Page 19 of A Bear's Journey

“...On Saturday night?”

Craig watched from the corners of his eyes, facing Jasper who was obviously doing the same.

Thank god for shifter hearing, he thought.

“Where is it?” Olivia said.

Craig shoved more croissant into his mouth. The taste barely even registered, and that made him even madder at the guy who was talking to Olivia.

Why not just wreck everything?He thought. If we can’t have her, why bother with anything? Why not just run off into the woods and be feral forever?

“The Double Moon Ranch,” the guy said. “Starts at eight, but we could get dinner somewhere in Long Prairie first.”

Olivia ran one hand through her hair, and Craig thought that she shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

She allegedly killed two wolves and this asshole wants to take her back to a town full of wolves? He thought.

Craig shoved the rest of the croissant into his mouth and chewed it furiously. He was dimly aware of the satisfying, buttery way that it just barely crunched between his teeth, but he couldn’t pay attention to it.

“Or we could grab dinner here,” the guy said.

“I bet my parents would love to see you,” she said. “Give my mom more than just the three of us to cook for.”

Across the table, Jasper was staring into his coffee like he could light it on fire with his mind.

He’s already met her parents,Craig thought. He clenched his jaw, out of croissant to gobble.

“That would be great,” the guy said. “I’ll eat your mom’s cooking any time I’ve got the chance.”

They’re practically engaged, thought Craig. They’re going to get married and have a bunch of babies and then find a third person and be super happy and none of it is going to involve us at all.

“Six o’clock?” the guy said.

“Sure,” she said.

He looked at his watch, then said something too quiet for Craig or Jasper to hear, and patted Olivia on the shoulder. They both got up, cleared their coffee cups, and left.

For a brief moment, she looked straight at him, as she turned to walk away. Craig gasped involuntarily, feeling heat and light and something molten rush into him.

He’d never seen her human face before, but somehow, it was exactly like he imagined. Jasper followed his gaze, and she looked at him too.

The tiniest smile lifted one corner of her mouth, almost a little smile of recognition. Unable to do anything else, Craig lifted a few fingers of one hand in a wave, still staring open-mouthed.

Then she walked through the door of the cafe, following the guy she was with, out onto the street, and disappeared again.

Craig covered his face in his hands. Jasper stared into his coffee despondently.

“What now?” he asked.

Craig just shook his head.

“Why would anyone invite her to a ranch run by wolves? In a town run by wolves? Is he trying to get her killed? Why did she say yes? Are they dating? Is there something we don’t know?”

“Slow down,” Craig muttered. It was too much: seeing her for the first time, only to find out that she was almost certainly lost to them forever.

“We have to go to that square dance,” Jasper said. He crumpled his napkin and tossed it onto a tiny plate. It looked like he’d also destroyed some pastries in a rage. “She can’t be there alone. What if she’s walking into a trap?”

Something doesn’t quite add up, Craig thought. There’s something here that we’re missing.

He almost disagreed with Jasper, because that sounded insane. Who the hell went to a dance that they weren’t invited to — a square dance at that, he hadn’t even known people still had those — to protect some girl they’d never even really talked to?

Then he imagined Olivia, in the center of a square dancing floor, the fiddler still playing. Wolves surrounded her, growling, their horrible yellow eyes practically glowing as she turned frantically from side to side. Just the thought of it made fire burn hot through his veins.

“Okay,” he said. “Let’s go.”

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