Chapter 11
As a teen, Simon had seen his share of shifter battles. There was even a shifter summer camp that had an area designed for that. And yes, there were secret shifter fight clubs that every teen searched for but fortunately few found.
None compared to what he saw right now.
A single, moderately-sized grizzly bear stood backed into a corner. It was dark brown with black patches and matted with blood. His face was a swollen mass, and his right thigh had taken enough tearing strikes that it looked like ground meat. Blood flowed everywhere, but the creature was still fighting. It should have been roaring with the way its mouth was open and his teeth gleamed white and wet, but it didn’t have the breath. It saved its strength for swiping with broad strokes in front of him, keeping the four…monsters…back.
Four who looked like Vic at his worst and a stench that matched. They were going in for the kill, encroaching step by step with murderous intent. And lest he think that the others in the room were going to help the pure shifter, the other nine, all in human form, were watching with looks that varied between glee and nausea.
This was a gang murder, plain and simple. And he’d walked Alyssa in seconds before it happened. And double hell, she wasn’t leaving despite the fact that he’d just tried to shove her outside without drawing undue attention to them.
And now it was too late. Alyssa made a sound of defiance. It wasn’t even a word, but she refused to budge, and nothing caught a male shifter’s attention faster than a female refusing to obey. It signaled to everyone that she was a fair target since she’d just refused a male’s protection.
The sound did little to distract the attackers, but it certainly caught the onlookers’ attention. Multiple eyes swiveled in Alyssa’s direction; Simon had to capture their attention quick or risk whatever they had in mind for her.
“We’re just visiting,” he said loud enough for everyone to hear. “Do you mind pausing in the…um…illegal activity over there while we’re here? We don’t mean to interrupt, but now that we’ve seen it, it would be best if it didn’t cross any lines.” It was a sound, logical argument that reminded everyone that they were humans subject to the rule of law.
It didn’t work.
A stupidly large man stood up. Thick shoulders, broad nose, and dark yellow teeth in his pale Caucasian face. He was the Griz alpha, and his name was Nanook as a nod to his Inuit ancestor Nanook of the North. Also, he was the only known shifter who was part polar bear.
And he was really pissed off.
“How did you get in here?” he demanded.
It was that booming question that saved the shifter in the corner. At that tone everyone in the room—including the four attacking…hybrids?—turned to glare at Simon.
“We walked in,” Alyssa snapped. “Through the door. Which was unlocked.”
Hell, this wasn’t the time for her to talk. But he already knew she attacked whenever she was scared. Big grizzly bear roars at her in the UP? She shoots it. Big alpha makes threatening noises here? She responds with a smart-ass comment and she probably had her hand on her gun.
She was going to die—or worse—if he didn’t take control fast.
“Quiet!” he snapped, investing his word with the bite of command, and was eternally grateful that she was smart enough to obey. Then he answered the question that Nanook had really meant.
“I’m Simon Gold, one of the Gladwin grizzlies. I’ve been here before and we spoke, so I’m welcome here.” That was the real question: How did he get past the psychic “no trespassing” vibes? Answer: He was bold enough to defy them because he knew that he was welcome.
“He isn’t,” Nanook said, jutting his chin at Vic. And then came the psychic blast that Nanook was best known for. It was like a physical blow to every nerve ending in a man’s body. The first and only time that Simon had felt it, he had gone down on his ass and trembled like a child for twenty minutes.
Vic was no better. He dropped like a stone, but he wasn’t trembling. No, he was full-on monster by the time he hit the floor. His mouth peeled back and fur came out. He’d been smart enough to wear sweats that expanded with him and his flip-flops fell away, so he wasn’t screaming in pain from his clothing, though the T-shirt was stretched thin. What was really impressive though, was that his friend didn’t flop on the floor like a beached fish. That had been what Simon had done two years before. No, Vic rolled jerkily to his feet where he faced Nanook on all fours and with his teeth flashing.
And the four other monsters abandoned the bloody grizzly to advance on Vic.
Shit.
“Stay there,” Simon ordered to everyone, Vic included. “We’re not here to cause problems. We just need some information.”
Nanook snorted. “I just bet you do. Wondering what that is?” He gestured toward Vic.
Simon echoed the gesture only at the other four who were literally salivating to get to Vic. “You obviously know more than we do. We came here respectfully to ask if you’d explain.”
“Want me to explain?” the man bellowed. “It’s the fucking dogs, that’s who! They’ve done this to us!” He advanced forward, his manner barely controlled aggression and Simon felt his insides grow tight. His grizzly was primed and ready, aching to burst free, but that would be disastrous. No way could his grizzly win in a fight. Not against everyone here. Not while still protecting Alyssa.
So he kept his voice calm, trying to pitch the tones to be soothing and deferential. “How did the dogs do this?”
“They do everything!” Nanook bellowed, obviously warming to a favorite theme. “See this?” He hauled over the nearest monster. “This was Jayden. He was a damned good mechanic. Now he’s this. All the time.” He shoved Jayden away who came up snarling. The only reason he didn’t attack was because Nanook growled him down. Then he pointed to the others in turn. “Billy. Tyler. And that last one, she was Tiana.”
Simon did a double take. That one was female? God it was hard to tell. Neither human nor beast, they were each a sick combination of twisted limbs and partial shifts. “They just changed?”
