Chapter Nine – Chrysi

The sun shone down on the clearing, reflecting off the snow, making it hard to see. The cabin had been dim in comparison. Once her eyes adjusted to the brightness, Chrysi began to understand what he meant.

“That is a lot of snow.” It had come over the sides of the porch, right up to the front door. She wasn’t sure how far she would be able to walk in it.

“Stay there.” Nevis trudged along the porch, through the snow, and lifted something that looked like a tennis racket off the outside wall of the cabin. Collecting three more, he came back to her. “Snowshoes. Have you used them before?”

“No,” Chrysi replied.

“I’ll walk in front and you follow in my tracks. You’ll need poles too.” He fetched four hiking sticks to go with the snowshoes.

“Does your bear need them too?” she asked.

He laughed. “No, my bear will be just fine. I’ll walk with you the first part of the way and teach you how to use them. You’ll soon adjust to walking in them.”

“But what if they follow our tracks and see where you changed? You know, into a bear.” Chrysi was concerned. Harlan had always insisted shifters were a secret.

“They won’t see paw prints. All they will see is a channel in the snow. Anyway, soon the snow will be peppered with trails as animals come out to search for food. This storm came early. There will be a lot of hungry critters on the mountain.”

“As long as you are sure.” She had a protective streak a mile wide for this handsome bear shifter of hers.

“I am.” He smiled and she believed him.

“OK, let’s get these on.” She indicated the snowshoes, and Nevis showed her how to fit them. Then he held her hand while she walked on them for the first time. It was the strangest sensation, and she was glad he had offered to walk the first part of the journey with her. Several times it felt as if she was going to trip over and sink into the snow.

On they walked through the forest, climbing back up the mountain to the place they had first met. It was hard to believe she had run this way trying to escape from Ross and Bart only two days ago. Two days in which her life had changed forever.

“I never expected to come up the mountain with one man, and go back down with another,” she told Nevis.

He stopped, his breath coming out in clouds, but the cold did not seem to bother him. “I hope you are happy with the change.”

“I guess I am.” She stopped in front of him. “Although the whole world is going to think I’m crazy. They thought my engagement to Ross was a whirlwind romance. We’d been going out for two months. Two days—that is going to set all kinds of tongues wagging.”

“We can wait. If that makes it easier.”

“Hell no!” Chrysi exclaimed. “Harlan has always said we are here to give people something to gossip about, and we should never be afraid of what other people think or say if we believe in what we are doing.”

“Harlan sounds like a wise man.” Nevis looked into the distance—not that he could see very far, the snow hanging from the branches of the trees obscured the view.

“He’s very wise.” Chrysi shrugged off the stray snowflakes that had settled on her shoulders. “Is this it?”

“It is.” Nevis tipped his head and kissed her briefly. “My bear might want to show off. And I apologize in advance if he rolls over and asks for his tummy to be rubbed.”

Chrysi laughed nervously. “How can I say no to rubbing his tummy when he was so magnificent at taking down Ross?”

“Oh goodness, now we’re in trouble, he’ll likely spend the rest of the day on his back, lapping up all the attention,” Nevis said. He bent down and took off his snowshoes and his pack, and propped them up against the tree. Chrysi moved to do the same. “No, keep it with you. There’s food in there, enough for you to survive out here. If anything happens, meet me back here. If I don’t come for any reason, go back to the cabin. OK?”

“Is anything likely to happen?” Chrysi asked, feeling unsure now that they were here. What if they had a gun? What if Nevis got killed, and they ended up kidnapping Chrysi for real? On the other hand, she could not let them get away with this. If they did, they might decide to try it again and hurt some other unsuspecting woman.

“Always have a back-up plan.” Nevis patted her upper arm reassuringly. “It’ll be fine.” He walked away from her, putting about ten feet between them. “Are you ready?”

“I think so.” Chrysi didn’t sound too sure.

“It’ll be OK. He’ll look after you. All we need is the satellite phone, and for them to believe I’m going to stay here and guard the cave.”

“OK.” She nodded and clapped her hands together. “Let’s do this and get down off the mountain.”

She watched as the air shimmered around Nevis, and then he disappeared, fading away before her eyes. Chrysi took a step forward, panic filling her. She didn’t want to be left out here alone. Convinced it was some kind of trick, she moved toward where Nevis had stood, but before she reached the spot, the air crackled and fizzed with static electricity and a big shadowy figure began to appear. Its shape was shorter than Nevis, but much broader; this was the bear who was the other side of the man she was mated to.

“Hi there.” She closed the space between them, giving no thought to the fact there was a huge bear in place of Nevis. Her fingers curled around his fur, and she fell to her knees, hugging his thick neck. The bear sniffed her, his mouth open slightly, as if tasting the air. Tasting her. Chrysi kept still and let him drink in her scent.

Then the bear did what Nevis had warned he might: he flopped down in the snow, rolling onto his back, with his short thick legs in the air. Giggling, Chrysi rubbed his belly as if he were a dog. The bear wriggled around, snow spraying up in the air and sticking in clumps to his fur. They spent several minutes like this, enjoying each other completely. It was a carefree moment, one she wished to continue, but finally he sat up, licked her hand, and then climbed to his feet, shaking the snow from his coat.

“Yuck.” She laughed as the snow hit her, cold prickles on her skin. When she was sure he was ready, she eased her body backwards and used him for support as she stood up. “Lead the way.”

The bear knew what she meant, and turned around, rubbing his head against her thigh as he did. The action reminded her of a cat marking its territory. She liked that idea. He was making sure the world knew she was his.

Turning to walk uphill, the bear planted his big paws into the snow and somehow didn’t sink. His feet were so big they distributed his weight in the same way as a snowshoe. Chrysi found herself watching the bear in awe. He was just as magnificent as the human Nevis.

The bear stopped occasionally, looking around and then lifting his short snout into the air to catch the breeze. Once satisfied, he moved on, sure-footed, and Chrysi followed, trusting his sense of direction. After about a mile, he stopped, and she recognized the place where they had met Bart.

“Do you know where they went from here?” Chrysi asked.

The bear nodded and turned to face a steep slope. “Is that where we have to go?”

Nevis nodded and set off, one big paw in front of the other. Chrysi followed, half walking, half climbing as she tackled the steep slope. It might have been easy with no snow covering the ground, but now, it was treacherous. Mini-avalanches made the going dangerous, especially when they climbed higher and the drop become more extreme.

Finally, they reached the top, and Nevis stopped, sitting his bear butt down for a moment. Chrysi wasn’t sure whose benefit it was for, but she was grateful of the chance to catch her breath.

“Wow.” Chrysi looked at the vista before her. They were above the treetops, on a ledge overlooking the valley below. The sky was pristine blue, with a watery sun shining down on the snow, making the world glitter as if covered in a million diamonds. Chrysi breathed in the cold, crisp air, and exhaled in a puff of vapor. “It’s amazing.”

The bear leaned toward her, and she put her arm around him and hugged him. As she sat there on the side of the mountain, with the world glittering below her, and the warmth of the bear pressing against her, it was hard to imagine anything bad could happen.

The bear sat next to her in contented silence, but they had to move on. “OK, I’m good to go.” Chrysi stood up and adjusted her snowshoes, while the bear stood and shook his snowy butt. Then he took his bearings, sniffing the air, looking at the ground, and then striking off to the north. Chrysi followed.

One foot in front of the other, they walked on for a further ten minutes before the bear stopped, head up, alert. Chrysi strained to see, or hear, what he had heard, but there was nothing. The bear nudged her, and they walked on, more carefully this time.

Then she heard it. A call. A man’s voice shouting. “Bart. Get some wood. We need to build the fire up.”

“I’m not going out there. It’s freezing,” came Bart’s reply.”

“Not as freezing as it will be tonight if we don’t build the fire.”

“We should walk out of here now,” Bart insisted, his voice filled with anger. “I’m not willing to lose my damn fingers to hypothermia.”

“With the money Harlan Remington is going to pay us, you can buy new fingers,” Ross hissed to his accomplice.

They were close enough now, that Chrysi could make out the figure of Ross outside the mouth of a cave. He was looking in, his hands on his upper arms as he hugged himself. Chrysi dug her fingers into the bear’s thick fur, and they exchanged a knowing look. They were both ready to act out this little charade.

The two of them broke cover side by side. There was no attempt to sneak up on the two men. That would have made them appear less intimidating. The idea was to make Ross and Bart know they were not afraid, that they were in control.

Ross didn’t see them; he was too busy talking to Bart, who was not coming out of the cave. “Hello, Ross.” Her first words made him jump, and holler.

“What the fuck, Chrysi.” Then his eyes slid down to the bear, who snarled menacingly. “What the fuck,” Ross repeated, his pitch higher, and he backed away.

“I might say the same to you. What the fuck were you thinking? Did you really think you could get away with it?” Chrysi asked.

“What? What are you doing with a bear? They can eat you. You know that, right?” Ross asked, staring at her as if she must be crazy.

“He won’t eat me.” She patted his head. “But he might eat you.”

Nevis took a step forward, lifting his head and snarling. “Keep him away!”

“If you give me the satellite phone.”

“What satellite phone?” Ross asked. “We lost it in the snow.” Ross spread his hands out, which was all too inviting for the bear, who stepped forward quickly and snapped at Ross’s hand. “Get him off me!”

“Get me the phone, and he won’t hurt you. I give you my word.” Chrysi put her hands on her hips. “If you don’t, he’ll take the place apart, and everything in it. Piece by piece.”

Nevis huffed as if he were laughing, which Ross found disturbing. “Don’t think you can threaten me. If he hurts anyone, the rangers will be up here. They will hunt him down and put a bullet in his skull.” Ross held up his hand, making it into the shape of a gun, pointed it at his head, and pulled a trigger.

“That depends on whether they find you. And Bart.” Chrysi ducked down and shouted into the cave. “You’d better come out too, Bart. Or I’ll send my bear in to drag you out.”

“What the fuck is going on?” Bart came bumbling out, hands curled into fists. “It’s freezing out here.”

“You can go back inside, and stay inside, your nice warm cave once you let me have your satellite phone,” Chrysi explained.

“What satellite phone?” Bart asked, his eyes shifting to Ross with an accusing look.

“The one you used to call my dad and ask for a ransom.” Chrysi allowed all her pent-up anger and betrayal to enter her voice. “That is the whole reason you dated me and proposed to me, isn’t it, Ross? You worm.”

“Chrysi…” Ross began.

“Don’t.” Chrysi put her hand up to silence him. “Just give me the damn phone so I can tell my father I’m safe.”

“We couldn’t get it to work,” Bart blurted out, but his eyes shifted to look at Ross.

“Liar.” She managed to keep the sob that welled in her throat from erupting. There was no way she was going to allow them to see how upset she was at the thought of her father worrying about her.