Planet Bear

by Rebecca Royce

  I shook my head. “Too much right there for me to deal with. Where do we get our food? Do we hunt, fish?”

  “Yes. Sometimes in the cities, they sell it.”

  I grinned at him. “I’m a really good fisherwoman.”

  With the sun coming down over my head, I sat near their creek and tried to catch our dinner. We had lots of supplies. An impressive amount, actually. But I wanted to do this, and so far, the guys were letting me.

  They were all with me, but I was the only one wielding the fishing rod.

  “You could just shift and get them, right? Pick up the fish.”

  Finn cleared his throat. “Sure. But this is much more impressive.”

  I rolled my eyes at him. “Don’t patronize me. I realize this might be one of those weird things about having me and not a bear shifter. But you picked me. So you’re stuck with me now.”

  Rylan nudged me with his leg. “Nothing stuck about it. You were just what we always wanted. Right, guys?”

  Cole kissed my cheek. “Right.”

  Finn caressed my other cheek. “Everything.”

  Cole started talking. “I’ve analyzed your DNA. You’re a miracle, Jessica. There might be things I could do to extend your life a little further to match our span. Seems somewhere along the lines, someone in your background was a bear shifter. Really, a long, long time ago. You can’t shift or anything. But you could live longer.”

  I scrunched up my face. “Old? Like I’ll have to be in pain longer? Or youthful longer? It makes a difference.”

  “Healthy. Like maybe you could age as we do. You’re twenty-five. You could be one hundred twenty-five.”

  Rylan put his head in my lap. “Think about it. One hundred years with us.”

  They were awfully calm. “Isn’t there war out there?”

  Finn nodded. “There is. And I want some of it. Keep the fish for me, won’t you? I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

  Rylan jumped to his feet. “Wait, Finn. Not alone. Not without me.”

  Cole nodded at both of them. “Good luck.”

  “Hey.” I put out my arms. “Say goodbye.”

  Finn’s face fell. “We’ll be back.” Still, he pulled me into a hug. “Don’t worry. There are just a few bears I want to show my face to. Let them remember who I am and how I got here.”

  How he got there? “Didn’t you inherit the job from your father?”

  Finn shook his head. “No. My father lost it. My mother died, and he was just done. I get it now. I’d already be done.”

  I wagged my finger at him. “Better not be. You know the whole blowing up thing that I’m likely to do.”

  Cole groaned behind me, and Rylan laughed.

  “I took the job back ten years later. I’ve held it ever since.” He pointed at Rylan and Cole. “With a little help from them and some of our friends, I intend to hold it until my son can take it from me.”

  His son. I swallowed. “What if I can’t have children, Finn? We’re not technically the same species.”

  “You can have kids,” Cole supplied. “Remember, I checked your DNA and you already have some bear in there. We’d win the genetic battle in this case. Our kids will shift.”

  I hadn’t even been thinking about kids. This was ridiculous. I might even be pregnant right now. Rylan tugged me to him. “We’ll be back tonight. They’re just posers out there. They’ll run for their lives when they see Finn. Bye.” He kissed my cheek. “If you wanted to be naked in bed that would work for me.”

  I laughed, and Cole shoved Rylan’s arm. “She’s going to be in bed with me. You two want to go start with the asshats on the edge of our boundary, you can go ahead. I get to stay with our mate and cuddle.”

  “Boo.” Rylan winked at me. “See you later.”

  Rylan and Finn shifted, vanishing into the woods to go battle. I sighed. “I hate that they’re going to fight. I hate that they have to. Why am I such a big deal? It seems I’m going to be living a pretty quiet, peaceful life out here. I won’t interfere with how anyone else wants to live their lives.”

  “People don’t like change. They swim the same river their whole life, in the same stream, and they think it’s the right way to do it because someone told them it was. Then they get a new piece of information that should adjust how they think. . .and rather than just accepting that as hey, something is new, let’s rethink this, they push against it. It scares them. Fear makes people dumb.”

  I put my hand on his arm. “Then I guess shifters aren’t so different from regular humans.”

  “Your brother is going to be okay.”

  That was such a shift in conversation I almost didn’t follow it. “How?”

  Cole leaned against a tree. “We do have some shifters that leave. I mean, we don’t talk about it. We’re not supposed to want to. But some do.”

  “Really?” I’d never heard that. “That can’t be true.”

  “How would you know? I mean, unless we shift, you don’t know. You could be standing next to one in line and have no idea. Our cousin left. We got in touch with him. He’s going to buy your brother out of jail and let him know you’re fine. Then Cal can go on with his life, and you can live yours here with us.”

  I threw my arms around him. “Oh, Cole. Thank you. I mean, Cal won’t care what I’m doing, but I promised to get him out. Now I’m not a liar.”

  He picked me up so that my feet swung off the ground. “You’re welcome. Now, how about I shift and get us some fish.”

  “No.” I squirmed until he set me down. “I’m a wonderful fisherwoman. I am going to catch us dinner.”

  He mock-sighed and sat back down on the ground. “All right, have at it. I’ll eat next week. By the way, now that I know what you smell like healthy, I’m never going to miss it if you aren’t again. Just wanted to be clear on that.”

  I leaned over to kiss his chin. “I think you’re holding on to something that I’m not. I don’t blame you for not knowing I was bleeding. Everything about me was new to you.”

  His bear showed for half a second in his gaze. “Aren’t you supposed to be fishing? Not forgiving me for things you shouldn’t forgive me for. I was thinking about how much I wanted you and not what might be wrong with you. I’m better than that.”

  I shook my head. Cole could be obstinate. He only seemed like the easy going one of the group. “You’re not even hungry. You ate yesterday. You could go days. I’m the only one who wants to eat. Sorry. You mated a human. You’re going to have to watch me eat over and over and over for the rest of your life.”

  Cole smirked. “It’s a good thing I like to watch you eat. It’s sexy. The way your mouth moves.”

  I kicked him lightly. “You aren’t going to distract me. I’m catching dinner.”

  “I’m going to distract you. I can almost guarantee it.”

  This was happy. For the first time in my life, I knew the feeling. I’d thought I’d had it before on occasion, but I hadn’t. Not like this. Not like with these three shifters, who for some reason biology had decided I belonged with. I wasn’t going to question it. Not anymore.

  8

  I slept pressed up to Cole, happily dreaming nonsense in my newly found blissful state, when he jerked next to me. My eyes flew open. “What’s the matter? Rylan? Finn?”

  I had decided to believe them when they said they were okay. But maybe that had been foolish. Maybe. . .

  Cole put his hand on my arm. “They’re fine. Almost nothing happening with them. No, one of the bears who lives on our land is giving birth. It’s not going well. One of them called out to me to come help her. I’ve got to go.” He rubbed his eyes. “I’m not leaving you here alone.”

  I forgot sometimes how incredible their hearing was. “Go. I’ll be fine here. Do you sense or hear any threats?”

  “No, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to be stupid about this. You’re coming with me. Or. . .” His voice trailed off. “Hold on. Rylan, Finn, I need you to come back.” He raised his voice s
lightly. “I’m going to help June give birth. You’re coming back to Jessica now, okay?”

  He nodded. “They’re on their way. Ten minutes. You’ll be alone. I hate to even do that. Maybe I should wait.” The whole time he spoke, he got dressed. I sat under the sheet we’d pulled over ourselves and watched, really not able to do anything at all. These were the moments I suspected would always be hard. I didn’t like to feel ineffectual. Cole winced. “She’s really in terrible pain.”

  I got up on my knees. “Anyone around who is going to cause problems in the next ten minutes? I mean, I know I snuck up on you guys, but you were still very tired from the winter phase. That is over. Scan with your ears and nose. Shift if you have to. But check. Because if I’m not about to be mauled by a human-hating shifter, you need to get over there and take care of this woman and stop obsessing about me.”

  Cole furrowed his brow. “No one at all.”

  “Great. Go.”

  He held out his hand. “Come with me.”

  “Not if you ever want me to have children. I. . .” I shook my head. “I can’t ever see it before I have to do it. Unless, it’s different for your women. This is awful for female humans.”

  Cole nodded. “No, it’s awful everywhere. Okay. Ten minutes. They’re already on the move back to you.” I hated that they were leaving battle to come back and to babysit me as I slept. Still, this wasn’t the time nor place for arguing about it. We’d address what I could expect about being on my own later, maybe when we weren’t at war with bears that wanted me dead.

  I sighed. Drama had a way of following me.

  I made my way downstairs to see Cole leave and then shut the door behind him. I locked it. They never did that, but I was going to if I was alone. Just for good measure. When the other two came back, I’d let them in. In the meantime, I wanted to snack. I’d caught two fish earlier, and we’d eaten them, although I hated the taste. In this case, the fish wasn’t the same as any other planet I’d lived on, and I doubted it was going to turn out to be a favorite.

  I wanted something sweet. But I wasn’t sure they had anything. The porridge was a little, but the guys ate more for functioning than enjoyment. They probably had nothing that resembled chocolate or peanut butter.

  I’d found a piece of fruit and eaten it by the time it occurred to me that more than ten minutes had passed. Maybe Cole had misjudged how much time it would take for them to return. I walked over to the window. The night was dark. I couldn’t see anything, but I was sure Finn and Rylan would be back any second.

  “Don’t laugh at me guys,” I raised my voice the way that Cole had done. “But, ah, Cole, Rylan, and Finn, if you can hear this I’m kind of worried about you. Cole, they’re not back.”

  I had no idea if they’d heard me. Finn and Rylan had heard Cole, but maybe that was just a bear thing. I chewed on my fingernail and moved away from the window. The clock seemed to be taunting me. Tick. Tick. Tick. Every second a reminder that guys who were probably never late ever got more and more away from their arrival time.

  My heart rate kicked up. “Okay, let’s think about this, Jessica. Cole is busy. He’s helping to deliver a baby. He can’t come running back. Besides, he has communicated with that amazing hearing of his with Finn and Rylan. He knows why they’re late, and he’s unconcerned. They stopped to help a person whose house has flooded.” Not that it had been raining. “Or something. They’re just delayed. You are going to sit down on the couch and wait without panicking. That is what you are going to do. You aren’t this woman. You fly spaceships. You crash landed and survived in the woods. Probably with dumb luck, but there you go. You don’t panic.”

  Maybe if I said it enough, I’d believe it.

  I waited. I couldn’t even read anything since their books looked like strange symbols, not words. I was going to have to learn to read their language. I’d get to that. Surely, they’d know someone who could help me.

  What had I done in the orphanage when I’d been scared? What had I done when I took care of Cal in the woods? What had I done when my uncle made me fly a spaceship years before I was ready to? I didn’t know. I couldn’t remember a thing. I. . .

  The door handle turned. It was locked but that didn’t seem to matter. It turned, the sound of breaking metal filling the room. I knew instantly it wasn’t one of my mates. They’d never break down their own door. This was. . .someone else.

  I had one thought, and it was to run for the safe room. The door flew off its hinges just as I got down the hallway toward Finn’s office.

  “Jessica,” a voice I didn’t know called out to me. “Don’t run in there. I’m fully aware that I can’t get in there. But I’ll have to burn the house down with you in it. If you don’t do that, you can live through this and so can your mates.”

  I stopped moving. That was the perfect thing to get me to stop running. Not because I was all that concerned with my own safety. I’d have to be stupid to think I had any chance to live through this unscathed but I couldn’t let him harm the guys.

  I sighed. I’d been terrified, but as calmness wafted through me, I was suddenly fine. This was an unwinnable, miserable situation, and I knew how to manage this kind of pain. Sudden happiness was something else.

  I turned around. “They’re already dead if you’re here.”

  “No.” He shook his head. He was tall with red hair and a goatee. Not as tall as my mates but not small either. I doubted anyone on this planet would be. “Let me introduce myself. My name is Robert McDermott. I was here earlier in the week to meet with Finn. He wasn’t particularly helpful.”

  This man was the reason I’d been shut in the room to begin with. Cole had said he wasn’t to be trusted. He’d clearly been right.

  “What have you done with them?”

  He sighed. “The problem with your mates, and their fathers before them, is that they care too much about things. One rough pregnancy leads Cole from the house, and your other two mates turn around to come protect you. They’ve been waylaid. Not dead. Not yet. They don’t have to be.”

  Tears came, but I didn’t let them fall. This wasn’t the time for grief. “You’re going to kill them.”

  “I’m not. See, I don’t want to follow the Derbys. I’ve always liked the way the Durojos lead. Until recently. I’m not strong enough to hold this planet together, but I am not going to be ignored. Why did Finn have to announce you like you were something everyone should accept? I don’t personally have a problem with you. I’ve known about Mark and his human for a long time. There are at least five families hiding a human. That’s all he had to do—hide you. No one had to know.”

  I really didn’t understand. “You like them, so you did this?”

  “I want them to lead. I want them to get over this. It’s not a true mating. That can only happen with one of their kind.”

  This man really liked to hear himself speak.

  He continued to do so. “They’re infatuated. Fine. They’ll get over it. And as long as I can prove to them you were returned to your people and not terribly injured, they won’t overreact. You can always count on Finn to be reasonable. Or at least we will be able to again. You’re going home, Jessica. Your people are taking you back.”

  “You can’t possibly be in contact with them.” I started to shake. “Only Finn could do that.”

  “The Derbys can too. I’ve convinced them to let you return to them rather than kill you. As soon as you’re off this planet, all will be well.”

  This was happening. McDermott would be faster than me and stronger. I had no way out except death or compliance. “You can’t think it’ll be that simple.”

  “Most things are, human. Come with me.” He held out his hand. “Make me work for it, and I’ll take it out on them. See, they could always beat us physically. They just never saw the knock out drugs coming. Took five darts to take down Rylan. Struggle, and he’ll have more than a headache when he comes to.”

  That sounded right. It would take five to take out Ryl
an. McDermott dragged me outside. I wasn’t done arguing with him. “They’ll smell you all over this house. They’ll know it was you.”

  He smiled. “They won’t.”

  As I stood outside watching the one true home I’d ever had blow up, I had to give it to fate. It sure did like to make the things I said sort of true. They were going to think I blew up in an explosion.

  Tears rushed down my cheeks.

  McDermott had one more thing to say. “I have to tell you that the Derbys will hurt you before they deliver you over. That’s just how these things go, my dear. It’s a rough planet. Not anywhere that a human like yourself should be living.”

  I slapped him hard, letting my fingernails dig into his skin. He gasped. “My ancestors were bears you asshole. I have my own claws.”

  His smile shocked me, but there it was. “Thank goodness you’re not boring.”

  No, I was never that.

  I was also royally screwed.

  Although, I shouldn’t be surprised. This wasn’t a fairy tale. I didn’t get happy endings.

  The Derbys lived hours away, and it was the first time I got the chance to see how shifters got places without shifting and running. They had hover cars. We’d tried this on Earth before I was born, and it hadn’t gone well. Maybe the lower population and the fact that everything was so quiet all the time made a difference. People could hear the cars coming. It buzzed loudly, and either McDermott was a lousy driver or the car bounced incessantly too.

  I obsessed over my mates. Were they okay? Were they actually dead? Would I know if they were?

  I curled up, my head on my knees with my legs pulled up as close into me as I could make them on the seat. Nausea rolled through me. As long as I could stay alive, there had to be hope. The guys would come.

  They would.

  We’d only known each other a brief period of time and yet. . .I believed.