Shifter Nation- East Coast Bears Collection

by Meg Ripley

  “The man in that cell is a bear shifter. This means that he can turn into a bear at will. There are other kinds of shifters, too; ones that are able to transform into many different types of animals. When I found Danielle’s body this morning, I knew a shifter was at fault because of the damage. Actual wild bears hardly chase after humans or kill people, and when I saw the corpses of the cameramen, I realized we had a rogue on our hands.

  I did my best to track him down, and when I did, I wrestled him into cuffs and brought him here. Thing is, he’s not supposed to shift the way he did in front of you. I’ve also seen parts of his body change while the rest of him stayed in human form; this is also not supposed to happen. It seems like something has caused his human brain to lie dormant while his bear runs rampant whenever it pleases, even when he’s in human form. He doesn’t speak, he only growls and roars. Something is wrong with him and I have to find out what. And I might…need you to help me.” Trent winced at the last part.

  He was breathing a little heavier now, after talking at the speed of light to try and get everything out. I just stared at him, only blinking.

  Bear shifters? What the hell? Is this guy nuts? Did I just make out with someone who needs to be tied up in a strait-jacket? Damn, I sure know how to pick ‘em...Wait a minute…

  Something dawned on me in that moment. Trent seemed to know a lot about this, as if it wasn’t his first time encountering this problem. In fact, he seemed extremely familiar with this information.

  No…

  “H-how do you kn-know all this?” I stuttered, feeling the fear and panic rising again.

  Please don’t say it. Please don’t say it. Please don’t—

  “I’m a bear shifter as well, Blanca…” Trent gazed deep into my eyes. When I looked back, I could see worry and a little fear there. He was scared, too.

  Shit…

  “We aren’t supposed to discuss our existence with those outside our community, so that’s why we couldn’t tell you about him when you first arrived. Making it seem like it was either a human or an actual bear was our top priority. We thought we would be able to reason with him if we found him, but he doesn’t respond to anything.” Trent glanced back to the man in the cell.

  “Wait, we? Who’s we? How many of you are there?”

  “Knox, Sophia, even Ramon. We’re all shifters. There are others as well, and Acadia is our clan’s home.”

  “Your clan? There’s a whole clan of—of…shifters?”

  This was impossible. There was no way this was real. People who could change into bears at will? That sounded like something straight out of the fantasy books I read in high school. How could people like that exist?

  “I-I…need some time to process this…” I said finally. I was still shaking as I tried to get up. Trent reached out a hand to help me. “Don’t touch me!”

  The exclamation sounded worse than I wanted it to. I didn’t mean to scream at him; fear was still coursing through me and he’d just told me he could shift into a fucking bear whenever he wanted to.

  He wasn’t human, and I wasn’t ready to accept that yet. Having him touch me would make this all real.

  “I’m sorry…I just—I should leave…” I said, looking away from Trent’s defeated face. I used the desk as leverage to help me to my feet and started to walk out of the office. Trent’s voice made me stop, although I almost didn’t want to hear anything else he had to say.

  “Blanca, I need you to promise not to tell anyone. We could all be in danger if the public were to find out about us. I know you need to do your job with this guy, but maybe we can find a way to make this work out for everyone? It might be too much to ask of you right now, but please. Promise me you won’t say anything for now…”

  I could hear the pleading in Trent’s voice. But, how could he ask me to promise something like that? Who would I be able to sort out my thoughts with if I didn’t tell anyone?

  I couldn’t make that promise, so, I didn’t. I continued to walk out of his office, and I didn’t look back.

  * * *

  “This is Agent Gianni reporting from Acadia. May I please speak with Agent Caulwell?”

  I didn’t know who answered the phone when I called, but it was no one I recognized and it was definitely not the person I wanted to talk to. I was briskly walking away from the holding lodge toward the main gate and thanked the heavens the ground wasn’t muddy; I hated when my heels sunk into dirt.

  “One moment, Mrs. Gianni.”

  The receptionist was transferring me to the chief. My mind was racing, and I had no idea what to do. The thoughts in my head were screaming at me to tell him everything I just heard and to let the FBI sort out the situation.

  I felt an overwhelming sense of duty rush through me. They deserve to know about this unknown species.

  My heart was fighting my mind though, begging me to keep silent. Trent was still a person—sort of. He deserved a chance at a normal life just like everyone else, right? Even with the whole ‘turning into a bear’ thing.

  Who was I to destroy their lives? And is that precisely what I’d be doing if I told the chief?

  “Chief Caulwell speaking.” The chief sounded annoyed again, which must have meant I was interrupting him. “Hello?”

  Oh crap… What do I tell him?

  “Hey Chief, this is Agent Gianni. I was…um…I was just calling to let you know that… uh…” The words wouldn’t come out. I couldn’t do it.

  “Yes, Agent Gianni? What is it?”

  “Sorry, Chief. I was actually just calling to let you know that I conducted an interrogation this morning with the, uh, suspect. He was very unresponsive and did not confess to the murders, so we’ll have to wait for the test results before proceeding.”

  “Whatever. Keep me posted.” The chief hung up and I breathed a sigh of relief. I felt like I’d been holding my breath during the whole conversation.

  What am I going to do now?

  I decided to just head back to my room. The hotel had a spa and maybe a massage would help me sort through my thoughts.

  Oh shit! I never asked the receptionist at the hotel for the taxi number. I hope I have enough service to find it! I checked my phone and noticed I had one frigging bar, but luckily, I was able to find the taxi number—even though it took forever. They told me they’d meet me at the gate in 10 minutes. I had Knox’s number and knew I could call him for a ride, but after hearing everything I just heard, I didn’t want to be around anyone at the park.

  10

  Trent

  Knox had called me in early to help him tear out some invasive weeds that were encroaching on the trails. The main Acadia trail that went around the entire park was 50 miles long and the job would take us all day, for sure.

  “Is something wrong, man? You look like someone stole your puppy.” Knox didn’t say it jokingly; he was seriously concerned.

  I hadn’t told him about what happened with Blanca yet, and I was honestly dreading it. She took off the day before and neither she—nor her agents—had retuned since. I panicked; what if they had gone back to the FBI and told them everything? They could be sending people to infiltrate Acadia at any moment.

  I didn’t think Blanca went back and told them—or, at least I hoped with every fiber of my being that she didn’t. I wanted to believe that my plea to her carried some weight, especially after the time we spent together in the Jeep. I knew I was told to flirt like hell with her, so I did, but I couldn’t deny that my inner bear had begun to surface again that day. Desire—deeper than I’d ever known—surged through my body, blazing through all my extremities, and as my lips crashed against hers, I knew my bear had chosen his mate.

  Like it or not, I knew it was time to tell Knox; I couldn’t keep it from him any longer.

  “Knox, there’s something I have to tell you.” I could hear the dread in my voice and I knew Knox could, too.

  “Yes?” His tone sounded like a parent whose child was about to admit to something.
/>   “Agent Gianni…yesterday in the holding cell…She…The shifter, he…”

  “Spit it out, Trent.” Knox’s voice was stern now.

  “Agent Gianni knows about us. About shifters.” I held my breath, waiting for a response. He was silent at first.

  “She what?” Knox roared; his expression was livid. “How did this happen?!”

  “Before you get angry, let me explain. The suspect shifted in front of her, right there, plain as day! And while I was trying to explain things to her, he changed back. There was no denying it! What was I supposed to tell her? She was just hallucinating?”

  “Wait, he full blown shifted in front of her? Who the hell does that in front of a human?” Knox still seemed infuriated, but his anger appeared more directed towards the shifter now and not me.

  “I don’t think he’s trying to do anything. Knox, something is seriously wrong with that guy, and when Ramon saw him, he agreed. At first, we thought that maybe the bear had completely taken control over his mind and body, but after watching him closely yesterday, it’s much more than that. He’s wild, almost rabid. He doesn’t speak and doesn’t respond to anything; he just growls and snarls. If you try to talk to him, he bares his teeth and lashes out. I’ve never seen a shifter act the way he does, and neither has Ramon.”

  “What about the blood sample? Have we heard anything else about it?” Knox seemed to be calming down slowly. He definitely wasn’t as angry as he’d been previously, thank god.

  “I haven’t heard anything from Ramon yet. He must be hard at work trying to unravel what’s going on. Seeing the shifter seemed to make him worry that whatever was affecting that guy could possibly spread to the rest of us. I personally think it’s a stretch, since he scratched me when I was trying to bring him in and nothing seems to be wrong with me.”

  “I’ll have to check with him for an update.” Knox’s voice seemed concerned and he reached out to Ramon with his mind as he went back to whacking weeds. I followed suit; the air seemed tense after the conversation and I’m sure Knox was thinking about how to handle the situation now that the FBI knew about our existence.

  After a few moments of silence, Knox groaned. “Fuck, nothing solid yet from Ramon. So, about when did all of this happen yesterday?”

  “Maybe 10am?” I winced. I knew he would be pissed that I waited so long to tell him about it. It had been over a day, but I needed the day to figure out what to do. I met Knox’s eyes to notice him glaring back at me.

  “So, you decided to wait over a day to tell me this because…?”

  “I’m not going to give you an excuse. I’m sorry; I should have told you earlier,” I responded. “So, how do you think we should handle this?”

  “That’s a good question. I don’t know. This isn’t going to be as easy as it was when Hannah found out about us. I was lucky she fell in love with me, but I doubt Blanca is going to be that smitten with you any time soon.” Knox rolled his eyes.

  “Well…you never asked me how that things went…” I smirked a little, hoping he knew what I was talking about. He caught my eye and returned the smile.

  “I’m guessing from that face you were able to work your charm after all?”

  “You could say that…”

  “So, what happened? Did you get some ass?” Knox chuckled, seemingly back to his normal self.

  “Not everyone can be as lucky as you are,” I laughed. Knox looked at me as if he was waiting for the details. “We kissed.”

  “That’s it? Hardly anything to brag about. You think she’s sweet on you just because you had a little make out session? You’ll have to do better than that, Trent. Much better.” Knox was shaking his head in disappointment.

  “It wasn’t just a kiss, okay? I felt something, and I know she did, too. Things would have gone further if we weren’t interrupted.” I rolled my eyes, remembering the moment we heard a knock on the window of my Jeep. “Bar Harbor’s sheriff caught us on the side of the road, but I was able to laugh it off with him.”

  “Your fault for getting caught,” Knox snickered. “Okay, so you had her, but you lost her due to the interruption. Do you think she’d give it another try?”

  “I highly doubt it after the whole shifter thing. You should have seen her face. She wouldn’t even let me touch her when she found out I was one, too.” My gaze fell to the dirt; I didn’t want to remember the look in Blanca’s eyes when she pulled away from me. “How did you handle it? When Hannah found out?”

  I looked up at Knox, searching for some kind of direction from my Alpha, my friend. I knew if anyone could help me, Knox would know what to do.

  “Hannah was different, Trent. She saw me shift and confronted me about it; you know how she is. Blanca seems to put up a tough front, but learning this information shook her world. She found out the guy she was making out with moments ago can turn into a bear at will. That’s not an easy thing to take in, especially when it was thrown in her face like that. I think you should give her some time. Let her process things. If she was going to tell the FBI about us, she would have done it already and Acadia would be swarming with agents. But we’re not, which means she probably hasn’t said shit. Let her come to you. And if the kiss was as intense as you think it was, I’m sure she thought it was, too. Just wait for her.”

  Knox’s words seemed sincere and they resonated with me. Maybe he was right. This wasn’t just a fling now; I needed things for us to work out, more than just for satisfying my inner bear’s carnal needs.

  This had to work for the sake of the clan.

  “Alright, I’ll wait. But, what if she never comes?”

  “You’d better hope she does. This is our only way out right now until I think of something else. I’m lucky you two started to hit it off; otherwise, we’d have nothing to go on. I’ll try to think of another solution in the meantime in case this doesn’t pan out, but Trent, you know how you’re always joking about being happy that Hannah came around for me because I needed someone? Well, you do, too. And this could be your turn. She could really be the one and I’d love to see you just as happy as I am.”

  Knox smiled and I could feel a love one can only feel from their Alpha. It was almost fatherly, coming from someone who watches over and protects you, who wants the best for you. I felt a tinge of heartache when I remembered Officer Davidson, the man who almost took my mom and I in all those years ago. I felt the same kind of love from him, and then he was gone.

  Nodding at Knox, I returned his smile. He seemed to always know exactly what to say or do when faced with a sticky situation. He was a great Alpha, and in that moment, I was thankful to be in Acadia.

  “Now, let’s get these weeds taken care of! The sooner we finish, the sooner we’ll be done,” Knox said, adding more gusto to his hacking.

  Having a night off sounded great, and who knew? Maybe she would come by that night.

  I certainly hoped so.

  11

  Blanca

  I felt so much better after an hour-long, full-body Swedish massage at the hotel; it was just what I needed to help cope with the stress of it all.

  Bear shifters? How could creatures like that even exist? How did they come to be? Not to mention Trent is one. Great choice, Blanca!

  I shook my head at my thoughts as I opened the door to my room. I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the news, but after the massage, I decided it was time to get back to work. I needed to go visit Knox to get more information about Acadia, but I was stalling. Surely, Trent had told him I knew their secret by then.

  I honestly just wanted to go back to being ignorant about bear shifters and pretend they didn’t exist.

  Maybe that’s what I should do for now. Act like I don’t know their secret. I honestly feel like that’s the only way I could handle a talk with Knox. Hopefully, Trent won’t be there…I’m just not ready to face him yet. I sighed. Why does everything have to be so complicated?

  I just needed Knox to answer some general questions about Acad
ia for the paperwork, and then I could return to the comfort of my room. Hey, it’s a start. With that realization, I grabbed my suitcase and pulled out a pair of black dress pants and a white blouse; there was something about the contrast and uniformity that made me feel powerful, and I could have certainly used an extra boost that day.

  When I was ready to go, I called the taxi company, figuring they would arrive at the hotel soon after I made my way downstairs. And I was right. By the time I got to the lobby and outside, the taxi pulled up two minutes later.

  * * *

  When I arrived at Acadia, Knox was not at the entrance. He’d told me where his office was located back when we were examining the bodies, so I decided to head there to see if I could find him.

  It was a short walk, maybe ten minutes from the gate, but when I got to Knox’s office, there wasn’t a car outside.

  Is he not here either? Maybe I should knock or something, just to check.

  I banged on the door.

  “Mr. Bernard? It’s Agent Gianni. Are you in there?” I yelled, looking through the windows. I was sure I saw a light on.

  “Oh, come in!” I heard a female voice call out to me and I was immediately confused.

  His secretary, maybe? Whoever she was, she probably knew Knox’s whereabouts.

  I entered the office to see walls covered with papers, a filing cabinet and a desk with a computer. A woman with light brown hair and hazel eyes peeked out from behind the machine; if her complexion hadn’t been so fair, I would have thought she was Sophia. She smiled and motioned for me to come closer.

  “Are you Mr. Bernard’s secretary?” I asked, still not sure of who she was.

  The woman erupted in laughter. “Ha, he wishes! I’m Hannah Grant, Knox’s girlfriend.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry! I’m Blanca Gianni. I’m an FBI agent who was assigned to investigate the serial murders that took place here.” I stretched my hand across the desk to shake hers and she returned the gesture.