Bears On Bikes - The Complete Series (Shifter Romance Box Set)

by Rachel Red

  Allison felt herself being yanked around so hard that her arm might pop out of its socket, and she looked around in time to see Walter pull both her and Miriam out of the path of a huge bison that nearly trampled them. Everywhere around them, people were shifting into their respective animal forms; wolves, alligators, bears, and bison all leaping about in a ferocious battle.

  As Walter hauled her off to the safety of his truck, she realized that she hadn’t seen a single deer among the animals.

  “What the fuck happened back there?” asked Miriam.

  “I have no idea.” Walter fired the ignition and peeled out of the parking lot, sending a trail of dust and gravel up behind them. He spun the wheel to get them onto the main street and hit the gas to take them into town. “Where are we going?”

  “We can go to my place,” said Miriam. “It’s on the other side of campus from here, so it should be safe.”

  Walter didn’t slow down until he was near Miriam’s apartment, and only then did he ease off the gas and bring them to an abrupt stop on the street outside her building. They piled out of the truck and went up to her place on the top floor, locking the door behind them and rushing out to the balcony where they could already hear the sounds of wild animals running throughout the town.

  “I can’t believe any of them trusted Ruth Kane,” said Allison, looking down and watching a bison and a wolf chasing a surprisingly fast cluster of alligators down the street.

  “Yeah, and who’d have thought it was the Bisons that double crossed everyone with her.” Walter went to Miriam’s fridge and pulled out a cold beer. “I’d have thought it would be that scummy Gates guy, if anyone.”

  “Whatever happened out there, this is not good for West Liberty,” said Allison. “It’s total chaos out there, and it’ll be a miracle if no innocents get hurt from this.”

  The sound of a ring-tone cut through the apartment and Miriam fished her phone out of her purse. “It’s Samantha.”

  “Why does she have your number?” asked Allison.

  Miriam shrugged, her finger poised over the accept call button. “She seemed nice so we exchanged numbers. It was before I realized she was a giant bitch trying to steal your guy.”

  “Here, give me that,” said Allison, taking the phone and answering it on speakerphone. “What do you want?”

  “Allison,” said the voice on the other end of the line. The sound of police sirens echoed in the background. “We slipped out and wrecked all the bikes and trucks in the parking lot while the other gangs were fighting. If anyone wants to get out of town tonight, they’re going to have to do it on foot.”

  “So you’re not with the Kanes or the Bison on this?” asked Allison.

  “No, we’re loyal to the Hellclaws. In fact, we’re on our way to meet up with them near the University right now.”

  “I can let them in,” offered Miriam. “There are no classes until the summer semester kicks in, so I can find a place for them to hide out for a bit.”

  “Did you hear that?” asked Allison into the phone.

  “Yeah, got it. We’ll be there in ten minutes along with Mike and his boys.”

  “Alright, we’ll be there.” Allison hung up the phone and handed it back to Miriam.

  “Are we really going down there to help them?” asked Walter.

  “I don’t see what choice we have,” replied Allison. “It’s either that or watch them all wreck the town while we hide up here.”

  “Then we better get a move on,” he replied, chugging his beer. “The sooner we get down there, the sooner we can help put an end to this thing.”

  “Here, you might want this,” said Miriam, emerging from her bedroom holding a clean shirt. She’d changed into a dry shirt herself, but from the look of it, she still hadn’t bothered putting a bra on.

  “Thanks.” Allison took the shirt and couldn’t help but notice the vibe between her brother and her best friend. She’d promised Walter she’d talk to Miriam about her feelings for him, but the night had gotten so confusing so fast, and now they had this to deal with.

  “They’ll just have to figure it for themselves,” said Allison under her breath.

  “What?” asked Walter.

  “Nothing,” she replied. “Just saying that I can’t wait to get back to normal.”

  “I don’t even know what that means anymore,” said Walter.

  “You and me both, Walt.” Allison pulled the main apartment door shut behind her and followed her friends on foot to whatever path that would take them to the arranged meeting place. “You and me both.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Are you sure no one will notice that we’re hiding out here?” asked Mike as Miriam ushered them all into a large auditorium-type room in the middle of one of the university campus buildings.

  “Not a chance,” she replied. “This is an old rehearsal auditorium that hasn’t been in use ever since the budget cut five years ago. I come in here to, uh, smoke now and then, and I’ve never once seen any evidence that anyone else uses this room during the middle of the school year. With it being between semesters, there’s no way anyone be around this part of the building. ”

  “It’s not like we have much of a choice,” said Allison. “There aren’t exactly a lot of places in town to hide a bunch of bikers.”

  “Well, we appreciate the help,” said Mike. “Although it pains me to run and hide, I gotta tell ya. I can’t believe that bitch double crossed us.”

  “I thought you said there was some kind of oath that they couldn’t break?” asked Walter. “How did they attack you without being stopped by whatever it was that should have kept them from using violence?”

  “That’s the nasty bit,” said Mike. “The Kanes and Bisons waited until we’d come to an arrangement for peace before attacking us. The oath wasn’t valid at that point because the agreement had been struck, and it shouldn’t have been necessary because we’d agreed to work together. It makes me think they were planning it the whole time.”

  “We ran right out of there, and I hate to ask, but how’s the tavern?” asked Walter.

  “I’m sorry, buddy.” Mike American laid a big hand on Walter’s shoulder. “The Oakwood is trashed. When the Bisons came stampeding through there, they must have knocked out some of the key supports. Last I saw, the place wasn’t much more than a pile of rubble.”

  Walter opened his mouth and closed it again without saying anything. Dejected at losing his tavern and any money that might have come from the sale of it, he wandered off into a quiet corner of the room, followed closely by Miriam who rushed to catch up and console him.

  Allison sank into one of the auditorium chairs and stared to where Craig lay out on the stage with Samantha tending to his wounds. He looked like he was in a lot of pain, and fresh blood had soaked through his bandages. Samantha worked quickly and efficiently to redress the injury as best she could with what she had on hand, and Allison had to suppress a surge of jealousy at how close the two of them seemed.

  “And where the hell did you and your girls run off to?” yelled Mike, turning his attention to Samantha. “It’s a little suspicious that you up and ran off the second there was trouble, don’t you think? Now you show up here? How are we supposed to trust you after that?”

  Samantha stood up and marched to the edge of the stage. There was a fierceness in her normally docile eyes that made Allison sit up a little straighter. “We’re deer shifters, Mike. What kind of good are we going to be in a fight against bison, alligators, and wolves? If it wasn’t for my girls trashing everyone’s rides, we’d have no way of getting revenge on them.”

  “I still don’t like it,” growled Mike. “You Does get by with tricks and games, and I don’t know how we’re supposed to trust you here.”

  “Do you even have a choice?” spat Samantha. “I don’t see anyone else lining up to fight by your side.”

  “She’s right,” said Allison. “As much as I don’t like it, I just can’t see Samantha or the Does work
ing with Ruth Kane. What we need to do now is work together to figure out how to get through this before all of West Liberty is torn apart by the war you brought here.”

  “Then what are we doing hiding away in here?” roared Mike. “I say we go out there and fuck up some shifters!”

  Several of the Hellclaws pumped their fists in the air and jumped to their feet, eager for a fight. This was how they usually operated, and it was clear they hated the idea of sitting around while their enemies ran wild around the town outside.

  “We need to be smarter about this,” said Samantha. “They outnumber us right now, and we have no idea whose side the Chompers are on. If they’re operating with the Kanes and Bisons, then there’s no way we can take them all on.”

  “The Chompers seem to be on their own,” said Allison. She told everyone about the chase they’d witnessed from Miriam’s balcony.

  “Still, that leaves us short in a fight.” Samantha crouched down to sit on the edge of the stage. “You Hellclaws are good and strong in a fight, but there’s no way my girls can take on a wolf or a bison. Even if we manage to surround one of them alone, we’re still no match for them.”

  “I don’t see how we’re going to get through this without a fight,” said Mike, clearly unable to think beyond his massive strength advantage.

  “What if we got our hands on some weapons?” asked Samantha. “Is there a gun shop in West Liberty?”

  “No,” said Mike in a decisive flat voice. “That’s not how our kind operates, and I won’t be the first to violate that rule. You know there are larger consequences to that action.”

  “It won’t matter if we can wipe everyone else out,” said Samantha, pouting like a scolded schoolgirl. “So long as we don’t leave anyone left to spread the word about what happened.”

  “What about Allison?” asked Craig, pushing himself into a sitting position and wincing from the pain.

  “What about Allison?” echoed Samantha.

  “She’s smart,” explained Craig. “She’s the one who figured out how to get us out of the last two problems we had here in town. I’m sure she can come up with something that doesn’t involve a fist fight or resorting to guns.”

  All eyes turned towards Allison who shrank a little deeper into her chair. “I don’t know how to deal with this. Honestly, I’m sick of having to save the town or get you guys out of whatever stupid problem you’ve brought with you. I just want a normal job, a normal boyfriend, and a normal stable life. I can’t deal with this shit anymore.”

  Allison stood up and stormed to the back of the room, dropping into a row of seats well away from everyone else. She covered her face and cried softly, too frustrated and angry to care who saw her break down like this.

  “Hey,” said the voice of Mike American from next to her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards him so she could rest her head on his shoulder. “I know this is hard for you, but I don’t believe what you just said back there. Maybe a part of you wants that, but you’ve had plenty of opportunities to push us out of your life.”

  “How am I supposed to do that when you keep showing up here?” she asked, wiping tears from her cheek with the back of her hand.

  “Allison, we only show up here because of whatever it is that you and Craig have going on. Sure, we like Walter and the Oakwood, but the slightest hint that we weren’t welcome there, and we’d never show up again.”

  “Oh,” mumbled Allison. “I don’t even know what I want. I’m such an idiot.”

  “No, you might just be the smartest person in the room.” Mike squeezed her shoulder. “I know you’re not a shifter like us, and maybe you will go off to be a totally normal teacher with some normal boring boyfriend, but right now you’re our best shot at figuring out how to get ourselves out of this situation. If you leave it up to me and Samantha, we’ll be here fighting all week.”

  “You’re probably right about that,” said Allison, a slight smile showing on her lips. She’d never found it easy to ignore Mike’s charms, and she was glad he’d come up to sit with her. “Still, I have no idea what to do.”

  “Well, you better start thinking, because tomorrow night we hit the full moon and if you think things are rough now, wait until we’re all in forced shift. It’s like a drug when we shift because of the moon, and it makes us all a little more wild. It draws us closer to our animal nature.”

  “Can I have some time alone to think about it?” asked Allison.

  “Sure thing,” replied Mike.

  The burly biker stood and walked back down the aisle to check on Craig. Allison looked out over the room full of people who were all counting on her. The shifters were one thing, but there was also Walter and Miriam to take into consideration. If she couldn’t figure out how to stop this war between the shifter gangs, then what would happen to her friends if the town was torn apart while these animals rampaged around in a wild rage?

  She had to think of something, and she had to do it before the next moonrise.

  Several hours ticked by before Allison grabbed Mike American and went to find Miriam to ask her a few questions. She was happy to see that amidst all the problems plaguing them at that moment, Miriam and Walter had found time to talk about how he felt about her. Despite learning that his life’s work and savings had collapsed in a giant heap of rubble earlier that evening, Walter sat there with a smile on his face, finally getting close to the girl he’d loved from afar. Allison didn’t want to break into their conversation and interrupt them, but their budding relationship would have to wait until they solved the little problem of the shifters threatening to tear apart the town.

  “I’ve been trying to figure out how we can neutralize the Kanes and Bisons without using force, and I think I might have an idea. I just don’t know how to make it work,” she said.

  “Let me know what you need,” replied Miriam, “I can get access to almost anything here in the university.”

  “How about some chemicals and someone who knows how to mix them?” asked Allison.

  “Yeah, that I can do.” Miriam pulled out her phone and flicked through her contacts before selecting one and tapping out a quick text message. “I’m pulling in a favor here, but I should be able to get access to the chem labs within the hour. What’s the plan?”

  “I’ll explain everything once we get into the lab. Your friend is going to have to mix us up a batch of something, and we’ll need to get to work making sure this place is set up for a meeting of the gangs.”

  “You’re not going to blow anything up, are you?” asked Walter, his face showing an expression of uncertainty as to whether or not Allison would actually go that far.

  “No, Walt. If everything goes according to plan, we should be able to peacefully take down all the problem gangs at once. The tricky part is going to be getting everyone in one room in the first place.”

  “Let me guess,” said Mike, “that’s where I come in?”

  “Whatever happened between you all at that meeting or outside of it was obviously bad enough that there’s no way Ruth Kane is going to come back to the bargaining table to talk peace. I think I might just know a way that we can get everyone together one last time.”

  “What are we waiting for then?” asked Mike. “Let’s get to work.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “You’re sure this will do the job?” asked Allison.

  “Guaranteed,” replied Victor Lam, the guy Miriam had asked to come in to help them. “I can’t say I really want to know exactly what type of social experiment you’re working on that involves sleeping gas, but I’d say that this little favor wipes my slate clean with Miriam, right?”

  “Don’t worry,” said Miriam with a grin, “we’re even now.”

  “Do I even want to know what this is about?” asked Walter, hovering just behind them.

  “No,” said Miriam and Victor at the same time.

  Allison laughed and was happy for the bit of tension relief. She had no idea if her plan would
work, or how the gas would affect the shifters, but it wasn’t like they had a backup plan to fall back on.

  “Alright, then I’m getting the hell out of here.” Victor stuffed the computer he’d used to formulate the gas mixture into his bag and slipped it over his shoulder. “Have you seen how crazy it is out there? The news is saying that a zoo transfer train car must have derailed somewhere. I thought I saw a freaking bison and a wolf running after a bear earlier tonight.”

  “That is pretty nuts,” said Allison. “Hopefully they’re able to round them all up before they do any real damage.”

  “It’s a little late for that,” said Victor. “Some of the bison tore through the main drag a few hours ago. They smashed up a bunch of cars and took out most of the shop windows. The cops reported over a million in damages already.”

  “Be careful getting home,” said Miriam, her words thick with the hint that Victor should be on his way.

  “Yeah, right,” he replied. “You guys be safe with whatever the hell you’ve got going on here. And remember, if you get caught, I was never here, right?”

  “Sure, we never saw you,” said Allison, closing the door to the lab as soon the chemistry professor was through it.

  “What now?” asked Walter.

  “Now I get some help to hook these things up to the ventilation system.” Allison looked at her brother and best friend a moment. She could really use their help in what was to come, but this wasn’t their fight, and they didn’t need to be involved any more than they already had been. “Look, I really appreciate all the help you two have given me to this point, but it’s not going to be safe for non-shifters around here soon. I think you should both go to Miriam’s place until it’s safe again.”

  “I don’t know if you noticed, but you’re not exactly a shifter either,” said Walter.

  “I’m too wrapped up in this to leave now,” she replied. “Besides, I’m more invested in the outcome than either of you.”