There were burnt remains of what looked like a cabin built into a corner. She moved through a scorched doorway and bit her lip as she arched the beam of her headlamp over the rubble. Everything was ash and blackened wood remnants, and she couldn’t even tell what the furniture had looked like before.
“I slept there,” Ian whispered, pointing to a corner. Only a few spruce limbs remained. Pine and smoke clogged her throat, and she pulled the front of her jacket over her nose so she could breathe easier. “Over there was a dresser. Nothing fancy. I made it one year when I miscalculated my hibernation and had a week to kill up here.” He faced her and dragged her waist closer, then dipped his lips so close to her ear she could feel the vibration of his murmured words. “Over there was a stool I stacked my clothes and pack on, ready for when I woke up. I always kept money from my deliveries in a safe so I could go find food immediately when I woke up.”
“Tell me about your first hibernation.”
He let off a soft breath and hugged her closer. “It was the only one my brothers and I did together. Our bears were juveniles then, and we could stand to be around each other. And we were so scared about what was happening, it was a comfort not to be alone. We were sixteen, and Dad hadn’t told us what to expect. Whenever we asked him, he would say, “It’s instinct, boys. You’ll know what to do.”
“And did you?”
Ian shook his head slowly, the scruff on his cheek rasping against hers. “No. We were all scared shitless, and when Tobias went down while we were out in the woods, Jenner and I dragged him under a rock ledge. Only, he hadn’t Changed into his bear before he fell asleep, so he woke up a few days later, starving, and we had barely any food between us. He woke up the next day, too, and Jenner and I didn’t know what to do. We were getting tired and didn’t know how to feed Tobias if we were asleep. The fifth day, Tobias Changed into his bear when he woke up, but he wasn’t right. He was what they call a winter bear, ravenous. He almost killed Jenner.”
“Oh my gosh, Ian. What did you do?”
“Sewed him back up as best I could. His healing had already slowed down like the rest of his body, and Tobias was in the wind, hunting for anything that would sustain him. Jenner and I figured out we needed to sleep as bears or starve, so we Changed and waited, scared, clinging to that shallow rock face, scared that Tobias would come back. Scared that he wouldn’t. Tobias showed up on the sixth day. He was still a bear, but the crazy was gone from his eyes. He was dragging his body, exhausted, and we all tucked ourselves in that tiny den and went to sleep. It’s a wonder a hunter didn’t find us. We were so close to the hunting cabins here, and we nearly froze because the den we’d chosen was too shallow. And when we woke up after hibernation, it was war. We were starving to death, emaciated, and none of us had the sense to Change back. We just went to battle, bleeding each other until we were all nearly dead. That was the first and last time we hibernated together.”
“I can’t believe your dad let you go into it blind like that. It makes me sick to think of you that young, trying to figure all of this out. It’s too much on a kid. Too much.” She squeezed her eyes tightly close and thanked God Ian had survived at all.
“Shhh,” he crooned, brushing her hair off her shoulder. “It’s done now.”
With a sigh, she looked out the burned door to the dirty cave floor. “There’s no envelope.”
“I know.”
“It’s okay, Ian. Miller won’t get to us. I won’t let him. Not ever.”
“Strong mate,” he murmured. “Do you know how sexy it is watching you come into your own? Soft to steel.” He kissed her gently, then walked her backward until her shoulders rested on the cave wall. “Watching that determination flash across your eyes. I thought I couldn’t love you any more than I already did, but then I watched you learn so much.” He brushed his fingertips up her neck and cupped her cheek. “You work harder and longer than anyone I’ve ever met, and you never get frustrated when I’m teaching you something new. You just try harder until you get it. My wood-chopping, rifle-slinging, fierce-as-hell Alaskan mate.” He sipped her lips again. “I’ve never met a woman stronger than you.”
And that right there was the difference between Cole and Ian. A weak man was intimidated by a strong woman. Cole had lashed out as she’d discovered herself little by little. He’d stunted her to make himself feel more in control. But Ian, her Ian, had worked to push her from the ashes like a damned phoenix and fell more in love with her as she’d transformed into a better version of herself. That’s what love was supposed to be—not some power struggle. It was both people pushing the other to be better. To be stronger.