by Cecilia Lane
Fuck. What time was it? Gray pushed up to his knees and searched the sky again. Fucking bear. He needed to get into town. He shoved shakily to his feet and rolled his shoulders. Sore muscles bunched together painfully. Too bad. It was the price he paid.
He started toward the Strathorn cabins on two human feet. He couldn’t trust his bear to take him where he needed to go. He had to shower and shave and find some clothes. He was already on borrowed time.
Tawny was depending on him and he wasn’t going to let her down.
“Thought you flaked out on me.”
Tawny landed a punch on his shoulder and Gray winced. His entire body felt like it was on fire. “I said I’d be here. So I’m here.”
His sister pursed her lips together but didn’t say anything else.
Gray straightened his shoulders and tried to find the will not to limp. He was changing too often and without control. His body couldn’t keep up with it. If Callum didn’t kill him, his bear would make sure he didn’t survive long.
Still, he was there for a reason. He eyed Bearden Town Hall and then shifted his gaze back to his sister. “You sure about this?”
“No,” she admitted. “But it’s the only way I can go back to college in the fall. Got to be registered.”
Gray recognized the carefree tone of her voice. She was burying her pain way down deep, just like him. “You don’t need to go back. I didn’t go to any fancy schools and I’m doing okay.”
She gave him a look that said exactly what she thought of that idea, then followed it up with an unnecessary confirmation. “Yeah, I’d like to avoid turning out just like you.”
“There is nothing wrong with me,” he said and planted a hand over his wounded heart.
“There is so much wrong with you that I would need to take another five years of psych coursework just to get to the bottom of all of your problems,” she teased.
Gray mounted the stairs to the town hall after her. “What’s that say about you? We come from the same blood.”
“Mom and Dad learned from their mistakes. You were the crash test dummy.”
“Or the one that got all their love and devotion. Then you came along and got nothing. That explains a few things.”
Tawny glared over her shoulder and entered the building. A few quick turns and they arrived at the newly-minted Supernatural Enforcement Agency office. It had all the feel of the Department of Motor Vehicles and came with the bonus of a target on his back.
Tawny had a future, he reminded himself. And he was going to see that she lived it. She’d been sent home from her university early after some dickbag boyfriend found out what she was and outed her to the rest of the campus. New laws swinging into motion were designed to help the delicate humans and discriminate against anything supernatural. Tawny had been caught in one that decreed no supes on any public campus unless they were registered.
Gray still felt betrayed that she hadn’t allowed him to show the fucknuts boyfriend exactly how dangerous it was to mess with his little sister.
The office was empty except for them and one lone agent manning the desk. So far, most registrations weren’t mandatory. Those conducting business outside of an enclave or dealing with humans were strongly encouraged to add their name to the rolls.
So far.
Their parents weren’t pleased that Tawny was registering. It’d caused such a row that they threatened to kick her out of the house. For that reason, Gray decided to sign up with her. She’d been hurt by somebody she cared for. Her family needed to have her back.
The SEA agent with Beasley stitched on her uniform opened her mouth to direct them down the hall, then jumped into action when she realized they were there for her. She pulled clipboards and papers and pens out like magic and shoved them in their direction, almost as if she were afraid they’d disappear if she didn’t act quick enough. They were given orders to fill out the paperwork while she readied the orientation room.
Gray gripped the pen in his hand and eyed the little boxes on the paper. Each one felt like a cage he willingly walked into. A quick glance showed Tawny zooming through her own paperwork with a vengeance. The irritation rolling off her was strong enough to rile up his bear.
He was doing this for her. He was signing his own death warrant, but it might not be so bad. It was an insurance policy. If he couldn’t make the move himself when he got worse off, he’d force Callum’s hand. He wasn’t fated to be one of those rehabilitated bears his alpha thought he could whisper into civilization like Cole or Nolan. He was too fucked in the head. It’d only be a matter of time before he used up all three of his strikes. That was when human intervention stepped in and took care of the situation if an alpha wouldn’t. Humans were always good for slaughter.
Agent Beasley poked her head out of the back room. “You can come back now,” she said politely.
“Ready for orientation?” Tawny muttered and pulled a face.
“Almost done.” Paperwork or his life?
She started to file away into the dark office. “Just bring it with you. We turn it in at the end.”
The agent flinched as they passed. A light dusting of fear entered her scent and kicked her heartbeat up a notch. She didn’t let her expression change, though. She put on a brave face when confronted by the monsters.
Gray sprawled in one of the chairs of the room and flicked a glance to the corners and ceiling. Maybe she didn’t need to be brave. Rumor had it that the entire office was bugged with cameras and mics to gather more intel on the shifter threat. She knew she was safe, at least inside the SEA office. Still didn’t make her comfortable around something other than her own kind and she quickly left them alone as soon as the orientation video began.
The film went over the rules of supernatural registration. Their photos would be taken afterward, human and beast sides, and their paperwork processed. Their names would be filed away in some government office and if they fucked up enough, they’d be subject to human justice. Clan law would fly out the window. If human law enforcement had to step in, they’d be thrown into a human-run shifter prison. The vamps and fae had their own centers, too.
The name didn’t need to be engraved on the stone sign in the panning angle of one such prison for Gray to know exactly who funded the place. It was the same company that funded the registration initiative and riled up the pro-human groups on campuses like Tawny’s. They’d even taken to trawling the registration list and digging up everything they could find out about a person. Too many hit pieces were spread across the internet and stapled to electrical poles or sides of buildings. All in the name of awareness.
Moore Industries was a fancy name for a company that had their fingers in every pie in the country. They had politicians on their payroll and bought entire communities with their goodwill efforts while simultaneously working to erode protections for the people living inside those city limits. Even the cutesy tagline made him want to rage. Helping everyone be Moore. It was bullshit.
Tawny slapped his arm. “Are you even paying attention?”
“No,” he grunted. “Are we hanging out tonight?”
She dug her phone out of her pocket and switched her attention to the screen in true Jennings avoidance. “If nothing better comes up.”
“Wow.” Gray elongated the word.
Narrowed blue eyes that matched his own finally looked away from the screen. “Don’t pretend you’re hurt. I’m a young woman now—”
“Please don’t say what I think you’re about to say.”
“With needs and desires—”
“I’m going to be sick.” Gray faked gagging. “You’re not supposed to tell me stuff like that. We’re supposed to keep pretending we’re innocent of all such activities.”
“Oh, but you can mouth off about the size of your dick to your clan? Fuck off. I’ll call you if there are no hot guys at the bar tonight.”
“If you got it, flaunt it,” he defended himself with a waggle of his eyebrows. When Tawny didn’t taunt
him further, he sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. He wasn’t comfortable getting sappy. But shit, she was in a rough spot. “You’ll be careful? It’s not just Bearden folks in town. Becca has this whole scheme to reel in tourists and it’s working far too well.”
Nolan’s mate had found her purpose with transforming Bearden from a hidden enclave to one of the first vacation traps for the curious. The flow had started as a trickle and turned into a flood. He had no doubt some of those would be at one of the town bars. With his sister.
He pushed down on his wild bear before the beast could lodge a complaint.
“Yes, Mother. I’ll go home before I turn into a pumpkin.”
Gray wrinkled his nose. “I think it’s the carriage that turns into a pumpkin.”
“I knew it! I knew you liked those princess movies!” She stuck her finger at him. “I bet that’s all you watch.”
He slapped her hand away from his face and growled. “I only watched them because I was stuck babysitting you all the time. You were so obnoxious about anything I wanted to put on.”
Tawny sang through her laughter about his obvious impotence to the tune of one such movie.
It felt good to joke with his sister. Normal. Like he didn’t have a monster under his skin that waited for the opportunity to strike. The tightness in his shoulders and chest dropped away for long enough to forget why they were in that dark room.
They were dueling tunes and made up insulting lyrics when the door opened and the lights flicked on. “All right, Graham and Tawny. Are you ready for your photos?”
The last of his smile faded and the tension in his chest returned. Gray stood and offered a hand to Tawny, which she slapped away. “Let’s go get legal.”
Chapter 3
“You need to apologize, Meghan.”
Meghan leaned back against the bed and sighed silently. Bentley had remained surprisingly quiet all afternoon and into the night. She should have known it wouldn’t last. The renewed disturbance came in the form of repeated calls and messages from her mother.
When the last text message said she’d be reported as a missing person and have her face splashed all over the news, Meghan finally picked up the phone. The first words out of her mother’s mouth made her want to hang up.
“I just don’t see what the big deal is,” Mimsy continued. “He’s a good match. How could you abandon him so callously?”
“The big deal? Mother, he insulted me in front of our entire bridal party and guests. You were there! You heard exactly what he said.”
She dared suggest that shifters and vampires and all the other monsters under the bed deserved a fair shake. She questioned whether the registration was something that needed to happen. Apparently, she was offensive and ignorant for saying some people who demanded registration because of the potential harm were hypocritical as they opposed any such registration for human-made weapons.
It was the last strike against Bentley. She wouldn’t be swayed by temporary acts or gestures. He was a snake, and he’d always be a snake.
Meghan’s angry breath ruffled her bangs. “I don’t care if you think he’s a good match. I don’t want to be with a man who will treat me like that.”
Mimsy tsked dismissively. “This is just one of the concessions one must make in a marriage. I’m certain Bentley has made them for you.”
Meghan pressed her lips together at the passive aggressive comment. Her mother could win Olympic gold for them.
The comment displayed an unwillingness to take her side and a blind eye for Bentley’s flaws. The man was an a-hole, through and through. She’d left him and he was still giving her orders.
“It’s over, Mother,” she said with renewed conviction. “I’m not going to marry Bentley. I’m going to hide out until I’m due on Paper Report set and I’m going to get to work.”
She wanted to use her time alone to figure herself out and make sure she never found herself saying yes when she meant to say no.
Mimsy tsked again. “Really, Meghan. A broadcast show? You could do so much better.”
“It’s what I went to school for. I’d appreciate if you could at least feign excitement for me.”
“Meghan!” Mimsy chided. “You will not speak to me in such a manner.”
Meghan set down the phone as Mimsy launched into her predictable rant about respecting elders and listening to her mother. Meghan rolled her eyes and went into the kitchenette for a glass of water.
Disappointment and hurt ran through her. She just wanted someone to look at her accomplishments and be happy for her. Was it too much to ask that her mother would commiserate with her over a failed relationship?
Yes. Mimsy was still going when Meghan settled the phone against her ear again. The demand for respect had edged into a discussion about impropriety and what was expected of her level of fame. The words made her gag. She wasn’t some broodmare to be sold off to the highest bidder. She could make her own choices, spotlight or no.
“Mother,” she interrupted, “you’re right. Bentley’s on the other line. I should take it now.” And she hung up before Mimsy could say another word.
Frustrated and despising everyone she knew, Meghan turned off her phone and prepared for bed.
The shock of a hand covering her mouth jerked Meghan awake and she let out a muffled scream. She tried to roll out from underneath the restraint, but more hands locked around her ankles and held her firmly to the bed. She bucked and tossed and tried to get her bearings.
It was dark. Only the faint glow from digital timers on an alarm clock and the microwave in the kitchenette illuminated the room. She rolled her eyes and found four, no, five big figures arranged around her and the bed.
Panic pushed her heart to its limit. It was like a movie she once auditioned for. Only this time, they weren’t stopping and no one was there to yell cut.
Meghan moved her mouth, trying to sink her teeth into the hand covering it, but the man was faster. He jerked his hand away and stuffed a cloth between her lips, then lashed her hands together with tape. Her muffled screams wouldn’t be heard more than a few feet away. No one would hear her struggle. She was alone in a private suite and at their mercy.
“Get her into the van,” the man closest to her ordered after he wrapped her feet together with more tape.
The hands holding her to the bed changed position. One man grabbed her ankles and lifted while another shoved his forearms under her armpits. She swung helplessly between them.
“She’s a pretty one. No wonder she’s wanted.”
Meghan screamed around the cloth. She could feel the man’s eyes trailing over her body. She was clad only in panties and a tank top and felt far too exposed.
“Unscathed,” the first man said. “Not a hair harmed. Those are the orders.”
The words sank in slowly but didn’t kill her fight one bit. They weren’t going to hurt her so they wanted something. Money. From her, from Bentley, it didn’t matter. Mimsy always warned her to be careful about people. They wanted what they didn’t have.
The back doors of a black van creaked open as soon as the team from her room stepped outside. She was terrified of entering that darkened vehicle. There was no telling who was behind the abduction. She didn’t know how much they wanted for her or what they would do to ensure they were paid.
She struggled vainly, twisting and turning between the men that carried her. Her muffled shouts grew more desperate with each step closer to the van. They were bigger than her and stronger, but she wouldn’t accept her fate.
A roar echoed through the night. One of the men was shoved out of her field of vision. His yell chilled her to the bone. The others holding her promptly dropped her into the dirt.
Ignoring the jolt of pain, Meghan hurriedly sat up. She wouldn’t waste the opportunity to get herself free. She tried to rip the tape around her ankles, but it was too thick. She dug her nails underneath the edge and peeled the first layer back.
A fresh roar stole her attention.
Her eyes went wide as she watched a big bear slam a paw against one of the attackers. She felt the ground shake when the animal dropped back to four legs and chased down another runner.
She couldn’t take her eyes off the huge claws. They would tear her to shreds. She had to find shelter before the bear ran out of moving targets and focused on her.
With renewed speed, she unwound the tape from her ankles. She cast a quick glance over to the bear and then sprinted for the door of her suite.
She was never more aware of how flimsy wood was than when she slammed the door between herself and the rampaging bear outside. Fear caked itself in her veins. Hands still tied together shook while she searched for her phone. Off. Dammit. She pressed the button to power up the device.
A new roar rattled her from the inside out.
Meghan hurried across the room and found the landline. Her voice cracked when the 911 operator answered. “Someone tried to take me,” she whispered. “And now there’s a bear outside.”
The operator told her to remain calm and took her address.
A soft knock made Meghan jump. Still shaking, she scrunched down on herself in the corner.
But what if it was someone else? Another guest? She no longer heard sounds of a fight. No men shouted and no bear roared.
“Someone’s at the door,” she said in a hushed voice.
“Ma’am, do not open that door. Stay on the line with me. Officers are on the way.”
Guilt formed a solid stone in her stomach and she let the receiver fall to the floor. Adrenaline trembled her limbs but she forced herself to her feet and across the room. She took three big breaths and then peeked through the peephole.
A dark-haired man stood outside. He braced himself against the edges of the door. From what little she could see, he was naked.
He ran his tongue over his lower lip and stared straight into the peephole like he knew she was there. “Will you open up?”