It was still on fire. I could feel the heat blazing off it.
More falling snow landed on my face. When I looked up, I found the dark sky filled with it.
I was screwed.
So, so screwed.
Even making the trek back to Cub Lake in that weather was going to be nearly impossible. And if I went back to Cub Lake, my fiancé would definitely find me.
The trees rustled again, and I looked over in time to watch Bo’s giant grizzly form pad over to my car. He ignored the engine fire and bumped the button to open the trunk with his muzzle. When it rose slowly, he ducked his head to avoid getting hit.
How the battery on it was still functioning, I didn’t know.
Maybe it reallywascursed.
Bo grabbed my hastily-packed duffel bag between his teeth, and without a word, ambled back to the bushes he’d broken his way through.
Asshole.
If walking in the other direction had been a possibility, I would’ve done exactly that. Clothes be damned.
But the snow was falling thicker by the minute.
Leaving wasn’t an option.
So, I silently followed the monstrous grizzly through the forest, walking in his massive footprints so I didn’t end up stuck in the snow up to my knees. I wasn’t short for a woman, coming in around 5’8”, but I had nothing on a six-and-a-half-foot shifter. Let alone a grizzly bear. I’d definitely take advantage of the tracks he’d left.
We only walked through the forest for a few minutes before his cabin came into view. I’d seen it once before, but the falling snow mostly concealed its appearance from me this time. From what I remembered, it was made of thick, rough logs that had seen better days.
Much better days.
The entire building had been in horrible shape, even for a who-knew-how-old one bedroom cabin far from civilization.
That was five years ago, so I assumed Bo had fixed it up at least a little. That was his plan. He hadn’t qualified for any of his clan’s money after he refused an arranged mating, so he’d been making do.
Back then, I’d been so jealous he could turn down the arrangement that I started a massive argument with him.
Then again, fights usually started between us even without any jealousy to instigate them.
The snow was falling so hard I could hardly see the bear’s footprints when we reached an opening that looked like… a garage.
That was definitely new.
Bo must’ve added it on. He’d done construction as a teenager, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch to think he could manage it. It probably didn’t look great, but when you lived in the middle of nowhere, looks didn’t really matter.
A blast of heat hit me as I stepped inside the garage, wiping melty snow off my face and looking around.
Maybe it did look good.
The garage was wide enough to fit three cars. The floors were level and looked awesome, done in something fancier than I’d seen in the skulk’s neighborhood.
Though Ihadbeen known to avoid the alpha’s mansion. So I couldn’t say it wasn’t more elegant.
The walls of Bo’s garage were even too, and painted a grayish-white color that was decent at hiding scuffs.
His truck was just as old and shitty as I remembered, but he’d taken pride in that ancient thing since the day he’d gotten it. Him and my brother, Artie, had spent endless hours working on their crappy trucks together during their last two years of high school.
Of course, Artie had moved to Scale Ridge to escape the skulk immediately after graduation. He’d only been back home to visit twice. Once for our mom’s funeral, and once to help Ambrose move. He’d gotten married to a nice human woman the year before, but he hadn’t invited me.
