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

by Rachel Red

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Allison, shrugging and marching down into the auditorium.

  Several of the Does were already at work gathering up their friends and carrying them to the exits. No one had any idea of how long the effects of the gas would last, and they worked quickly and tirelessly to drag the unconscious bodies of the Hellclaws and Does out into the lobby in front of the auditorium. Thankfully, big burly Mike American woke up shortly after being brought out, and he worked to help bring out the bigger Hellclaw bikers that Allison and the Does couldn’t move on their own.

  “I feel like shit,” grumbled Mike. “This is worse than what that dumb-ass ranger hit me with last time I was in town. I really don’t want this to become a pattern.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that,” said Allison. “It was the only way to make sure none of the other gangs suspected anything. I’m not sure how Samantha managed to slip on that mask without anyone else noticing, but we’re lucky she didn’t blow the whole plan.”

  “She’s a sneaky one, I’ll give her that.”

  Allison couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw a gleam of appreciation in Mike’s eyes as he watched the lithe young girl work to wake up her fellow gang members. The gas was wearing off a lot faster for those who’d been brought out near the fresh night air, and Allison began to worry about the shifters still lying motionless in the auditorium. If they woke up too soon, there would be all kinds of trouble to deal with.

  “Do we have everyone out?” asked Allison, looking around at the Hellclaws and Does coming out of their forced sleep.

  “All my guys are here,” said Mike.

  “Same here,” replied Samantha.

  Some of the Hellclaws had only barely managed to sit upright and were holding their heads in obvious discomfort. Miraculously, all of the much smaller Does were awake and looking fresh as daisies. One by one, the girls all shifted into deer form and bolted from the lobby, running out over the campus lawn and into the nearby patch of forest.

  “Here,” said Samantha, pausing by the exit next to Allison and holding out a small tube. “It’s smelling salts with a bit of extra something for that added kick. Be careful to only use it on the guys still mostly out cold. It’s pretty powerful stuff.”

  “Thanks,” said Allison. She felt like there was something more she should say to Samantha after all she’d done to help in the end, but she couldn’t bring herself to do anything other than be glad that she was about to watch the girl leave.

  “Look,” Samantha lowered her voice and glanced over Allison’s shoulders to where Craig was attempting to get to his feet with the help of a fellow Hellclaw. “He really cares about you, okay? I’ve been kind of a bitch over the last few days, and I know you saw us together, but it’s just old feelings and confusion on his end.”

  Samantha shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, and Allison was pretty sure it was the first time she’d seen the girl look anything other than a hundred percent confident.

  “I don’t know what the future holds for you two,” continued Samantha, “but give him a chance if he comes looking for one. He’s worth it.”

  Without waiting for a response, Samantha shifted into deer form and loped off across the college grounds to join her gang in the safety of the woods.

  “Here,” said Allison, turning away and handing the smelling salts to one of the Hellclaws. “Use this to wake up anyone who’s still out.”

  Mike American stood up from where he was helping one of his gang members and came to her side. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, it will be, I think,” replied Allison. “We should probably lock those doors up again, huh?”

  “Probably a good idea. Did you call the rangers? If they don’t get here soon, that door won’t hold the Bisons in there for long.”

  “I made the call just before opening the doors. You guys should probably get out of here.”

  “Right.” Mike looked from her to Craig and back again. “You guys need a minute to talk or anything?”

  “No,” said Allison, shaking her head. “Right now it’s important that you get to safety before the rangers arrive and take you along with the other shifters. Whatever is going on between Craig and I has waited this long, so it can wait until next time you guys drift into town.”

  Mike’s mouth spread into a wide grin, his teeth showing beneath his mustache like some sort of cartoon character. “Does that mean you take back what you said about never wanting to see us again?”

  “Oh, get out of here you big goofball,” said Allison, choking back tears and throwing her arms around the big burly biker. He wasn’t the sort of man she wanted to settle down with or even date, but she’d come to realize that he was a hell of a loyal friend to have in her corner.

  “Alright, let’s get outta here boys!” roared Mike, shifting into bear form and marching off down the stairs.

  The rest of the Hellclaws followed suit, each of them shifting and lumbering out of the building in single file, the only way they could fit out the door.

  One particular brown bear with a bad limp paused before leaving and turned its head to look back at Allison. She could do nothing but smile and nod, knowing there was nothing left to say that wouldn’t take more time than they had to spare. The sirens were already sounding in the background, which meant the rangers were on their way with a police escort. The noise was enough for Craig to nod his head in return before ambling off down the stairs after his friends.

  The state rangers pulled into the parking lot just seconds after Craig’s bushy tail disappeared into the trees at the edge of campus, and the team of men hopped from their trucks and ran up to meet Allison in the foyer. Each of them was armed with a large caliber tranquilizer gun, and they looked like they were about to go to war. Several of them even wore bulletproof vests and elbow and kneepads like a SWAT team might wear.

  “I’m glad you took my call seriously,” said Allison. “Although I’m not sure you brought enough trucks.”

  “Well Ma’am, ” said the head ranger. “after the, uh, unfortunate incident with ex-ranger Abernathy in your town last year, we figure we owed it to you to give you the benefit of the doubt.”

  “Let me unlock the doors so you can get to work.”

  Allison slipped the chain from the doors once again, and was happy to see that the timing had been just right. Every last one of the shifters had been unable to hold off from giving into the moon-driven shift because of their groggy sleep state, and several of the bison, wolves, and alligators were stumbling around and banging into each other as though drunk. Another few minutes and they might have organized enough to break through the doors, but as it was, the rangers were able to quickly set to work tagging them with tranquilizer darts.

  “I think we can handle things from here, miss,” said the head ranger, his eyes wide with the array of wild animals trapped in the auditorium. “I don’t know how you corralled them all in here, but you have our most sincere gratitude for doing it. Do you need an escort home? It’s almost four in the morning.”

  “No thanks, I’ll be fine.”

  Allison turned and walked away, happy to be seeing the last of the Kanes, Bisons, and Chompers for what she hoped would be a very long time. She had no idea where she’d go, since her home had been destroyed, and Miriam and Walter were probably enjoying their privacy, but she’d figure something out. After all, if she could save West Liberty from a horde of rampaging shifters, she could handle something as simple as finding a place to sleep that night.

  Epilogue

  “Here, Miss Baxter,” said a young blonde boy with a large grin. He had a small box of chocolates in his hand, a simple crayon scrawled note attached to the outside of it.

  “Why thank you, Ryan,” replied Allison. “Did you make this card yourself?”

  “My mom helped me with the spelling but I did the drawing on it!”

  “Well it’s wonderful, thank you for the lovely end of school present.”

/>   Ryan smiled and ran off to join the other children and waiting parents. After three years of teaching the kindergarten glasses at Kirkwood Elementary, Allison still hadn’t gotten used to this part of the year. It was great to have such a nice long break, but she got so attached to the kids that it was hard to let them go. She sniffled a little and blinked back tears as her kids ran off to begin the seemingly never-ending summer that lay ahead of them.

  She stood on the front steps of the school for a good half-hour, ensuring that each of her kids had been picked up by a parent or guardian. While many of the other teachers had already left to start their own summer holidays, Allison was in no hurry to leave. She loved her days of working with children more than anything she’d ever done before, and it was a bittersweet moment that she liked to savor as a reminder of how her hard work had paid off.

  The low rumble of a motorcycle engine distracted her from her thoughts, and she looked up to see Craig Arctos sitting there, smiling at her from the street. Allison hadn’t seen him since that night in the college auditorium, and she’d begun to think that their paths might never cross again.

  With a look back at the school and the teaching supplies she’d left sitting on her desk, Allison chose to walk up to Craig, knowing full well what decision she was about to make.

  “Long time,” she said to Craig.

  “Too long,” he replied. “Feel like taking a ride?”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Anywhere you want.”

  Allison laughed and threw a leg over the back of his bike, accepting the helmet he handed her and wrapping her arms around his waist. She breathed in the smell of his well worn leather jacket and yelped with surprise when he gunned the engine and roared forward down the street. It didn’t much matter to her where they were going, or how long he’d be around this time. Allison was just happy to live in the moment, so long as she was back in time for the new school year in September.

  THE END

  Heyy, Rachel Red here. I hope you enjoyed this!

  I would really love if you could leave me a review on the store. This will help other readers to discover my work and ensure you read more from me in the future. So your support is appreciated!

  Thanks in advance, xxx

  Rachel Red

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