It wasn’t the greatest plan in the world, but it was a plan, and it would save her some money too. She just wished that she could feel better about having one, but the truth was that she still felt incredibly scared about it all. On the bike, she had felt rebellious, brave. Now, she just felt vulnerable and more alone than she had ever felt in her life. Still, determination would get her through this. Somehow, she would survive.CHAPTER THIRTEENMalcolm-5
Malcolm could smell her fear again. She was struggling to keep her shit together and he couldn’t blame her, but he had to consider what getting more involved in her situation might mean for him. Not only was she holding up his search for a mate, which might mean the difference in his becoming Alpha or not, but she was putting him in great danger if she was found.
He had never walked away from a fight with his tail between his legs, and he never would, but facing off against anywhere from three to as many as twelve bears wasn’t a fight he could win with only an injured female bear to fight by his side.
Still, there was something about her that called out to him in a way no woman ever had. How could he leave her to fend for herself with no transportation, limited funds, and ill-intentioned bears on her tail? Though he tried to make light of it, he was consumed with thoughts about the best way to deal with her problems while also extricating himself from the fray and getting on his way before he found himself too attached to do so.
As night fell, the two of them sat on the sofa in the tiny living room of the cabin and discussed her options. The first was to resign herself to her fate and just go home instead of letting them find her; perhaps with the protection of the clan around her, she could escape a worse fate. The only upside to that was being able to see her mother, and it was quickly dismissed.
“I thought I could just hitchhike out,” she told him.
“A girl that looks like you has no business accepting rides from strangers.”
“Strangers would be ill-advised to attack a woman who can shift into a bear and end them on the spot.”
“True, but sometimes they are too quick for you to shift. You’re enclosed in a tiny space with them and limited. You could be incapacitated somehow, doze off, whatever.”
“Perhaps, but I don’t have a lot of choices. Getting on a bus or plane puts me at risk of being tracked. I need to keep a low profile, and I need to hold on to all the money I can along the way. As it is, I’m going to have to hide my duffle at night and sleep in the woods as a bear to protect myself.”
“You’re going to be looking over your shoulder for a very long time, and it’s going to be hard to find employment without the right paperwork,” he said, but it was meant more for himself than her.
“I suppose I am. Surely they will give up soon, though. I mean, if they don’t find me right away, they’ll just go back and tell everyone I’m dead.”
“I don’t think so. Doing that runs the risk of you turning up at a later date and making them all look like the liars they would be. Even if they give up personally, they’ll enlist help to watch for you. I’m sure there are plenty of other bear clans around they’ll solicit help from to keep an eye out for their wayward bride.”
“Maybe, but if I can hide long enough that Trevor moves on and marries someone else, then he’ll have no need to look for me any further.”
“If what you’ve told me about Trevor is true, he won’t give up on finding you as easily as he will give up on marrying you. He can marry someone else, sure. Do you really think he’s going to forgive your embarrassing him, though?”
He didn’t mean to be the voice of doom, but it was important that she understand just how much danger she was in. He doubted that she had completely thought all of this through before running away from the situation. Then again, even if she had, what choice did she have? He didn’t blame her; he just wasn’t sure what she could do to be safe.
Much to his surprise, she burst into tears, burying her face in her hands and sobbing heavily. He moved toward her, pulling her into his arms in an attempt to soothe her. Her entire body shook as she let it all out, eventually letting it subside in gasps and sniffles.
Standing, he retrieved a paper towel from the kitchen and brought it to her to blow her nose while he went to get her a wet cloth to wash her face. She took it from it and pressed it against her face for a moment, letting it soothe her heated, blotchy skin and then taking it down to look at him for a moment before letting her gaze drift toward her lap.