Page 47 of The Grizzly Situation

I reached into my pocket, grateful to find my phone hadn’t slipped out while I slept. I pressed Brent’s number, my desperation ratcheting up. He answered on the third ring.

“Hey, we were just finishing and packing the gear.”

“Brent? Brent, the boys are gone.”

He was suddenly quiet. Then he growled, “What do you mean when you say gone?”

“I put them down for a nap and then laid down myself. I know I shouldn’t have, but I haven’t been sleeping and… no, there’s no excuse. I’m so sorry. It was only about an hour, but when I woke up there were bears in the house!”

“Bears?” he asked.

“Yes! They were on the bed with me, sleeping behind my legs.”

“Well, holy shit,” he said, sounding so damn proud. “They had their first shift!”

I blinked several times. “What the fuck are you talking about? The boys are gone!”

He chuckled. “Uly, I need you to go to the kitchen and ask Amelia to make you some of my private hot chocolate, then have a seat in the great room. We’re on our way back, but it’ll be a couple hours before we get there. Stay with Amelia, okay? Don’t move from there. I swear, I’ll explain everything when we get home. Don’t worry. The boys are safe, I promise you that.”

And then he was gone, leaving me in a state of panic the likes of which I’d never experienced, even when I didn’t have my meds.

And what did he mean ‘shift’?

Chapter Thirteen

BRENT

I pressed harderon the accelerator, wishing we had taken the helicopter instead of the car. My head was filled with questions and, I admit it, a certain amount of doubts.

“What’s on your mind, cub?” Chaim asked, his voice rumbling. It was funny, even when he was a kid, his voice was deep and soothing.

“The boys shifted,” I told him. “With Uly. They never have for me and now I find myself wondering if they don’t feel safe with me, but they do with him after just a day.”

Benjy blew out a breath. “Okay, we need to have the conversation now, Chaim.”

“Yup, we do.” He sighed. “Remember how we were talking about mates?”

“Yeah? I’m sorry, right now I’m not really focused.”

“Right, then pull over. Now.”

I did as he asked and drifted to the side of the dirt road. I turned to him, doing my best to stay calm. “Okay, what?”

“Benjy, do you remember how to get back?”

He scowled. “Really?”

That made Chaim chuckle. “Sorry, Mr. GPS. I forgot for a second. Could you please drive while I talk to the cub?”

“Of course.”

The kids were suspiciously quiet, but when I looked into the back I found they were asleep, their heads resting together. It was good to see that Chaim’s family loved each other. I’d always worried about him and Benjy, that something would happen and they’d be alone in the world. As Benjy and I swapped places, Chaim pulled a blanket from the storage area of the SUV and covered the kids since the mountains were pretty chilly. It was easy to see the love he had for his family. Then he and I climbed into the second set of seats.

After we were in the vehicle once again, Chaim buckled up, then turned to me. “Okay, let’s go back to mates.”

Not this again. “You know I’m not buying it, right? I’m not the gullible kid I used to be.”

“And I don’t want you to be gullible. I need you to listen, with an open mind, and hear what I’m trying to tell you.”