Page 32 of So I Fell for Bigfoot

Mate.

The word was as clear as my brother’s voice had been. I had to go to her. Make sure she was safe. Hunters be damned. I couldn’t hide away, depending on others to fight my battles for me.

I tossed the tablet aside and considered my options. HQ was in downtown Sunset Springs. Not that far from The Village. I could walk there easily, but I’d cause a scene.

Until I’d gone on stage, I’d never exposed myself to so many humans. The forums had an active…thread, I think it was called, about the hunters. Some of the regulars had posted pictures of the hunters, their gear, and their trucks. Others had fuzzy pictures that they swore were me.

Hugo had shown me how to make a pinching motion against the screen to enlarge whatever I wanted to look at. None of the pictures had enough detail for me to tell if it was Leif.

But it was definitely something.

I couldn’t be concerned with my brother right now when Hannah could be in danger. I pushed the door open, heading into the fluorescent light of the hallway. The production assistants gasped when they saw me.

“Lars, where are you going?”

“You can’t go out there. It’s not safe.”

“Do Bibi and Hugo know about this?”

“Is this part of the show?”

I didn’t answer. None of them would be able to hold me back. To keep me away.

Heat surged in my body. It was a familiar feeling, and one I’d waited for ever since I’d rescued Hannah that night. But not now. This wasn’t the time.

Problem was, as stubborn as I felt right now, with half of the show’s staff trailing behind me, pleading with me for answers, my body had even more of a mind of its own.

I pushed for the front door, where I was greeted by a mob of reporters, camerapeople, and fans.

The heat was becoming an inferno. My breathing grew ragged, each breath harder to draw than the last.

“Lars, is it finally safe for you to leave?”

“Do you know that Hannah was sighted out with Armand last night? He says the date went well.”

“Have you talked to Hannah?”

“Are you still a part of the show?”

“Do you have anything to say to the army of humans that has taken over the mountains, looking for you?”

“Any comment on the reports of multiple sasquatches being sighted in the forest?”

“Do you have any advice for those other sasquatches?”

My sight blurred. The chorus of questions melted into a cacophony.

No. I had to get to Hannah.

But my body had other ideas. I dropped to my knees and let out a roar that would shake the mountains.

The faces of the reporters andThe Mating Gamestaff were in front of me. Frozen. Twisted. Horrified.

I let out one final roar before bones snapped and fur melted away, taking my natural form with it.

The heat subsided, and I blinked until my vision cleared. It was nighttime. Even though it was hardly important, it felt good to see the moon and the stars in all their glory. All those faces were still there. Stunned into silence.

“Lars.” One of the production assistants crouched beside me and laid a blanket over my bare human body. “You shifted.”

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