Cole didn’t stray from his mission. For hours, they searched for the missing biologist.

“Cole,” Tali murmured, holding onto a birch sapling to steady herself as she moved through the woods. “It’s getting dark. What if Caid is out there right now, watching you? It’s getting harder to see, and...what if...it’s not safe?”

“You’re right,” he said through tight lips. “He probably is. The sheriff needs to call it off for the night soon. But I’m not leaving until the rest of these people go home to where it’s safe.”

“You’re so stubborn,” she sighed. He said nothing, just continued to trudge along the search grid, eyes sharply focused on the ground.

“I’m just scared,” she said after a long quiet spell. Cole turned to her, softening.

“Yeah,” Cole said, kissing the top of her head. “Me too. It’ll be okay.”

An hour later they heard three blasts of a whistle. Tali jumped, almost daring to get excited, thinking someone had found something, until she remembered three blasts meant it was time to come in. They were done for the night.

“Dammit,” she said. “It’s time to go.”

Cole shook his head. “Go catch up to the Hendersons and walk back with them. I want to keep looking. I can still see.”

“What?” she said, horrified. “No, Cole, you can’t stay out here alone. If your goddamn clan is involved in this, I’m sure they’re just waiting for a chance to get you alone. They’ll kill you. For all we know, maybe this attacking people thing was just an attempt to draw you up here. They’ll… What are you doing?”

“Shhh!” Cole said sharply, holding up a finger. She could see his nostrils flaring wildly.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Blood. I smell blood,” he said, and her mouth fell open.

“What?” she gasped.

He nodded. “I have to follow it.”

“Cole no. We can…we can tell Sheriff Crake. We can come back tomorrow. We—”

She stopped, horrified, as he turned into a bear right before her eyes. It was nearly dark now, and the other searchers had their backs turned, already heading back toward the road.

“Cole, stop!” she said, reaching out for the massive bear that stood where he boyfriend had just been. But he was already turning around, standing on all fours, nose to the ground. He started to walk off toward the north and she took several long steps to catch up with him, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Cole,” she begged, but then he turned around to growl loudly at her, snapping his jaws. It had obviously been meant to scare her, and it had worked. She squeaked and pulled her hand back, heart hammering. Logically, she knew it was her boyfriend in there and he would never hurt her, but his massive jaws and fierce amber eyes definitely triggered that primal fear in her.

He took advantage of her surprise and went bounding off into the woods.

Panic gripped her and she turned back to where the road was. With a sudden, horrified thought, she realized how suspicious it would look if she were seen leaving on her own. She scrambled to catch up, and soon found a crowd of a dozen or so people making their way down the road to the gate where all the cars were parked. It was dark enough that people had flashlights on. She didn’t think anyone noticed that she was alone, and she pulled away quickly. Cole didn’t need any more suspicion on him, and the mere thought of it made her heart thud in her chest.

It didn’t stop thudding, either. Because now he was running off into a wilderness inhabited by murderous bears, one of whom probably wanted him dead more than anything else in the world. They would maul him. They would fucking kill him. She couldn’t get the image of massive jaws and slashing claws out of her head. Of Cole surrounded, alone and in pain, unable to defend himself against relentless enemies.

She didn’t even realize at first that she wasn’t heading in the direction of home. In fact, she was too wrapped up in her thoughts to be anything other than vaguely aware that she was still on the road. It was only as she pulled into his driveway that she realized where she’d driven.

Where else could she go?