I’d found a spot at a patio table to eat when one of the alphas joined me, smiling and nodding as he sat down. I remembered him from the other day—the bear alpha named Tiago. From the corner of my eye, I watched him as I ate. He scanned the massive crowd of alphas and Lorenzo pack members, his eyes keen. He was quiet as he studied the group.
I had a forkful of pasta salad halfway to my lips when he finally spoke. “They’re scared, you know.”
I froze and glanced at him. “I’m sorry?”
He wiped his mouth with a napkin and gestured to the group. “Them. They’re scared. Well, if not truly scared, they’re acting out of fear. It’s the unknown, mostly. Like you,” he said, nodding toward me.
“Me? What is that supposed to mean?” I asked as I put my fork down.
Smiling at me, he sat for a moment, piercing me with his stare. I would have been uncomfortable if the look he was giving wasn’t so good-natured. Finally, he waved his hand toward me. “You’re a wild card. That’s what has them rattled.”
“Why would that be?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“I’m a bear shifter, but even our kind has told stories about Edemas and his reign and rule for hundreds of years. You’re the type of lore or legend that wasn’t supposed to exist. The fact that you do…” He shrugged. “It means things aren’t exactly as they’d always thought. It throws them off balance.”
“But not you?” I asked.
Tiago bobbed his eyebrows up once and gave a half smile. “You see, I respect Nico as an alpha. His pack has a hell of a reputation, and he’s a man of his word. If I respect him, I have to respect what he says. He says you’re important, and I trust his judgment.”
“I still don’t get how I’m the important one.” I sighed and picked at my food. “I’m one person. If I disappeared tomorrow, things might even go better than if I was here.”
He looked at me with eyes filled with wisdom and knowledge. I couldn’t help but feel like there was something there, measuring and weighing me. When he spoke, the good-natured tone of voice was gone. He was all business. “We’re going to need you. Whether the others want to believe it or not. I’ve been around a long time. I’ve seen the phases and cycles play out. The stories of the old timers and elders. We’re on the road to a reckoning.” He stabbed a fork into the bun of his hamburger for emphasis. “A war with the humans is coming. I doubt it can be avoided now. They’ve finally been given their wish, a free pass to let their fears and prejudice guide them.”
Almost as though he’d spoken it into existence, the day turned into chaos. Nico’s mother came running outside, yelling and waving her arms. “Inside. Everyone. You have to see what’s happening. It’s all over the news. Come on.”
Without another word, she rushed back inside. Most of those in attendance were frozen in place. Tiago, however, stood almost immediately and started toward the house. I jumped up and followed him right before the spell on the crowd seemed tobreak. Everyone started streaming toward the house. There were too many to fit, but they wanted to see what Julia was yelling about. The mood was somber as we packed into the living room. The last time something had been on TV about shifters, we’d discovered we were to be rounded up like cattle.
Nico and his brothers were right in front of the mantle, looking up at the news report. The house was already too full for me to get to him, so I settled for a spot near the sofa, standing directly in front of Tiago. The news wasn’t good.
The screen showed shaky cellphone camera footage of a massive bear running through a city street. He slammed his giant head into the side of a car and swatted an empty bicycle aside like it was a fly.
“That’s a shifter,” Tiago whispered behind me.
He was right. Somehow, I could tell the bear on the footage was a shifter. Even with how shaky the camera was, there was an intelligence behind its eyes that was far above what could be seen in an animal. The shifter looked more than angry—it looked agitated in a way that was hard to explain. The reporter talking over the video was speaking, but my mind drowned that out as I watched the bear stop and shake, staring at the ground, almost like it was thinking or struggling with something.
“Jesus Christ,” Tiago hissed. “It’s like he’s stuck.”
Once he said it, I realized that’s exactly what it was. He was trying to shift back, but for some reason, he couldn’t. I remembered what it had been like when I’d tried to shift for the first time. It was agonizing and irritating to be so close yet have the shift still be out of reach.
On the video, several police cruisers come screeching to a halt in front of the bear. I could hear people on the street screaming at the police to shoot him, to kill him. The voice of the reporter finally broke through my mental haze. “...the shifter was spotted in downtown Seattle this afternoon. We warn ourviewers that what you are about to see is disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.”
Once those words were out, a ball of ice seemed to form in my stomach. On the screen, the officers were yelling at the shifter to change back to human, but their words had no effect. The man was lost inside his animal, unable to pull the human side free.
With horror, I watched him charge the officers. The men and women screamed at him to stand down as they pulled their weapons. The camera went deadly still in the last several seconds as though the person filming wanted to make sure he caught every last second of what was about to happen.
The cops opened fire, the gunshots sounding like distant firecrackers on the video. Bloody wounds opened all along the bear’s chest, legs, and flank, but still he charged on, saliva flying from his mouth as he roared. A final bullet slammed into his head, and he went limp. His dead body collapsed in a heap on the pavement, feet from the dazed and pale officers.
I couldn’t bear to look at the screen anymore. Tiago was the only person near me that I kind of knew. I pressed my face into his shoulder, wanting to wipe out everything I’d seen. Tiago was stiff as a board, and I heard the low growl in his throat; the entire room was filled with the sound of snarls and growls. Everyone was angry. A few minutes ago, we’d been having a night of relaxation and friendship. Now that had been turned on its head.
The image of the dead shifter was removed from the screen and replaced by the reporter at a desk. She looked a bit harried, but her voice was calm and concise as she spoke. “These images you’ve seen took place in Washington State less than an hour ago. The bear shifter, who has so far remained unnamed, showed signs of aggression before shifting into his bear form and attacking a group of humans dining at a nearby downtown restaurant. This is the first reported incident of feral shifters attacking humans since the announcement last weekby the administration and Monroe Group spokesperson Viola Monroe. The government has released a statement encouraging all residents to be on high alert around shifters, as well as to encourage our shifter population to begin the process of turning themselves in before the deadline at the end of the month.” The reporter smoothed her suit and addressed the camera again. “As with all things newsworthy, trust KADC to bring you all the latest breaking news. When we come back: How safe is the water in your neighborhood pool? We’ll find out after these words from our sponsors.”
Nico turned the TV off, and even from as far away as I was, I could see his hand shaking with rage. He shook his head wearily and frowned like he was confused, then he turned to address the room. “This isn’t right. Nothing on that screen feels right. Why couldn’t he shift back?” Nico asked the crowd. I didn’t know if he was actually looking for theories or if he was only asking the question out of frustration.
Next to him, Javi looked equally confused. “We don’t just shift spontaneously. And when we do shift, we can change right back. What the fuck was that?”
I pushed through the crowd, trying to get to Nico, almost suffocating from all the people in the room. I stopped when I came face to face with Abi. The look of dawning terror and surprise made me stop in my tracks to check on her. “Abi? What’s wrong? You don’t look well.”
“I overheard them talk about this,” she said, her voice high and panicky. The room went silent as people turned toward us to listen.
