Goldie Lox And Her Trio Of Bears (Goldie Lox Prophecy Book 1), стр. 24

“You can wear mine.” Finn walked up, kicking his boots off. “I’ll just shift for the hike if you want to carry my pack, I’ll put a change of clothes for myself in there.”

“I think that’s a fair trade.” Jillian reached out to accept the boots.

“I’ll be right back.” Conner followed Finn back around the corner. After a few minutes, a black bear returned. A bright orange crescent adorned his chest, the points facing upward. He was significantly smaller than the big brown bear that Conner had transformed into. His back was about waist level to Jillian. In his mouth, he carried the backpack. Conner followed close behind.

“His feet are pretty small, but those will still probably be a little too big.” He held up a handful of black socks, and Finn let out an indignant bellow. “Don’t be salty just because you’re the only one who can share shoes with a girl.”

The bear grumbled in response, dropping the backpack at Jillian’s feet. She crouched to put it on, sitting down on the ground to dust the bottoms of her feet off. She grimaced at the dirty soles of her feet.

“My pedicure lady is going to have a heart attack when she sees this.” She put on three pairs of socks before slipping the boots on.

“Homesick already?” Conner handed her sock after sock as she put them on in layers.

“I mean, I should probably contact my family and let them know I’m not dead.” She put the second boot on, pulling the laces tight.

“Being dead to the world isn’t so bad.” Conner shrugged. “From how you described your family, they don’t exactly seem like the easiest people to live with.”

“It’s not just about that.” She stood up, dusting off the back of her pants. “Ted tried to kill me, and I still have to make him pay for that.”

Finn’s bear vocalized with what she could have sworn was a sarcastic tone as he scratched his ear.

“Is he talking shit?” Jillian narrowed her eyes at Conner.

“He was pointing out that since the back of your head got healed, there’s not any evidence that dick-bag attacked you. It would be your word against his.”

“Shit.” She frowned. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

The four of them struck out with Vincent’s leading the way. Conner walked beside Jillian, moving branches out of the way, and Finn waddled along behind, sniffing the air and stopping to rub his back against a tree from time to time.

The canopy of bright-yellow leaves almost glowed as the sun shone through them, the smells of pine and a few other fragrant trees Jillian couldn’t identify delighted her senses as they made their way up the side of the mountain. She turned around to walk backward.

“That orange color is pretty.” She gestured to her chest as she addressed Finn’s bear form. “I’ve never seen a bear with fur that color.”

Finn grunted as he lumbered along.

“He’s some variation of a sun bear,” Vincent called back over his shoulder. “In Japanese folklore, the demon bear creatures called Onikuma were known to sneak into villages to steal livestock for food. But his crest is much bigger and brighter than any sun bear I’ve ever seen photographed.”

“So, are all three of you are different kinds of bears?” Jillian turned around, taking Conner’s hand as the path got a little steeper.

“I’m a grizzly.” Conner pulled back a branch for Jillian but then let it smack Finn in the face to which he let out an annoyed bray. “The most handsome of all bears. Sun bears, as you can see, are more like large dogs.”

“Hey, in the wild, sun bears are among the most dangerous on earth.” Vincent stopped at the top of the ridge. “They have hot tempers and sport some serious claws.”

“And what about you?” Jillian panted, bracing her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

“We don’t really know.” Conner finally answered after Vincent didn’t respond. “He’s big.”

“Bigger than you?” Jillian frowned.

“From the data I’ve been able to gather, I have the most similar traits to Arctotherium angustidens. It’s an extinct species of short-nosed brown bear.”

“When he says extinct, he’s not talking about something that went out by getting hunted by fur trappers.” Conner’s eyes flashed. “Think prehistoric dire bear.”

“Seriously?” She straightened up and took the last few steps to join the boys at the top of the ridge.

“The Arctotherium existed around the Pliocene era alongside the wooly mammoth and saber-toothed cats.” Vincent took a sip from his canteen before handing it to Jillian.

She accepted, taking a long drink. Wiping her lips with the back of her hand, she looked out over the autumn trees blanketing the landscape, and her heart jumped into her throat. She vaguely remembered a few of the rock formations from the last time they had carried her to the circle as if it were a detail in some dream that she had long since forgotten.

“There are no words to describe this place.” She caught her breath looking out over the valley, taking in colors that had never even lived in her imagination before that moment. “I thought maybe it was the fact that I had one foot in the grave, but even now, it almost brings tears to my eyes.”

“If we let the oil company move in here, it’s only a matter of time before it’s pavement and multilevel parking garages as far as the eye can see.” Conner teased.

“You’re joking, but that’s not far from the truth.” Vincent scolded him. “You won’t be laughing when the only wilderness left is the Arctic. Do you think your six-pack is going to keep its shape when you’re living on whale blubber?”

Conner grimaced as they continued on a path down the other side of the