Her Bear: An Urban Fantasy Romance (Silver Shifter Book 3)

by Alexa B. James

  “Answer the question first.”

  “No,” I said. “I don’t have siblings. My parents didn’t want kids, but I guess they slipped up one time. Lucky me.”

  “Lucky, indeed,” Muriel said, noting something on her clipboard.

  “Left hand.”

  She undid my other hand, and I rubbed my wrists in pure glee. I was almost free.

  “What can you tell me about your parents?” she asked. “Did they have this special property in their blood?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “As far as I know, they didn’t. Vampires don’t usually bite wolves except in a fight. They don’t like the taste of us any more than we like the taste of them. They don’t feed on us unless they’re trying to weaken us or kill us.”

  “So, your parents belonged to this warlock, and when he died, you were passed to his son Dante per the laws of supernatural property inheritance.”

  “Yes,” I gritted out. I hadn’t thought much about that growing up. Freedom had never been an option. Now that I’d had a taste of it, I realized the rest of the world didn’t live by those laws.

  “And your parents,” she said. “They’re no longer with us?”

  “No,” I said. “Sorry, you can’t find them and harvest their blood, Doc. Now that you’ve got it all figured out, think you can untie my feet?”

  “Your history could be very important,” Muriel said. “It could lead us to more of you, if there’s anyone else out there like you.”

  “Notice how I’m not jumping to join in on your crazy little plan?” I said. “You think I’m going to help you find someone else to kidnap and poison slowly with silver?”

  “Well, if you’d cooperate, we wouldn’t have to use that method to subdue you,” she shot back.

  I crossed my arms over my chest and glared. “I think I’ve given you enough information to warrant a few more chain removals, don’t you?”

  “I’m sorry to hear about your parents,” Muriel said as she undid my feet. “That must have been a lonely time in your life.”

  “It was,” I admitted with a shrug. “When Dante inherited us, he put my parents in the pits. They were good fighters, but eventually, everyone dies in the pits. It’s not a matter of if. It’s a matter of when.”

  “I’m sorry,” Muriel said again, sinking onto the foot of the bed like we were settling in for a little chat. “I know this seems suspicious, but we don’t want to hold you prisoner. Actually, we would love if you would join us.”

  “Join you?” I gaped at her. “This is how you recruit people to join your vampire fighting army?”

  “We don’t have an army,” she said. “Unfortunately. You have to understand, Ariana. We’re desperate. Vampires have killed thousands of humans. They are the ones with an army, waging war against a population that is practically defenseless.”

  I scrambled from the bed and stood facing her, wrapping my arms tightly around myself. “You seem pretty damn capable to me.”

  “The vampire plague isn’t just hurting us,” she said. “They’ve attacked you and your escorts several times this week. They attack shifters of all sorts as well as humans. They are a threat to life on earth. We would love to join with the shifter clans to fight their presence.”

  I had to admit she was right about that. All the vampires I knew were pretty evil. But that didn’t mean they all were. Did it?

  “We just want to take a bit of blood,” she said. “If we can isolate what it is that’s curing vampirism, it’s possible that we can manufacture a synthetic alternative. We don’t want to have to rely on one shifter to cure all of New York.”

  “And what if I don’t agree?” I said, pressing my back to the wall. “What if I won’t let you take my blood to clone whatever is getting rid of the vampires?”

  “We hoped it wouldn’t come to that,” she said. “Don’t you want to protect your pack and the other clans from these predators?”

  I did. But at the same time, I wanted my freedom. I wanted it to be my choice. So much in my life had been decided for me.

  “Not like this,” I said. “Let me go, and then we can have a real negotiation.”

  She sighed and drew a syringe from the pocket of her lab coat. “I’m afraid that’s not possible, Ariana. I’m going to ask one more time. Can I draw another sample?”

  “No,” I said. “You can’t.”

  She didn’t move from the bed or pull out a phone to signal, but the next second, the door slid open and four hulking men entered the room and rushed toward me. I snarled, baring my teeth and leaping at them, calling on my wolf to come out and fight. She betrayed me, not even stirring inside me before the men had tackled me, pressing me back on the bed. I bucked and flailed, but one of them held my shoulders down. Another one wrapped a thick hand around my jaw, forcing my mouth open. A choked scream tore from my throat as he held a spray bottle to my lips. He pressed down, and a burst of fire shot down my throat. I screamed again, convulsing in agony this time.

  “Colloidal silver,” Dr. Siegfred said. “I’m sorry, Ariana. It’s the only thing that keeps you subdued for us to extract what we need. Humans have to rely on such things when dealing with shifters. We don’t have the natural advantages that you do.” With that, she tapped on her syringe and plunged the needle into my arm. I watched redness swirl into the chamber, filling it higher and higher as my own rage swelled inside me.

  “It’s for the good of the world, if not for your own good,” she continued. “We’re still hoping you’ll come around. In the meantime, we’ll be studying your blood and trying to isolate the factor affecting the change from vampire to human. If we can find it, we’ll let you go without any further harm.”

  As they left the room, I bent over the side of the bed, coughing and heaving. I wanted to throw up the silver, but I could already feel it seeping into my veins, making my body and mind sluggish, draining it of energy. No wonder my poor wolf wouldn’t fight. They were killing her slowly, and she was too weak to fight back.

  No further harm, my ass.

  Even if Dr. Siegfred let me go, it was only me who would not be harmed more. What about the vampires? My only consolation was that I wasn’t exactly killing the vampires. My blood just made them human again, brought them back to their original state. That wasn’t so bad, was it?

  I lay back on the bed, trying to wrap my head around what she wanted. Around what it really meant to be a cure for vampirism. I wasn’t just a good fighter. I was a biological weapon.

  5

  Cash

  I glanced at my companion in the passenger seat. Maximus glared at the brake lights flashing before us, a grim set to his jaw. His fists shook in his lap, his wolf so close to the surface I could nearly smell dog in my car.

  “I swear, the moment I see that little weasel, I’m going to kill him,” Maximus snarled through his teeth.

  “You need to calm down, Maximus,” I said. My fingers tightened around the steering wheel as I was forced to once again slow down for a red light. “You can’t kill Dante before we get answers.”

  Maximus grumbled something I couldn’t decipher, but at least he started taking even breaths. “I promised her she’d never have to go back to the pits, Cash. I promised her Dante would never hurt her again.”

  My chest clenched painfully, and it was my turn to fight for control. Heat coursed through me, and I bit my tongue when swaths of smoke rose from my nostrils. Maximus wasn’t the only one close to shifting.

  “And you’ll keep your promise,” I said. “We’ll get her back.”

  Maximus only nodded. I could see the regret in his eyes, but at this point, there was nothing I could do to stop him from laying the blame on himself. He’d feel guilty until we had Ari back in our arms. Once she was safe, all would be forgiven.

  “How do you think Owen and Jett are faring?” I asked, hoping to distract us both.

  We’d called Jett and let him know what had happened after scouting Owen’s valley. Since we couldn’t be sure if it was
Dante or vampires who had taken Ariana, we’d split up. While Maximus and I went after Dante, Owen and Jett were after the vampires.

  Maximus growled. “I’m not worried about them.”

  A small smile tugged at my lips. “Jett is probably pissed that we tore him away from whatever he was doing. He sounded busy on the phone.”

  “Fuck him.” The passenger door creaked where Maximus held the armrest. “He’s always ‘busy’. Maybe Ariana was right about him. What’s his connection with the vampires again?”

  My grin escaped at the bitterness in Maximus’s tone. He’d never been a huge fan of my childhood friend. “He does seem to be preoccupied these days,” I agreed. “But if anyone hates vamps, it’s Jett.”

  Maximus grunted in agreement. Even he couldn’t deny that Jett had the most personal hatred for vampires. They had killed his father, after all.

  We drove in silence for the next few minutes until a neon sign caught my eye. The Black Sparrow. Maximus’s wolves had tracked Dante to this club. From their descriptions, it sounded like Dante was up to his old tricks again. The stench of angry wolves and desolate shifters hung heavy on the place.

  “That’s it,” Maximus said. “That’s where she should be.”

  I ground my teeth just thinking about it. My mate was in there, being subjected to the Dragon God only knew what kind of hell.

  “You’re smoking,” Maximus muttered.

  I inhaled sharply. Sure enough, the vestiges of my smoky breath were just disappearing.

  Across the street, the windows of the club were filled with vampires, shifters, witches, and supernaturals of all types. They schmoozed with glasses of liquor or blood, looking like they didn’t have a care in the world. Behind them were flashing lights and a dimly lit bar interior. Outside was a line a mile long. It seemed The Black Sparrow was a popular spot.

  “Let’s go,” Maximus said, unbuckling his seatbelt. “Ariana must be in trouble. If she’s here, she’s sedated somehow. I can’t feel her through our bond at all.”

  I gave a quick nod before sliding into a parking spot directly across from the club. We climbed out, Maximus slamming his door so hard a few pedestrians gave us concerned looks. I flashed a smile and hurried to catch up to the wolf alpha. “Don’t cause a scene. Remember, we need to get to Dante. That means acting like we belong.”

  Maximus crossed his arms, hiding the claws that had extended from his fingers. He was straining so hard against his suit jacket, I swore I could hear the stitches ripping.

  “Behave,” I warned. Maximus was a little larger than me, and it would look funny to see a man walk into a place like that wearing ill-fitting clothes. No matter how hard it was, we had to play the elite shifters ready to see a fight in the pits. For the next few minutes, we weren’t Ari’s mates, we were just two guys looking for a good time.

  Before heading toward the club, I locked the car doors, and my Mercedes beeped in response. I put on my best douchebag smirk and elbowed Maximus to remind him to do the same.

  “Good evening,” I said as we reached the bouncer.

  “Back of the line,” the large man grunted before he’d even taken a look at us.

  The people at the head of the line stirred, grumbling about us trying to skip ahead. I cleared my throat to get the bouncer’s attention. When the man sighed and turned to meet my gaze, I pulled two hundred-dollar bills from inside my jacket and slipped them into his hand.

  “I’m sure this will be enough to get us inside,” I said.

  When the bouncer glanced down at the bills in hand, his eyes went buggy. He stepped back and held the door open for us even as a chorus of groans went up from the line. “Thank you, sir,” he said. “Right this way.”

  I gave him a cocky smirk before stepping inside, Maximus hot on my heels. “Where should we start first? The bar?” When my companion didn’t respond, I looked back over my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

  Maximus stood stiffly, his eyes lit with rage. “I can smell the bastard,” he growled through his teeth. His words were clipped, garbled by the fangs forming in his mouth.

  “Maximus, calm yourself.” I grabbed his arm and yanked him into a shadowed corner near the entrance. “We’ll never get to Dante if you wolf out.”

  “I know,” Maximus snapped.

  “Do you smell Ariana?” I tried, raising my eyebrows for emphasis. “No. Because she’s probably not here. So we need to get to Dante and find out if he has her.”

  Maximus’s shoulders sank a fraction. “Good point.”

  I smirked. “As always.”

  Maximus glared daggers at me. “You might be having fun, but now is not the time to fuck with me.”

  I chuckled as I turned to face the rest of the bar. After a quick scan, I noticed another bouncer standing at a door at the back of the long bar. The bouncer only let in a wealthy looking vampire couple in the time I watched.

  “That’s got to be it,” Maximus said.

  “I imagine so,” I said. “Let’s go for it.”

  Maximus frowned. “What happened to playing it cool?”

  “That was only until we found the entrance. Now, we have to act like we belong in there.” I nodded at the door. “Follow my lead.”

  I slipped through the crowd, Maximus following. I put my smirk back on and turned on the douchebag swagger. It worked well for intimidation, but from the narrowing of the bouncer’s eyes, he wasn’t fooled.

  “Good evening,” I said, stopping in front of the door that might lead us to Ari. My heartbeat picked up speed at the thought. Though I didn’t smell our mate, I hadn’t been able to smell whoever took her either. Maybe Dante had some sort of magic that could conceal her scent.

  “Password?” the bouncer rumbled.

  I yanked out a few bills. “Is this the correct password?”

  The bouncer didn’t even blink. “No.”

  I chuckled and slipped a few more from the billfold in my jacket pocket. “How about this?”

  The bouncer only shook his head.

  Maximus stepped forward, sending a shot of cold right into my gut. Shit.

  Don’t mess this up!

  “Listen, we’re old buddies of Dante’s, and he told us to stop by when we could,” Maximus said. “If you’ll go get the boss man, I’m sure he’ll vouch for us.”

  The bouncer’s eyes turned into saucers, and his cold demeanor faded into fear. “Friends of the boss? My deepest apologies, gentlemen. I didn’t mean to hold you up.” The man stepped aside and held the thick red door open for us to enter a narrow stairwell leading down into the earth.

  “Not a problem.” I smiled as I slipped the bills I held into his breast pocket before following Maximus into the stairwell.

  As soon as the door shut behind us, I breathed a sigh of relief, only to have my lungs filled with the stench of rage and fear. My skin crawled as the musky scent swirled through my head, threatening to drown me.

  “We’re definitely in the right place,” Maximus said.

  As I saw the muscle in his jaw twitch, his face twisting into a pained expression, I suddenly remembered where he’d found Ari. I tried to imagine the anguish I would have felt if I’d seen my mate in this place, a slave forced to murder to live. A whole new level of respect welled inside me, and I felt for Maximus in a way I hadn’t before.

  He’d already started down the steps, so I hurried to follow. I had to switch to breathing through my mouth to combat the overwhelming stench. We descended the steps for a good minute before arriving at a sleek, square room cut from stone. Unlike the cavern Maximus had described, this new space was full of metal furnishings, glass countertops for the bar, and glowing lights behind the bottles nestled against the wall behind the bar. At the center of the large space was a giant cage. I could feel the crackle of magic in the air. Whatever those bars were made of, they had to be enchanted. I had a feeling that whatever breed of shifter touched those bars, they’d be left magic-burned.

  A mountain lion prowled one edge of the m
assive cage while a tiny coyote was shoved through a dark entrance carved into the lone stone wall. The coyote shifter yelped and searched helplessly until its eyes landed on the mountain lion.

  “Fuck,” I cursed.

  The crowd surged toward the cage, hooting and hollering, screaming for the blood of the coyote. The mountain lion snarled and hissed at the coyote, only spurring the cries of the crowd.

  “Let the battle begin!” a man announced from the far side of the room.

  Even as Maximus stiffened and yanked at my arm, I stood rooted to the floor. All of these people, be them witch, shifter, vampire, or something else altogether, were going to watch this. They thrived on the energy of the fight between these two shifters. How could they watch this, let alone condone it?

  “Cash.” Maximus squeezed my arm so tightly I winced. “I know it’s hard, but you have to forget about them for the moment. We’ll come back and free them all, but right now Ariana is the priority.”

  Ari. We were here for our mate. I shook myself. “Right.”

  “Come on,” Maximus said as he pulled me through the crowd toward the opposite side of the room. “I smell Dante.”

  Slowly, I pulled back from the desolate feeling left inside me from seeing the caged shifters. No matter what, I was going to put a stop to this. But Maximus was right. Our mate came first.

  As we slipped through the crowd, a VIP section came into view. Behind a red velvet rope was a small platform raised off the stone floor. Leather couches circled the platform, and a glass table sat at the center. On the largest sofa at the back sat a man with slicked back hair and a large grin on his face as he squeezed the shoulders of the women sitting on either side of him. He leaned in to whisper something in one of their ears, and the girl giggled, swatting him playfully.

  “That’s him,” Maximus growled.

  “Dante.” I breathed out the name as heat coiled in my stomach. My dragon awoke, hungry and ready to burn the place to the ground.