11. Aerin
11
AERIN
“ T his walk is to distract me from something, isn’t it?” I have my hand in Mack’s and he’s leading the way through the forest at the back of the house.
Penny’s happy place is the grocery store, the baking aisle, to be specific. Mine is a slow walk in a quiet forest with no one around but me and Mack.
He’s walking much slower than he usually would, which isn’t surprising. So am I.
Walking and talking without panting like a dehydrated dog is starting to feel like something I used to do a lifetime ago. And stairs? I look at stairs and I remember the time when I used to run up them.
Now I walk slow, sit down often, and will almost always reach for oversize sweats, baggy linen dresses, and soft brushed cotton T-shirts.
“The walk is to make you smile. You like walks in the forest.”
I eye him, trying to work out if I’m reading too much into things. I do like walks, and Mack knows it. But the suddenness of his suggestion feels a bit too… sudden.
When I stumble, I decide it might be in my best interest to look where I’m going. A fall while six months pregnant would not be fun. Both the landing and picking myself up after. “That phone call…”
He gives my hand another squeeze. “Was just someone calling and hanging up. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”
“It could be the shifter from before,” I say. “The one who marked the tree outside the hotel.”
“It could,” he agrees. “But it could also just be someone who called the wrong number and was too embarrassed to admit it.”
Yes. But these little coincidences are piling up. Each thing has been small—except for the mystery shifter who marked a tree and left town. That’s a big thing.
Maybe I’d feel a lot less wary about these things if I had the means to defend myself. But right now, all someone would need to do was push me over and watch me struggle to get up again.
There’s a line between Mack’s eyebrows, and I recall his sudden decision to go on this walk in the first place, and I think there’s more to it than that.
“Enjoy the walk, Aerin,” he says, smiling slightly as he leads the way. “I can feel your frown.”
“You’re too observant,” I say.
He lifts our joined hands and kisses the back of mine. “Only about you. I couldn’t care about anyone else,” he says so cheerfully I can’t help but smile. “Is our neighbor talking to his horse again?”
I sigh loudly. “Every time you say that, it makes me sound like I’m crazy.”
He grins at me. “You are not crazy, and even if you were, I would fully embrace your craziness.”
I look toward our distant neighbor who keeps horses, and who, months ago, I heard talking to one of them. It’s been a while since I’ve tried eavesdropping. Mostly because I’m too busy talking with Mack on our walks to attempt it.
Now I have another reason not to try.
My powers.
Because if I don’t hear the animal-loving neighbor who likes to talk to his horses, it will be yet another sign that whatever is broken with me and my powers continues to be broken, and I’d much rather focus on this walk instead.
“Aerin?” Mack prompts.
“Just thinking.”
“About?”
We’re not in the habit of keeping secrets from each other.
At least, not anymore.
When I first came to Winter Lake, he hid the fact that he was the leader here because I nearly got myself run over by a truck running from Bennett when I thought he was the Alpha.
I was not as honest as I should have been about who I was, and how much harm my dad could have done to this pack if he’d found me here.
I smile at him. “About how things worked out.” I rest my hand on my belly. “And I can’t wait for this little one to be born so I can stop panting like a dehydrated dog and looking at stairs and seeing the devil.”
He laughs. “The devil ?”
“Maybe not the actual devil.” My smile fades as I look at him. “I thought when I met Shane, it would be the start of the life I always dreamed of, but it wasn’t. It was meeting you.”
Who’d have thought meeting your fated mate would be the worst day of my life and leaving him would mark the beginning of the life I always wanted?
He draws me close and kisses the top of my hair. “You’re going to make me cry, love.”
“I bet you never cried a day in your life.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong, I have?—”
Mack jerks to a halt, his eyes in the distance.
Frowning, I turn to see what caught his attention and wish I had never agreed to this walk in the first place. This forest, which I love, despite Shane’s mate, Bree, nearly killing me in it, is suddenly not appealing for another reason.
“Is that a bear?” I whisper so quietly that I barely hear myself.
It is. I don’t even know why I’m asking.
No. I know. I’m hoping that I’m just imagining this.
It’s not as big as I thought a bear would be, given this is my first time running into one. This bear is maybe 6’6 tall and medium size, not hulking at all. The fact that it’s downwind explains why neither of us smelled it, but it’s still nearly twice the size I am, and I heard bears can run fast.
I am not at the running fast stage of my life. In fact, I’m not at the doing anything fast stage of my life. Except panting.
Mack draws me back as he steps forward.
It’s a tiny movement, but a rumble vibrates from the black bear’s chest.
“Back the way we came, Aerin,” Mack says in a voice as quiet as me.
I’d fully embrace that idea if Mack wasn’t stepping toward the bear.
“But…” I snap my mouth shut and gulp as the bear turns to face us.
Mack nudges me back. “Slowly back up, love. I’ll stay here and make a loud noise if it comes close.”
That doesn’t sound like a good idea. In fact, it sounds like a downright terrible one.
“Why can’t you come with me?” I whisper.
“Because I need to keep you safe.” He speaks out of the side of his mouth. “And I will. Go. Black bears are shy. Loud noise usually chases them away.”
The bear takes a step toward us.
I yelp when Mack growls loudly.
“It doesn’t look the least bit shy to me,” I whisper as the bear ambles closer.
“Go, Aerin,” Mack softly orders.
“But I?—”
“You take care of Thumper. Let me take care of you, okay?” he asks, still not turning to face me.
I know he’s right. I know staying is pointless when my powers barely work and I couldn’t run to save my life. And I might need to.
“You’re not allowed to get eaten by a bear, okay?” I whisper.
One corner of his mouth lifts. “Okay, love. I’ll meet you back at the house.”
I have tears in my eyes as I nod, slowly backing up.
At no point does Mack look away from the bear.
When the bear swivels his head toward me, Mack steps in front of me, completely blocking me from view.
I retreat, slowly, as quietly as I can, each step careful as I try not to capture the bear’s attention. Because there’s no out-running a bear.
Not in my condition.
Then I’m out of sight, and I hesitate about leaving Mack.
The bear is probably very confused. It looks at Mack and sees a man, but smells a wolf. I’m debating whether to wait for Mack, hoping the bear remembers it’s supposed to be shy when Mack yells.
I jump, start to go back, and then I remember what he said.
Black bears are shy. He’s trying to scare it away. If the bear was attacking, he would run or he would shift so he could fight back.
Vibrations shake the leaves and branches of a nearby branch. Hopefully, it’s the bear running away from Mack and not toward him.
I can’t just stand here, waiting, hoping the bear doesn’t come this way.
I hurry back to the house, peering over my shoulder at the snap of a branch or the rustle of nearby leaves. There’s no sign of Mack or the bear. It’s just me on this quiet, early afternoon day.
Should I call Bennett when I get home, just in case Mack is in trouble?
The house is coming into view when an internal alarm screams a warning so loud I couldn’t miss it if I tried.
Someone is watching me.
I whirl to my right when all the hairs on the back of my neck stand tall.
Nothing.
No one is there.
The sound of my heavy panting breaths is ridiculous. I wasn’t even running, and I’m practically gasping. I wasn’t lying when I said stairs were the devil. So, I’m learning, are distances of more than a hundred meters.
I press a hand to my belly as I scan my surroundings, unnerved. There is no sign of a person or thing in the distance, yet I swear I still feel someone is watching me.
“Maybe it’s Mack,” I mutter, trying to convince myself.
Mack would smile as he walked toward me, not hide behind a tree, watching me the way I feel like someone is doing.
What to do?
I’m telling myself to stop being so paranoid and that this is all in my head, when a dark figure sprints from one tree to the next.
I stumble away, heart hammering in my chest.
And I step on… nothing.
My scream echoes all around me as I fall, instinctively curling myself into a ball to protect my baby. My head bears the brunt, colliding with rocks and earth on my tumble down a steep hill.
When I finally come to a stop, every part of me is sore and aching. My head is ringing and my vision blurring.
I swear, just before my eyes slide shut, that a figure is standing at the top of the hill I just tumbled down, staring down at me.