Bearly Holding On by Danielle Foxton

away from Awen’s expression of worry. “It’s him,” he said gruffly. “He wants me to claim you.”
    Mati’s eyes, Awen noticed, had begun to dimly glow. She smirked, unafraid. “How does that work exactly?” She pulled him back against her, grinding her hips into his.
    “It’s not going to,” he growled through clenched teeth. “I refuse to pull you into this curse with me.”
    Awen grinned seductively, pulling his face in for another kiss, but just before his lips reached hers she stopped him. “Shouldn’t I get a say in that?” she whispered breathlessly against his mouth.
    His eyes glowed like fire and a low growl reverberated from his chest. “I wouldn’t do that.”
    “I'm not afraid.” she assured. “I know what you're feeling, Mati. I want this.”
    “It's more than wanting.” He placed his hands on either side of her. “I want...I need...to claim you, but I refuse to share. You are mine and only mine.”
    “You're awfully cocky,” she teased. She released her legs from around his waist and brought a hand to his face.
    “I think you can agree that we share a connection that neither of us can explain.”
    She stared deeply into his eyes, searching. “Then why shouldn’t we explore that connection?”
    Suddenly, a clap of thunder sounded overhead. In less than a moment a torrent of rain descended on the pair.
    Mati turned his face skywards, squinting at the sudden change in weather. Not ready to abandon the moment, Awen pulled his face down to hers again. The kiss was passionate, wild.
    Mati could feel the change coming on and he wrestled with it. I haven’t felt this happy in hundreds of years, he snarled at his inner beast. Let me be.
    The bear backed down, and Mati took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, pulling her off the railing and back into his arms.
    When they parted Awen smiled. She could see that his eyes were normal again—still glowing but not with lust; they glowed with love. They had only just met, but she knew that what they were experiencing had been destined from the beginning. Maybe it was fate.
    “Come on,” she said after a moment. “I’ve still got a job to do.”
    Wordlessly Mati set her down, following her down the path to the car. She climbed into the passenger seat, signalling for him to drive. He clambered in and off they went.
    Once they had signal, Awen pulled her phone from her pocket and dialled the number for her boss. He was extremely disgruntled that she had failed to remain in contact with him. She quickly explained that she had been in an accident and had stayed with a friend for the evening. He sighed, but accepted her explanation. Then he asked if she had checked Mati’s alibi.
    “It checks out,” she lied. The complete lack of professionalism she was exhibiting shocked her. “He was there pretty late. Did you check into the other victims?”
    “I did,” he confirmed. “All of them had priors—sexual assault, aggravated assault, etc. Seems like our bear has a taste for psychos.”
    Mati grimaced, mouthing to Awen, “I don’t eat them.”
    She smirked. “Well I guess we’ll have to keep investigating. Though our leads have run dry.”
    “But why would a bear move the bodies?” She could tell that the frustration was getting to him.
    “Actually I have an explanation for that,” she told him. “The people from the reservation moved them away from the village. They didn’t want the negative energy tainting their lands.”
    Her boss snorted. “That’s ridiculous. Yeah, next time I see a potential crime scene I’ll make sure to move it if I think the energy is going to seep into the neighbouring community.” He then muttered something vaguely racist and, while it incensed Awen, she knew she had to cover up for Mati at all costs.
    “There’s nothing criminal going on here,” was all she could say. “It’s just a series of strange bear attacks. It’s spring—the bears are just coming out of hibernation. If these men aggravated