But now that it’s in our face, teasing us, taunting us, reminding us every second, it’s hard. It’s real hard.
Every kiss our brothers give their mates is like a dagger in the heart. Every hand held is a reminder of how much we’re lacking. Every snuggle is a punch to the gut knowing our mate is in danger without us there to protect her. Every I love you is a cruel form of torture.
Jacob is taking it harder than I am. He’s always taken it hard, even when it was just us guys, so it must be eating away at him now worse than ever.
“I think he’s feeling the need to be with his mate,” I tell them, keeping my own need out of it.
Mary pushes away from Cameron, but he holds onto her arm and pulls her back in. “Maybe we should be a little more subtle about the PDA.”
“PDA?” Cameron asks with his eyebrow raised.
“Public displays of affection,” she says with a sad smile.
“Not going to happen,” he growls. “Especially with you looking so sexy all bred with my twins.”
I turn away as they kiss. My bear growls.
I might be taking it better than Jacob, but my bear isn’t. He’s starting to go stir crazy inside of me while we wait for her to show up.
All last night throughout the rainstorm, he was pacing wildly inside of me, whining and whimpering as I tried to get some sleep.
“I’m not letting you out now,” I warned him. “It’s fucking raining like crazy.”
He didn’t listen and kept trying to claw his way out. You’d swear there was an emergency or something he needed to get to.
“I’ve wasted most of my life without my hands on this girl,” Roman says as he holds Bailey a little tighter. “I don’t ever want to stop touching her.”
The knife in my heart turns. Where is she?
I’m thirty-two years old. I’m done waiting. I need her.
My bear starts growling as he rushes to the surface, desperately trying to get out. Everyone suddenly turns to me as I squeeze my body and clench my jaw, trying to hold him back. I’m in the pool and waves are rippling away from me as I struggle to contain the annoying beast.
“What’s going on with your bear?” Cameron asks.
I shake my head and sigh as he slips back down. “He’s been like this since last night. I should probably let him out for some air. It’s been a couple of days.”
I hop out of the pool and slick my hair back with my hands. Actually, it hasn’t been that long since he’s been out. I let him go hunting yesterday morning. This feels like something else.
He’s still clawing around inside of me, growling impatiently as I grab my towel and wipe off.
“Fine,” I grunt as he makes another charge. “Let me get my bathing suit off first you furry asshole.
“I’ll be back in a bit,” I tell them as I grab my beer. I down the rest of it and then head into the valley.
Once the house is blocking the girls’ view, I slip off my bathing suit and let him come out.
He rips out of me in a rage and starts running as I sink down inside.
What the hell has gotten into him?
I watch helplessly from inside as he races up the mountain and charges into the forest, running all out.
After twenty minutes or so of sprinting, I feel the tickle.
It starts as a tingle in our throat and then lights on fire the closer we get. It’s like acid in our lungs. It’s searing.
But it feels good.
It feels like home. It feels like everything we’ve been waiting for.
It’s her. It must be her.
Her scent is filling our insides, driving my bear forward. I start urging him on, begging him to get to her.
Go, I shout as her scent fills me up. Go!
Chapter Three
Ivy
Day two in the tree.
I’m still hanging. I had pins and needles in my legs all day yesterday, but now they’re just numb. It feels better but I don’t think it is.
Good news and bad news. The bad news is, I peed myself. The good news is that it got washed away when I got stuck in a rainstorm for about six hours last night.
I’m wet, cold, tired, hungry, thirsty, and scared.
I screamed my voice away. It’s a hoarse mess and my throat is burning.
Nobody heard me except for a curious red squirrel who came to investigate. He screeched at me and ran away. I haven’t seen him since.
I should have listened to my gut and stayed behind. What was I thinking listening to Kindrie? What a mistake.
She laughed at me when I said we could die and look at me now. I’ll probably be a hanging skeleton in this old jumpsuit when someone finally finds me.