Shifter Nation- East Coast Bears Collection

by Meg Ripley

  “What is this rumor, exactly?” His voice started to take on a hard edge, and I could feel myself getting upset.

  “That the bears are planning a big attack on the crocs.”

  “And you believe this rumor?”

  “No, not necessarily. I mean, I guess I didn’t know before. But that was before I met you and Owen and Ezra.”

  “You really think we would attack your whole clan?” He looked hurt.

  I felt myself grow near tears. “I don’t think that now. I’ve told them there’s nothing like that going on and that all the bears want is to keep the park safe.”

  He shook his head and let out a long sigh. “It’s working already.”

  “What is?”

  “They’re already coming between us, turning us against each other.”

  “I’m not against you! Are you against me? What did your clan say? You never told me anything about that.”

  “I was too mad to talk about it, and I wanted to talk to you in person. They’re just not happy that I’m dating a croc.”

  “And?”

  “And, that was basically it. They think that with all that’s happened over the years from the crocs that it might cause problems to have you and me be so close. I guess they think you’ll do exactly what your clan wants you to do: use me to somehow get information that will hurt us in the end.”

  I blinked and a tear fell down my cheek. “I never said I was doing that or that I wanted to. I told them I was going to work in the park to get information, but I hoped that I could get to know some bears and make things better between the clans. That I could become a mediator of some sort. I want there to be peace, Mason. So that we don’t have to hide out and anger our families to be together.”

  “That’s what I want, too. I swear, we would never plan any sort of attack. We’d defend ourselves if something came at us, of course. You can’t fault us for that. And we do want to stay safe, given the fact that there have been croc attacks against us in the past, but we’re not—nor have we ever—planned to attack anyone.”

  “I didn’t believe you were.” I wiped a tear and he leaned in close to kiss me.

  “I don’t want to upset you. Maybe it would be best if we met everyone and came out in the open. Stop hiding. Tell everyone that there is no attack and bring peace once and for all.”

  “I don’t know. It might just start a big fight and give us more trouble.”

  “Maybe.” He moved closer and put a hand to my cheek, then kissed me. “Maybe we can accomplish what Romeo and Juliet never could.”

  He kept kissing me and drew me into his lap. His body pressed against mine, warm and strong. It felt so good to be close to him. In that moment, I’d do anything to be with him freely; to not have to hide or worry about my family being angry. I just wanted to be with him and have everything be copacetic.

  “I’ll think about it. Maybe there’s a way I can ease my family into the idea so they’ll accept it.”

  “Good,” he breathed into my ear and kissed along my jaw.

  I closed my eyes and let him kiss down the column of my neck and back up to my lips. I ran my fingers in his hair, pulling him close and taking in long inhales of his scent.

  “You smell so good,” I murmured. My heart raced as he ran his hands along my back.

  “So do you.”

  We kissed for several minutes, getting more and more tangled in each other. Then my phone started buzzing. I ignored it at first, but after a while, it became annoying.

  “You’d better check that,” he said, brushing his lips over my ears.

  I sighed and turned to look at my phone’s screen.

  Are you with that bear right now? It was Adam. He’d sent several texts in a row. People saw you, so don’t try to hide it.

  When I didn’t answer he continued, So much for trying to get information on the bears. You’re changing sides now? Do I have to worry about you?

  And finally, the last one said, I thought I could trust you, Grace. I thought you were going to be a leader in this clan. But you’re nothing more than a bear lover. Does your family have any idea where you are right now, traitor?

  By the time I had read them all, I was shaking with fear and anger. Tears sprang to my eyes. “I’d better go.”

  “Everything okay?” He started packing up the picnic, but I couldn’t move.

  “No,” I said softly. “Adam is giving me crap. Somehow, he knows I’m with you. He called me a traitor.”

  Mason set down the basket and came to take me in his arms. “We’ll figure this out somehow. I promise.”

  I wanted to believe him, but the pit in my stomach kept growing.

  7

  Grace

  I didn’t know how to respond to Adam, so his text went unanswered. I said goodbye to Mason with a growing feeling of dread, and by the time I reached home, that dread had increased exponentially, then exploded when I pulled into the driveway. Adam’s car was there.

  I wanted to turn back and take off; to never come home again. We could’ve gone somewhere, Mason and I. Somewhere that didn’t have clan issues like the ones we were facing. I swallowed hard and got out of my car.

  My father met me at the door as I walked in. “Come on into the living room, Grace. We need to talk.”

  He looked pissed, to say the least. I followed him into the living room and found my mother and brother sitting on the couch, and Adam on the chair. My mother’s eyes looked red from crying. Tyler glared at me. My dad gestured to the love seat and I sat obediently. My dad stood in the middle of the room, his arms crossed, facing me. The room was tense with silence. Then it felt like all the anger exploded at once.

  “Adam has told us some very disturbing information,” my father said.

  “Please say it’s not true,” my mother added, her voice wavering. “You’re not really dating a bear, are you?”

  “Can’t believe my sister is a freaking traitor,” Tyler said.

  Adam just laced his fingers and gave me a smug look. They all stared at me.

  “The bears aren’t what we thought,” I explained.

  “So, it’s true?” my mother said, sounding pained.

  “I’m seeing someone, yes. And he happens to be a bear, but—”

  “Ohhh,” my mother wailed and put her face in her hands. “Why, why, why?”

  My father clenched his jaw. “Grace, this is not acceptable.”

  “How can you even stand the smell?” Tyler asked.

  I thought of Mason’s scent and how it drove me wild; how he kissed me, touched me. Suddenly, it all seemed so far away.

  “How did this even happen?” my father asked. “You were there to work and get information, not hook up with one of them.”

  “I did get information. There is no attack planned,” I said.

  My father turned to Adam, who spoke up then. “We’ve got some information of our own.”

  “Looks to me like you’ve been helping them rather than us,” my father accused.

  “I haven’t helped them!”

  Adam stood and pulled a map from his pocket. He spread it out on the living room table. The map was of the park and had several places circled in red.

  “Right here.” Adam pointed to one of the circles where the word ‘attack’ was written beside it. “Is this not your boyfriend’s handwriting?”

  I looked at the letters closely. I had only seen Mason’s handwriting a few times; not enough to recognize it. “I don’t think so.”

  There were several other places on the map that also said ‘attack’ beside a circle.

  Adam took another paper from his pocket: a traffic violation ticket. He pointed to several lines of writing. “This ticket was given and signed by your boyfriend. Notice how the As and Cs look exactly the same.”

  I looked at where Mason had written ‘traffic violation’ and compared the letters, and admittedly, they did look close. And there was no denying that Mason had written the ticket. His name was printed and signed at th
e bottom of it.

  “What do you make of this?” Adam demanded.

  “I…I don’t know, but I’m sure there’s some explanation,” I said. “They wouldn’t do this.”

  “So, even when you see proof of a pending attack, you’re going to take their side?” my father fumed, his hand forming a fist.

  “I’m not taking their side, I’m just—”

  “How can you do this to your family?” my mother cried. “Is dating this guy worth getting people killed over?”

  “No. That’s not going to happen,” I insisted. “Mason is not like that!”

  “Yet, we have his handwriting here.” Adam pointed again to the map. “You agree that it’s his handwriting, yes?”

  “I don’t know. It looks like it, but I don’t know that—”

  “So, you agree that your boyfriend wrote the words ‘attack’ on this map near several circles?”

  My mouth hung open.

  “Well do you agree that’s his handwriting or not?” my father barked.

  I jumped in surprise. “Well, it looks like his handwriting,” I admitted. “But that doesn’t mean—”

  “Then you have to see how highly suspicious it looks,” Adam said. “He writes ‘attack’ on a map that has several locations circled? Do you still not believe anything’s going on?”

  My mind was spinning in a thousand directions, my heart racing. I was near tears but couldn’t let them see me cry, especially Adam. When I looked at what he had, it did seem like proof. How could I deny that? But it didn’t match with what I knew of Mason. He wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t lie about it, either. Would he?

  “How well do you even know this bear?” my mother asked. “How long has this been going on?”

  “I’ve only been out with him a few times.” I thought that was going to be good news, but she turned it on me.

  “So, you don’t know him at all! He might have you completely fooled, making you think he has feelings for you.”

  “He charmed you, said all the right things, and you fell for it,” Dad added. “We don’t blame you for that. These bears, they’re masters at that. But you need to make this right. You need to end things with him immediately and never see him again.”

  “Well, of course she’s not going to see him again,” my mother said, indignant. She looked at me for confirmation. “You wouldn’t dare see him again after all this proof, would you?”

  “I…”

  “Grace, I don’t think I have to tell you how disappointed the whole clan is,” Adam said. “Our leadership had very high hopes for you and your mission. We had faith in you, trusted you to do right by us. Now that you’ve turned and proven to be a traitor—or at least have been taken by these bears if they’ve managed to manipulate you—we have to think differently about you. About your whole family.”

  “My family?” I whimpered. “But they didn’t have anything to do with it. It was just me—”

  “Don’t you see how this affects us all?” my father demanded. “Your actions reflect on us as a whole. On this family, on this clan, on all crocs everywhere.”

  “It’s not like that! I swear, it’s not like that.” The tears broke free; there was no stopping any of it now. I tried to keep my chest from hitching as I cried and breathed through it.

  “Adam needs to hear that you’re not going to see this bear again,” Mom insisted.

  What could I say to that? How could I possibly still be thinking that dating Mason would ever work? If everyone was up in arms about it and they were coming against my family because of me, because of what I’d done, how could I put my wants ahead of what was best for so many people?

  “I won’t see him again,” I said softly.

  “Of course you won’t,” my father said. “Because if you do, you’ll be out on the street so fast, your head will spin.”

  I swallowed hard and the tears kept coming.

  “We’re putting you on probation,” Adam said. “It’s not a mark against you—yet. We’re just going to watch your actions for a while and make sure there’s nothing questionable happening. If we do find something, some kind of proof that you’ve been giving the bears information, then there will be a more formal investigation that could lead to your removal from the clan. Do you understand?”

  I nodded, but didn’t look up. I couldn’t believe what was happening. How could something that seemed so perfect and necessary just hours before suddenly seem like the most terrible thing I’d ever done in my life?

  “I’ll keep an eye on her,” my brother said.

  I sent him a glowering look.

  Adam nodded. “I expect all of you to report regularly with anything you see that might be suspicious. The more we know we can trust the Osborns, the faster your names will be cleared.”

  “Why couldn’t you just find a nice croc boy to date?” my mother hissed.

  “It’s not for lack of interest, I’ll tell you that much,” Adam said. “I’ve been trying to get Grace to like me for as long as I can remember, and then I see her running off with this bear. I’m starting to question my own abilities.”

  “Oh no,” my mother said. “You are a fine-looking man and a good leader. Don’t you go doubting yourself just because of Grace’s poor choices.”

  “And I’m sure Grace will be making better choices in the future, won’t she?” My father looked at me expectantly.

  “Yes,” I whispered. “I never meant to hurt anyone or make anyone look bad. I didn’t tell him anything that would hurt anyone or give anything away.”

  “We know that you’re the victim here,” Adam said. “That Mason and these bears are the real ones to blame for taking advantage of you. But you do understand that we have to take precautions and make sure his hold on you is broken for good.”

  I nodded.

  “Good.” Adam stood and shook my father’s hand. “I think my work here is done for the night.”

  My mother stood to hug him and whispered something to him that I couldn’t hear.

  “Grace, if I might have a private word?” Adam said as he walked toward the door.

  I followed him out and he stopped on the front porch, waiting until I closed the door behind me. I didn’t meet his eyes. He leaned in close, so that his arm was touching mine.

  “Grace,” he said softly, “I know this is a lot to take, and I don’t want you or your family to be negatively impacted by this. Just keep your head straight, and soon enough, it’ll all blow over.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered. “I never meant to cause anyone any trouble.”

  “I know.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “I know you’ve needed time, but I want you to know that if you’re looking for someone who won’t manipulate you, someone your family will be thrilled to have you be with, I think you know that I’m here. I want you to be mine, Grace. I think we could do great things together.”

  “I know.”

  “Okay, well, I just didn’t want to leave any doubt. Think about what would make your family happy. You can fix all of this very easily, you know.”

  “I know.”

  “Grace…”

  I finally looked up at him. His gaze was intense and he leaned down toward me. I turned my head from him.

  “It’s been a really awful night,” I said. “I need to get some sleep.”

  “Right. You do that and call me in the morning, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  I turned from him and ran up to my room before anyone else could say anything to me. I picked up my phone and sent the most awful text I’d ever had to send.

  I’m so sorry, Mason, but I can’t see you anymore. Adam told my family and the whole clan about us. My dad will kick me out of the house if I see you again, and my family might even get kicked out of the clan because of this. It’s a huge mess and I can’t keep bringing them harm just to satisfy my own wants. I’m so sorry. I know you’ll understand why it has to be this way.

  I powered down my phone and pressed my face into my pillow to
sob. It was bad enough that they all knew, that I was causing all this trouble for everyone, and that the bears might actually be planning an attack. But at that moment, all I wanted was for Mason to hold me and tell me it would be okay somehow. For us to figure this all out together. But instead, I’d just promised my clan and family that I’d never see him again. The day couldn’t have been any worse, and I just needed it to end.

  8

  Mason

  I read Grace’s last message again, for the hundredth time. And then the long stream of texts I’d responded with that had gone unanswered.

  My first reply was, What? What is going on? Can you call me?

  When she didn’t call—and avoided my voicemails—I’d followed up with, Grace, please talk to me. Tell me what’s going on. It can’t just end like this. We’re adults. They can’t keep us apart unless we let them.

  Later that night, I’d written, Please. I’m going out of my mind here.

  I hoped that in the morning, somehow, things would have been better. But she still hadn’t responded. Throughout the day, I’d sent many more texts, called many times, but still to no avail.

  I didn’t know what to do or what to think. And my clan sure wasn’t being helpful. They’d all just seemed relieved that it was over.

  But I couldn’t let it be over.

  Grace had taken two days off work and it seemed like she’d quit, disappearing from my life completely and instantly. But on the third day that she was supposed to be at work, the fifth day since I’d talked to her, she showed up.

  I got a text from Owen. She’s here, but don’t do anything. Just keep your distance.

  At least it was something. Someone I knew would have contact with her. I knew where she was, and I could figure out a way to see her and talk to her.

  How does she look? I asked.

  Awful. She came to talk to me to make sure I knew what was going on. She was concerned for her job and asked if I could make sure she doesn’t run into you, that it would be too hard.