Page 20 of The Boy Who Cried Bear
Nero very clearly doesn’t want us coming near the cabin, and I’m not sure what to make of that. The first time we met Nero, he was guarding something for Lilith. He’d been firm about wanting us to keep our distance, but it’d been a very polite firmness. Since then, I’ve only ever seen him with Lilith. He’s never been like this. On the other hand, it’s not as if we’ve seen him a hundred times.
We both try calling Lilith again. When no answer comes, I say, “I don’t think she’s at home.”
Dalton grunts.
“But I also don’t think she’d go into the woods and leave him here.” I raise my voice. “Lilith? If you’re inside and busy—or just don’t want visitors—can you say something? Otherwise, we’ll be worried.”
Lilith isn’t some reclusive and paranoid forest dweller. Put her on a TV show, living in this cabin and dressed in her hide clothing with her wolf companion, and she’d seem laughably miscast. She’d look more at home in a power suit walking down Bay Street.
She’s not the most sociable person, but if she were inside, she’d come out and tell us she wasn’t in the mood for visitors. There’s zero chance she’s hiding while waiting for us to go away.
I turn back to Nero. He looks more like himself now, standing there calmly but firmly blocking our route.
“I’d like to check the cabin and make sure Lilith is okay,” I say to Dalton. “Can you hold Storm back while I see if he’ll let me approach alone?”
There’s a pause. Dalton wants to say no. At the very least, he wants to go in my stead. But of the three of us, I’ll pose the least threat in Nero’s eyes.
Finally, Dalton grunts, which is as close to assent as I’ll get.
I lift my hands and keep my gaze on Nero, just below his eyes. Not overly submissive, but not a challenge either. I step forward. The wolf growls. I stop.
“Nero? I just want to be sure she’s okay.”
Another step. Another growl. It is a polite warning, but a warning nonetheless.
I’d have been concerned if he kept lunging at me, even if rabies and distemper aren’t an issue in the Yukon. Yet after the initial outburst, he’s reverted to his usual self. He just doesn’t want us near the cabin, and I have no way of knowing whether that could mean Lilith is soundly asleep inside or…?
It’s the “or” that worries me. She wouldn’t hunt without Nero. She wouldn’t leave him behind to go gathering fall berries or photographing the landscape or fishing or hiking. None of those things would be more difficult with Nero, and all would be safer with him.
“Nero, I just want—”
His fur rises as I step forward, and his lip curls.
“That’s a no, Butler,” Dalton says. “You are not getting to the door.”
“I’m worried.”
“I know.”
“I’m especially worried because there’s a bearskin-wearing wild man in the forest.”
“I know.”
“So…?”
“Leave a note, and we’ll come back when we can. Yeah, I know that’s not what you want to hear, but I don’t see any other answer.”
I grumble, but he’s right. I back up to Dalton and Storm, and take off my backpack to start a note.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Max
“Life sucks.”
Max startles from his reverie in the middle of kicking a rock. He looks up sharply to see Gunnar falling in step beside him.
“Life sucks,” Gunnar says again. “It’s a lesson everyone learns eventually, but some of us learn earlier than others.”
