Chapter 1
In my last life, Natalie insisted on stepping out of the car to feed a wild grizzly.
I tried to stop her. Daniel shoved me into the bear's path instead — to save her.
The grizzly's teeth tore through my throat. My blood sprayed hot across the snow.
And there was Daniel, my boyfriend of three years, holding Natalie close. Not a scratch on her.
He even raised his phone to film me being ripped apart, then posted it on TikTok with the caption: "She gave her life to protect us." The donations poured in for weeks.
Now my eyes are open again. Natalie's pushing the car door open, sandwich in hand, ready to hand-feed the cubs.
This time, I don't scream. I don't stop her.
I just watch her lean halfway out the door — and lock it behind her.
Claire's POV
"Claire, can you STOP being such a buzzkill? It's just a baby bear — look at it. My followers are gonna die over this video."
Natalie's voice cut right through me.
My eyes snapped open.
The smell of blood still clung to the back of my throat. Phantom pain tore through my neck and I sucked in a sharp breath.
Outside, the lodgepole pines of Yellowstone scrolled past. Up ahead, a grizzly cub nosed at the road. Small body. Sharp claws already visible.
Natalie had her latest iPhone in one hand and a ham sandwich in the other, half hanging out the passenger window, fingers on the door handle.
"You think it'll let me pet it?" She was practically bouncing. "I saw this influencer do it once — went totally viral. I even have the caption ready: Intimate Encounters with Wildlife." She grinned. "Easy million views."
From the back seat, Daniel jumped right in. "Hell yeah, go for it. Don't listen to Claire — she's just being paranoid. We drove all the way out here to experience nature, not sit in the car like we're on some damn field trip."
I didn't bite. Just kept my eyes on the window.
I came back. This exact day. The first time we saw this bear.
Last time, I'd known the rules — stay a hundred yards back, never approach a cub, mother's always close. I'd begged Natalie to stay in the car. She didn't listen. I went out after her, grabbed her arm, tried to pull her back.
The mother grizzly came out of nowhere.
One second. Less. Daniel's hands hit my back, hard, and I went airborne — shoved clean in front of Natalie.
"Claire? HELLO?" Natalie slapped the glass. "Unlock the door. I'm going down to feed it."
I looked at her. Let out a slow breath.
This time, I didn't reach for her arm.
"Park regulations require you stay at least a hundred yards from bears," I said, flat. "No feeding. You sure about this?"
"Oh my GOD." She rolled her eyes. "Daniel, you HEAR her? It's one little cub. What's the worst that could happen?"
Daniel leaned forward, frowning. "Come on, Claire. Natalie came all this way. Can you just let her have this? Stop quoting the park brochure at us."
"Sure." I nodded. Reached up and switched the dash cam to wide-angle, full record.
"If you're getting out, that's your call. I've said what I needed to say." I paused. "Whatever happens next is on you."
Natalie laughed. "Coward."
She pushed the door open and stepped out toward the cub.
The second her feet hit the pavement, I hit the central lock.
Click.
All four doors, sealed. Windows hummed up.
Daniel stared at the door panel. His face went white. "Claire. What the — OPEN IT."
"Just being careful." I leaned back, calm. "This car cost me half a million. I'd rather not deal with the mess."
"Are you KIDDING me? Natalie is OUT THERE." He lunged for the unlock button.
I shoved his hand away. Met his eyes. Didn't raise my voice.
"Try that again. See what happens." A beat. "Want to go be with her? I'll open the door and kick you out myself. But once you're out, you're out."
He went still.
Then the treeline exploded.
Low, massive, unstoppable.
RROOOAARRR—
The mother grizzly burst through the brush like a freight train. All muscle, no hesitation, eyes locked on the woman near her cub.
Natalie's grin vanished. Her phone hit the pavement. She screamed and ran.
"OPEN THE DOOR — CLAIRE — PLEASE—"
She shouted.
The bear didn't slow.
Behind me, Daniel's voice cracked. "You PSYCHO — she's gonna DIE — OPEN IT—" He slammed the door frame. Kept slamming.
I sat in the driver's seat. Watched Natalie through the glass. Listened to Daniel fall apart.
All that screaming. All that desperate, nowhere-to-go panic.
Yeah. I know exactly what that feels like.
I lifted my phone and hit record.
"I told you," I said quietly. "Whatever happens next is on you."
The grizzly's shadow swallowed her whole.
