by Clara Cody
“A bear.” It wasn’t a question.
She nodded.
I rubbed my hand over my mouth and chin, pacing the floor. “This is bad. If the other shifter so much as bit those other campers, they’ll change too. It’s hard enough trying to get a child to control the change. I don’t even know what it would be like with two full-grown adults. And that’s not the worst-case scenario. Fuck, I don’t even want to think about that.”
I felt her hand touch my arm and stopped moving. “Is there anything you can do?” she asked, her eyes hopeful.
“I could help look for them. I have a good sense of smell, much better than any human. But still not as good as if I shifted.”
“You can’t. People are going to be on the lookout for bears now.”
“I know. Don’t worry. I’m not about to do anything stupid.” I rushed into the bedroom and came out a second later. “I gotta go to the park. You stay here.”
“Screw that! I’m coming too.”
I took her by the arm. “The hell you are. That bear could still be out there. I want you to stay right here.”
“Well, why should I be safe, when you aren’t?”
“Because I can handle myself against him. I already have once. Please, just stay here so I’ll have one less thing to worry about.”
“But, you don’t have to do it alone! I can at least—”
“Lacey,” I snapped. “Just listen for once!”
She yanked herself from my grasp, her eyes blazing, teeth bared.
I held up my hands. “I’m sorry. But—”
“Maybe you should be the one to listen,” she spat back at me. She spun away from me and began looking for her shirt. I saw it in the corner where I’d thrown in before, but I didn’t say anything. Instead, I turned and left the room. On my way to the front door, I caught sight of her purse. She would be pissed, I knew that, but I needed to keep her safe. Keep her here. I decided that I could live with her being pissed at me. I grabbed her car keys out of her purse and pocketed them before darting out of the cabin. I didn’t look back as I got in my truck and left.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Todd was pacing the ground, swinging his flashlight back and forth as I pulled up. His cruiser blocked the path that led to the backcountry campsites. There was no driving to those ones. You had to either hike, ride a bike or canoe around the lake. “What are you doing here?” he asked, as I stepped out of my truck.
“I heard there were some missing campers. I want to help.”
“Where’d you hear that? We haven’t released that to the public yet.”
“Small town, Todd. You want help or not?”
“Yeah,” he said, shaking his head. “Does anyone else know? Last thing I need right now is Herb and the gang showing up here with guns.”
“They don’t know. Not yet, at least. But you’d better figure out what you’re going to do about them before they do.” I heard men up the trail shouting and saw shadows. “They up there?” I asked, nodding towards the ruckus.
“Yeah. Chief’s up there with them. Haven’t found shit yet. Go on.” He handed me a flashlight.
I walked up a steep slope leading through a patch of forest that grew thicker with each step. Eventually, I came to a clearing where about a dozen people, officers and park employees, stood listening to Chief Brown talking. The place reeked of bear, but thankfully I couldn’t smell a trace of blood. Not that it meant the campers were safe and sound. Through the darkness, I could see the damage done to the site. The tent had been torn to shreds, and the sleeping bags had been pulled out and left in ribbons. A white cooler had been tipped over and riffled through, hot dog wrappers and other garbage strewn about. That was probably what attracted the bear in the first place.
“What are you doing here?” Chief asked, tapping me on the shoulder.
“I wanted to help look. Todd sent me up here.”
He sighed. “All right then. We could use all the help we can get. You head out with Toby over there.” He pointed towards a guy waving a flashlight, wearing the dark blue and tanned uniform that all the park staff wore. “Stick close together.”
“Good thing you came along,” Toby said, leading the way. “We have to go in pairs, and I was gonna have to stay back here with the Chief and Pruwitt. He’s a bit of a douche.”
“So I’ve heard.”
A couple of hours later, we’d still found nothing. I’d lost the couple’s scent after a few minutes, so they must have been gone awhile. Chief needed to get a bloodhound out there to do a proper job. Out of my bear, I had no chance of finding them now. Toby and I found our way back to the site, more thanks to my nose than Toby’s knowledge of the park. As we approached, a familiar voice traveled through the night air, growing more agitated. Shit! I left Toby and ran the rest of the way to the campsite where I found Lacey stuck in the middle of a heated argument with Pruwitt.
“People have a right to know about this!”
“They will know,” Pruwitt yelled back, his nostrils flared. “Just not from you!”
Dammit, how’d she get here? But then I saw. Standing to the side, sniffing around the edges of the campsite, was Jason. He caught my eye and stopped, a confused look on his face. I charged over. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Good to see you too, brother.”
“What-the-hell—”
“Okay, okay. Lacey called me. She said you needed my help. Sorry, I didn’t realize it was a surprise party. I figured you knew.”
“Well, I didn’t.” I turned to watch her chewing a piece out of Pruwitt. “Damn, nosy, little—”
“I like her.”
I glared at him. A half stay-away glare and half don’t-start-with-me glare. Either way, he shut up quickly.
“I’ve already started writing this up, Pruwitt, and my editor, Jack Phillips, has already given me the go ahead, so this is running tomorrow.” I could smell the lie from here. “Now, you have to think about how you want to appear in the article. Do you want to be the asshole that was desperate to keep this under his hat so that it didn’t affect profits, or do you want to be the concerned, helpful authority figure that did everything he could to help?” With that, she spun on her heel and left him, his mouth hanging open like a salmon.
She stopped in front of me, crossing her arms with attitude and cocking an eyebrow, challenging me. But I was too tired. I hadn’t slept since yesterday, and I’d been walking in the woods for the past two hours. I was exhausted, and the last thing I needed to be spending my energy on was fighting with my mate. “What?”
Her jaw flexed. “You have something to say?”
“Not really,” I said, with a shrug. “You want to call up my brother out of the blue and bring him down here in the middle of the night? Whatever.”
“You took my keys!”
“You want to put yourself in danger? Fine, go ahead. I don’t fucking care.”
Her eyes fell at that.
I shouldn’t have said that. God knows I didn’t mean it. “Lacey, I—”
She pulled away. “Don’t touch me.” She took off in the other direction, towards the trail.
“Where are you going?” I called after her.
“Home! I have an article to write.”
“You don’t have a car,” I said, racing over. “At least let me give you a ride.”
“Leave me alone,” she said, swatting my hand away. “I’m a big girl. I can get home on my own. Asshole.”
“Shit!” I swore, grinding to a halt.
“Aren’t you going to go after her?” Jason asked.
I shook my head. “It’s better that she’s not around here anyway.”
“Around here or around you?”
I shrugged. “Both, maybe. Do me a favor, man. Go and make sure she gets home all right. She’ll accept a ride from you.”
“Yeah, okay. But that’s bullshit.”
“How the hell would you know?”
He squared his shoulders towards me. “Just
because I haven’t seen you in a few years doesn’t mean I don’t know you. And I’ve never seen you as happy as I did the other day, even with all the shit that’s going on.” He started towards the trail. “And, if you let that go, just because you’re scared, then maybe you don’t deserve her.”
####
It had been a long night. After the hours spent at the park and then coming home to write my article, I was more exhausted than I’d ever been in my life. I’d sent the finished article to Jack this morning, still not sure whether or not he had any interest in running it. Knowing him, he’d probably just re-write it himself and publish his own article, but I wasn’t worried about that now. At least Jack let me work from home today so that I could sleep in a bit. Which was lucky because I still had to get my car from Sean’s place. Emma was working, and I didn’t want to bother Jason again, so I decided to walk to Sean’s house. It was only a ten minute drive outside of town, and I made sure to have my can of bear spray just in case.
The gravel crunched underneath my feet as I walked the long stretch of highway. I took a deep inhale, breathing in the fresh smell of the forest. A place like this was impossible to find in the city or even within two hours of the city. Kodiak Cliff was starting to grow on me. From behind me, came the rumbling sound of a truck. I turned to see a small dot on the road growing as it raced towards me. Part of me hoped it was Sean, another part of me disagreed entirely. It wasn’t him, though. It was an old red and gray truck that pulled up alongside me. In the city, this would have freaked me out, but out here, it was commonplace.
I stepped over to the window. It was Ryan, but he looked a little different. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. “Hi, Ryan.”
“What are you doing all the way out here, Lacey? Should be careful. Didn’t you hear there’s a bear on the loose?”
“Just heading up to Sean’s cabin. I left my car there.”
His eyebrow cocked. “Sean’s place, huh?” He nodded a few times. “I’m going that way myself. Hop in. I’ll take you.”
That sounded a whole lot more appealing than hiking it all the way there. It would save me about twenty minutes of walking too. “Thanks,” I said, climbing in.
He started down the road again. “No problem.” I noticed then what it was that seemed off about him. He seemed tense. It was the only word to describe it, but it was beyond that. It was almost a twitchy sort of raw energy.
“Are you feeling better?”
His face pulled into a tight, uneasy smile. “Yeah, I feel great.”
“Oh, uh…good, then.” We were approaching Sean’s cabin now. Three vehicles sat in the driveway. Sean and Jason’s trucks both dwarfed my little white car. Even though I was still pissed with Sean and dreaded the confrontation that would come when I got out to get my car, I looked forward to getting out of the small confines of the truck with Ryan. He felt…off somehow. He didn’t seem to be slowing down as we got closer to Sean’s place. “It’s right—” He passed it going full speed. “Back there.”
“So, you and Sean are a thing now, huh? You must be if your car’s there.”
I reached for the door handle. “Why don’t you just let me out here? I can walk back.”
He shook his head, grinning from the side of his mouth. “I tried, you know?” He grabbed a pack of cigarettes that sat between us, wedged inside a sticky-looking, crumb-filled cup-holder. He stuck a smoke between his lips and lit it, sucking deeply.
“Stop the car, Ryan. I want out.”
“Sorry, but I can’t do that. I need you.” He slowed down preparing to take a turn. It might be my only chance. I unclipped the seat belt and shoved the door open, just as his hand closed around my arm, yanking me back. His fingers dug painfully into my arm. I hissed, pulling away. Or tried to, at least.
“Let me go!” I shouted, swinging my purse with my other hand. It almost connected with his face, but he was too fast. He knocked my arm away with enough force to send my purse flying from my hand, landing just out of reach.
“Don’t do that!” he ordered, as he turned the truck down a narrow road that led into the woods.
My stomach dropped. “Where are you taking me?”
As he sped up, he released my arm. “What? You can’t tell?” He shook his head with a scoff. “You really haven’t gotten out much, have you? It’s the nicest place in Kodiak Cliff. You’ll like it. It’s got a hell of a view.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I stared at Lacey’s car, sitting outside in the driveway. Something pulled at my stomach. Guilt? Regret? Loneliness? It surprised me that she hadn’t come by yet to get it. Maybe she really didn’t want to see me. I let that thought sink in. I deserved it.
“Come on, man, concentrate!” Jason said, with a shove. He put a cup of coffee in front of me and began dropping spoonfuls of sugar into his cup. He stopped after five and then started in on my cup.
I pulled my cup towards me after two. I had a sweet tooth too, but nothing that could contend with Jason. “That’ll do.”
“So, what did you come up with?”
I sighed, looking down the list of possibilities. “A couple of guys came into the bar the other night with Lacey and a friend. They live in the next town over. Close to the park.”
“Much hope there?”
“Not really. One guy was a bit of a dick, but I didn’t get a bear scent off them or anything.”
“Anyone else?”
“Not really.”
“Because you’re not thinking hard enough. Maybe it isn’t some intruder from the park, anyway. Maybe someone got turned. Did you think of that? Could be a Changeling.”
“I guess it’s possible, but who could have changed him? I didn’t smell any other shifters before this one came around.”
“Unless it was you that changed him.”
“What?”
“Don’t look that surprised. It’s not like it’s impossible.”
“I barely know anyone. There’s almost no contact.”
He scoffed. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” He cleared his throat. “You didn’t change, bite anyone? I don’t know, donate blood?”
I gave him a you-got-to-be-joking look. “I’m not that stupid.”
“Okay, well maybe someone else was stupid, then?”
Huh. Something about that rang in my ears. I touched my arm. The cut from that night had already faded.
“What? You look like you’re on to something.”
Then it hit me. “Shit!” I leapt for the phone and dialed as quickly as possible. Larry picked up. “That night I got cut, did you clean up the blood?”
“Blood?” he sounded like he’d been sleeping.
“Yes, the blood in the basement. Who cleaned that up?”
“Dunno, boss. Guess it was Ryan. Either that or the puddle’s still there, heh-heh-heh. Don’t worry about that little pissant,though. He won’t be bothering us no more.”
“What’s that mean?”
“I told him what you said. He comes in the other day, looking a mess, hair all matted and stuff. Anyway, he was in a state, even a little belligerent, so I told him to fuck off.”
“Shit!” I hung up the phone and dialed another number.
“Hello?” Ryan’s mother answered.
“Is Ryan there? This is Sean Thorne, from the bar.”
“Oh, Sean! Ryan will be so happy to hear from you. He talks about you all the time. At least, he did. He hasn’t been feeling well lately, so he hasn’t been talking much. My poor little boy.”
Guilt stirred in my stomach. Now, it made sense why he’d been so sick, why he’d wanted to talk to me. “Is he there?”
“Oh, no, he just stepped out.”
“Did he mention where he was going?”
“Nope, sorry. Just that he wanted to go for a drive, think a little bit.” She laughed. “It’s funny, but he was never much of a thinker before he hurt his hand. Now, it seems he’s always going out and thinking over this and over that. Guess an injury like that’ll cha
nge a person. I know when I fell—”
“Okay, thanks for your help. I have to go.” I slammed the phone down on the receiver. It was Ryan. He was the bear. How could I not have seen that? Now that I knew who the bear was, I had no idea where he was. If I hadn’t been so bloody closed off before, I might have figured it out before anyone got hurt.
“What’s going on?” Jason asked.
“It’s a kid that worked in the bar. Just one night, but I got cut. He must have cleaned up the blood. He had a cut on his hand, so if it got in…”
“It would change him.”
I nodded, clenching my jaw. “Come on,” I said. “We gotta find him.” We jumped in my truck and hauled ass down the road. “We’ll start at the bar,” I said, gripping the wheel. “Maybe he stopped in for a drink. I doubt it, but I’d rather know for sure.” I rolled down the window to ease the stifling heat inside the truck. A scent blew in from the window. It was strong enough to practically knock me on my ass. I slammed on the brakes, the truck skidding to a halt.
“Jesus!” Jason cried, bracing himself on the dash. “What the hell?”
Leaving the truck in the middle of the road, I leapt out, sniffing at the air. It was Lacey; her scent. She’d been out here, in the middle of the highway. I didn’t know why, but there was no doubt about it. I raced back in the direction of my house, the scent growing stronger. She’d been going to my house then. Thankfully, the wind was non-existent today, or I never would’ve found it. Then, all of a sudden, it stopped. It didn’t grow fainter slowly. It just went away. Did she turn back? No, she couldn’t have.
“What’s going on?” Jason said, coming up behind me.
“Lacey. I caught her scent. It ends right here.”
He shrugged. “She probably just caught a lift from someone.”
I shook my head. “Doesn’t sound like her. She’s a city-girl. She’s not about to get into a car with someone she doesn’t know, and she doesn’t know that many people.”
“Well, there’s only one person we really have to worry about.”