wobbled, the pain blazing across his side threatening to steal consciousness from him. Not yet. He could pass out later, once he had won the dare.

  He staggered onto his feet and limped, blinked hard to clear his vision as tears swam in his eyes and he struggled to focus on his opponent.

  The bear turned with him, lashing out with his claws, growling the entire time. Flint stumbled and ducked, and somehow dodged all the blows. He could sense the bear’s frustration as it mounted, each failed attempt to strike him fuelling it. He focused through the pain burning in his side as he dodged each strike, every swipe the male made, driving that frustration higher.

  Until the bear made his first mistake.

  He dropped to all four paws
to lumber after Flint.

  Flint pressed down hard with his right foot and sprang, sailing forwards through the air to land in a crouch on the huge bear’s back. He fisted the male’s brown fur, tearing an annoyed grunt from the bear, and fought to keep hold of him as his hands slipped in the blood covering the male. The bear twisted and shook, trying to dislodge him again. Wasn’t going to happen this time.

  Flint pulled his way up the bear’s shoulders and grinned as he reached his neck, as he managed to get both arms around it and locked his hands together. He pulled back, straining as he put every ounce of his remaining strength into driving his arm against the male’s throat to choke him. The bear reared back again, coming into a stand, and Flint tightened his hold with his arms, and pressed his knees into the male’s sides to anchor himself.

  The bear growled and swung left and then right, but Flint held on, bowing his body backwards to apply more pressure to the male’s throat. His actions grew sluggish, his moans quieter as Flint squeezed harder, using his knees as leverage.

  Flint panted, his muscles trembling, turning liquid beneath his skin as his strength drained from him as rapidly as his blood, spilling so quickly he wasn’t sure he was going to make it.

  But then the bear hit the deck and shifted back, and Flint held on, shifting his grip as he landed on the male. He moved one arm to the back of the male’s head, shoving it forward so his throat hit the crook of his arm, and growled.

  The male struggled, legs kicking frantically, claws raking over Flint’s arms as he tried to prise them off him. Flint gritted his teeth and weathered each slash, each blaze of fire and agony that stole more of his strength.

  Just as he was close to passing out from the exertion of it all, the male finally slammed his fist into the dirt and grunted a single word.

  “Yield.”

  Flint immediately released him and rolled off him, landing on his back on the dirt with his arms splayed out at his sides and the bear shifter beside him, lying on his right one. He breathed hard as he stared at the clear blue sky, struggling to tamp down the pain and gather enough strength to move.

  The bear was quicker onto his feet, staggering and swaying a little.

  Flint didn’t fight him as he grabbed him by the wrist and hauled him onto his feet.

  “You fight like a bastard.” The bear grinned at him.

  “So I’ve been told,” Flint croaked and wearily smiled as every inch of him burned, his legs so weak beneath him that he wasn’t sure how he was standing. He patted the male’s bearded cheek. “Stay the fuck away from Cougar Creek. Got it?”

  The male just grunted and padded away, licking an injury on his arm as he went.

  Flint staggered in the other direction, towards his brothers.

  And Yasmin.

  She stood on the threshold of the forest, her dark eyes wide, filled with the fear he could feel in her now he was allowing his senses to roam freely over the area, making sure the bears didn’t get ideas about sneaking up on him.

  When he reached them, Cobalt wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and secretly slipped an arm around his back beneath it, in a way that neither the bears nor his cougar contenders would see. He would thank his brother for that later.

  It was important that he didn’t fall.

  He couldn’t let the bears see him weak, or the male cougars who were watching him closely, looking for a weakness in him.

  Those males exchanged looks that revealed they weren’t pleased he had managed to survive the fight and moved off as one, heading into the woods. Rath and Ivy followed them at a distance with Yasmin. She glanced back at him from time to time as he followed with Cobalt aiding him, fighting the pain that swept through him with each step.

  The bear pride drifted into the distance.

  Ahead of him, Rath stooped to retrieve Flint’s sweatpants and t-shirt, and the cougar males kept moving, growling and grumbling to each other, delightfully pissed that he had survived.

  As soon as they were out of sight, Flint’s legs gave out, his strength leaving him, and he almost yanked Cobalt to his knees with him. The world swirled in shades of grey around him, drained of all colour as his vision tunnelled.

  “You fucking idiot,” Yasmin snapped, but she was gentle as she came to him and looked over his wounds with a critical and concerned eye. “We need to get you patched up.”

  He didn’t have the strength to fight Cobalt as he hefted him into his arms, carrying him like a fucking princess.

  It was leaking from him as he struggled to hold on to consciousness.

  As the darkness welled up to swallow him, he heard Yasmin whisper.

  “Gods, I can’t lose him.”

  CHAPTER 11

  The moment Flint passed out in Cobalt’s arms, Yasmin was moving towards him, driven by a need to tend to him, to pull him back from the brink and help him heal. Watching him fight had been a terrifying experience, one that had torn her apart over and over again, and had filled her with a need to stop the madness.

  To step in and place herself between him and the beast who had been trying to kill him.

  It hadn’t been a fair fight at all, just as she had expected. The bear had been three or even four times Flint’s size, a brute of a creature who’d had the advantage in every way imaginable and had been bent on using it to bring her cougar down.

  Her cougar?

  Gods, she felt that as she looked at him, battered and broken, his wheezy breathing telling her what she could already feel in him through her powers. He had broken more than one rib, and the puncture wounds in his side ran deep. There was a chance he had damaged a lung, and she wasn’t sure she could bear the thought he might have.

  All for her sake.

  Because she had foolishly agreed to something without understanding what it entailed.

  “Hand him to me.” She held her arms out to Cobalt and the blond looked at her as if she had gone mad. “I can handle him.”

  Cobalt glanced at Rath, who nodded.

  He placed Flint into her arms, and she trembled as she held him, not because his weight was a struggle for her, but because this close she could see all the wounds, and she could feel them. They echoed on her body, guiding her to the places he was hurt the worst.

  His left leg. His back. His chest. The puncture wounds on his left side.

  Reckless cougar.

  She forced her eyes up to Cobalt and then across to Rath. “Don’t panic. Come to his cabin.”

  She closed her eyes and focused on that place, on that loft she had seen, and teleported.

  Her legs gave out when she landed, the exertion of using a power she rarely called on sending her to her knees. She cradled Flint to her so he wouldn’t be hurt as her knees met the wooden floorboards with jarring force and waited for the pain to pass before she lumbered onto her feet.

  The bedroom was cramped, the double bed slotted into the triangular roof, leaving little room on either side of it. Perhaps the living room would have been the better place for him, but she wanted him comfortable while he recovered.

  She set him down on the dark covers at the end of the bed, so he was laying along the edge of it, with his head to the right, giving her easy access to his left side. Light filtered in through the rectangular window above the head of it, but not enough for her to see clearly. She looked around and spotted a light attached to the centre beam of the pitched ceiling, and a switch dangling from it. She tugged the cord and flinched as the bright light came on.

  A sigh slipped from her lips as she looked down at Flint where he lay sprawled across his bed.

  An unholy mess.

  Blood leaked from the wounds on his side and his breathing was worsening.

  The things she had brought as a present for Rath weren’t going to be adequate enough.

  She mustered her strength and teleported again, landing with a stumble in one of the storage rooms in the hospital where she worked. The shelves were packed with cartons, some open and others still sealed. She grabb
ed a large box of crepe bandages and emptied it, and worked her way around the room, gripping the shelves for support, running her hands along them whenever she moved. When the box was filled with enough of everything she thought she might need, and some things she probably didn’t, she focused again and teleported back to Flint.

  Rath stood at his side, looking down at him, concern shining in his grey-gold eyes. He looked at her and then back at his brother.

  “You can fix him, right?” he mumbled, his usually commanding deep voice lacking strength.

  Yasmin set the box down on the bed and placed her hand on his shoulder, so he looked at her. “I can.”

  She looked around the cramped room.

  “Where’s Cobalt?” She had thought he would be with his brother too, but she couldn’t feel him anywhere near her. Or Ivy.

  “Took Ivy home. He’s getting her settled. It’s better he isn’t around.” There was an ominous edge to those final five words, one that warned her not to ask.

  Cobalt had seemed casual enough when Flint had been fighting, but at times she had felt something in him.

  Something dark.

  Rath rifled through the box she had brought with her, his expression strained but lost as he moved things around, distant in a way. He wasn’t looking for anything, was working on auto-pilot as concern for his brother stole his focus. She gently took the box from him, offering a small smile when he lifted his gaze to her.

  His eyes flitted between hers and she could sense his need for her to give him a purpose, something he could do to help his brother.

  Yasmin carefully laid out the contents on the floor, on hand for when she needed him to pass them to her. She pulled down a few deep breaths to steady herself as she assessed Flint, scanning over his front to chart all the wounds that would need her attention.

  She glanced at Rath. “Can you get me some water and a clean cloth?”

  He nodded and was swift to take to the task she had given him, immediately disappearing down the stairs behind her.

  Flint’s breathing worsened.

  “No… no… no.” She dropped to her knees beside him and pressed her ear to his chest, her sensitive hearing allowing her to detect more than a stethoscope could have. It wasn’t good. “Damn it.”