Page 40 of Spies without a Face
Another glance next door. All the shades were drawn, which meant I couldn’t see anything. At least the light in the bedroom window hadn’t been illuminated.
Yet.
Go to mate, my bear urged.
No. I stifled the urge. I wasn’t a spy. Wasn’t a stalker.
Who Pandora entertained was none of my business, but she didn’t have to lie to me about it.
I sat on the sofa and turned on the TV, attempting to distract myself with sports updates. Tuxy, what I’d started calling the tuxedo kitty jumped up beside me.
As I rubbed his chin and head, he purred.
“I wish I was as relaxed and content as you,” I said to him.
Petting his soft fur and listening to his tiny rumbling purr helped distract me for thirty seconds at most. My mind contemplated scenario after scenario of what was going on, and I ground my teeth.
Tuxy curled up for a nap beside me. I tried not to disturb him as I rose. I couldn’t stay here, knowing she was with a man and had to get out of here. It was time to let my bear out to explore.
I hurried outside and into my car before my bear could urge me to move my feet next door and ring Pandora’s doorbell. That wouldn’t come off well. What excuse could I give? Nothing came to mind.
After I jumped into my car, I drove away with a screech, making my departure more dramatic than I’d intended. My heart pounded as I clutched the steering wheel. Even my skin was hot and clammy.
This wasn’t good. Wasn’t right. If this was what having a mate felt like, I didn’t want any of it.
Did I have a choice?
I turned up an alternative rock station on the radio as loud as I could tolerate as I headed to the hills. What I needed to do was lose myself in nature, get far from Pandora and this enigmatic connection to her.
The Killers’ “Somebody Told Me” played. I growled and slammed my hand on the wheel. Did I need to be taunted about my unwarranted jealousy?
I found a classical station and tried that for a few minutes along with slow, practiced breaths. Several songs later, I arrived at the parking lot of a trailhead. Other cars were here so that meant I’d have to avoid people out here on the trails.
I parked and headed into the woods. The scent of pines and earth soothed me. The fern and moss lined the path uphill. Rain had recently fallen, leaving rivulets that flowed down. I had to focus if I didn’t want to slip in mud and fall on my ass.
On the ascent, I passed a few people and greeted them with a friendly hello. Once I was deep enough in, I headed off trail. Then I stripped off my jeans and T-shirt, removed my shoes, socks, and boxers, and hid them all behind a rock.
Initiating the shift, the magical ripple flowed through me, both uncomfortable yet thrilling as my bones reformed and muscles reshaped. Dark brown fur covered my body as it grew and lengthened. Claws extended from my growing paws.
After the shift was complete, my bear stood and paused. Then he turned and barreled back downhill on all fours. He was going back to Pandora.
Shit.
CHAPTER15
AUSTIN
Stop. You’re going to ruin everything,I scolded my bear as he headed through the woods.
Mate.
She’s with someone else.
Ours.
We can’t force her.
He ignored me as he continued downhill.
