The Clawed Squad: Stetson (The Bear Shifters of Clawed Ranch Book 1)

by Kim Fox

  Don’t look back! she screamed to herself, but the compulsion to turn around was too great to ignore. The beast was moving so fast in a snarling blur of white. It was all she could see in the dark forest. She fought back a scream that was on the edge of her trembling lips and pushed forward, fighting through the vicious burning in her legs.

  Her lungs were on fire as she took in short, raspy breaths trying to focus on the uneven ground of the black forest in front of her and not the fierce growling monster chasing her down for the slaughter.

  All she could think of was why. Why is he doing this?

  None of it made sense. She sprinted forward on her weak legs and tense muscles as the thunderous beast gained on her.

  Her foot slammed into a root and she smashed into the ground, scratching up her knees and elbows as she skidded along the rough floor of the forest. Her adrenaline was too jacked to feel the painful burn of her torn up skin.

  Kylee spun around on the ground with her heart pounding in her ears and her pulse racing like a jackhammer. The unstoppable blaze of white rushed forward like a tornado and lunged at her.

  It was as good as over for her as she lay there defenseless against the furry ambush. She raised her arms to protect her face but she felt no fear. The bitter sting of betrayal was too great. It overpowered everything else.

  Time seem to slow down as the white bear descended onto her with open jaws and white teeth as sharp as daggers. The beast’s warm breath washed over her skin as he bit into her shoulder. She screamed. The searing pain of long fangs sinking into her soft flesh was blinding. It hurt like crazy but it was still nothing compared to the pain of her heart breaking.

  Why? I love you.

  The beast turned to her with its sad, bright green eyes and chomped down harder. She noticed a little pink scar on the bear’s nose right before the blackness took over.

  Kylee sprung up in bed with violent breaths heaving from her chest. “Holy shit,” she gasped as she looked around her calm bedroom. For some reason, Stetson flashed into her mind.

  Her hands were trembling as she pushed the image of the rugged shifter out of her mind. It was very late in the night, or very early morning depending on who you asked, and her room was still dark with only the soft light of the moon trickling in.

  She placed her palm on her sweaty forehead and closed her mouth, breathing in and out of her nostrils, trying to calm herself down.

  “Again,” she muttered. The dream was getting stronger. Not a dream. It was another vision.

  But how could that be?

  She peeled the damp sheets off of her legs and stepped out of bed. Her heart was still pounding as she walked to the kitchen. It had felt so real. She slid back her old t-shirt and checked the skin of her shoulder. No marks.

  Kylee shuddered, still feeling the beast’s fangs plunging into her skin and ripping the muscle tissue underneath. She could still feel her warm blood leaking down the back of her arm, or was that the beast’s saliva?

  She took a deep breath, flicked on the light over the stove, and grabbed the empty coffee pot. It was four am but there was no way that she was going to be able to fall back asleep after that.

  Her heartbeat was almost back to normal as she grabbed the coffee tin from the freezer and dumped a few heaping tablespoons into the filter. She flicked the switch and sat down at the table and zoned out as she watched the black liquid drip into the glass pot.

  It was the third time this month that she had this vision and it was getting stronger with every episode. That usually meant that it was going to happen soon.

  Her mom had called it Angel Eyes, whereas Aunt Shelly had called it The Sight (Aunt Shelly never was very creative). Her Dad had just called it bullshit.

  But he was wrong.

  Every vision that Kylee ever had, had come true. She didn’t know what to call it but her ‘gift’ was terrifying. Every so often she could see into the future. It would always start off vague and blurry but each replaying of the vision got clearer and crisper until the day that it inevitably happened.

  Her Dad, the town’s former Sheriff, refused to acknowledge it, calling Aunt Shelly and her mother a bunch of wannabe witches. He never wanted to hear the truth, especially when she started having visions of his murder.

  Two weeks later he was dead and Kylee had seen it in her dreams over and over again before it ever happened. She saw the man who killed him and after her father’s funeral she tracked him down and got him arrested.

  After her father’s murder, the visions came on stronger and more frequent. Kylee passed her law enforcement exam and joined the Colwood, Montana Sheriff’s department. Every so often visions of horrible crimes being committed would come to her but she was always helpless to stop them. She had tried to change the future, talking to the victims or trying to find the criminal before the crime but nothing ever worked. No matter what she did her visions came true. They were visions of fate. And there was no stopping fate.

  Over the years, she changed tactics. Instead of trying to stop the crimes, which had proved useless and just made her look like a crazy person, she decided to study the crime scene as it was happening and try to remember everything that she could about it. What the criminal looked like, the clothes he was wearing, the license plate of the car in the background. She would later use that information to track down the criminal and arrest them. She started with her father’s killer and then took on the murderer in every vision that was brought to her.

  Her Angel Eyes had made her a crime solving machine and she quickly got promoted to Sheriff. The youngest Sheriff in Montana’s history, not to mention the first female.

  The coffee machine squeezed out its last drop and Kylee sighed as she stood up on her stiff legs. She grabbed her favorite mug and filled it up as she inhaled the delicious fumes of the freshly brewed coffee.

  She opened her fridge to pull out the milk but then thought twice and left it in there. She needed a stronger drink after that vision.

  Every vision that ever came to her had been about somebody else. But this time, it had been her in that vision. Her being chased. Her getting killed.

  She knew that fate and all its cruelty couldn’t be stopped.

  Kylee took a tense breath as she sat back down and stared at the dark sky through her kitchen window. Do I just roll over and die?

  Kylee ran with everything that she had but this time it was to fight her other enemy: her big thighs. Colwood was a beautiful area for a jog and she had just spent the past forty minutes running through the forest as the sun rose in the pink sky.

  She stopped at the top of the hill in front of her house and looked out at the sleepy town in the distance. It was hers to protect but who was going to protect her? She still couldn’t get that vision out of her mind. Those sad green eyes had been eerily familiar. They reminded her of Stetson but how could that be? Why would he save her life only to kill her later?

  I guess I’ll find out soon enough.

  She tore her gaze away from the town and glanced down at her house at the bottom of the hill. There was a black Jeep parked in the driveway and she could see flashes of movement near her police car. She got a shiver when she wondered who it could be. No. Todd is locked up in the county jail.

  Maybe his friends?

  Whoever it was she had to stop them. It had been humiliating enough showing up to work with ‘PIG’ painted on the side of her police cruiser and she couldn’t bare to show up with something else painted on the other side.

  “Hey!” she screamed as she took off running down the steep hill to the road in front of her house.

  Something hollow and plastic clunked as it dropped on the pavement. The trees on her property were blocking her view and she could only see flashes of color through the branches as the person ran back to their Jeep.

  “Stop right there!” she cried out as her foot hit the dew soaked road. “Sheriff’s department!”

  The door of the Jeep slammed closed and the engine roared to life
. Kylee picked up the pace as adrenaline surged through her veins. The black Jeep flew out of her driveway and sped down the street leaving her huffing and puffing as it shrank down the quiet country road.

  TGH 539. She repeated the license plate over and over in her mind as she raced into the house to get her cell phone. She dialed the number and Loretta answered, sounding dazed and confused. She’s sleeping again.

  “Wake up, Loretta,” Kylee snapped. “I need you to run a plate.”

  “Uhm,” she said as the sound of papers shuffling came through from the other line. “Let me just turn my computer on.”

  “Why is your computer off?” she asked, rubbing her forehead. It was so hard to get good help these days.

  “You’re not supposed to be working today,” Loretta said, obviously trying to change the subject. “What are you doing? It’s so early, you should be sleeping in.”

  Kylee rolled her eyes. “Grab a pen and write this down. TGH 539. Run it when your computer starts and call me back.”

  “What is it for?”

  Kylee sighed. “We talked about this, Loretta.”

  “Righty-o,” she answered. “I’m sorry I asked.”

  “Just run it and call me back,” Kylee said, walking towards the car to see what kind of new damage it had. “And no more sleeping on the job.”

  “I wasn’t sle-”

  Kylee didn’t let her finish. She hung up the phone and winced as she walked around the car expecting so see another crude word spray painted or carved into her car. “What the heck?” The car was clean.

  She hurried around the other side and gasped when she saw the clear windows and the paint back to normal. The ‘PIG’ was gone. She glanced back up the empty road, furrowing her brow in confusion. Who? Why?

  The phone in her hand vibrated, making her jump. “Hey, Loretta,” she said, answering it.

  “Okay, so the plates are registered to a Stetson Evans,” Loretta said. “His last known address is listed in Detroit. Do you want the address?”

  “No,” Kylee said, dropping to a knee. “I know right where to find him.”

  She hung up and reached under the car to grab a yellow bottle underneath. Butter wet Carnauba wax.

  She smiled as she pictured Stetson going to the store and buying this for her. It was thoughtful and sweet. Kylee had already felt bad that she hadn’t thanked him for saving her yet.

  Her blurry reflection in the clean car door smiled at her. “It’s time to go introduce myself to the rest of the Clawed Squad.”

  But Stetson was the only one who she was really hoping to see.

  four

  Stetson placed a log on the chopping block and took a step back. He gripped the smooth handle of the ax, raising it over his head as the familiar haunting images, sounds and feelings came flooding back to torment him.

  The searing pain. The burning electricity ripping through his body, cooking him from the inside out.

  He could still feel it all. Still taste the iron in his mouth as he bit down on his tongue while the experimenters had at him. The delicious yet horrifying smell of his own flesh cooking. The crunching of his bones while the thick metal cuffs held him down.

  Stetson closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the sweet Montana air, letting it flow through him, letting it wash away the pain. He was safe here, surrounded by nature and friends. The days of being a tormented guinea pig were gone. The days of being a ruthless mercenary were gone.

  His past was over.

  It was time for a new start. He brought down the ax with a grunt, throwing his whole body weight behind the blade. It split through the wood and continued through the massive chopping block like a hot Samurai sword slicing through a stick of butter. When he yanked out the ax, the chopping block underneath was split in two.

  “Yes!” Slate cheered from the camp. The boys were watching him and taking bets on how many chops it would take for Stetson to slice through the enormous Redwood chopping block that was the size of a dinner table and as high as his knee. Slate had just won. He bet that it would only take one shot. And it did.

  The boys groaned as Slate collected their money and waved it back in their faces. It was nice to see the boys getting along. It had been tense around the camp since the tiny lawyer had paid them a visit. There were a lot of arguments over whether or not they should settle down with mates or just abandon the ranch and move on. Stetson and Royal were dead set against taking on mates. Royal was still holding out for that imaginary princess he felt that he was destined to have. Stetson huffed out a laugh. The poor guy thinks he lives in a Disney movie.

  Stetson knew that Thorn was against taking on a mate as well, even though he would never admit it. He would never take sides and divide his Squad but Stetson had known Thorn for a long time. And he knew that Thorn still wasn’t over his dead mate. How could he move on when the poor guy still blamed himself for her death?

  Tyler and the twins were all for taking on mates and making a life here on the ranch. Stetson wiped his sweaty forehead and looked around at the tall, snow-capped mountains decorating the sky. It was beautiful and peaceful here. He wouldn’t have minded staying in Colwood, Montana, especially with such a sexy Sheriff in town, but he still refused to bring anyone close to him. No one deserved that.

  “Someone get the guy another chopping block,” Tyler said. “I want double or nothing.”

  Royal laughed. “I’ll only place a bet if the block is made out of metal.”

  All heads turned as the sound of a car drove up the gravel road. Stetson’s stomach fluttered when the car came into view. His inner bear perked up and began jumping around like a dog who was just asked if he wanted to go on a walk.

  Stetson could see her in perfect detail through the bug-splattered windshield even though he was all the way on the other side of the camp. Her silky amber hair was loose, flowing down onto her shoulders in gorgeous waves. Her warm brown eyes were searching the camp and they stopped when they settled on him. Warmth flooded into his chest with that look.

  Stetson turned, giving her his back, and grabbed another piece of wood from the pile. He placed it on the broken chopping block and lifted the ax, thinking of the Sheriff’s cute little nose the whole time. He didn’t have nearly as much power with this swing. His bear was distracted by the scintillating smell of the Sheriff as she stepped out of her car. Her perfume smelled like peaches.

  She greeted the guys who were gathering around her and Stetson placed another piece of wood on the block as he watched them through the corner of his eye, listening intently.

  “You must be the Sheriff,” Thorn said, shaking her hand. “I’m sorry I wasn’t at the bar the other night to meet you.”

  “Sheriff Kylee Black,” she said with a smile. Kylee. It sounded like the name of an angel.

  “Hi,” Tyler said, offering his hand. “Tyler Jones.”

  She smiled as she shook Tyler’s hand, glancing down at his prosthetic leg. It was made with metal rods and those curvy feet at the end and Stetson thought that it looked pretty bad ass, even though he would never admit that to him.

  “You’ve met the other four,” Thorn said.

  Kylee looked over at Stetson and he quickly turned away, grabbing a piece of firewood to hide his heated face.

  She turned back to Thorn when Stetson didn’t acknowledge her. “I like what you’ve done with the place,” she said, looking around at the wooden cabins, the outdoor kitchen, and the campfire area.

  “Thank you,” Thorn said. “It’s not much but it’s a start. I’m afraid we’re not as rich as the Vega brothers.” Their four neighbors came from money and had a huge log mansion complete with hundreds of head of cattle, stables for their many horses, and a whole crew of workers. The Clawed Squad had to pool all of their meager savings to be able to rent these cabins. They had a bit left over that they had planned to buy some cattle with and start up their business.

  “We’re not as rich yet,” Karl said with a grin. “But it’s coming.”r />
  Slate nodded. “But at least we’re better looking.”

  Kylee smiled and Stetson felt a flush of energy tingling through his body. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Don’t get any ideas. You’re not mate material.

  He turned away from her and continued chopping.

  “Well, I just wanted to introduce myself,” Kylee said. “If you boys ever need anything please don’t hesitate to call the Sheriff’s department.”

  “You shouldn’t be hearing from us,” Thorn said, shaking her hand again. “We like to keep things quiet.”

  Slate and Karl were grinning. Those two were never quiet.

  She took a few steps to her car and then stopped. “I’ll just go introduce myself to him,” she said, looking over at Stetson.

  Slate chuckled. “Are you packing heat? He’s a little grumpy this morning.”

  Stetson ground his teeth together. He had to remember to repay Slate back for that comment after the Sheriff was gone.

  His heart raced and his bear perked up inside him as she made her way over. He swallowed hard and turned around, facing her as she arrived.

  She looked spectacular in her tight hiking shorts that hugged her curvy thighs. Stetson loved a girl with big curves and a thick waist. Bear shifters were always drawn to big women and Stetson was no exception. The bigger the better.

  She shifted her weight from foot to foot, looking nervous as she stood in front of him with her dainty hand on the round curve of her hip. It took everything he had not to openly stare at her full, round breasts taunting him from behind her white tank top. He turned and grabbed another piece of wood instead.

  “Are you just going to ignore me?” she asked with a hint of frustration in her voice.

  Stetson shrugged as he placed the piece of wood on the broken chopping block. His inner bear was calm for the first time in two days. He seemed to like having her around.

  “Please put down the ax,” she said, crossing her arms over her breasts.