Chapter 4: Jane
Kam grabs a sheet from home and goes to the spot the baby was eaten. He does not waste time putting clothes on. He holds the folded sheet in his mouth to run as a wolf. He wraps up the remains and slowly walks back in human form. Hopefully, the soldiers will report he is right about the werebear, by the time he gets back so he can avoid the scolding.
On arrival, he hunts for his father to only find the beta, Chris. He states, "this is the baby's remains."
They go together to the mother. On the way, the beta states every soldier, but him is part of the hunt, including the baby's father. The beta states her baby is dead to the mother. Kam puts the remains on a table as the mother has dropped to the floor sobbing.
Kam leaves the beta to deal with the mother, as he goes to see Jane. She is swinging in her back yard with tears falling down. He stops her to kiss and hug her. While holding her, he tells her everything.
After he finishes, she hesitantly tells her story. How the bear climbed through the back screen door. The baby was in a play area in the living room. Jane turned her back to get a drink from the glass on the island between the kitchen and living room. The bear clawed her back and left her, as it grabbed the baby. How she wishes the bear killed her, knowing the baby is dead.
Kam sits on the swing with Jane on his lap. He has been in love with her for years, but she is not his mate. The kiss was the first time he has kissed her. They have hugged before. He kisses her a more passionate kiss and she responds. He states, "I'm glad you survived. Every soldier is out looking for the bear so it should be over soon."
She responds, "it will never be over for me." She initiates the next kiss, trying to lose herself in the passion. He could take her right now and she would welcome it for the distraction. She plays with his body, until he stops her.
He states, "you know I promised myself to wait, until thirty before giving up on finding my mate. I'm sorry to have teased you, but I can't go further."
She thinks to herself, 'I'll be dead by then. I am going after that bear and let it kill me.'
He heads home for a weapon. His mother's silver knife. It was a wedding gift from her mother, in case her husband failed to treat her with the respect the daughter of an alpha deserves. It has been a running joke that maybe she should use it, when his father works too hard or travels too much. But, it has always gotten the proper respect, as he adjusts his family life with a better balance to make her content.
He finds his mother at the baby's house holding the grieving mother. He whispers in her ear his intention and she shakes her head yes.
He heads home and grabs the knife. It is completely held in a black cloth bag. He takes it out holding the decorative leather wrapping on the handle. The handle and guard are steel to protect the user. The blade is silver. He touches it gently to his skin, burning it instantly, just to be sure it works. Slipping in back into the leather sheath and the bag.
He shifts outside and picks the bag up in his mouth to head out. Once he leaves the development, he picks up Jane's scent and her recent travel. He pushes his speed to try to catch her before she does something stupid. He catches up to her on the other side of the downtown area crossing Crooked Pike Road.
He stops her to tell her about the knife. They continue together. Eventually, they come across the soldiers of the pack guarding bears and naked humans. The bear in question is not among that group. Nor is Kam's father and a few other soldiers among the group. They skirt around and continue following the alpha's scent.
The bear left the trail once he lost his pack. He cut his way down the mountain back towards the river. Since one of the campgrounds the bear hunted was in the mountain on the other side of the river, Kam convinced Jane to skip tracking and likely running into his father. Instead, they headed up the mountain to Russell Pond.