Page 37 of A Bear's Journey

Buck’s jaw flexed, but he didn’t say anything. One of the other pack members he was with gave him a sideways glance.

“There was one in front and two behind, and the front wolf was huge, with these yellow-gray eyes and gray-brown fur with one black streak right down the middle of his forehead.”

She reached out and tapped Buck on the forehead, and her hand didn’t even shake.

“Right there,” she said.

The rest of his pack looked at Buck, and Olivia could sense a change coming over them.

“You lunged at me,” she said. “I didn’t know what to do. Wolves never attack grizzlies, especially shifter wolves, so I had no idea what was going on. You got me on the shoulder but I knocked you off, and then the other two attacked.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head quickly, trying to shake the memories free, get them in the right order in her head.

“I was so tired and weak and hungry, but I got them off of me. I didn’t mean to kill them, I just wanted them to stop, especially because I thought you were going to attack me too. But instead, there were two dead wolves and then I watched you slink off.”

Buck’s face hadn’t changed. He said nothing, but then his eyes darted from Olivia to Jasper to Craig, and in that tiny motion, she could sense that she’d won.

“You watched as they died and you did nothing,” she said. “You goaded them into attacking me, and then you ran away.”

Buck snorted.

“That’s a nice story,” he said.

“It’s a true story,” she said.

“It’s bullshit is what it is,” Buck said. He puffed up his chest, drawing himself to his full height, and behind her, Olivia could sense Jasper and Craig doing the same, and they had a couple inches on Buck, easy. “I’d never put my own peoples’ lives at risk, and for what? To kill some feral girl? Ferals do a pretty good job of that themselves. They don’t need our help.”

“You’ve got that black streak, Buck,” one of the other wolves said softly.

Buck shrugged.

“And you were acting pretty odd that day,” added another one.

Buck turned to face them.

“You’re not going to believe a half-crazed grizzly over me, are you?” he asked. He kept his tone genial, his hands spread before him beseechingly, but everyone there could hear a slight wheedling tone, a note of worry, in his voice.

A big wolf stepped forward, going nearly nose-to-nose with Buck. Olivia didn’t recognize him. She didn’t recognize anyone besides Buck; the wolf who’d brought her meat and been nice to her while she was in the cage wasn’t there.

“Let’s talk about it back at the ranch,” the man said to Buck.

It was clear from his tone, and from the way that the other wolves closed in, that it wasn’t merely a suggestion.

“We can talk about it here,” Buck said.

“Do you fellows want to talk about it here?” the other wolf ask.

They answered in the negative and started to walk out, the wolves surrounding Buck in a circle.

“She’s a hysterical liar,” Olivia could hear Buck saying. “She just wants attention.”

When they disappeared from sight, Olivia collapsed into a chair. The tablecloth she’d been holding around her slipped, and the restaurant burst back to life, with people rushing everywhere, streaming out, and waiters trying to get them to pay their bills first.

Olivia ignored everything, slipping her arms into the shirt she’d been given and pulling it around her. Finally, she looked back at Jasper and Craig. Craig was only wearing a white undershirt.

“Thanks,” she said, simply. The arms came far down past her hands, but the front of the shirt went almost to her knees. Good enough.

At the back of the restaurant, she could see a fat human in chef’s white standing, looking out over the dining room, his face turning a furious shade of purple.

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