Should he go in? The last time they'd been together had been a little strange. He'd been doing alright, he'd thought, making her laugh, getting her to open up a little bit. He hadn't expected that part to be so hard--all the girls he had dated loved to talk about themselves. It was getting them to stop talking that was usually the problem. But Kess, well with her it was like chopping down a tree with a spork. He had no idea what he'd done wrong besides telling her that he was interested in her.
Still, one good thing had come out of their talk—out in the fresh air he'd gotten a good chance to smell Kess' scent. To wolves every human had a signature scent: Kess' was spicy, like cinnamon and something else he couldn't name, mixed with the heady aroma of sunshine--not the mountain sunshine that dappled the trees in the woods where he and his pack ran. No, she was deep tropical sunshine, the blinding heat that made your limbs heavy and slow until the relief of nighttime. It was intoxicating to him, so different from anything he'd smelled before.
Remembering her scent decided him. He’d been honest with her that night—he did want to get to know her. He still did.
Pushing open the door, Cormac felt like he was being beaten with a wet washcloth. Way too hot. He was glad he never had a reason to spend a lot of time in laundromats. He shucked off his overshirt and walked over to Kess. She was wearing a tattered sweatshirt and sweatpants and looked like any other college student down to their last set of clean clothes. He realized he hadn't even asked if she was a student here.
She was reading Pride and Prejudice. He cleared his throat, but she didn't hear him. "Kess?"
She startled, eyes flashing up. He stared, struck again by their unusual color. "I, um, saw you through the window." Man, that was deeply lame. Maybe he should ask Finn for some pointers.
"Hi Cormac." She pulled her feet down off the bench. He sat down. And had no idea what to say. Great. The lameness was in full effect.
"That for class?" He pointed at the book.
She looked down at the book spread in her hand. "No. I'm not in school."
"You're not? I kind of assumed you were." She shook her head, eyes distant. "So what are you doing here if you're not a student, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Working. Today, I'm doing my laundry. It's a thrill-a-minute life I lead, let me tell you." Her voice was dry.
Cormac laughed. "Yeah, you're not really missing anything."
He'd just said it to have something to say, but the look on her face made him wish he'd kept his mouth shut. She looked so wistful for just a second and then the expression was gone from her face. He wished Burke was here to slap him upside the head.
"You headed to campus?" She gestured to his backpack. Cormac was grateful for the subject change.
"Study group. Just finished up. I was going to head to the Parkway." She looked confused. "Blue Ridge Parkway--you can drive it just to look at the mountains, but there are lots of places to hike and walk and commune with nature if you're into that sort of thing. Get away from everything that's bothering you." He smiled at her, struck with an idea. "You wouldn't want to come with me, would you?"
Kess looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why not?"
"My stuff isn't dry yet." She sounded tempted though.
"I can wait." He ticked off a finger. "Next."
"I'm not dressed right." She plucked at her sweatshirt half-heartedly.
He shook his head."It's the Parkway, not dinner with the President. Next."
"You're kind of annoying." She was smiling when she said it.
"Well aware of that. Next." He watched as she looked down, biting her lip like she was trying not to laugh. "Is that it?"
"Are you always like this?"
When there's something I want, yeah. Aloud he said, "It's just probably one of the last really nice days we'll get up here before winter kicks in for good. Living up here, I know you don't waste a day this nice. I'd hate for you to miss it being cooped up inside."
"What if I like being cooped up inside?" Her voice was teasing.
"After three months of snow, sleet and icy rain, I bet you'll change your mind. It drives my sister nuts." She shuddered at the mention of the winter. He'd been right. She wasn't much of a cold weather person.
He watched the expressions on her face as she turned his words over in her head. Cormac was amazed at all the flashes of emotion that crossed her features. She looked eager to go one moment and sad the next; her features hardened, then softened.
He thought he'd add another argument in his favor when it looked like she was wavering. "It won't-" He broke off when he heard his phone ring. "Hang on a sec." He pulled his phone out of the front pocket of his backpack and saw it was Burke calling. "What's up?"
Burke's tinny voice came through the phone. "Mac, we've got a bear on the property. Need you up here now."
"On my way." He snapped the phone closed. Of course, it would have to be now.
"Everything okay?" Kess' brows were drawn down in concern.
He nodded. He'd been so close. "I'm really sorry, but it looks like the Parkway has to wait. Family stuff. Raincheck, okay?" She nodded and he was out the door, sprinting down the street towards his Jeep.
Cormac made it to the Lodge in record time. Bears were serious business, dangerous and unpredictable at this time of the year. It was probably a black bear. But even a black bear, though small, would prove a problem to the pack if allowed to remain in the area. They’d need to relocate it to somewhere safe and make sure that nobody went near it.
Everyone was already there when he pulled in. Most of the pack had grouped off into twos and threes. No one had changed yet, all still waiting for orders from the Alpha. Cormac’s father, Alaric, was striding around giving out orders. Cormac went over to stand by Burke and Finn.
"What’d I miss?"
Burke didn’t take his eyes off of the Alpha. "Patrol sniffed out a bear in the upper reaches of the forest on the western side of the property. We’re going to see if we can’t scare it off to a better location."
"Let’s just get going already." Finn fidgeted in place. Cormac nodded in agreement. Now that they were all here, he couldn’t wait to run. It wasn’t every day that they all got to work together.
His father came over to their little group. The man was tall, as tall as Bran, but not as broad. He was more rangy in the shoulders and chest. But he was still imposing. He had chiseled features and the grey eyes that Cormac had inherited. His dark hair was threaded thickly through with silver now and there were lines around the keen eyes, but he was still a powerful presence that took up most of the available space in any given room.
"You three head straight up the mountain. You guys are on the bear's last trail. The other groups will be heading up either side." He looked at Cormac, Finn, and Burke individually. He stared especially long at Finn, as if to drive home the seriousness of what they were doing. "If any of you see or smell anything, howl to bring the rest of us." Alaric clapped Cormac on the shoulder and moved off to the next group.
Cormac led the way over to the copse of trees where they’d change. "I’ve got point," he said.
"Why you?" Finn sounded petulant.
"Because I’ve got a better nose, that’s why." He shucked off his clothes quickly.
"Bigger maybe."
Cormac grinned. "So you finally admit your, ah, shortcomings." And then he triggered his change so Finn couldn’t have the last word. It was swift, his body collapsing in on itself, his muscles and bones pushing out into new configurations. It hurt, but the pain was gone quickly, followed by an intense pleasure, like finally being allowed to stretch after being folded up too long in one position.
He raced off, his cousins behind him. They all knew this land by heart, could find their way through it blindfolded, using only scent as a guide. Cormac led them up, loping tirelessly, scenting the smells of the forest. Burke and Finn followed behind him so they formed an inverted V, also sniffing at random intervals in case he missed something.
They were halfway up the mountain when Cormac caught it. The heavy musky scent of bear was strong, and fresh. He barked once to his cousins and took off, following where the trail led. The bear was on the move; he’d expected to run across the scent much farther up the mountain.
Burke howled, telling the other groups they had found something. Cormac followed the bear, nose only for the scent that kept pulling him forward. He smelled water too. The bear may be heading for the stream to get a drink, or possibly to try to fish. He slowed his pace.
Finn shouldered his way forward and Cormac snapped at him. He had point and he knew what he was doing, but Finn was impatient. Cormac glanced over at Burke, who had also slowed. He knew how dangerous a cornered bear could be. They didn’t want to get in a fight with the thing; they only wanted to herd it out of their territory.
The trees opened up a bit and Cormac stopped. He growled instinctively and heard an answering one from Burke and Finn. It wasn’t a black bear that dipped its great head to the water, but a huge grizzly bear. He'd seen enough nature shows to recognize one when he saw it. They were much larger than black bears and far stronger. And, usually, a whole lot meaner.
Cormac could feel his hackles rising. Grizzly bears weren’t native to the North Carolina mountains. Where the hell had this one come from? And how were they supposed to relocate it without getting killed?
The bear lifted its head, watching them now. Cormac stayed still, not wanting to rile it. He saw that Burke was doing the same. But Finn was creeping forward to get a closer look or something--sometimes Cormac had no idea why his cousin did the things he did. He barked at his cousin, trying to get him to draw back and wait for the others.
The bear charged and they scattered. Cormac was amazed; he’d seen bears move, but seeing something so big move that fast was impressive. He and Burke dodged one way and kept moving. Finn ran the other way. The bear chose to go after Finn. Cormac and Burke looked at each other, communication flashing in eyes and facial muscles. If a wolf had an expression equivalent to dumbass, Cormac was pretty sure that’s what Burke’s look was conveying.
They ran after the bear, barking and growling, trying to distract the thing. Burke sent up another howl, this one asking for help. Cormac swerved dangerously close and nearly got swiped for his troubles, but at least the animal was no longer after Finn. It stopped and the three wolves circled it, trying to contain it until the rest of the pack got there.
The bear didn’t like that at all. It reared up on its back legs, letting out a roar that shook the trees. It towered above the three of them and Cormac realized that they were in a world of shit. There was no way they’d be able to herd this thing, not without losing some of their pack in the process.
Cormac and his cousins kept up the circle, running around the bear, wary of its claws and massive paws. It tried to move out of the circle, lumbering slowly and Finn snapped at it in warning. That was the wrong thing to do. The bear lunged forward, taking a huge swipe at Finn. Cormac crashed into his cousin, sending them both rolling, but at least their heads were still attached to their bodies. The bear was moving, running back toward the stream, Burke hot on his heels.
Cormac untangled himself from Finn and stepped on him as he got up to show Finn he was unhappy. Cormac barked once and took off after Burke. The bear had turned and was taking swipes at Burke who was weaving in close and then dodging away in an effort to keep the bear distracted until the reinforcements came. Cormac joined him, snapping his jaws at the bear’s flank and dancing away. The bear roared again.
Someone behind them yelled, "Wait!" Cormac didn’t take his eyes off the bear, who was still swinging.
"STOP!" Alaric’s human voice echoed in the woods and Cormac and Burke both froze. There was no denying the voice of the Alpha. Cormac turned his head to look behind him and the bear caught him with a half-hearted backswing, sending him flying across the small clearing. He smashed into a tree and crashed down to the ground, dazed.
Cormac shook his head to clear it, shaken but not badly hurt. He would have a stellar set of bruises, but at least it had only been the back of the bear’s paw. If those claws had caught him, he’d probably have been seriously injured or dead. Burke came over to him and sniffed at him. Cormac snapped his jaws with a click, indicating that it wasn’t a big deal.
He watched his father and this other man approach the bear. The man was saying, "Sorry, Alaric. He’s new to all of this and it just got away from him." Cormac wondered who the man was and how he knew his father.
"He needs to be accompanied by you at all times until he learns what he’s capable of." Alaric's voice was tight and clipped, almost strangled. Cormac recognized the restrained anger in it. "He almost took my son’s head off."
Thanks for the concern there, dad, Cormac thought. If he hadn’t used his Alpha voice, Cormac might have been able to dodge out of the way. But his father wouldn’t see it that way. He knew his dad would just say that Cormac should never have taken his eyes off the bear. They were both right, but try getting his dad to admit that. It was never going to happen.