“It’s a shifter thing,” Ben said. “Fitz, are you good with shifting?”
With a grunt and a look to his alpha, he nodded, and Fern frowned. Maybe he was pissed she’d busted his lip. She thought they’d gotten past him thinking she talked too much, but maybe they’d been going opposite directions, her believing they’d made headway while his annoyance turned to hatred.
Without another word, Elliott changed forms, remaining on two legs as he became an eight-foot-tall grizzly, towering over the lot of them. She should have known he was a bear.
“Get down, man,” Ben scolded.
Elliott’s bear sniffed the air, then dropped down on all fours, facing Fern, and panting loudly.
“Shit,” she breathed, goosebumps erupting on her arms. Adam’s bear was the same size as this one, but he hadn’tlookedat her like that. Maybe it was the slightly darker patches around Elliott’s grizzly’s eyes, but he looked soulful, more intrigued by her. With her palm out, Fern took a tentative step forward, and he did too.
He sniffed her open hand before his tongue lolled out, and he licked her from fingertip to the top of her shoulder.
“Ew!” Noa laughed.
Stunned, Fern stood there while he repeated the action to her other arm. His tongue was shockingly muscular and surprisingly slimy.
“Fitz, stop,” Ben demanded, and the bear sat back on his haunches, looking annoyed, as though compelled by some sort of force when he’d rather be licking her skin.
“Can I pet him?” Fern asked, oddly hopeful.
“Better not,” Olivia said quietly, earning a glance from Fern. “Sorry.”
A low, vibrating rumble emanated from the grizzly as he snapped his teeth at Liv. Panting, he stared at Fern and dropped open his massive jaw. Canines the size of her fingers gleamed in the sunlight.
Fern stepped back. “He’s not going to eat me, right?”
“I mean, define ‘eat,’” Noa replied.
Taking another step away, Fern reached over to grab Liv’s arm for reassurance but only found air. Thrown off balance, she slipped on her discarded dress, her toe hooked beneath a fold in the fabric, and she flailed backward, splashing ungracefully into the freezing pond.
She sank for a moment, opening her eyes beneath the water to stare at stone and swarms of bubbles. But shock wore off, and she propelled herself to the surface. Sputtering, she wiped the hair from her face just in time to look up and see Noa’s golden tan legs flying toward her.
“Cannonball!” Noa screamed, leaping over Fern’s head.
Olivia watched Noa, shaking her head, then squatteddown and reached out a hand for Fern. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I don’t even know—” Past Liv, she caught sight of Elliott’s bear lumbering away. Ben watched him go with his arms crossed over his chest. “I think I’m going to swim for a minute, since I’m in and all.”
“Suit yourself.” Liv sat down and dipped her legs into the water.
Pushing off the slick stone wall, Fern floated, looking up at the hazy clouds as they glided across the aqua sky. “I am going to need my questions answered,” she announced with her ears still submerged.
Lifting her head a moment later, ready for those answers, she was interrupted by Ben announcing, “Come on, let’s go eat before the burgers get cold.”
Fern scowled at Liv, who said, “And we’ll answer all your questions at the table. Let’s go.”
Wrapped in towels and weighed down by loaded paper plates with burgers, potato salad, and grilled corn, they moved the conversation to a picnic table on the back deck. Partly shaded, with sunlight passing through the pines behind the cabin, it was a lovely place to enjoy the weather.
“How do you expect me to start my job in two days with this insane information?” Fern asked, skewering her best friend and her new friends in turn as her gaze shanked its way around the table.
“It’ll make it easier!” Noa offered.
“It really will,” Liv agreed. “The stories you hear will makesomuch more sense.”
“How did you learn about shifting?” She tried to imagine Ben explaining he was a wolf. “And when?”
“Um...” Olivia coughed, picking at her burger bun.
