"Polar bear's scent? In Colorado?" On second thought, I may need to reconsider bringing her along. "Don't you see that is a tad bit obvious?"

"The modern-day wolves in Colorado get shipments of polar bear meat as a delicacy. In case you didn't know. There is a secret society in Alaska that farms them. They will think you are just a delivery truck passing through town. Isn't that how you lived?" The disappointment spewing from her eyes. 

"No, I didn't." I moved ahead of her. That famine thing I ran across a few weeks ago. He should be dead by now. Hunting top predators is a crime against shapeshifters. They can't stand a chance against a shapeshifter, and knowing these truths is self-explanatory. We do not bother them. She thinks that is the life I live. They know humans are nothing but destruction. However, she is unaware that the woman I chose is different.

We separated, tracking the ice bear's scent through the snow that wandered this range. It will be impossible for him to catch me off guard this time. Though I hope it is dead. I hate the act of defeating something that can barely defend itself.

"Here!" Miska pointed behind a boulder. Woolly and I trotted to her. There he was, starved out. It died a couple of hours ago. Poor guy. His fur is still in good condition. "Do you want me to skin him?"

"I will do it." 

"We can camp here while you work. I brought supplies." She dropped the sack on the snow and an insulated wooden container. "If you do this quickly, we could reach Colorado in a week by boat to Washington state and then spend approximately seven days on foot."

"That will take too long." I situated the bear. "There is a much faster route." I began the center cut from the anus, right up the sternum to gut it. Woolly winces as I pull out the entrails. "You've never done this before?" I looked at him.

"I leave it to the special non-regurgitated bellies that can handle it." I keep my face neutral with that statement. "Let your woman know where your hands have been, okay?" 

I cracked a smile, rubbing my forearm across my cheek to hide my laugh. "I will." I couldn't stop showing my amusement.

Miska rolled her eyes. "How does she eat if she can't kill an animal?" 

"I guess the same way Woolly eats." She smacked her lips, vexed by my response.

"Luckily, we have a team for this," he said, shaving a stick to start a fire in the snow. "So, are we eating it?"

"Nah, leave it for the animals. She brought meals for us." 

After a few hours, I was done with everything required. It's kind of unfortunate. It might be ruined by the time we reach CO. This forty degree weather should preserve it as much as possible. I folded the fur, skins to skin, tucked it, and shoveled snow into Miska's insulated wood container. When I touch Colorado soil, I will wear it, and hopefully, it is still in good condition. I can finish and gift wrap it to give to Gemma.

Resting overnight, we promptly started our way to the boat in the morning. The waters were rough, but we made it to Washington State in two days. And for the hardest part. Finding an eighteen wheeler or any delivery truck that is a straight shot to CO. "What?" Miska hauls the sack and cooler with Woolly's help.

"We need to find a traveler."

"What is your plan? I prefer zero human contact." 

"Get over it and get comfortable if you travel with me. I call the shots or go home. Now, these truckers have rest stops. Be prepared to hop off one and to another to keep moving. It might take a whole day."

"Ugh. This is degrading." She put her hand on her hips, staring at the ocean. 

"Or we can rent a car!" Woolly pointed at a small rental business. The Harbor Getaway, in a blue mobile home. 

"With what credit card?" None of us have money. 

"When I thought we couldn't get any lower." Miska folded her arms. 

Woolly laughed. "That is where you're wrong, my friend." He slapped his hand on my shoulder, holding up gold plastic. "Miska pretends we don't use human things, despite arriving by boat instead of a raft. But we do. Well, I mostly do." 

"It's lazy." She argued. 

"It's convenient," he backfired.

"It's perfect." I snatched the card and walked to the place.

"Wait!" He said. "What about our clothes?" We all studied ourselves. Miska's wardrobe is like a warrior Egyptian princess. Woolly is normal, and I look like a Viking hero. But we are good.

"Cosplay." I hunched my shoulders. "Humans won't even blink." 

"If you insist." he trailed behind me as we crossed the parking lot, feeling the weight of others' gazes upon us. Miska held her chin up high to boost out her confidence, and Wool gave them a good old-fashioned cheerful smile. It's nothing new for me to receive looks. We barged into the place, startling workers, and placed the card on the service desk. 

"Car please." Woolly chuckled at the way I asked, but chop, chop, we have to get stuff done. 

"A nice compact car will do," he included. 

"For how long?" The retailer grabbed it nervously. 

"Hmm. A week?" As we all nodded in agreement. 

"Okay." We can sense his eeriness. "Look like a bunch of runway models. Are you all headed to Pharoah Wednesday Cosplay?" 

"Sure." He glanced back at me and Miska while she rolled her eyes. 

"Your costumes are nice. Looks expensive." She was about to argue with the guy, but I intervened. 

"She handmade it." Woolly finished.

"Impressive. You should get into the fashion business. Skills." The man started typing away, and I peeped a proud smirk at her expression. Will you look at that? A compliment can break the most stubborn barriers. Sigh. I'm excited about our reunion. I hope you feel the same way. Though, knowing that I am dead, I need to tread carefully and ease her into it. What can I say? Yo, it's me back from the dead! Wow, you look great! How are you? Yeah. That sounds stupid.

"You're all set." The guy gave us the keys. "Be sure to return the car next Wednesday at twelve P.M." He grinned. "And take lots of pictures! Maybe look into getting a modeling gig." He snorted, and we looked at each and rushed out the building. 

"Are we seriously returning here?" Miska fused. "Humans are weird." 

"Sure." Woolly reacted.

The closer we got to Colorado, the more my stomach twisted. I'm not hungry. I haven't eaten for seven hours. Miska handed me puffin strips with sourdough bread from the back seat. "Your pores are oozing with anxiety. Scared she is going to reject you?" I grabbed it and ignored her. "It's been slightly more than a year. Humans move on in an instant. If not faster than wolves. And they don't find their true love. They hook up with the next good-looking thing." 

"What do young humans say?" Woolly brightly glanced back at her while looking at the surrounding cars. "The only way to get over someone is to get under another." He jested, but I stared at him, ready to chin check his jaw out the window. He straightened up and faced forward.

"He has a point." Miska cosigned. I ignored them both, but there is a high possibility. Would I let her go so easily if it came to that? If she is happy with someone, I will challenge it. "We are thirty minutes from Colorado. You should put this on." She handed me the polar bear freezing wetsuit.

"Oh yeah, that should hide your scent for sure. It's making me hungry once more. That might be a bad sign. I don't want to attract anyone.

"Bora, your strength is not one hundred percent. Avoid conflict as much as possible." Miska warned. 

"No promises."

Welcome to colorful Colorado. A wooden sign hangs from a post on an empty plain, with distant hills. The game of quarry begins. Who will be the prey, and who will be the predator? I wonder if I can catch Cage's scent from here. This car is a death trap. "You should park soon, so we can go on foot." 

"To where?"

"Telluride. From there, I'll figure it out." We parked in a rest spot at the Uncompahgre National Forest. I slip on the polar bear fur to cover my scent. From here, I could try to sense her. Her presence is out there, but where? My senses are weak. The whips of the mountains watching it shake the leaves. I took a deep breath of the north, wishing her aroma was flowing with the wind. Nothing. Damn it. "Let's move. It's no good here."

The sun, not so powerful beams, floats across the sky, preparing for dusk. I didn't know it would take me this long to find her. We trotted toward where my hut used to be, hoping she was there, or at least nearby. We trailed for hours and nobody. "You're weak." Miska walks ahead of me, searching through the trees, and pulls out four of her Kunia knives. "Someones here." 

An object on my right almost hit my head while I intercepted it with my forearm. What the hell? Whoever did a skillful punch toward the gut, but I blocked that too. The swings become wild yet practical, but their strength is pushing back. They caught the back of my knee, forcing me to kneel. 

Miska knives come flying past, forcing whoever stops. "Enough!" She demands. 

"Never. What business do you have on my grounds?" She said. That voice sounds familiar. 

"Carina?"

https://youtu.be/IT4TOli27os