Page 20 of Omega's Bears

“Jack didn’t order you to do it,” Luka points out. “He just said it was time you learned. So you sit here and watch me, and I’ll do it, and you learn.”

“Really?”

“Why not?”

After that, the fish preparation goes much more quickly. Luka has the whole thing clean of scales and gutted in a matter of minutes, and it’s obvious that he’s done this many times before. What’s more, I actually do learn. I pay attention to his steady hands and the steps he follows, and by the time he’s finished, I’m reasonably confident that I could do it myself if I was ever on my own and needed to prepare my own dinner. Jack was right—it was a good thing for me to learn. And Luka was right too. I benefited a lot just by watching.

Dinner is a magnificent spread. Luka fries up the fish with the mushrooms, which it turns out are safe to eat. Because of my catch, none of the men need to go hunting this afternoon, so we all spend the day around the fire telling stories. I learn more about the history of the Hell’s Bears. Jack is the clan’s fifth alpha—it’s stayed in his family throughout the generations. Although two generations back, the clan split. Some of the Hell’s Bears wanted to live in the city, and not live like wild bears. That explained why the pack was much smaller than I had thought. Ryan talks about how good it is to be close to his bear side, an idea I’m truly beginning to understand after my adventure in the river today. “Being a shifter is a rare gift,” he says. “I’ll never understand those who try to live like regular humans. That isn’t what we are. We’re humans, but we’re bears too, and we have to embrace both sides of ourselves.”

Jack leaves for a while just before dinner is served and returns with a twelve pack of beer. We so rarely have anything to drink besides water that it’s a rare luxury, and we carefully and equitably divide the cans among ourselves and drink them slowly as we savor the fish dinner Luka has prepared for us. By the time the cans are empty and the food is gone, we’re all feeling warm and more tired than usual. It’s a relief to pile together and feel the familiar sensation of one another as we descend into sleep. Even my anxiety about Jack and Ryan has diminished somewhat. I’m sure it will all work itself out. After all, these men are as close as brothers. They would never let anything come between them. And as I lie here in the dark, nestled among the three of them, I feel miles away from the worries of the past couple of days. I was silly to let this get to me.

After all, what was that Ryan said tonight? We’re not like regular humans. The animal side is more pronounced in us. It’s part of being a shifter. And part of being a Hell’s Bear is learning to embrace the animal within. And giving in to the pull of an imprint is just about as animalistic as you can get.

But then, why hasn’t Ryan done it yet?

I push the thought out of my mind and allow myself to sink into the comfort of my family around me. Just as I’m closing my eyes though, I’m jolted awake by something powerful—something electric—that begins near the small of my back and jolts outward in all directions.

Behind me, Luka shifts, and the rhythm of his breathing changes as his hand moves possessively over my hip.

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