Page 57 of Craving Chaos

Now, I’m standing with my dick out, wondering if this is seriously how I die.

Slowly, I tuck myself back in my pants and turn around. The bear has his eyes trained on me like a pit boss watching a card counter.

Adrenaline surges in my veins.

I have no weapons. I had to leave the ax at the tree so I could carry the wood back. I’m not too far from the cabin but far enough that I’ll never make it. The bear is thirty yards away. He can build up one hell of a head of steam in that distance.

The best thing I can think to do is to go up. Some bears climb trees, and this could be one of them, but there’s no better option, especially when the tree right next to me has a branch low enough for me to reach.

I slowly move around to the back side and pull myself up. The bear makes an irritated grunt and lops closer. It takes all my strength to pull myself as high as I can go. I can only hope he decides I’m not worth the effort.

When he reaches the bottom of my tree, he sniffs at the trunk and starts rocking back and forth. He’s angry, and he lets me know by releasing a furious roar.

Fear rockets through me because I know what happens next.

I squint through the trees at the cabin, my ears still trained below me. Seconds tick by, and I start to convince myself that maybe she’s smart enough to stay inside. That’s when the door eases open.

My eyes pinch tightly shut.

“Shae, get the fuck back inside,” I yell with every ounce of authority I can summon.

She stills, then looks up, scanning the trees. “I’m not leaving you out here alone.”

The bear barks at her as though in challenge. I maneuver so that I can see him below me. He’s looking toward the cabin, then back up at me, trying to decide on the easiest target. When I look back to see what Shae’s doing, she’s gone. My fingers tighten around the tree branch I’ve been holding, wishing it were her neck I was throttling instead. She’s going to get herself killed.

“I swear to Christ, Shae. Get the fuck back inside,” I roar.

The bear roars.

Shae ignores both of us.

She scurries into the open from the side of the building with our pickax in one hand and all three of our extra kills in the other.

“Here, bear,” she calls, waving the carcasses in the air. “You’re hungry? I have food here.”

The bear lifts his snout and sniffs the air.

Shit.

He’s interested. I’m guessing it’s for the same reason he hasn’t come up here for me. He’s hungry and tired and doesn’t have the energy for much of a fight. Would he have come up after me if Shae hadn’t appeared? I can’t say, but given the option, he’s clearly open to something easier.

“Come on. You want a snack? Here you go.” She tosses the animals in the opposite direction of my tree.

My heart thunders in my ears as I watch helplessly.

The bear sniffs the air again, then stalks warily toward the kills. With each step he takes away from me, I grow more anxious. I want to fuss at Shae to go inside now that she’s done her part, but I don’t want to distract him in any way, nor do I want her fleeing to trigger his predatorial instinct to chase. I have to sit quietly in place and pray that the giant beast takes the food and leaves us long enough that we can both get safely back inside.

When he finally reaches the bait after what feels like a goddamn eternity, he prods one with his snout. He’s closer to me than he is Shae, but she’s on the ground.

Come on, you bastard. Take it and run.

I hate this.

I hate this so fucking much, and if something happens to Shae, I’ll never forgive myself.

The first twinge of panic I’ve ever experienced in my life starts to constrict around my throat when the bear scoops up the kills in his mouth. He barks as if announcing that the meat is his now then sways as if shifting his weight to run. Except he doesn’t. He drops his head, shifts his weight again, then charges right at Shae.

CHAPTER 32

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