The Panther's Rival

by Emilia Hartley

  Finally, hunger won out. “Yes, I want some,” Dan bit out, his voice low.

  “Thought you might.” Tom replied, gathering the cold lunch as he walked to the door. “I’ll be back in a bit. Feel free to shout if you need anything.” Slamming the door behind him, Tom made sure to lock it tightly.

  As interesting as it might be to entertain the thought that Dan would want to join them, there was no telling how they could even begin to put that plan in motion. Dan still appeared to hate everything they stood for, and with good reason. Their safest bet was to nurse him to well enough health and get him out of their hair for good.

  Tom couldn’t wait for that day.

  Chapter Two

  Human skin is so weird, Savannah thought to herself. It meant showering in bathrooms, sleeping in real beds and cooking food on a stove, things Savannah hadn’t done for herself in a really long time.

  Lucas had helped her out by way of a singular key. It belonged to a house in the heart of the alpha territory. The house was filthy, abandoned, and in a state of disrepair, but she wouldn’t dare complain. She was just surprised that her leader would aid her at all.

  A house, broken though it was, helped her become a little more human. It had a shower, a bed, a stove, and even a few extra things like a closet for her clothes and a mirror to remain presentable to the public eye. Though her muscles complained as she walked and she had to remind herself to do things like comb her hair and brush her teeth, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief. This was the most free she’d felt in a long time.

  “But I’m not free,” she reminded herself as she threw open the creaky windows. She had a mission, and though she couldn’t see him, she knew that Lucas would be watching over her as she wandered the streets of Woodhaven. If she slipped up, he’d be there to rain down fire and brimstone on her. She shuddered at the thought.

  The problem was coming up with a way to interact with them. She knew they lived on the edge of town and worked as mechanics, but she had no car and no knowledge of car repair. Being a bear was her only selling point, but coming off of the back of an attack by the Northern Wind, they probably weren’t too keen on meeting more of their kind for a while.

  With a sigh, Savannah grabbed her coat. Maybe a walk would clear her mind, or perhaps asking a few of the locals about the brothers could open up a few possibilities on how to get on their good side. “Plus, I need more food for cooking,” she reminded herself with a groan. Cooking was so much more difficult than hunting.

  She decided to head straight for the grocery store. She’d already memorized the path and the people that worked there knew her face from her past few trips. They’d be the easiest to converse with. Plus, she was really low on food. It wasn’t far, only a few blocks off, and the fresh air did wonders for her mind as she strolled along. The stuffy old house that Lucas had lent her reminded her too much of his control over her, and it was tough to think past her fear.

  As she rounded the corner to the store, a sign in the window immediately caught her eye. Before she could even comprehend the words, her heart began to speed. “Financial assistant wanted,” she read aloud. “Part time. Apply to Jo at Brewer Mechanics.” Jo… the human girl. Brewer Mechanics… the shop the alphas owned. She gasped as realization hit her. This was it. Her golden opportunity.

  Though she didn’t have all the right credentials for the job, she’d always been decent with numbers and she’d had a bit of experience in running a business, in a life before this one. She didn’t have any reason not to try. She had no doubt an opportunity like this would not present itself to her again. She had to take it.

  Steeling her gaze, she took off in the direction of the mechanic shop. It didn’t take long to walk there; she’d walked quickly enough that her breath was panting out in puffs of white vapor as she closed in on the shop’s office door. She tried to convince herself it was solely from exertion, but even she could feel the nerves coursing through her veins as she reached out to open the door. “They don’t know you’re from the pack,” she reassured herself, eyes darting about to make sure she hadn’t been spotted. “Just calm down and act natural.” She fixed a smile on her face and promptly threw open the door.

  “Hello!” called a cheerful looking woman, her reddish-brown hair bounced happily as she rounded the counter to greet her. “Welcome to Brewer Mechanics. Can I help you?”

  Savannah froze at the entrance. “I-I saw an advert?”

  “Oh! That was quick!” the woman replied. “I only put it up this morning.”

  A wave of relief washed over Savannah. “So no one’s gotten it yet?”

  “Nope,” she laughed, holding her hand out to shake. “Things move pretty slowly in this town, I’m afraid. I’m guessing you’re not from here?”

  “No,” Savannah replied, accepting her handshake and scrambling to come up with a quick cover story. “I’ve been a wanderer for a while now. I thought I might try settling down and this seemed like as good a place as any to try.”

  The woman gave Savannah an understanding smile. “I just moved here, too, so we have that in common,” she replied. “I’m Jo Barrowman, it’s nice to meet you.”

  “Savannah Danvers.”

  “Okay, Miss Danvers! Let’s get right to it, shall we?” Jo announced, as she led Savannah to an office chair and prompted her to sit. Jo sat across from her, giving her an open and kind smile. “So, what’s your experience as a financial assistant?”

  Savannah tried not to panic and told Jo as much of the truth as she could. She spoke of growing up in a pretty big town where she’d helped her dad run his small business for a few years before he sold it to a huge corporation so he could retire. Her heart grew heavy as she mentioned his passing only a few years later, and how it prompted her to become a traveler, looking for some place to start over.

  Jo gave sympathetic nods throughout the tale, never once hinting that she might be suspicious. “And why did you choose to apply here today, Miss Danvers?”

  Savannah shrugged. “I’m running low on cash, and I saw your advert in the grocery window. I thought you might be able to use my expertise and I might be able to make enough to pay my rent next month.” Her heart raced a bit with the lie, but she knew Jo was human, so she felt safe not being totally honest.

  “I’m glad you did,” Jo smiled, warmly. “I know what it’s like, leaving everything behind and starting over, so your story resonates with me.” She stood. “I’ll have to speak to the others, but I’d say the job is yours!”

  Savannah couldn’t help but smile at the news. “Are you sure? I know I’m not the most qualified and you just put the advert up today! You might get someone else…” she mentally kicked herself. Why was she trying to talk the human out of this? Was she mad?

  Jo shook her head. “Call it a woman’s intuition. I have a good feeling about you.” Before Savannah could protest further, Jo began to explain all she could about the shop and what Savannah’s duties would be. As she spoke animatedly about the mechanics, Savannah felt a twinge of shock. This was Jo, alpha bear Nick Brewer’s human charge, possibly even his mate, though that remained unconfirmed. She’d killed a member of the Northern Wind pack. Every clue told Savannah to hate her, but she just couldn’t.

  “Do you have any questions?” Jo asked, cutting off Savannah’s internal monologue.

  “Oh! No, not at all. You explained everything quite well,” Savanah replied, waving away her question. Jo smiled, turning away to pull out some recent paperwork. Savannah swallowed nervously, working hard to keep her façade intact. She’d have to fight against any desire she had to befriend the human girl. She wasn’t here to make friends. She had a mission, and she’d be a fool to go against Lucas’s orders.

  Cool wind blew against Savannah’s back as the office doors swung open. She turned as a tall, dark-haired, well-muscled man walked inside, stopping almost immediately as he laid eyes on her. Their nostrils flared at the same time, and Savannah knew that they’d recognized each o
ther as shifters almost in unison. She tried not to cower back as the alpha scent hit her senses. The look in his glare was icier than the wind outside, but she fought to stand her ground. Appearing afraid would only make her look guilty.

  The man looked from Savannah’s terrified gaze to Jo. “Who’s this?”

  Jo glanced up with a slight frown on her face. “This is Savannah Danvers. She applied for the job.” She turned to Savannah. “Miss Danvers, this is Tom Brewer, mechanic and part owner of Brewer Mechanics.”

  “She applied for a job, eh?” Tom replied. He picked up a raggedy shop cloth from the nearby counter and wiped sweat from his brow. He looked like he’d been working only moments before, his thin shirt sticking to him with perspiration and little black smudges marring the tan of his skin.

  Savannah swallowed softly, speaking to hide the fact that she’d been staring. “Yes, I uh, I saw the advert in town. At the grocery store. I needed food.” She clamped her mouth shut before she could babble further. She turned to Jo so that she could keep from staring at the muscles in his arms as they worked to wipe more sweat from his face, or the heat in his eyes as he perused her. The attraction she’d felt for him was immediate, riding the coattails of her fear. It was half as rational and twice as confusing. She needed to rid herself of it, immediately.

  “I was thinking she’d be a pretty nice fit for our team,” Jo spoke, eyes on the papers in front of her. “She has expertise, and she needs the wor—”

  “Can you go get Nick then?” Tom asked, voice tense but pleasant. “As owner, he deserves to have a say in the final decision, after all. I’ll stay here and chat with Miss Danvers.”

  Jo frowned, her eyes narrowing suspiciously at Tom with unspoken words. Savannah watched them fight a small, silent battle before Jo gave in with a sigh.

  “Fine,” she muttered. “But be nice.”

  She walked out the door, muttering something about being back soon before the door closed Savannah inside alone with Tom Brewer, alpha bear shifter. The office suddenly felt a whole lot smaller.

  Tom leaned one elbow on the counter, eyes boring into hers with a sharp apprehension that made her fight back another shiver. With as much courage as she could muster, she met his gaze and held it. She’d never best an alpha, but she could at least try to earn his respect by not showing fear.

  A small glint of appreciation passed through his gaze before he spoke. “So, why would a rogue shifter choose to come to Woodhaven?”

  Chapter Three

  Savannah tried to smile, but her mouth barely moved. “I’m just looking for a job.”

  “Oh?” Tom replied, sarcasm dripping. “And you just so happened to come here, to the one place in the tri-state area where two other bear shifters are, huh?”

  “As ridiculous as it sounds, yes.”

  Tom pushed himself upward, standing tall and dwarfing Savannah easily. “I think you’d better start from the beginning.”

  Savannah quickly ran through the same story she’d told Jo, keeping her voice and gaze steady so as not to seem guilty. Unlike the human, a bear shifter would be hard to fool if her heart sped. “I only came here because there was a job posted. Finding out that bear shifters were here was only a happy accident.”

  Tom snorted. “Happy.”

  Savannah turned up her nose, feigning confidence. “Yes, happy. You seem like the type that values his privacy, correct?” She saw a glint in his eyes that meant she had his attention. “I need a job, I have the qualifications, and I’m also a bear shifter. If you ask me, I’d be much better for the job than say, another human, don’t you think?” Her heart was hammering in her chest, betraying her false confidence, but she hoped her words had captured more of his interest than her bodily functions. “No secrets to keep from another non-shifter. We know each other’s biggest secret, so what’s the worst that can happen?”

  They locked eyes in a heated gaze, Tom’s narrowing to slits as he watched her for signs of betrayal. “You honestly expect me to believe you.” It wasn’t a question.

  It almost physically hurt to look him in the eyes, but Savannah persevered. “Well, considering I’m telling the truth, yeah, kinda.”

  “Does the name Northern Wind ring any bells for you?”

  A shiver tingled at the back of her neck, but she remained still. “No. Should it?”

  Tom leaned in a little, and Savannah watched as his nostrils flexed, taking in her scent. She knew he didn’t trust her in the slightest, but she needed him to have the slightest doubt in his own suspicions. Just enough to get her in the door. So she stood her ground. Finally, he stood back, and she fought to hold in her sigh of relief.

  “I’ll have to discuss this with my brother.”

  “Please,” Savannah replied. “Whatever helps. I really need this job.”

  As he turned to leave, she called, “Oh, and about the human, I’d rather she not know about…”

  Tom smiled grimly. “We know a thing or two about keeping secrets from humans. Yours is safe with me.”

  Savannah silently cursed herself. Tom didn’t know she knew about Jo before arriving here. She knew Jo knew about shifters, but making him aware that she knew this information would mean she’d learned it from somewhere… like the Northern Wind pack. He hadn’t seemed to catch on to it…fortunately. She’d have to be more careful in the future. “Thank you,” was all she managed to say.

  She sagged against the counter as he made his way to the door. Finally she’d have a moment of peace. He paused, the door slightly ajar. “Take a seat and help yourself to a cup of coffee.” Her eyes snapped up, but he’d turned away before she could get a good look at him. “I’ll be back soon.” With that, he departed.

  Rather than dwelling on the alpha’s last minute act of kindness, she decided to take him up on his offer for coffee, pouring herself a steaming hot cup. As she took the first delicious sip, she noticed that she could see Tom and Jo outside conversing with who was obviously Nick, the alpha pack leader. They were standing far enough away where she couldn’t hear what was being said—probably deliberately.

  Jo, the human, was speaking animatedly with Nick Brewer and Tom didn’t look happy, to say the least. Though Savannah had to admit, not happy looked good on him. His biceps bulged as he crossed his arms, a solemn scowl tilting his full lips downward to a squared jawline. Tom Brewer was nothing if not handsome, and Savannah was happy for the time to admire him without the inconvenience of prying eyes.

  Wandering back to her seat, she kept her eyes on the trio outside. As they talked, Nick casually slipped an arm around Jo’s waist, and Savannah stifled a gasp. Did this mean the rumors were true? Was Nick Brewer mated to a human?

  A feeling of disgust rose in Savannah’s throat, quickly followed by guilt. Jo had shown her nothing but kindness from the moment she walked through the door. What right did she have to show distaste at their relationship? It’s not right! Her bear shouted, though she chose to ignore it. Maybe it wasn’t right, but she looked on as waves of protectiveness practically rolled off Nick as he held her, and somehow it felt right, even if she couldn’t agree with it. Regardless, it was definitely something worth noting once she got back in touch with Lucas. He’d be pleased to hear she’d already uncovered something so important.

  She found herself wondering if Tom was in any way like his brother. Did he prefer the touch of a delicate human the way Nick did, or would he care for something more… traditional? She shook the thought away. Thinking like that would only distract her. He was an attractive bear, for sure, but getting caught up in her emotions was just asking for trouble.

  As she was watching, Tom gestured angrily towards the office. She felt heat creep up her neck and onto her cheeks. It was obvious he was talking about her, and none too kindly. What if he convinced them that she wouldn’t be such a great fit after all? What would Lucas do to her if he found out she’d failed? She shuddered at the thought, finally averting her gaze as she took another sip of her cooling coffee.


  ***

  “I don’t like it,” Tom declared.

  “Well, I like her,” Jo replied. “I think she’d be a great addition to the team.”

  Nick shrugged. “I trust Jo’s decision, of course.” He grinned down at her, slipping an arm around her waist and Tom watched as she hid her blush.

  Tom groaned in frustration. “We know nothing about her,” he growled. “I mean, come on, a sob story about a dead dad and being a wanderer? How can we possibly trust that?”

  “Believe it or not, not everyone in this world is trying to deceive you, Tom,” Jo retorted.

  Tom gritted his teeth. “I just think we should give it a little more time. See who else shows up for an interview.”

  “Is this because she’s a shifter?” Nick asked.

  “She didn’t want Jo to know about that,” Tom said immediately.

  “So?” Jo said, a hurt expression on her face.

  “Humans aren’t even supposed to know that shifters exist. It’s not outside of the realm of possibility that she might feel uncomfortable with you knowing about her, even on the off chance that you knew about us.” Tom shrugged. “I felt she had a right to that privacy.”

  Jo narrowed her eyes, slightly, her gaze inquisitive. “You like her.”

  Tom blew out an exasperated breath. “Don’t be ridiculous, Jo. I don’t even know her.” He neglected to mention that he did have a bit of an attraction to her. She was certainly attractive, with a confidence in her honey-brown eyes that he couldn’t help but appreciate. He’d hardly call it something as strong as liking her, though.

  Nick chuckled. “So then what’s the big deal? We give her a job—that’s it, period. It’s only for a few hours a day. If we’re doing our jobs, we’ll hardly ever even cross paths.”

  Tom growled. “I don’t trust her.”

  “You don’t trust anybody,” Jo pointed out.

  “It was different with you, Jo!”