Page 5 of Once Upon A Bear

He was successfully distracting himself enough that when he hit the curve in the road that led toward town and there was a girl standing in it, he startled.

Gideon stopped short, looking at her suspiciously. Her back was to him, but he recognized that golden blonde hair, green dress, and satchel.

It was Guinevere, the girl who had spoken to him as a bear.

He fought past the lump in his throat and began to stride forward as confidently as he could. She had no reason to suspect that it was him, right?

But as he walked past, she turned and her eyes met his, and suddenly he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

She knew it was him.

How she knew, he wasn’t sure, but she did—the look in her eyes confirmed it. It wasn’t pity…it was knowledge, and he had no idea what to do about that.

So Gideon did what his bear form would do—he walked past her as if nothing was wrong and hope she wouldn’t say anything. He’d been nearly caught several times by humans, and so far, this method hadn’t failed him.

But of course, he was not a bear at the moment.

“Hello,” she said, following him even though he didn’t stop. “I was wondering if I’d run into you.”

She was going to try to talk to him about it.

Was this why she’d been standing in the road between town and his family’s estate? To catch him? And why wasn’t she nervous? Meeting a man who was a bear part of the time would probably terrify most women…at least the women of his acquaintance.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know you,” he said gruffly as he kept walking.

It was a lie, but so was his whole life.

“I know you, Lord Gideon,” she said quietly, stopping him in his tracks. Hearing her say his name was oddly comforting.

He didn’t like that.

“You don’t have to run away from me,” she said, her voice soft, almost as if he were the bear in this instant—which he supposed he probably was. His mannerisms had become so like the bear’s recently. “I just want to talk. I want to help you.”

He turned to face her, pain running through him. “What makes you think you can help?” he asked harshly. “No one can help me.”

So much for pretending ignorance. He growled, mostly annoyed with himself, but if it scared her off….

“That’s not true,” she said. “I can help, or at the very least I can help you figure it out. You don’t have to do this alone.”

Gideon bit back the ray of hope that threatened to shine through. “No one can help,” he repeated before he turned and strode off as quickly as he could, back toward home.

He would bring the honey to Thea later.

He was reaching the edge of the woods when he could feel the change beginning to overtake him, and he quickly set the basket down before it could be shredded by the transformation of his hands into huge paws.

As the transformation began, his skin felt as if it were tearing to pieces, the pain wrecking his body.

Gideon growled through the hurt, the noise becoming more like an animal with every syllable.

He was alone, and no one—not even a girl with hair the color of his favorite honey and eyes that were so understanding—could help him.

Chapter three

Guinevere

Guinevere sat upwind of the bear’s den and pulled her crocheting from her ever-present bag. If she was going to sit here and wait, she might as well accomplish something while she did.

She hummed quietly as she began to crochet, then stopped. If she was trying to avoid the bear’s attention, she’d better be quiet.