Nicholas grew more tense as Charlie spoke, but he visibly made himself relax. Charlie observed all of this quietly but noted that the tenseness did not leave from around his eyes. Her interest piqued, she suspected he knew something. Would he tell, however?
“We all know there are no bears around here. I’ve had no reports about it, but others at the station might have. I’ll ask around for you.” he told her. So he wasn’t going to confide in her then. Interesting.
“Well,” he continued, “I must be off. Early morning and all that. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked as he stood up.
“That would be great. Maybe we can have dinner or lunch if you get time off?” She asked, curious to find out more about the man.
Flipping his hat around in his hand Nicholas looked down at Charlie, thinking she really was a beautiful woman. “I’d love to. Good night Charlie, good night Samantha.” He said, then took his leave.
“Whoa! Charlie! Score!” Samantha whispered loudly. Charlie pushed her plate away, the contents only half eaten.
“He is rather handsome, isn’t he?” Charlie said, watching as he walked out of the door. “What did you think about him?” she asked Samantha, wondering if the woman had noticed the signs of someone not quite telling all they knew.
“He’s not telling us something, I know that. I can’t put my finger on what it could be though. I guess it’s something to do with this bear, but why would he hide information like that?” Samantha mused.
Charlie gathered her plates up, then grabbed her bag, and stood up. “I don’t know but we’ll find out, one way or another. I’m going to settle our bill then head up to bed, see what’s in this book. Thanks for keeping it safe. You coming up or staying down here?” she asked Samantha.
“I’ll be up in a bit. I’m waiting on Andy to call me then I’ll be up. Let me know if you find anything good, okay?” Andy was Samantha’s current boyfriend, who was keeping Samantha’s dog Annie until the ladies got back from their investigation.
Charlie bid Samantha a good evening then went to bed. Cuddling under the covers she was settled in for the night, a bedside lamp on to read by. Flipping through the book, Charlie guessed it was 19th century by the dates written and the look of the thing. She’d have to have it tested to declare it authentic, but so far it was full of interesting things.
It told the tale of the Bernhard family, a group of werebears and other shapeshifters such as werewolves that had lived in the area. Some tales went all the way back to the 10th century. The author even claimed that one person could turn into a horse! Charlie was doing her best not to howl with laughter and finally put the book down. Thinking the author must have been writing a book of fairy tales for a child, she dismissed its contents. As she settled into her pillows she concluded that the similarity in names with Nicholas must only be coincidence. It was likely a popular name in the town, she told herself again. He’s definitely hiding something, she thought. Still, she couldn’t help remembering the feel of his mouth, or how his fingers felt on her face as she fell asleep.
Chapter Three
Charlie was starting to think Nicholas was avoiding her. He had made his excuses to her the day they were supposed to have dinner, texting her at the number on the card she’d given him. She’d seen him in town a few times and they’d exchanged pleasantries, but he hadn’t come back to the inn or sent her any texts since. She thought perhaps he’d lost interest, but thought it must be more than that. He’d seemed so keen until she told him why she was in Ursathorpe. Maybe it was simply that he found her job strange.
She’d chatted with Mary some and learned that Nicholas wasn’t married, lived in the next town over, worked in Ursathorpe and that he was 34. He had no living family members and came in to the inn in the evenings to make sure things stayed calm in the small village. It sounded like a very lonely life, she thought. Still, I do believe he’s hiding something and I will find out what it is one way or another, she thought.
There had also been a body found two days after she and Samantha arrived; a male stranger, from one of the caravan sites who had been last seen out walking his dog. His body was found the next morning, his dog wandering around town with his lead dragging behind him. Everyone was saying it looked like he’d been mauled to death by an animal. Charlie knew from Mary that Nicholas had been working at the estimated time of death so it certainly wasn’t him.
Staring out at the moors as Samantha drove again, she wondered if perhaps she and Samantha should go home. She’d had another email from the boys that sent her the original emails, telling her and Samantha to meet them at a local farm today. Their father owned the farm which is where the lads had filmed the bear. As Charlie and Samantha pulled up, the boys met them outside, introduced themselves as Brian and Clayton Greer and guided them to a barn nearby.
“You got the book then?” the one named Brian asked Charlie.
“That was you then? Yes, I got it. Full of wild tales wasn’t it?” she asked, smiling.
“Did you not understand? Bernhard, Bernard? It’s Constable Bernard! He killed the guy from the caravan site!” the one named Clayton exclaimed.
“Oh come off it! Those things aren’t real!” Samantha rebutted.
“They are real, everyone around here knows about it too! They try to tell us younger people the stories aren’t but we’ve heard them talking, Clayton and me. They know. We’ll get you more proof. Come tonight, bring a tent, it’s time for him to shift again. You can see for yourself tonight.” Brian spoke this time.
“Alright then, we’ll go back to the inn, get our gear. Any time in particular?” Charlie asked.
“Whenever you’re ready.” Brian said.
“We’ll be back in less than an hour then. Where do you want us to set up?” Charlie asked, looking around.
“See that road over there, the dirt one? Go up that, we’ll meet you at the gate there.”
It took less than a half hour to go back to the inn, grab their camping gear, and find the gate the boys had mentioned. The boys took them through and guided them to a spot near a cave system. The boys told them the caves were closed and nobody went in them because they were dangerous, so the ladies shouldn’t go in either.
“Dad agreed you could stay here tonight but said you had to stay out of those caves so be sure you don’t go near them. He doesn’t want any accidents out here.”
“Where are you two going to be then?” asked Charlie. She was starting to suspect the boys had some plan going, that she and Samantha were about to find out what the prank was.
“We have to work tonight, we work in town in the evenings, at a pizza shop. We won’t be here but Mum and Dad will be in the house if you need anything.” Clayton looked a bit shifty as he spoke, strengthening Charlie’s suspicions.
“Mm-hm, right, we’ll see you tomorrow then?” Apparently Samantha had caught on too because she sounded less than convinced the boys were going to work.
“Yeah, in the morning probably, we have to help Dad get hay out to the sheep.” Brian said. “We’ll see you then, alright? We have to go get ready.” The boys drove away in their own car, some kind of electronic music bringing a thumping, buzzing noise to the quiet field they were in.
“Those boys have something up their sleeves, Charlie, I just know it.” Samantha told Charlie.
“Yes, I believe you’re right, Samantha. We’ll take watches tonight shall we? Let’s get the tents set up and camera around the perimeter. I want to know if anything besides sheep move in these fields tonight.”
The women worked for an hour, getting everything ready, then sat back and enjoyed a meal cooked over the camp stove. Bundled up against the chill they’d been laughing about their past investigations and sharing stories with each other. For all the confusion this current project was causing, Charlie was glad Samantha had come with her. She wasn’t just an employee, she was a trusted friend, and Charlie was ever so glad to have Samantha there.
As the sun went down and the stars c
ame out, Charlie thought Samantha looked tired. It had been a hard week on both of them, a lot of running around, walking, hunting through the library and talking to the locals, but they’d turned nothing more up than the boys and the book. Not a single thing. There hadn’t even been any peeps about bears or other creatures. Charlie was sure the town was stonewalling them. Mary was friendly and volunteered certain information freely; but on the subject of old tales and the paranormal, Mary clammed up.
Sighing, Charlie turned to Samantha and told her to go to bed first. “Have a kip, I’ll take the first watch. I bet those little buggers start something in the next hour or so. I’ll wake you if they do.”
Smothering a yawn Samantha agreed and wandered to her tent, zipping it up. Five minutes later Charlie could hear snores coming from behind her. Smiling to herself she pulled out the book once more. It didn’t reveal anything new but Charlie kept hoping.
An hour later she put all of the lights out, let the fire die, and was sitting quietly waiting for something to happen. Nothing did, just the sounds of the night and nothing more. Taking out her mobile she checked to see if she’d had any messages or emails. Nothing there either.
Feeling tired and restless at the same time, Charlie got up from her camp chair and walked around. Walking away from the camp she thought she saw something moving near the caves. Someone was running to the caves. Running as quietly as she could, she followed the figure. Letting it get ahead of her, she slowed down and walked softly in the grass. Going so far as to lay down in the grass to stay hidden, Charlie watched the figure walk into the caves.
Taking the same steps as the figure, Charlie stealthily entered the cave system herself. Standing quietly she could hear footsteps going down a path that led off to the right. Charlie stopped walking when she started to see light; creeping forward, she stopped when the light grew brighter. She pressed herself against the wall, spotting some rocks that had fallen from the ceiling of the cave. Heading to the rocks she knelt down behind them, peaking through a space between the two in front of her.
For some reason she wasn’t shocked to see Nicholas there, setting up two battery powered camping lanterns and fiddling with a chain. Okay, what was the chain for?
As if the chain wasn’t weird enough, things got stranger when Nicholas started to take his clothes off.
“What the hell?” she whispered to herself.
He took his clothes over to a naturally formed ledge in the cave wall and placed them there. Then he picked up the chain, taking the collar and placing it around his neck. The collar appeared to be iron but had a soft inner layer that would protect his neck. It didn’t close completely around his neck. In fact, he could have just slipped it over his head, but Nicholas closed the contraption around his neck, tightening the bolts on it until his arms strained. Then he sat down on the ground, appearing to be waiting for something to happen.
Charlie looked behind her, wondering if this was some pervy meeting, maybe Nicholas was into some kind of kinky sex? Maybe this was part of the plot the boys had cooked up? Seeing nobody behind her she turned back to Nicholas.
The look on his face was incredibly sad, as though he’d resigned himself to being hanged or some other horrible fate. He waited patiently though, never moving or making a sound, simply waiting. Charlie sat down with her legs crossed close to her, trying to settle in. She leaned her head against a flat spot of one rock, cushioning her head with a hand. She could still see Nicholas but didn’t have to sit so awkwardly.
She was almost asleep when Nicholas finally made a strange moaning sound. Perking her head up Charlie looked to see what was going on. Nicholas had shifted positions, on his hands and knees now and he seemed to be drooling. A high keening noise escaped his lips and his back arched, hips driving down as pain seemed to course through him. That’s when he started to change, knots and strips of flesh seeming to move under his skin, a thick fur appearing on his body.
Charlie stared wide-eyed, horrified but too shocked to scream, as Nicholas transformed into a bear before her very eyes. Not some horror film version of a half-man half-bear monster, or even the creature that was on the front of the old book she’d been given. He was an actual bear. In wonder, she watched as Nicholas’s teeth elongated, turning an almost yellow color as his face changed to suit the shape of a bear’s. His eyes, though they changed shape and became rimmed in black, never changed. Somehow those were still Nicholas’s eyes in that face.
Finally his torment ended and the transformation was complete. What stood before her was not Nicholas Bernard; it was a real live bear, down to the long black claws that could tear flesh from bone. Remembering she had her phone finally, Charlie took it out, brought up the camera app, and began filming. She didn’t speak, or even breathe loudly; she just filmed as the bear attempted to run out of the cave. She knew what was going to happen but still had to smother a yelp when it reached the end of its chain, its head jerking back towards the wall.
The bear clawed at its neck, trying to dislodge whatever held it, roaring and making another attempt to run away. Again and again it ran towards Charlie, attempting to escape the chain, but never getting far. The creature’s cries grew more pitiful with each attempt, anger turning to fear and then to resignation as it settled to the ground, defeated by the chain and collar around its neck. It tucked its paws under its chin, gave one last mewling sound then shut its eyes and appeared to fall asleep.
Charlie was filled with sadness as she watched the bear. It fought so hard to be free and its resignation, its defeat was painful to watch. She knew the last thing she should do was let it free, it might tear her arm off and eat it while she bled out for all she knew, but watching the powerful animal being defeated by a chain; a thick chain but still a chain; was heart breaking. Knowing there was nothing she could do, knowing that it was Nicholas trapped inside that bear, she settled down to wait. She had questions for him when he was human again and she was going to get answers one way or another. Settling in for a long night, she kept the phone pointed at Nicholas-the-man-bear-shifter, and waited.
She didn’t know how long she’d been asleep but she woke up with a stiff neck and back. Remembering where she was she sat up quickly and looked around. Nicholas was a human again, but asleep, cradled into a foetal position. He looked cold there, the collar still clamped around his neck, making his head rest at an awkward angle.
She walked over to him, her phone now dead but in her back pocket, took down his clothes and pressed his shirt over his torso as she knelt in front of him. It wasn’t long before he woke up.
His first word upon opening his eyes and seeing her wasn’t a very pretty one. “Well good morning to you too, sunshine! Aren’t we perky this morning!” she teased.
“What did you see?” He asked. There was hoarseness to his voice and she wished she’d brought some water for him.
“Everything.” She didn’t say any more than that, she didn’t need to.
“I guess you’re going to tell the world now?” He looked even more defeated than the he had in bear form earlier. His whole body seemed to have shrunk into itself, fear of exposure a powerful force.
“No, no I’m not Nicholas. I’ve spent my life trying to prove to myself and to the world that things like this don’t exist. Logic and reality were things that made the days make sense for me. I have no idea what you are, or how to explain what I’ve seen but right now you’re a man and human beings shouldn’t be made spectacles. What the world would do to you would destroy you and I won’t be a part of that.” She spoke with a promise in her voice and as Nicholas looked into her eyes he believed her. He saw far more than a promise in her eyes; he saw understanding and a refuge.
Leaning in he whispered the words “thank you”, then finally, after days of avoiding her, he kissed her full lips. Gently, exploring, seeing how she responded, he kissed her.
“I’ve been terrified of being alone with you or near you again for too long. I knew I’d give you all of my secrets if I did. I
don’t know what it is but I feel a connection to you and I can’t resist it.”
“I hope you stop resisting it now. I’ve wanted to kiss you again since that first night. I want to taste every single inch of you.” Charlie brought her face back to his, kissing him deeply.
“Do you? Do you really want to get involved with me? This, this ... whatever it is has been in my family for generations. There hasn’t been one of us in over 100 years now but here I am. All furry at certain times, with big teeth and big paws. It’s none of that crap you find in movies or telly either, it’s not the moon, it’s just a feeling that starts and I know I only have a few minutes, maybe a few hours to chain myself up. I’ve not made it in time a while now; I guess that’s when those boys filmed me. Are you sure you want this? I’m not looking for a fling, Charlie. I can’t do flings. I can’t take the chance of a casual encounter resulting in a child that might end up the same as me. I can’t do that. I don’t even know how long I’ll live. This may kill me early or I could live far longer. I just don’t know.”
Looking up at him Charlie knew she had to tell him about the book. He didn’t seem to know about it.
“I have a book that may help you, Nicholas. I thought it was just a story book for children but it seems it’s not, here you are. And maybe we can find some information in other towns, did your family come from here or did your ancestors move here from somewhere else?”
“I really don’t know a lot about them, Charlie. My parents died when I was little and I was raised by a family here. I own my real parents’ house but I’ve never been there. A caretaker looks after it, making sure it doesn’t fall in but I haven’t been. I was afraid of what I’d find out.”
ROMANCE: SHAPESHIFTER ROMANCE: Dragon Baller's Bride (Dragon Shifter Alpha Male Romance) (Paranormal Romantic Suspense) Page 86