Nailed (Black Mountain Bears Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

his feet to the path. His salvation might exist up there. He laughed to himself as he pulled his long hair into a knot at the back of his head.
    “Fuck, if you think it’s that easy,” he said, but he knew he had to try.
    The waterfall’s secrets weren’t widely shared among them. Only the clan shamans knew the full extent. During Aidan’s brief visit with Autumn’s mother to let her know her daughter was newly mated and in love, the grateful older female had pressed her palms to the sides of his head and closed her eyes. When she opened them, they glowed the way Autumn’s had during her vision. “I cannot restore what your mother has taken away,” she said, “but you will find new life if you go to Gaia’s Falls.”
    He wasn’t going for healing, though. At least, not the physical variety. Unsure what to expect, he knew better than to ignore the missive. Whatever he found, it had to be an improvement over his current state.
    The hike to the falls wasn’t easy, but he’d done it before. He’d made harder climbs Outside, too. He’d climbed every mountain he could find Outside, after losing Autumn so long ago.
    Every four years, he’d leave for a month and target some rock face more impossible than the last one he’d climbed. He’d train for a few weeks, then tackle the rock. Then return to the nearest human town and spend a few days fucking the women who were brave enough to proposition him.
    And at the same time, try his best to ignore the fact that he was avoiding Autumn, who spent every estrous inside the Sanctuary.
    Even though the path up the mountain to Gaia’s Falls was nowhere near as arduous as some he’d done Outside, it was still one of the hardest climbs of his life. The closer he got to the summit, the more apprehensive he became about how he’d find his way past the self-hatred and utter lack of conviction that his life would have any meaning after what had happened. Then he’d remind himself that he hadn’t done what he’d done for the sake of some kind of karmic reward. He’d done it because it was the right thing to do.
    After a full day of hiking, he reached it. The top of the falls were obscured in clouds, and the white rush of water pounding over the rocks vibrated through him. At the base of the falls was a small lake that had several outlets, spilling down the mountain to feed the entire Sanctuary.
    The shoreline was alternately sandy and rocky, with lush vegetation surrounding it. Fragrant flowers bloomed on the far side, including a flower with strong medicinal properties that he recognized as one that rarely grew elsewhere in the Sanctuary. Aidan considered hiking around the lake at some point to harvest it and bring it back to his clan, then remembered he had no clan anymore.
    Nothing for it but to do what he came here for. His stomach tightened into a knot. He had no idea where to begin, so simply started walking again, heading for the waterfall itself. He found a small, flat clearing several yards from the edge of the water with a long-forgotten fire pit in the center. Others had been here before him, but not for some time. There were no lingering scents of ursa. The remnants of charred wood were the only signal of any other person.
    He dropped his gear, intending to set up camp later, and stripped off his clothes. Whether or not the waters indeed held magical properties mattered little to him. He just needed to feel the rush of plunging beneath the cold surface, to feel the wet chill of it permeating his skin and let the constant, deafening roar of the falls drown out the sounds of his thoughts. His own mother had cast him out, but there was one mother who would still embrace him.
    Walking naked to an outcropping of a long, narrow rock that jutted out over the lake right where the cascade of water met the pool beneath, Aidan stopped and stood. He stared, taking in the beauty of the mountain. Aside from the cloud of mist at the top of the waterfall high above him, the sky