by T. S. Ryder
“She was freaking out, was I supposed to let her just drive off when she might crash into a tree or something?” Tyrell gripped the radio so tightly that he thought he might snap it. Behind him, Cynthia stopped banging on the door, instead just sobbing. He closed his eyes as the radio crackled. After hearing his name practically yelled through it, he finally answered. “What?”
“We are coming right away. Let the girl out of the cellar, for God’s sake, and try not to be an idiot.” That was Kurtis, alpha of the Ridgelines and Tyrell’s step-brother.
Tyrell’s jaw snapped shut. He wanted to yell back that he hadn’t planned to stuff Cynthia into a root cellar, but kept his mouth shut. He hung the radio back onto his belt and hid his face in his hands. What the hell was happening? He had had so many thoughts about this, so many plans for how to tell Cynthia that they were bears. He had planned out exactly what he was going to do if she found out accidentally, like this.
And instead, he locked her in the root cellar. Smooth. Real smooth. Especially after Smith attacked her.
“Tyrell,” Ruby called. She hurried over to join him. There was a bit of blood smeared over her forehead and his eyes widened.
“What happened?”
Ruby touched the blood and grimaced. “She freaked out. But whatever, have you told the alphas?”
“Yeah. They’re going to come to help… deal with the situation.”
Ruby nodded, frowning. “Tamara is in her room, sobbing. I’ll handle Cynthia, you just go take care of your daughter.”
Tyrell flinched. He nodded, feeling like he was in the middle of a whirlwind. As he stepped away from the cellar, though, he stopped. He was the one who put her in there, he ought to be the one to let her out. So he lifted the crossbeam and opened the door. Cynthia flinched back from him, tears streaming down her face.
The fear in her eyes made him want to shrivel up and die. “I’m sorry...”
“Go take care of Tamara,” Ruby said again, more firmly.
Head hanging, Tyrell turned to the house. He heard Ruby and Cynthia following but didn’t dare turn and look. When they got to the porch, the roar of a motorbike made him turn. Within seconds, Rex was there. The bike spat out gravel as the other bear leaped off it. Fury was written all over his face as he charged at Tyrell.
A fist swung, connecting hard with Tyrell’s face. The force lifted him up and threw him halfway across the porch.
Ruby gasped, Cynthia screamed, and the next thing Tyrell knew, Rex had Cynthia in a protective grasp while he glared at the siblings.
“How dare you?” Rex seethed. “I heard everything—how dare you treat her like this?”
Tyrell scrambled to his feet but just stood there, unable to say anything. Rex glared at him with a gleam in his eye, as though daring him to attack, to defend himself, to do anything that would allow Rex to become more of a hero in Cynthia’s eyes. But Tyrell didn’t move. He didn’t even process what Rex was saying. Instead, his eyes were locked on Cynthia.
Tears streamed down her face and she clung to Rex’s side. Terror shone from her eyes. He wanted to say something, anything, that would reassure her. To let her know that this wasn’t who he was, that he just panicked, that he didn’t want what she was screaming to be heard by his daughter. Everything froze in his throat.
He’d fucked up.
He knew without having to ask that he had just destroyed everything that they had had together. There wasn’t any point in lying to himself, saying that it wasn’t all that important or that Cynthia was just a fling. At that moment, there was nothing but her. And the guilt and regret burning in his gut.
Rex turned Cynthia towards himself and clasped her hands tightly. “Hey. Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
Cynthia glanced at Tyrell again. “...No.”
“It’s gonna be okay.” Rex’s voice was low and soothing. “I promise. I won’t let him come near you. I know this must have been a shock to you, but it’s okay. We’re not monsters, we’re not animals. We just happen to be able to change shapes.”
Ruby stepped up beside Tyrell and gave him a worried look. He closed his eyes for a moment before he turned to her. “Can you get Tamara? Take her into town or something, I don’t want her to see this.”
Cynthia opened her mouth but didn’t speak.
Ruby disappeared into the house, while the three left behind still stared at one another. After a moment, Ruby came out, holding Tamara. She sobbed and Cynthia pressed a hand to her mouth. She still didn’t speak, though her tears increased. Ruby walked swiftly passed her to the truck, where she settled Tamara in and drove off.
“I’m sorry,” Cynthia whispered, staring after them.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Rex soothed. “Now… let’s go sit down and I’ll get you a glass of water.”
Tyrell’s bear snarled at the thought of Rex stepping foot in his house, but he didn’t protest. He even went so far as to step out of their way, so that Cynthia didn’t have to be near him.
First Smith attacked her and then he locked her in his cellar. Right now, she was probably so afraid that she didn’t know whom to trust. When he found out about this, Smith was going to have a field day. He’d say that this was exactly why humans shouldn’t be allowed on the island. As if he wasn’t the one who had cause all of this from the start.
He still stood outside on the porch when the four alphas arrived. Each of them looked stressed and angry, not that he could blame them. When they asked where Cynthia was, Tyrell wordlessly gestured into the house.
Kurtis and Ricky both paused while Bobby and Noel went into the house.
“Hey. You okay?” Kurtis asked, his voice low.
Tyrell glared at his step-brother, opening his mouth to answer harshly, but a glance at Ricky stopped him. It was a genuine question. After a moment, he swallowed and shook his head. His eyes burned, much to his chagrin, but neither alpha commented on it. Ricky gripped his shoulder and led him inside, Kurtis following.
The alphas gathered around Cynthia, who sat on a love seat looking shell-shocked. Beside her, Rex had planted himself firmly on the cushions. He didn’t look at Tyrell, his attention solely focused on Cynthia.
“Cynthia.” Noel was the one to speak, his voice authoritative despite how he tried to soften it. “You’ve learned something about us. Something that we have been trying very hard to keep secret from the outside world. You can understand how this is cause for concern.”
She flinched. “You’re going to kill me?”
“No,” Tyrell said at once. His bear snarled, ready to attack the alphas even though he knew they’d never suggest such a thing. “Never!”
“Diana’s human,” Noel quickly added. “We stay out here so that we don’t end up with the drama of humans finding out about us. So… can you please tell us how you found out?”
Cynthia opened her mouth, closed it again, and shut her eyes.
“It was James Smith,” Tyrell muttered. He sank onto the couch. “She was walking back from town. He attacked her. I don’t know… what he was planning.” Rage rose up in him and he jumped to his feet again. “He attacked her!”
“And so you decided to attack her as well?” Rex snarled at him.
The rage drained from Tyrell’s body. “I…”
Cynthia looked up at him, wiped her eyes, and turned to Rex. “He protected me. From the other bear. Then we came back and Tamara…”
“She shifted,” Tyrell said, his throat closing over. “And I… Cynthia, I’m so sorry.”
She turned her face away. “I want to go home.”
Bobby crouched beside her. “Cynthia. I know that this is strange and frightening. But I’m afraid that we are going to have to keep you on the island until we can figure out how to proceed. There are several hotels that you could stay at, or—”
“She’s staying with me.” Rex’s voice was gruff. “I’ll keep her safe.”
Here he sent a deadly look at Tyrell. Tyrell’s hackles rose, and he bared his teeth. How dare Rex i
nsinuate that he’d hurt her? He’d never hurt her! He opened his mouth to say just that, but even as he did so, he remembered the sound of her slamming against the cellar door. His voice caught in his throat. How could any of them think differently?
“We’ll deal with Smith,” Noel said. “He won’t come anywhere near you again, Cynthia. So you can stay where you’d like. We can even assign some men to protect you.”
“They’ll be bears, too?”
“Yes,” Kurtis said. “We all are. You and Diana are the only two on the island who aren’t.”
Cynthia looked like she was about to throw up. “I want to go home!”
“Sweetheart, you’re safe now,” Rex murmured.
Tyrell hung his head and stepped back. “I will go… somewhere else while you pack your things,” he mumbled. “I… I’m sorry.”
He heard Cynthia inhale, but didn’t wait to hear what she would say. He turned on his heel and marched away, not wanting to have anything to do with any of it anymore. He dug his hands into his hair as he marched off into the field, not caring where he was going. His bear snarled and beat his chest. He stripped off his shirt and pants and shifted, letting his bear forward. It eased some of the tension inside of him, but not enough. Not until he barreled toward the ocean, letting his muscles scream with the exertion.
God, what had he done?
Chapter Eleven – Cynthia
She had been afraid that they were going to lock her up, but they didn’t. The four huge men, with Rex riding his bike behind them, drove her into town and put her in a house there. It was a very nice place, a little dated but in good repair. She paced up and down the bedroom upstairs. Occasional murmured voices or angry words made their way to her, but not enough for her to make any sense of it.
They were bears. They could turn into bears. She was on an island full of bear shifters. Her mind churned over this fact, unable to really process it. How was it possible? Was it some sort of government experiment?
She glanced at the window. It was standard, didn’t look like it was nailed shut or anything. If she opened it and was able to lower herself to the ground… what would she do? Hit the ground running and run all the way to the ocean before she was caught and dragged back?
No. There was no point in running away. She had to stay here, watch carefully, and figure out what to do. They weren’t going to hurt her. At least, she didn’t think they would hurt her.
If she left, though, then James Smith would have access to her again. She didn’t know if he had meant to hurt her or not on that road, but the hatred in his eyes made her shiver. If there were people to fear on this island, he certainly was one of them.
She glanced down at her hands and wrists. Small bruises were starting to form where she had beaten the cellar door. A shiver ran down her spine. The way he’d thrown her around like a ragdoll… he hadn’t meant to hurt her, she knew that in her gut, but he could have. He didn’t, but he could have.
With a shaky breath, Cynthia wrapped her arms around her middle. She felt bad that she had freaked out so badly in front of Tamara. Despite it all, she couldn’t forget the excited look on the little girl’s face before she started to shift. And Cynthia had responded by screaming. It was perfectly reasonable to freak out like she had to see a person turn into a bear before her eyes, but it was Tamara. Her reaction had frightened the little girl…
Maybe it’s not real, she thought, pinching her arm. “Maybe this is just a dream.” The pinch hurt and she winced. “Maybe I’m going crazy. Maybe there are no bears. Maybe I need to be locked away in a white padded room. Maybe I’m on drugs and I don’t know it.”
Maybe James Smith was a drug dealer who had drugged her.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs and she froze, eyes locked on the door. There was a knock, and then an impatient huff and the door swung open. Rex stood on the other side, accompanied by a well-dressed, black-haired man. He smiled softly at her as he stepped in.
“I don’t believe we were properly introduced. My name is Kurtis.” His arms were held loosely at his side, his whole posture relaxed and non-threatening. “I’m sure that you have a lot of questions that you would like answered.”
“Not really.” Cynthia shook her head. There were plenty of questions, but she didn’t want to stick around to have them answered. “I just want to go home.”
Kurtis’ smile faltered. “Like we said before, we can’t let you go just yet. I’m sorry, I know it’s not what you want to hear.”
“You have no right to keep me a prisoner, I have done nothing wrong!”
Kurtis nodded slowly. “That is very true. You haven’t done anything wrong. If people were to find out about us, though, it could mean the end of our way of life—our very existence. We just want to make sure you understand the significance of keeping our secret. In the meantime, Rex here has volunteered to let you stay with him. You don’t have to. You could stay here, or we could get you a hotel room.”
Cynthia glanced at Rex’s hopeful expression. She rubbed her arms. He had been very angry that Tyrell had locked her up. And earlier he had said he loved her…
Was there more to him than she realized? Could it be that he really did care, and it had nothing to do with Tyrell? If there was anything she knew, though, it was that he wasn’t going to hurt her. He wanted to see her safe. She chewed on her lip, wondering if it was a good idea, but found the idea of sitting in a house or hotel all by herself too much to bear.
She nodded. “I would like that.”
Rex’s smile widened. He strode in and reached for her hand. “Thank you, Cynthia. For trusting me.”
She nodded stiffly, uncertain how else to respond.
“Good. Then you may leave. Just don’t leave the island,” Kurtis said. “We are looking for James Smith. He’s gone on the lamb, but there are only so many hiding places on the island. Once he’s dealt with, then we can revisit the issue again.”
She nodded once more. Rex grabbed her suitcase and walked her down to his motorbike. Looking at it and then at her suitcase, he frowned. Behind him, Kurtis took the case and said they’d make sure she got it. Rex then handed her a helmet and jumped onto the bike. Cynthia climbed on after him. He was strong and heavily muscled as she wrapped her arms around him, but all she could think of was how Tyrell felt in her arms.
She didn’t even realize they were headed to the docks until Rex parked the bike right beside his boat. She blinked in surprise, jaw hanging open.
“Let me get that.” Rex helped her take off the helmet, then lifted her off the bike. Within a few moments, they were on the boat, headed away from the island and to the open ocean.
“Wait.” Cynthia finally found her voice as she moved back, closer to where Rex steered the boat. “I thought that Kurtis told us not to leave the island.”
Rex snorted. “Kurtis is not my alpha.”
Alpha.
Cynthia pushed aside the strange term, instead focusing on where they were going. She wasn’t sure which way exactly would take them to the mainland, but her heart lifted all the same. Rex wasn’t going to hold her prisoner here. Even if she didn’t have her suitcase of belongings, it hardly mattered. He was going to take her far, far away from the bears and from the memories of Tyrell and the passion that had been between them.
Her heart sunk just as rapidly as it had risen when Rex turned off the boat. They bobbed on the waves and she eyed him warily.
“You don’t have to look like I’m going to eat you,” he said with a small laugh. “I just wanted to be certain that we could talk privately. I know that things can be stifling on the island. Everybody knows everybody else’s business. Sometimes it feels like you can’t take a piss without being asked what volume you got.”
That managed to bring forward a laugh as Cynthia imagined someone doing just that.
Rex smiled at her. “I know it’s a shock. We don’t get a lot of non-shifters out here and honestly… we live in fear of the day when humans find out. There’s a reason
we isolated ourselves like this. Our ancestors… Well, let’s say we lost a lot of people in Salem.”
Cynthia winced at that. She could understand why they would be afraid—look at how she had reacted! She could only imagine how much worse it would be if it was somebody with a gun and a need to feel superior to others.
“Sit down,” she encouraged, patting the spot beside her.
Rex sat, his smile broadening now.
“This doesn’t mean that anything is happening here.”
His smile faded but he brushed it off. “I know. The last thing you need is more complications… Tyrell should never have let it gotten this far, for you to get this involved before finding out. It’s just the sort of—” He cut himself off and cleared his throat. “This isn’t about him… but is it true that Tamara shifted?”
Eagerness shone from his eyes. Cynthia glanced away. Tyrell had said that he didn’t want Rex around Tamara because of his negativity. He also said that he had started to look for ways of getting Rex into counseling so that he could be part of Tamara’s life again. Tyrell had also shoved her into a root cellar and locked her in there. What sort of man did that? Did he deserve to have sole custody of a little girl?
He should have told her. He should have sat down and explained things to her, or never have hired her in the first place. He had lied to her, the entire time that they were sleeping together. What sort of man did that?
“Yes,” she said slowly in answer to Rex’s question. “She did. And I reacted badly… I was just so frightened. This little girl that I’ve been watching for the past few months turned into a bear right before me, and now I find out… can you?”
Rex nodded seriously. “I turn into a rather lovely polar bear. But if you think that our bears make us more violent or anything, they don’t.”
She shuddered. “James Smith was going to attack me.”
“And if I find him, he’ll pay for it.” Rex’s eyes darkened. “He’s a real creep. I’ve always thought so. He wants to have a system where females and males are paired based on strength rather than letting us choose our own mates. He was furious when the alphas mated a human. Ever since you arrived, he’s been ranting about humans and… well… he’s a creep.”