COLE POV
The sun shone so hotly it burned my shoulders. Not that I minded the heat, it made the outdoors the best place in the world for someone like me. Someone who ached for freedom and open space, which could be found in abundance here in a national park. Vast, was the word often used to describe it, and that was a word I liked.
I wandered along one of the trails left for me to patrol, drinking in the gorgeous atmosphere. There was nothing better than the scent of the grass in the sun, as far as I was concerned. Especially when it was peaceful and only the sounds of animals and nature surrounded me.
“Cole?”
I let out a little groan. Just as I was settling in to the peace of the day, a call from the front desk came in on my radio, reminding me I wasn’t just here to cruise the park. That this was my job these days. A very different job to the one I once had.
“We need ya. There is a hiker lost on one of your trails. To the east.”
Instantly, I snapped in to action. “Got it,” I called back through the radio.
Nothing else needed to be said, everyone knew that once a mission was passed on to me, I wouldn’t stop until it was completed. Especially when someone was helpless and needed me. No one left behind, that was my motto.
I shook my body out and started to shift, allowing my animal to rise to the surface. There was something very relaxing about becoming my other self, the alpha bear who stood tall and always did what was right. There were many times when I felt more comfortable as a bear than as a human. Perhaps because I could relate better to others as an animal.
I liked going off of my instincts and senses, putting human thoughts on the back burner sometimes. My nose knew what to do before my brain even needed to tell it. I started sniffing the trail, trying to pick up any scents that should not have been there.
I wasn’t on the right trail, but I was on the east side of the national park, so it didn’t take long for me to pick up a scent that was laced with fear. The lost hiker, it had to be. I padded quickly on my paws, making my way across the park as fast as I could go.
“Sergeant!”
Oh God, I didn’t want to hear that voice right now.
“We can’t leave him behind, we need to find him. He’s in the flames somewhere.”
My blood ran cold as memories rolled in thick and fast. I thought my human thoughts were silenced in my bear form, but the faster I ran, the quicker they chased me. I thought I was getting much better at leaving my past as a Navy Seal behind, and that dreaded last mission, but here it was coming to haunt me yet again. A ghost I couldn’t ever get rid of.
“Tim, we need to get Tim. And Michael and Dan!”
But the bombs kept dropping and the shots kept firing. I quickly became overwhelmed with the desperation of the situation, with the horror that crept through me because I knew that while I never wanted to leave anyone behind no matter what the situation was, if we went back in there, into enemy territory, I would lose more men. I couldn’t handle that.
“Sergeant, we need you to make a decision. Now.”
My eyes burned as I thought about the way my brain froze in that moment, fucking us all up. That was the moment I knew my career in the armed forces was over. If I couldn’t continue to lead, if I couldn’t tell my men what needed to be done, then I was done.
Tim, Michael, and Dan were left behind on that day. Shot, presumed dead. All because I didn’t know what to do in the heat of a horrible moment.
I would never be able to forgive myself for that, as long as I lived, which was why I needed to follow this trail of fear now to make sure I got this hiker rescued.
A whimper played on my ears, amping up the fear. I followed the sounds, the smells, the footprints in the mud. It didn’t take me long to find the gentleman with a backpack firmly fixed to his back and a water bottle clutched between his fingers as he slumped down on a log, looking defeated and afraid. He was lost for sure.
“Oh God!” The guy jumped when he spotted me. I guess the sight of a giant brown bear looming toward him put him on edge, so I quickly shifted back to reassure him I wasn’t a wild animal coming to tear him limb from limb. “Oh, are you the rescue?”
I shot him a grin and nodded, pushing all those horrible memories away. I did not want to think about what happened that day. I had a job to focus on now, one I knew I could do.
“Sure am, buddy. You’re safe with me now. Let’s get you back to the park entrance. Then we’ll get you checked, make sure you are okay, and send you on your way.” I held up my hands to silence him because I already knew what he was going to say. The same thing that they always said. “I know, I know. You feel fine and you don’t want to be looked at, but that’s what we have to do.”
He pursed his lips and nodded, accepting what I told him. I blew out a breath of relief. With a bit of luck, things would get smoother from here on out.
* * *
It had been a long day,longer than I thought it was going to be, and I couldn’t wait to sit my ass down in my usual seat at Rovers Inn for my well-earned post-work drinks. This was a small town with a lot of the same characters involved in their normal routine, and I knew who I was about to see as I took my seat.
So I had to admit I was pretty surprised when I spotted someone new sitting in the seat next to me. We made eye contact, and I stared at her for a beat too long, my heart racing.
But that wasn’t just because she was new, it was also because there was something so strikingly beautiful about her I could hardly catch my breath. She was absolutely stunning. Mind-blowingly so. Bright blonde hair that stood out in a crowd, kind green eyes that had a lot of emotion dancing behind them, and a smile that looked absolutely adorable on her sweet heart-shaped face.