Fated Attraction_Shifter Nation_Werebears Of The Everglades

by Meg Ripley

  “Good God, could I be any stupider?” Alexandra looked around in a state of barely-suppressed panic at the anonymous woods that loomed around her. She no longer had any idea whatsoever of where her car was; the light of a nearly-full moon had seemed enough to guide her steps through the thickly-wooded area back to the town, but somehow she had managed to thoroughly lose herself in the black-green depths. Right, great idea, talking out loud where the wild animals can hear you, she thought, staggering to a stop on the clinging, draping underbrush of the forest as she thought she heard something like movement. Alexandra turned in a slow circle, thinking fretfully that even if she wanted to get back to her broken-down car, she wasn’t likely to be able to retrace her steps.

  It had seemed so straightforward when she had left home that afternoon; Alexandra found an uprooted tree in the silver-tinged light of the moon and sank down on it, sighing. She had decided that instead of paying the obscene rate for a train ticket, she would just drive. Her car was only a few years younger than she was—but it had been behaving itself well, and it wasn’t as though the drive was across state lines. Alexandra had noticed the old Volvo beginning to run a little hot in the stop-and-go traffic a few towns back; but she had hoped when she stopped for dinner that the cool-off time would help it get through the trek.

  She had a job interview in two days’ time; she had already called ahead to the hotel to let them know that she was running late, but Alexandra was now feeling as though the possibilities of even getting there were completely hopeless. The car had overheated right in the midst of the woods, just a mile or two south of the closest town. While Alex had not been exactly thrilled at the idea of walking two miles or more to get to the nearest gas station—and therefore arrange a meeting with a roadside assistance guy—she had decided that there was nothing else for it, and that she would rather not spend the rest of the night locked in her car in the middle of nowhere.

  Alexandra shivered in the slight chill of the air as the light breeze dried the sweat on her arms and legs. The woods looked—and felt—so very forbidding. Every few moments, it seemed, there was the sound of something moving, and in the distance she had heard the unmistakable howls of a pack of wolves. As she sat, attempting to figure out what she should do next, Alexandra heard the sounds of the forest around her starting to rise up a little more: creaky chirps and buzzing of bugs, an inquiring hoot from an owl—and in the distance an air-splitting shriek from another nocturnal bird. She swallowed against the tight dryness in her throat, looking around in the gloomy, pale light. If I tried to get back to my car, I’d probably only get even more hopelessly lost, Alexandra thought bitterly. But if I keep going forward, I’m only going to get more lost, too. Congrats, ‘Lex. Your options are: lost or lost. She hugged herself, trying to find something—anything—she could use as a landmark.

  Alexandra’s throat tightened again, and she felt her eyes stinging as tears began to form, rolling down her cheeks. She was scared, alone, and tired; and though she hated—hated—to cry, at least there would be no one there in the woods to hear or see her doing it. She hugged her knees, slipping down the slightly slick surface of the downed log onto the ground and began to cry in earnest. All this because I’m too broke for a fucking train ticket, she thought bitterly.

  Her sobs were interrupted by another howl, and Alexandra gulped. “Oh my God,” she whispered, uncurling her body. Her heart beat faster in her chest; that howl had been much, much closer than the previous ones she had heard. As if to confirm her suspicion, she heard yips, growls, and movement—only a dozen yards away at most.

  All at once, Alexandra was on her feet, her worry about her job prospects and the broken-down car evaporating in the face of a much more important concern. She lurched into a run, not even certain of where she was going, only completely sure that she needed to do whatever she could to put distance between herself and the wolf pack. They may not have been hunting her specifically; but that would not stop them from reacting to her presence—and her fear—if they stumbled across her. For a few moments, relief flooded through Alexandra; maybe she would be able to get sufficiently far away that the wolves would go after something else. Maybe the wolves hadn’t noticed her at all. Maybe she would find a tree she could climb to keep away from the pack, long enough for them to lose interest.

  Her feet caught on the tough, hard-barked roots of something—one of the huge, towering trees, Alexandra thought—and she tumbled down onto the ground in a heap, unable to check her forward momentum or even cushion her fall. All of the air in her lungs left in a fast whooping noise and Alexandra’s heart beat even faster as she struggled to regain some oxygen. In the next instant, pain flared up along her sides, and down somewhere below her knee, a shockwave echoing the sharp prod from her elbow to her shoulder. Get up! Get up! Get up or you’ll be dog food, woman! Alexandra grabbed weakly at the slippery, pungent branches of a bush, but to no avail. She could hear the soft, crunching movements of the wolf pack and let out a low, breathless groan of dread.

  Sasha heard the growling barks of the wolves as the scent of the woman he was tracking intensified. Under the sharp, gunpowder smell of the stranger’s fear, he could detect the smokier, wetter musk of the wild wolves, along with a faint wisp of familiar scent from the clan members he had called to help him. He was getting closer and closer to the strange woman; with any luck, he and the other members of the clan would get to her before the wolves did—and while he did not exactly enjoy the prospect of trying to steer an already frightened woman back towards the main road and out of the woods while in his bear form, Sasha thought it was at least preferable to the alternative: letting her be ripped apart by the hungry, opportunistic wolves.

  Sasha’s luck ran out no more than a few steps ahead of him; he was nearing the woman, his three most trusted clan-mates behind him, when the sound of her screaming split the air. Sasha growled as the scent of blood filled his nose, washing over the pheromones and scents. One of the wolves had gotten to her—probably the leader. Sasha hurried his lumbering steps, lurching through the brush.

  He barely made out the shape of human limbs, curled around a body in an attitude of self-protection, in the midst of a knot of harrying, growling wolves. His ursine eyes caught flashes of the woman’s blood from where the wolves had snatched at her arms and legs, spattering across the forest floor. Behind him, Sasha heard Armand, James, and Holt lumbering to a stop. He let out a barking, growling bawl—alerting the wolves to his presence. Behind him, James and Armand let out barks of their own, reinforcing the presence of superior predators.

  The wolves looked up from their attack formation, their yellow-green eyes glowing in the moonlit darkness, and for a few moments the Alpha of the pack attempted to stare Sasha down. Sasha’s lips twitched as he growled once more, moving forward a step or two. Fear-scent filled the air, and in a few heartbeats the group of about six wolves twitched and sidled their way away, melting into the brush. The only sign of their existence was the faint rustle of their movements farther away from the site of their potential kill.

  The woman whimpered, and Sasha looked down at her; he caught sight of one bright eye, peering up through thrown-up arms, along with light brown hair. Her clothing was in rags where the wolves had attacked, her arms and legs marked with jagged slashes and punctures from teeth. Sasha fell to all fours, grunting and chuffing as he carefully approached the woman. He could smell the fear-scent recede only to intensify once more as the woman realized that the wolves were away—but there were larger predators, every bit as deadly if not more so, converging on her. Her whimpers increased in speed and raised in pitch and Sasha considered how best to deal with her; her breaths came faster and faster as panic took over, and from the looks of her injuries, she would not be capable of just getting up and walking out of the woods, even with a guard of bears protecting her. He groaned, nosing at her foot, trying to be as non-threatening as it was possible for a large brown bear to be.

  The woman tried to squirm away,
gasping and panting, and Sasha debated the usefulness of transforming into his human form; on the one hand, she would likely find a human—even a naked human—more comforting than a bear. On the other, the sight of a bear becoming a human was likely to make her panic, and of course he and the clan had survived by keeping their dual natures completely a secret, just like all shifters. The woman let out an impulsive, instinctive scream and then her entire body went limp in the underbrush, her arms falling about her head, her legs going slack in the midst of the low-lying branches and shrubs.

  For a moment, Sasha took in the sight of her; the woman was maybe 5’8”, dressed in jeans and a light sweater—just enough for the slight chill in the spring air—with soft light brown hair that would have fallen past her shoulders if it wasn’t scattered amongst the loamy soil and leaves. He snorted as he peered at her, taking in the lush curves of her body: full breasts, broad hips, thick, strong thighs wrapped in denim. For a moment, he felt a flicker of his mating drive starting up; the woman was just exactly his type, or would have been if she wasn’t foolish enough to get lost in the woods and attacked by wolves.

  Coming to a decision, Sasha realized that she needed medical attention; one of the other members of the clan, a doctor in the small town of Green Tree, could see to her wounds—and should. Sasha glanced at the three clan-mates who had followed him. Tell the others, he told the three mentally, projecting an image of himself in human form, carrying the woman in the direction of the small town they lived in. She will need to see Nathan. Sasha felt the querying mental touches, the suggestion of “Couldn’t we just leave her be?” that was not quite a complete thought. He shook his head, letting out a low growl. He wouldn’t leave the woman to be attacked again; and from the looks of the tears and punctures in her skin, she would need stitches and other medical attention. She might have been injured even more than the obvious—he had heard the noise she’d made running through the forest.

  Groaning, Sasha crouched down on the ground and started the transformation into his human form. His preternatural strength would make it much easier for him to carry the woman into town, but he would have to just hope that she would remain unconscious long enough for him to get to the hollow log where his clothing was secreted. And then too, Sasha thought bleakly, he would have hell to pay if she woke up before he came up with some explanation. A more human-sounding groan left his throat as Sasha’s bones tingled and crackled in his body, shifting and moving. He itched all over as the fur retreated, as his hands transformed from paws, as every molecule of his body rearranged itself into a human configuration. For a fleeting moment, he let himself look at the stranger on the ground, feeling a rush of resentment that he had to change back into his human form on such short notice, long before he had wanted to. But it wasn’t her fault ultimately; bad luck could happen to anyone. Go back to your foraging, Sasha told the other three werebears. There’s no point in all of us losing the best part of the night.

  Alexandra woke up slowly, aware of a dull, aching pain in her arms and legs, particularly her right leg. She felt hot all over, and so exhausted that she wasn’t even sure why she was awake. She groaned, turning onto her side, and realized that she was not on the ground anymore. Alexandra gasped, opening her eyes, as the last moments before she lost consciousness flooded back into her mind. She remembered the wolves dispersing—and then the sight of a huge brown bear, its eyes golden in the moonlight, hovering over her.

  When she opened her eyes, Alexandra’s confusion deepened. She found herself on a bed, small but comfortable; she was naked, which sent a new jolt of alarm through her brain, but as she sat up, she realized that part of the reason she was undressed was because at some point while she had been unconscious, someone had attended to the gashes and punctures on her arms and legs—she saw ugly black medical thread and bandages marking some unknown doctor’s ministrations. Throwing the blanket off of herself, for the moment heedless of her nudity, Alexandra saw that her left leg—the one that hurt the most—bore a brace at the ankle, tightly wrapped.

  The sound of a door opening made Alexandra yelp, her hands fumbling for the blankets, pulling them up to cover her nudity as she looked around in panic. Her gaze fell on the doorway to the small room she was in, and Alexandra’s grip on the blankets tightened convulsively as she saw a man stepping through the door. He was tall—easily over six feet—with a lean, muscled physique that was not concealed by his sweater and jeans. The man’s sandy blond hair was cut short, maybe three or four inches long, brushed back from his forehead. Hazel-gold eyes widened at the sight of her awake, and the man opened his mouth, though no words came out for a span of several fluttering heartbeats. “Where am I?” Alexandra asked, the words leaving her lips all at once. The man took a step back, licking his lips and glancing around the room.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, a faint accent on his voice. “I thought you were still unconscious or I would’ve knocked.”

  “Where am I?” Alexandra repeated, looking around the room. She could see part of what she assumed was the same forest she had been lost in through a small, bare window. The man cleared his throat.

  “You’re at my house,” he said. “Are you in pain? I have some pain pills if you’d like one—the…doctor mentioned you’d probably be in pain.” Alexandra shifted in the bed, uncomfortably aware of the fact that she was naked underneath the blanket. She was in pain, but being naked in the home of a strange man was a slightly more pressing issue, somehow.

  “Uh—ah…do you happen to know where my clothes are?” The man relaxed slightly, his lips twitching in an almost-smile.

  “I’m sorry,” the man said, leaving the door open behind him as he came further into the room. “I can let you borrow some clothes; they had to cut yours off. The blood, you know.” Alexandra swallowed, nodding.

  “I’d like some clothes first,” she said. “And then probably one of the pain pills, if you’re feeling generous.” The man chuckled.

  “It’s not generosity,” he told her, moving to a dresser in one corner of the room. He opened one of the drawers and took out a pair of soft-looking, faded flannel pajama pants and a tee shirt. “The doctor wrote a prescription for you, so they’re yours.” The man carefully tossed the clothes onto the bed, giving Alexandra another quick smile. “I’ll go get the pills and something for you to drink. Be careful getting dressed; you don’t want to pull your stitches or injure yourself.” Alexandra nodded, watching as the man walked in near-silence out of the room.

  When she was once more alone, Alexandra climbed slowly out of the bed, every movement sending a new wave of throbbing pain through her body. She steadied herself as she stood cautiously, one hand on the headboard of the bed, and slowly—slowly—Alex shook the flannel pants out and slipped them on, swaying slightly as she balanced her weight on the better of her injured legs. She tugged the tee shirt over her head, wincing as the movement sent new painful jolts through her.

  By the time the man came back into the room, Alexandra had sagged, sitting heavily on the edge of the bed. “Here,” he said, approaching her slowly and extending the plastic pill jar towards her. “What’s your name, by the way? I wasn’t able to put that information in at the urgent care clinic I took you to.” Alexandra smiled weakly, accepting the pill jar and then the bottle of water he extended towards her. She read the label: hydrocodone. Well, at least I won’t feel like a truck hit me, she thought.

  “Alexandra,” she answered. “Alex.” She popped open the bottle and shook one of the pills out, glancing up at the man. Questions still swam in her mind: how had he discovered her? Where was she? What had happened to the bears? “You?”

  “Sasha,” the man said, sitting down in a chair a few feet away from her.

  “What happened to me?” Alexandra tossed a pill into her mouth, the bitter taste of the medicine coating her tongue for just a moment before she washed it down with water, swallowing with difficulty. “I remember a bunch of bears…and then nothing.” A look like guilt flashed t
hrough Sasha’s hazel-gold eyes, and he glanced away before meeting her gaze once more, steadily.

  “I found you in the woods—probably only a moment or two after you passed out. I brought you to a friend who runs an urgent care clinic in town, he patched you up. I thought you’d probably prefer to spend the night here, instead of waking up there.” Alexandra shrugged.

  “Probably would have been just as confused either way,” she said, shifting on the bed. The man had seen her naked; he had to have, in order to have put her in the bed. She couldn’t discern any sense that she’d been violated—but then so much pain throbbed and shot through her body that Alex thought it would be hard to separate out one particular pain from the rest. “What happened to the bears?” she asked, glancing at Sasha again.

  “They…dispersed,” he said. Alexandra frowned.

  “You didn’t kill any of them, did you? And how did you find me?” The story didn’t add up. Sasha glanced away again, and Alexandra’s heart started beating faster. Oh God. He’s some kind of axe murderer. And like the idiot I am I just took a fucking pain pill. Shit, shit, shit.

  “The bears aren’t dead,” Sasha said quickly. “It’s been a long night for you. How did you come to be in the woods?” Alexandra scrubbed at her face, trying to think. Her stomach had been empty when she took the pain pill; it seemed like it was hitting her all at once, making her brain fuzzy, making her tingle all over. A wave of nausea swept over her and the room spun slightly as Alexandra tried to sit up, to lean against something.