“I was being sarcastic about werewolves, Jenner! There are werewolves now, too?”
“Yes.” He cleared his throat. “You’ve met some.”
Lena just stared. What else could she do? Jenner was the king of la-la land right now.
“Dalton and Chance are—”
“Don’t you even say werewolves to me right now, Jenner Silver. If you wanted to play a prank on me, you could’ve chosen better timing. For example, not right after you fucked me.” Lena dressed in a hurry, then turned and stormed off toward a pile of supplies. Oh yes, she was going to build the shit out of the tent, zip herself inside, and wrap her head around the douchebaggery that Jenner had just pulled. With a pathetic little snarl, she dumped the tent out of its storage bag and began spreading it out.
“You’re mad.”
“Damn straight, I’m mad! I thought you were going to be serious, Jenner! I thought you were going to open up to me. I hope to God you don’t actually think you can turn into a bear. I fell for you! I did! And now the words that are coming from your mouth are insane. You get that, right? That what you’re saying isn’t real?”
Jenner hooked his hands on his hips and arched a dark eyebrow. “Do you want me to Change so you can see I’m not making this up?”
“Sure, Jenner,” she muttered, driving a tent stake into the ground. “Turn into a werebear.”
“It’s just a bear.”
“Whatever.”
“I won’t hurt you so don’t take off running. It gets my instincts all kicked up when I see something running.”
Lena rolled her eyes and moved to the next tent stake. “Don’t worry. I won’t. And don’t be growling and clawing up your hands trying to scare me either, Jenner, or I’m going to kick you right in the dick.” Silence. “Jenner?”
“I’m here.” The jingling of his pants sounded, and she cast him a pissed-off glare over her shoulder. It was getting darker by the minute, but she could definitely make him out as he undressed.
“Are you serious right now?”
Jenner cracked an obnoxious grin, straight teeth white against the shadows. “I don’t want to rip my pants when I let my grizzly out.”
“Oh, naturally,” she muttered, returning her attention to the next stake. She couldn’t freaking wait until she was inside so she could scream into her sleeping bag and draw mustaches and wonky eyes all over her last sketch of him.
“You should know I’ve never shown Bear to anyone but my brothers.”
With an irritated sigh, Lena stood and crossed her arms over her chest. “You call yourself Bear?”
Jenner’s irritating smile still lingered at the corners of his lips, and she wanted to claw it right off his stupid face right now. This wasn’t funny. Not even close.
“I do because that’s what he is. Are you ready?”
“For you to wiggle around and pretend to turn into a bear? This is all of my dreams about my perfect man culminated into one moment, Jenner, so yes, I’m ready.”
Jenner hunched forward, but relaxed again and said, “First, I should set some ground rules.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? Okay, what?”
“One, I was serious when I said you shouldn’t run. Bear likes to chase critters that give him their backs. It’s instinct.”
“Fine. Check. Go.”
“Two, no shooting at me.”
“Why would I shoot at you? The gun isn’t even anywhere near me. It’s still in the saddle you pulled off your horse you dumbass—”
“Whoa, okay, but just the same, don’t shoot me.”
“Fine! Can we get this pantomime over with, please?”
“Are you in a rush to get somewhere?” he asked, eyebrows high and eyes dancing.
“Yeah, for you to cook my fucking dinner, Jenner. I’m hungry and irritated, and I’m about five seconds away from breaking rule number two. Now shimmy!”
A snap echoed through the woods, and she hunched down, scanning the immediate area. “What was that?”
Three more rattling pops sounded, but it was throatier than a twig breaking. “Jenner,” she whispered, heart hammering against her sternum as she turned in a slow circle.