Saving Briar

Briar wasn’t certain that anything could hurt quite as intensely as the pain in her chest when she walked out of the exam with Ted and Oaklyn to find Brielle frowning. Her new friend told her that Torin had gone upstairs to his room for the night when she had told him that they were about to leave.

The finality of the situation settled about her like a dark cloak as Brielle began to explain that her boyfriend would be there in about ten minutes with a helicopter, compliments of the business he and Brielle worked for. While she knew she shouldn’t have kept trying to keep the small flicker of hope in her chest alive, Briar wanted to believe that the other woman had misunderstood what Torin was doing when he went up to his room, knowing that she would be gone in the morning. Maybe he had only gone up stairs to get something. But even as she kept making excuses for the man she had only known for a handful of days but knew that she would never forget, Briar understood without being told, that he expected her to be gone by the time he came back downstairs.

She turned on her heel and went back to her room, but it only took her two minutes to pack her bags since they hadn’t really unpacked. Tears were streaming down her face when she reached the door and found Oaklyn standing there, looking nearly as upset as she felt.

“If you want I’ll go upstairs and try to talk some sense into him.” The bear-shifter whispered. “I don’t know what that man is thinking. Letting you go like this.”

“It’s just not meant to be. I’m not his and he’s not mine.” Briar sniffled and wiped the tears from her cheeks as quickly as she could, embarrassed that more kept falling in their place. “It was just a silly crush on my part. No one, other than my mom and sister have cared about me in such a long time. And I know it’s silly because he was just trying to help. I shouldn’t have let myself get caught up in mistaking his kindness for something more.”

“I think there is more than either of you know yet, sweet girl.” Oaklyn stroked Briar’s dark waves, as she held her close, before turning to Brielle. “Now Brielle you need to promise me that you’re going to feed our girl here at least three square meals a day. That is the one thing I’m regretting, letting you go with this one. I wish we’d had more time together because I feel like we would be best friends. But also because I would make sure you put on the weight you so desperately need to get healthy. This makes me want to drive up to that pack and tear some wolves apart.” Her words managed to get a weak laugh out of Briar, who had finally managed to stop crying, as Brielle took her hand and Ted came over to carry the red leather suitcase back over to the door.

“Thank you, Ted, for coming all the way out here.”

“Remember what I said, Wolfling.” The doctor had almost immediately adopted his friend’s nickname for the little She-Wolf and she nodded in response to his words. “And you’re sure you don’t want me to haul his ass down here. I wouldn’t mind. I don’t know what he’s thinking, staying up there with you down here like this.” There was a lull in the conversation as they all stopped to listen to the steady rhythm of the helicopter as it landed in the open field near the river where Torin had first found her.

“That’s our ride.” Brielle grinned at Briar and offered her an arm.

“Do you think it’s safe?” Briar glanced at the front door, surprised by the way she was suddenly seized by fear. She hadn’t given it much thought, but the last time she’d stepped foot outside had been the day when those wolves from her pack had been lurking out in the snowy forest.

“Oh Honey, it’s definitely safe.” The response came from Brielle as she walked to the front door, pulling Briar lightly along with her. “Rian will have the pilot, plus at least one friend with him. My company always has security. And Rian is a security guy too for our boss. You’re safer now than you’ve been in all your life, including this past week with Torin.” Briar saw Ted’s eyebrows hitch up at this piece of information, but hardly had time to process what she was learning. “You’ll be even safer once we get where we’re going. Come on.”

“Hey. Brielle” Even Briar, who hardly knew the man, couldn’t miss how uncomfortable he sounded when he called after them. “It’s late. It’ll be pitch black long before you guys get back to the city. This cabin is big enough that everyone can crash here and you guys can fly back in the morning.” Brielle paused at Ted’s words, her dark eyes widening as she shook her head.

“My boss would definitely not be okay with these guys being gone all night with this helicopter out. Besides, its’ safe. Our pilot has super-human night vision. Night and day are basically the same to him, even at extreme distances. So we’re covered.” The words were meant to reassure the doctor but his frown only deepened as she tugged on Briar’s hand. “We need to hurry. These aren’t patient men.”

Briar nodded before turning back towards Ted and Oaklyn one last time, her eyes filling with tears again, although she was doing her best not to let them spill down her cheeks. “Thank you both again. And please tell Torin thank you from me for everything. He’ll never know how much it meant to me.” Her voice trailed off and she shook her head. “Just thank him.” She let out a ragged sigh and turned away before they could see the tears begin to flow.

Two men had jumped down from the helicopter, which had landed on the edge of the open field closest to the house, and had been making their way steadily towards the cabin while the little group had been talking. They stopped and waited just beyond where the porch light reached, but Brielle clearly recognized one of them.

“That’s Rian. Let’s go. Bye Oaklyn. Ted. Thanks for letting me tag along. Talk to you soon. I’ll call you once we’re settled in, Oaklyn.”

And with that they were running through the snow and Briar couldn’t help but wonder if she was making one of the biggest mistakes of her life.

-----------------------

During the lengthy helicopter ride, Briar’s mind whirled with questions. Just like everyone else inside the small space, her ears were covered with headphones. She knew that with the attached microphone she could have asked questions, but she wanted to speak with Brielle alone and so she remained silent, letting her mind replay everything that happened since she had woken up on the morning of her birthday, over and over again.

Back at Torin’s cabin she could only think about getting away from him, hoping that the same distance that would give her space from her mate, would also ease the pain that she’d begun to feel every time she looked at the mountain of a man. Somehow, despite the churning fear in her stomach knowing how high above the ground they were, after all this was her first time flying, she somehow managed to force her eyes to close. When she opened them again it was because it was quiet and someone was lightly shaking her arm.

“Hey, Briar, Sweetheart? Wake up. Briar? That’s your name, right?” At the sound of an unfamiliar voice she jerked forward, surprised when the harness that she’d forgotten that she’d been strapped into kept her from actually going anywhere. “Brielle and Rian basically booked it for their room when we landed. Left me to wake you up. I can show you where your room is.” Reaching down he quickly unbuckled the buckles that held her place and freed her from the straps.

As she blinked away the sleep from her eyes Briar took in the features of the man who had apparently been left to show her to her room. Her brow furrowed at the idea. For some reason she’d thought that she and Brielle would share a room. How would she pay for her own room? She didn’t even have a wallet or ID?

Glancing up again at the man who had taken her arm, who was preparing to help her down out of the helicopter, the slow dawning realization hit her that in her haste to get away from one entirely impossible situation, she might have landed herself smack dab in the middle of another.

“Where exactly are we?” She tried not to let herself be intimidated by the fact that this man, like just about every other man she seemed to be meeting lately, was impossibly handsome. He was tall, not unlike Torin, and muscular, but in a way that reminded her more of the high ranking werewolves in her own pack than of the bear shifter she’d just left behind. Almost automatically she took a deep breath, half expecting to be able to scent that he was a werewolf too.

Instead the scent that flooded her nostrils, while not unpleasant, somehow managed to be cool and hot at the same time, confusing her senses. She recognized the scent of eucalyptus, and cedar as well, but there was something else there that she couldn’t place and her wolf was reacting in a way that she hadn’t expected at all. While she was an Omega she was still a werewolf and she wasn’t a coward. And this man hadn’t shown any sign of being hostile. But the moment her wolf caught his scent she was fully alert and was pushing Briar to put as much distance between herself and this man as they possibly could.

Predator, predator, predator. The knowledge that this man was dangerous was somehow innate and she felt the knowledge thrum through her bloodstream with every beat of her heart. She had never felt that way before, not when she was near high ranking wolves, and not even when she’d met Torin, or Ted.

Briar glanced around at their surroundings and immediately realized that the desire to put distance between herself and whatever this shifter was, was impossible. She turned once, in a slow circle, coming back around to face the dark haired stranger who was now standing with her bag at his feet, an amused expression on his face, the black thermal shirt he was wearing stretching across the muscles of his chest. The brief realization that he had to be freezing wearing only one layer for all that time in the helicopter flitted through her mind, but he didn’t seem at all affected by the cold. That thought, however, was almost immediately replaced by her fear again, of whatever it was that he was.

“Caught that back there. Where you smelled me. Could have just asked what I was. Is that something you wolves do up there in the forests? Just go around, smelling strangers? Boss isn’t going to be too keen on that, I can tell you.”

Briar could tell by the teasing grin that accompanied his words that he wasn’t serious, or at least, wasn’t entirely serious, but her cheeks still burned red with embarrassment. “Oh Brielle is entirely right. You are adorable. She might have undersold you. You’re going to have to be beating them off with a stick when you get down south. Anyways, I’m assuming you were curious. You don’t run into many of my kind up where you are. I don’t feel the cold much but it doesn’t mean I like it. So if you want to, you can ask. Just don’t freak out. Oh and I’ve been rude. You still don’t even know my name yet. I’m Caelan. Caelan Kerr. And I’m supposed to make sure you make it to the states in one piece.”