Chapter 4 is up! This chapter was kind of hard for me, I edited and re-edited this entire week. It was hard but now I think I got it. We left our main character in kind of an awkward spot and now we see what happens next! Also close to the end of this chapter I have given you a special treat! But to find out what it is you'll just have to read and find out ;) Thank you for reading and please comment. I would love to hear from you! So Enjoy!

  Silence.

 How can I describe it any clearer?

 We were both silent.

 Afraid to even breathe we simply stared at each other.

My body was tensed, a coil ready to unleash and run; and by the way his muscles bunched together under his skin I could tell he knew it.

 What was I supposed to do? What was supposed to happen? I had never met this man before in my life yet here he stood with the same eyes that had been haunting me in my sleep for over a week.

 Minutes passed without either of us moving, as if both of us were scrambling within our heads to figure out what to say.

Then, ever so slowly, he moved forward. I moved back into my seat, trying to maintain the same distance as he took another step. He stopped for a moment, not losing eye contact, but hesitating at seeing me retreat.

I felt held. As if only his stare held me in place. He took another slow step. This time I didn't move.

His large hand moved forward, "Nice to meet you."

I blinked. Then feeling embarrassed at my awkward demeanor I quickly brought my hand forward and held firmly onto his outstretched hand, "Nice to meet you..."

I chuckled awkwardly realizing that I had been the one to make this situation awkward, not him. I felt like I should apologize but then I realized... I didn't say my name...

"Oh shit... I mean... I'm"

  "Avery?"

As if the coil was sprung I jumped uncharacteristically and a squeaking gasp left my lips. Watching wide eyed as he simply stood there looking at me with a look of apprehension and slight agitation. But as another knock resounded in my office I saw his eyes narrow ever so slightly and his other hand clenched into a tight fist. A deep rumble escaped from his throat resonating throughout the small room as I pulled my hand back. It sent a cold shiver down my spine.

 "Avery? Are you in there?"                      

I looked at the closed door then to Rick who held my gaze with a look mixed between trying to be polite and yet asking me not to answer the door. But if I didn't answer the door... what would happen?

 "Yes..."

 My voice was small and fragile, slightly raspy as if I hadn't drunken water in ages. I was surprised they could hear it from on the other side of the door, but they did. The door opened slowly and silently.

There was a moment that we all held our breath until Evie's bright green eyes peaked around the door. She saw me and fully walked into the room closing the door softly behind her. She had a worried look on her small face until her eyes caught on the other person in the room with me. Her eyes narrowed and stared openly at the intruder. I could almost see her ears prick up and her nose twitch. I could tell by the way her body stiffened ever so slightly that she could smell him.

But then I thought, what did she smell?

Then, for the first time since I saw his eyes in the auditorium, I took a deep breath, analyzing his scent. It was a warm smell, it held a distinct musk with a soft accent of apples as I had thought before. But there was an underlying odor to it as well. It took me a moment but then my mind began to work again.

Bear.

I stood and took an unsure step back placing myself at a polite distance away. He was a bear, and not just any bear. A grizzly.

Grizzlies were known throughout the shifter community as being the most aggressive of the bear shifters. They were huge, rivaling the size of polar bears in many factors. They were also known for their quick temper, possessiveness, and strength. Honestly in a fight they could rival any Alpha or Pride leader any day. But at the same time so could I it was simply that unlike polar bears, grizzlies simply had a higher level of aggression because they interacted with other species more than polar bears.

I looked back over to Evie who was stiff and unsure of what to do. It was a natural reaction for smaller shifters when around larger carnivores to go on the defensive. In truth most shifters aren't used to the powerful presence that bears create. The staff and students in the school have simply become inured to my presence over time. When I had first come to the school it had caused some problems with the smaller shifters. But over time it has gotten better, and now I had a front row seat in watching how people react to bears.

Watching as Evie's body tensed and coiled, ready to react to the slightest provocation, I could picture back to the bar when every single shifter watched me in fear.

Rick, himself, did nothing but stand there shifting his guarded gaze from Evie to me. His emotions were almost unreadable as he gave off the feeling of aloofness as if he could care less about what was happening. His hands weren't clenched anymore and his body was more on the relaxed side, but I could sense that he was preparing for whatever was to happen next.

"Evie... Did you need something?"

My voice broke the silent stand off and Evie's eyes flashed to me but her body did not relax, "You left so suddenly... I was worried about you."

Her eyes moved to Rick quickly and narrowed slightly, "Are you alright?"

That in itself was a loaded question. What could I answer? What should I answer?

Yes? No? Maybe?

What had just happened in this room in itself between Rick and I wasn't anything noteworthy. He didn't hurt me or anything. Mostly I just sat there awkwardly staring at him while he tried to be polite. But at the same time there was this itching at the back of mind asking: 'Why did he come here?'

I looked up between Evie and Rick. Evie was a mixture of worry and apprehension. Rick was a wall of stone as he stared straight at me.

"I'm fine."

It was a lie. I knew it was a lie from the moment it left my lips. But there was nothing else I could say that would make any sense. Evie looked like she didn't believe me but she didn't say it. The silence was becoming awkward again and I felt my hands itch wanting to do something. All eyes were on me. One was a friend I had known for almost three years. The other was a pair I had had dreams about for the past week.

To say the least my nerves were frayed.

"Um... Evie this is Rick Kodiak. Rick this is Evie Summers..."

I smiled trying to be the mediator between the three of us and trying to pull the fragments of my damaged reputation back together in the eyes of Rick who most obviously had tried to be nice and failed.

At my words Evie just looked up at Rick, nodded stiffly then looked back at me. Rick nodded but didn't proffer his hand turning his attention back to me. The room once again started to crawl back into the awkward pit of despair with me standing directly in the middle.

But thankfully someone up there loved me because before anyone could say anything else the intercom came on.

"Mr. Nanuk, could you please report to the office?"

I took a deep, steadying breath and tried to straighten out my wrinkled. I ran a hand through my hair and kept my eyes lowered.

"Well then... I suppose I should... um..." words seemed to elude me as I looked back and forth between Evie and Rick. My tongue felt fat and numb. I felt like an idiot standing there mumbling so I just nodded to no one in particular and walked towards the door.

Evie seemed to follow behind me as Rick seemed glued to the spot with a look of pure and unadulterated fury upon his face. I didn't feel it was directed at anyone in particular simply an emotion that seemed to fill him at this moment.

As I made it to the door I turned back slightly feeling that I had to say something to him. But like the very smooth person I am nothing came to me. Until I found my mouth moving and words coming out, "It was nice meeting you."

I wanted to smack myself against a wall with how stupid it sounded. But Rick turned to me and gave a curt nod trying in vain to reel in his anger. As I gave one last glance at him I saw an emotion inside his eyes that I hadn't noticed before or maybe just chose not to.

Longing.

I was a robot as I walked down the hallway with Evie in tow. My mind frazzled and running about in circles asking itself dumb questions like:

Is he mad at me?

Should I have left him alone in my office?

Did I make a bad impression?

Will I ever see him again?

"Well that was interesting."

Evie had to walk briskly to keep pace with me and her tone spoke volumes to how 'interesting' what just happened was. I felt that her adjective was lacking in that it needed something more. But at the moment I couldn't think of a better word.

In truth I felt almost numb. I was running on autopilot as my internal processes seemed to simply shut down. I felt something wet slide down my nose and I lifted my hand up to wipe it away. I looked down to see the liquid was sweat.

"Avery are you okay?"

I felt hot. I tried to ignore it thinking it to be just my fever kicking back in. But my steps seemed to slow as my breathing became more labored.

"Avery?"

I moved towards the wall and put a hand against the cool lockers trying to keep my balance as I felt the heat rise from my toes to my head.

I felt faint. I was dizzy... I needed to sit down.

My body crashed to the floor as I tried in vain to stay standing. The world swam before me as I heard my name being called. It seemed so distant. My body pulsed with heat and it seemed as if I might burst into flames at any moment. My veins felt as if fire ran through them as I tried to hold my head upright.

I tried to think. To focus on something. I was delirious. That's it. The fever had gotten stronger and now I was suffering from heat exhaustion. I needed water. I needed something to help me cool down. I needed...

Rick's POV

 I had him.

I almost had him!

He was right here! Right in front of me and I almost had him!

 I paced back and forth in the small room running my hands agitatedly through my hair making it stand every which way without a care. Snarls and growls left my chest as I tried to cool off. I kicked the closest thing to me, which was a filing cabinet, and sent it toppling over spraying paper everywhere.

Why was this so hard? Why couldn't it be easy?

It had been a week since I had first seen him, and every day since then I had practically driven myself crazy with want.

With wanting him. To know him, talk to him, to actually know his name.

  I had moved to the area about a month ago, I had been hired by Jeffery a few weeks before that after I had just finished a job over in Alaska.

I was a freelance tree surgeon moving from place to place, had been working in the business for about 10 years. Jeffery had heard of me and had approached me about working as his partner. His business had been growing and he needed help managing it. I had no reason to refuse.

It was a good area to live in, with good pay and it seemed like an interesting job. So I moved into a small cabin out in the woods and started work immediately. I was busy at first. It was just work, food, sleep, work, food, sleep. Until Jeffery came and told me I needed to take a break. So I asked around and a couple of the guys at work told me about this bar in one of the nearby towns that sold pretty good liquor and had a good atmosphere.

It was called Full Moon Saloon.

The next Saturday rolled around and I decided to check the place out, and that's when I first saw him.

He was tall, about 6'4". He had a thick head of beautiful snow white hair. It was shorter in the back and longer in the front overshadowing his eyes in the right light. His skin was nicely tanned, almost dark, and looked as smooth as porcelain. He was slimmer than most bears. His musculature was more along the lines of a swimmer with broad shoulders that lead down to a slim waist. His face was slim with slim pink lips. But what kept my rapt attention were his eyes.

 They were a bright, crystal blue. Pale. In certain lights they seemed to glow like candles. His pupil was an abysmal pool of black surrounded by a sea of icy blue, creating a stare that left you transfixed for hours.

 He was perfect.

 From the first moment I looked upon him I knew he was the one, by pure instinct I knew he was the one. His smell alone drove me crazy. As we stared at each other for the first time I thought I would see the same feeling of want from him. I wanted to see the same feeling of want as I did.

But all I could see was confusion, and then almost as quickly as he had come he had turned and ran. At that moment my body moved without my telling it to as I leapt from my barstool and chased after him. The bar had been packed and I had to shove many unknowing bodies out of my way. But when I finally broke free and ran outside he was already gone. His scent a lingering memory.

Since that day I have been running about in circles trying to find him. I was driving myself and everyone around me crazy. Until Jeffery had finally cornered me and asked what was wrong. I told him everything. Which truly wasn't that much. He listened quietly and waited for me to finish. Then he slapped me on my shoulder with a broad smile upon his bearded face The next thing he told me sent my heart to thumping.

 "I think I know where to find this bear of yours."

The next thing I knew Jeffery told us that he had set up a presentation over at the local shifter school, and he told me I had no other choice but to come. At the time I didn't understand why I needed to come to talk to kids about logging. But when I took my first step into the school I smelled it. It took three fully grown loggers to hold me back, and Jeffery had to reassure me over fifty times that I would be able to meet him soon. I knew I should trust him but something inside of me had no patience left.

I wanted to meet him and I wanted to meet him now.

Now, when I finally had him in my hands, he found a way to wiggle free. I growled in anger as I pulled on my hair.

It was that freakin' lynx! She just had to come in and ruin everything! If it wasn't for her I would have had him! Right now we would have been talking, maybe even touching. I would be able to be close to his slim body and feel that perfect skin as we shook hands.

I looked down at my fingers thinking about the soft touch I had been able to receive. It was soft yet at the same time I could feel the calluses from years of working. I didn't shy away from that like some might at thinking he was rougher then he was soft. Honestly I liked that, it made me want to get to know him even more because of it.

He was... He was hot. I blinked at that. He was very hot. I could almost feel the heat radiating off of him as if he were a furnace. I could even see sweat upon his forehead as he left the room with the Lynx. Was something wrong? Was he sick? What...

"AVERY?!"