by Clara Cody
It was my lucky day. By the time I reached the river, huffing and puffing, the heron was still standing in the water, which rippled around its thin legs. Moving as slowly and quietly as possible, I snapped a few pictures. They were perfect, like something out of National Geographic.
“Nice catch!”
The heron took off at the sound of the voice. Dammit!
I frowned and turned to see Lacey standing on the other side of a patch of trees. The river bent around the patch of trees, so I couldn’t see what she was looking at. Following the curve in the river, I walked towards her, figuring she was calling out to Sean. They were fishing after all. It made sense that they wouldn’t go too far. And I could talk to Jason about what happened last night.
It had been, without a doubt, the most incredible sex of my entire life, but it was more than that. Even half-tipsy I’d felt a connection to him that I’d never shared with a lover before. I had to know if he’d felt that at all. Because if it was just me, it was better to cut and run.
I was almost around the bend when I saw two enormous brown bears. I gasped, nearly falling backwards. One of the brown bears stood in the water, the other on the opposite shore. They were incredible. I knew it! I knew there were bears around here! But what the hell was Lacey doing? Did she think they were cute and cuddly teddy bears? They didn’t seem to pay her any mind though, so I snatched up my camera and started snapping pictures. I laughed, thinking that only a few minutes ago, I was ecstatic just thinking about getting a picture of a heron. “Unbelievable,” I whispered to myself. The bears stopped immediately and looked in my direction. I froze. No way. I gulped. How well do bears hear? They hadn’t moved yet. Was it too late to run?
The bear on the far bank roared, showing its long and terrible teeth. A whimper escaped my lips.
“Oh, crud!” Lacey swore, running up beside me. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” I couldn’t believe it. There were two enormous bears within throwing distance, and she sounded like she was trying to stop someone from making a scene in public!
“Do you see that?” I stammered. “They’re bears!”
“Oh…uh…yeah.” She took me by the arm and tried pulling me away. “Guess we’d better run.”
“No!” I shouted, grabbing her. “You’re not supposed to run. That’ll make them chase you and think you’re food!”
The far bear snarled and thumped the ground. It seemed to be getting angrier by the minute. Suddenly, it jumped into the water and started charging through, coming right at us. The bear standing in the water, the bigger one took a swipe at the other with its monstrous paw. The other bear roared back, but stopped charging. My eyes darted between them, wondering if they were going to start fighting.
“Come on,” Lacey said, quietly. “Now’s a good time to go.”
“Right,” I said, back up slowing, not able to take my eyes off the bear. The bigger one looked back at me, a strange look in its eyes. It was almost…familiar. I knew those eyes.
“What were you doing back there?” Lacey asked when we were far enough away from the river. I noticed a hint of accusation in her voice.
“Taking pictures,” I answered, defensively. “What were you doing there? In case you hadn’t noticed, there were a couple of very dangerous, wild animals just meters from you. They could have killed you.”
She stopped and seemed to think for a moment, considering me. Then, she looked behind me and suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders. “You’re right. I guess I was just so in awe that I didn’t think.” Why did I feel like she was humoring me? A whoosh swept past, like a fast blast of cool wind.
“What was that?” I looked around, behind me, to either side, but saw nothing.
“What?” She released my shoulders and started walking again. “I just felt a breeze, but that’s it.”
I let it go. Frankly, I didn’t know if it would be worth it to talk to Lacey about it. She seemed a bit…weird since I found her by the river. We hurried the rest of the way back to the house. We walked in the back door to find Jason and Sean in the kitchen, both red faced and furious.
“—taking pictures!” Sean yelled, gripping the back of a chair so hard, I thought it might break in half.
“That doesn’t mean you attack,” Jason responded, his voice booming.
Sean through his hands in the air. “I wasn’t to actually hurt—”
Lacey cleared her throat, drawing their attention. “We’re back.”
Sean look at me, eyes narrowed and returned to Jason. “You need to find out what she’s really doing here.” He slammed the chair into the floor with a bang. Lacey followed him out, apologizing to me on the way.
Jason sighed, shaking his head. “Are you okay?”
“Uh…yeah.” I noticed then the pile of fish that lay in the sink. “Jason, what the hell is going on?”
He cursed under his breath. “Okay, sit down.”
“No.”
“Suit yourself. I’m sitting down.” He took a seat at the kitchen table, his hands folded in front. It looked as though he were trying to solve some great, impossible puzzle. Finally, he looked up. “We are the bears,” he said, finally, with a sigh.
“Excuse me?”
“Those bears you saw outside? That was Sean and me.”
I stepped back, bumping into the counter behind. Oh, God, he’s crazy.
“I’m not crazy,” he pleaded. “Just let me explain. Me and my family, all of us are shifters.”
“Oh?” I felt my heart beating faster, my face growing warm. Either he was crazy, or just full of shit.
“I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s true. And we aren’t the only ones. There are all kinds of animal shifters out there. We’re bears, but there are lions and—”
“Tigers and bears?”
“I’m not joking.”
“No, of course you’re not. Who would ever make up such a stupid thing like changing into a bear? Surely not someone who’d just slept with me last night and was now trying to find a way out.”
“Wait, you think I’m telling you this now because I don’t want a relationship with you?”
The word relationship came out of nowhere. It stung to hear it, but I remained stone-faced. “It would certainly be effective. Make me think you’re psycho, get me to do the running away so that you don’t have to.”
“I don’t want anyone to run away, that’s why I’m telling you. I want you to know.”
“Oh, yeah that makes perfect sense. Get me to stick around by telling me you’re a werebear or something.”
“Shifter.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Consider it a PC term.”
“Naturally.”
“You’ll never be able to convince her, Jason.” Annie appeared in the kitchen doorway. “She has to see for herself.”
“You too?” I asked, throwing my hands in the air. “I didn’t realize you were all in on it.” I couldn’t help but feel a bit betrayed, even though I barely knew Annie. It was silly, but I’d already considered her a friend. Now, here she was giving weight to this ridiculous bullshit. “She’s right. I’m never going to believe you.” I pushed off from the counter. “I’m out of here.” Hell, even staying with my messed-up family was better than being here.
“Don’t,” Jason asked.
I brushed past Annie and went to the bedroom where I’d left my things. Tears pricked my eyes, making me feel even stupider and more embarrassed. This is what happens when you let people get close. I’ll never learn.
Luckily, I didn’t have many things to pack. Jason was waiting for me in the living room when I walked to the door. “Just give me one minute. I can show you.”
If I were in a better mood, I might actually like to see him try. It would be good for a laugh later on. But now, I was too stung to find any humor in the idea. “No, thanks.” It was then I remembered that I’d left my car in the parking lot of Jason’s bar the other night. Shit! I’d have to call one of the few people in
town. My dad was out of the question. I started dialing Carolyn.
Jason grabbed the phone from my hand and hung up.
“Hey! Give that back.”
“I will. When you’ve given me one minute.”
“This is so stupid! What do you think you’re going to convince me of here, Jason?”
“Just one minute. Come on, I thought you science-types were supposed to be open-minded.”
“Not so open that our brains fall out.”
“So, you’ve already made up your mind, huh? Without any evidence, without even checking it out. Doesn’t sound very scientific to me.”
I scoffed. “Low blow, Thorne.”
He shrugged.
“Fine. You have one minute.”
“That’s all I need.”
CHAPTER TEN
Jason
I stepped outside into the cool morning air. “Are you ready?”
She uncrossed one arm, daring me to prove her wrong.
I striped off my shirt and pants, leaving my boxers and socks, which would be shredded after. I let it come over me quickly, wanting to spare her some of the goriness of the change. It wasn’t a pretty sight, and she would be freaked out enough as it was. I didn’t want to traumatize her anymore than I had to. My muscles and skin rippled, growing longer and thicker. It wasn’t painful. More like a good stretch. I fell to my hands, my paws, on the ground and huffed, my voice sounding rough.
When it was finished, and I was standing there in the yard in my bear form, I looked up to where Elise stood. The look on her face was a mixture of awe and fear. She backed up, running into Annie who was stepping out of the house.
“It’s okay,” Annie said in a soothing voice. “You don’t have to be afraid of him. He’s in control. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”
Elise nodded. “I-I can’t believe it. How is it possible?”
Annie walked down the steps towards me. “You can come closer, you know?” she said, over her shoulder. “Like I said, he won’t hurt you.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”
“Take your time.” My sister, the peace-keeper. Her hand went to the top of my head for a scratch. She always did have a knack for finding the exact place. I leaned into it, a rumble rolling up from my chest.
“I take it he likes that.”
“Oh yeah. Bears love a good scratch.”
Elise took a cautious step down, then another. Her confidence grew as she got closer, stretching out her hand. Her fingers sank into my fur, sending chills over my skin. She was gentle but fearful, unlike Annie. I fought my inner nature which was to lean into her touch, so I wouldn’t scare her. I forced myself to stay still. No sudden movements.
“He’s really…soft. I didn’t expect that.”
“We take good care of our coats,” Annie said.
She knelt down in front, really looking at me. She wasn’t inspecting me like a scientist or evaluating like another shifter. She was really seeing me. “His eyes are the same.” She stood and dusted herself off. “Okay, Jason, will you change back now?”
I nodded and changed back to my human form. Annie tossed me my pants and shirt, turning away as I dressed.
“Believe me, now?” I asked with a smirk.
“It would be hard not to.”
“But you’re still angry.”
“Well, you might have told me your little secret before we slept together.”
“Um, Annie, would you give us a minute?” She nodded and went back inside. I figured she’d be listening to every word we said, along with Lacey probably. With the gift of supernatural hearing, comes the curse of little to no privacy. Still, it was better that Elise had at least a semblance of privacy. “I tried to tell you before we had sex, remember? You said to tell you after.”
“I thought you were going to tell me you were a gambler or had a kid or something. Not that you were some supernatural, God-like, super-being!”
Well, super-being is better than freak or monster, at least.
“Okay, you’re right. I should have told you before. We just don’t usually tell many people, that’s all. It’s a security thing. That’s why Sean freaked out when he saw you taking pictures. He’s a bit paranoid, but not without reason. If the general public knew about us, if the government learned that there were a bunch of super strong, fast shifters right here in their own backyard…you can imagine how that might end for us.”
She nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry I just snapped at you like that.”
I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her close. She smelled good. Like honey and jasmine or some other flower that I didn’t know the name of. I buried my nose in her hair, which was down for once.”
Her arms encircled my neck, holding me.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Anything.”
“Why me? With everything you have at risk, why tell someone you barely know?”
“Because it’s you, Elise.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Me?”
I sighed, searching for the words to make her understand what she meant to me. “I’ve always felt like I had something to prove, you know? I was the oldest, and now the alpha of my family. I had to be the example. I had to live up my mother’s expectations, which was impossible for anyone let alone a kid. But with you…I feel like I don’t have to do that. I don’t have to be anything else. I feel like I’m enough. And you—you’re…I think you’re my mate.”
“Mate? Like soul-mate?”
I nodded, hoping that wouldn’t freak her out again.
“I can’t believe I just met you,” she whispered. “Was it really only a few days ago?”
“I know the feeling.” I placed a kiss on her neck.
“Would you two knock it off!”
Silvie was coming towards us, a pie plate in hand. “Morning, Sil.” I released Elise’s perfect butt. “Later,” I whispered in her ear. “I’m going to make you scream.”
She grinned from ear to ear. “I hope that’s a promise.”
“I’m old,” Silvie said, coming up the stairs. “Not deaf. Now take these plates, Jason Thorne, or so help me—”
“Okay, okay, I got them.” After taking the foil-covered plates, I gave her my arm and helped her the rest of the way up. Annie was going to be thrilled. I had no idea when the last time they had seen each other. Her kids would have been babies.
“Silvie!” Annie cried, flying through the door. She wrapped her arms around the old woman, practically knocking the plates out of my hand.
“Annie, dear!” Her voice softened when talking to Annie. It always had. She was her little doll growing up. Her favorite. She stroked her dark, curly hair. “My girl.” She pulled away, getting a look at her. “You look just like your mother did at your age.”
I flinched, like I always did at the mention of my mother. But not Annie, much to her credit. She just smiled.
“And who’s this?” Silvie turned then to Elise, and back to me. “She yours?”
“Uhh…” Cue a lot of awkward look exchanges.
Silvie just rolled her eyes. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She opened the door and went in.
“Oh, Silvie, wait! I made something for you,” Annie chirped, going in after her. Just like when she was little. The rest of us would come home covered in dirt and maybe with a fish or two, and Annie would be carrying a fistful of daisies for either Silvie or my mother. No wonder she was the favorite.
“Sorry,” I said, wrapping my arm around Elise’s shoulder. “Silvie’s a bit…well she’s old, but she was never all that patient to begin with.”
“It’s okay. I like her. She has spunk.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Elise
“Ugh, I’m stuffed,” I said, pushing away from the table, my plate left with nothing but pie crust crumbs sprinkled on the top. “I’m going to explode.”
Lacey did the same. “Here, here.”
The rest d
idn’t seem to mind and were already starting in on their second pieces of pie. “Bears never stop eating,” Silvie said. “I don’t know whether it’s a curse or a blessing, but they never seem to be satisfied for long.”
“You can say that again,” Lacey said, under her breath, blushing when she realized that everyone heard. First a snicker from Annie, then another from Jason, and soon the whole table was laughing.
It was strange, being here with a family I barely knew, laughing and eating dessert. I’d never had a meal like this in my life. I’d always thought things like this only existed in cheesy family shows like Full House and Leave it to Beaver.
“Well,” Silvie said, standing. “These old bones need a rest. I’m going home for a nap.”
“All right,” Jason said, dropping his fork immediately and standing. “Want me to walk you back?” he asked as she took his arm.
“Don’t be silly,” she said with a gentle slap to his bicep. “I’m old, but I can make it home on my own.”
I watched as Jason, an enormous man, helped this little, gray-haired woman to the door. He was so careful with her, so sweet. It was obvious that he loved her very much. I didn’t know what happened to his parents, but it was clear that this woman occupied a similar space in not only his but all of the Thornes’ lives.
I realized then that I wanted to have my own part in their lives as well. I looked around the table, at empty plates and full cups, and I wanted to be a part of it. But how could I be? I wasn’t good at the whole family thing, and I definitely wasn’t any better at the whole boyfriend thing. I didn’t even live here. I lived and worked hours away. My job was my life. Everything I’d done, studying, paying for university, traveling to conferences, it was all for work. The reality started to sink in. This was a nice break, but that’s all it was. A vacation from life. I wouldn’t have a place here, I knew that. I looked down into my lap, brushing away the leftover crumbs.
It wasn’t the truth that hurt. It was the wanting. After all, I’d never really had a family before. I lived my entire life without having a family to share things with, to talk to, to love, and I could have lived the rest of my life without one. The hard part was seeing it now, and knowing how good it could be.