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“I know, Ray. I do remember. But he seems genuine. He explained everything to me, and I feel inclined to trust him.”
“Hmm. Are you sure that wasn’t just your hungry pussy talking?”
Becca burst out laughing. It was nice to have some levity after a day that had given her emotional whiplash. Ray had that way about her. They not only bonded through harrowing and personality-morphing experiences but also laughed just as deeply. It was a balance that Becca felt was a gift.
“You’re mean,” Becca cried out mid-laugh.
“You know I’m right. It’s like he’s got a hypnotic clock dangling from his dick.”
Ray and Becca laughed and talked for nearly half an hour, with Becca reassuring her friend that she wouldn’t let herself get too close again if Noah wasn’t being honest. Ray said she trusted Becca’s judgment, though she didn’t completely trust Noah.
Becca understood why. She had seen the wreckage of Becca’s heart, a lot like a shipwreck. Why trust the storm that had caused it when it rolled in again?
They finally hung up and agreed to have lunch together to discuss further developments the next day. Becca felt a warmth in her belly again, one that was comforting rather than controlling like the pulses of her desire. She finished her tea and turned off the bedside lamp, pleasantly spent, smiling to herself as she began to doze off.
Just before Becca tipped into unconsciousness, she heard something scraping at the window. She initially thought that it might be an audible portion of a dream, but then she heard it again as her consciousness returned completely.
Becca got up out of bed, obviously yawning, and parted the curtains of her bedroom window. The sight would have been startling for someone who didn’t live within a shifter clan. A grizzly bear as tall as the window of her bedroom, scraggy and menacing, was tapping delicately at the glass with its claws to get her attention.
Becca groaned, having recognized the shifter as one of the clan enforcers. She pointed to the front door and hovered through the kitchen and living room, rubbing her eyes as she did so.
Becca opened the door to find Chris, a thick and intimidating-looking man, having shifted into his human form under the awning of her hut. She reached for the matches that sat next to the doorway, along with a lantern, and lit it casually, the way she had a thousand times. Light bloomed outward and illuminated the enforcer's somber features.
“This really couldn’t wait till morning?” Becca asked, wrapping an arm over her breasts to hide her nipples.
“There have been sightings of a rogue bear,” Chris said, unaffected by her complaints. “We have been instructed to inform everyone in the clan as we haven’t been able to locate it just yet.”
Becca gazed around in the dark, still feeling in a playful mood after having spoken to Ray. She had lived within the boundaries of the clan her entire life and was rarely, if ever, afraid to the point of sleeplessness. She raised the lantern and took a step closer to Chris, her eyes narrowing with slight annoyance.
“And what can I do about that?”
Chris was a ginger bear shifter with light blue eyes that looked like a sad, still river. He often had the same expression painted on his face, encouraging sympathy and gentility from everyone who encountered him.
Which was how Becca felt at that moment, even though he had disrupted what was bound to be a peaceful night’s rest. Her gaze softened when Chris shook his head languidly.
“Nothing at this point. We may need volunteers later on if he continues to elude us. For now, make sure all of your doors and windows are shut and locked. Lev and Noah are making a plan and sending out the enforcers to check on everyone.”
Becca’s heart nearly jumped up her throat at the mention of Noah. Her annoyance evaporated, replaced by that yearning, dull ache of need. Maybe Ray was right about the hypnotic clock thing.
“Noah is here?” she said.
Chris grinned, which on his face looked a bit inhuman. She slid her jaw side to side, then stepped back inside with the lantern. Shifters gossiped, and she was sure that Chris knew as much about her and Noah’s entanglement as everyone else did.
“Well, let me know if you need help with the search. Appreciate the warning.”
Chris nodded, the smile fading just as fast as it arrived, and he leapt back into bear form and was swallowed into the night.
Becca blew out the lantern, then placed it on the table near the front door where it was stored. She closed the door promptly, realizing she hadn’t initially locked it. That was how safe she felt in the midst of the clan, and even after Chris’s call for caution, she didn’t feel as apprehensive as she should be.
It was all because of Noah. He was haunting her mind even when she thought she’d cast him aside. He was in her orbit again, no longer out of her reach. She was enthralled with the idea of learning to trust him again, having missed the lively person she was when they were in love all those years ago.
Becca made herself check the windows of the hut and even went outside to check for any signs of said rogue bear. She did so barefoot and only in her shirt and underwear, warmed by the delectable memories of her and Noah’s affair. She had placed it in a securely bolted safe in her mind, but it had been blown open the moment he’d returned to town.
And her ardor had returned with a magnificent fury.
Becca was finally able to return to bed about ten minutes after Chris’s visit. After tossing and turning for a while, she decided to get up and have another cup of tea. It was a ritual she had begun after Noah had left, something that soothed her and centered her energy.
She sat in the kitchen in the dim light as she sipped her beverage. She was in turmoil again, but she really didn’t mind. Noah stirred up chaos inside her that she had never experienced with anyone else.
