Maria shivered in her dim cave, the only light from the lantern Buck had brought her. It illuminated the walls, casting eerie shadows. She wasn't sure how long she'd been like this. It had started soon after Buck had left.

Her cat had taken her out of the cave and left her alone in the cold again, but this time more than six miles away from her supplies. She’d walked on her bare human feet the entire way home. When the temperature fell, halfway home, the fever hit her and slowed her pace even more.

She’d collapsed at the mouth of her cave, cold and starving. Maria had pulled herself inside on her hands and knees. Half delirious, she got dressed, started a fire, and climbed into her new sleeping bag. Even with the fire and all the new clothing, she still couldn't get warm. Her fever raged, but she managed to cook some of the dehydrated camping food. She’d passed out before she could eat it.

When she woke again, she was shivering, starving, and sweaty. She wanted to peel out of the jacket, but the temperature had fallen even further in the night. Her breath blew out in misty puffs.

She sat up on shaking limbs and tried to rekindle her cold fire. Some of the coals were still hot and she poked at them, throwing dried leaves on top of them for kindling. The fire lit, thankfully, and she added some branches. There was very little fuel for fire in her cave. She hadn't been here in days and there had been no time to gather any. She knew she would be left without a fire again soon.

Maria ate the meal she’d cooked before passing out again. The calories were not nearly enough to replace what she'd expended over the last few days. The shivering took hold when she finished eating the cold camping food. She had to lie down on her side next to the fire and brace herself as the fever took over. Even with the warmth of the new sleeping bag and jacket around her now, she didn't know if she could make it through the night.

In some ways, she hoped that it would all be over soon. That she could finally be released from the torture that was her life. As that thought formed in her mind, a man appeared in the doorway of her cave. His familiar face was lit by the flames of her campfire. He walked toward her and fell on his knees by her side, touching her forehead.

“You're burning up,” he said. “How long have you been like this?”

All she could do was moan and shake her head.

“There’s some medicine in my first-aid kid,” he said, pulling a bottle of flu medication from his backpack.

She shook her head no. But he helped her sit up and swig several long draws.

“I need to keep you warm. It's freezing up here.”

All she could do was whimper as the medicine hit her nearly empty stomach. Buck kissed her cheek gently and caressed her shoulder.

“It’s going to be okay, Maria. I’m here now.”

He laid her down gently and stood. She could hear him moving behind her and then the distinctive sound of cracking and groaning that accompanied a shift.

His grizzly grunted and sniffed her face. She felt a subtle sense of repulsion from deep within as her lioness wanted to rail against him. She was far too tired and too sick to be bothered. Her body was wasted and broken no matter which form she took. Buck’s grizzly curled up behind her, wrapping his arm gently over her and pulling her body against his chest.

The heat of the massive beast behind her radiated through her and warmed her to the core. She let out a long sigh and relaxed as sleep overtook her mind and body.

In the night, she dreamed broken fragments of her past. The men who had taken her from Los Angeles and had thrown her in a truck with a bunch of other girls. Their sneering, snarling faces. Their stinking breath. The words they used to make her less than human. She felt it swirl and sink deep, deep down inside.

At the same time, she felt Buck’s grizzly encircling her, wrapping her up in his arms and keeping her safe. She knew somehow that what Buck said was true. He would do anything for her, forever and always. He had shown her his devotion. No matter how much she pushed him away, he always seemed to arrive just when she needed him most. She had to believe in something and the only thing she could believe in right now was Buck.

She woke late in the morning with Buck’s body still pressed against hers. The fever had broken and she felt renewed. She was sweaty and disoriented and dehydrated, but the worst had passed.

She wiggled under Buck’s grizzly paw and he let her up, grunting and twitching his huge bear nose.

“How did you sleep last night?” she said, reaching out to stroke the thick hair on the bear’s cheek.

He looked up at her with his huge golden eyes. She could see the gentle man inside him as he nuzzled against her palm.

“I feel much better this morning,” she said.

Buck growled and huffed before his body curled backwards in the miraculous and instantaneous body morphing that was a shift. Even as a shifter now herself, Maria didn't think she would ever get used to the sight of it. Buck sat naked beside her, looking at her with gentle, caring eyes. He pulled a pillow over his lap and cupped her face with the warm hand that had just been a massive paw.

“I'm glad you're feeling better,” he said, moving his hand to her forehead. “It looks like your fever has broken.”

“I think it has. I was really worried for a while last night. I had to walk six miles naked back here after a shift and the temperature started to drop.”

“I was worried about you,” he said.

“I’m glad you came,” she whispered, knowing that she was ready to leave the cave with him now if he asked.

“So am I,” he said softly. She waited for a long time for him to ask her to go with him. What he said next surprised her. “I’m curious about your life up here, Maria. Do you think you could show it to me?”

“What… What do you mean?” she asked.

“How do you spend your time while you’re up here. What is your day like? I want to know everything about you.”

“Oh,” she said, at a loss for words.

She looked up into his shining blue eyes.

“Can I help you fix something to eat?” he asked, moving to pull on his pants. “What do you usually have for breakfast?”

“Well, depending on if I’ve been feral recently or not, I will sometimes have fresh meat. Like the venison I had the other day. Sometimes, I eat food I’ve scavenged from the campground nearby. I don’t steal anything, I just take what people leave behind. Since you came, I’ve had this dehydrated stuff. That’s a lot easier.”

“What’s that tea you make?” he asked her.

She was surprised he was taking such an interest in her life. Up until now, all he’d been interested in was taking her away from here.

“I make it out of Oregon grape root, dandelions, nettle, and dried thimbleberries.”

“Huh,” he said, as she picked up her jar of the concoction. “It’s pretty good. How did you know how to make it?”

“I learned a lot about plants at the Bright Institute before the incident…”

“You don’t have to talk about it.”

“It’s okay. I liked my classes a lot. I was studying botany. It’s helped me stay alive up here.”

“Do you forage in the woods?”

“I find berries and mushrooms. There are some new raspberries ripening down near the stream that leads to the campground. Do you want to see?”

“Sounds like a date,” he said. “Is it very far? Can you make it today?”

“No. Not far. I’ll be fine.”

“Let’s go after we have breakfast. You can tell me all about it.”

“I’d like that,” she said softly, not sure how to interpret the change in attitude from Buck.

After he finished dressing, he helped her build the fire up and put some water on to boil. He pulled a bundle out of the backpack he’d worn up to her cave the night before, revealing coffee grounds and a French press.

“Is that really what I think it is?”

“Yup. Do you like coffee?”

“Do I? Oh my gosh. A frappuccino would be even better, but I’ll settle for anything.”

She giggled, the smell of the rich coffee grounds wafting through the air. She took a deep breath in and then sighed. Her stomach rumbled.

Buck put coffee grounds into the press, poured boiling water over the whole thing, before pressing out the coffee. He poured a cup for Maria and one for himself. He then brought out little packets sweet creamer and added it to the black brew.

Maria couldn't have been more thrilled, and her heart leapt in her chest as he stirred the creamer into her coffee. She accepted the finished drink and took a long sip, savoring the rich creamy flavor that she'd missed so much all these weeks alone on the mountain.

She drank down her coffee and looked out at the morning sunlight streaming through the trees. For a moment, she felt okay. More okay than she had in a very long time.

“It’s so good to have you here, Buck,” she said.