Starry raised a whiskered brow. "Are you sure?" she asked again.
I groaned. "Stop asking me that. I'm not sure about anything, okay? I'm a hot mess right now."
A sympathetic growl rumbled in Starry's throat and she flattened her ears. "Sorry."
Ugh, what was I doing? My sweet-tempered cousin was only trying to help and I responded by dumping all my dramatic feelings on her.
But I was torn. Should I go with her and spare Bear the nuisance of my presence?
Or should I listen to my heart, which was begging me to stay?
My decision was cut short by a loud crashing sound. The ground trembled in a rhythmic beat, like something large and heavy was pounding it. It was getting closer fast.
Just as my adrenaline spiked, Bear exploded through the thicket with a roar like thunder.
10
Bear
The mountain lion was back.
And it had Ashe pinned.
He was injured, naked, vulnerable—and worst of all, he was all alone.
If Ashe got hurt because of my stupidity, I'd never forgive myself.
I charged ahead, snapping twigs and crushing underbrush beneath my heavy paws. I stood on my hind legs and roared, then raised a paw to smack the mountain lion away from Ashe—
"Bear, wait!" Ashe yelled.
I stopped in confusion. Why was he yelling at me? I was trying to save his life.
The mountain lion's hair stood on end and it stared at me with wide eyes. Ashe got between me and the cat, holding his arms out as if protecting it.
Had he eaten some bad mushrooms while I was gone or something?
"It's not what it looks like," Ashe said hurriedly. "This isn't the same mountain lion that attacked me."
I let out a confused huff, then glanced over the cat. It looked similar to me. But then I noticed the flicker of intelligence in its eyes, different than a mere animal.
Was it a shifter?
With the immediate threat of danger gone, I lowered my body into a sitting position. Ashe sighed in relief.
"Who is this?" I signed curtly.
Noticing the motion of my paws, the mountain lion perked up. Her ears swivelled towards me and her tail flicked with excitement. I didn't understand her enthusiasm until she also sat back on her haunches and did an intricate, human-like gesture with her paws. "You sign too?" the mountain lion asked.
I gaped at her. Because of her paws, her words were a bit fuzzy—no joke intended—but they were understandable enough. She and I definitely shared the same language.
Ashe watched us with an amused, happy grin.
"Well, there's one problem solved," he said. "Bear, this is my cousin Starry. Starry, this is Bear."
The name was familiar. I recalled Ashe talking about her before, when he explained why he understood my condition.
The mountain lion in front of me shifted into a young woman with long braided hair. I assumed she changed because her gestures were easier to understand in that form. She smiled widely and gave me a hug, throwing her arms into my thick neck fur. I let out a soft grunt of surprise. It was more polite to match her form, so I reluctantly changed into a man. Since she'd just finished hugging me, we were standing quite close to each other.
