The bear was so big and powerful, the closer it came the more the deck bowed beneath its weight.
Poppy tried to push herself backward, to make it back to the doorway and inside, but she was so frightened it was as if she was frozen to the spot. She closed her eyes tightly and covered her ears. She knew that this was it, there was no way she could outrun or get away from it. She was doomed.
She thought of her mother and of how she knew that she would barely care… But then she thought of James and of what it would mean for him to lose his older sister. They had only really ever had each other, and now Poppy was going to go and get herself killed in the mountains by a grizzly bear. Even after Arlo had warned her of the dangers.
She peeked out from between her fingertips and the bear was still right in front of her. She could smell the hot stink of its breath and it opened its jaws wide and wailed up into the night’s sky.
Even though she couldn’t move her eyes from the beast in front of her, Poppy was aware of some movement out in the woodland behind it. She saw the flash of something darting quickly between the trees, and in an instant, the bear in front of her stopped and turned around as if it had sensed it too.
Poppy was cowering on the deck, right next to the wall of the cabin, her heart pounding and her palms sweating, when, suddenly, Arlo emerged from the forest, completely naked and full of rage.
The bear and he squared up to each other and Poppy’s mind was racing. Was any of this even real? Or was it just some crazy nightmare?
“Arlo!” she screamed, but he was completely focused on the bear. He flexed his huge arms hungrily and bared his own teeth and Poppy suddenly saw something come over him that was both arousing and terrifying.
The bear that had cornered her whimpered and lowered its head, it moved backward slightly, closer to Poppy, but with its shoulders hunched and its nose touching the ground.
Arlo snarled again and when Poppy looked back at him, she couldn’t believe her eyes. The man who she had just spent the past several hours exploring every inch of was changing before her. His demeanor was fiercer and his eyes were burning with power. She cowered as she watched him snarl and take another heaving step closer, but this time, she could tell that something incredible was about to happen.
He belted out a growl so loud it tore through the night and was so fierce it blew the hair back from her face from over ten feet away. He hunched his shoulders and his arms bulged with exertion, and in an instant, his skin seemed to rip open as a dark fur sprang up in its place.
Poppy rubbed her eyes. Could this really be happening? What the fuck was she witnessing?
Before her very eyes, Arlo turned from the handsome man she had got to know into a big, beast of a grizzly bear. His paws were so big and full of claws that they could have torn her apart.
She wanted to scream but she was frozen. She wanted to run but her legs and feet were heavy with fear.
The bear in front of her was also cowering and as Arlo moved forward quickly and lunged himself at the smaller bear, there was a flash of fangs, fur, and claws as the pair began to fight.
Poppy tried to hide, but she was right there and she saw it all. Arlo was so big compared to the other bear, he was like no animal she had ever seen, and as he drove the smaller bear back into the woods, Poppy honestly couldn’t believe what was happening.
She rubbed her eyes and breathed in deeply.
“This can’t be real,” she whispered to herself. But then she was suddenly aware that the Arlo bear was back, and he was right in front of her.
When she looked up and saw him right there, she looked into his eyes and she knew that it was definitely him. The man she had fallen for, he could shape shift and now it all made sense. This was why he was so hot to the touch, why he seemed so different and mysterious, why he had been so secretive and cryptic.
She tried not to cry and to instead slow her breathing. The bear moved backward and seemed to heave in the moonlight and then, in an instant, it started to convulse and shudder as the fur began to disappear and the tanned, thick muscles returned in their place.
Arlo stood there, back in his human form, and to Poppy, he had never looked better. He looked so alive and so powerful. It was intoxicating.
“You’re my woman now,” he said with a pant. “And I’ll protect you no matter what.” His chest was heaving with exertion and Poppy could feel the bond between them. Something had most definitely changed.
“What are you?” she whispered, even though now she really did know.
“I’m Arlo,” he whispered. “And like I told you, it’s going to take a very special and understanding woman to love me.”
And even though there was a sadness in his eyes, Poppy knew it would all be okay. Whether he knew it yet or not, she was most certainly that woman.
9.
Lost Creek was gearing up for its summer season and the town was already bursting at the seams with new arrivals. Since Poppy had arrived in town all those months before, she never could have imagined that she never would have ended up leaving.
She wiped down the countertop in Arlo’s bar. Since she had settled in Lost Creek with her new man, a few changes had been made to keep up with the trade and demand. A diner just wasn’t cutting it anymore, the tourists in the town wanted a sports bar, and Arlo’s was the perfect venue to give it to them.
Willow hummed a tune as she twirled her curly black hair around her long, manicured finger and blew a big pink bubble with her gum. The girls had become close over the months and it was good for Poppy to have a friend there. It had helped the place feel more like home.
When her family had left, she promised James that she would call him regularly, and she had done so several times a week. He was fine back at home with her parents and was gearing up to make his own escape soon. He had his sights on college or travel, and Poppy knew that whatever he chose, he would end up in the right place. The place destined for him… Just like she had.
After learning of Arlo’s secret, Poppy knew that she could never walk away from him. He had saved her life that night at his house, he had known that she was in trouble and he had come running. There really were bears in the woods around Lost Creek, but there was something more too… And she was still learning all about it with each passing day.
She’d heard whispers from Willow that Arlo wasn’t the only bear shifter. That his close friends and some of the other original settling families had powers too, and that although it was a secret that was concealed from the majority of residents in the town, they were also being slowly discovered.
“We have to help protect them,” Willow had said. “Both the bears and the wolves.”
From what she had managed to piece together, that is what Arlo had meant by the town being divided. Two packs were in charge of Lost Creek, and tensions were rising.
“Everything will be fine,” Arlo had assured her one night. “There’s nothing to worry about for you here.”
He had kissed her and she knew that he would never lie. They were together now. They were each other’s other half and each day, although it brought its challenges, Poppy was more than grateful that she had found herself in such a unique and happy position after so many years of unrest.
She and Arlo were so well suited, and she thanked her lucky stars every day that she had been fortunate enough to meet him.
As she started to stack the glasses behind the bar, the front door swung open and his huge, broad frame stepped forward, blocking out the natural light. As always, she could feel his eyes on her and it set off the butterflies in her belly. They all flapped their wings in unison and she had grown to enjoy the feeling. It had never left her and she hoped that it never would. She liked the nervous sensation that he gave her, it drove her on and kept her hot for him.
He swept her up in his big arms and kissed her hard on the mouth. Now that she had seen what this man had inside of him, the beast that he managed to conceal but could unleash at any given moment, Poppy would alw
ays be on her toes, and she liked it that way. It turned her on and made her heart race.
She nuzzled into his neck and thought of how far they had come in such a short space of time and she realized how true it was when people said that everything could change in a day.
It really could…
And for Poppy, it had changed in the most perfect and happiest of ways. She had finally found where she was supposed to be, and she was more than excited about her future…
THE END
Get the next three LOST CREEK tales in the LOST CREEK COLLECTION, available on AMAZON
Dystopian Romance
Love and Survival in the Time After
Leela Ash
Copyright ©2016 by Leela Ash. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Chapter 1
Layne’s heart was in her throat as the footsteps behind her receded. It had been a long time since she’d had a confrontation with one of the tribes. This time she’d gone to the wrong watering source. She thought that the public pool would be safe, for some reason. Although most of them were dried up, you could usually find at least a supply of sunscreen to protect you from the harsh sunlight, or if you were really lucky, there would be enough clean water left to quench your thirst and fill your bottle.
She’d been due for a refill for a while now and although it was reckless, she had been desperate enough to get herself into danger. She had a bottle of beer left from the last batch she’d brewed, but that was strong enough to dull her senses and get her into trouble. Besides, it would just dehydrate her more. She would have to remember that this area was ruled by the Jackals – the name for the small gang of people who had claimed this turf. After the virus hit and wiped out most of the population, leaving only a few lucky survivors in every city, the tribes had been a way to find peace and security amongst other people who were dealing with the same crisis. There had been safety in numbers, or so they told themselves. While many had been afraid to wander the deserted world alone, moving forward with others didn’t seem that bad.
She herself had been part of a group in those first few chaotic years. Being a talented chemist, she’d aligned herself with a team of doctors claiming to seek a cure to the problem, but as it turned out most of them were frauds and civilians, delusional with a self-important mission they weren’t educated enough to accomplish. Everybody was hoping for a miracle and she’d been lured in by their pretense. Ultimately, the group split due to bruising of egos and no real direction and she’d been on her own ever since then, trying to make sense of how things had gotten so far out of hand.
As a scientist, she had to trace the line of cause and effect. A pharmaceutical company had ordered vaccinations against what they claimed was an alien virus from space – which was absurd, but everybody was so desperate for answers that they accepted the explanation. Now everybody knew that the first guess had been way off, but back then that was the government’s grounds for getting as many people as possible under the needle for a miraculous vaccine that they had commissioned the company, Grow Inc, to develop. In a sad, ironic twist of fate, the virus they thought came from a meteorite that had landed in St. Petersburg, had actually been the result of lax safety precautions, as a team of scientists experimented with a cure for the common cold. They’d flown the team to Russia to try and evade SFT (Safety in Future Technology) safety standards, and the end result had been disastrous.
The antivirus had been promising, and they had been convinced that by pushing the envelope, it would be successful. In initial experiments it had a 100% success ratio, though it hadn’t been tested over the long term. After the meteorite crashed into the yard outside the Russian facility where the American scientists had been mentoring a group of people who were working together to rid the world of disease, that was when the results of the virus began to be seen, and how the SFT had gotten involved, claiming that the virus, because it was so difficult to contain and treat, had extraterrestrial origins.
If they had checked more closely, they would have seen that the people that they had injected with the initial strain of vaccination had become carriers of the malicious virus, infecting everybody they came into contact with without even knowing it. A few cases had been reported in America shortly after the scientists returned, and before long half of St. Petersburg was in chaos. People were coughing up blood and begging for release from a pain that nobody could pinpoint, but everybody could agree was the worst they had ever felt. It seemed to move throughout the body, inflaming certain parts for a small amount of time before retreating and coming back with double the force.
Because of the rapid spread in St. Petersburg, everybody assumed that was the origin of the virus, and the city was put under strict quarantine. Unfortunately, it was no use. It spread all over the world with startling speed. Nobody thought that the virus might be in the vaccination. Ironically, the claim was that because the first vaccination had been successful enough during the preliminary trials, it should be utilized now, in this time of crisis. The SFT felt they had no choice and allowed the vaccinations to reach the mainstream market. Every day, for weeks, hundreds of people lined up to receive their vaccine, thinking it would be the only thing that might save them.
Carriers were being created left and right, but those whose immune systems weren’t as strong, or whose bodies didn’t contain an immunity in their genes, were left defenseless against it. Days after the vaccination, the coughing would begin, until finally people began to catch on that it wasn’t an alien virus that was killing people – it was one being spread by the vaccine.
But it was too late. Within a few years, almost everybody was gone. With the exception of a few green-tinged carriers who had made it through, a few genetically privileged people, and some who had managed to escape both the carriers and the vaccinations until the virus finally became dormant. Life as they knew it had crumbled. Layne had no family or friends left, and she had felt so lost and alone, crying on her doorstep when the small group of “scientific” people had wandered past. They saw that she lacked the green-tinge of the carriers and the paleness of the infected, and welcomed her into their group saying they were heading somewhere safe, somewhere far away from there, and they were going to find the cure. Would she help?
She didn’t want to leave, but she also knew that she couldn’t stay. From that point forward, her survival would depend upon her ability to move on, and that’s all she needed to know.
Chapter 2
Jax scooped a handful of water from the stream he was kneeling at, examining it closely. It was clean, he determined, and he drank deeply, wiping his mouth, allowing a few stray drops of water to drip off his chin. His dark, alert eyes scanned the trees. The wind moved boughs peacefully, but he wouldn’t be fooled by the serenity. He thought he had heard a sound.
He grabbed his backpack – the holder of all his worldly possessions and a single reminder of home, where he came from, and slung it over his shoulder. He had found it heavy at first, but now he’d become accustomed to its weight, feeling nearly naked without it resting warmly on his shoulder. It reminded him of a pet he once had, a lizard he had named Jenko. Jenko sat on him like his bag did, his body temperature cool until Jax’s body heat warmed it up. It was nice to pretend that he wasn’t alone.
Alone was safer though, and the sound of others had brought his pulse to racing. He moved nimbly through the trees toward the sound, gripping a piece of glass tightly. He had been using it for a weapon for a few months, and had duct taped the edge so he could grip it firmly as he swiped it at whatever threat was looming. There were more wild dogs than ever now. After the humans had begun to die out, their pets grew feral and ran rampant around the cities and towns, meeting and breeding, populating the emptiness with their own pups. The same was tr
ue of cats, though their feral nature was already commonplace where he came from. Cats and their kittens roamed the streets without fear. He’d enjoyed it at first, feeling that finally it was time for man’s supposed best friend to take his rightful place on the food chain. It seemed like poetic justice in a way.
Now though, the savage creatures would show no mercy. They vaguely remembered humans, and didn’t think very fondly of them on the whole. The result was that he now had to fear both man and beast. At night, he had to keep watch for the glowing eyes of feral cats who wouldn’t hesitate to jump out of the foliage and grip whatever was moving with fierce claws and teeth. He missed the way things used to be, when they were simple and safe. He had been younger then, and the few people who survived had created a new, hellish world all their own – one he wanted no part of.
The sound of heavy footfalls – a twig snapping loudly – brought him to attention. Somebody was running, heading toward the stream where he was standing dumbly, staring off into the distance. He narrowed his eyes and focused on the sound. Somebody was probably being chased. Sure enough, a stampede of feet followed closely after the first person he had heard. The Jackals were apparently after new prey. He shifted, selfishly irritated that the person they were chasing might lead them to him. He had been so peaceful there, but now he would have to hide.
He leapt up into a nearby tree, watching the action unfold. He wouldn’t get involved; he would just stay out of sight long enough for the danger to pass and then go about his business. A woman burst through the bushes, her long, light brown hair framing her face. She gazed longingly at the water – he felt a pang of pity, as it was a look he knew well – but she was trapped and couldn’t drink. She looked around helplessly, her beautiful oval face contorted in panic and fear. He groaned to himself and lowered himself to the ground, motioning her over to him. She didn’t seem to be wearing any of the signature clothing styles of the tribes he was familiar with, and he had a fleeting, hopeful thought that maybe she was like him and didn’t belong to any of them.
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