by Jessica Snow
“Not knowing any better, he innocently agreed, but oh, how he would live to rue that decision. As soon as he was inside, the witches surrounded him, dragging him onto a stone altar. There they started a ritual of dark magic. Half-way through, a wolf was brought in to bite the boy and then to be killed. When the ceremony was done, the wolf’s soul merged with the boy’s, and the very first shapeshifter was created.
“Unfortunately for the witches, the boy went mad. He escaped from their stronghold and out into the surrounding area. The witches immediately began pursuit, but by the time they found him, the shifter had killed a score of innocent country people and infected countless others.
“It took them a while, but the witches finally got the situation under control. They now had their new protectors...their slaves. The witches were very happy with their creations. The wolves were fiercely loyal and would die to protect their masters.
“Unfortunately, that was not enough. The shifters were only infants with their powers, whereas the vampires had centuries to hone their dark skills. The witches and their pets continued to die at alarming rates. That’s when several powerful witches got together to repeat the same curse that made the wolves, except this time they used a bear.” He looked at Kat pointedly, and her eyes widened.
“The bears were mighty creatures, huge and incredibly powerful. They could send the head of a vampire flying with a single swipe. Faced with these new guardians, the vampires began to falter in their attacks. The witches rejoiced. They had found their answer to the vampire problem. But now, they had a new one.
“Having been pushed to the side, the wolves got jealous of the newcomers. Violently jealous. This started a war between the two races. While the witches panicked, the vampires reveled in the chaos.
“More battles broke out, but this time, the bears were the ones being destroyed. The wolves ran in packs, you see, while the bears were solitary—giving the wolves the advantage in numbers. In their jealousy, the wolves did not realize they were helping the vampires by getting rid of their more powerful adversary.
“Amid this, scores of witches were killed by the advantage-taking vampires, and eventually they were brought to the brink of extinction. The bears were not as fortunate, however. Beset by attacks from both vampires and wolves, they were brought to extinction.” He smiled wryly. “Or so we thought.”
“This left the vampires and wolves who fought each other for years. Though the vampires were stronger than wolves, the wolves were far more numerous, so after years of fighting, they finally agreed on a peace treaty. The witches, now very rare, lost their hold on the wolves, who became an independent race, and went into hiding.” Done with his tale, Liam looked up at her. “So, there you have it, a history of us supernaturals, albeit a very poor and rushed one.”
It was almost too much to believe for Kat. Such a rich history of a world she had never known existed. “Where did you learn all this?” she asked as the information swirled in her brain. “No offense, but you don’t exactly look like the scholarly type.”
Liam chuckled, brushing a golden lock of hair out of his eyes. Kat’s claw swipes on his arm had all but healed and all that was left was the rip in his shirt and his dried blood. “It is passed down through the generations. All shifters are required to know about where we came from, though some know less than others. Despite what you may think of me, I’m quite the attentive listener.”
There was one thing about Liam’s story that was bothering Kat. “So, let me get this straight. If the bears became extinct, how in the hell did I just turn into one?”
Liam scratched at the golden stubble on his jaw. “To be perfectly honest with you, Kat, I don’t know. The bears have been thought to have become extinct several hundred years ago. That’s what makes this so strange.”
“No wonder why you thought I was a wolf,” Kat whispered, “you did not think werebears existed.” And that would explain my crazy dreams about me being a bear.
Liam nodded. “Correct.” Then his expression turned wistful. “It also means that what I had hoped for can never be.”
Kat froze. “What do you mean?” Shit, after all this—what now?
Liam sighed and took a deep breath. “We wolves follow a tradition that has been passed down through the centuries. When we are of age, the young male wolves compete for a mate. Usually, the strongest alpha male wins the prize. But I never got the chance to compete for or choose who I wanted to be with. Oh, I’ve been with many women, human and shifter alike, but I was never ready to settle down with that one girl until my parents forced me into this unwanted courtship.” Liam sighed. “I am sure that in the short time that you’ve been working at the factory you have caught a glimpse of my mate-to-be. On the full moon, I will be bonded with her for good, as we conceive a cub with the aid of our moon-heightened powers.”
“That skinny bitch with the crazy eyes?” snorted Kat derisively. “Yeah, I saw you talking to her several times up on that balcony. She kinda seems like the sort of person who would be more charismatic if she wore a ball gag.”
Liam let out a loud laugh, heartily pounding himself in the leg before his expression turned back solemn. “You see, Kat, when I figured you were a shifter, I had hoped that somehow, despite my upcoming engagement, we could be together in that same way. I think my father would disapprove less if I had a strong wolf I wished to mate with as well.” He sighed, looking so genuinely despondent that it shocked her.
Kat was stunned by this revelation. Liam wanted to mate for life, and have cubs? With her?
“But you hardly know me!” Kat objected. “How could you want to mate for life with someone you ground on in a club for only a couple of hours?”
“I hardly know Crystal, either,” Liam was quick to point out, “yet I am to be forced into mating with someone I neither love nor care for. Worse, she’s a terrible person, and you clearly aren’t. Quite the opposite, in fact. So, for me, at least being with someone good that I am actually attracted to is better than being with someone wicked that I am not.”
It warmed Kat’s heart to think Liam was attracted to her so much that he would risk everything to be with her. But now he was saying he couldn’t. Which was it?
Liam’s voice turned darker. “But even if I were able to take you for a mate. I’m not sure it would even be possible. A mating between a wolf and bear has never happened before. And by all rights, given the violent history between our two species, I should have killed you when I first saw you.”
Kat angrily placed her hands on her hips. “Well, why didn’t you?”
“Because I desire you. And more.” Liam rose to his feet and stepped in close, cupping her cheeks in his strong hands. “Even now, knowing that you are a hated enemy of the wolves, I can’t stop thinking about you and how much I want to be with you.”
His breath was hot on her face, and his full lips were close enough to kiss her. Kat felt desire burn through her body as she stared at them, thinking about the naughty things they could do to her. She badly wanted him to press those sexy smackers against hers.
He bent forward, his lips coming in for the score. Kat closed her eyes, waiting for the moment when the fire inside of her body would turn into a raging inferno.
But the kiss never came.
A second later, her eyes popped open when a cold voice filled the clearing. “Well, well, I thought you had taken leave of your senses when I heard about you dancing with this bitch at the Den, Liam, but I didn’t think you were this stupid.”
Oh Hell, she thought as she turned to look. Now what?
Chapter 16
“Crystal, what are you doing here?” demanded Liam.
Her arms crossed across her small breasts, Liam’s unwanted fiancée was standing at the edge of the clearing, glaring at them with hatred. She was flanked by two other girls dressed in short skirts and cut-off tops. Kat guessed that they must be Crystal’s flunkies.
“The better question being, what are you doing here, about to kiss this
bitch,” Crystal snarled. “But don’t bother explaining. I already know what you’ve been up to. Pathetic to find out that you were defying our clans for some disgusting werebear.” She narrowed her eyes evilly. “I daresay what you’ve done by bringing this woman amongst our kind is borderline treason.”
“You have no idea what’s going on here Crystal,” Liam said evenly. Slowly, he eased in between the three shifters and Kat.
Crystal laughed. “You’re right. I don’t...but I don’t have to.” She nodded to her two friends and said in a flat tone. “Let’s kill the bear bitch.” Their faces twisting into a feral mask, the three girls let out an odd howl and rushed for Kat. Moving faster than Kat thought possible, Liam dashed across the clearing and intercepted Crystal, roughly pulling her hands behind her back.
“Kat run from here as fast as you can!” Liam yelled as he struggled with his snarling mate, who was clawing empty air in the direction of Kat’s face.
Kat took off for the trees. Every few steps she could hear the two girls behind her, snarling at her and hurling threats. The snarling behind her got closer, but this time they sounded deeper, grittier. The two had shifted into wolves and were intent on taking a bite out of Kat’s ass.
Why in the hell am I running from two skinny bitch wolves? she thought suddenly. I am bigger and stronger than they are. Upon that realization, Kat skidded to a stop in a clearing, ready to kick ass. The wolves were closer than ever now. Only a few yards away.
Closing her eyes, she began concentrating on turning into a bear. The sound of the wolves got closer. Her eyes popped open to see the two wolves streaking towards her with unnatural speed. Kat squeezed her eyes back shut, concentrating as hard as she could.
Nothing. Shit!
She had no idea why she could not turn into a bear, but she had only seconds to defend herself. Then images of Tammy flying across the room filled her mind just as the wolves reached her. What am I even worried about?
The first one launched itself into the air like an arrow, her jaws extended wide. She was going straight for Kat’s throat. At the last possible second, Kat backhanded the wolf upside the head and it went crashing into a tree. Upon impact, it let out a high-pitched yelp, falling to the ground and quickly transforming back into an unconscious human.
The other wolf was now circling Kat warily, her growls dropped to a low, nervous rumble in her throat.
“Get out of here or else I’ll slap your head off!” Kat yelled at the wolf. She pointed over to the wolf’s unconscious comrade. “You don’t want to end up worse off than her because I promise you, you will. I’m really freaking hungry right about now, and fried wolf meat is definitely on the menu.” She took a step toward the creature. “You haven’t seen how good I am at butchering animals.”
Growling, the wolf stubbornly stood its ground. Kat tensed her body, preparing for it to strike. If it came for her, she was going to knock its head into another dimension.
But she needn’t have worried. After a tense battle of wills, the wolf let out an odd, whining howl, turned, and bounded off back into the trees.
“Let go of me!” Crystal screamed as she tried to wriggle out of Liam’s strong arms.
“No,” Liam said firmly. “You will not follow her.”
“How dare you!” Crystal yelled. “Traitor!”
“I am no traitor,” Liam said dangerously. “You are the one who breaks the law constantly by hunting humans. They even have you on video now. Check the website for the Bone City Tattler. You’ve already endangered us all with your unnatural appetites. And you had better watch that tongue of yours if you want to keep it.”
Crystal grew momentarily still, shocked at his threat. “How can you defend her? She’s a werebear of all things. And how will you explain this nonsense to the pack?”
“Trust me when I say that I had no clue what she was.”
Crystal turned a suspicious scowl on him. “I find that hard to believe.”
Liam looked up into the starry sky. “Don’t believe me if you wish, but I know the truth.”
“I knew you did not love me,” Crystal muttered with a shake of her head. “I knew you were interested in someone else, but I had no idea it would be someone like this of all things.”
“I doubt that you love me either,” Liam retorted. “You are just doing what your father tells you to do.”
“So, you don’t deny it?” Crystal asked accusingly.
“What is there to deny? We hardly know each other.”
“That is a lie. We’ve known each other for a good while.”
“What I know about you is that you’re a man-eater, a lawbreaker, and a spoiled, crazy bitch who would ruin my life and the lives of our children.” He stared her in the eyes. “You are a monster, Crystal. I do not, and will not, ever love you.”
“You haven’t even tried,” Crystal whined bitterly. “But I see now. You were obviously too worried about getting between the thunder thighs of some bear chick.”
Liam snorted. “I hardly know her either. And there wouldn’t need to be anyone else for me to want to get away from you. Fucking you makes me sick. I’d rather go live like a monk.” But you’re right, he thought. I definitely want her more than I want you.
Crystal laughed, and it came out a high-pitched yelp. “It sure seemed like you were getting to know her quite well when I showed up.”
It was very hard for Liam not to backhand Crystal right where she stood. Instead, he shook her. “Shut up!”
Crystal yanked herself out of his grasp and began rubbing her bruised arm. “I guess this is the end of the partnership of our families—”
“Don’t you fear,” Liam interrupted. “I still have every intention of following through with my commitment.” He couldn’t keep the disgust out of his voice, but she didn’t seem to notice.
“You do?” Crystal asked with surprise. “What about the werebear?”
Liam set his jaw, hoping he sounded convincing. “She’s an enemy of our kind. If she escaped your friends, she will be dealt with by me personally. I made a mistake; I thought she was a lost member of one of our clans until I saw her shape-shift for the first time. It was my fault why she was amongst us, so it is my responsibility to deal with her.”
Crystal eyed him with naked suspicion. “I’ll have your word.”
Liam did his best to keep his face straight. “I swear on the blood of my family.” An easy oath to keep, when he knew that his next argument with his father might well be a fight to the death. And this time, Liam intended to win.
Crystal stared at him for a long time before muttering, “You had better not be lying...or even I won’t be able to save your family’s precious company from my father’s wrath.”
Kat arrived home hours later, dirty, wild-haired and bruised. When she stomped her way into the living room, her father looked up from his reality show, shock on his face. Rosie was curled lazily on the couch, her multi-colored eyes following Kat’s every move.
Big Mike half sat up in his recliner. “Kat, what on earth happened to you?”
Kat stopped, hands on her hips. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her dad froze. For some reason, Kat knew that he knew instantly what she was talking about.
“Kat, I’m going to need you to have a seat,” Mike said slowly after a long pause.
Kat walked over to the couch and sat down, and Rosie jumped into her lap and began purring. She petted her absently, struggling to be gentle.
Mike sighed. “I was hoping this conversation would never have to happen, but I suppose it was inevitable.” Then he looked at his daughter and asked, “Do you remember the story of how your mother and I met?”
Kat thought for a moment and then nodded. “Yes.”
“Well, there’s a little more to it than what you know.” Mike’s eyes grew distant. “I can still remember the day like it was yesterday. It was a hot day of miserable work at the shop when she walked in dressed in all white—a vision of heaven amongst all that
grime and dirt. I hadn’t seen an ass that hot since the roasted donkey my mom made for our family’s last Thanksgiving.”
Rosie shifted in Kat’s lap and sneezed; Kat snorted. “Oh, come on Daddy, be serious!”
“What?” her father asked shamelessly, “You know as well as I do that your mother is extremely attractive. Anyway, she came up and asked to speak to me. Mind you, there were several other guys working in the shop at the time, all far more handsome and in better shape than I was.
“Then she said to me, ‘You will protect me.’
Kat raised an incredulous eyebrow. “That’s it? You guys got together on a ’you will protect me’?”
“Well, that was the start of it. You see, Kat, your mother knew my secret. At the time, I had no clue how, but she did.” He sat back in his seat. “And that’s how we got together. She chose me as her protector.”
It did not make sense to Kat. None of it did. Why on earth would her mother need her dad to protect her? “Why in the world did you not tell me about what I am?” Kat demanded angrily. “I’ve been going around the past few weeks thinking I’m totally insane, and here this whole time you’ve known exactly what’s been going on with me. I nearly smacked a bitch’s head off at work and almost killed Kevin, for Christ’s sake! I could be sitting in a jail cell right now from having attacked two people, but because of some obscure luck I’m still sitting here talking with you.” She relaxed her grip on Rosie, who had become tense. “I want to know why, Father.”
Big Mike scratched at his beard, his expression sheepish. “For a long time, I deluded myself into thinking that maybe the curse was dormant within you. You and McKenzie displayed practically no signs of having it. Your mother warned me about it, of course, stating that I would be sorry later if I did not tell you, but I did not believe it.” His eyes grew distant. “Your mother was always the wiser one.”