“So do I. Need to know why those things attacked you.”
“Haven’t a clue. Why is Mark dying?”
“He’s not dying. He’s just becoming furry way too much. Eventually he won’t be able to go back.”
Oh. Well, that sucked. “But, um, he’ll live out a natural life then? As a?—”
“Not likely. Someone who can’t go back tends to go crazy. Someone will have to put him down.”
Julie stared at the officer in shock. “That’s murder.”
“Ever seen an enraged grizzly? One that is out of control? It destroys everything around it. It roars like it’s in pain, probably is because it’s using teeth and claws to tear everything apart. Buildings, cars, people. The paws get torn to shreds, the muzzle is next. But even after that, it’s still hundreds of pounds of bone and muscle lumbering around like Godzilla. It’ll snatch up a person like a doll and squeeze until the ribcage pops.”
“Tonya!” Becca hissed. “There are children here.”
Julie belatedly realized that while she’d been gaping in horror, the rest of the café had been listening in. The whole place was silent, and when Julie looked around, people dropped their gazes to their food. No one was eating anymore.
Then the waitress piped in, her voice loud in the awkward silence. “Always a pleasure having you visit us, Tonya. Do let me fix you an order to go.”
The officer looked up, her cheeks stained a dull red. “Uh, yeah. Sorry, Robin.”
Then Becca spoke up, her gaze on Julie, but her voice pitched to everyone around them. “But there’s lots of hope, too. There’s your father’s research, for one. That’s why we’re all so glad he’s feeling better. When’s he coming home, Julie?”
Julie frowned. Her father’s research? What did fairy tales have to do with this? “Um, a few days.”
“That’s great. So are you here to get things set at the cabin?”
“Uh, yeah. What about Dad’s research?”
Becca popped a bite of cupcake into her mouth. “Well, Carl said that there was some promising stuff in the old stories. That’s why he asked everyone to help your dad collect them. You know, tell him whatever Great-Grandpa Jones ever said about anything.”
“Promising—”
“You want me to box that up for you?” interrupted waitress Robin as she held out a Styrofoam box. “I’m sure you’ve got lots of things to do. Market down the street is having a sale on hot dog buns. I swear your father lived on hot dogs and my burgers.” Then her expression softened. “Also got all sorts of beer and wine, too. Just in case.”
Julie bit her lip, her mind whirling. Thoughts jumbled around in her brain, but they all landed with the two women across from her. They had information she wanted. It wasn’t just the history of shifters, but answers about Mark and what happened this morning. These were questions she wasn’t ready to ask Mark, but she could ask these two. Especially if there was a little extra lubricant with the discussion.
“Dad has a blender,” she said. “And I sure as hell can’t face that backyard without a margarita or three. Anyone care to join me?”
CHAPTER 11
Raucous female laughter crashed into Mark’s ears as he got out of his truck. The first thing he did was extend his senses throughout the cabin property. He scented Julie, Becca, and Tonya, but also the dozens of other people who had milled about the property this morning. The lingering scent of those wrong things felt like an itch under his skin, and he bared his teeth at its presence so near Julie. But he kept his grizzly under wraps. For one thing, Carl had arrived a few minutes ago and was watching him closely from the front porch. For another, he didn’t want to freak out Julie any more than she already was.
His nostrils twitched as another grizzly-shifter rounded the corner. It was one of the Gladwins, set to patrol the property. Carl signaled that guard duty was over. At least for the young bear. Mark would cover protection duty for the rest of the night. Him plus all the high-end electronics he’d had installed this afternoon. That was one of the advantages of being filthy rich and not having more than a few months to spend it. He could pay an exorbitant amount to have the surveillance equipment installed immediately. Especially since he wasn’t opposed to a bit of bribery.
Another fit of giggles filled the air, and Mark raised an eyebrow at Carl. Was that Becca who’d just brayed like a donkey? Carl shrugged, his expression saying that he thought the sound adorable. Mark could relate. He was pretty sure he heard a few of Julie’s indelicate snorts and couldn’t help but grin. He’d been worried that she’d gone close to catatonic at the revelation of magic in the world. Instead, she handled it in a healthier manner. She’d gotten drunk with friends.
Then he heard Tonya hoot with laughter, the sound high pitched and girly. Lord, if she knew they were outside listening in, she’d shoot them for sure. That was not a sound the tough-as-nails Officer Kappes would ever make. Not sober, at least.
Mark stopped on the front porch, using his smart phone to check in on the electronics. Everything appeared quiet. Carl joined him soon afterward, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the phone.
“She’d still be safer at your place.”
Maybe, but she’d never go. Not if this morning’s freak-out was any indication. And more important, she wouldn’t be safe. Not from him. Not if she wandered through his den, setting her body and her scent in the most intimate place of his life. No, then he’d bolt the doors and drag her caveman-style to his bed. It had been hard enough going into his kitchen and smelling her there. No way was he going to torture himself by having her in his living area.
Meanwhile, Carl took Mark’s silence as the denial it was. He sighed and gestured to the road. “The cops are going to drive over once around midnight and again at five. They won’t knock unless they see something wrong. Ron and Joe will be patrolling as grizzlies until?—”
“I got it. It’s covered. And I’ll be here watching the monitors. Besides, I don’t think there can be more of those things around anyway.”
