The road curved and dipped as they climbed higher toward Pine Cottage. The headlights cut through the mountain darkness, and the quiet after the restaurant felt deeper than before.
“Thank you for inviting me,” Meryl said.
Spencer nodded, his throat suddenly tight. The cottage came into view around the final bend, dark and waiting. When he parked, neither of them moved immediately to get out.
“Would you like to come in?” Meryl asked.
The simple question carried weight far beyond its words. Spencer turned to look at her properly, taking in the uncertainty in her expression, the openness that hadn’t been there when they first met.
“I would,” he said.
They walked to the door together, close enough that their hands brushed, each point of contact sending sparks across his skin. It was as if the night was charged with energy. With expectation.
The house was cool and dark when they stepped inside. Meryl switched on a lamp, and the sitting room bloomed into warm light, showing all their careful work — the brass fixtures, the clean hearth, the windows they’d repaired together.
Tell her now,his bear urged.The moment is right.
Spencer watched as Meryl set her bag down and moved around the room, turning on another lamp. She looked as if she belonged here. Like she might stay.
For the first time, he truly believed she might not leave.
“Would you like some tea?” she asked, turning toward the kitchen.
“Actually,” Spencer said, the words spilling out before he could second-guess them, “I’d like to show you something. Outside.”
Meryl tilted her head slightly. “Outside? Now?”
“In the garden.” He hesitated. “If that’s okay.”
She studied him for a moment, curiosity replacing confusion. “All right.”
Spencer led her through the back door and into the garden. The night was clear, stars sharp overhead, the air cool but not cold. The garden Meryl had begun to reclaim spread before them, no longer choked with weeds but still wild at the edges.
“It’s beautiful out here at night,” she said, looking up at the stars.
Spencer stopped in the center of the garden where moonlight pooled on the grass. His heart hammered against his ribs.
Do it now,his bear said.No more waiting.
“Meryl.” His voice came out lower than he intended. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
She turned to him, and he saw uncertainty in her face.
“I haven’t been completely honest with you.” He took a breath. “About who I am. What I am.”
Her brows drew together slightly. “What do you mean?”
Spencer looked at her, memorizing her face in this moment before everything changed.
“Let me show you. It’ll make more sense that way.”
Before she could say anything else, Spencer stepped back, giving himself space. He held her gaze, letting her see the truth in his eyes, then let the shift take him.
It happened in an instant — the air crackled with static electricity, for a moment he disappeared, and then he was thereon all fours, a massive brown bear where a man had been seconds before.
Meryl gasped, stumbling backward until she hit the trunk of the old apple tree. Her hand flew to her mouth, eyes wide with shock.
Spencer stayed perfectly still, letting her see him. Hoping she could see past the fur and claws and see that the bear and man were one and the same.
