Bear with Me (#2, Completed)

31. The past that haunts us

SCARLETT

Wrapped in a soft blanket and with a cup of warm, strong coffee in hand, I curled up in the rocking chair on the veranda and listened to the gentle patter of the rain droplets that landed on the trees and foliage around the cabin. I watched, enthralled as the colours around me became more vivid than usual, leaves and grass shimmering all around.

My eyes closed, and my mind wandered as I took it all in. The sounds, the smell, the coolness of the air made me shiver a bit. I loved the fresh, clean scent of the air when it rained. Hell, I loved it when it rained all together, but here the whole experience was completely different from the wet days in London. You could actually pick up the natural smells of the wet earth, the grass, and the surrounding forest.

I cracked open my eyes and continued to admire the view in front of me. It was still early in the morning, the rain clouds slowly beginning to scatter, allowing the soft morning rays to shine over the sleuth. Not that much sun got to the ground- the giant redwood trees were like an enormous umbrella that towered over the bear cabins, protecting them from rain, wind and sun. Still, it was beautiful to watch as the beams of sunlight tried to sneak through the branches of the tall evergreens.

It was hard to believe that the Highland Bears sleuth had been my home for a week already. The past seven days slipped through my fingers like tiny grains of sand- so fast that I didn't even realise when it happened. I spent my time getting to know all the bears, from the youngest to the oldest, under Mara and Catriona's careful guidance and support. They taught me about their traditions and their daily life, while Jack also gave me a crash course or two on the timber construction business that the sleuth ran. To my greatest shock, I even had a few small talk conversations with Jade and her posse, both of us walking away with our body parts still intact after each encounter.

The sleuth had its own ways, its own rhythm and I loved it. It was so completely different from my life in London. Here everyone greeted each other and people knew their names- a community so tight-knit yet friendly that you could not help but feel at home once you were let in. I couldn't even remember if my neighbours down south introduced themselves when they moved in two years ago, let alone know anything about me. And the last time I saw someone smile at me in the busy London Tube was such a distant memory that I wondered if maybe I had even imagined it.

Sure, the sleuth could not compare to the cosmopolitan capital, neither in numbers nor in diversity, but the way this place made me feel was everything. I truly felt a part of it and even more so after Mara put my name forward to take care of the sleuth's youngest members, who attended the little nursery-kindergarten that Callum had built a few years earlier.

Although the older kids were part of the local schools in the Loch Lomond area, it was too risky for the little ones to join human kids their age as they were still learning to shift and control their bears. Some of the women in the sleuth were taking turns to oversee the kids, but a more permanent solution was clearly needed, and Mara believed that I was the perfect candidate for it. Despite her confidence, I was definitely not convinced it was a good idea; yet, it only took a few hours with those adorable cuties to make me want to return every day, much to Mara's delight. I was still a newcomer though, a human on top of that, so my agreement to accept the position was on the condition that I was only going to take over in a couple of months so that I had the time to learn everything that I needed to know about shifter kids.

The pride in Callum's eyes when I told him about it all was undeniable. My mate had kept his distance during the time I spent with his bears, but I knew it was because he wanted me to build my own connection with all of them. Had he joined me, no matter how good his intentions would have been, the bonds forged would have never been genuine as the presence of the Alpha would have inevitably influenced how everyone behaved around me.