We Are Bear
Wolf Country
TAVIS
Taylee was out cold in the passenger seat.
Not literally unconscious, just asleep. Deeply asleep.
She’d drifted off the moment she buckled up. They’d hit the road in his Jeep in the early afternoon. The journey was going to take at least two and a half hours.
Usually, he wasn’t a fan of car travel, but today was different.
He’d made sure she had something to eat before they left. Just a couple of slices of toast, but it was better than nothing.
He’d also given her some old clothes: a hoodie and a pair of jeans. They were a bit worn out, but she’d put them on without a word.
And he’d filled her in a bit more on the whole bear thing.
She was keen to understand, but clearly still rattled from finding out she wasn’t what she’d believed herself to be for eighteen years.
So, what had he learned about her?
She was eighteen. And adopted.
She kept apologizing for spying—that was the word she used—on his wood-chopping. He kept telling her there was no need to apologize.
Sure, he’d been surprised to see her standing there, watching so intently. But it was a pleasant surprise.
He hoped it showed he was serious about looking after her.
Which was probably the last time he’d ever do that.
She was going home to her family, to White Paw land, where she belonged. And if he never saw her again, well, that was that.
He sighed and turned on the radio, keeping the volume low. No need to wake her after everything she’d been through.
He didn’t want to sound creepy, but she looked peaceful when she was asleep.
Or, at least, he liked watching her.
The rhythm of her breathing.
The gentle sway of her head...
He wanted to keep looking after her until she was fully recovered.
Maybe getting her halfway there was the best he could do.
Taylee was unlikely to wake up anytime soon, so Tavis turned the volume up a notch. Smith Westerns.
He half-sang along, letting the endless highway stretch out before him. Music helped him relax behind the wheel, otherwise, he was always a bit jumpy.
Bears weren’t exactly welcome on White Paw land. At least, not officially. He figured he’d have to drop Taylee off and then hightail it out of there.
But he also wanted to introduce himself to her family. Let them know who he was and what he’d done for her. Not in a bragging way, like they owed him. Just so they could put a face to a name.
And maybe if they were okay with him...
The high-pitched end of the chorus was always fun.
As the line repeated, he glanced at Taylee and saw her lips moving—barely, but definitely mouthing the lyric.
Was she going to miss him the way he was already missing her?
Their relationship—more like a twelve-hour relationship—hadn’t been easy, or natural, but there was something real about it.
You didn’t save someone’s life without forming a bond with that person, and you didn’t get saved by someone without forming a bond with that person.
A bond was a bond. She couldn’t forget it.
He never would.
Even if the last time he saw her was watching her walk into the arms of her parents.
For the first time in his life, he prayed for traffic, but they never hit any. All too soon, he took the exit toward the suburban Olympia neighborhood where she lived.
The change in motion once they left the highway woke her. She mumbled a few words to herself, and her head slowly shook from side to side.
“Hey, you.” He gave her a smile.
She squinted at him for a moment, as if trying to place his face in her memory again.
“Hey,” she replied.
“We’re almost home.”
They weaved in and out of lanes. “I guess you should meet my parents, huh?”
“You tell me.”
“My mom’s going to want to see who you are.”
“Well, I can’t stay long.”
“Why’s that?”
“Uh, because you guys banned us, remember?” He corrected himself. “Not you—your people. Alpha White.”
She sighed. Her head slumped against the window. “Don’t even mention him.”
A few minutes of silence; they just listened to the radio. Neon Trees now, he thought, or some band that sounded a lot like them.
“So, tell me more about this pack…sleuth...whatever. Blue Blood.”
“Well, we pretty much keep to ourselves in Oregon. We know we’re not wanted anywhere else. But if anyone comes to us and needs us, Alpha Bluestone isn’t shy about letting them in.”
“Bluestone sounds like the kind of alpha we need.”
Tavis smiled to himself. “I’d recommend him.”
“So, bears and wolves and—”
“Mostly wolves. A few bears.”
“Tavis.” She sat up suddenly and turned to face him. “I just thought of something.”
He couldn’t help but panic a little; his heart pounded. “What?”
“When am I going to get to meet my bear?”
He hesitated. “Um.”
“I mean, I’ve been waiting all this time to meet my wolf, but I was waiting for something that was never coming, so now, that part makes sense. But shouldn’t I be shifting any day now?”
He kept his eyes on the road. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
He watched his hands as they turned the corner, left over right. He spoke cautiously. “A lot of people shift for the first time when they…have sex.”
She stared straight ahead. “Oh.”
An awkward silence fell. They were turning the corner onto her street.
“Can you tell me your last name now?” he asked, partly to change the subject, partly because he wanted to know.
“Why?”
“I need to know what to call your parents. When I explain to them how their daughter spent her night.”
He saw her roll her eyes, even from the corner of his vision. “Harris.”
“Harris.” He let the name linger on his lips, like a secret smile. “Taylee Harris.”
As they navigated the winding road, he took in the scenery. The houses were small, made even smaller by the vast spaces between them. He found himself wondering if each one was home to a family of wolves.
It was five o’clock when the grey Jeep pulled into a driveway. The sun was just beginning to tease the horizon with its descent.
A green house with white shutters. A ramp led up to the front door, cutting through the lawn. Two candles flickered in the picture window.
Behind the candles, half-lit by their glow, Tavis thought he saw faces.
His suspicion was confirmed when the door swung open and three figures emerged before he or Taylee could even step out of the car.
First, a man—tall and broad-shouldered.
Next, a woman—plump with shoulder-length hair that was blonde with streaks of red.
Finally, a young girl. She looked several years younger than Taylee, with the same blonde hair as her mother and striking gray eyes that were visible even from a distance.
Three pairs of eyes watched as Tavis got out of the car and hurried to help Taylee.
She leaned on him as they approached her family.
“Oh, Taylee!” her mother exclaimed.
Tavis released her into the arms of her father. The man’s broad shoulders shook with silent sobs as he held his daughter.
The woman wrapped her arms around both of them.
The younger girl didn’t say a word, but she clung to the family group hug.
Tavis was left standing alone. He glanced back at his car and shoved his hands into his pockets, hoping that Taylee’s last memory of him—and her family’s first—wouldn’t be of him intruding on this deeply personal moment.
The only sounds were the occasional sniffles.
Finally, the woman reached out and took his hand, holding it between her cold, white palms. “You must be Tavis,” she said, her voice low and filled with awe.
He nodded.
“I…I don’t know what to say other than thank you.”
“It was…all I could do, ma’am.” He lowered his gaze.
“Won’t you come in?”
“Mom,” Taylee called from her father’s arms. Her mother turned back in confusion. Taylee jerked her head, and the family huddled together as she whispered something to them.
They all looked at Tavis. Taylee’s father was the first to step forward.
“You should go, son.” His voice wasn’t hostile, but it was filled with fear.
“No,” her mother disagreed. “If anything, he should come inside. He can’t be out where—”
Suddenly, the parents gasped. The young girl threw herself at Taylee and they stumbled back.
Tavis spun around to find five snarling wolves, their dark fur glistening and jaws dripping with saliva.
They quickly surrounded him. The defense tactics he’d spent so much time studying were slipping from his mind.
“Tavis!” Taylee called. He saw her out of the corner of his eye, being held back by her family. The wolves were closing in.
Yes, this was wolf country.
And it was no place for a lone bear.
Continue to the next chapter of We Are Bear