Page 5 of Grumpy Special Ops Bear: Ep. 2
What is she looking for?
My growl rumbled deep into my chest as I tried to figure out what she was doing, and I saw her climb up the cliff into a dark crevice.
For the next hour, I watched her closely while she warmed several large stones in the fire and then found some brush. She removed her coat and slid the stones, one by one, up to the crevice. Then she dumped dirt over the fire and pulled the large branch up behind her, completely covering the opening to the crevice.
If I hadn’t seen her go in, I wouldn’t have known she was there, well, besides smelling her scent that was driving me insane.
I want to go to her, curl up beside her, and keep her warm,my beast begged.
No, we’re not doing that,I argued.
My bear growled and snarled, but I kept him in check.
Snow fell, and I glanced up at the sky, my black nose sniffing the air. The storm was almost on top of us. At least she’d been smart enough to get out of it.
But the sun was going to set, and the wolves would come out on the full moon.
The snow came down harder as the wind picked up. The second the sun sank below the ridge, a howl echoed through the woods.
The wolves were on the hunt.
I had to keep them away from this spot and make sure they wouldn’t figure out where she was. I got off my haunches and used my enormous paws to mark up any prints left by the woman’s boots. Then I stomped all over what remained of her fire.
There had to be no signs she was here at all.
Chapter 5
Trinity
I curledup around the hot stones. The warmth gave me some comfort as I pressed myself as far back into the crevice as I could.
Maybe it was stupid to hide here. They’d find me and trap me with no way out.
Fear gripped me when I heard something moving through the brush just outside.
Have they found me already?
I’d heard the howling and instantly curled up into a tighter ball, as if that would save me, but what I’d heard sounded bigger than a wolf.
Curiosity got the better of my common sense, so I scooted forward enough to see around the branch I’d covered the entrance with. A gust of wind blasted snow into my face, but I could still see the large animal shuffling around the base of the cliff. The animal had strange markings on its back, and it was bigger than a wolf.
Then I froze. It was the bear from my dreams. When the bear turned, I gasped and then quickly covered my mouth with my hand.
The bear was real. What was worse was I’d seen it right after running away from Price.
How can this be?
And has it been following me?
But that was ridiculous. Bears didn’t follow people, let alone stomp out the remnants of fires, as it was doing now. The animal raised its gigantic head, and I allowed myself to study it for a few minutes more. It was a handsome creature, with silky-looking fur. It was probably warm under all that hair.
I could just imagine curling up underneath it and letting the coldness leak from me, replacing it with glorious waves of heat.
I sighed at the thought, studying the rest of the bear. Its eyes were blue, but when they turned away from the shadow of the cliff, I swore I saw a glint, one like Price and the others had.
I scrunched back into the crevice as my palms grew sweaty despite the cold.
If it was following me, could there be more of them, different creatures?
