A tiny square of light shone into the ring from the upper basement window. Other than that, nothing interfered with her vigil. She lay in the same place and waited for death.
She didn’t open her eyes all the way, and she didn’t sleep. She hovered somewhere between waking and dreaming. Her mind blocked out the sheer monstrous terror of her situation.
The door swung open on smooth hinges. The door’s shadow blocked the window light, and a huge shaggy body padded into the ring. The door swept across the floor but made no sound.
The shape moved into the light, and a massive golden-brown male bear looked around the ring. The cub still didn’t look up. Her ribs rose and fell in the smooth, deep breath of sleep. The big male regarded her with his big head on one side.
He didn’t take as much care to keep quiet now when he walked up to her. He prodded her with his nose and grunted, but she still didn’t move. He sniffed her all over until he found the iron band crusted with puss and dried blood. He gave it a lick, but the cub didn’t flinch. She lay deadened to all her senses.
The big male strode in a circle around her. He rumbled low in his chest, and his paws thumped the floor with his great weight. He came to a stop behind her and stared down at her in the dim light.
He blew a heavy breath into her ear. She didn’t flick a whisker. He looked around, but of course, he didn’t see anything. There was nothing to see.
He bent his knees and sank down next to the cub. He scooted his heavy body up against her back and curled around behind her. He gathered her tiny form between his paws and nudged his belly into her from behind. When he got her where he wanted her, he let out another deep sigh and settled his chin on his paws.
He purred under his breath and waited. Little by little, his bearness seeped into her shattered brain. His smell worked on her senses, and she started to relax. She inched back against his warmth, and her black fuzz tangled with his shaggy brown hair.
He didn’t lift his head. He let his eyelids drift closed. He sank into a hazy half-sleep. The cub, on the other hand, came progressively to life. She moved more in her dream, and she cuddled close to his big body.
All at once, she picked up her head and sneezed. He pretended to sleep. She weasled her nose under his arm and thrust her snout into his armpit. She took a deep sniff of his scent, and when she pulled her head out into the fresh air, she shook her head to make her ears flap.
Through it all, he didn’t respond. He pretended she wasn’t there at all. When she finished shaking the cobwebs out of her head, she lay down again between his paws. This time, she really did close her eyes. A moment later, her whole body went soft and relaxed.
The big male peeked at her out of one eye. Then he settled down, too.
They lay entwined that way for hours. The night slipped away until, towards morning, the little cub twisted in her sleep. Her black fur softened into chocolate brown skin. Her claws uncurled into delicate, chubby hands, and her snout receded into a round face with a flat nose.
The big male didn’t move. The little girl’s eyes fluttered open. She took a look at the big bear and snuggled down between his paws, but she didn’t go back to sleep. She coiled into a fetal ball under the shadow of his mighty bulk.
The male heaved a sigh, and in the twinkling of an eye, he changed into a young man in a leather jacket. He spooned around the little girl and hugged her against his chest. He kissed her curly head, and she touched the arm twined over her stomach.
He murmured into her ear, “What’s your name?”
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out at first. She had to think about it before she answered, “Hazel.”
He closed his eyes and rested his head on the floor. “I’m Azer. Azer Mackenzie. My people live over the mountains.”
She didn’t reply.
The minutes ticked by until he broke the silence. “Do your people live around here?”
She nodded. “We live over on Renegade Ridge.”
Azer’s eyes popped open, but he made sure not to move. Renegade Ridge. Raven pointed that line of rock out to him from the top of the forest. So black bear shifters lived in those mountains. Likely they came adrift of these panthers, just like Marla.
He chose his next words with care. “How did you get here?”
Once she started talking, she got the hang of it in no time. Like most kids, she didn’t modulate her breath right. She broke up sentences in the wrong places, but she got the information out all right. “They’ll take any NightShade they can get. They’re always coming over the Ridge to chase up somebody or other. They got my brother last year. They’re always kidnapping some poor sucker they catch in the woods. They’ve got traps laid all over the Ridge, and they’ve killed people trying to fight them off rather than be taken alive.”
Azer took all this in as fast as he could. “Is that what you call your people—NightShade? We’re called Bruins. We just found out about these…about this.”
Her fear fell away. She started talking faster. “My father says we ought to attack them, but most people are too scared. He told me to stay close to our house, but I started watching a butterfly and wandered off. I got lost in the woods and…well, that’s how they found me.”
“So your parents and your father think you’re…”
She interrupted him, “They know where I am. They know anybody that disappears on the Ridge always winds up down here.”
“Do your people mate for life?”
She turned around to frown at him. “What’s that mean?”
“Do you…I don’t know. Are your parents still together?”
“What else would they be?”
He indulged a small smile. “Nothing, I guess.”
She put her head back down on his arm and gave a contented little sigh.
He peered up at the window. “It will be light soon.”
She froze. “Don’t leave. Stay here.”
He kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry, Hazel. I’m going to get you out of here. You won’t have to spend another day in here. Do you know your way home once you get outside?”
She nodded. “They’ll never catch me.”
“Good. I want you to do something—I mean, I want you to do something besides run like the dickens once you get outside.”
“What is it?”
“I want you to take a message to your father. I want you to tell him about me, and I want you to tell him what I said about my people over the mountains. You tell him we’re called Bruins. Do you understand that?”
“Sure. Bruins.”
“Tell him we want to fight the panthers, too. My friends will contact him, and they might want to come over to Renegade Ridge to visit him. They’ll want to talk to him about joining forces with the NightShade to make war on the panthers. Do you think you can remember all that?”
She stared at him with her clear, soft eyes and nodded.
“Good.”
She lifted her head. “How am I going to get out of here with this thing on my leg?”
“When you’re ready to leave, I’ll break it for you.”
Another long silence. “I’m ready now.”
He raised his head. “Are you sure?”
She snorted through her nose.
Azer chuckled. “I guess you don’t want to stay here any longer than you have to. Come on and let me up.”
She sat up. She had to move her foot closer to the post to give the chain some slack. Azer got to his feet and straightened his jacket. Hazel sat on the ground with her foot extended. She glanced back and forth between his face and the shackle around her ankle.
He smiled down at her. “I’m gonna shift now. Once I shift, I’ll break the chain. Okay?”
Her eyes widened. She nodded, but she didn’t answer.
He took a deep breath. His shoulders swelled out under his jacket. His back hunched, and his head dropped between his shoulders. His brows knit, and his mouth extended out from his face. His spine doubled over until he couldn’t stand
upright. His hands came to rest on the floor and turned inward into curved claws. His body sprouted golden brown fur all over, and the huge bear took Azer’s place.
Hazel watched the transformation, but she didn’t shy away. She sat still while the bear snuffled around the shackle and chain. Then, with one swift swipe of his paw, he snapped the chain off the post.
He stood up straight and shifted again. He studied his work. “That’s the best we can do. Once you get home, you can get your people to saw the band off, but you’ll have to carry the chain home. Do you think you can handle that? It’s a long way to run with that thing weighing you down.”
She stood up in front of him. She gathered the chain and looped it over one arm. She shook out her stiff legs. “I can manage all right. I won’t let something like that slow me down. I’m just glad to get out of here.”
“Good. Let’s get you home.”
He put his arm around her shoulders and they headed for the door. The chain clinked, but not loud enough to alert anybody. Hazel smiled up at Azer, and he smiled down at her. All her torpor fell away. Her eyes sparkled, and her white teeth shone in the faint window light.
Azer put out his hand for the door. He started to say something when the door swung open of its own accord. A figure appeared at the edge of the ring and moved into view. Azer’s clear countenance turned black and hard. The smile vanished from Hazel’s face, and she shivered and stared at Raven moving into the light to halt in front Azer.
Chapter 18
Azer glared at Raven under his dark brows. She gazed back at him, but she didn’t cringe or shrink. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Azer gritted his teeth. “I’m getting this girl out of here, and you can’t stop me.”
Raven shrugged. “You can’t stop us by letting her go.”
Azer bared his teeth. “What are you going to do? Are you going up to Renegade Ridge to get yourself another bear as soon as my back is turned? So all that BS about caring about me was so much romantic fluff? I should have known better.”
Her face softened. “It wasn’t fluff. I meant what I said. I do care about you.”
“You don’t care enough to stop your bear-baiting. Go on and call your family and friends. Try to stop me.”
“I can’t let you get away with this. You’re destroying everything I built here. Caring about you and loving you is one thing. Letting this cub go is something else. You leave me no choice but to stop you.”
He braced his shoulders. “Come on and do it, then. If you walk out that door to go call your friends, you’ll never see me or Hazel again. If you want to fight me, you better be ready to do it yourself.”
“I can’t fight you alone, Azer. You would kill me. Are you ready for that?”
“I will kill you if you try to stop me. If you attack me, I’ll defend myself.”
“I could say the same thing to you. I wouldn’t just lie down and let you kill me. Once we start fighting, the noise will wake up half the town. They’ll drag you down before you get out of this house. They’ll kill you, no matter what you do to me.”
“Whatever happens, Hazel will be free. I’m ready to die to get her out of here. It would take a lot more than you fighting alone to bring me down, and by the time your friends get here, Hazel will be long gone.”
Raven stared at him. “Are you telling me this kid is more important to you than I am? You said you loved me more than your own life. You would turn against me and kill me to protect her?”
Azer’s arm tightened around Hazel’s shoulders. “Yes, she is more important to me than you are. This is my people, Raven. This my people more than you will ever be. If you love me, you’ll understand that, but maybe you don’t when it comes down to brass tacks. I’ll fight and die to set her free. I would give anything not to turn against you and hurt you, but you leave me no choice.”
Raven swallowed hard. “You said you loved me.”
“I do love you.” His voice cracked under the strain. “I love you more than I can stand. I’m mated to you for life, but we can never be together. You backed me into a corner showing me this cub, and I can’t leave her behind. You should know me better than that by now.”
Raven stared at Hazel, who watched the exchange with wide eyes. “I should have known.”
“Can you really stand there and say you love me? If you really loved me the way I love you, you wouldn’t try to stop me. You would help me. You would realize I have to do this. I have to do this more than I need you.”
Raven lifted her eyes to his face. “I do love you. I love you more than anything in this world.”
He let go of Hazel and took a step toward Raven. His voice fell to a rushed murmur. “Help me, Raven. Help me get her out of here. Pretend she’s me. Pretend she’s a younger version of me, and protect her the way you would protect me. You can’t do this to her any more than you could do it to me.”
Raven glanced at the girl. Her eyes drifted back to his face. She searched his eyes for some secret hope. In the end, her shoulders settled an inch lower. “All right. I’ll help you. You need this, and I have to give it to you.”
His arm shot out and he seized her hand. “You know better than I do how to get out of town.”
Raven shook herself. “Wait a minute. You’re not going anywhere with that thing making a racket. Stay here.”
She started to turn away, but he wouldn’t let go of her hand. “Don’t leave, Raven.”
She squeezed his hand. She tried to smile, but her mouth contorted in pain. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Raven slipped out of the ring. Hazel cast a questioning glance up at Azer, but he only pressed his lips together and steadied his breathing as much as he could. If this turned into a fight, he would give it all he had.
Raven reappeared. She swung something into the light and murmured under her breath, “Sit down, girl.”
Hazel peered up at Azer. Her lip trembled. Azer nodded to her and took her hand. He held her hand while she sat on the ground, but she wouldn’t take her eyes off his face. Azer summoned all his resolve to keep himself calm.
Raven bent over Hazel’s leg. She spread her hands, and the light caught the wide-open jaws of a pair of bolt cutters. She positioned the mouth around the locking clasp on Hazel’s ankle band.
Raven heaved and puffed. She squeezed the handles together until the clasp broke under the pressure. Hazel kicked the cuff away and got to her feet.
Azer let out a shaky breath. “Thank you.”
Raven stood up. “You better come with me.”
She led the way out of the basement, but she left the bolt cutters on a shelf behind the stairs. She climbed into the house first and peeked into the street while Azer and Hazel hid in the shadows.
At last, she waved them forward. Azer took Hazel’s hand one more time, and they followed Raven out of the house. The wide night hemmed them in on all sides. It shouted its spooky hoots and snaps at them so Hazel jumped in every direction. Azer held her tight. He wouldn’t let her go until he knew for sure she was safe.
Raven slipped along a back alley where shadows hid them. She chopped the air with her hand to warn them when a truck whispered down the street, but the driver didn’t notice anything.
Raven darted across a streetlight’s glow and ducked into the shadow behind another house. Azer checked both ways, and when he saw the coast was clear, he rushed out, too.
Azer plastered his back against the house. He hugged Hazel against him. She buried her face in his hands, and her whole body shook. Her heart thumped under his hand on her chest. He didn’t want to make any noise, but he broke his own rule to whisper down to her, “It’s gonna be all right. We’ll get you out of here.”
Hazel looked up at him. She glanced sidelong at Raven, but she didn’t say anything.
Azer compressed his lips. He couldn’t look at Raven. He had no choice but to trust her now. She’d already gone farther than he ever expected to help him rescue Hazel. If she got caught, she wo
uld suffer much worse than Hazel or Azer. She betrayed her people by attacking her uncles after she set them up to catch Azer. She betrayed her people again by cutting that lock. How much more would she do before they got out of this town? Now, she was peeking out to make sure the coast was clear.
The woods loomed huge and black just a few yards away. One dash, and the trees would cover their tracks forever. Azer didn’t see any danger. The woods called him to their safe dark arms. He moved forward, but Raven’s arm shot out. She slammed him back against the house so hard his temper flared.
He rounded on her with his teeth bared, but before he could say a word, she sauntered out into the street. She swished her ass from side to side. She set her hand on one hip and cocked her head. “Hey, Cole. How ya doing?”
Azer’s heart pounded in his head. He crushed Hazel against him and willed the shadows to hide him. He didn’t have to, though. Raven’s voice lilted higher and lower. “Yeah? I heard they’re having a raging party at Wyatt’s tonight. Are you going? Maybe I’ll see you there.”
A deep male voice answered her. Azer heard her laugh. When he stole a peek out, he saw Raven lean toward the man so close her hair brushed his shoulder. She rested her hand on his arm and breathed into his face.
Azer gritted his teeth. No one knew better than he did how she could spin her charms. She could make any man forget the rest of the world. Whoever he was, this guy wouldn’t look any further than her choice body. She might even let him squeeze her ass. Maybe she would drive the nail in his coffin by tracing her little finger over his crotch.
Azer clamped his eyes shut. Don’t think. Don’t imagine. Don’t take your mind off the danger. If Raven failed, that man would stop smelling her jasmine body spray. He would start smelling bear where it shouldn’t be, and he would set out to investigate. That could only lead to a fight.
Raven fought to defend Azer once, but he didn’t want to push it. Flirting with that guy was one thing. Fighting him and his brother and anybody else who happened to show up was something else.
Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume II) Page 35