Aubrey climbed into her car, and peeled out of the parking lot. She needed to clear her head, and she knew just the place to do it. She headed for one of her favorite secluded beach spots, driving like a madwoman to get there. She needed to be in the water. She didn’t even bother going back to the lab to grab a wetsuit. It was still warm enough that she could handle a swim in the ocean in her underwear. And she didn’t want to spend another second anywhere near Brett or Gary.
* * *
Brett stormed out of the bar, blinded by rage. He had been such a fool. He had actually believed that Aubrey meant it when she said she didn’t have time for a relationship. He had allowed himself to hold out hope that, in the future, after the slow burn of friendship, she might change her mind and let him love her.
Now, he had to face the fact that he had been played. He had been so excited when his shift at the air station unexpectedly ended a day early. He had gone to surprise Aubrey at work, hoping to catch her on her way out of the lab. But traffic had been horrendous, and he hadn’t made it to the university until after he knew she would already be gone. He had still driven through the parking lot, anyway, just in case he happened to catch her working late. But he hadn’t seen her car. Giving up on the surprise aspect, he had had picked up his phone to call her and see if she was free for dinner. Just as he’d been about to dial, he saw her car outside of a small bar, Pete’s, down the road from the university. He grinned as he pulled into the parking lot. She had mentioned this place before. She’d told him that they had a great selection of beers on tap, and that she liked to go there after work sometimes to grab drinks with her colleagues.
Brett’s excitement had quickly turned into anger when he walked through the front door, however. He had been shocked to see Aubrey sitting at the bar with another man’s hand on her arm. He had exploded with rage. His inner bear had pushed against his human skin, demanding to be let out and allowed to rip the other man to pieces. Brett had, of course, resisted that urge. But he hadn’t been able to keep himself from yelling at Aubrey. She had lied to him. She had told him that she didn’t want a relationship, when she was clearly getting cozy with another guy. She had never even held his hand when they were out, preferring to keep things strictly in the friend zone until they were in the bedroom. Yet, here she was, letting some other man put his hands all over her.
The worst part about this was Brett realized that he actually didn’t have any right to be mad at another man for putting his hands on Aubrey. Brett had no claim on her. They were friends. With benefits, sure. But they had never agreed to be exclusive. Brett had just assumed they would be, blinded by his desire to make Aubrey happy and to eventually have the chance for something deeper with her.
Brett drove for a long time, filled with anger and not even sure where he was going. He drove north until he didn’t know exactly where he was anymore, and then he pulled off at a small state beach. The sun was just beginning to make its way down, creating long, late afternoon shadows. Brett parked his car and stumbled out, making his way blindly to where the ocean met the shoreline. He kicked off his shoes and started running south, his bare feet pounding the firmly packed, wet sand that was leftover from the recent high tide. He couldn’t think straight, and he just wanted to move his body to get some endorphins flowing and push back the anguish of the situation. He ran as fast as he could, ignoring the familiar sensation of burning lungs and aching legs as he moved his body faster and faster across the sand. A mixture of anger and sadness filled him, and his bear was still clawing at him, trying to force him to turn around and go back to find Aubrey.
He wasn’t going back to Aubrey, but he could release some of the tension his bear was feeling by shifting. Brett slowed his run and looked around carefully, trying to see if any humans were nearby. He knew shifting so close to such a populated area was dangerous, and the other alphas would kill him if they knew he was going to do so. But, right now, he needed to do something to calm down. Shifting was the only thing that was going to help.
The beach looked deserted. It wasn’t much of a swimming spot, and there were no parking lots within a convenient walking distance, so people only came here if they were interested in making the effort to find a private, secluded spot. Brett felt a fresh pang of sadness hit him as he realized that this would be the type of beach Aubrey would love. She had made a hobby of finding the most private beaches she could, so that she could swim the day away in solitude. Brett always got after her for swimming alone in the ocean, telling her it was dangerous not to have anyone nearby to call for help if she got in trouble. She always just shrugged and said, “Que sera, sera.”
What will be, will be.
Brett glanced around, and, not seeing anyone, decided to take the risk on shifting. After all, que sera, sera. He didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks, but he needed to let his bear run free. He needed to clear his head and let loose his body’s full potential. The odds of anyone seeing him out here were low, and he needed this release. The only thing on the beach other than sand was a small group of shrubs surrounding a large Torrey pine tree. Brett decided it was safe to shift for a short run. He hated living in the shadows, as he had been since the days of the Great Epidemic. It had been years since he had shifted outside and let his bear run free in the fresh air. Shifting only in secret, in the shadows of his locked apartment, was no way to live.
Brett looked around once more, then quickly stripped naked, throwing his clothes into a pile on the sand. He let out a roar, and threw back his head as he let the primal energy of his animal overtake him. His skin changed from tanned, human skin into thick black and white fur. His hands changed into large paws, ending in sharp claws, and his face became the familiar black and white face of a panda. Brett roared again, baring his sharp bear teeth and standing on his hind legs to stretch to his full height. For humans, pandas had something of a reputation for being cute and cuddly. But Brett was feeling anything but cuddly right now.
He was a panda shifter, the most legendary and ancient of all the bear shifters. He was afraid of no one, with the blood of generations of noble, fierce pandas running through his veins. He felt the energy of his bear surging through every limb as he let the beast take over, and he forgot to be angry about Aubrey. All he could think about was the exhilaration he felt at finally shifting out in the open air.
Brett started to run, keeping his path right at the water’s edge, where the lapping waves would quickly wash away the large paw prints he was leaving in the sand. The fur on his lower legs and belly became wet with salt water, and full of the sand that his quick pace was constantly sending flying into the air. Brett didn’t care. He felt amazing, and let his bear nose breathe in deeply the scent of the ocean air. The wind was blowing in from across the ocean, which made the breeze slightly cold. Brett didn’t mind, though. His fur kept him perfectly warm. He breathed in again, enjoying the scents and sounds of the empty beaches. He could smell people, but they were far enough away that he wasn’t worried about them seeing him. He ran for several more minutes, releasing the angry energy of the day out into the rhythmic pounding of his paws. When he had finally had enough, he turned around and ran back to the spot where he had left his clothes.
With a satisfied roar, he shifted back and quickly dressed. His human skin wasn’t as good of a match against the cool ocean breeze as his fur had been, and he shivered slightly. He breathed in deeply, smiling as the salty air filled his lungs again. His smile froze however, when he smelled a human close by. And not just any human. It was her. She was here.
Brett’s heart pounded as he swung his head around, looking for the source of the familiar scent. He had to strain to see her, but when he did, the perfect oval shape of her face and the reddish brown tint of her hair was unmistakable. There, crouching down in the bushes near the Torrey pine, Aubrey was watching him with a look of pure shock on her face.
He’d been caught.
Chapter Eight
Aubrey saw Brett turn and look in her
direction, straining to see into the bushes. An unmistakable look of alarm crossed his face when he spotted her. For a long time, they both remained perfectly still, eyes locked and expressions wary.
Aubrey had no idea what kind of phenomenon, exactly, she had just witnessed. And from the look of distress on Brett’s face, it was clear that he had not wanted her to witness the phenomenon. Aubrey didn’t even know how he had found this beach. It was one of the most secluded spots within a fifty mile radius of San Diego, and she had never seen another soul out here at the same time as her. What were the odds that Brett knew about the beach, too, and had decided to escape here at exactly the same moment as her? The odds were good enough, it seemed, because here they were, staring at each other and unsure of what to do next.
Aubrey had gone for a long swim in the ocean, completely naked. She hadn’t even left her underwear on. She wanted to feel the salt water against her skin, fully enveloping her. She wanted to become one with the ocean that had almost killed her, but that she still loved. So she had stripped down to bare skin in this group of bushes, and then run quickly across the sand to splash into the water. No one was going to see her out here, anyway. The whole area was deserted and quiet except for a few seagulls circling above her, squawking now and then. Aubrey had swum for a long time, letting the water wash away the frustrations and anger of the afternoon. When she had finally calmed down, and started to feel at peace again, she had climbed out of the water and made her way back to the bushes to slip back into her clothes.
Just as she had pulled her pants back on, however, she had noticed a man running down the beach. She raised an eyebrow in surprise, and had chuckled at the thought that the man would have caught her naked if she had waited just a few more minutes before getting out of the water. Aubrey pulled her shirt over her head, and decided to wait a minute to let the man pass before leaving the bushes. Anyone going for a run all the way out here was obviously looking for time alone, and she didn’t want to disturb his solitude.
But as the man got closer, Aubrey did a double take. It was Brett. Although she was still a good distance away from him, since the group of bushes was several hundred feet from the ocean, she had no doubt that it was him. He was barefoot, and making long, easy strides across the sand with strong legs. Aubrey felt a momentary pang of regret that she would never get to sleep with him again. His body truly was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. But she was pretty sure that after the exchange she’d had with Brett this afternoon, they weren’t even friends anymore. Let alone friends with benefits.
Aubrey’s pulse had quickened when Brett had suddenly slowed and come to a stop on the beach directly across from her hiding spot. He had looked around in every direction, as though carefully searching for something. Aubrey’s eyes widened. He wasn’t looking for her, was he? She didn’t know how he would know she was here unless he had been following right behind her from the moment that she left Pete’s bar. And she was pretty sure that hadn’t been the case. She would have noticed his car in her rearview mirror. Besides, she’d been swimming for a long time, and he was clearly running in from somewhere farther down the shoreline. No, he hadn’t followed her. He just happened to be here at the same time as her. But what was he looking for, then?
Aubrey had crouched lower as Brett’s gaze swung toward the group of bushes. She remained perfectly still and kept her body as low to the ground as she could, praying that he wouldn’t see her. He had eventually looked away, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She saw Brett start to strip naked, and realized that he must have been trying to make sure he was alone before taking off his clothes. He was probably just going to go for a swim in the ocean, like she had just done. Aubrey would wait until he had disappeared into the water, and then she would sneak away to her car to leave.
Aubrey had watched Brett, who was now completely naked, as he looked around one more time. Then, to her astonishment, instead of running into the water, he threw back his head and let out a loud roar that hadn’t even sounded human. In the next instant, Brett had suddenly started morphing into large animal. Aubrey put her hand over her mouth and stifled a scream as she watched black and white fur appearing where his skin had been moments before. After his transformation was complete, he stood still for a moment, and Aubrey’s eyes grew so wide that she felt like they were going to pop out of her head. Where Brett had stood just seconds before, there now stood a giant panda bear.
The panda swung its head back and forth a few times, then took off running down the beach. Aubrey sat in the bushes, dumbfounded and trying to make sense of what she had just seen. She considered for a moment that she might have imagined the whole thing, but she quickly pushed the idea away. Brett’s clothes still sat on the beach in a pile, so she knew he had been there. Where had he gone? Was he coming back soon?
Aubrey was torn on whether she should stay hidden in the bushes or make a break for it and leave. She didn’t want Brett, or the panda bear, whatever he was now, to see her walking away from the beach. For one thing, if the panda knew she was here, it might attack her. She didn’t know if the bear was dangerous, and she didn’t want to take a chance on getting ripped to shreds. She also didn’t know if the bear was still “Brett.” Could he recognize her as a bear? Would he be angry at the sight of her, as he had been at the bar earlier? Was this a permanent change, or would he return to human Brett after a while?
Frozen by fear and uncertainty, Aubrey continued to crouch in the bushes. Her heart raced, and she told herself to wait there for about thirty minutes to calm down and think. She wished she had brought her cell phone with her, in case she needed to call for help. She had no idea who she would call, though. The police? What would she say? “Hi, I’m afraid I might be attacked by a panda bear. There’s one running around out here who used to be a man.” They would probably send out someone from the psych ward to “help” her.
Aubrey waited, breathing rapidly at first, but gradually her breathing slowed. The sun was setting, and there was no sign of the panda. Wherever Brett, or the bear, had gone, it didn’t appear that he would be returning anytime soon. Aubrey decided to make a break for her car, but, just as she stood, she saw the panda jogging back down the beach.
She quickly crouched down again, her heart instantly beginning to pound in her chest once more. She watched with bated breath as the panda made its way back to the pile of clothes. The bear looked around, and then, with another loud roar, Aubrey watched in astonished fascination as the fur and claws disappeared and Brett stood before her once again, naked but human.
Brett quickly pulled his clothes on, and Aubrey waited in perfect stillness. With any luck, he was going to continue back down the beach in the direction from which he had come. Then she could get out of here and head home. She didn’t know if she should approach Brett about what she had seen. She wasn’t very interested in talking to him right now, but she didn’t feel like she could completely ignore the fact that she had just seen someone she knew turn into a panda and back again. She needed time to figure out what to say, though. This day had been extraordinarily weird, and she needed to get to her own house and shut the door behind her so she could truly be alone to think.
Just when Aubrey thought she was going to be able to get away unnoticed, however, Brett suddenly froze and lifted his face into the wind. He turned around in a slow circle, and stopped when he was facing Aubrey’s direction. Aubrey couldn’t be sure from this distance, but it almost looked like he was smelling the air. Then his eyes started searching the bushes, and her palms got sweaty. She crouched down lower, hoping he wouldn’t see her. But it was too late. He locked eyes with her, and, from the way his expression changed, Aubrey knew he had spotted her.
She panicked. She had to get out of here. She didn’t want to talk to him right now. And she didn’t want to be alone with him out here, after what she had just seen. How stable could someone really be, if they could turn themselves into a freaking bear? Before she could really stop to think about what to
do, Aubrey took off running. She left the bushes as fast as she could, her feet struggling to pound across the soft, sinking sand.
“Aubrey, wait!” Brett called from behind her. Aubrey didn’t stop to turn around. She just kept running as quickly as she could force her legs to move. She was in decent shape, but her running speed was no match for Brett’s and she knew it. She only hoped that she had enough of a head start on him to make it to her car, which was parked a quarter of a mile away, before he closed the gap between them. She struggled up and over a sand dune, tears starting to sting her eyes as she heard Brett’s voice behind her getting closer and closer. She couldn’t imagine that he actually wanted to harm her, but, then again, she hadn’t ever imagined that he had the ability to turn himself into an animal. She had to make it to her car before he caught her.
After she crossed another small sand dune, her car came into view. Her keys were already in her hands, her finger poised over the unlock button. She didn’t dare look back, for fear that any little bit of slowing down would give Brett the opportunity to catch her.
“Aubrey!”
He was so close. His voice had grown louder, and more insistent. Aubrey ran like her life depended on it. Maybe it did. She made it to her car and slammed the door shut and locked just moments before he closed the last small space between them. He pounded on the window, looking upset, but not necessarily angry. Still, she wasn’t taking any chances.
“Aubrey, please. Let me talk to you. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Get away from me!” Aubrey screamed. She put her car key in the ignition, and turned it. Brett’s pleas through the closed window became even more muffled as the noise from the engine drowned them out. Aubrey couldn’t stomach the hurt, confused look in his eyes.
An Alpha's Storm (Water Bear Shifters 1) Page 7