He knew right away that Anne was not home. Footprints led away from the house and straight into...the woods. Seth growled. She said she wouldn't go in there. She could be in danger. Seth's wolf was furious at his human stupidity. He put his nose down and followed her trail down the forest path.
He found trail markers with her scent. At least she wasn't completely hopeless in the wilderness so long as she didn't panic.
It started to rain. Seth worried he might lose the trail but his wolf was completely tune into her scent. He picked up the pace anyway.
Amaya stopped walking long enough to stretch and tilt her head back to let the rain wash her face. When she looked down again she was startled to see the giant wolf-dog that had saved her life sitting in front of her.
"Hello. Have you decided you'd like to eat me after all?" She held out her hand for him to sniff. He gave the proffered limb a lick. "Will you walk with me? I wouldn't mind the company."
Just as Seth had hoped, Amaya was totally at ease with the creature though she was never so with her own kind. He wagged his tail and stood.
"Well, come along then, unless you know a better way?" She didn't really expect him to understand but there was something in his eyes that had Amaya half-waiting for him to speak to her. Now, he took the lead and she shrugged her shoulders and followed him, remembering to leave a mark when he left the trail.
She followed the animal for some time before she began to feel the ache in her legs. Amaya had always been in pretty good shape and she lived an active life. Somehow along the road that led her to Forks she had lost a little of her stamina, or she had been walking much longer than she realized.
"I hope we're close to wherever you're taking me. I still have to walk back, you know?" The wolf looked back at her and gave a yip and wagged his tail before setting off again. Amaya grinned and followed."
The wolf stopped at the edge of a cliff. It was the most spectacular view Amaya had ever seen. She collapsed onto a rock jutting conveniently out of the ground. Her companion sat beside her and she buried a hand in the thick fur of his neck.
They looked out over a forested valley. On the far side was a strip of white beach and the sea sparkling in the moonlight. Beautiful.
"This is spectacular, Bear. Thank you." The wolf looked at her and tilted his head to one side in a clear question. "Sorry, I guess it is a little presumptuous of me but you're so large and just gorgeous. And I feel very safe with you. I thought Cerberus was fitting since you seem to keep protecting me. And Bear fits perfectly as a nickname for you. You could easily pass for a bear if you wanted."
Seth had brought his imprint to this place on a whim. He'd always loved this view. The look on her face told him he'd made a good choice.
Anne called him "Bear" and then she started rambling. She did explain why she had seemed to thinks he had seen a bear on her last trip into the woods though.
"You don't have to come home with me. I'm not sure why you keep finding me. I like you. I'd make sure you didn't want for anything. But maybe you've been on your own too long? Maybe you don't want to be tamed. I could understand that. I wouldn't mind just disappearing into the woods. I've wanted to get a dog to watch the house and to take on walks. But that's pretty selfish of me. I don't know how long I can stay here. If you grew to love me, you might get hurt. It is probably best if you stay wild. But maybe you'll walk with me sometimes? I'd like that."
Anne was adorable when she rambled. However, Seth soon realized the drawback to these extremely one-sided talks. Anne skipped over the things Seth was desperate to know about and worried about things he would love to ease her mind on. But she was talking. He would be patient for the rest.
Anne eventually stopped talking and the two of them sat in companionable silence. She ran her hands absentmindedly down his back. Seth lay down and put his head in her lap.