Page 32 of Once Upon A Bear

How was she going to get him out of this?

“Gideon, I’m going to help you, but I need you to be careful.”

Did he hear her at all, or was he too far gone with pain?

She gently lowered his head to the dirt and stood to circle him, her eyes following the chain from the tree to where it disappeared under his body. Was he aware enough to not hurt her if she touched his leg?

“I’m here,” she said soothingly, her practiced healer voice coming out. She ran her hand down his back, where there would be no pain, before gently sliding it down toward his left flank.

There was no trap on this leg, which meant if it had gotten him, it would be on his right leg, fully hidden underneath his body.

Could she trust him to not hurt her? How much of his human nature remained in this state, wounded and in pain in his bear form?

Gideon shifted, revealing his right leg as he laid more on his side.

Guinevere grimaced at the sight of the trap wrapped around his paw.

The trap was not quite right, too small to wrap around his whole leg, but big enough to have sunk its teeth into his paw. Blood streaked the fur, and he let out a growl as he shifted again.

“I’ll get this off you,” she promised, resting her hand on his leg above where the jagged metal teeth pierced his fur. “We will get it off.”

She had to. She couldn’t leave him here alone to go fetch help, not without knowing who had set the trap and how far away they were.

Even if this trap hadn’t been left for the bear, there was no telling what a hunter would do if he found a bear held captive.

She had to get him free, and soon.

“I don’t know how I’m going to do this,” she said, more to herself than him, “but we’re going to.”

Gideon’s eyes opened, and he turned to her. If he had been human, she might have guessed there were tears in his eyes. Could bears cry?

“You came,” he said hoarsely.

“Of course I came, silly old bear,” she said. “Did you think I would leave you? I told you, I don’t like hearing an animal in pain.”

“I know,” he said weakly.

She inspected the trap. There had to be a way to trigger the release. She felt around it carefully, avoiding the sharp teeth.

When she went to town next, she would be having a word with the blacksmith. Traps like these were not humane.

“I can’t believe someone set a trap for you,” she whispered fiercely.

She’d known the men were getting increasingly concerned about the bear in the forest, but she hadn’t known they were this worried.

It wasn’t like he’d been pillaging homesteads and hurting anyone or anything.

“I can,” Gideon said with a hoarse laugh. “If I wasn’t me, and I knew there was a bear roaming around my family’s estate, I might do the same thing to protect Liliana and our animals.”

“You love your sister,” Guinevere said.

“I do,” his voice rumbled. “She was a surprise, but one that I could never regret. She is the life of our family.”

“What is your favorite thing to do with her?” Guinevere asked as she found the trigger for the trap. Anything to keep him talking.

“She likes to have tea parties,” Gideon said with a rumbly laugh. “None of us want to have tea parties, of course, but we can’t resist when she asks. She is far too good at getting her way when it comes to us.”

“I can imagine,” Guinevere teased, hoping to distract him as she undid the latch and opened the trap. Gideon growled as the teeth ripped through his skin, breaking her heart as the trap widened its ugly jaws.