She began to panic, feeling him pull away emotionally. Why did she have to lash out on him? He’d only ever been good to her, stood by her all her life.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Benjamin. Please forget everything I said, okay? I totally understand your point, I’m just scared of more clashes after what happened to Mom and Dad.”
“Come on, Heather. Let’s go home.”
****
David and Reese had engorged on their kill. There was still plenty to bring back to the others, although nothing compared to the hunt itself.
“We should head back,” he said.
“No rush.”
“I don’t like leaving Heather alone with that freak on the loose,” David said. They were deep in the forest, far from home and another source of civilization.
“You heard Caleb. He’s keeping an eye on everything. He’s the alpha, so chill.”
He continued to eat but felt unsettled with so many miles between him and his mate.
“Did you see that bear shifter at all?” David asked. There were some topics he’d been meaning to touch on with Reese.
“No, why?”
“You were there so fast after I got hurt. I thought maybe you saw something.”
His pack mate had a blank expression. “Nothing.”
He was lying, but David had also been keeping secrets himself. Not only was it embarrassing being ripped apart by a female bear shifter, but he should have told his alpha every detail. Yet, it shouldn’t really matter if the maneater was male or female. A bear was a threat no matter what.
Guilt still haunted him.
Who was she? Why was she so fucking feral?
“You lost a fight. Stop making such a big deal about it. The bear’s probably moved on by now. If it had wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”
“Why do you care?”
“Because Caleb’s on high alert now and he’ll make our lives miserable. You can’t put ideas into that guy’s head, especially now that he’s mated to Bethany.”
“If you had your own mate, you’d understand.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? We waited how fucking long for Caleb to claim a mate so we could follow. You’re the first, so of course you’re on cloud nine. Brian and me, do you think we suddenly stopped caring, stopped craving our own mates?” He scoffed. “Think again. You have a mate to go home to at night. We have nothing.”
“Then do something about it. Now that our alpha has a mate, you’re free to claim your own. We can shift on will. Everything is different now.”
“Yeah, I got that part,” Reese said. “Easier said than done when I have to wait for some great fucking sign or fate or the gods to bestow me with the mating call.”
“It’ll come, Reese. Trust me.”
They were quiet for a while. An awkward silence between them. David felt for his friends. They’d had so many conversations about finding women and starting families. Now they felt left behind.
“How did you know? I mean, how did you know it was the mating call and not just blue balls talking?
“It was like instinct, something bigger than me. Bigger than my wolf. It was impossible to ignore the pull the lure of her scent, her presence. For over six months, I bottled up those feelings when she moved to our pack. I never knew I had such willpower. It was torture holding back all this time.”
“I just … I’m not sure if I felt it yet.”
“What do you mean? There aren’t exactly great pickings of women around here. Are you talking about the new woman at the diner?”
“She’s old enough to be my mother, David.”
“What? It’s happened.”
“Well, it’s not her. It’s not anyone. Just a feeling I got the other day when I was doing patrols.” He shrugged. “Probably just wishful thinking. Maybe I need to get laid. I don’t know.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be a downer. Thanks for coming out with me.” David stood up and ran a hand through his hair. It had been a strenuous run but the burn in his muscles felt good. Their wolves needed the hunt now and then. It was important to find balance as shifters, nurturing their human and wolf sides.
“Let’s head back. Maybe we’ll make it by dinner,” Reese said.
“How can you think about food?”
“I’m a growing boy.” His friend shifted into his black wolf and darted off into the brush. It would probably take them over an hour to get home if they kept up a punishing pace. Tonight, it would take longer as they’d already spent a lot of energy during the trip and hunt. Reese was right, of course, Heather was being taken care of back home. He had nothing to worry about.
They weren’t even halfway into their trek when he came across a familiar scent. He came to an abrupt standstill, testing the air and ground, pawing at the leaf litter. It was the maneater, he’d know that scent anywhere. Where was it?