chapter 46

Two days later, Heather rushed out of the house as she caught sight of David, Reese, Brian, and Caleb heading toward them. Bethany and Mika were not too far behind. She threw herself into David’s arms. She’d missed him. Two days had been real torture and considering they were empty-handed, it was clear they hadn’t caught the bear. The men looked pissed.

“Is everything okay?” Heather asked. She quickly looked at David, trying to see any sign of an attack, even patting him down to ensure there were no injuries.

“We’re all fine. But we’re starving.”

“I’ll go and get some food ready,” Bethany said. She had Caleb’s hand and was leading him back to the house.

“I need to shower and change,” Reese said.

Brian sighed. “Sounds about right.”

She glanced behind her, watching them all leave. “What’s wrong?”

“We’re all a little pissed. Two days, we should have caught this bear shifter.”

Heather cupped his face. “You’re all in one piece, that’s all that matters.”

David shook his head, taking her hand, and they moved away from the house toward the trees.

“What is it? What’s the matter?” She was worried. Quickly glancing all over his body again, she tried to find any hidden sign of harm. There were no cuts. No bruises. He looked fine. She ran her hands over his body and David took one, pressing a kiss to her palm.

“I said I’m fine. There was no attack.”

She released the breath she didn’t even realize she was holding. “That’s good. That is really good.”

He chuckled. “Worried about me?”

“You know I am.”

“There’s something I didn’t mention about the attack,” David said.

Heather frowned. “What?”

He ran his hands through his hair. The scent of earth clung to his skin. It wasn’t offensive to her. She liked the scent of the land, of the earth, of life. It was the most natural smell in the whole world. What she couldn’t stand was the scent of car fumes. Everything that man had created had a certain vile odor. Some more rotten than others.

“You can’t say anything to the guys and certainly not to Joe.”

“David, I don’t leave the house. Why would I talk to Joe?”

“The bear that attacked me was a woman. A young woman.”

Heather frowned. “What? How is that possible? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because I’m a fucking asshole and my pride was damaged, that’s why.” He shook his head. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“What kind of bad feeling?” She trusted David’s instincts.

“Listening to her the past couple of days. We were always so close, but she outran us. Either that, or she is so much better at hiding than I gave her credit for.”

Heather rubbed at her temple. “I’m sorry, but you need to tell the others. They need to know they can’t kill her.”

“That’s the thing, baby. What if we have to?” David asked.

“What do you mean? You can’t just kill a woman.”

“We may not have a choice in the matter. Think about it. This woman attacked me, a wolf. We all know bears and wolves don’t get along. We often avoid one another. It’s why none of us have gone to town. Our partnership with Joe, that was the best you were going to get, and he was alone. Now he has a sleuth, there is no way it would mix. This woman, she’s new. I got the sense that she doesn’t have a clue who she is or what she is. She’s nearly feral, savage, dangerous.”

Heather couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You think she doesn’t know what she is? That she had to go through the transition into a bear all on her own?”

David nodded. “Yes.”

She thought back to the diner. “Joe didn’t know anything about it. What if there hasn’t been a bear attack?”

“What? Out of the entire forest, she only found me?”

“Think about it. If it’s a shifter and you said it is, then what if … you’re the first thing she doesn’t know or understand. As wolves, our scent is strong. Humans, she’d know, right? If she has transitioned recently, it means she has to be like a foster kid, maybe?” Heather was trying to think of all the logical explanations as to why a bear would attack a wolf, but no one else. Had David pushed her buttons, or was it deeper than that?

“Yeah, and that’s what bothers me. How did a bear end up in foster care?” David asked. “It’s the worst place for a shifter to be. Any shifter.”

She nibbled on her lip. “We’ve got to go and talk to Joe.”

“I haven’t said a thing to Caleb and the others. I’ve got to find her.”

“And do what?” Heather asked. “I get that you want to find this woman, but she attacked you. She is going to keep on attacking you because you’re a shifter. She doesn’t know what that means. The only chance you have of finding her and bringing her to safety is to get Joe. He’s a bear. He’ll be able to handle her. She’d scent him.”

David sighed. “You’re talking sense.”

“We need to do this,” Heather said.

“You’re pissed at me?”

“Yeah, I am. Attack or not, you shouldn’t have kept pieces of the puzzle like that from anyone.” She growled. “There’s a young woman out there, probably frightened. In between turning, I bet she’s freaking out, which in turn is only enhancing the change. Bones breaking, wicked senses going off, and feelings she’s not accustomed to. It’s a vicious cycle. One she can’t break and you’d probably find it’s killing her, piece by piece.”

“There’s also the chance that with prolonged exposure to her bear and no guidance, she could go rogue. I mean, I swore she was trying to fucking eat me.”

“Nobody, man or woman, deserves to be killed due to error,” Heather said.

“You’re right.” David sighed. “Go and wait in the car. I’ll talk to Caleb.”

“You don’t want me to come in with you?” she asked.

“I’d rather my mate not see my alpha hand my ass to me.”

She couldn’t help but chuckle but walked over to the car. Heather didn’t need to see Caleb’s anger. She heard him. His rage was clear. The sound of his voice echoed through the house, reaching her where she stood by the cars.

“You’re not going alone,” David said, coming out of the house, following behind a pissed-off-looking Caleb.

“You’re right. I’m taking your mate with me. Maybe then, you’ll learn to do something right for a change.” Caleb turned to her. “Get in the car.”

Fear raced down her spine. He was the alpha. Her new alpha. David nodded at her, and seeing as he was her mate, it was his will she followed, even if she didn’t want to fight the alpha.

After climbing into the car, Caleb got behind the wheel.

“Did I mention how much I hate these things?” Heather asked.

“No.”

He pulled out of the drive, heading down toward the main road that would take them into town. She held on to the handle at the side of the door, hoping Caleb didn’t kill them before they got to Joe. He drove even more erratically than her uncle.

“He meant well,” she said.

Caleb spun the car and they came to a stop just before the main road right in front of them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Caleb taking several deep breaths.

“Are you okay?”

“No.”

“He … he meant well.” She’d defend her mate until her last breath.

“A rogue bear is a dangerous thing, Heather. I’m sure you remember.”

She didn’t need Caleb to remind her.

“But a hormonal teenage girl who doesn’t know what the hell is going on can be far worse.” He pulled onto the main road.

“Far worse than a rogue bear intent on killing everyone and everything?”

“Yes.”

Caleb pushed his foot to the gas and Heather’s heart raced.

“She’s volatile. There’s a chance she’ll attack again and the problem with that is the further she sinks into the protection of her bear, the more of herself she gives over to the beast. It sounds fine, right? It’s not. We have to keep in constant control, including bears. This is for all shifters. It’s a delicate balance, a constant fight for control. Those not given the proper guidance can cause unspeakable damage.”

“Do you think it’s too late for her?” Heather asked.

“I don’t know. The bear I heard, it was … animalistic. A few times I had to wonder if David had got it wrong and we were dealing with an actual bear as opposed to a shifter.” Caleb shook his head. “This is why I demand to know every little detail. Lives could be ended because of this. Now I’ve got to team up with Joe, and he’s going to be pissed.” He slammed his hand on the steering wheel.

“Why did you need me?” Heather asked.

“To make sure it doesn’t turn into a full drawn-out blood bath. You’re one of the victims of the rogue sleuth. With you there, Joe might be more amenable to talking than just getting to the fighting. I can do both, but I don’t want to kill him. We could have been good friends, and I know Bethany is still friends with him.”

Bethany appeared to be friends with everyone. It seemed to be her gift.

Arriving outside of the diner, a new wave of sickness hit Heather.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, Heather. I promise. Don’t panic.”

That was easy for him to say.