32

Bethany called out Cedric"s name as she crawled off the bed, barely able to feel her legs but adrenaline pushing her forward all the same. He was down the stairs before her feet touched the floor, and by the time she reached the railing, both doors were wide open and he was nowhere to be seen.

He had left her. She had begged him to stay, begged him to fuck her and give her what they both wanted, begged him to give into his desires, and he had left her!

He was gone, and she was naked and shivering, and...

No. No!

She wasn't going to let her fears win, nor would she let any sort of miscommunication ruin the best thing to ever happen in her life. He had been apologizing as he raced out the door, and as she hurriedly pulled clothes on, she replayed the last few minutes in her mind, trying to make sense of what had happened.

He was with her, unable to get enough of her, and then he had lost control, and he ran, and...

He was keeping his promise to her, to not fuck her until after they had talked. He had been unable to control himself, so he had raced out the door, determined to keep from giving into his baser desires.

That foolish, stupid, sweet, endearing bear!

Oh, she was going to yell at him for this when she tracked him down, in between kissing him and professing all of her feelings for him, both the good parts and her deep fears. She was going to spit it all out while he undressed her, which would take a while because she was now wearing multiple layers given how cold it was outside, and somewhere along the way, she knew he would confess his feelings in return. They had been on the tip of his tongue, time and again, but something had been holding him back each time.

No more. No more awkward dancing around their feelings. No more awkward dancing around what he wanted to say. No more promises of her always having a place with him, without labels and definitions around it.

She was in love with him, and she knew he was in love with her.

No more hiding. Only happiness.

But first, she had to brave the cold.

Even with multiple layers of pants and shirts and boots and coats and gloves on, Bethany froze at the top of the steps as the wind wrapped around her, nearly strong enough to knock her down. The weather was starting to turn again, and she could tell by the dark clouds that more snow would be falling soon, but all she had to do was follow Cedric"s tracks, and she would eventually find him. From there, she knew he could lead her home.

The first few steps were the hardest, particularly given how sensitive she still was between her thighs and how stiff she felt after being strung out from multiple orgasms, but after a few minutes of working her way across the snow, thanks to the snowshoes on her feet, she started to warm up and moved easier. Walking on top of thick snow was nothing new to her, and the top layer had settled since the last snow fall. His tracks were easy to follow, leading her towards the woods.

Every few steps, she called out his name, knowing her voice would carry in the wind but call to him all the same. All she had to do was keep moving in his direction, and eventually, he would either hear her, smell her, or see her. She would tell him how she felt before he even had a chance to shift back into human form, knowing that once he was human again and she was in his arms, they would be kissing and she would be too wrapped up in him to think clearly, and from there...

This was only the start of their story. What came next was filled with endless possibilities, but she knew that all of them would lead to happiness.

Once she reached the tree line, the trail became a little easier to follow, and she continued on, heading opposite the direction towards Owen"s cabin and deeper into the forest. That was a little confusing, as he rarely led her in that direction, nor ran that way when she did watch him run off while a bear, but she would follow the tracks all the same. The wind had picked up some, but in the trees, she was better protected from most of it, and kept following along the path, easy to see even with the snow covering the ground, given how the trees led her through. Snow was starting to fall as well, but eventually, Cedric would turn around, and they would run into one another, and it would be fine.

So long as she stayed on the path, it would be fine.

Until it wasn"t.

The bear tracks had disappeared at some point, but Bethany had kept going, calling out Cedric"s name, until the path she was on no longer seemed like a path at all. The trees were growing closer together, and the underbrush on either side grew thicker, until a large tree stood in the middle of what should be the path, and she realized it was a dead end. She called out again, knowing he would hear her with his sensitive hearing, then turned around to follow her own tracks back... only to realize they were quickly disappearing with the falling snow.

She had been intent on not returning home without Cedric, but as she started making her way back towards the direction of the house, a new fear creeped through her that she might not be able to make it back at all.

She was alone in the woods, in a part of the forest she had never before seen, in the thick of winter with an approaching storm, and she had nothing with her. No supplies. No satellite phone. No food or water. No way to make a shelter. Not even a pocket knife or a compass.

She had left the house in clothes that would keep her warm, sure, but she was completely unprepared for the changing elements, and she had no idea how to actually get back.

Fuck. When she told Cordelia about this later, and she would be telling Cordelia about this later, so help her, she would laugh and call herself dickmatized for making such a foolish mistake. She knew better, had grown up in these mountains, and had spent many winters trapping and hunting in weather like this. She knew how to be prepared and how to prepare for the worst.

And here she was, utterly unprepared.

Bethany took in a deep breath and squared her shoulders, taking a moment to look through the trees towards the sky while listening carefully. She knew the river ran north of the cabin, and if she walked parallel to it, eventually she would reach a small clearing where the fields in front of Cedric"s house were visible from the upper bank. If she somehow missed the clearing, eventually, the river would take a sharp turn and not be visible at all to her, but by that point, she would be close enough to Owen and Cordelia"s place that his bear hearing would be able to catch her voice, even with the wind. It was a long fucking walk, particularly with the wind and the falling snow, but so long as she kept moving, she would stay warm, and somewhere along the way, she would run into Cedric.

She had to. She knew she would. Because the second Cedric returned home and realized she wasn"t there, he would be looking for her.

And he wouldn"t stop until he found her. Of that, she was certain.

Following the sound of the river kept her on track, and within a few minutes, she was certain she was back on the path, or at the very least, the path she had originally been on. Snow was still falling, but the wind had settled slightly, taking some of the bite out of the cold. She shivered regardless with each brush of it, but as the trees began to thin, she felt a new confidence bloom within her as she realized she was almost home.

And out of nowhere, a bear came running through the trees, charging straight towards her.

Bethany smiled as she pulled down the layers covering the lower half of her face, knowing that it was her bear coming towards her. It could have been his twin, of course, as she hadn"t been able to tell them apart earlier, but Gareth was long gone by now, and the way Cedric was racing and weaving around the trees to reach her, it screamed of a man in a state of panic.

He shifted into human form only a few paces away from her, still running towards her now completely naked, and all at once, she felt the tears start to burn in her eyes. It would be a mistake to cry, as they would probably freeze in her lashes and make her face hurt even more, but she couldn"t help herself. Seeing him again, confirming that he hadn"t left her despite her ignoring her earlier fears, she was beyond relieved.

He had searched for her, and found her, just as she knew he would.

"Cedric," she breathed out as she raced into his arms, colliding with him in just a few steps. His arms wrapped around her, hugging her tight to his chest, before he pulled back to look her over, shaking his head as he did so.

"Are you hurt? Are you okay? I went home and you weren"t there, and I panicked. Thought you had headed back to town, then I realized you were trying to follow me, and fuck if that didn"t make it worse. A storm picking up, and you tried to chase a bear in the woods? Are you crazy, Sunshine? Fuck, but then you found your way back all the same, but I"ve been running from here to Owen"s place, trying to follow your scent, with the storm making it worse. If I lose you, if you were lost out there, I—"

"I had to follow you," she answered, smiling up at him as he cradled her cheeks with his warm hands. Always warm, thank goodness, because her bare face was cold. "I had to bring you home."

"I was going to come back, with or without you chasing after me," he insisted, shaking his head again. "Just had to get it out of my system. Nearly gave in up there, and—"

"And I love you," she whispered, cutting him off. She didn"t mean for it to be a whisper, even though she knew he could hear it no matter the volume, but the words were caught in her throat, along with her tears. "I"m in love with you."

Cedric smiled down at her, his grin showing all of his teeth, and she smiled back, the weight of weeks of indecision and fear lifting off of her. She was in love with him, and it felt good to finally, after weeks of agony, say it. And now that it was out there, she wanted to scream it.

She probably would, as soon as they were naked again, and he had her pressed against or bent over the nearest surface.

"I love you, Cedric. So much it hurts. And I"ve been so scared to let myself love you, because I was afraid that one day you would leave me and it would shatter me, but I"m not afraid anymore. I refuse to be afraid."

"I will never hurt you, ever, Sunshine," he vowed as he pulled her close again, his lips pressed to her forehead as he spoke. "Been in love with you since the moment I saw you punch some fucker in the bar. Never thought I would find someone I would want to share my life with, so I wasn"t even looking, but there you were. Took my breath away from the start. Got caught in your orbit and that was it for me. I"m going to spend my whole life proving it, too."

"I know," she promised, tilting her face up to look at him. She needed his kiss to seal it in, and then, she needed him to carry her home, before she lost feeling in her fingers and toes. "I"ve known all along you would never hurt me. I was scared for stupid reasons, and—"

He cut her off with the kiss she had been aching for, swallowing her explanations and her fears. She kissed him back, her arms wrapping around his middle as she did so, braving the cold just to feel closer to him. He didn"t pull back, didn"t hesitate as his hand moved to the back of her head, holding her close and not letting her even pull back for air. Every breath was shared with him as they clung to one another, repeating their love with every movement of their lips.

She didn"t want to let go, even though she needed to, but their home was close, and soon, she would be in his arms again.

He was the one to break the kiss with a muttered curse, and he pressed his forehead against hers as he breathed out her name. She shivered, both from the cold and from the way he whispered Bethany, but she didn"t go in for another kiss, only savoring the moment for a few seconds longer.

"I love you," he murmured against her lips, and she smiled, amazed to hear it for the first time. "Got a lot more to say than that, but not out here. Not when you"re cold."

Yes, she was cold, but she kissed him again all the same, clinging to him as she soaked in his warmth, trying to ignore the cold wind wrapping around them.

But Cedric seemed to know better and pulled away once more.

"Storm is getting worse and I need to get you warm," he murmured against her lips, as though he might go for another kiss despite the worsening weather. "Gonna shift back so my cock doesn"t freeze off. Hold onto the fur on the back of my neck, and don"t let go. Might turn into a white out, and I don"t plan to lose you."

"You won"t," she promised, trying to control her laughter but failing. "It won"t really freeze off, will it?"

"It hasn"t yet, but I don"t plan to find out before I get to put a baby in you," he answered with a grin before pressing another kiss to her forehead, then pulling away. "Nape of the neck. Don"t let go."

She nodded her head and watched as he dropped to all fours, his body growing as he spouted furs and claws and fangs. Without an ounce of hesitation, she grasped the thick fur at the back of his neck, and held on as he led her out of the forest towards their home, where she knew he wouldn"t be the only one naked as soon as they were inside.