picked out which species they belonged to, and mused over ones she didn’t recognise.
Holly lifted her head and stilled as she found herself in a part of the woods she didn’t recognise.
When she had first arrived, Cobalt had warned her not to stray too far north of the Creek, had told her scary stories about the bears there when everyone had been drinking beers around the fire Rath had built in the clearing, close to Ember’s home.
Storm had assured her that she could wander all she wanted. The bears who remained at Black Ridge slept through the winter like their animal counterparts. It had reassured her, but only a little. Her walk back to Cobalt’s cabin in the pitch dark had been swift, and she had made sure to lock the door behind her. Her mind had run wild that night, filled with fantasies about running into one of the bears, ones that had turned to nightmares.
Mostly because Rath had told her to get her butt straight back to the Creek if she ever crossed paths with any of the bears.
Or yell for help.
When she had looked at the others, none of them had contradicted him. Everyone had looked grave.
Holly had decided not to stray far from Cobalt’s cabin, to keep firmly away from the bears’ territory. She was sure they were all sleeping just as Storm had said, but she didn’t want to risk it. She didn’t want any trouble with them.
A bird flitted overhead and she turned and lifted her head to track it, raised her hand to shield her eyes as she tried to see it. It was long gone, disappeared into the trees.
She had been trying to catch sight of birds for days now, had only heard them so far.
A sudden sensation that something wasn’t right hit her, had her instincts rushing to the fore, flooding her with awareness of the world around her.
Holly’s spine stiffened.
She wasn’t alone.
Her breathing slowed as her senses sharpened, as she listened hard for a sign that she hadn’t imagined that someone was out there.
Watching her.
A bear?
Panic was swift to set in, the tales the brothers had spun about them filling her mind, making her heart race.
She did exactly what her alpha had told her to do.
She hurried back towards the cabin.
Prayed to the gods that whoever was out there, they wouldn’t chase her.
Her heart jolted into her throat as a twig snapped behind her.
Chapter 3
The urge to follow the cougar female was strong, had Saint rising to his feet, taking a step in the direction she had gone. A branch snapped beneath his boot and he cursed as she broke into a run, found the strength to deny the instinct she ignited in him—an urge to chase down his prey and not let it escape.
Saint huffed, his breath fogging in the air, and forced himself to turn away instead. No good would come from scaring the female. He was too tired for a fight with the cougars, just wanted to sleep. He knew what the noise was now, so he didn’t need to start a war.
He just needed to crawl back into bed.
He reached the edge of the woods, grumbled under his breath as he started wading through the snow, back towards the heart of Black Ridge. The sight of smoke drifting into the air from the firepit in the centre of the clearing was a welcome one, had him veering away from his cabin and heading towards it instead.
Knox and Lowe sat on the thick logs they had uncovered, ones set around the large firepit, a ridge of snow surrounding them to create a circular clearing around twenty feet across. Two entrances had been cut into the wall of snow, one leading to a path the twins had cleared to his cabin and one to their own homes. Branching off from that path was another one that led to the outbuilding that stood between his cabin and those of the twins.
Knox grunted as Saint sank onto the log opposite him, jerked his chin slightly and went back to prodding the fire with an iron, a sour look on his face. He was dressed more appropriately now, had donned the same warm protective gear as his brother wore, and both males had pulled thick black knitted hats on, covering their blond hair. Firelight flickered in his blue eyes as he stared at the flames, sitting hunched forwards with his elbows resting on his knees and his back to his cabin.
Beside