Heart Of The Bear (Appalachian Shifters #1) by Alanis Knight

Author:Alanis Knight [Knight, Alanis]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: BBW, Bear, Werebear, Erotic Romance Fiction, Alpha, Adult, Romance
Goodreads: 25215241
Publisher: SynapsePress.com
Published: 2015-03-24T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

As autumn approached, it became harder for me to explain to my mother why I was still in Gatlinburg whenever she called. I’d been at the den for most of the summer, though Caleb had hardly spoken to me since the incident by the brook.

I’d grown used to the awkward silences. Mostly. It was tolerable, I suppose, given the alternative. Sure, I could have tried to run away. But something wouldn’t let me. I couldn’t even entertain the thought. Despite the uncomfortable tension between us, I couldn’t leave him.

One evening, as the first chill of autumn set in, some of the pack members gathered around a bonfire to enjoy the fresh air. I was sitting on the outskirts of the gathering when Ivy approached me.

“Mind if I join you?” she asked.

“Please,” I said, nodding to the fallen log upon which I was resting.

“You and Caleb still not talking?” she asked me.

“Afraid not,” I told her.

“You should go talk to him,” she said.

I noticed her watching something intently, and I followed her eyes. Caleb was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest. He was staring into the distance and looking completely alone.

“I can’t, Ivy,” I argued. “I’m too upset.”

“Look, there’s things you don’t know about Caleb,” she said. “And it’s not up to me to tell you, but clearly he hasn’t or you wouldn’t be sitting here right now. All I can tell you is that he needs you, and you should go to him.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off him, and I could almost sense the depth of his loneliness from across the thirty or so yards between us. He pushed off the tree and disappeared into the woods.

“Go,” Ivy said. When I didn’t move, she pushed at me and said, “Go!”

I needed no further prodding. I jumped off the log, ignoring the twinges of discomfort that skill lurked inside my body, and I followed him.

Caleb followed the path toward the branch, and I slowly followed after him. I watched him approach the water, and he kneeled beside it and splashed his face. I watched him rub his eyes with his middle finger and thumb, finally pinching the bridge of his nose with his elbow resting on his knee.

“Caleb?”

I was surprised that he was startled as he jerked his head to look at me. I assumed his shifter senses would have detected me long before.

“What are you doing here?” he snapped.

I walked over to him and stood over him. I said nothing. Not because I was upset with him, but because I simply couldn’t find the words.

He shook his head and turned to look away from me. I couldn’t see his face, but somehow I knew there was a tremendous sadness within in. I could feel it. It was almost palpable. I put my hand on his shoulder, and in an instant his hand reached up to rest on top of mine. His fingers lingered there for a moment, and then they closed around my hand and pulled it to his lips.

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