“Sally, I have to tell you something. It might sound crazy, but you have to believe me.”
She hugged the cushion and pillow tighter. Thorn shifted on the uncomfortable, cushionless part of the couch. No way was he going to tell her what he needed to like this. He cast around, spying a shirt that wasn’t particularly ripped up or dirty. He grabbed it and handed it to her. “I’ll turn my back.”
“Promise?”
“I want that damn cushion under my ass. Put the freaking shirt on.”
“Okay.”
When he turned back, he saw that his shirt hung all the way to her knees. The cushion and pillow were back in place. He sat. “Okay, listen. The bear that bit you wasn’t a regular bear.”
She shook her head, squinting at him. “That was just a dream, Thorn.”
He shook his head back. “Nope. Not a dream. That bear was a shifter.”
“What’s a shifter?”
“A man, or woman, who can assume animal form.”
Sally blinked a few times. “I’m not following.”
“You’ve seen horror movies? You know what a werewolf is?”
She smiled at this. “Sure. Lon Chaney, ‘The Wolf Man.’”
“Lon Chaney Junior,” Thorn said. “But yeah, like that. Except a bear.”
“A werebear?”
“I say bear shifter, but yeah, that’s the idea.”
She pressed her lips together in thought. “So, the bear that bit me was a werebear.”
“Right, a bear shifter. And now…” How to put this delicately? Hell, there wasn’t a way. “You have been turned into a bear shifter, too.”
“Me?”
Thorn nodded. “It’s not such a bad thing, once you get used to it. Except the moon is waxing gibbous. In a few days, the Hunter’s Moon will be full for just an instant at 10:22 p.m. That’s close to midnight, when the full moon has the most power over us shifters. You don’t have any experience shifting, so you’ll go full bear. It can get you into trouble. You also might not be able to shift back to Sally for a day or so.”
She smirked at him. “Really? I’ll change into a bear?”
“Well, yeah, you did it once already. You don’t remember?”
Sally laughed. “No! That’s crazy.”
Thorn folded his arms. “So, how did you get here?”
Her mouth made a move, eyes squinted shut. “I ran here. There was this sound, this call, and I couldn’t help myself. I ran to it.”
“You ran. Do you know how far it is from the Squirrels Nuts to here?”
She shrugged her eyebrows. “Maybe a mile, mile and a half?”
“It’s more than five miles. You’re telling me you ran five miles here.”
The brows lowered. “Okay, so maybe I walked part of it.”
Thorn dropped his shoulders. “Forty degrees outside, and you ran, and walked, five miles naked.”
Sally looked down at herself. Back up at Thorn. “So I don’t remember. Maybe I got a ride.”
“You’re in denial. It’s natural.”
“I’m not in denial! You telling me I turned into a bear is effing crazy!”
Thorn sighed. He looked at the clock that had been knocked off the wall. Just after four a.m. He sighed. “I’m going to have to take you to see someone. A specialist. Kinda.”
“What, now? I’m naked under this shirt!”
“Trust me, you’re better off.” Thorn stood up. “Let’s go. And whatever you do, don’t take off that necklace.”
Chapter Nineteen
Of course The Vet was a morning person. Sybil Auger was just the type. She opened the door as Thorn and a sheepish Sally crossed the porch.
“What in the holy hell have you gotten into?” The Vet surveyed the two of them. Sybil’s eyes locked on Sally’s arm. She scowled at Thorn. “Did you turn her?”
Thorn shook his head. “I can’t. I’m turned myself.”
“Thank the goddess you don’t have it in you.” The Vet jerked her head at the door.
Sally gaped at the cages in the one room cabin. “You take care of sick wild animals? That’s so nice!” She squatted in front of a raccoon in a cage, its little paw in a cast. “Aw, poor guy. What happened to you?”
“People suck is what happened to him.” The Vet grabbed the blue, lake-shaped gem from her instrument tray and peered at Sally through it. “Oh, shit, you did get bit, didn’t you?”
Sally moved her arm behind her back.
“Sorry, sweetie. It’s because this one can’t do his job.”
Thorn stepped back from Sybil’s piercing eyes. He thought it better not to say anything. Thankfully, The Vet focused on the necklace hanging around Sally’s neck. “A cub fetish? Where did you get this?”
“From Thorn.” Sally’s voice was high and quiet, like a child’s.
Sybil focused her stabbing glance at him. “You actually did something smart?”
Thorn pursed his lips.
“If you’re turned, how did you get a clan charm like this?”
“From my mom. I never had a chance to ask her about it.”
Luckily, his answer satisfied Sybil enough to return her focus on Sally. “You know what this charm does?”
Sally gave a slow head shake. “Thorn told me not to take it off.”
He braced himself for another sharp glance, but Sybil kept her eyes on Sally. “It’s silver. Do you feel it tingling?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“That one told you you’ve been turned by a shifter?”
Sally smiled a little. “Well, yes, but that’s impossible.”
“Mother shifters give these to their cubs to keep the little boys and girls from shifting and getting in trouble or hurt. That way, she can teach them how to control the change. I’m not sure what help it will be to a fully grown woman who has just been turned. Unbutton your shirt for me.”
Sally’s eyes darted at Thorn.
Without looking at him, Sybil twirled her index finger in the air. “Face away.”
He would have done it anyway, but the witch had some hold over him. He pirouetted like a dancer, grunting in surprise. Damn Vet.
“This is going to feel very strange, but don’t worry. I know how to handle shifters, even inexperienced ones.”
“How can you know? This can’t be real,” Sally said.
“I’m a supernaturalist. You can trust me.”
With that, the room filled with bear scent and something more. Even with The Vet’s strange power over him, Thorn faced Sally. Of course, Sally wasn’t there. In her place was a black bear standing on its hind legs. Perfume blossomed in his sinuses, exploded in his head. His inner bear responded, emitting a pulsing hum, almost like a cat’s purr, from Thorn’s human vocal cords. He felt like he was stoned, except his dick stood erect. His bear half needed to get closer to the source, to Sally’s bear. Holding his ground became a painful effort.
“Aw, shit coated shit, this girl’s in estrus,” The Vet said. She held Thorn’s long-chained fetish in one hand as she peered through her blue stone at Sally. “What kind of asshole would do that to a woman?”
“Shift her back,” Thorn said through clenched teeth.
Sybil’s eyes flicked at him. “Oh. Right.” She dropped the chain over the bear’s head. Thorn managed to turn away as the black bear shrank and retracted, fur melting, pale skin revealed.
“So what’s wrong with me?” Sally asked, sounding lost.
“Our resident bear shifter didn’t tell you? You’ve been turned. Worse than that, you’ve been turned by a shifter who wants a mate. The bear side of you, new as she is, is in estrus.”
Sally frowned. “Excuse me?”
“Your bear is in heat.”
“Ah.” Thorn nodded. “That’s what that is.”
The witch moved to her working area and sat down. “I’m sure this bear didn’t tell you his tale of woe. Shifters need to keep under the radar. Essentially, a creature at least as strong and far more determined than Thorn, is plann
ing on taking over as this area’s apex predator. I would have to guess that this unknown predator is confident in his upcoming victory. So confident that he has already picked a mate. That would be you, dear girl.”
Sally’s eyes moved around the room, unfocused. “So I turn into a bear when the moon is full?”
“For a time, yes, until you and your inner animal become more familiar,” Sybil nodded.
“And I’ve been picked to be some other bear’s mate, even though I’ve never met him?”
“Correct.”
Sally’s face hung. “Don’t I have a say in the matter?”
“Of course you do. Judging by your near nudity, I’d have to guess you’ve already chosen that large male standing in the corner.”
Thorn grunted. The corners of Sally’s mouth dipped lower, her brows crinkling. “He doesn’t choose me back. He’s already got someone.”
Sybil made a sympathetic face—more than she’d ever given Thorn. “So goes the world, kid. However, even an unrequited choice just gives this invader more reason to take the resident apex out of the picture. He will now fight not only for territory, but for a mate as well.”
“Even if I don’t want to?”
The witch bobbed her head from side to side. “It’s not entirely up to you, but your animal as well.”
Sally turned toward him. “You’re not going to let him do this are you?”
Thorn folded his arms. “Fuck no.”
“Well then everything will be fine, won’t it?” Sybil smirked. “Because if Thorn fails to maintain his place at the top of the food chain, all the cute silver amulets in the world won’t stop you from shifting into a hormonal monster once the full moon rises. That’s in three days. In the meantime, you’ll need what every new shifter needs.”
Sally faced the witch again. “What’s that?”
“A mother to teach you. Since there’s only one other bear shifter for hundreds of miles around, that would make Thorn your surrogate mom.”
Thorn gazed at the ceiling. “Can this get any better?”
“A word,” The Vet glowered at him.
Like he had any choice. Sybil indicated a chair near the door for Sally before she lowered her voice. “Listen, in all my years of studying your kind, I’ve never come across a lazier, less interested or incompetent an apex as you. However, the man who did this to that poor girl is evil, manipulative, and most likely as dangerous as a human as he is a bear. It’s not my place to determine the outcome of these struggles, but Goddess please, tell me you have some kind of strategy to defeat this sonofabitch.”
A strategy? “I’m sticking with what I know, which would involve an ass-kicking up and down the street.”
“You’ve got people depending on you, Thorn, don’t you see that? Sally is depending on you. There are various shifter groups in this area who will be affected, not to mention the wildlife and the human lives. Right now, the world is becoming aware of shifters, and not in a positive way. It will be a disaster on an unprecedented scale if a psychopathic shifter becomes the apex predator here.”
Thorn bared his teeth. “I don’t depend on anyone, and I don’t want anyone depending on me.”
The Vet poked him with her sharp nail. “Too late.”
He blew a raspberry. “I’ve never lost a fight.”
“Yeah, so you keep saying. But you’d better come up with a plan, or some backup, or something. If you lose this fight, everyone around here loses right along with you.”
“Oh, swell, no pressure, then.”
“Pressure’s all I’ve got to give you. Use it or lose it, Apex.”
Chapter Twenty
The office ring tone on her phone jerked Felicity awake. She fumbled through tangled bedclothes, knocking an empty wine bottle to the floor. Sending a flurry of fluted chocolate wrappers after it, she finally dug out the cell and answered.
Her voice was an indecipherable croak.
“There’s a problem with the investors, Felicity. They smell spec and they want to pull out.”
Felicity surveyed the mess in her room through one open eye; wine bottle on her nightstand, one under the bed, empty white boxes and lids everywhere. Had she really gotten so drunk she’d eaten three pounds of artisanal truffles?
“Why do they think this is speculative?” She pulled herself together. Coffee now. Naked, she padded to the kitchen. “I’m already talking with New Seasons and Black Rock. Besides, this is the residential phase.” Of course, she’d only broached the subject with the local chain market and coffee bar, but she knew her terms were outstanding.
“That’s what they find speculative, Felicity—the location. Who’s gonna want to move all the way out there?” Barry, the senior partner in the firm, prattled on as she fumbled in the fridge for a bottle of ice coffee. She gazed out at the view of the Willamette River below, and Mount Hood in the distance.
Felicity switched to speaker so she could pour some coffee into her brain. “Look, Barry, we’ve had years of outside investors putting the screws to local tenants. A ton of people need a more affordable place to live. It’s simple freaking supply and demand.”
“I’m not an idiot, Felicity, I read your reports. The margins are exceptional. But why Ripple of all places? There’s new construction all over Troutdale and Gresham and, hell even Sandy and Estacada. It’s more than an hour from the city. It snows up there in the winter. I know it’s beautiful country. Hell, I’d live there myself. But I’m playing devil’s advocate here.”
It was too early for devils’ advocates. Felicity looked at the clock on the microwave. Shit, it was already after eleven? Her head pounded, stomach roiling. For fuck’s sake, three pounds of chocolate and two bottles of wine? It was that asshole Thorn’s fault, the cheating, lying sack of dicks.
Felicity did her best to focus. “We both know it’s bullshit, Barry. They just want to up their percentage.”
“Well, you can tell them that tomorrow at ten. At best, they’ll force you to work with a team. At worst, they’ll pull out and this thing falls through. See you then.”
She chugged down the rest of the bottle as the call booped off. Fuck. In less than twenty-four hours, her whole project could get flushed. What the hell could she do to convince the dickhead investors?
Felicity thought best in the shower, especially the steam shower. Over the sound of the water, she heard her cell ringing. It was the tone for random calls. She ignored it, trying leech the wine smell out of her pores. She needed something solid to present to the lenders—let’s call it like it was. She wasn’t a money person, she was a planner, a schemer, a dreamer and she knew a good project when she saw one.
With a sigh, she shut off the water. It could well be that the whole blood vendetta and the chaos piling up over the apex challenge clouded her reasoning. Maybe Ripple was too far away for a profitable development.
Thoughts of Thorn suddenly stabbed her heart. Toweling off, she tried to sort out which was worse; the fact that he was cheating on her—a cat!—without her knowing, or the hole his absence created inside her. Her stupid cougar side still purred at thoughts of the big dumb Lumberjack. Angry as she was, fuck her sideways, she missed him.
Just as her lips trembled and her eyes stung, her phone rang again—the random tone. Throwing on her robe, she walked to the kitchen where she’d left it. The number looked familiar. Two messages. She played them.
Oscar León.
Without listening, she called him back. “You can drop the case, Oscar.”
“I warned you about los osos.” The private dick chuckled. “Él te puso lo cuernos, no?”
Felicity understood just enough Spanish to know Oscar was asking if the bear cheated on her. “Just send me the damn bill.”
“Uno momento, Felicity. I have something you need to know. Information that could solve all your problems. Meet me for lunch at the usual place.”
Before she could refuse, he disconnected. Shit. The usual place was Le Cheval Blanc. Her teeth ground togethe
r. Stupid ass bear. Could she dare show her face there again? Oscar sounded pretty confident in his evidence. It seemed she didn’t have much choice. She started working on her hair.
Half an hour later, she crossed the Ross Island Bridge and took 5 North. Parking was nearly impossible, the restaurant packed. Oscar sat at their regular table, waving.
“Ah, Mademoiselle Malkin, your party is waiting for you.” Pierre smiled and guided her past the waiting crowd. She expected to get the high hat from him in the way that only the French could manage. There was not a trace of derision as he handed her the menu. Letting out a breath, she sat across from Oscar.
“Mi Tesoro, always a pleasure. Estás precioso.” He smiled, teeth perfectly white against his black goatee and caramel skin. “Brings back the memories, no?”
A waiter promptly arrived and set a wide cup of latte in front of her. She sipped it gratefully. “Just give me what you have, Oscar. I don’t have time for memories.” Her head still hurt, her guts still churned. It would have been a simple ten second shift to cure the hangover. Felicity hadn’t done it. Partly, she needed an extra surly edge with the PI. Her cat side told her she was just punishing herself.
“Strait to business, then. Baby Boy; Thorn, he is not what he appears to be.”
She sipped the milky coffee with one hand, rolling the other for him to continue.
“I tracked his inheritance to a company in Kansas City. This took a great deal of time, as the actual holding company is buried in layers of shell companies. These two things add up to a single fact—the land was not an inheritance at all, but a clan trust.”
Felicity set down her cup. “How can that be? Thorn is turned, not a born shifter.”
“Very little is known about bear clans. They are even more secretive than cats. Like the beasts themselves, we usually see only tracks. In this case, Kansas City is historically the easternmost outpost of brown bear shifters. The obfuscation of the company itself is a very bear thing to do. However, the ownership of the land is based on five simple deeds. Whoever possesses them owns the land. The holder can do whatever he wishes, however, leaving the land in the trust means the trust pays the taxes. There are two thousand acres, worth millions of dollars. Your simple bear would find it most difficult to pay such a large tax bill every year, no?”
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