The Bite (Book 1)

Original Edition - Chapter 23: The Bear Hunt Part IV

Claire scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed until I was pretty sure my hair could not get more clean. I was thankful for the werewolf body heat, it ran higher than a human's because the creek water was certainly not warm as she dumped it over me.

Once Claire, and her wolf who I could see eyeing me from behind her hazel eyes were satisfied with their job we headed back to camp. Claire laid out a sleeping bag for me next to a fire that Remi and David had built, close to where Lander and Levi were skinning my bear so I could watch.

They were so careful with their craft. They were careful to not harm what would be the leather but thorough to make sure they got the excess fat and leftover bones and innards off it.

I didn't realize how big she was until they had the skin strung up. It looked about six feet tall and around four feet wide, my wolf and I swelled with pride at the sight. We killed that. We did that.

Claire started to lay out some gauze, antibacterial, cotton balls, and other medical supplies around us. She poured some antibacterial on a cotton ball and gave me an apologetic look. "This will sting, sorry."

I sighed and nodded as she lifted my shirt up to attend to the nastier gashes. The smaller ones were starting to heal already, but the large ones would take a little longer.

It stung like a damned bee. I bit back a growl and breathed through the pain. After a while it got more tolerable, but barely.

Remi trotted over to me while Claire continued her task with a large smiled plastered on his face. "That was some dope shit, Char." I laughed and patted the spot next to me for him. He sunk down and looked over at Claire who was intensely focused on my skin. "Do you need help?"

"No," she breathed out then smiled. "But you may want to get Charlie something to eat."

"I'll be right back, I think Elliot has some stuff in his pack," he replied quickly.

Claire started to wipe some cold cream on my skin that made me shiver. "It may scar but this should help to keep it from being too noticeable."

"Thank you, although I kind of like these battle wounds," I said without taking my eyes off my bear skin.

Claire chuckled and started to place some gauze over the wound. "Touche, Char."

Remi came back with a bag that Elliot had pulled out of his backpack. He plopped down next to me and dug around in it. "Well, looks like we have granola, jerky, a few waters–"

"Definitely a water," I interjected.

He quickly pulled a bottle out for me and twisted the top off. I drank greedily while he went back to searching through the bag. "Goldfish, dried fruit, cookies–"

"Cookies!" I said with a mouth full of water that almost spilled out of my mouth.

Remi chuckled and pulled out a plastic ziplock of Chocolate Chip cookies that Derek had made. "Nice choice, mind if I try a few?"

"Course, these are seriously heaven," I said while quickly grabbing two.

Remi and I sat and chatted while Claire cleaned up the rest of my wounds. They were a little more sore and my limbs were a little more tired. We had fought hard and were definitely going to sleep well that night.

Remi and I had finished the bag of cookies and were now making a dent in the Goldfish when Liam trotted over. He, Bowie, and David had gone hunting and looked as if they filled their bellies well.

He shifted from his fur and I couldn't help but let my eyes trail across him. Damn bond.

I knew he saw me. A small smirk pulled at his lips which only made me eat my Goldfish more aggressively.