Olsen’s phone hit the wall with an almighty clang. Which was nothing new. He even had a rubberized case to protect it from the fits of frustration that overtook him every few days. This time, he’d been stewing over the messages he’d sent Dolores on that goddamn app. A truck. A fucking truck. What was that even supposed to mean? She probably thought he was a moron now. Which I am. He fought the urge to trash his entire cabin, turn his human life to rubble. Every time Connor hassled him to find a mate, it brought him one step closer to leaving the clan altogether. He wasn’t one of the guys. He wasn’t human enough to be part of the clan, never mind the mate of a human. It hadn’t been so bad when he’d joined the bears, and they were all single. If he’d thought about dating, he’d most probably assumed that they’d all get shifter mates at some distant point in the future. But then the guys had started dating humans instead. It was too much for him.

And yet… Dolores’ scent still lingered in his nostrils. There was something about her that had gotten under his skin, like an itch that made him want to rub his hide against a tree trunk. But try as he might, he couldn’t scratch it out. And he’d sent her a truck. Stupid, stupid bear. His jaw began to ache as the bones stretched and broadened, and his skin bristled with the beginnings of fur.

And then came a knock on the door. Three sharp raps. Niall’s knock. Olsen let off a bad-tempered rumble. He could do without seeing the clan’s Second right now. He tore the door open and greeted Niall with a snarl. Niall strode through the door nonchalantly and looked around, his gaze immediately centering on the phone, which was lying facedown on the floor at the foot of his bed. Goddamn him. Why did he have to be so observant?

“Phone been giving you a hard time, bro?” Niall said.

Olsen growled. He was trying hard to hold back his shift, and wasn’t in the mood for Niall’s “jokes” as he liked to call them. His head felt thick and confused, and his claws pushed at his fingertips, itching to be out in the forest, tearing up the mulchy earth.

Niall ignored him and retrieved the phone, lips curving in an irritating smirk. And when he turned it over and read the message, a rumbling laugh burst out of his chest.

Olsen’s claws exploded out of his fingertips, burning to dig into his clan-mate’s neck.

“Dude, what’s this? Some girl sends you a nice message and you send her this random stuff. A woman? A bear? A truck?” His laughter got even louder. “What gives?”

With a roar, Olsen leapt at Niall, throwing his full weight on top of him, and sent him crashing to the floor. Niall struggled hard, but Olsen was easily able to pin him with his pure animal strength, his bear straining beneath his skin the entire time. Niall’s amusement faded, replaced with something close to fear. It was a look Olsen had seen in several clan mates’ eyes when he’d gotten mad. He sensed they thought of him as being more bear than they were, and they were uneasy at his excessive strength and wilder ways. This gave him no pleasure at all. But he couldn’t back down now. Niall had pushed him too far. He snatched the phone from Niall’s hand and held it two inches from his face.

“What does the message say?”

“What?” Niall’s forehead creased in incomprehension.

“I want you to read it to me. Every single word.”

“Why?”

“Just read it!”

Niall repeated the message in a strangled voice.

“Hey, Olsen,

Funny to see we’re both on this site :) Hey, I’m just shooting you a message to say thank you so much for helping me on Thursday. I hadn’t even realized I was having a panic attack until you reassured me. And thanks to you, I managed to finish the interview and I’ll be starting work at the school next week!

I wish you all the best.

Yours sincerely,

Dolores”

“Okay,” Olsen said, releasing his grip on Niall’s throat. He climbed off him and allowed him to get to his feet.

Niall glared at him with barely repressed fury, and something else. Some human emotion he didn’t know how to interpret. “Dude, no disrespect, but you’re a fucking psycho! And you know what? You don’t deserve a girl like that.”

Olsen grunted. Unfortunately, those were his own thoughts exactly. “What did you come here for anyway?” he snarled.

“To ask if you wanted in on the next job we’re doing. But forget it. It’s not happening.”

“What job?”

“Up in the Birchendacks.”

“I’m busy anyway!” he bawled after Niall’s retreating back, before his front door slammed shut with a crunch.

Olsen slumped against the wall of his cabin and stared at his phone. She was thanking me for helping her, that’s all. But instead, of relief, there was a prickle of disappointment in his chest. He shrugged it off. I can fix this, he thought, flicking through his emojis. He chose a big thumbs-up and a smiley face, and hit send. Sending her a truck probably confused the hell out of her, but she’ll get the message this time.

The frustration and sadness that had been clouding his thought ever since Dolores messaged him lifted, and he stepped out of his clothes and transformed into a huge, honey-brown bear, before stepping off his porch and out into the forest.