Page 9 of Goldie and Her Bears (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 3)

I climbed out of Jasper’s bed and flipped on the light. Carefully, I dressed in my own clothes and slipped my shoes on. I tip-toed out of his bedroom and shut off the light before making my way down the hall to the front door.

As I arrived, thankfully without making a sound, I rested my hand on the doorknob and hesitated. I chewed on my bottom lip as I realized there were two people in this whole equation that deserved my gratitude and much more than me disappearing in the middle of the night.

I looked around my immediate vicinity for a piece of paper and something to write with. Though I didn’t find anything, that didn’t deter me. The least I could do was thank them and apologize for throwing off their routines.

I headed for the kitchen and opened a few of the drawers. On the third one, I found paper and a pen.

“Perfect,” I whispered to myself then headed toward the table that stood just outside the kitchen door and sat in a chair.

Dear Jasper and Chase,

You did me a favor and took care of me while I was here. Thank you. And I know you deserve so much more than a letter, this will have to do.

I apologize for skipping out on you like this, but I wasn’t able to sleep, and I realized this whole trip was a huge mistake. It would only end in disaster. One that I think we’re all better off without. So, if you’re ever in the Seattle area again, look me up. We’ll go for coffee.

Until then, I wish you the best.

Always,

Cassie

I left the pen on top of the letter and stared at the words for several minutes before standing from the table and heading for the door again. I kept telling myself this was for the best.

When I stepped out on the front porch, I looked back inside the cabin. At all it’s quiet. I wondered if I would ever see Jasper or Chase again. If I saw Kai again, it would be too soon. Much too soon. Him, I would be able to live without forever. And I was positive there was no love lost between the two of us for him as well.

But the other two? There was something about them that made me stronger and more complete than I was without them, and all those crazy things romance novels touted. In the end, only time would tell whether Chase, Jasper, and I would see each other again.

I hoped I would get the chance.

Wishful thinking wasn’t making leaving any easier. So, with a sigh, I closed the door and turned toward the path I took when I stumbled upon this place. I figured, if I did my best to retrace my steps, I would be back at my car by dawn and I could catch some sleep before turning around and heading home. If I was careful and took my time, it should be relatively easy.

Though it was certainly not the same without my sister, and never would be, it was home. I would just have to find some other way of filling my time. No more adventures.

A pang of jealousy tightened my stomach.

Though I was proud of my sister, I was also jealous. I envied her adventures. Also, her men. Mediocre was never a description I would give my sister, and her life now matches everything she was and so much more. She was everything I wanted to be.

Despite the green bug that has gotten the better of me, I was also proud of my sister. She had done something with herself and her life and no longer needs me to parent her.

I miss her.

I stopped in my trek and leaned against a tree. It was hard to traverse the land around me during the day. It was much harder at night. Though there wasn’t any fog, and thankfully it wasn’t raining, it was cold, and the shadows that stretched out before me were difficult to look beyond.

The forest was asleep for the most part. A gentle breeze danced through the branches of the trees above me. The sound was like nature’s little windchimes, singing a lullaby. Far from me, wedges of moonlight managed to squeeze through the spaces of the canopies, highlighting the wet ground, tree roots, and bushes that surrounded everything.

It was a beautiful sight. I wished I was able to take a picture of it so that I could cherish it forever.

However, none of that was helping me remember what direction to go. I would pull out my phone, but it died, and I couldn’t even use it to light my way while walking through this treacherous terrain. What’s worse was everything looked the same. In every, single direction.

I would never call myself directionally challenged. But in this forest? Definitely. Yet, I understood I wasn’t going to get to my car any quicker by standing around waiting for the direction to slap me in the face. I did my best to recall specific details of the scenery on the way to the cabin and went in the direction that mostly matched what I recalled.

The ground was so wet, I kept slipping on the mud and rocks and moss. I was forced to use the trees to steady me. An hour later, I was getting the hang of things. The shadows just started to fade. I smiled to myself at the familiarity of the woods. I had to be heading in the right direction.

I stopped paying attention to where I was going. I picked up the pace. The excitement of having almost made it back created a string of careless mistakes. Ones I didn’t see until it was too late.

I stepped on something hard and metal that snapped at my leg. Blinding pain filled my body as I fell to the ground. I sat up and felt around my leg, searching for a way to get whatever was stuck on me off. As my fingers brushed along the sharp, steel teeth of a bear trap, my heart skipped a beat and my breaths stilled.

Seconds passed as I realized I made the biggest mistake of this trip yet. And no one was around to help me.

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