Were Bears Dare To Tread
Page 4
Nebi thundered up to Chris, swiping at him in the same manner that they had play-fought all their lives. By that time, he had calmed down to some semblance of sanity, but his blood still ran like molten lava through his veins. She was able to help him work out his aggression while staying out of the way of his gigantic paws by being nimble and fast. Eventually, Chris calmed completely, panting on the forest floor beside Nebi. They shifted to their human forms once the emotions settled down.
“Okay, so tell me what that was all about. I haven’t seen you so crazy since, well, I don’t know when,” Nebi probed.
“I just feel all mixed up. Angry. Petty jealousy. I have this fuck-it-or-fight it feeling that I can’t shake. I have never felt this way about a woman or a situation before,” Chris explained, laying on his belly, idly picking at the brown and green leaves under him.
“What’s happening? No one can get a word out of you these days. It’s all grunts and growls,” Nebi complained, looking over at her friend, “From my perspective, you have to be willing to be vulnerable to losing what you thought you most wanted, your freedom or autonomy, to gain what you now want, a life with Annabella.”
“This has all happened so fast. And I have been in my own world, consumed by these feelings. I should have told you that Annabella wanted to change her plans before you were able to take a swipe out of that carpenter guy,” he said, regretfully.
“Yeah, I am just glad I didn’t hurt him too badly. I just wanted to send the message to her that tourists are not safe out here. I guess I did that,” she replied, “Now I have to go make amends with Annabella and see if there is anything I can do for the guy while he is in the hospital.”
Nebi rose to a standing position, her face resigned to the duty she was not looking forward to. She made her way toward the back of the hospital where she hid her clothes. This was not going to go well, she could just feel it in her bones.
Nebi showed up at the hospital room to visit Todd, who was still talking to Annabella. They were laughing together and teasing one another. Nebi was instantly aware of the sexual allure surrounding Todd, her cleft clutching in arousal at being near him.
“Hey there! I am Nebi, Chris’ friend, how are you doing after your ordeal?” She asked, looking down at the bandaged man, then up at Annabella.
“Oh, I will be alright, only a few scratches and a couple love bites,” Todd said good-naturedly, winking at Nebi.
“Well, I am glad you survived that savage attack. I am always wary of tourists going up around Bear Lake and afraid what might happen,” Nebi said, reinforcing the situation to the both of them, part compassion and part warning.
Annabella looked from one of them to the other, noting their moon-eyes when they looked at each other. She took her leave, not even sure that they would notice her departure. She felt lost, alone, and not sure what the next steps would be to make all of this right again. So, she returned to her cabin to gather her things.
When her car came to a full stop, she swung out of it, her emotions in a jumble. She walked through the cabin door to see Chris, sitting there on her bed, looking about like she felt. She went to his side, taking his face in her hands, making him look up at her.
“We’re in this together,” she said, stroking his dark, straight hair away from his face.
“I didn’t think you would talk to me ever again after my friend mauled your friend,” he disclosed, “Which was my fault because I didn’t get a chance to tell her that you had changed your plan to protect the mountain and Bear Lake.”
“Well, about that,” Annabella began.
His face fell, preparing for bad news.
“I have to apologize to you about all of this. I never had any right to Bear Lake. You and your family had the legal claim to this mountain by adverse possession before my grandpa was a gleam in his father’s eyes,” she said.
“What does that mean?” Chris asked, not understanding the concept.
“It means because you possessed this land, freely and openly, for more than ten years, that I have no legal right to it anymore. It is called adverse possession. And because you have this legal right, which was discovered after my deal with the lawyers and bankers…I can get out of my contracts without being sued into bankruptcy,” she explained.
“I am the owner of Bear Lake and the mountain?” He asked, his voice disbelieving.
“Yes, and I want to enroll you in my dream of turning this into the Bear Lake Wildlife Preserve to educate humans on the impact of environmental encroachment, pesticide effects on bear populations (due to accumulation in smaller animals which bears eat), water pollution in the lake, etc,” she elaborated.
“Yes, I mean, of course, anything to spread awareness and stop this travesty…” Chris agreed, his sentence interrupted by her kiss as her hand delved around his shoulders, where she began raking her nails across his back in the most erotic way possible.
It was a very long time until they left the cabin, hand in hand, the two of them naked and happy as they made their way toward his cave, secure in each other’s love.
Epilogue
Where the first cabin was built, Annabella and Chris held a gathering for the grand opening of the Bear Lake Wildlife Preserve. It was a celebration by the wildlife of the mountain and were-shifters (most of whom had tried to terrorize Annabella into abandoning Bear Lake). There were a lot of apologies exchanged that day, a great step toward beginning the healing of the rift between the species. They forged ahead with a greater knowledge of their interconnectedness in the web of life.
THE END