The man’s lips twitched upward, taking in Cullen’s scent. He moved aside with a nod, but remained silent. Cullen strode to the bar where two fox shifters moved aside to make room for him. As he sat, he motioned the bartender over. “I’d like a shot of whiskey.”
“Sure thing. I haven’t seen you in here in awhile, Cullen,” the bartender said.
Cullen didn’t really have time for small talk tonight, so he responded with, “Nope.” He knew that Sean would like to have pried more information out of him, but this time Cullen was here on business.
The shot glass was set down and Sean smiled. “How’s Damon these days?”
“Why do you ask?”
Sean shrugged. “Just asking.”
“What’s up with the guards posted outside the pub? Expecting trouble?”
Sean poured Cullen another whiskey after Cullen downed the first one. “Someone snatched a young werebear a few days back. It’s put everyone on edge. Marla doesn’t care for trouble. She’s trying to figure out what might have happened to the girl.”
“Female? How young are we talking here?”
“Eighteen. According to her protector, she’s not able to really protect herself. It seems she hasn’t been trained properly.”
That brought a smile to Cullen’s lips. “Not to worry. I’m sure someone will show her the ropes.”
Sean laughed, and then his face hardened. He leaned in closer and spoke much lower. “It’s not laughing matter. Marla is taking the kidnapping seriously.”
“What makes her so sure that she was kidnapped at all? She might have just run off.”
“Yes, but it seems hard to do when she was locked in her room.”
“Who’d lock her in a room? That seems barbaric. Of course, if I had a charge that age, I’d never let her near this place since it’s filled with shifters.”
The two fox shifters now glared at Cullen. “Don’t look at us. We just got here tonight. Plus, it’s not too easy to kidnap a bear shifter. They’re way too big to deal with when they shift,” one said.
“Of course, in human form I’d be game,” the other said. “I heard tell she was in the midst of her mating fever. They don’t get too choosy when they’re in the heat of the moment.”
Cullen elbowed the fox off his barstool. “Sorry,” he said with a smile.
The other fox got up, grabbing his drink, and they both left for a table in the far corner, safely out of the reach of Cullen.
“Don’t listen to those two fools. They should know better than to wrangle with a bear shifter.”
Marla walked toward Cullen, hugging him tight. He stared down her cleavage, as expected, but just enough for her to think he was interested in romping in her big bed upstairs. Of course, the last time he was here, she had him take her up against the wall of the back door. Cullen had no idea what Marla did before she came to town, but he suspected it was the world’s oldest profession.
He pulled away. “So, you’ve had some trouble here?”
Marla gave her black hair a careful pat, tucking in a few loose strands that had escaped her barrettes. She had high cheekbones that protruded more that they had a year ago and wrinkles were now visible near her eyes. Although older than Cullen, he didn’t mind rutting with her. He rather enjoyed her vast experience on how to please a man or shifter. “I thought I told you, Sean—”
“So why was the girl locked in a room upstairs? That seems so unlike you.”
Marla led Cullen to a far table where there wasn’t anyone nearby. She sat and motioned to the other chair for Cullen to join her.
“I was trying to help the girl, really I was, but he insisted on locking her up.”
“Who did?”
Marla took Cullen’s hand in hers. “I like you, Cullen, but there are things that are better left unsaid. I’ve been sworn to secrecy. I can’t reveal the name of my friend.”
Cullen stoked his razor stubble face. “I can’t see you allowing anyone to mistreat a mere girl, a werebear at that.”
Marla folded her arms. “He meant no harm. He really has tried to protect her from the world, but you just can’t shelter a werebear like that. She needed to learn how to fight like other bears, but he wouldn’t allow her to even shift. He had this idea that she was in danger.”
“In danger from whom?”
“The clan,” she whispered and for good reason. Cullen knew it wasn’t wise to speak about the Clan of the Werebear publicly, or at all. They seemed to have ears in even the most secure of places.
Cullen finally whispered back, “I don’t understand. How could a girl be in danger from the clan? Is she someone of great importance?”
“I don’t know the answer to that question, my muscular one. All I know is that my friend has gone overboard trying to protect the girl. I think he’s the reason she left. I can’t say that I blame the girl for running off the first chance she got. If I was locked away like a dog, I’d run, too.”
“There has to be another reason that he locked her up like that.”
“Well...” Marla fidgeted with her fingernails, biting down on her pinky one. “She has the fever, that one. And she has it really bad.”
“Are you talking about the mating fever?”
“Yes, and now it’s too late for her.”
“Too late how?” Cullen had to know.
“I’m not sure how she found her way out of the pub. Someone had to have unlocked her door, with any luck it was a friend, not a foe.”
“Did she have any friends here that might have done that?”
“I have a few ideas, but I can’t be sure.”
“If she had stayed here any longer, one of the shifters would have mated with her for sure. She’d be too much of a temptation for any of them.”
“True. She’s eighteen and a shifter. Perhaps she’s even found a mate by now, one who would protect her.”
“So you don’t think she was kidnapped, then?”
“No, I strongly suspect that she just ran off with the help of a friend. I hope the girl is okay.”
“Did she have any friends here?” Cullen pressed.
“I really can’t tell you for certain, since I can’t be positive.”
“And the girl’s name is?”
“I-I can’t tell you. He’ll be angry and I don’t need to have something else to worry about now.”
“So why post the guards outside the pub?”
“Well, I wanted to pacify the protector, but word has trickled back here that the clan is on the move again. They’ll be doing their inspections, which is very bothersome since the werewolf pack is so near. I just hope we won’t have war at our doors. I’ve barred all werewolves from the pub until I’m sure they’re gone.”
“I’m sure that won’t happen since they’re fighting to the north, or that’s what they told me during their last inspection. They’re trying to squash the rogue wolf packs there.”
“I just hope that they leave the nearby pack alone. They’ve been quite helpful to me in the past. They delivered meat to my door just last winter that helped me make it through the winter.”
“So this girl wasn’t raised by you, then?”
“No, I just can’t tell you the name of her protector.”
“Is he only her protector, or something else?” Cullen hinted.
“No, he found her when she was but a cub and raised her.”
Cullen clenched and unclenched his hands. He had much to ponder on the way home. He pressed one time more, and asked. “Can you tell me the girl’s name at least? Just in case I run into her in the wild?”
“Please, Cullen. I can’t. I’ve sworn that I’d never reveal either of their names.”
Cullen stood and stretched. “I see. And is he still here now?”
“No, he left to search for the girl. In his own way, he does love her like a daughter. He just took that responsibility too seriously. I can’t reveal their names. Shifters aren’t known for their forgiveness.”
Cullen nodded and
left via the back door. The guards out there totally ignored him, which either meant they were shifters and could smell the bear in him, or they really could care less and this job was like any other.
Cullen could smell them, though; they were werebears, as was he. He couldn’t stick around to figure out why Marla hired werebears as guards anyway. Doesn’t she realize that the clan could just as easily press them into servitude as part of the clan’s army?
Marla’s wrong about shifters not known to forgive. Cullen felt it easy to forgive the lies Elaina told him. Marla never raised her as she said, but another shifter did. That much Marla had let slip. Did it really matter what shifter had raised Elaina, one that saw fit to lock her up? The thought of Elaina locked in a dark room angered Cullen. He made a promise to himself at this moment that he’d protect her at any cost. Elaina’s so-called protector was no more than a bully.
Chapter Ten
Elaina ran fast. She tried to shift into her bear form, but she couldn’t seem to. Two ferocious bears came into view and Elaina screamed and screamed. She stood there as they ran toward her with teeth bared and claws raised, until...
A voice ripped Elaina from her dream state. “Wake up, Elaina.”
Elaina stared up at the dark shape above her. She touched his face and sighed, “Cullen.”
His body tightened. “No, it’s Damon. Cullen isn’t back yet.”
“Where did he go?”
“He’s on a scouting trip. We can’t ever be so complacent to think that our village is safe, not with the variety of shifters that live in this region.”
“What about the Clan of the Werebear?”
“What do you know about the clan, Elaina?”
“I’ve been taught that they are dangerous, and that they might be searching for me.”
“Why, Elaina? Why would the clan be searching for you?”
“I-I don’t know. It’s just what my protector has always told me.”
“I’m sure you don’t have to worry. The only ones who have to fear the clan are werebears who break their rules of conduct, and any male that lives in this village. They’ve taken most of the men away. Now there is only Cullen and me. I don’t know what more they can take from us.”
“There’s always more that they could take. What if they take you and Cullen? What would the village do, then?”
“Neither Cullen nor I would allow that. There’s no way the clan would take the last of the men without dispersing the remainder of the village.”
“Like how?”
“Well, since they have so much power and are known to be quite brutal in the north, there’s no telling what they’d do. But don’t worry, we won’t let anything happen to you or anyone else.”
Elaina rested back against the fur covered bed. “So why did you come in here?”
“I heard you scream.”
Elaina’s eyes widened as she caught sight of a sliver of light from a behind Damon and watched helplessly as a blade sailed through the air. Instead of it hitting Elaina, it stuck Damon on the back of the shoulder. Elaina screamed for help, but Damon shifted and tossed Shauna to the ground. She dropped her lantern and it set the side of the hut on fire. Women ran inside with buckets and extinguished the fire quickly, but not before a hole was burned through, exposing the night sky. Shauna was then dragged out and chained to a tree outside.
Elaina helped Damon back to his hut and watched as Hannah attended to his wound. She mixed a smelly brew with herbs and leaves, heating it up by holding the pottery bowl over the fire. She then smeared it on Damon’s wound. He flinched, but never made a sound.
“I’m so sorry, Damon. I feel so responsible.”
“Don’t,” a voice from the doorway said. “Shauna has always been like this. She’s tried to kill me before, too,” Klesa said. “At the time, I was pregnant with Ivan. Shauna can’t carry a cub to full term and she resents anyone who might be able to.”
Damon tried to smile, but grimaced. “We need to get rid of her before she harms someone else. I’ll discuss it with Cullen when he returns. I even rutted with her tonight to pacify her, but I guess when I comforted you, Elaina, she was consumed with jealously.”
“Crazy, is what she is. She should know that you have to mate with other females in hopes of creating more cubs,” Klesa said.
Damon’s eyes were heavy now, and as he blinked, he said, “Head back to Cullen’s hut. I don’t need to tangle with him tonight.”
Elaina stood up and Klesa walked her back to the hut. Both women froze as they stared into the enraged eyes of Cullen. “What’s going on here?” he demanded.
Elaina’s hands went to her hips. “Well, it’s not what you think it is.” She gazed at the lightening sky. “Where were you all night?”
“I was scouting the nearby perimeter. The last thing we need to worry about are werewolves straying into our territory.”
“Werewolves have their own territory to monitor, I’m sure.”
“Oh, and what do you know of werewolves?”
“Not much, but they’re not any threat to this village. But if what Damon says is right, the Clan of the Werebear is.”
“I better get back to the children,” Klesa said as she walked away, obviously not wanting to get involved in the conversation.
Cullen stared at the sound of chains near a tree. “Why is Shauna chained up?”
Elaina walked into Cullen’s hut and pointed out the new window. “I was having a nightmare and Damon heard me scream. When he was comforting me, she followed him in here and attacked him with a knife. The old one had to patch him up.”
“It looks like we’ll have to deal with her tomorrow, then, once Damon is up. We’ve never had to consider removing someone from the village before, but it’s long overdue. Shauna has been a pain for a long time now. She’s a danger to everyone in the village. I just hate the thought of executing her.”
Elaina gasped. “What? Is that a possibility?”
“It’s up to the village.”
“Oh, so you’d let the village make the decision? I thought that you and Damon would have to decide since you’re the men of the village.”
“Being a man doesn’t qualify you to make the best decision. Whatever happens will affect us all.”
“Yes, but it seems so harsh. But what do I know since I’ve never been a part of a village before. I thought most werebears lived closer to civilization. That’s what Sa—”
“Who?”
“My protector.”
“I thought you said you didn’t have a mate.”
“I don’t, but I was raised by Marla, remember?”
“Ah, I remember what you said, but why do I have the feeling that you’re hiding something from me?”
“I’m not, but I’m sure interested in the clan. What kind of werebears can they be if they have taken all of the men from the village? Is the village really in danger of being eliminated?”
Cullen took ahold of Elaina’s shoulders. “Who told you that?”
“Damon, but he wasn’t really all that clear. If you and Damon are also taken, the village will cease to exist. You don’t think that they’d kill everyone, do you?”
Cullen didn’t answer that question. He disrobed and climbed into bed, patting the bed next to him. “Let us sleep. It sounds like we both could use more.”
Elaina was bothered that Cullen wouldn’t finish this conversation. She wanted to know. She didn’t know most of the people of the village, but she didn’t want to see any harm come to any of them.
Elaina’s mind raced as she listened to Cullen sigh as he repositioned himself in the bed. Elaina kept her clothing on and climbed over Cullen’s body, but as her one knee was just on the other side of his body, Cullen moved his leg upright, smacking Elaina’s womanhood. She let out a tiny gasp, and he said, “Sorry.”
Elaina tried to settle herself next to Cullen, but sleep was the furthest thing from her mind. The lower half of her body twitched with need and her breasts longed to be tou
ched. She wanted to be free of her clothing and she tossed and turned in the bed, lifting her shirt over her head, tugging her jeans off, and flinging them on the floor. She enjoyed the sensation of the breeze that blew through the hole in the ceiling. She moved her leg until she felt Cullen’s manly leg against hers.
“Go to sleep, Elaina.”
Those words were like a knife to her heart, but Elaina didn’t understand why she’d feel that way. Perhaps Cullen really didn’t find her desirable at all. She curled on her side away from Cullen, all the while wishing she could feel his skin against hers once more. She stifled a groan as the lower half of her body ached. In frustration, Elaina whipped the furs back and lay fully naked without a covering. She concentrated on feeling the cool breeze that occasionally drifted far enough for her sweltering skin to feel it. It was a long time before she slept, and her only hope was that tomorrow she’d finally know what it would be like to be a woman at last.
Chapter Eleven
Elaina shifted positions, reaching across the bed where Cullen had been asleep, but she felt only emptiness there. She sat up and stood, wiping the sleepiness from her eyes. She pulled on her clothing, wishing she had something else to wear since that’s what she had worn since she arrived.
She really couldn’t stop herself from thinking how much she wanted Cullen, but torn since she felt equally drawn to Damon, who was much easier going. There was something about the way Cullen stated that she belonged to him that made her feel all giddy inside. Two men fighting over who would mate with her was surreal, but she hoped when the time came that she would figure out which of them to choose.
She made her way outside, as her bladder was about to explode, and she relieved the pressure. It was only then that she heard loud voices coming from the center of the village. Elaina made her way there and she saw Shauna chained to a pole. Tear coursed down her cheeks as she cussed up a storm at the other women who were shouting at her.
“You dared to murder a true blood!” the old one shouted.
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