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.”