Chapter 13
Audrey looked at her ringing phone and sighed. She hoped it would be Kenny calling, but after many messages and missed calls, he still wasn’t responding to her. She tapped to answer Kara’s call.
“Tell me everything,” Kara said.
“Umm…”
“Oh come on, don’t be like that. This was the first official date! What did you guys do? Where did you go? Did he kiss you?”
“He didn’t kiss me,” Audrey said. He wasn’t even talking to her. “We had a little picnic, then went on a hike.”
“That sounds nice.”
“Sure.”
“What happened?”
Audrey should have known better. Kara was always good at picking up on her moods and knowing when something was up. There would be no hiding this from her.
“I don’t know,” Audrey said. “It was kind of a disaster, I guess.”
“Is that why he didn’t kiss you?”
“I’m sure it is.”
“So, what happened, exactly?”
Audrey let out a long sigh. Where to even start? It had been a disaster almost from the beginning. “Well, he complimented me and brought me flowers—”
“So sweet!”
“Yeah. It was so unexpected that when I went to put them in a vase, it slipped out of my hands and cracked. I cut myself, but that was okay. It wasn’t really that big of a deal.”
“Okay…”
“But I guess it was enough to make me even more nervous, you know? I was all flustered and stuff.”
“Understandable,” Kara said. “But then what happened next?”
“They he played some awful music. I don’t even know what it was, but he sang along so loudly, I could barely hear myself think. And he’s not a very good singer.”
Kara chuckled. “Oh boy. But that’s not a deal breaker, is it?”
“No. But then for the picnic, he took me to the park, to this little pavilion. At first, I thought he rented the pavilion because there was an indoor part and a fireplace, and I thought it was really romantic. But no. He wanted us to just sit outside on the picnic tables. And it was freezing.”
“Geez, okay. I guess he’s a guy and a bear so maybe he doesn’t get cold?”
“I guess not. It was okay, though. He had some wine and that warmed me up a little. But then he brought out the food. And so, okay, I know this one is totally my fault. I just never in a million years thought when he said we were having a picnic that I needed to warn him about my seafood allergy. But he got sushi and some had shrimp.”
“Oh no.” Kara sucked in a breath.
All her friends knew, of course, about her allergy. It usually wasn’t that big of a deal. They usually chose something besides a seafood restaurant when they went out, and even if they did go to a seafood place, she just made sure to tell the waitress and they’d be extra careful with her plate. It wasn’t a big deal and seafood allergies were common enough that places knew how to work around them, like nut allergies.
“Yeah. So I couldn’t eat and he felt bad and I felt bad for not telling him. He did bring cheesecake, though, which was good, but eating just cheesecake and drinking all that wine gave me a little stomachache.”
“Oh geez. Too much wine and cheesecake. We should all have this problem.” Kara laughed.
“I know it’s minor, but it was just one more thing that added up, you know?”
“Okay, right. So after you ate, then what?”
“He’s sweet sometimes, but then sometimes he also gets this look on his face. Like he’s sad maybe? He’s dealt with depression and was even suicidal in the past. Makes sense with all he’s been through, but I don’t always know how to read him or what to say. I’m not as equipped to handle mental health issues as I am physical health issues. I talk to him and stuff, but I don’t know if I really get through to him.”
“Hmm. You think that will cause problems later?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t know that there will be a later after I finish telling you what happened next. It just made the day weird. I wasn’t sure what he was feeling the whole time and he keep getting this look that I didn’t understand.”
“Get to the good part,” Kara said. “What happened to make you think it’s not going to go anywhere?”
Audrey decided to leave out the part how he had almost kissed her and she’d freaked out. Kara didn’t need to know just how skittish Audrey was when it came to any sort of physical contact with men. She’d come off like some kind of psycho case. But it had freaked her out. When they were sitting there and he started to lean in, a swell of panic filled her chest and she had to find a way to escape. Anything to get out of letting him touch her like that. She just hoped it wasn’t too obvious that she was fleeing from him, or that if it was, he would understand and remember how traumatized she was when it came to these things. But then she remembered that it probably didn’t matter at all anyway. Not if he wouldn’t return her texts.
“Then he took me hiking. Which was really beautiful and it wasn’t too cold because we were moving around and everything. I was worried about his leg. His physical therapist said he was doing much better, but I didn’t think he’d be up for hiking for miles. He insisted though. And we kept going. Until he couldn’t anymore.”
“What?” Kara asked. “He couldn’t keep walking?”
“Nope. His leg stiffened up and then it cramped up, and he feel to the ground in pain. It was awful. There’s only so much I can do without medical equipment and supplies. I did all I could, but it wasn’t helping. I think it just put him in more pain. I even tried to get him to shift, and he was’t able to, the pain was too much. Which, in itself, that’s crazy. I can’t imagine being in that much pain that you can’t even stand to shift.”
“He must be one tough bear. Or he really, really likes you to put himself into this position. He had to know it would hurt him, right? And he just went on with it anyway? And he was the one who planned the date? Not like you dragged him along. He chose to go.”
“Right,” Audrey said. “I think he did really like me. I’m even wondering if he wasn’t trying to show off or something. Like, look how tough I am. Probably. He’s definitely the show off type.”
“Okay, so what happened then?”
“Well, we were kinda stuck. He was lying on the ground, writhing in pain. He even got sick from it, it was so much. So, I had to run to go get help. Then I took him to the hospital.”
“You ran out of the woods to get help? How far in were you?”
“Pretty far,” Audrey said. “I don’t know exactly, a few miles?”
“Didn’t that take you hours?”
“No, I shifted and ran.”
Kara sat for a moment in silence. Only when she didn’t respond did Audrey start to worry. She hadn’t said she shifted in front of Kenny. And thinking back now, she hadn’t had to. She could have run away from him then shifted and he would have never known. But in the heat of the moment, when all she cared about was getting him to help fast, she hadn’t stopped to really think it all through.
“How did he take seeing you shift?” Kara asked. “I mean, he’s a shifter himself, so I guess he wasn’t too freaked out?”
So, she was assuming Audrey had shifted in front of him. She didn’t sound too mad. If the pack leader wasn’t upset about it, then maybe it wasn’t a big deal. If Kenny was a shifter and Kara knew it was an emergency, that must make it okay then.
“He was just shocked at first,” Audrey said, hoping she was doing the right thing by admitting it. “But after I ran to the car and got him in and everything, I think it settled in more.”
“Yeah? I guess he had more time to process it.”
“Right,” Audrey said. “But that’s why I think he’s not returning my calls. Or answering my texts. He wasn’t happy that I lied about it. That I didn’t tell him.”
“You explained that you weren’t allowed to? That he needs to keep it an absolute secret?”
“Of course. I told him all of that.”
“And what did he say?”
“He was mostly just mad that I didn’t tell him sooner. And that once I had used the excuse that he was a shifter as the reason I wouldn’t go out with him. He said I was a hypocrite.”
“Right, I remember. So, if he’s not talking to you, how do you know he’ll keep the secret?”
Audrey thought for a minute. Kenny wouldn’t be so stupid as to say anything. He knew what it would mean for her and all of them. Even if he didn’t want to talk to her, he wouldn’t do something that vindictive, would he? Suddenly, she felt like she didn’t know him at all. Maybe he would tell. Maybe he’d be pissed enough to go blab it just to get back at her for not telling him. She really had no way to know for sure.
“He’s a shifter, too,” Audrey said. “He would never do that. I know him.” She bit her lip, hoping the lie wouldn’t come back to haunt her.
“Uh huh. And you’re sure.”
“Absolutely.”
“You better be,” Kara said. “I don’t have to tell you how bad this would be if it got out. You know that, right?”
“I know. It was an emergency, though.”
“Let’s just hope he honors what you did and keeps the secret, then.”
“He will.”
“Right. Well, let me know if anything comes up or changes with him, okay?”
“I will.”
Kara hung up then and Audrey stared at her phone. What just happened? Did she really just confess to her pack leader that she’d shifted in front of someone? That she’d broken the cardinal rule amongst tiger shifters? Kara hadn’t really flipped out or anything, so that was good. But what would come of this? And now she really needed to talk to Kenny, to make sure he would keep the secret.
She picked up her phone and sent him a text. “I know you’re mad at me, but please call me. I need to talk to you about something.”
She watched her phone and waited, but even hours later, he hadn’t responded or called. She thought about the way he’d dismissed her at the hospital. How embarrassed she’d been that he would just send her away like that. He’d seemed so cruel. So heartless. Maybe he would tell. Maybe this would all end very badly. She tried not to think about any of it as she got ready for bed. What was done was done. Not like she could take any of it back. She’d have to deal with it and face the consequences of her actions, whatever they might be.