Her Bear In Mind by Maria Amor

asked.
    “No,” Joe said. “Well, unless you want to. But I was going to suggest you shift again. Maybe some of the game has come wandering back by now.”
    The shift was easier this time. Sierra suspected with a note of disquiet that it was simpler to go from human to bear than the other way around.
    “ Depends ,” Joe’s thoughts answered hers. “ The closer it is to the full moon, the more natural it feels to be in bear form. The other half of the cycle, it feels more like you should be human. It took me months before I could shift at all during the new moon .”
    They went slower this time, sniffing out the ideal prey. Joe guided her towards a deer trail, showing her how to follow the scent, and move slowly so as not to alert their prey.
    Joe padded through the woods with such grace. His movements were fluid, his steps barely making a sound. Sierra wondered how long it would be before she reached that point herself. Her body still felt alien to her, like it didn’t quite fit.
    From between the trees, they eyed the two grazing deer. Joe advised her to stay still until they were ready.
    “ You have to move fast,” he advised her. “ The easiest way is the catch them off guard. Lunge, and don’t even give them a chance to run .”
    Sierra readied herself, salivating over the smell of the deer.
    “ There’s no need to take down both. Aim for the one on the right. Go on three. One…two… ”
    Joe suddenly froze as if startled. He sniffed the air.
    “ What’s wrong? ” Sierra projected at him.
     
    She felt a wall close off in Joe’s mind, blocking his thoughts from her. Before he did it, she caught one word.
    “ Strangers. ” he had thought. And with the word was a feeling. One of suspicion, and worry, and behind that was fear, mostly for her.
    “ What’s going on? ” she wanted to know.
    “ Nothing .” Joe projected, and she realized he could do the politician bull shit voice even with just his thoughts. “ I thought I smelled someone, but there’s nothing there. ”
    Their prey had wandered off, presumably in search of better grazing.
    “ Let’s leave them . We’ve been out too late already. I have a big meeting tomorrow. Let’s go back to the car.”
    “ Are you sure everything is all right? ” she asked.
    “ Of course, it is .” he thought in that same practiced tone.
    There was something so intimate, even invasive about being connected to Joe this way. She wasn’t just hearing his thoughts, she could feel what he was feeling. Feel it as strongly as if the emotion had been her own. In addition, no matter what he said, what Joe had felt was fear , on an almost primal level.
    The feeling startled her. It scared her. Joe was usually so strong. That feeling was the only thing keeping her from calling him out on lying to her. After some hesitation, Sierra made the decision to let it go.
    For now.
    He dropped her off at her apartment early in the morning, before driving to his place. Sierra tiptoed  past Molly’s door and crawled into bed. She lay awake for a long time, wondering why Joe would lie to her and thinking about how scared he had been. She fell asleep with that word ringing ominously through her head.
    “ Strangers .”
    *
    Nightmares plagued Sierra’s sleep that night.
    She dreamed she was back in the woods near Sleuth. Joe was gone, but she could smell him somewhere, that lovely, musky scent of him. Beneath that smell was the sharp smell of fear. Fear of strangers in the dark.
    There was no moon. Sierra ran naked through the woods, branches cutting into her skin as she whipped past. The shadows were pressing in on her. Reaching out to her with grasping fingers that would snatch her up and never let go.
    She had to shift. If she could shift, the strangers wouldn’t be able to get her. She could find Joe then, and she could save him from whatever was making him so afraid.
    But try as she might, her body would not shift. She willed it as hard as she could, all the while staring