“No.”Link shook his head.“Definitely not a fan.”Wincing, he rubbed over the slight bulge of his stomach.“I’ll skip it and just eat a couple pieces of jerky.”
“Are you sure you don’t even want to try it?”Ezra questioned, appearing concerned.“It’s a great brand.”
Scoffing softly, Link settled on their sleeping bag.“I’m sorry, no.”He eased a little further from the cooking food to get away from the smell.“Hard no.”Seeing Ezra’s look of surprise, Link fought back a blush as he admitted, “When I was young, I was playing truth or dare with my siblings.”
“Oh, no.”Ezra winced.“Do I want to know where this is going?”
Link shrugged, rubbing over his upturned thighs.“Well, my dare was to open a can of split pea soup and eat it cold.”Thinking back on that always brought bile to his throat, and he swallowed hard.“I ended up so sick.”The wind shifted, bringing a wave of cooking split pea soup scent to his nostrils.Link winced and shook his head.“Now, just the smell—” He paused and turned his head to get a breath of fresh air.
“Bummer.”Ezra reached over and rubbed up and down Link’s calf.“Sorry, man.”His concerned expression brightened.“Hey, why don’t you shift and head upwind to do some grazing?That way, you won’t go hungry.”
Desire to get away from the smell of Ezra’s dinner warred with his need to stay near him.
“Go on, Link,” Ezra urged again, patting his leg.“You won’t be far.A shout away.”Then he waggled his eyebrows and offered, “I’ll even brush my teeth after I eat so we can spend some time making out.”
Once Ezra had learned of Link’s love of necking, he indulged him often.
Link nodded.“Okay.”He grinned and started stripping.“You got a deal.”
Before changing, Link leaned over and pressed a swift, hard kiss to Ezra’s lips.Then he moved off the blanket and called to his musk ox.The shift was smooth and seamless, and soon Link rubbed his big nose against his mate’s shoulder before lumbering into the trees to graze.
Less than ten minutes later, Link realized his mistake.He heard Ezra loudly state, “Who are you?”
“Name’s Shawn,” a male replied with a mixture of cockiness and coldness, sending fear spiking through Link.“Surely Link told you about me.”
Link didn’t wait to hear Ezra’s response.He turned and began galloping through the forest, trampling small trees in his haste.Before he could reach the clearing where he’d left his mate, a large grizzly appeared in his path, roaring in challenge.
One sniff sent Link’s mind racing, and he fought back his panic.
Taleen hadn’t returned to her mother’s bear clan after all.
After another second of hesitation, Link bellowed, lowered his massive head, and charged.One thought reverberated through his brain—get back to my mate.When his heavy frame slammed into the huge bear, he drove her into a large tree trunk, making the earth shake around them.
Chapter Twelve
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SUDDENLY, THE FORESTgrew quiet around Ezra.He felt the hairs on his nape stand on end.Turning off the burner on his cookstove, he did his best to keep his heartrate from spiking.Whatever was coming, Ezra knew he needed to keep his wits about him.
Or maybe Link’s problems from work are making me jump at shadows.
The snap of a branch drew Ezra’s attention.He peered to the left as he continued to kneel beside his heated split pea soup.Stirring it slowly, Ezra watched a man come from between the trees.
Okay, probably not a human, considering he’s nude.
Yeah, never would that thought have popped into my head even a week ago.
“Who are you?”Ezra asked, raising his voice a little so it would carry.He knew Link wasn’t far, and he needed to draw his attention...just in case.
“Name’s Shawn,” the dark-haired man replied, his tone decidedly cocky even as he stared at Ezra with a narrow-eyed, chilly expression.“Surely Link told you about me.”The man, Shawn, smirked as he stalked toward him, waving toward his naked body as he did so.“You don’t seem surprised or concerned, after all, so you know about us.”
Ezra didn’t take the bait and admit to knowing about shifters.“Well, he certainly didn’t tell me you liked to streak in the mountains,” he muttered, rising to his feet.Taking in the way Shawn’s lip curled in disgust at his quip, Ezra really wished he was holding a knife instead of a spoon.
Not that I’d have a chance against a shifter’s strength, but it’d make me feel better.
Ezra had seen Link’s strength on more than one occasion during the last week.The way his lover could carry him around as if he weighed nothing still blew his mind.It also made his dick hard.
Banishing that thought, Ezra focused on the trouble in front of him.“I’m not alone out here, Shawn.”He hoped to give the man pause.“Link is just through those trees.”Ezra indicated the trees that Link had slipped between.