Chapter Thirty Four
Mary sat next to the tent, a hunting knife held loosely in her hands. Her eyes darted between David and Andre, and she visibly shook. David wore some extra clothes he'd packed, but Andre had nothing but a blanket to wrap around his waist towel-style.
Andre didn't know what to say. This moment had played through his mind for so long that all the words were jumbled up in his brain, and there was no clear place to start. He had hoped that he would find something to say while they buried Easton's body, but somehow the silence during that task made it even harder to start now.
"We're Wolves," David said eventually. "You and I, Mary."
"You mean like Werewolves? Is that why I'm always staring at the moon?" her voice was higher pitched than normal and Andre wanted to take her into his arms and soothe her. But he made himself sit still.
"Not Werewolves," David said. "At least, not the Hollywood version. Our transformations are voluntary for the most part. We do have to embrace our Wolf on the night of the full moon, but we aren't mad vicious creatures."
Mary stared at him hard. "Is that why you had to work out of town every month?"
David nodded.
"Why didn't I change?"
Andre found his voice. "It's because the community you grew up in did something to you to stop you from being able to embrace your Wolf, and it erased your memories."
Mary's gaze locked with him and she stopped shaking. She drew in a deep breath and nodded for him to continue.
He told her everything, starting from when they first met on the road when she was running away from her home to try to get a life of her own. He stumbled over parts. Like the consuming rage he felt after her father destroyed his farm which led him to nearly kill her sister, how she had killed her own father when he attacked them and how she was manipulated to returning to her community so Easton could attack. But he left nothing out.
By the time he was finished, night had fallen. The three of them held flashlights while silver stars pierced the navy fabric of the sky.
"I feel like I should think you're crazy," Mary said after he was done. "Werewolves and Bear Shifters and… and soulmates. It's impossible, isn't it?"
"I never believed in soulmates before I met you." Andre found himself looking at the sky, afraid to see Mary's disbelief. "But you believed in them so strongly and when I held you in my arms, I could feel my soul binding itself to yours. You are all I want, Mary. I'll do anything for you, even if it means leaving and never returning."
David got to his feet. "I think I should let you two discuss this in private."
He strode off, and Andre finally found the strength to look at Mary. In the flashlight's glow, her skin was almost translucent. When she shivered again, he realized it wasn't fear, but the cold that made her shake. It was still fairly warm, but she always got cold easily. The hunting knife was on the ground instead of in her hand. A wind blew strands of auburn hair into her eyes.
"You're cold," he whispered. "You should get your sleeping bag."
Mary stayed where she was. "Everything you told me. It sounds… I should be thinking that you must have drugged me somehow. That you and David are in cahoots to drive me crazy and claim insurance or something. It would be saner than believing anything that you just told me. I mean, how could one couple be so damn unlucky?"
Andre laughed despite himself. He nodded. "I know. It sounds impossible."
"But it sounds true. It's like, my heart," Mary touched her chest, "is telling me everything you say is true. It makes sense, somehow. But I just… This morning I thought I was cheating on my husband before a dreadful accident stole all my memories, and now I'm a Wolf without a Wolf, in love with a Grizzly Bear. I don't know how to believe you."
What could he say to convince her? "You could see your brothers and sisters if you want. I think they would be happy to see you alive."
"If they really treated me the way you say, I don't know why I should want to see them." Mary's brow furrowed. "Why should I go back to them? Why should I even care? You said they treated me like a servant. I'm not going to start taking care of people I don't even know."
"You don't have to. But maybe being around other Wolves will trigger something and you'll remember."
Mary sighed. "Are there more Bears coming after us tonight?"
"I don't know. We'll have to push your car into the lake, hopefully hide what happened here. But I can take you wherever you want to go." Andre frowned.
He'd have to find a new vehicle–the car he'd stolen would be reported by now and the last place they wanted to be in was jail.
"I don't know where I want to go. I'm going to bed. When David returns, tell him he's not allowed in the tent."
She stared at him hard for a moment, then crawled into the tent. Andre let out a slow breath as she zipped it up. Well, that could have gone worse. He had to hope that the morning would be better, but at least she had left the knife outside and she had stopped staring at him in horror.
When David returned, Andre got to his feet. "She doesn't want you in the tent. Keep watch out here. I'm going to run patrols."
David nodded, averting his eyes as Andre shed his blanket covering and embraced his Bear. He loped off into the night, praying that the morning would bring good news.
***
They're crazy, Mary thought. Or I am. Either way, what am I supposed to say?
Pale gray light filtered into the tent while the smell of bacon made her stomach rumble. Her fingers danced over her belly. If she was a Wolf and her baby's father was a Bear, what would it be?
When she emerged from the tent, she found David curled under a tree in his Wolf form. She stared at him for a moment, trying to imagine what it would feel like to have four paws and a tail.
Andre was cooking breakfast. His back was to her, the blanket wrapped around his waist. Mary paused a moment, admiring the way his shoulder blades moves so smoothly under his skin. He seemed to glow golden in the early sunlight, his tanned skin looking so delicious that she wanted to taste it.
Her eyes trailed down the length of his spine and the desire to press herself against him and run her hands down his skin, remove the blanket and bring him into her was so strong that she was grateful David was there–otherwise, she might actually give into the temptation. Now was not the time to be thinking about sex!
Andre turned and she flushed, sure that her desire could be read in her eyes. If he noticed anything, he didn't mention it. "How are you this morning?"
"No more Bear attacks, so I'm good." She attempted a smile.
David lifted his head. He made a grunting sound and stood, shaking. He disappeared behind the tent and returned a minute later, human and dressed. "I'm leaving."
Mary's jaw dropped. She struggled to recompose herself. He had no reason to stay, now that she thought about it, but she had expected him to. He must have read something in her eyes because he gave her a rueful smile.
"When the Bears attacked the community, the Wolves would have gone to ghost town. It means all the family flee their separate ways and have no contact with one another for at least a month. I need to find my family and make sure they're okay. Besides, you don't need me anymore." He stepped over to Mary and took her hand in his. "I'm sorry that I lied to you. I always liked you. I thought you were kind and beautiful."
Mary nodded, her throat tight.
"I'm glad you found your soulmate again."
"David," she started, but he shook his head.
"I don't expect we'll see each other again, given the circumstances. It'll be for the best. Thank you." David's gaze flickered over to Andre before returning to her. "I know that I met my soulmate long ago, now. Seeing you with yours makes me realize that I need to embrace mine, no matter the consequences."
He offered her a tight-lipped smile and walked away into the forest, not looking back.
Mary watched him go, sad at his departure. Even now, he was the only familiar thing she had. But he was right. It was for the best that he leave.
"It's not safe for me to go back to Chicago, is it?" she asked Andre, trying to distract herself.
"No. But we can go anywhere you want." He handed her a plate of bacon and eggs. "I want to stay with you, Mary. I don't care if you never get your memories back, I want to be with you for the rest of your life. But if you tell me to go, I will go."
She could see how painful the words were for him to say. Without thinking, she found herself moving towards him. Like a magnet, his mouth drew hers. His lips were hot, familiar. Fireworks sparked under her skin as he wrapped his arms around her. She pressed herself to him, losing herself in the sensations. Her body warmed all the way through and a tightness built inside her, something pulling, an almost painful tug deep inside her was begging for him.
"No!"
Mary broke the kiss, heart pounding wildly. She backed away, shaking her head. It was too much. Too powerful. She didn't even know him! This couldn't happen. Her world could not be consumed by one man. And that pull… it was dangerous!
"No." She shook her head. "When we get back to the city, I want you to leave."
Andre stood still. Disbelief and pain were etched into his face. He blinked rapidly and turned away. "Of course," he whispered. "If that's what you want, that's what I will do."
"That's what I want." Mary's voice broke, but she straightened her shoulders. "I'm not hungry. Let's take down the camp. I want to get away from here. Now."