A car was waiting for them at the airport, and it was meant to take them straight to Boulder. But as soon as they got out of the airport, they hit traffic that blocked their escape. For twenty minutes, they just sat in a line of cars who were also trying to get out of the airport, and Blair started to get more and more agitated. Then Scarlett’s phone rang, and she almost jumped out of her skin.
Scarlett reached over and put a reassuring hand on Blair’s leg. “It’s okay, sweetie. Just breathe.”
When she answered, Blair didn’t hear the chaos of before, and it made her feel a little better. Scarlett put it on speaker.
“Kurt, you’re on speaker phone. Blair and I are in the car. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know, honestly. Hi, Blair, by the way. Glad you’re coming back. We can’t see him on the security cameras anymore. I don’t know if he figured out how to slip them or what. But he couldn’t have gotten out. The whole manor is on lockdown, so he’s in here somewhere. But I’m not letting anyone leave the panic room, not until know it’s safe.”
Scarlett rubbed her eyes in frustration and then shook her head. “Has he turned? If he’s in bear form, how in the hell could he possibly be out of sight of the cameras? He’s massive now.”
Kurt chuckled. “He’s shifting in and out, babe. One minute he’s a bear, then next minute, he’s butt-ass naked Declan, darting around the manor, breaking priceless family heirlooms. So, I don’t know what to tell you, but he’s managing to stay out of our eye line. I’m going to give it another hour and then I’m going out with the tranq gun. But listen to me… I don’t want either of you coming here. Go back to our other apartment and wait for my call.”
Blair snorted. “Oh, hell no. I’m coming to the manor. This is all my fault. You’re not going to stop me from doing something to help. No way, Kurt.”
Scarlett looked at Blair with sadness in her eyes, but she nodded. “She’s right, Kurt. If she wants to come and try to get to Declan, you should let her. He’s not going to listen to any of you anymore. He might be too far gone at this point. But if you let Blair try, who knows? It might be worth a shot.”
They heard a resigned sigh on the other end of the line. “Fine. But only Blair. Scarlett, you go home. There is no reason for you to be involved in any of this, do you understand?”
“I agree,” Blair answered as she gave Scarlett’s hand a squeeze. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”
Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay. But at the first sign of trouble, someone better call me.”
Scarlett told Kurt she loved him and hung up just as the cars started moving again. Once they were on the highway, Blair allowed herself the luxury of being scared. She didn’t know what she was about to walk into, but she knew one thing for sure…
She was terrified.
Chapter 19
Declan
Declan felt the pain of his arms and legs shifting into bear form, and then shifting back. It kept happening, and he had no control over it, no power. His energy was waning, and his heart wasn’t fighting it anymore. He was too tired, too heartbroken, in too much pain. His thoughts were a muddle of his own self-hatred, and whatever his bear was thinking at any given moment.
You deserve this, Declan. You deserve to be alone. This is how people like you end up, miserable bastards with no heart. No soul. Lucy was just a symptom. You’re the cause.
Blair. Get me, Blair. I want my mate. Now. Going to destroy everyone. Everything. Until I see her again.
The only time Declan calmed down was when he thought about Blair, or when his bear did. He knew at last that he had fallen in love with her. It may have been fast, it may not have made a lot of sense, but finding one’s mate rarely did. From the moment he met her to the moment she walked out the door, his whole being had been reforming itself to include her. All he wanted was to find her and bring her back, but he didn’t blame her for leaving. Whatever her reasons were. She deserved better than him and his raging bear.
Shut up, human. You’re not in charge anymore. My body. If we can’t have Blair, we’re going to make everyone pay.
Declan looked down and saw his hand shifting into a paw. He focused all of his energy on preventing the shift, but it seemed to be happening in spite of himself. He had nothing left, and no matter how hard her fought, there didn’t seem to be any point. If the bear wanted to take over, why stop it?
With a weary lift of his head, Declan looked around the basement of the manor. When he had started shifting without the ability to control it, he’d headed straight for the basement, hoping that maybe the concrete walls could contain him. Kurt had activated all of the security locks when Declan had bolted from his bedroom in a rage, and the rest of the clan had been in the panic room ever since. He didn’t blame them. He didn’t want to be around himself, so there was no reason for others to bother with him.
If I’m going to turn into a monster, people should start treating me accordingly. Maybe it would be better for everyone if Kurt did put me down.
His bear heard that thought, and it didn’t like it. Not one bit. The rage started to take over again, and Declan felt his torso start to shift. He snarled and growled as he fought to force the bear back down, but it now believed that Declan didn’t have their best interest at heart. It didn’t believe that Declan had fought hard enough for Blair, and now, if he was giving up his will to live entirely? Declan had no idea how long he had before any semblance of control was lost completely to his inner beast.
Declan somehow managed to stop his shift. He was so tired. His body shook and shivered, and he collapsed on the floor in a heap of exhausted flesh. Declan looked up at the ceiling of the basement and groaned. Every inch of his skin was on fire, and his bones ached from the tip of his head to the end of his toes. He wanted to cry, to scream, to beg for someone to put him out of his misery, but he didn’t even have the energy to do that much. Declan didn’t know what the answer to any of this was, but he knew deep down that hiding in the basement and waiting for the inevitable probably wasn’t it either.
Let’s go. Out of here. Now. You know you want to leave. Leave. Before that bossy alpha tries to stop you.
Declan rolled onto his stomach and launched to his feet. You’re right. We’re going to leave. We’re going to get out of here.
Declan ran up the stairs, then checked out the door to make sure none of the other bears were out there. Once he was sure he was clear, he darted around the corner and toward the back door. When he got there, he discovered that it was locked just as securely as every other entrance and exist in the lodge. Declan felt a frustrated rumble starting low in his belly, then reverberate out and through the entire kitchen. Suddenly, his bear was taking over. His shoulders, arms, and hands began to shift into his bear’s legs, and he felt the power of the bear coursing through him.
Declan reached out, and grabbed hold of the bars that were over top of the window next to the kitchen door. With another deep belly growl, he pulled back on the bars using every ounce of strength left inside of him. The bars creaked and snapped and finally, sprang off of the window with a metallic thud. Declan tossed them aside, took a few steps back, crouched down, then ran forward, and jumped straight through the window.
He felt the scratch and scrape of glass cutting into his skin, but he didn’t care. Declan had almost made it to the edge of the backyard and the fence when he heard a roar from behind him. Kurt had come out of the house; he was carrying a gun full of tranquilizer darts, and he looked pissed.
“Declan! Don’t you dare! You stay right there, man! I don’t want to use this, but you know I will if I have to!” Kurt screamed across the yard.
Declan snarled, and just turned back around for the gate when he felt a sharp sting in his hip. And then another in his shoulder.
And then everything went black…
Chapter 20
Blair
After the car had dropped Scarlett home, it took Blair straight to the Boulder house. When they pulled up ou
tside the lodge, and the driver got out to open the door for Blair, the first thing he remarked was, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this quiet here before.”
Blair felt a chill run through her body as she walked up the porch. The driver was right. There was something deadly silent about the lodge, something that felt totally off. She inched through the entryway and looked for any sign of life, but all she was met with was complete stillness. It made the hair on her neck stand on end, and a shiver overtook her entire body. Part of her wanted to run in the other direction, but she knew that wasn’t an option now. She had to face what she’d caused, and she had to tell Declan how she felt.
Blair was just about to climb the stairs when she heard a roar come from outside of the house breaking the deafening silence. And then, a second one. The house practically shook from the sound, and Blair bolted back out the door and around to the side yard. When she got there, she found that it was blocked by a gate. First, she tried throwing her weight against the gate door, but it didn’t budge. When it became clear the lock wasn’t going to give either, she looked around for something she could use. She spotted a trash can, and she pushed it over to the edge of the gate and climbed on top of it. Once she had a good grip, she hoisted herself up and over the gate, and crashed to the ground with a painful smash to her side.
Blair sat up and rubbed at her sore arm as she winced, and then she looked up. And what she saw took her breath away more than any bruise could ever do. In the backyard of the lodge, two bears are standing on their hind legs, one gray, one brown, and they are snarling and clawing at each other.
“We are in the middle of Colorado, how is no one seeing or hearing this?” Blair said out loud as she crawled to her feet. She immediately recognized the brown bear as Declan, and she assumed that the gray bear was Kurt. Declan swatted at Kurt with his massive paw, and Kurt stumbled backward in an attempt to avoid getting hit. Blair couldn’t watch anymore, so she ran forward and screamed.
“Declan O’Shea, you stop what you’re doing right now and… turn back into your human self this instant!” Blair felt like a mother scolding a child with words she didn’t quite understand, and Declan and Kurt both spun around to look at her with their giant bear eyes. There was still a trace of Declan in the dark sparkle inside of them, and he blinked, almost as if he recognized her. For a moment, she thought that he might do as she asked, but then he turned on his massive back paws and ran for the back fence. With a furious growl, he plowed through the wood, splintering it into pieces and leaving Blair alone with the bear-version of Kurt.
Blair threw her arms up in the air. “Well, what the hell do we do now?” she screamed, not expecting anyone to answer.
“First, I’m going to have to find new pair pants because that shift destroyed my clothes.”
Blair turned around and came face-to-face with a totally naked Kurt. Her whole body broke out in a blush as she looked up at the sky, then at the trees, anything to avoid looking… there. Kurt just snickered as he retrieved a pair of sweatpants from the shed next to the lodge, then walked over to where Blair had plopped down on the yard.
“Where the hell did he go, Kurt?”
Kurt sat down on the grass next to Blair and looked out through the hole in the fence. “My guess? He is trying to make his way up the mountain.”
“What are you… Wait? He’s coming back, right?” Blair asked, panic setting in.
“I don’t know the answer to that, Blair. The crux of the madness started to set in a few days ago, but last night, he started shifting involuntarily. That’s not a great sign. I’m not sure if we’ll ever get him back now.”
Blair leaped to her feet and shook her head furiously. “No way. I refuse to accept that. You’re going to take me to Declan and I’m going to talk to him and I’m going to bring him back.”
Kurt sighed. He ran his hands through his hair and shook his head in return.
“That’s a terrible idea, Blair. If he’s too far gone, he could attack you. He might not even recognize you. And if he hurt you, I couldn’t live with myself. I don’t know what I’m going to do with him but putting you in harms way isn’t the answer.”
Blair started to pace back and forth, trying to formulate a plan for how she was going to find Declan on her own. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if she found him, or what she’d say, but if she had to do it on her own, she would.
“Kurt, I’m going out there one way or the other. Either you go with me, or I’ll go out there myself.”
Kurt crossed his arms over his bare chest and steeled his jaw. “The answer is no, Blair.”
“Bullshit. You’re going to take her out there, and you’re going to do it now.”
Blair and Kurt turned around, both shocked to see Scarlett standing on the back porch with her hands on her hips and a deep-set scowl on her face. Blair chuckled, but Kurt stammered.
“Scarlett! I told you…”
“Since when do I do what you tell me to do, you big oaf? Did you really think I was just going to sit in the apartment and wait for someone to call and tell me what the hell was going on?”
Scarlett marched over to where Blair and Kurt were standing and gave Kurt a gentle shove on the chest. “There has to be something you can do to help him, Kurt. I don’t believe for a minute that you’re just going to let him run wild out there in the woods and stay in his bear form forever. And you’re sure as shit not going to put him down. If anyone can help get him back to us, it’s Blair. So, get your ass out there, take Blair with you, and bring Declan home. Or you’ll have me to deal with.”
Kurt’s mouth opened and closed as he tried to come up with a response, but he came up empty. “Scarlett, this isn’t about me being the Alpha or trying to pull some sort of power play. I don’t want Blair to get to hurt.”
“That’s why you’ll be out there with her, with your dart gun. A few of those tranquilizers will take him down.”
Kurt shook his head. “I shot him twice when he was in human form. He was out for maybe ten minutes? It wasn’t even enough time for me to get the other guys out of the house to help me. When he woke up, he was even angrier, and he shifted right there in the yard. If he’s amped up and in bear form? I’m not sure I have any meds strong enough to take him down.”
Blair stepped forward. “So, bring a shit-load of the darts. If he doesn’t respond to me, or it looks like we’re in trouble, you shoot him until he goes down. Then we’ll figure something out from there.”
“I don’t want to kill him, Blair. This isn’t an exact science. He already has the original medication in his system and if I just keep shooting him… Despite my threats to the contrary, I’d rather not murder one of my best friends and brothers.”
Scarlet took Kurt’s arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. Then she wrapped her arms around his long torso and held on to him for dear life as if she might float away if she let go. It seemed to calm him down a little bit, and he sighed.
“Kurt, you know how you feel when I’m around? How much calmer and more relaxed you get? How the world seems to slow down a little bit?”
Kurt mumbled, “Yeah, I guess.”
“So, maybe Blair can do that for Declan. If there is even a chance she can make this better, shouldn’t we take that chance?”
Kurt groaned and scowled at the women. “Is this how it’s going to be now? You two teaming up on me until I change my mind? Is it just going to be easier for me to do what you want to start with and not argue?”
“Yup,” Blair and Scarlett answered at the same time, then laughed. Kurt rolled his eyes, then gave Scarlett another hug.
“Fine. We’ll look for him. Together. But Blair, if I get even a whiff of danger, your ass is going to come right back to the lodge. Understood?”
Blair nodded vehemently. “Yes, of course, yes.”
“Alright. Let me get some proper clothes and stock up on some more darts. Scarlett, will you please do me the courtesy of staying here with the guys? They’re going to need help cl
eaning up. Declan made… a mess.”
Scarlett smiled. “Of course! It’s the least I can do, seeing as you’ve been so understanding.”
Kurt muttered about being whipped as he walked into the lodge, and Scarlett turned and gave Blair a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Will you please be safe out there? I have faith you can make this better, but in the off chance you can’t…”
Blair squared her shoulders and winked at her best friend. “You’re not going to get rid of me that easily, Scar. I’ll be back before you know it, hopefully with a very cranky bear of a man in tow.”
Blair could tell that Scarlett that believed her. Now she just had to believe it herself...
Chapter 21
Blair
Blair felt like she was starring as the comely co-ed in a horror film. She and Kurt were inching their way into the edge of the trees of the mountain, keeping an eye out for any signs of Declan. Kurt kept his tranquilizer gun tucked at his side next to a backpack, in case they came upon any regular citizens, not wanting to scare anyone. It was late enough in the evening that the trails weren't with kids and families or hikers, but there were still a few people roaming around. Blair could tell that was making Kurt nervous.
“There are too many people around. I don’t know how he’s managed to stay hidden. There aren’t that many wooded areas in this close to the trails of the mountain.”
Blair was just about to answer when she looked ahead and saw a series of broken branches, which gave the impression something large had burst through them. She pointed ahead.
“Kurt, there. I think he’s in there.”
Kurt looked where she was pointing and nodded. “Good call. Step lightly. We don’t want to startle him if we can help it. With any luck, he hasn’t made it up the mountain yet. There may still be some human left in there, and that may mean he’s thinking logically, and waiting until dark… Hopefully.”
Furever Always (Furever Series) Page 33