Page 56 of A Bear's Secret

Chapter Fourteen

Austin

Austin wokeup and rolled onto his back, wishing that the rug in his room were a little more comfortable.

They’d all fallen asleep the night before on the bed, but it had become immediately apparent that it wasn’t going to work. A double bed was just too small for two shifters and a human, so he’d quietly gotten up, grabbed a blanket from the hall closet, and then gone back to sleep on the floor.

Not that it was comfortable any more.

Sighing, he sat up and started hunting for his pants, the ones that he’d thrown somewhere last night. He tried to be quiet so he wouldn’t wake Sloane and Trevor.

Then, with a glance to his right, he realized that Trevor wasn’t in bed. A feeling of dread began in his toes and began working its way up.

He must have gone to the bathroom, Austin told himself. Or gotten up for breakfast or something already.

Austin knew that neither of those things had happened. He’d have noticed. No, Trevor had gone somewhere else, and Austin felt a smoky blackness rising through his body, a gnawing uncertainty.

What if he’s having second thoughts? he wondered. What if, even after last night, he went back to the pack?

Austin’s stomach plummeted, and he cracked his knuckles, just staring at Sloane’s perfect, voluptuous outline beneath the blankets.

Then he inhaled, exhaled, and got dressed. He couldn’t do anything about Trevor if he wasn’t wearing pants, after all.

As he left the room, he saw a note on the side table, and picked it up.

Went to go get my things and say some goodbyes. Didn’t want to wake you. Back by noon.

Love,

Trevor

The note didn’t make the gnawing in Austin’s stomach lessen. If anything, his stomach twisted even more as he thought about Trevor, going back to the Red Sky alone.

Trevor can take care of himself, he thought. He has for years.

But he shouldn’t have to.

In his bed, Sloane stirred, looked at the empty spot next to her, then looked at Austin and smiled.

“Trevor’s already up?” she asked.

Austin showed her the note.

“He’ll be back,” he said, but Sloane looked worried too.

* * *

Just like always,Barb was already up, wrapping an apron around herself and starting the oven.

“Oh good,” she said. “You can make coffee.”

Austin got the coffee from the cupboard, measured, and poured. Then he noticed that Barb was still looking at him, her eyebrows raised, barely paying attention to the biscuit dough she was kneading.

“Yes?” he said, flipping the switch.

“Nothing,” she said. “I just like seeing you happy. I always did like that Trevor.”

Austin waited for a moment, thinking that it was too easy. There was a but coming: I always did like that Trevor, but you know you can’t be together. I always did like that Trevor, but you know he’s a wolf and you’re a bear and that will never work.

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