Bear Flesh Delights

“I think I have a pretty good idea,” Amelia commented, her stomach churning at the very thought. Being buried alive wasn’t particularly appealing to begin with, let alone with the additional threat of toxic sludge turning her into a mutated version of herself into the bargain. She definitely needed to get out of there, and fast.

“What time of day is it?” she asked worriedly, wondering just how many hours were left before moon rise. “Do I even have time to try?”

“It’s probably early afternoon,” she said. “But I wouldn’t even try to escape until they bring you outside, if I were you. This whole place is one big booby trap. And even if you manage to get outside, they’ll only capture you again.”

“How am I supposed to avoid this ceremony thing then?” Amelia asked with extreme frustration. “Because I sure as hell don’t want to become that guy’s bride.”

“I haven’t quite worked out that part yet,” Judy admitted.

“Great,” Amelia scoffed. “This day is getting worse and worse.”

“Maybe your bears will come for you,” Judy suggested, casting her a hopeful grin.

“Skylar told me they have never discovered where this place is,” Amelia said dismally. “How would they suddenly find it now?”

“Don’t be dumb, Amelia,” Judy smirked. “Bears have a very powerful sense of smell, especially when it comes to sniffing out the location of their mate. You’ve got their smell all over you.”

“How would you know?”

“Harper said he’d have to bathe you for an hour just to get it off of you before he’d touch you with a ten foot pole,” she said dryly.

“Wow, my fiance sure thinks highly of me, doesn’t he?” she scoffed disdainfully.

“Maybe that’s how you could get away?” Judy said brightly.

“Don’t be stupid,” she snapped. “If I wait that long, I’d already be a coyote. I don’t really think my two guys would be very happy with a situation like that. Although since they didn’t even warn me about any of this, in a way it would serve them right.”

“You’re not going to dump them, are you?” Judy gasped. “Those two are totally hot.”

“Oh, are you even listening to me?” Amelia complained. “Did I not just say that if I became a coyote they’d be likely to dump me?”

“Well, if it’s any consolation I’m sure Seth and I would let you join our clan,” she said with a shrug. “We’re going to need other members.”

Amelia scowled. “Think, Amelia. Think, think, think. There’s got to be some way I could get free. Maybe you could distract them somehow.”

“No way, I’m in enough hot water right now as it is,” she said. “Until you showed up, I was pretty sure Harper was intending to marry me.”

“So what makes you think he isn’t?” Amelia wanted to know. “I thought these people believed in multiple mates.”

“No, I don’t think the women would share their men with another female,” Judy explained. “Sorry I don’t know enough about it to tell you for sure, but Seth never said anything about doing it that way around. Who knows, maybe girls are too jealous to cooperate with each other.”

“Anything is possible,” Amelia conceded. “Right now, it wouldn’t surprise me very much if a ship from outer space flew down and aliens stepped out to do a samba.”

She stepped over and tugged on the window, but found that it was nailed shut. Sighing, she went over to try the other. She already knew it would be nailed too.

“Did you really think they’d make it as easy as that?” Judy asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Like I said, waiting is the only thing you really are able to do.”

*****

“There’s not much time left,” Skylar insisted as he and Joe walked through the trees that led onto Harper’s land. “If we don’t locate Coyote Clan’s lodge before moon rise, you know exactly what that fiend is going to do.”

“There’s no way I’m letting Harper have Amelia,” Joe insisted hotly. “We found her fair and square, and we’ve even claimed her physically as well. I’m not even sure that’s what he has in mind for her, knowing that. I’m much more worried that he intends to kill her than take her for his own.”

“Neither of which is acceptable to me,” Skylar pointed out. “Now would you please hurry up? I’m fairly sure we’re going to find their cabins just over there.”

“If we haven’t found them before, why do you think we’re going to find them this time?” Joe scoffed.

“Because we have something now that we never had before,” said Skylar as he touched finger to the side of his nose.

“And what, pray tell, is that?”

“The smell of our mate,” he said grimly. “Are you going to tell me that you don’t smell her as well?”

Joe sniffed the air. “I do, but don’t you think we’d smell it much better if we turned to bear form?”

“Stop,” Skylar said then. “I hear something. Transform, and wait for my signal. We need to know what we’re up against before we just rush in. Wait here while I scout it out.”

“Yes,” Joe nodded.

As one, the two of them shifted. Then one bear remained while the other stepped quietly into the forest. Soon, he returned and motioned for the other to follow. The two bears went on all four, hoping to stay out of sight. They crept up and looked out at a row of four cabins about a hundred yards away from them. Then, they laid down side by side to wait.