Secrets of the Bear (Trapped in Bear Canyon Book 4)

by Terry Bolryder

  16

  Francis watched out of the corner of his eye as Rock and Ros ran to Val, helping her to her feet and pulling her a safe distance away.

  He needed to keep his attention on Charles, who was pacing forward with cold, soulless eyes, the gravel crunching lightly beneath his designer shoes.

  Francis watched in horror as a slight grin cracked his otherwise perfect poker face.

  This was a Charles Francis had never known. A monster hiding in plain sight.

  Val had seen it, and Francis swore beneath his breath as the realization dawned on him.

  It was time to end this.

  With practiced habit, Francis shifted his weight back and forth, adrenaline coursing through him like liquid fire as he readied himself to pummel the bastard into the ground.

  Immediately, Charles advanced on him, using his long legs to clear the distance between them almost instantaneously, throwing a wild fist directly at Francis’s face. Francis blocked, but the impact sent him reeling backwards a few steps toward the trees behind them.

  For all his control and designer apparel, Charles hit like a fucking freight train.

  Regaining purchase with the soft ground, Francis lunged at Charles, aiming for his head, which he left unprotected, his arms just hanging at his sides.

  He heard a crack as his fist connected with Charles’s jaw, followed by sharp, lancing pain as he felt a knee connect deep into his groin.

  Francis felt air for a moment as he was thrown off the ground, then heard the thud rather than felt it as he crashed into the ground, his entire body paralyzed by the sudden, shocking pain.

  Francis knew how to take a hit. In fact, he knew how to take a lot of hits. But he’d never, ever thought to fight dirty like that.

  “Ha-ha-ha,” Charles said, pronouncing the words rather than laughing, sick amusement clear in his voice. “You and your stupid rules about fighting. Rules are what hold you back, you know.”

  Francis looked up and saw where he’d hit Charles in the face. It was obvious something was broken, but his opponent appeared completely unaffected by it.

  “Get up, Francis!” Rock shouted, keeping himself between the fight and the two women behind him.

  He could see Val, worry in her eyes, and Francis tried to push himself up off the ground, his strength coming back slower than he’d hoped.

  In the blink of an eye, Charles was on top of him. His claws were fully out, long and black, partially shifted. He plunged them straight at Francis’s heart, but he caught him by the wrist to deflect the blow, just barely.

  Like a knife, the claws dug into his shoulder, and he immediately smelled blood, the wetness soaking his shirt.

  Charles just saw the pooling redness and grinned even more wildly. Like a robot, he raised his other clawed hand, ready to strike again.

  Francis’s training kicked in, and he bucked Charles off him. Both men got to their feet, but before Charles could fully recover, Francis threw a hard kick, catching him in the side.

  That bought him a couple seconds, and Francis partially shifted as well, feeling his own bear’s claws extend from his hands where his fingers had once been.

  Fazed but unrelenting, Charles charged again, the air whistling as he slashed in long arcs with his claws, aiming for anything he could hit.

  Francis ducked, weaved, blocked, then returned fire, slashing right and catching Charles on the arm, then left, grazing a shoulder.

  “Yes, that’s it. Fight. Show me your strength, Francis. Show me the monster you kept hidden behind that cowardly mask for so many years,” Charles said, unaffected by the wounds and pressing his attack.

  “Don’t listen to him, Francis!” he heard Val shout desperately.

  “And when it’s all over and you’ve given everything, I’ll gut you. Gut you like a wounded deer. And then I’ll do the same to your friends. One. By. One,” Charles said, glee in his voice as he slashed again, only barely missing Francis’s neck.

  Francis couldn’t tell if it was training or just sheer pain tolerance that made Charles move the way he did. Every other opponent he’d fought could be worn down, whittled away until he had the advantage. But between the psycho craziness and his unnatural strength, fighting Charles was akin to taking on a granite boulder.

  A granite boulder with razor-sharp claws and a taste for blood.

  “How about you just shut the fuck up?” Francis barked out, tiring of the way Charles seemed to be getting off on talking shit.

  With practiced precision, he swung one claw hard, deflecting both of Charles’s with a loud clack. Then, in the split second of an opening it left him, he exploded forward with his other claw, using all his strength to push behind Charles’s defense.

  Francis saw momentary shock in his opponent’s expression as his claws stabbed deep into Charles’s right side, just beneath his ribs.

  Reacting instantly, Charles swung at Francis, his claws slashing long marks across his chest, ripping through his shirt.

  But as bad as the retaliatory attack hurt, Francis knew he’d gotten Charles good.

  Clutching his side, Charles looked with mixed anger and surprise from Francis to the blood seeping through his clothing, then back, as if the feeling of pain was somehow foreign.

  “Give up. You’re finished,” Francis said, confident nobody could fight through a wound like that.

  “You think I’m done with you, Brawl champion?” Charles said, glaring at Francis, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “This is only a setback, and you’re a mere distraction.”

  All at once, fur and fangs grew from the human form that was Charles, revealing a huge grizzly bear, the brown of its fur so dark it was almost black, with red eyes that practically glowed.

  With a loud roar, he charged, and Francis ducked to the side, feeling himself shift as he turned to go head-to-head with the rampaging bear.

  But instead of coming back around, Charles just continued to charge forward, heading directly for Val and the others, paws thundering into the ground as he cleared the ample distance between them with alarming speed.

  Francis felt horror and anger surge through him, and he used every ounce of strength he had as he gave chase, practically leaping through the air in an attempt to catch Charles before he hurt anyone.

  But with a flash of dark claws and fur, Charles whirled around on Francis, stopping his bear with his shocking strength and thrusting his bladelike talons deep into his side. The sensation was so exquisite, so fierce, he felt he was being run through with swords.

  Rushing to protect Val had backfired. Badly.

  “You pathetic fool. So easily manipulated.” Charles scoffed.

  Francis roared out in pain, slashing blindly at Charles, trying to get away to recover from the terrible, blinding pain coursing through him.

  But Charles didn’t back down, giving him no quarter as he grabbed Francis in a powerful bear hug, slashing deep into his thick fur, which offered little protection against the razor-sharp talons.

  “See what that got you? Love. Protectiveness. They’re just weaknesses. And you, Francis, are the weakest of all,” Charles said matter-of-factly, his hot breath creating a thick mist in the air as the two of them clashed.

  Through the haze of pain and adrenaline, he could see those red eyes, intense and focused, without mercy or feeling as he clawed at Francis over and over.

  Pushing off of Charles with all his strength, Francis reeled backwards, the cold ground a welcome reprieve from the murderous claws he wielded. And as Charles advanced once more, Francis slashed hard in an attempt to stop his opponent, knowing his body could give out at any second. Knowing his blood-soaked fur could do nothing to stop the onslaught.

  Charles just clicked his tongue in seeming disappointment as he caught Francis across the face, cutting deep gashes into his cheek and neck.

  He tried with all his might to fight against the pain, but it was no use.

  Francis just wasn’t enough. He’d tried to win honorably. Win fair and
square, as always. But there was no winning against a psychopath like Charles. Not when it came to love. Or war. No amount of training or practice would make Francis better, make him sufficiently strong to beat a machine that had no morals, no conscience.

  But as exhaustion took over and his head began to cloud, a thought popped into his mind.

  Maybe the one lesson he’d refused to learn from the Brolins was the lesson he needed more than ever right now.

  When it comes down to protecting your mate, you go all in.

  You fight like an animal if that’s what it takes. You do anything.

  All at once, a second wind surged through Francis, and he roared at the top of his lungs as he let his bear take over.

  No longer was Francis going to run from his problems or the person that threatened his and his mate’s happiness.

  No, he’d end that person.

  Charles just looked confused for a moment at the sudden display. And before he could attack again, Francis lashed with his paws into the soft dirt, kicking it up in a thick cloud into Charles’s face.

  He growled in annoyance as he tried to dislodge the dust and pebbles from his eyes. Francis was already on the attack, swinging a paw downward and connecting with the soft tissue of Charles’s nose.

  This time he howled in pain, and Francis interrupted Charles mid-cry as he struck at the nearest leg, aiming directly for the joint at the center of his limb and the artery deep beneath the surface.

  Charles’s leg gave out beneath him as he dropped to the ground for a moment, then pushed himself up on three legs, the fourth dragging limply as wet redness blackened the dark fur and began to drip onto the ground.

  Francis might have been bound by unspoken social norms when it came to romance and organized combat, but the bear within him didn’t give a damn who it had to crush in order to protect its mate.

  Nor did it seem to have any compunctions about going after what he himself might have never had the courage to go after.

  The cool, sadistic confidence Charles had was broken. And as Francis attacked again and again, he saw not fear, but resignation as his deep-red eyes began to lose focus.

  With still-surprising strength, Charles lashed out, trying to defend himself. But Francis felt nothing but rage toward the horrible man. Rage for what he’d done to Valerie. Rage for the unhappiness he’d caused them both. And rage that he’d dared come back to disrupt the peace and happiness he and Val had only barely found in each other’s arms.

  Wounded, bleeding, and finally pushed past exhaustion, Charles fell onto his hind legs and then to his side, the bear heaving long, labored breaths as one arm held the other where it was still bleeding profusely.

  Ready to make the killing blow, Francis raised his claws high in the air above his enemy, prepared to strike him down where he lay.

  “Francis, stop!” He heard a voice desperate to reach him. The sound resonated through his whole soul, freezing him in place.

  Val was beside him. Her eyes begged him, and she looked so tiny next to his gigantic bear.

  He wanted to finish the job and slaughter the bastard right there. He wanted her to be safe forever, without having to look over her shoulder. But it wasn’t his right to murder, and Rock knew people who could put Charles somewhere he could never get free. He’d seen them do it after the Brawl.

  “Ha. Weak. I knew it…” Charles coughed out, barely conscious. “I’ll never stop. You’ll always be afraid—”

  Francis lashed out with the back of his paw, knocking Charles out cold. Then he let out an angry growl.

  “That’s enough out of you, bastard,” he muttered.

  He swayed slightly, realizing he’d lost a lot of blood, and he pushed Valerie out of the way as his bear hit the ground.

  He’d won, he knew, as Rock came running over to help.

  Before everything went black, the last thing he saw was his mate leaning down to kiss his muzzle, and a feeling of warmth surged over him.

  “How long has he been out?”

  “Two days.”

  Francis saw only darkness behind his eyelids and wondered who the people were talking about and why they sounded vaguely familiar.

  He opened his eyes slowly, and in front of the white walls around him, human shapes came into focus.

  One in particular drew his notice. “Valerie,” he mumbled, his throat feeling tight and dry.

  “Water,” Ryland said, putting his hand out as someone else placed a cup in it.

  What was the youngest Brolin brother doing here in Bear Canyon?

  No, he must be in the hospital a little ways down the mountain.

  “Here, drink up, big guy,” Ryland said, leaning forward with the cup.

  Francis pushed himself up in the bed as everything came into focus, swiping the cup away from Ryland.

  He stepped back, pushing a hand through his chocolate-brown hair that had an odd swipe of gray in it. His handsome, serious face was worried.

  “I’m sorry, Francis. I owe you an apology. Our guy got tripped up. Charles was smart enough to figure out he was being followed and set up a body double. By the time I realized what had happened, you’d been attacked. So I flew out to help however I could.”

  Francis pushed himself into a sitting position as Valerie came to stand next to him, putting her hand in his. “Where’s Charles now?”

  “I have to thank you for not killing him,” Rock said. “We handed him over to the same creatures we handed Lea’s brother to. They aren’t giving Charles the same chance, though. They assured me he’d be imprisoned for life.”

  Francis nodded, leaning back against a pillow. “Have I really been out for two days?”

  “You lost a lot of blood,” Rock said. “They actually had to stitch you. And also, I guess you mentally kind of checked out. Even when you seemed pretty healed, you didn’t wake up. I guess your body took as long as you needed.”

  Valerie lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it, and he looked at her in wonder. As long as she was fine, the rest could be worked out.

  “Well, we’ll go catch up with our mates,” Rock said as he and Ryland headed for the door. “I’m sure you two could use some time alone.”

  “Thanks,” Francis said, realizing he was wearing only a hospital gown and his mate was right next to him.

  He could remember everything perfectly. The fight. The panic that consumed him as he ran to find her before Charles could. The argument they’d had before she went to stay with Rock and Ros.

  “You came back,” he said. “I wasn’t there.”

  “I know,” she said. “Because you’d gone to check on Harvey. Because you’re a good man.”

  “I thought you’d be safe at Rock and Ros’s place. I didn’t think you’d forgive me and come looking for me that quickly.”

  “I guess I can’t be without you after all.”

  “Speaking of that, there’s something I have to tell you,” he said, feeling his heart speed up at the thought of it. But he’d promised himself next time he got the chance, he would tell her they were mated and get it over with.

  “No, I have something to tell you,” she said, sitting on the side of the bed and keeping his hand in hers. “You see, I mated us without your permission.”

  His mouth fell open. He shook his head. “You what?”

  “Well, I found out from Rock that we were accidentally mated, and I felt so bad for what I’d said to you. I thought I was pressuring you. I didn’t realize you were blaming yourself for something that wasn’t your fault. Carrying the burden on your own.”

  He nodded. “Well, it was partially my fault.”

  “But us being actually mated? That is entirely my fault,” she said, a sly smile curving her lips. “One good thing did come out of Charles’s visit, and that is I found out there’s more to mating a human than simply having sex without protection. I have to see and accept your bear somehow. Like with a kiss.”

  “Oh,” Francis said, feeling numb inside as he processed eve
rything. What exactly was she saying, and what did it mean?

  She straddled him on the bed and put her arms on his shoulders. Her weight was nothing, and his body felt pretty good, all things considered.

  His bear hadn’t let him down when he needed him.

  He could remember now, her lips coming down to kiss him as he’d passed out. “So you mated me?”

  She nodded.

  “On purpose?”

  “Totally intentionally,” she said, her grin spreading over her tanned face. Her green eyes sparkled. “I didn’t even ask for permission. I figured you did the first part, or at least felt you did, and it was up to me to show you that, given the chance, I’d choose the exact same thing. So there’s really nothing to worry about.” She ran a hand down his chest and stopped over his heart. “We’re on the same page. Finally.”

  He wondered if she could feel just how hard his heart was pounding. “I’m just glad you’re okay,” he said. “If something happened to you, I’d be better off dead.”

  “Don’t say that,” she said. “I would always want you alive, no matter what.”

  “Life would be pointless without you. It was… without you. The only good thing about it was it taught me to fight so that when you came back into my world, I could fight for you.”

  She hugged him tight. “And you fought really well. I don’t think I could ever look at you the same way again.” She grinned and tickled his ear with her lips. “Your bear is pretty badass, too.”

  “Thanks,” he said, smiling as a thrill ran down his neck and shoulder. Her curvy weight on top of him was a turn-on, and he couldn’t wait to take her again, knowing they were safe, knowing he’d protected her as promised, and knowing she was his and she’d chosen it for them.

  But he didn’t want to do it in a crummy hospital room. He wanted to do it at home. Their home.

  “You’ll stay with me in Bear Canyon?” he asked.

  “Of course,” she said. “The perfect place for a new start.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Then let’s go ahead and get me discharged. I have things I want to do with my mate.”