Simon's bear reacted to the challenge and the thought of his mate in pain, and a red sheen covered his vision. But his better sense prevailed and he staggered back to sit on his bed. "I'll kick your ass for that later. She went out to the meadow, got between a couple of cubs and their mother. I followed her and when the mother bear went after her, I changed. Saved her. Then I — yelled at her for being careless and marched her back up here."
"You shifted in front of her." Ethan heaved a sigh and flopped into the chair near the door. "And then shifted right back? So now she knows you're a bear. Well, that's great."
"She would have died." Simon swallowed another wave of fury at the thought and searched around for a t-shirt. "I didn't have a choice."
"You didn't bring bear mace with you?"
He shot Ethan a dirty look. "Go pound sand."
"I'll get right on it." He yawned instead. "Look, man. Level with me. The kid's cute and she’s kinda funny, and right now she's scared and alone. Why are you up here, snarling and growling, when you should be down there explaining to her how to be safe in the woods?"
"I didn't trust myself. And I was naked."
Ethan laughed and held up his hands to fend Simon off ashe rounded on him. Ethan cleared his throat. "You hauled her up from the meadow in the nude? Seriously? And then yelled at her more? I'm surprised she didn't laugh in your face."
"I hate you so much right now." Simon rubbed his jaw, his beard out of control after the shift. He'd have to get Finn to trim his hair again, too. "Now get out of my way."
Ethan shrugged and levered to his feet, giving Simon the room to stride out into the hall and jog down the stairs. Simon paused on the landing, scanning the great room for a sign of her. "I thought you said she was down here."
"She was." Ethan frowned, edging past him to go into the kitchen and peer behind the staircase. "She really was, dude."
An engine chugged to life outside and Simon froze. The Range Rover.
Ethan cursed and ran to the office behind the kitchen. He stuck his head out. "She took the keys."
Simon leapt for the door, throwing it open in time to see the Range Rover rumble out of the drive and down to the road. He cursed, searching for the other truck, but the only vehicle left was a four wheeler. Ethan leaned through the door to toss him the keys and a radio. "I'll call Cooper back with the other truck. Go now and tell us where to meet you."
Simon gritted his teeth and ignored the pain in his bare feet as he strode across the rocky drive and jumped on the four wheeler. He tore down the road after her, heart in his throat. The Range Rover was a tricky old beast and the brakes were a bit soft. As long as she slowed down on the steeper curves, she'd be fine. He'd catch up and everything would be fine. He would explain everything. Of course, if she drove as well as she walked through the woods, he needed to hurry.
Simon stood on the four wheeler and roared down the road faster than he'd ever dared, listening desperately for anysign of the Range Rover ahead of him. Birds scattered and his radio crackled, the rest of his guys checking in with status reports as they converged on the road and the most likely place to find her. He couldn't breathe and his vision narrowed until he only saw the road ahead of him. The bear drove him to go faster, careening down the road, to save their mate.
6
ZOE
Zoe tried to make conversation with Ethan when he came into the lodge, but by the odd look he gave her, she failed. She went back to staring at the wall, trying to decipher the next logical step. If this were a role playing game, she should get out of there. Men who turned into bears heralded a lot of sick shit she didn't want to deal with.
As soon as Ethan jogged up the stairs, she crept over to the kitchen to search for the keys to something. Any possible mode of transportation. Nothing. So she snuck into the office where Simon kept his antiquated ledger books and snatched the keys off his desk. The gears ground as she tried to pull out of the drive, but she didn't care about the transmission. Simon could pay for a new one if it fell out.
The door to the lodge banged open just as she peeled out, gravel scattering from under the tires, and she careened down the side of the mountain. She raced away, terrified that Simon would come after her as either man or bear, and fumbled with her phone to try to get a signal. She had to call Tate. Had to figure out whether Tate actually knew what these guys wereor if this was some sick joke. Maybe he could pick her up. Send her a rental car or a bus ticket or something.
She wrenched on the steering wheel and stomped on the clutch to avoid flying off a switchback, and dialed Tate's number. She kept hitting re-dial, half her attention on the road, and waited until the trees thinned and she actually got a signal. The phone rang several times before Tate picked up, sounding annoyed. "Yeah?"
"You son of a bitch," she said, nearly breathless with the effort of keeping the Range Rover squarely on the road. "These people arenuts. Come get me. Come get menow."
"You shouldn't have called." Tate swore, and it sounded like he moved quickly. "Jesus Christ, what's wrong with you? It's been less than a day. Just sit tight. You'll be fine."
"I swear to God, Tate, you'd better —" She yelped as the car hit a pothole and a deer bolted across the road and she swerved. And then there was nothing below the car and she felt weightless, floating up until her seatbelt caught her, and she stared out the windshield as trees rushed up and then —
Nothing.
7
SIMON
Simon caught sight of the Range Rover's tail lights before Zoe disappeared around another corner, and his heart jumped. He could catch her, could bring her back to the lodge and explain everything. Once he got her warm and fed and safe in his den, she would understand. He clicked the radio to signal he'd found her and sped to catch up. Saw the truck bounce, then lurch.
Watched as she swerved to avoid a deer.
