by Alice Bello
“Hi there, darlin’! What can I get you to drink?”
I grabbed the menu stuck in the condiment holder and paged until I found the beverage list.
“Can I have a root beer and a chocolate shake?”
“Sure thing, darlin’. I’ll have that in two shakes.”
Lauren strode off to the back of the restaurant and disappeared.
I settled down and studied the menu.
Burgers, ribs, pulled pork, fish, chicken…
I’d feel like a pig if I ordered one of each.
Then I saw the perfect compromise.
The Hungry Bear Platter: a double bacon cheeseburger, a half rack of ribs, some chicken fries and your choice of fries or cheese sticks.
Ding, ding, ding…
I had a winner.
Lauren came out of the back with my drinks in hand and set them down in front of me. She brushed a lock of her blond tresses behind her ear and pulled out an order pad.
“So what can I get for you today?”
“I’ll have The Hungry Bear Platter.”
“Will do. What would you like on your burger?”
“Ummm… pickles, ketchup, mayo, and mustard.”
“Cheddar okay?”
“Do you have Swiss?”
She gave me an appraising glance. “Sure do. That comes with a half rack of ribs. Sweet or spicy?”
“Sweet.”
“Dipping sauce for the chicken fries?”
“BBQ and ranch, please.”
She nodded. “Fries or cheese sticks—wait, let me guess… Cheese sticks, right?”
I felt myself blush. “Yeah…” I was blushing because I was about to ask to get both.
Becoming a shifter had turned me into such a hog.
“That’ll be about ten minutes… so don’t eat the counter or any of the other customers, okay?” She winked.
I nodded and felt my eyes get big.
That was a weird thing to say.
She went off to place my order and I unwrapped my straw and started sipping my chocolate milkshake.
About three sips in I realized something…
I wasn’t freaking out.
That was strange.
Every time I’d left Roxy’s family house in the last three months I’d started having an anxiety attack.
But…
Well, this place smelled nothing like Colorado.
Colorado was dry most of the year, and the scent of pine pervaded everything—that and the smell of snow in the winter.
This place smelled like flowers, and moss and running water.
I shivered as another of those prickly scents wafted past me.
I shook it off, but then that scent clicked something in my head.
Bear…
I smelled a bear.
I gulped.
There was a shifter here.
I glanced to my right, but couldn’t see anything but a sea of people milling around the front of the restaurant.
Then I turned my head to my left and caught sight of a tall, broad-shouldered man in a police uniform.
Shoot…
And when I breathed in I could smell the werebear rolling off him.
I gulped and looked down at my hands.
Lauren came back out and walked up to the werebear policeman.
“Hey there, Ty. What can I do for you?”
She didn’t smell like a shifter. Did she know the man was a shifter?
A freaking bear…
And I’m a wolf. Why was I so jumpy?
Because shifters were dangerous.
This I knew for a fact.
I was dangerous.
“I’m just here to relay a message from my brother. He’s gotta take a prisoner to Taggart Parish.”
She gave him the eye. “I thought you liked doing that, Mr. Control-Freak Sheriff.”
He chuckled. “It was either that or babysitting a dozen cubs at the clan house tonight.”
Cubs?
Clan house?
A clan was a pack.
Dear god…
Lauren rolled her eyes. “My man would rather chew off his own foot than do kiddy duty.”
I tried not to hyperventilate.
Breathe… Breathe… Breathe… Breathe…
I just couldn’t believe I was sitting beside a werebear.
I couldn’t believe I was in the middle of a mother-fluffing shifter town that had a clan.
A clan!
I was about to slink out of my seat and try to make it to the door undetected when a man’s voice bellowed, “Lauren… order up!”
The curvy blonde pointed at me and said, “That’s you, darlin’.”
I gulped.
The werebear policeman watched Lauren go over and pick my food up from the order window and bring it over to me.
The plate was enormous…
My stomach growled so loud I’m sure everyone in the restaurant could hear it.
I just wanted to die.
I wanted to get up and run.
I needed to get out of here.
Lauren smiled. “Can I get you anything else, honey?”
There was enough food for a table of Vikings…
I shook my head. “No, thank you.”
“Enjoy, then.” And she was off, moving through the restaurant like a waitress locomotive.
I looked at my food and then glanced over at the werebear policeman who was still standing there beside me.
Why was he still standing there?
And then he moved over and sat down at the counter, in the seat right beside me!
Oh god, oh god, oh god…
He didn’t look at me, just kept his eyes forward.
“You better start eating; your food will get cold.”
I didn’t think I could eat. I was so thoroughly freaked out.
He turned his head and looked at me. His brown hair made his brown eyes all the darker, and his square jaw made him intimidating to behold.
“I’m Ty Abrams. I’m the sheriff around here and the clan alpha.”
Alpha?
“What does that mean?” I choked out. “What’s an alpha?”
He took a deep breath and sighed, leaning back in his seat. “It’s a big pain.”
I chuckled in spite of myself.
“Pretty much it means I’m in charge of all the shifters in my territory. I’m also responsible for them, which can be…”
“A pain?” Yikes… That just slipped out.
“I was going to say it can be a challenge.”
Shut up Chelsea, shut up!
“One of the rules is that if you come into a clan or pack’s territory, you need to ask permission to stay from the alpha.” He gave me a sly glance. “So I thought, being the alpha, and you being a shifter new to the area—and you probably don’t know the rules—that I’d just get this part over.”
He knew I was a shifter…
Of course, he did. He was a shifter and could smell my… my shifterness.
I suddenly noticed he hadn’t said anything else.
I looked at him, and he was staring at me expectantly.
Oh, yeah…
“So, Mr. Alpha werebear Sheriff—”
“You can call me Ty.”
“—I’m… I am new to all this, and you’re scary as all get out, and I had no idea there were any shifters here—not to mention a pack… a clan. I’ll be gone from here as soon as I can pack my stuff up again and hit the road.”
He held up his hands, “Wait… I didn’t mean you needed to leave. I was informing on shifter etiquette.”
I bit my lip and tried not to fall out of my seat and run for the door.
“I’m fine with you staying. Stay as long as you like. Just…” he leaned in and gave me a sniff. “Just quit being so scared. You reek of fear, and that doesn’t help anything when you’re dealing with shifters. Okay?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
He shifted in his seat and folded his hands on the counter
in front of him. “I didn’t mean to scare you, so I’m sorry about that. Where are you staying?”
I fidgeted, but my voice came out a lot steadier than I felt. “A friend of mine is letting me stay at his grandmother’s old place. Maddox Stone.”
Ty smiled and gave a little laugh. “That man is a handful… him and his brothers, and his grandma. She was a witch, you know?”
I felt my eyes bug out again. Aha! I knew it!
He rocked back and was suddenly just standing over me. “What’s your name?”
I knew I couldn’t lie. Shifters could hear the lie.
“Chelsea. Chelsea Moray.”
He held out his hand. “Good to meet you, Chelsea Moray. I’m Ty Abrams, as I said, and if you need anything while you’re in town, you can find me either at the police department or at the Clan house.”
I forced myself to take his hand and to shake it.
“Thank you,” I said. I had manners. My mama would have slapped me in the head if I hadn’t said it.
A moment later the werebear Alpha Sheriff sauntered out the door and I was left sitting by myself again, an enormous plate of food in front of me.
That was a heck of a thing…
I almost just stood up and walked out. But just then my stomach growled again, and there was a spasm-like cramping in my abdomen.
I needed to eat, and I was going to pay for the food whether I ate it or not. I’d ordered it; I was going to pay for it.
So I took another sip of my milkshake, unfastened the rolled silverware from the paper napkin and said a little prayer.
Dear God, please bless this food and those who grew it, cooked it, and served it to me. And please don’t let me get eaten by any of them either.
Amen.
So I took hold of the double bacon cheeseburger and took a big, juicy… delicious bite.
Yum.
###
After I finished my meal—lordy, was I hungry—I paid my check, left Lauren a huge tip, and then took off out of the place before any other shifters wanted to weigh in on me being here.
I thought I’d be wound up, but as soon as I walked out into the hot sun and took a deep breath, I felt every fiber in my being relax.
I about fell over.
In one afternoon I’d moved into my new temporary home, found out I was in a shifter town and met the clan alpha.
And I hadn’t passed out or spazzed out.
Yay me!
I unlocked my car, plopped down behind the wheel and let my head fall back.
The car was broiling hot, but just for a moment, the heat felt good, loosening my tired muscles.
Being tense was more of a workout than a Zumba class.
I put the key in the ignition, rolled down the windows to let in some air, and then pulled out my cell phone. I’d had to get a new phone. For one thing, those werewolves that kidnapped me broke my old one. And two, I needed a new number that my parents didn’t know.
I’m a crappy daughter, I know.
I tapped through my contacts—there was just Roxy and Stormy, and Benjamin… and my parents’ number—and clicked on Roxy’s number.
It rang three times before she answered.
“What’s up, buttercup?”
She had always seemed upbeat and funny, but it wasn’t until she met her now mate, Wade, that she’d become completely happy.
And obnoxious.
“You didn’t tell me!” Whoa, that just came right out.
She laughed. I heard her, a definite snicker.
“What didn’t I tell you?”
“You guys sent me to a shifter town!” I felt a twinge. I was yelling into my phone, with the windows of my car rolled down. “How could you do that?”
“I didn’t tell you?” She was really making a mockery of sounding innocent. “Could’ve sworn I did… hey, Wade! Didn’t I tell Chelsea she might run into shifters down there in Grayslake?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. If Roxy had been here I’d… well, I would probably stomp my feet and make geeky hand gestures.
“You sent me to a clan town,” I ground out.
“Clan?”
I took a slow, deep breath.
Steady…
“A clan. You know… a pack. The town is crawling with shifters!”
“You don’t say… honey, not there. To the left… that’s good.”
What were they doing?
I felt my face blush.
I didn’t want to know.
“You know darn well and good what I’m talking about!” I practically hissed. “The sheriff knows Maddox and his whole family.” And that Maddox’s grandmother was a witch.
She made a little laughing sound and then sighed. “Yeah, I know. But I think you’ll do better somewhere with shifters than somewhere with just humans.”
I sat there, stewing in my impotent rage. There wasn’t anything else I could think of to yell at her about.
“Just give it some time. The place may grow on you.”
I suddenly had this overwhelming need to see Benjamin.
The feeling was overwhelming.
I missed him.
From the moment I entered into this scary, violent world, he’d been by my side.
When I was down he brought me my favorite foods. When I was scared he sat in my room until I wasn’t scared anymore.
And when I needed him to he held my hand and listened to me rant about how much I missed my parents… and my old life.
Before I’d become a monster.
“See anyone you know down there?” Roxy asked.
I blinked. “What?”
“Oh, honey… that’s totally the wrong place to shove that thing!”
I really hoped they were moving furniture.
The possibility that I was talking to my friend while she and her man were…
I was ready to die from shame.
“Sorry, sweetie. My husband needs a hand.”—No… —“Talk to you soon.”
And she hung up on me.
Dagnabbit…
I looked at my cell phone in disgust.
What did she say about seeing someone I knew down here?
My mind cued up Benjamin’s face.
Those light blue eyes, his shoulder-length black hair.
And his smile…
I loved his smile.
Enough of this!
I was tired and needed to go home, curl up in my new bed and get some much-needed sleep.
But I hadn’t slept well since I’d been bitten.
I didn’t think that a new bed in a new town would help that.
But maybe…
###
The sun was still out when I took a shower, pulled on an oversized t-shirt, and crawled into bed.
It was the softest mattress I’d ever lain on: simply sumptuous and decadent.
I curled up, pulling my sheet around me. No matter how hot it was outside, I always needed a sheet or blanket.
There wasn’t air conditioning, but the air coming through the window was gentle and cool.
I pressed my face to the cool pillow, breathed in the new of the pillowcase and…
Chapter 3
I awoke to darkness and the slamming of a car door.
I sat up in bed and listened. Just some crickets and the wind blowing through the trees.
Maybe I’d just dreamed the car door slamming.
And then I heard footsteps crunching in the gravel of the driveway.
Oh my god…
They were here for me.
I was so scared I couldn’t even move. I just sat there on the bed, twisting my hands in the sheet.
They were back…
But they were dead.
All those men who had torn me out of my life and dragged me to Roxy’s family home were dead.
Benjamin had shown me their graves.
The sound of the footsteps changed. He was on the porch.
The steps stopped for a few beats.
Please go away. Pleas
e, please, please go away.
And as if in answer, whoever it was walked back down the porch steps and down the gravel driveway, further and further, until a car door opened and then closed, a truck engine roared to life, and it crept back down the driveway.
The motor roared again once the truck started down the road, slowly disappearing as it drove out of earshot.
After a while, my body relaxed again.
When I could move again I got out of bed, crept down the stairs without turning on the lights, and tiptoed to the front door.
I peered through the strange, wavy glass that let me see a distorted version of the outside world. I didn’t see anyone on the porch.
After a few minutes of listening and watching, I decided to open the door.
This was so not the thing to do.
I needed to drag the couch and the rest of the living room furniture over and barricade the door. Not unlock and open it.
I hadn’t dreamed it. Someone had been out there.
Maybe it had been the sheriff.
Maybe it was someone else, someone that wanted to hurt me.
I looked over to my right and saw an empty coat-rack. Sitting beside that was an umbrella holder.
Sticking out of the umbrella holder was, inexplicably, a baseball bat.
Hmmm…
I reached over, took the bat in hand—it made me feel better immediately—and reached for the doorknob.
The door made a shuddering metallic noise again as I pulled it open.
Not to self: oil the door.
I held the bat up, ready to swing at anything that jumped out at me, and took a step forward.
My foot hit something, and I jumped back and said a very, very bad word, squinting at the package that sat on the porch.
“For crying out loud.”
I stepped forward, over the package and onto the porch, baseball bat held high and ready to rip.
I looked to the left, to the right, ahead, listening to the night sounds—pretty much the wind and crickets again.
Okay, no one was out here.
I stepped back toward the door, grabbed the package, jumped inside and slammed the door shut again, throwing the locks.
I leaned against the door, panting, my heart thudding in my chest.
And that’s when his scent hit me.
Benjamin.
###
I lay in bed—the package unopened—my hand flat on the mattress and my fingers barely brushing the brown paper wrapping.