Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
“ Hey ,” Elias called out as soon as she landed on all fours.
“It’s okay,” Jezebel said, “she just wants to see her picture.”
Olivia glanced at Elias who was on his feet now. His brows were furrowed, but he didn’t approach them.
Olivia turned her attention to her picture. She was stunned by how well she’d done. It looked really good for her first painting in over a decade. She was definitely going to talk Daddy into getting her some paints and crayons.
A breeze wafted over her fur. It felt nice, but then she inhaled and realized a scent carried with it in the air. She spun around so fast she almost tripped over her front paws.
Something was out there. It was watching them. She hadn’t noticed in human form, but now that she was in her wolf form, she was certain. She scanned the area, inhaling deeply.
“What is it, Olivia?” Elias asked from right next to her. “Fuck,” he said a second later.
Yeah, fuck was about right. Damon would have a fit if he heard Olivia cuss, but he wouldn’t know she’d thought the word, and it was appropriate. She now spotted two black bears just inside the tree line. How long had they been there?
They each took a step forward.
“Get inside, girls, now,” Elias growled.
Olivia heard Suzette and Jezebel scrambling behind her, but there was no way Olivia was going to shift and leave herself vulnerable. She stayed right where she was, staring down the two bears. She could see far better than she’d ever seen in human form, perhaps better than the average wolf shifter. Damon had commented on that possibility several times when she’d pointed out things she’d seen on their run. She hadn’t been able to do so until after they’d returned home, so he couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t have seen the same things, but he’d suspected.
Elias’s hand landed on her. “You need to go inside, Olivia. Let me handle this.”
Olivia couldn’t move. She didn’t mean to be disobedient, but she was frozen, mesmerized. The two bears continued to approach until they stood in the clearing. There was no doubt they were shifters. No ordinary bear would move with so much purpose in unison with another.
What bothered Olivia was the fact that Damon had told her the bears in the area had extraordinary powers, including the ability to mask their scent from even the Alpha Protectors. A rogue bear had stolen Suzette from her home on her mating day and hidden her in a cave in the mountains. Brock had been unable to follow the bear’s scent. He’d found his mate by following her own scent.
And yet, Olivia could scent these two just fine. She inhaled again, confirming the oddity.
The two bears stepped closer.
Olivia instinctively knew they meant her no harm. They meant no harm to any of them. They were curious about her. They’d been watching from a far enough distance that they shouldn’t have been detected, but Olivia had scented them.
She knew all of this as if she were having a conversation with them, and yet all they’d done so far was stare at each other.
“Olivia, please, Little one,” Elias pleaded.
If she’d been in human form, he could have simply picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder to get her to comply, but in wolf form she was a formidable opponent against his human.
She still hadn’t moved. She was aware of Elias’s stress beside her, but she didn’t take her gaze off the bears.
One of them cocked his head to the side as if to say, “What are you?” It was an odd question, but it filled her mind as though he’d spoken to her out loud.
Olivia cocked her head to match his, thinking, I have no idea .
The two bears looked at each other and then back at her.
Olivia suddenly leaped off the deck, landing on the clearing closer to the bears. She had no idea why she did it. It just happened. She needed more information, and the only way she would get it would be if she approached.
Elias muttered something under his breath before he jumped down next to her. “Olivia, for the love of all that is holy, please go back in the house.”
She didn’t mean to be disrespectful. She would apologize to Elias later. Right now, these bears were more important. She took several more steps toward them at the same time they approached her.
“Fucking fuck,” Elias muttered.
Olivia could hear Suzette and Jezebel gasp from just inside the open sliding door. She took two more steps forward. She had no fear. The bears meant no harm. She was certain, but she had no way to convey that message to her friends.
The next time the bears glanced at each other, she shivered. She was certain she’d heard them communicate. One said to the other, “She has powers.” He didn’t say it out loud, of course, and she knew no one else had heard, but she had heard him as if he’d spoken in human form next to her ear.
She flinched, her breathing coming out heavier.
The bear who’d communicated jerked his gaze back to her. “Can you hear me?” he communicated silently.
Olivia hesitated but finally nodded.
“Holy shit.”
“What do you want?” she attempted to communicate.
The bear froze, startled, his eyes wider. His companion looked the same. “We came to speak with your mate and the other men.”
Olivia nodded. “They will be back soon.” She didn’t want these two bears to think Damon and the others were as far away as they probably were. She felt a sense of calm with them, but could she really trust them?
The bear nodded. “When we noticed they were away, we waited for them, but then you shifted, and you sensed us. No one can sense us. How are you doing it?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t know I could until just now.”
“Fascinating.”
Sensing the impending arrival of Damon, she looked behind her. Another inhale told her he was farther than she’d expected, but he was on his way. Arion and Brock were with him. The three of them were running hard. They were scared.
Olivia glanced at Jezebel who was holding her phone. She’d called them.
Olivia looked at Elias. He had no idea. He looked panicked. He ran a hand through his hair.
Why was she able to sense her mate from such a distance?
The bears tipped their heads back and inhaled deeply. “Shit,” the one said. “Your mate is on his way, but he is irrationally scared. We’ll have to go and come another time. Please tell them we mean no harm.”
Olivia stepped closer. “You don’t have to go. I’ll explain.”
“They are too scared, Little wolf. Next time.” The bears backed up.
Olivia rushed forward until she was right in front of them. “Don’t. I need to understand. Please don’t go. I’ll shift and explain.”
They hesitated.
“Olivia!” Elias shouted.
Damon, Brock, and Arion ran around the side of the house at the same time, and Olivia turned her attention toward them. The bears were right. Damon looked like he would kill the bears and ask questions later. He wouldn’t succeed, however. He was not large enough.
The bears knew this. That was why they wanted to back off.
Olivia had less than a second to make a decision. She howled into the air as she shifted into her human form. It was risky, but she needed her voice. Putting her back to the bears, she spun around to face the arriving wolves. “Stop!” she shouted. “They mean no harm.”
Fuck, but she could not see. Damn eyesight. She held out both hands and inhaled deeply, recognizing the moment Damon and the others landed hard in front of her. They were growling. Damon’s fear wafted through the air.
Olivia held up both hands. “Calm down. All of you. The bears mean no harm. They came to meet with you. They waited in the forest for you to return.”
Three growls filled the air.
The bears didn’t move. She was aware of their presence at her back.
“You can’t see them,” the bear to the left said into her head.
She turned toward the bears, hoping to face the one who was communicating with her and spoke out loud. “My human is nearly blind. My mate is rightfully frightened,” she told him.
“And yet your wolf has extraordinary powers,” the bear mused.
“I wasn’t aware of that until you arrived.”
Elias approached on foot. “I think she’s been communicating with them without words,” he said, breathlessly.
“Olivia, back up, now.” The firm voice was Damon’s. He had shifted.
She took a step back, needing to obey her mate. “Calm down, please,” she pleaded.
Suddenly his arms were around her waist, and he hauled her back, flattening her to his front. “What the hell are you doing, Little rebel?”
“Talking to the bears,” she told him.
“How the fuck is that possible?”
“I have no idea, but it’s happening.” She turned to cup his face with one hand. “Please, Damon, trust me. Tell Brock and Arion to stand down.”
She felt the shimmer as both men shifted. A moment later, so did the bears.
Brock gasped. “It’s you.”
“Yes. We are very sorry to scare any of you. That was not our intention,” said the bear Olivia knew was the one she’d been communicating with.
Damon flattened his hand on her stomach, holding her too tight. “Is this the man you spoke to outside your home last year?” Damon asked.
“Yes,” Brock responded. “Why were you lurking around my property?”
The bear responded. “We came to speak to you. When we noticed you were not home and your women were under the protection of one wolf, we decided to wait for your return. We were a distance back in the tree line, but then your mate suddenly shifted, and she sensed us.”
Damon’s fingers stiffened against her. “You could scent them, Olivia?”
“Yes.”
The bear chuckled lightly. “She could do more than scent us. Your new mate can communicate with us.”
“What? Olivia? What does he mean?” Damon asked.
“I don’t know how to explain it. I didn’t think it was strange that I sensed them until I remembered you told me that none of the wolves can scent the bear shifters. You said they mask themselves.”
“Your mate is right, Little wolf,” said the bear. “We’ve never met a wolf who could detect us.”
Damon gasped. “How is that possible? Are you sure?”
“That part doesn’t matter,” said the bear. “Your mate has powers. Powers we’ve never seen in a wolf. It’s fascinating that she’s visually impaired in her human form.”
“My other senses have always been stronger than the average shifter,” Olivia informed them all. “But that’s not unusual. I wasn’t aware my wolf had stronger senses than any other.”
“I suspected, though,” Damon pointed out. “You’ve been telling me you can see things I’m not aware of.”
She chuckled. “The irony. Imagine that. Me? Seeing things better than someone else?”
“My name is Surge,” said the only bear who had spoken.
“And I’m Thorn,” said the other bear, speaking for the first time.
Surge cleared his throat. “We came to warn you that my brother and his friend are once again wreaking havoc. We held them for the past year, but they deceived us. As soon as they were freed, they disappeared. We do not know their intentions.”
Damon drew in a breath. “Thank you. We appreciate the warning. We will spread the word among our leaders, increase our surveillance, and keep a close eye on our pack.”
“I’m sorry we don’t have more information. We are doing everything in our power to find my brother and his friend and stop them from whatever nefarious plans they have, but we did not want to leave you uninformed,” Surge added.
“Thank you,” Arion and Brock said simultaneously.
Olivia felt Surge’s attention turn to her. “You have incredible powers, Little wolf. Take care of her,” he added, his voice carrying slightly more toward Damon. “Thorn and I will meet with our elders and ask them if they’ve ever heard of a wolf with such powers. We will not share that information with anyone else.”
“I would greatly appreciate that,” Damon responded.
“We’ll go now. It was so nice to meet you, Olivia. I’m sorry we frightened your mate and the other members of your pack. It was never our intention.”
Olivia noticed he did not include her in the list of frightened wolves. She had not been scared. She had been curious and confused. “Thank you.” She inhaled deeply over and over as the bears retreated. Even when her mate gave a slight tug, trying to get her to back up, she stopped him with a hand to his wrist.
She continued to face the forest, curious to know when she would no longer scent the bears. It took longer than she expected.
“Little rebel,” Damon whispered in her ear. “You never cease to amaze me.”