Chapter Fourteen
Aldrin
“Smell that?” Judah asked as we trekked through the darkness.
I had confidence we would track Posy down, but I didn’t know how we would find her. After the sun set, the wind had picked up and temperatures were dropping by the second.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the guilt. Had we driven her to run away from us? Not met her expectations, somehow?
Whatever we’d done, I wished she would’ve addressed it in a different manner. I wished a lot of things, but first and foremost, I wanted to find our mate.
“There.” Judah pointed to a small alcove about ten feet away. My bear kicked into gear. He smelled her before Judah continued, “Her scent is there.”
“Posy?” I called out as we closed in on the alcove. That was when I saw one perfect booted foot sticking out of the bushes.
Smart female. Away from the trail but close enough that she wouldn’t get lost. Shelter already. We walked over to see that she had a half-full water bottle and her pack with her. She was covered with leaves and pine needles, curled into a ball.
Saber crouched near her sleeping form and lightly touched her leg—the lucky bastard. “Posy, are you hurt?”
She stirred, her leaf blanket falling away, and my bear took inventory of her. No scratches on her skin that we could see. No tang of blood in the air. A slight bit of hunger, but mostly tired and, beneath it, a tiny bit of fear.
Not of us, I hoped.
“Oh. Hey. I fell asleep.”
Judah relaxed next to me. “Posy, are you hurt?”
“I’m…no, I’m not. You found me.” Her voice was sleepy.
“We will always find you,” Saber said. “Are you hungry? We brought food.”
She sat up and shook her head. “No. I packed beef jerky and granola bars.” A shiver racked her body. “Damn, it’s getting cold out here. Should we head back?”
Heading back felt like the last thing she wanted to do. “No,” I responded, taking off my pack. I was overwhelmed with relief knowing that she was okay. Why she did what she did was of little consequence right now. She was safe. “The sun is almost set completely. It’s safer if we stay here.”
“But it’s getting colder.”
“Well.” Judah smiled and sat next to her. “You happen to be in the company of three bear shifters. We run hotter than any wolf you’ve ever been around. But that’s only if you’ll allow us to keep you warm.”
Posy looked up, and a blush crept down her face and rushed to her neck. She took her time eyeing each one of us. “Are you sure? I know I ran off and…”
“Doesn’t matter now.” All of us sat around her. “What matters is getting through the night safe and not freezing. Let’s start with this.” I reached for the hem of my hoodie and pulled it off. She let me put it on her and, while it swallowed her up, it looked damn good on her.
My mind wandered to her, in our home, our den, waking up in the morning with nothing but that hoodie on after a long night of mating.
A bear could hope.
“Would you mind if we shifted? We could make a circle of sorts with our bears, and you would be more comfortable.
“We’re kind of like big pillows.” Saber took her hand while he spoke.
She let him. “I’ve never seen people shift into bears. Only the wolves I was around.”
“First time for everything,” Judah said, winking. “We promise to be gentle.”
She sucked in a breath, and her blush deepened. The sweet scent of her arousal filled the air between us. At least we knew the attraction and desire wasn’t one-sided. “I would like that.”
Part of shifting into our animals meant taking off our clothes first and, while we were used to it, and she claimed to be also, her eyes widened as she took in our naked forms. If we were in a different place in our relationship, I might’ve suggested mating her right then and there. Under the stars.
Once we were in our bear forms, she stood and approached each one of us. “You’re so big.”
She was in awe. Not a hint of fear in her scent.
She explored our bear bodies. Running her hands through our fur. Touching our mouths and noses, our ears.
“I’m getting tired.” Posy let out a yawn and, instinctively, we made a nest for her out of our bodies, and she climbed into the middle, settling in. Her legs curled up on Judah’s stomach. Her head lay on Saber’s stomach. One of her arms around my neck.
I’d seen and been to most of the countries on this planet. Spoke different languages. Tasted food with flavors that made me feel alive.
But there was nowhere on this earth that I would rather be than here, in my bear form, lying on the ground with my mate’s hand in my fur. It topped everything I’d ever done and maybe I would ever do.