Page 9 of Omega's Bears

I’m not going to let him get away with it. I steel myself. “Fine,” I tell him. “You don’t want to mate with me. I don’t especially want to mate with you either. But I do want to pull my weight around here. I may be new, but we’re heading into winter now. You want to talk about getting each other through the cold season and helping each other not to starve? I can do that. I can learn to build fires. And that will help everyone. You, me, and the others. But I can’t do it without your help.”

He scowls.

“Besides,” I say, “Jack told me to get help from you. He wants you to do it.”

Ryan heaves a sigh. “Get some wood together,” he says. “We’ll go over it right now. It’s easy, so you should be able to pick it up quickly, right?”

I know this is a challenge, and it’s one I’m going to have to rise to. “I’m a fast learner.”

Ryan nods. “We’ll see.”

We each gather a pile of wood. In the center of the cave, Ryan demonstrates how to stack a pyramid of kindling around some bark shavings and create a small flame. “Don’t block the air from getting to it,” he says, once the fire is going. “Fires need oxygen to survive. That’s why you can’t just throw on a big log and walk away. You’ll smother it. You need to build it up a little bit at a time.”

“Like this?” I stoke the fire with some smallish sticks.

“That’s right,” Ryan says begrudgingly.

We sit quietly by the fire, watching as it builds, taking turns to add increasingly large pieces of wood. The crackle is actually very peaceful, and it almost lets me forget the animosity between the two of us. I wonder if this is what Jack predicted, or if he simply hoped that being forced to talk to each other would break down some walls. Either way, he was right. For the first time, I truly appreciate what a wise alpha he is. Leo was the same way. For the first time, I’m not just relieved to be a part of this clan—I’m a little bit proud too.

I reach for another piece of wood. Ryan goes for it at the same time. Our hands meet.

I immediately pull away. Something about his touch has shocked me, almost painfully, like a burst of static but different somehow. I stare up at him. He’s looking back at me, just as surprised but with a tinge of anger in his eyes.

“What was that?” I ask. “Did you feel that?”

Ryan gets to his feet. He pauses long enough to give me his signature glare, then turns and storms out of the cave without a word.

What just happened? I’m completely at a loss. I look down at my fingers. I can still feel the tingle from where Ryan and I touched, and to my great surprise, I find myself wanting to follow him out of the cave and make sure he’s all right. But I restrain myself. I can’t be around him now, not when he’s angry like this. It could be dangerous.

I turn my attention back to the fire instead and concentrate on the rising flame.

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