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“I’m absolutely fine. Toby’s with me, and we’re safe.”
    “Ohh, Toby.” She laughed. “You guys are so cute together.”
    “Thanks, now if we could just hear from Jared and my sister I’d be great.”
    “I’m sure they are both okay. You really need to focus on yourself.”
    I pushed the conversation off me. I was never particularly comfortable with a lot of attention on me. “Are you back in New Orleans?”
    “No, I decided not to go back right now. I need a break.”
    I felt a surge of guilt. The wedding was only crashed because of me and now she was probably afraid to go back to school. “I understand that. Thanks for calling.”
    “Of course. I really want to be friends. Even if Allie weren’t around, I’d still want to hang out.”
    That was a funny way of wording things. “I’d like to hang out again sometime too.”
    “Great. Maybe I’ll make it up to New York in the next few days.”
    “Where did you say you were?”
    “I’m visiting some family friends a few hours from New York City.”
    “Oh cool.” I hadn’t realized she had connections on the east coast, but I also didn’t know her particularly well.
    “Tell Toby I said hello.” She hung up.
    “She sounds fine, right?” Toby ran his hands through my hair. He always found an excuse to touch me, and I didn’t mind at all.
    “Yeah. I’m sure she’s still upset about things, but she’ll recover.”
    “None of this is your fault.”
    “How did you know that was what I was worried about?”
    “Because I know you.” He took the phone I still held in my hand and set it down. “Come on, let’s make some breakfast.”

Chapter Six
Vera
    I needed a drink. A strong one, preferably whiskey. I needed to start stowing flasks with my extra changes of clothes. Without fail I seemed to always find myself without alcohol when I needed it most—and that usually timed up when I also needed clothes.
    The walk through the woods to the far side of the cave hadn’t taken long, and I’d waited to shift back into my bear form until I was nearly at the mouth of the cave. That decision wasn’t for any strategic reason other than I wanted to be able to find my clothes quickly on the way out. It turns out that was a smart move. Just as I was ready to shift I sensed other bears approaching. I hid in the brush, waiting for them to go inside. I knew I would have to wait hours. Post-hunt was the worst time to run into bears. Full of food and adrenalin, we are unstoppable in either form. They’d have destroyed me without thinking. Any human side in the bears would be pushed to the back so they could enjoy the fruits of their labor. I sat down and leaned against the trunk of the tree. I really hoped Jared was hiding himself well.
    When I’d first shifted into a bear, it had freaked me out. What girl wants to be covered in hair? Isn’t that why hair removal is a multi-million dollar industry? But, pretty quickly I learned that the hair part was worth it. I was so much stronger as a bear. I felt nearly invincible, and unless I was up against other bears or other paranormals there was little that could hurt me. I was also faster. There was something about the wind rushing over me as I ran. Nothing else could compare. I wondered if that was how flying was for Casey. Maybe it was even cooler. If I survived my attempted rescue mission I’d have to ask her about it. I’d have to talk her into taking me flying someday. I loved every form of travel except for boats. Both Casey and I had always gotten sea sick.
    I checked all around me before stripping down. That was another thing that had happened since shifting for the first time. I was no longer as embarrassed about being naked. Naked was natural. I only wore clothes because society said I had to, and I didn’t particularly like having skeevy guys stare at me all the time.
    After stowing my stuff carefully in the bushes I stretched before shifting into my bear form. My bear senses took over