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As I looked into the woods, the darkness started to creep forward, to co them in the shadow of a blanket I felt myself relax There were ani and small, just as afraid of me as I would be of them

I loosened the grip onthat happened to be in position parallel with the fire With my back to my tent, I stared at those flaht in rate that would make up my stove and placed it over the flames

I opened up the cooler and pushed the ice around The fresh, cold items would only last h prepackaged, non-perishable items to lastback-and-forth into town, and although it was only a twenty et away fro social

Besides, I’d always been a peanut butter and jelly kind of girl, a protein bar and fresh fruit kind of hiker I could handle this, could deal with it even if I had to eat beef jerky out of a bag for the next seven days

The wind started picking up then, co from up north, down the mountain It washed away the scent of smoke and fire, and I inhaled deeply oncethe forest in front of me Squirrels and rabbits, even a wolf in the distance But there was a er, more powerful

A bear

As I took in that scent once , trying to wade through et out

Although I felt hout the years, I’d never felt the kind of push she was giving right now It’s like she was atteht for supremacy, like she wanted to break free and be the do The very thought of shifting, of letting her take control, actually being in ave

I stood then, the blade in lanced into the woods where the scent and noise ca, saturating the air It was a rizzly

I closed h my nose Wild Musky Alpha But there was some other scent mixed with all of that, one I couldn’t place, couldn’t decipher what it meant

But what I did knoas that it

Him

Chapter Four

Cason

I didn’t go any closer her— even though I desperately wanted to, and even though I wanted to make my presence known and tell her she was mine