Commotion near the treeline breaks the moment. Shouting. Someone running.
A young man stumbles from the forest, hand pressed to his ribs and blood seeping between his fingers.
Bodhi moves before I can react. I follow, and we reach the injured man together.
“Ray.” Bodhi’s voice is sharp. “What happened?”
“Ran into some of Jensen’s old crew.” Ray winces. “They recognized me from when I used to run with my dad. Took offense to a bear being in town.”
Bodhi’s jaw clenches. His father’s legacy is still causing problems.
“How many?” Bodhi’s considering going to deal with the threat to his clan personally, but Ray places a hand on his arm to calm him and keep him there.
“Three. I handled it.” Ray’s grin is bloody but proud. “Walked away. Didn’t shift.”
“You’re an idiot.” But there’s no real heat in Bodhi’s voice. “Mitch! Medical kit.”
I step closer to assess the wounds. Three gashes across his ribs, deep but not life-threatening. “These need cleaning and stitching.”
Ray blinks at me, sniffing, eyes going wide as he stares at where I’m touching him. “You’re the Alpha’s...”
My patient tries to squirm away, understandably concerned that he might lose any part of his body that I touch.
“This is Emma.” Bodhi’s hand settles on my lower back. “And she’s right. You need the clinic.”
Mitch appears and takes over, hauling Ray away, along with one of the other bears who laughs at him for kicking up a fuss over such a minor flesh wound. The crowd disperses slowly.
I’m aware of the blood on my hands and my borrowed shirt as the adrenaline still hums through my veins.
But I wasn’t afraid.
I should’ve been. I still have nightmares about blood, about that cabin, about strange men coming for me. But these bears don’t scare me. They’re Bodhi’s family, and there’s such a sense of community here that they make me feel safe.
“Come on.” Bodhi takes my hand. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Back inside the cabin, he guides me to the sink, runs warm water, and then gently washes my hands himself. The tenderness of the gesture undoes something in my chest.
“I was terrified,” he admits quietly, watching pink-tinged water swirl down the drain. “When I heard shouting and saw blood... All I could think was that someone was coming for you.”
That hadn’t even occurred to me. And it certainly hadn’t occurred to me that a big, scary bear like Bodhi could be worried like that.
“I’m fine.” Looking him in the eye, I try to reassure him, but his jaw remains clenched and his shoulders are tight.
“I know.” He dries my hands with a worn towel. “But watching you out there, calm and competent, caring for our people...” He shakes his head. “I’m so proud of you. You’re doing better than I am.”
He sets the towel aside and frames my face with his hands, tilting it up so I have no choice but to meet his eyes.
“I love you.” The words come out rough. “Not because of the bond. Because of who you are. Even if there were no bond, I’d want you here with me.”
Simple. Direct. And through our connection, I feel the weight of everything he’s not saying, the depth of it too big for words.
The last of my resistance crumbles.
I’ve been holding back, protecting myself and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for him to prove he’s like every other person who’s let me down. But he’s not. He’s infuriating and overprotective and terrible at communication, but he’s alsoloyal and fierce, and he looks at me like I’m the answer to every question he’s ever asked.
And I’m tired of fighting it.
“I’m staying.”
