It had been a while, but I had little choice but to try. Remaining where I was guaranteed hypothermia. So, I pushed to my feet, wincing at the pain in my legs, and looked around for a place to settle in for the night.
The bears had been adamant that when lost, one shouldn’t wander around aimlessly and make it harder for searchers to locate them. So, either morning light would show me the way,or hopefully someone would find me, but either way, the correct action was to make that nest.
But the forest in this area didn’t seem to offer a good spot to work with. The only bushes were of the spiky variety, and the trees stood tall and aloof with all branches high above my head.
In the shadow of a boulder, I dug out a hollow with my bare hands and the handle of my hairbrush until it broke, which took a while but also served to warm me up. I scooped up handfuls of leaves and pine needles and piled them inside. Then I crawled in and burrowed down, semi-confident I would survive the night without too much damage to my limbs.
Regret colored what might have otherwise been a fun adventure. With adequate water and plenty of snacks, things were looking up for my night. Except for what I’d done to the guys. Whether they wanted me as their mate or not, they’d been so generous with their time and everything, and I should have left a note. Both out of consideration and, I realized now, for safety.
In the morning, I would reassess the situation and either start back or remain here hoping to be found. Either way, I owed three bears and possibly a whole rescue team an apology. Maybe the pack was right about me.
Chapter Fourteen
Aldrin
“Smell that?” Judah asked as we trekked through the darkness.
I had confidence we would track Posy down, but I didn’t know how we would find her. After the sun set, the wind had picked up and temperatures were dropping by the second.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the guilt. Had we driven her to run away from us? Not met her expectations, somehow?
Whatever we’d done, I wished she would’ve addressed it in a different manner. I wished a lot of things, but first and foremost, I wanted to find our mate.
“There.” Judah pointed to a small alcove about ten feet away. My bear kicked into gear. He smelled her before Judah continued, “Her scent is there.”
“Posy?” I called out as we closed in on the alcove. That was when I saw one perfect booted foot sticking out of the bushes.
Smart female. Away from the trail but close enough that she wouldn’t get lost. Shelter already. We walked over to see that she had a half-full water bottle and her pack with her. She was covered with leaves and pine needles, curled into a ball.
Saber crouched near her sleeping form and lightly touched her leg—the lucky bastard. “Posy, are you hurt?”
She stirred, her leaf blanket falling away, and my bear took inventory of her. No scratches on her skin that we could see. No tang of blood in the air. A slight bit of hunger, but mostly tired and, beneath it, a tiny bit of fear.
Not of us, I hoped.
“Oh. Hey. I fell asleep.”
Judah relaxed next to me. “Posy, are you hurt?”
“I’m…no, I’m not. You found me.” Her voice was sleepy.
“We will always find you,” Saber said. “Are you hungry? We brought food.”
She sat up and shook her head. “No. I packed beef jerky and granola bars.” A shiver racked her body. “Damn, it’s getting cold out here. Should we head back?”
Heading back felt like the last thing she wanted to do. “No,” I responded, taking off my pack. I was overwhelmed with relief knowing that she was okay. Why she did what she did was of little consequence right now. She was safe. “The sun is almost set completely. It’s safer if we stay here.”
“But it’s getting colder.”
“Well.” Judah smiled and sat next to her. “You happen to be in the company of three bear shifters. We run hotter than any wolf you’ve ever been around. But that’s only if you’ll allow us to keep you warm.”
Posy looked up, and a blush crept down her face and rushed to her neck. She took her time eyeing each one of us. “Are you sure? I know I ran off and…”
“Doesn’t matter now.” All of us sat around her. “What matters is getting through the night safe and not freezing. Let’s start with this.” I reached for the hem of my hoodie and pulled it off. She let me put it on her and, while it swallowed her up, it looked damn good on her.
My mind wandered to her, in our home, our den, waking up in the morning with nothing but that hoodie on after a long night of mating.
A bear could hope.
