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“No one has reported anything suspicious,” he said.
“Are you kidding me? Don’t you guys have extra sensitive hearing? Super sight? Something to let you know two strange shifters are crawling all over this forest?” Kirsten said, pushing her way to Henry’s side.
Ayden stared at her, humor causing him to smirk. Kirsten placed her hand on her hip, her brows pushing together in annoyance. His pride swelled at the way she held the large male’s gaze. Henry knew she was just as desperate to figure all of this out so they could get back to a normal life.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but the people in my village tend to hunt up the mountain, not down,” Ayden said, turning his gaze to Henry as a growl erupted from his chest.
Henry’s tiger paced, clawing to be set free. He didn’t like the interest on the bear shifter’s face when looking at his woman. Pushing his tiger down, he placed his hand on the small of Kirsten’s back, her heat soothing his agitation.
“Are you sure no one has seen anything?” Henry pressed.
“If they had, why would I hide it?”
“I wonder the same thing.”
A silence coated the space between them as the males stared at each other. Neither one was willing to budge in their stance. Henry could feel his tiger coiling at the thought of Ayden covering for the rogue bear.
Just as he felt his control slipping, Kirsten’s small fingers pulled at Henry’s side, and he redirected his attention to her.
“Come on, Henry, let’s go,” she said. “It looks like this was a waste of time.”
Henry kept his eyes locked on Ayden as he walked backward in the direction they came from. It was only when they crossed the clearing that Ayden turned to walk down the path. He couldn’t explain why but something didn’t feel right about any of this.
“Maybe the bears you saw were real bears and not shifters,” Kirsten said, bouncing Zara as she walked.
“They were shifters. Regular bears carry a different scent,” he said, putting his arm around her. “But don’t worry. I’m going to figure this out.”
If Ayden was lying to him, there would be hell to pay.
TWENTY-FIVE
KIRSTEN
Kirsten waved goodbye to Henry as he fired up his truck and headed down into town to deliver his latest completed furniture pieces. She could feel his anxiety unfold as the days passed, a fog that began to blanket his carefree demeanor.
After they visited the nearby bear shifter village, it was safe to say that they were hiding something. Kirsten considered herself intelligent enough to know when somebody wasn’t being truthful, and from the way the man danced around their questions, he knew more than he was willing to say.
Kirsten shook her head, discarding the visit from her mind. Today was a new day, and she refused to let whatever was going on interrupt the routine that she had created for Zara and herself. Walking to Zara’s playpen, she picked the sweet girl up and began getting her ready for their daily walk. Once Zara was expertly swaddled and secure in the carriage, she threw on her light jacket before taking the stroller and heading out the door.
Zara cooed as they made their way toward the forest. Kirsten kept her eyes peeled, scanning the path and surrounding trees as they made their way to the river. Each morning Kirsten would take Zara out for a walk. Not only was sunshine important for brain development, but she was pretty sure being close to nature was also good for shifter babies.
Kirsten could see the familiar break in trees just ahead and picked up her pace. The second the blue stream came into view, she smiled. This had become one of her favorite places to take Zara. They would watch the numerous different creatures that called the stream their home and feed the small birds some breadcrumbs. Zara’s eyes would light up at the sight of the small animals, making Kirsten’s heart melt at her innocent curiosity.
Before entering the clearing, she stopped, checking for any signs of a lurking shifter. Picking up a small rock, she threw it into the opposite side of the river, listening for any movement.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” she shouted. “I’m not kidding. If there’s someone out there, isn’t it just easier to show yourself and have a conversation?”
A breeze blew, rustling the leaves around her. Confident she and Zara were alone, Kirsten resumed her path walking alongside the river. She had never walked this deep into the forest before. The river began to open up into a wide ‘O’, which led to a smaller series of dips.
Kirsten felt a chill run down her spine. The once peaceful stream faded into deadly silence. Looking up, she met the eyes of a massive bear. He kept his eyes on her as he slowly crossed the stream.
Panic ceased her movements as she looked between the approaching brown bear and the stroller in front of her. Even if she screamed, no one would hear. Without wasting another moment, she grabbed Zara out of her stroller, clutched her to her chest, and ran into the trees. Kirsten knew she wouldn’t be able to outrun the bear, but she had a better chance of getting away if she used the trees to block his path to them.
There was a loud grunt before the sharp cracking of bones filled the air. Kirsten pushed her legs forward, unwilling to look behind her.
“Wait!” There came a loud, human voice. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Kirsten came to a slow halt, turning to see who had been chasing her. A large naked man stood in the middle of the trees. He kept his eyes on her, and she did her best to do the same.
