Page 14

14

F aye

“Here,” Ezra says, holding a berry up to me. I open my mouth for him to pop it inside. “Try this one. It’s from the top of the tree—it tastes the best.”

“Mine are bigger,” Maverick growls, popping two more berries in my mouth after Ezra’s. My mouth explodes with the warm sweetness of the berries, but I’m starting to feel sick from eating so many.

“She’s not going to taste the difference now!” Ezra says, scowling and rolling his eyes. I swallow them down, wishing I had some water. “Now I have to go back to the top of the tree.”

While Maverick and Ezra are on the hunt for the best berries, Xander and Cayson are simply trying to see who can gather more, coming back with armfuls of berries, most of which are smashed, and dumping them into my basket. It’s cute, the way they seem to be trying to impress me, but it’s overwhelming at the same time.

“Guys,” I say weakly, when I see the berries starting to overflow. “Guys, there’s enough?—”

“Ha,” Ezra says, returning a moment later, a huge branch in his hand like it’s nothing. “I brought this down from the top, where the berries are sweeter. Now, Faye, try one on its own ? — ”

“Look at this one!” Maverick says, producing a berry that really is the biggest I’ve ever seen.

“Wow,” I say, without meaning to, and Ezra frowns like I’d personally insulted the size of his berries.

I think of Addilyn and her plans to find a whole group of alphas—how is she planning to juggle that many at once? I just have four of them here, now, and it's overwhelming. Surely, I’m not a woman equipped to handle multiple men. I don’t think I could even handle one .

Ezra and Cayson have agreed to back off after we take care of Kurt, but Maverick and Xander are under the impression that there’s some sort of mating bond between us. How am I going to convince them otherwise? Especially when they’re being so sweet, and working so hard to impress me.

“Guys!” Cayson says, his voice full of excitement and joy. We all turn to him, seeing him vaguely through the trees. “Oh my god, it’s so cute! Come here!”

“Cayson,” Ezra says, his voice already wary. “What are you doing?”

We push through the trees, and stop short when we see the cutest little bear cub standing in the middle of the clearing. It’s just a few feet tall, with soft fur and big eyes.

Except, you know, it’s also a wild animal.

“Bear,” Xander whispers, his voice breathy, his eyes going wide.

He and Maverick exchange a look, but I can’t lie—the cub is really adorable. I just want to hold her like a teddy bear. But I also remember my brother saying that if you ever see a cub wandering around in the forest, it’s a good idea to get out of there. You don’t want to risk a mother bear perceiving you as a threat.

“She looks so soft,” Cayson says, inching toward her. She looks up at him, eyes wide, the picture of innocence.

“Cayson, don—” Ezra starts, but cuts off when Cayson’s hand connects with the top of the cub’s head.

We all stand there for a moment, holding our breath. Will the cub react? Cry out for its mother? Instead, it nuzzles into Cayson’s hand, and it’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.

“She is soft,” Cayson says, grinning up at us. “See? Nothing’s going to?—”

He stops when a roar rings out through the forest. My heart jumps into my throat when I whirl around, only to see the open jaws of a furious mama bear running in my direction.

I scream when Ezra’s hand wraps around my bicep, hauling me back behind him. Maverick and Xander move in front of me protectively, jostling me. I trip over my feet and land on the basket of berries as the four guys shift, their wolves a blur around me.

We’re going to die. They’re going to find us, ripped to shreds in the forest. I’d thought my biggest concern was making it out of The Selection without a mate, but maybe I should have been focusing more on the making it out part.

Except while I’m freaking out, completely useless, the guys have launched into action, coordinating like they’ve been working together their whole lives. A unit designed specifically to protect me.

Cayson, as a golden wolf, herds the baby bear toward the mom, while Xander, a large black wolf, takes a flying leap toward the bear’s side, retreating when she swings out at him. Ezra, his muzzle white and the rest of his body a grey so dark he’s almost black, gets under the bear's feet and Maverick, a wolf the same auburn color as his hair, confuses her, running side to side. The bear topples over backward. When she gets to her feet, angrier than before, Cayson has deposited the baby bear back at her side.

She swings at them a few more times, but looks confused, glancing back at her cub. It seems like, knowing the baby is safe, she’s not that interested in fighting with this pack of wolves. They growl at her, warning her away from me, pushing her out of the clearing and further into the trees.

I watch them go, heart in my throat, and slowly climb to my feet. Brushing sticky berries off of my dress and body, I keep my eyes glued on where they disappeared, hoping to see my wolves coming back at any moment, and not the bear.

There’s movement. I hold my breath.

Cayson comes exploding back toward me in human form, the guys tailing closely behind. All of them look proud. Almost happy. Which is crazy. They just faced an angry bear. But there’s no denying it.

“Faye!” Cayson says, barreling toward me. “Did you see that?”

“You idiot,” Ezra says, punching Cayson in the shoulder. Maverick comes to me, scanning me over as if looking for any injuries. Xander picks up the crushed basket of berries, awkwardly trying to scoop some of the smashed, purple mess back inside. “You could have gotten her killed.”

“No way!” Cayson says, slinging his arms around Ezra and Xander. I stifle a giggle at the look each of them give him—Ezra, mild annoyance, and Xander, baffled annoyance. “Not with us around! We’re the dream team! We could take that bear with our eyes closed.”

“We didn’t actually take the bear,” Ezra says, but he’s trying not to grin. “We just scared her away.”

“Scared a bear,” Maverick says, glancing at me and giving me a devilish grin, which makes my skin erupt with goosebumps. Absently, I laugh, rubbing my biceps to try and warm them. “That’s a new one.”

“Anything like high school football?”

Maverick’s grin widens, and my heart races in the face of such a beautiful man. “Yeah, except then, I was the bear.”

“The way you hit her in the side?” Cayson says, mock boxing Xander’s side. “Like bam and she tried to get you,” he swings out, and Xander pushes him away, also stifling a smile. “You just danced away!”

I shake my head. I have no idea how long we’re supposed to stay out here, but I feel like we’ve had enough of an adventure. We don’t need to have another run-in with the bear.

“Well, it was good thinking to get that cub closer,” Maverick admits, moving closer to me as we walk.

I can feel his warmth, even from here, and it feels nice, like something I want to wrap myself in. Which is a strange notion. I barely know Maverick and Xander. Every instinct inside of me should be screaming to stay as far away from them as possible, so they don’t get the wrong impression. And yet, I can’t ignore the way they make me feel.

“I know, the idea just came to me,” Cayson says with a laugh. “Wait until we tell everyone we fought a bear .”

“They’re probably going to ask what the hell we did to get into that situation in the first place,” Ezra mutters, “and we’re going to have to tell them that you’re an idiot.”

“Hey,” Cayson says, putting his hands up and smirking at everyone. “It was worth it.”

Ezra rolls his eyes.

“Maybe,” Xander grunts, and I laugh.

When his eyes meet mine, I fight with the feeling in my chest. Being with all these guys, laughing and joking, reminds me of what things were like before my brother died. It reminds me of what it’s like to feel carefree, and protected, and even if just for a moment, safe.

Man, I’m in trouble…