Bait for the Grizzly, Bride No More

Caroline's POV

A month before we made our engagement official, Blake, the man I planned to marry, suggested taking a trip to the Rocky Mountains with his friends.

His close friend Brooke handed out bottles of bear spray she claimed had cost her a fortune.

The sickly sweet smell seemed wrong to me. I warned everyone not to use it, but they accused me of being jealous of her. To defend Brooke, Blake sprayed the entire bottle all over me in front of everyone.

That night, a crazed grizzly followed the scent straight to our campsite.

Everyone piled into the SUV. Blake shoved me back outside and locked the doors.

“Caroline, aren’t you always the one putting everyone else first? Then keep it away from us!”

Brooke curled up against his chest, smug satisfaction gleaming in her eyes.

As the bear’s fangs crushed my shoulder blade, the SUV sped away.

For three years, I had hidden the fact that I was the Carrington family’s heiress and lived like I was broke just to be with him. I had paid for the respectable life he pretended he could afford.

And all I got in return was a car door locked from the inside.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back beside the campfire on the first night of the trip.

“Caroline? Caroline! Are you even listening to me?”

The impatience in Blake’s voice ripped me out of the memory of my death.

I opened my eyes and stared at my uninjured hands as my heart pounded wildly against my ribs.

There was no freezing rain. No rank animal stench. Only the warmth of the campfire and the smell of meat cooking over the flames.

I had been reborn.

I was back on the first night of the Rocky Mountains trip Blake had planned before we made our engagement official.

“What’s wrong with you, Caroline?” Blake frowned at me. “Brooke’s handing things out, and you’re sitting there with that look on your face. What’s your problem?”

I looked up and studied the people around me.

Blake, the man I planned to marry, came from an ordinary family but had a massive chip on his shoulder. Wyatt and Harper were two of his freeloading friends. And in the middle of the group stood Brooke, smiling as she held several sleek little spray bottles.

This was the moment when everything had gone wrong in my previous life.

Brooke had brought out what she called a special bear spray. She claimed she had paid a local hunter a fortune for it and that spraying it on our backpacks would keep wild animals away.

I had noticed the strange, overly sweet smell. I knew enough about wilderness survival to realize something was wrong, so I warned everyone not to use it. I had even tried to take the bottles away.

And what had happened?

Wyatt had laughed at me.

“Are you jealous because Brooke knows more than you, Caroline? She’s trying to help, and you have to ruin it for everyone.”

Harper had piled on.

“Exactly. Spoiled rich girls are all the same. Everything always has to be their way.”

To defend Brooke, Blake had chewed me out in front of everyone and sprayed the entire bottle all over me.

In the end, that strange scent had attracted a crazed adult grizzly. Because the smell had been strongest on me, I had become its first target.

Their betrayal had cost me my life.

“Caroline, you don’t like what I brought?”

Brooke’s soft voice pulled me out of my memories.

She walked over and offered me a pink spray bottle. Her eyes were already welling up, as if I had deeply hurt her.

“I know you usually wear perfume that costs thousands of dollars, so something this cheap is probably beneath you. But it’s supposed to keep everyone safe. Can you please just use it?”

Everyone’s eyes turned on me, sharp and hostile.

“You’re way out of line, Caroline!” Wyatt slammed his beer can onto the table. “Brooke’s been running around getting everything ready for this trip. What have you done besides sit there with an attitude?”

“Seriously,” Harper said, rolling her eyes. “She thinks she’s a princess.”

I stared coldly at the pathetic group in front of me. The whole thing was so ridiculous that it left me cold.

In my previous life, I had kept giving in for the sake of the group and to protect Blake’s pride.

It had cost me my life.

This time, I wanted to see how much these idiots enjoyed Brooke’s “gift” once I stopped trying to save them.

I remained in my folding chair without lifting a finger. I simply looked at Brooke as if she were already dead.

“If you know it’s cheap garbage, don’t embarrass yourself by handing it out.”

The entire campsite fell silent.

Tears spilled from Brooke’s eyes. She covered her mouth and stumbled back two steps as if I had just slapped her.

Blake snapped.

He stormed toward me and grabbed my wrist.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Caroline? Brooke went out of her way to bring something that could keep us safe, and you still had to ruin it for everyone. Apologize to her right now, and take the spray!”