The Transfer

We came up to a large group of bears along the river. Most had just finished eating and were sitting in the sun, probably getting ready for an afternoon nap. There was some casually drinking from the water. None of them had any idea about our presence.

My belly was full as we walked along. I felt like I'd explode if I ate anymore, but I didn't even care. I was proud of what I had done and no one was going to take that away from me.

Lila has said it was awesome watching me kill my own bear. I beamed with pride. Then, when she killed hers, I couldn't help but feel incredibly proud of our sister and friend. She was going to be such a strong wolf.

Since there were several bears, most of the guys went out all at once. Liam had called dibs on the giant black bear towards the back, and the others had called dibs on a different bear in the group. I was excited to watch them.

"Liam's sorry ass probably regrets upsetting you real bad. Watch him tear this bear to shreds,” Lila told me as we sat together. I rolled my eyes and watched as Liam stalked down towards his bear. No one had been spotted yet.

"I hope he knows that he was wrong," I said back. Lila nodded her head at me.

"Trust me, he knows. He's just... protective. He doesn't want to lose anyone else important in his life. He's lost enough already,” Lila explained to me. I nodded back at her. I understood perfectly what she meant.

I knew that Liam was probably just cautious about his female. I got that. But that didn't mean he could make me feel weak. I hadn't realised that he didn’t think I was capable of being just as strong as Lila or even him. It made me feel little. It hurt my feelings deeply.

I had worked hard to get where I was.

I turned my head back to Liam and watched as he jumped out at his bear. He surprised the bear and knocked him over. Liam slashed at its stomach hard and fast. The bear tried to get up, but Liam pushed it back down. He growled lowly at it, and I felt the vibration in the ground.

Liam was so strong. He hummed with such energy that made my heart stammer against my chest. I had never realised how damn strong he really was. Taking down a bear was probably easy for him. Within minutes, Liam's bear was dead. He ate quickly, clawing at the bear's belly. He was clearly hungry. I couldn't help but admire him. He was such a good looking wolf.

My wolf sighed and hung her head slightly. She hated that we were mad at him. The bond hated it too. It had been twisting and pulling painfully all day. I wanted to walk up to him and work this out, but I wanted an apology. I proved Liam wrong.

Moments later, I found Liam standing in front of me. His beast was huge, ferocious fangs dripping blood and strong muscles built for killing anything that challenged against him. His fur was dark, chocolate brown but almost black. He had numerous battle scars that showed any person the number of battles he had been through. He looked dangerous; he was dangerous. But I couldn't help but be attracted to him.

Liam had the heart of his bear in his mouth. He dropped it at my feet and then took a step back. I thought it was nice, but my wolf thought it was the most romantic thing a guy could have ever done.

I slowly ate the heart that Liam had given me before he licked his lips and returned to his bear. He shifted into his skin and was handed a pair of shorts by Ezra as they both meet down by the bear.

I watched as they skinned it together while some of the other guys were eating their kills. My wolf was happy that our male had made such a nice gesture to us.

It was one way of apologising. I still wanted to hear it though. I wanted him to admit that he had upset me and underestimated me.

After Ezra and Liam finished skinning the bear, we moved on. We headed back to the camp site, where I would definitely be sitting down for the rest of the night. My stomach was so full that I was sure I'd have to skip dinner.

The campsite was the same as we had left it. The fire pit that Ezra and Alfie has put together was still ashy and radiating heat as I passed by it. I shifted back into my skin and pulled on clothes before anyone could see something I didn't want them to.

"Nice job, girl. You handled yourself very well out there today," Alfie told me as I sat down. He cracked open a beer and sat down in one of the camping chairs. I yawned at him and nodded.

My beast was happy that this male was happy with our kill today.

"I had the best teacher, didn't 1?" I said back as I smiled at him. Alfie cracked a grin and nodded before he sipped on his beer.

Lila and some of the other guys eventually joined me on the log. Lila walked over with a first aid kit and motioned to me. I had some pretty nasty scratches along my back that needed fixing up. "They'd heal much faster if you'd let your little boyfriend lick them," Lila told me with a slight giggle. I raised my eyebrows at her as she stepped over to log.

What did she mean by that?

"Your mate's saliva speeds up the healing process,” Lila explained after noticing my confusion. I nodded at her and rolled my eyes at the first comment she had made. Liam wasn't going to be going anywhere near me whilst he owed me an apology.

Lila fixed up my back quickly. She was gentle and thorough. I liked that she was looking after me the same way I would look after her.

A while later, after Lila had finished cleaning at all my wounds, she burned the bloody bandages in the fire that Ezra had just started again and sat next to me. I smiled at her and she smiled back. "Where's your boyfriend? Haven't seen him in a while," I heard from behind me. I turned my head, noticing Anthony walking towards me. My beast already wanted to hurt him.

He was cocky and annoying. He knew that he could get away with being a dick because his father was the Alpha. I thought he was spoilt. He probably never had to work a day in his life.

"If you're so obsessed with him, go find him yourself," I snapped back. I wasn't in the mood for this arrogant male to talk to me. He made my blood heat up.

"Don't be like that. I'm just playing around, babe,” Anthony told me. My skin crawled at the nickname. Who did he think he was?

"Anthony, don't,” Leon warned him. His blood was already humming loudly and I was happy that he was trying to stick up for me.

"Don't do what? I'm just talking,” Anthony said, knowing it would only piss Leon off. I sucked in a deep breath and put my hand on Leon's knee to assure him that it was okay.

I had dealt with Anthony before and I could do it again. Maybe I would get a bite out of his ass this time.

"Anthony," I growled his name in warning as I found myself getting more and more angry. He knew he was getting me worked up and he was thriving off it. But he wouldn't be enjoying it much longer. When I beat his ass, he'll be regretting ever speaking to me.

"Relax!" Anthony said as he threw his hands up in an attempt to look innocent. My beast was close and I curled my toes to try to keep her from coming out.

We would get in deep trouble if we fought with Anthony. He wasn't worth it.

But that didn't make it any easier.

"Anthony, what do you think you're doing?" I heard a low rumble from behind me. I knew it was Liam and it didn't make me feel better.

Did he think that I couldn't handle some arrogant male either?

Anthony looked a little scared for a moment, before he then smirked and crossed his arms. He was being cocky. He was disgustingly full of himself.

"If I can handle a damn bear, I can take care of him too. Stop trying to fight my battles for me," I hissed at Liam through a link. I almost felt the hurt feelings that came from him immediately, but I didn't care.

He wasn't going to fight all my battles for me. I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself. He saw that today when I took down that bear. Did he still somehow underestimate me?

"Get the fuck out of here,” Liam growled at Anthony. The arrogant male turned and walked away quickly. Almost too quickly.

He was scared now. Liam's blood was hot, burning with such heat that I could feel it from where I was standing. His veins hummed and the bond twisted.

I hated being angry at him. But I hated that he thought I was weak even more. I wasn't weak. I was strong and perfectly capable of challenging some stupid male.

"He was just doing it to get a reaction. Don't worry about it," Quo said. I wasn't sure if he was talking to Liam or myself. But I didn't care. Either way, I knew he was right.

I turned back around. Liam was standing in front of me, fists clenched in anger and his eyes filled with fury. He was pissed, and I was sure that it wasn't just about what had happened with Anthony just moments ago.

"Maybe we should go for a walk?" Lila suggested. I nodded my head slightly and we both got up and left without a word. I heard a rumble from behind me as we walked into the trees.

"He only does it because he cares about you, Ali. I haven't seen him like this in so long... it probably scares him that he's changing so much,” Lila told me. I shrugged at her.

"It's crazy how fast things have gone. He's known you a few days and he's already such a different guy. He cares about you a lot too. He's just worried for you,” Lila added gently. We walked a little longer before stopping. We sat on some logs and faced each other.

My beast sighed. She knew that Liam might have been going through some changes. But that wasn't an excuse to see us as some weak female. We were not weak. We were so strong now.

We had come such a long way and we didn't want it to be taken away from us so easily.

"Listen, Ali... we haven't told him anything. We believe that it's your decision to say something, but we've told him that you've had a rough past. He probably just thinks that you're a little traumatised and wants to protect you,” Lila continued talking. I nodded some more at her and sighed as I rubbed my head.

"I'm glad that he cares, but I've worked so hard to get where I am now, and I don't like that he thinks so lowly of me,” I told her honestly. There wasn't any point in lying to Lila. She knew almost everything about me.

"It'll get easier. I promise,” Lila told me as she put a hand on my knee. I smiled weakly at her and nodded before we got up and headed back to the camp site.