“That photographer up there is my girlfriend.” When she said it, Andie’s stomach fluttered. Girlfriend. “And I brought her here, and she has the footage that’s going to save all our asses, not to mention the goddamn forest, so give me a minute, Dade.” She squinted. “Fucking Wolves,” she muttered.
“Hang on, the ranger is a Werewolf?” Andie barked, laughing.
“Keep your voice down,” Dade hissed. “Some of us actually want to keep that hidden, instead of parading around through public property like some kind of lawless exhibitionist.”
“Oh, please, as if Wolves haven’t been posing for photos in Yellowstone for years. No one would even know about Wolves if you canines hadn’t been so reckless.”
“Reckless? I’m not the one—”
“I don’t have time for this. We need to get her home.”
“What was she even doing, shifting before a moon?”
“She’s young still. Spent months trying not to shift after her foster parents kicked her out.”
The ranger softened. “That poor girl.”
The other Bears wandered back into the brush, one at a time, emerging in rumpled clothing. Felix laid a huge fleece blanket over Delilah and patted her head gently. “You should shift back if you can, Dee. We need to get that ankle seen to.”
“She needs to calm down first,” Dade said, putting her own thick coat over the top of the blanket. “And warm up.”
“What about the other poachers?” Andie asked, worried more would show up that they wouldn’t be able to scare off. Poachers with bigger guns.
“I’ll fend off what I can,” Dade said, “but you should get her the hell out of here.” She tossed the keys to Cat. “Take the ATV. Don’t let anyone see you, and I goddamn mean that.”
“We can’t just take her through the front gate, there’s no way we won’t be seen.”
“I’ll move the truck to the churchyard,” Luke said, fishing Cat’s keys out of her coat pocket before tossing it to her. “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Cat tossed another log into the fireplace and sat next to Delilah, still a Bear. “You’ll be alright,” she said softly, tugging another blanket off the couch to drape over her. “It’s okay. We’re all okay.”
“She’s shivering,” Andie said, standing in the doorway.
“It’s normal for Bears to shiver when they get too cold, just like humans. She’ll warm up soon. I think the early shift and that damn trap scared her. She’ll shift back when she’s ready.”
“I’m just glad she’s safe,” Felix said, perching on the edge of the couch with a mug of coffee. Cat wrinkled her nose at the acrid smell.
“I don’t know how you can drink that stuff.”
“Because it’s delicious, obviously. Andie, you want some? There’s a fresh pot in the kitchen.”
Andie ran a hand through her hair. “Yeah, I would, actually. Been a hell of a night.”
“We just have to hope that Ranger Dade holds up her end once the footage goes wide,” Anita said. “If she pulls back and says it’s a hoax, or that the video is edited or whatever, we might not be able to pull this off. Although,” she said, smirking at Andie as she reentered the room with a steaming mug, “this was my idea from the beginning, but Cat would have no part of it.”
“That was different!” Cat retorted.
“Oh please, it’s exactly the damn same. I’m just glad I finally got my way, for once.” She tossed a cookie to Andie, who snatched it out of the air. “Nice one, Andie. It’s a good thing Cat asked you to follow us into the woods tonight.”
“Er… yeah,” Andie said, sipping her coffee. “So long as everyone is safe.”
“When is that footage going to go out?” Luke asked, setting a few apples in front of Delilah. At first, she seemed disinterested, but then started to snaffle them one by one. “We probably shouldn’t waste any time.”
“Already done. I hopped on Cat’s laptop while you were getting Delilah settled, I sent it to a journalist friend of mine. She was more than happy to take the scoop. I bet we see things start hitting by sunrise. Mercy hadn’t answered a phone call in weeks, but she’s a good connection to have.”
“Yeah, well, fingers crossed people get as outraged as they should, and get that new complex canceled,” Cat muttered.
“That’s right, you work for them, don’t you, Andie?” Anita asked, her tone barbed enough to make Cat wince. “Surprised to see you on our side of the fence, then.”
“I quit.”
“Really?”
“Yup. Lying bastards. I’ll bet half the county board who approved that monstrosity didn’t even know how far in it was going to go. They intentionally obscured the property lines in their presentation. Nothing technically illegal, but it’s sure as hell unethical. We just need people to agree, call the board, demand they take back the contract. It will probably cost the city a pretty penny to get out of it, though.”
“There’s already a crowdfunder posted,” Felix said, flashing his phone screen to the rest of the room. “It’s called Save the Applefield bears.”
Cat snorted. “They can save us by just giving us that stack of cash.”
“Looks like they want to buy back some more land around the reserve, like out by that churchyard, and re-wild it. Make the park bigger, expand it.”
“Well I’ll be goddamned,” Anita said appreciatively. “This might just be the best possible outcome.”
Delilah swallowed the last apple and stretched out beneath the blankets.
She’d shift back soon. Cat scooted back to give her more space and motioned for the rest of them to turn around. Poor kid didn’t need an audience, not after tonight. A shift sounded like a zipper made of bone, a dry, crunching sound, with the delicate echo of skin stretching over newly formed muscle. It’s why they were so goddamned tired after shifts. She could already feel herself getting sleepy, despite the abbreviated time that evening as a Bear.
“You’re okay,” Cat said again once Delilah finished shifting back into her human form. She wrapped the blankets tight around the girl and gave her a hug. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m so sorry!” Delilah sobbed, bursting into tears. “I didn’t even think, I thought I could just go and come right back, I should have said—”
“Hey, shh, it’s alright. Everyone in this room—” she looked at Andie. “Well, almost everyone in this room anyway, has dealt with this at some point. It’s totally normal. You’ll gain more control as you get older. You have no reason to feel ashamed or guilty.”
“But if someone had gotten hurt—”
“We didn’t. And even if we had, we were there because we care about you and want you to be safe. Now, let’s have a look at that ankle, okay?”
Delilah nodded, sniffling, holding the blankets tightly around herself, like a cute little Bear cocoon. Cat was so grateful that she was safe. She’d never have forgiven herself if something worse had happened. As it was, the kid was probably going to be traumatized for a while. Delilah stuck her foot out from under the blankets, hiccuping and sniffling. It was black and blue, and swollen as hell. Cat frowned.
“Can you wiggle your toes for me?”
Delilah nodded and crunched her toes inward before stretching them back out.
“Any tingling?”
She shook her head. “No.”
Cat looked at one side, and then the other. Lateral and medial malleolus intact, no obvious signs of breakage. That much was good. “Can you put weight on it?”
“Kind of. It hurts, though.”
“The punctures aren’t too deep. Felix, can you grab me some gauze from the first aid kit in my bag?”
“Do you think it’s broken?”
“I think it’s a bad sprain, Dee. You’re going to have to rest up, okay? You should be alright tomorrow.”
Andie coughed into her coffee. “Tomorrow? After she got caught in a damn bear trap?”
“We heal quickly, especially if it’s an
injury we get while shifted, and then shift back.”
“What, so you’re like, immortal?”
Cat furrowed her brow. “Of course not. But we can take more of a beating than humans can. One of the few perks of being Were.” She turned back to Delilah and squeezed her shoulder through the thick blanket. “You should get cleaned up. One of the boys will make you some food. How does tuna casserole sound?”
“Yes, please,” Delilah said, a smile spreading across her face for the first time that night.
“Do you want me or Nita to help you?”
The girl stood up, resting her weight on her uninjured foot. “I’ll be okay by myself. It’s already feeling a little better.”
“You can use my fancy bubble bath if you want,” Cat whispered theatrically. “It’s under the loose board in the cabinet.”
“So that’s where you hid the good stuff,” Anita grumbled.
“Yes, because you were using it all!”
Anita scoffed, and then grinned. “Well I know where it is, now.”
“I’ll hide it somewhere else,” Cat retorted. “Boys, do you want to get started on some food? We’re all about five minutes from ravenous hunger.” As they squeezed past Andie in the doorway, Cat’s eyes fell on her hips, and something within her stirred. “Andie, do you mind giving me a lift to your place? I think I forgot something there. I don’t want to leave them without the truck.”
Andie bit her lip and smiled. “Of course.”
* * *
“I don’t know what you left here, we both flew out of here in such a rush,” Andie said, pushing open the door to her apartment.
Cat’s body was like a coiled spring. Odd, as an off-cycle shift usually left her feeling sluggish and headachey. The slight sleepiness she’d felt at home had dried up in the icy winter air. “Oh, just my scarf,” she lied. She just wanted to be alone with Andie again. After tonight, she needed some peace. Delilah would be safe with the others. It wouldn’t be too long before sunrise, anyway.
“There’s some random stuff in the fridge, if you’re hungry. I’d offer takeout, but I’m like, super broke until I find some other work.”
“I’m okay.” She’d eat whatever the rest of them had left when she got home.
“I’m covered in mud, I’m going to jump in the shower.”
“Sure.”
Andie stripped off her soaked hoodie and tossed it into a laundry basket by the door. Her t-shirt was clinging to her breasts, scrunched up at the hem and showing just a peek of pale skin. Cat’s heart skipped a beat.
“I’m happy to drive you back when I get out.”
“Mm,” Cat murmured. She didn’t want to go home, not yet.
“That was pretty wild tonight, huh?” Andie said, stepping into the bathroom. She left the door ajar enough for Cat to see her clothes dropping to the tile floor, one article at a time. Cat pressed her hand against the door, wishing she was on the other side of it.
“Mhmm. You really saved my ass tonight, Zanetti.”
“I wasn’t about to let you go into the lion’s den without some backup.” Andie snorted. “Lion’s den. For Bears. Hey, are there WereLions?”
“Yes. I’ve never met one, though.
“What Weres have you met?”
“Bears, mostly. A few Wolves. A Jaguar once, named Micah. He was cool.” The sound of water trickled under the door. “Andie, would you—never mind, actually.”
“No, what’s up?”
“It’s nothing. Forget it.” A blush began at the base of Cat’s neck and started to creep towards her face. It was stupid to even ask.
Andie poked her face out the cracked door. “I literally ran into the woods and climbed into a tree stand tonight for you, I doubt anything you need is going to be more intense than that.”
“I was just wondering if I could shower here. There’s five of us at the house now, and we all share a bathroom, and—”
“Of course you can.”
“Oh.”
“I won’t be long.”
The thought of Andie naked behind that door made Cat’s pulse quicken. “We could save water. Shower together.” Even as she said it, she cringed inwardly. Get it together, Cat, she thought, looking down at the threadbare hallway rug.
“I like the water as hot as it goes.”
“Me too.”
Andie pulled the door open another inch. “Come in, then, you’re letting all the steam out, and it’s cold as hell outside tonight.”
“I heard it might snow.”
“Yeah.”
Stop talking about the weather, you absolute nerd, Cat thought, still looking down at the floor as she closed the door behind her. If she looked up, her brain might explode right out of her skull - though it wasn’t really her brain she was thinking with right then.
“Are you planning on showering fully clothed?” Andie asked.
“No.” Cat hung her jacket on the towel rack and fumbled with the zips on her boots, finally kicking them off next to the white canvas hamper in the corner. She still didn’t have the courage to raise her gaze up from the floor. Then, in an instant, Andie was there, pressing herself against the fabric of her dress, pulling up the hem past the waistband of her tights, unhooking her bra.
“Is this okay?” Andie asked, kissing Cat on the neck so gently, she wanted to cry.
“Better than okay.”
And then, all at once, they were both stepping into the avocado green tub, the stream of piping hot water covering them both, sending tendrils of mud down the drain. “Soap,” Andie said, handing her a bottle of body wash that smelled like pine and peppermint.
Cat poured some into her palm, lathering it generously before spreading it across Andie’s chest and down over her hips, tracing her fingers over the curves of her body almost reverently. When Andie reached out and cupped Cat’s hip bone in her hand, she let out the tiniest of gasps.
Andie soaped up Cat’s body slowly and methodically, letting every speck of dirt rinse away until they were both clean. Cat turned around and let Andie massage the shampoo into her hair, letting herself melt into the moment and feel at ease for the first time ever. She was safe here, in this protected bubble, warm under the hot water that turned their skin pink with the heat, allowing herself to lean back into Andie’s embrace as she coated her hair with conditioner.
Then, Cat did the same for Andie, and then they were standing in the heat, their hands on each other, exploring every curve, kissing across bare skin and tracing invisible patterns across the sparkling droplets of water that lingered there.
“Should we…?” Cat whispered, pulling Andie closer.
“The hot water is going to run out soon.”
“I guess it’s good we shared, then.”
Andie stepped out, squeezing the water from her hair. She grabbed a fluffy towel from the rack and leaned over the rim of the tub to wrap Cat in it, rubbing her hands over the terrycloth fabric to dry her before taking another towel for herself. “Fuck, it’s cold,” she said, laughing. “Race you to the bed?”
“Hell yes.” Cat shook the water from her short pixie cut hair, sending droplets across the bathroom. She tousled her hair with the towel, keeping as much of it wrapped around her as possible. That draft from under the door was damn icy. She’d be surprised if it didn’t snow. They both ran from the bathroom to the bed, leaping beneath the heavy blankets and reaching for the warmth of the other.
“So what now?” Andie asked, but before the words were out, Cat was already ducking her head beneath the covers, her hands on smooth skin, her lips covering every inch of Andie in sweet, soft kisses. It was bliss, an enveloped, impenetrable bubble of calm. Whatever was going on outside, it didn’t matter. Cat pulled her legs underneath her to keep under the safety of the blankets, still kissing softly, zig zagging across the velvet skin of Andie’s stomach.
When she reached the dense thatch at the meeting of her thighs, Cat eagerly kissed, and teased, and caressed. She pressed with her fingers, gently exp
loring, drawing a gasp from Andie. She pressed further, and faster, still kissing, until Andie was gasping for breath, her fingers clutching Cat’s shoulders.
“Come here,” Andie said, breathless. “I want to see you.”
When Cat emerged from the blankets, Andie pulled her into a deep, slow kiss, her hands pulling at Cat’s hips until she was able to tease at her entrance. Cat moaned softly, leaning into the touch, driving Andie deeper inside, pressing at the most sensitive part of her. It was the most alive she’d ever felt, like energy was pulsing through every cell in her body, jolts of pleasure building a heat at her core. She ground her hips against Andie, her head thrown back, her breathing quickening, letting soft cries of satisfaction slip past her lips until she was rocked with the uncomplicated joy of it, the finality that was really only a beginning.
When she lay next to Andie, encircled in her arms, she almost wanted to cry with the overwhelming emotions. She snuggled closer, burying her face in Andie’s chest.
“Can I ask you a question?” Andie asked.
“Yes.”
“Did you mean what you said at the reserve, when you called me your girlfriend?”
Cat looked up at her. “If you want that to be true, then it is,” she admitted. “I’d be crushed if you sent me on my way now. Not after that.”
“Hell, no,” Andie growled, pulling her closer. “You’re not going anywhere.”
* * *
Andie climbed out of her car with a wide, exaggerated yawn. She wished she was still in bed. “Are you sure that we have to meet them today?”
“That’s what Anita said,” Cat replied, slamming the passenger side door. “I mean, it would be nice if this was all over.”
The old truck tore into the parking lot, despite the dusting of fresh snow across the recently paved road. Anita jumped out, waving at them, while the others climbed out of the cab. “Hey!” she shouted.
“I told you not to drive like that,” Cat warned, but she was grinning ear to ear.
“Lighten up, Sis, today is a day we celebrate.”
Christmas, Pursued by a Bear Page 15
