Page 24 of Bad Blood Bear

Chapter 11

Lissa stared at him. This wasn’t possible. People didn’t turn into animals, except in the movies.

“No,” she said. “That’s—just, no.” Not real. Not true. Nope, nope, nopitty nope.

Tank gazed at Flynn. “Show her,” he said.

Flynn gave a martyred sigh and heaved himself off the back of the couch. He started undoing his jeans.

“Oh, no,” Lissa said, backing off and pulling out her pepper spray. “No kinky pseudo-bear sex. Been there, done that, got the bite mark to prove it.”

Quicker than humans should be able to move, Tank was behind her, wrapping one arm around her and plucking the pepper spray out of her hand before she even realized he was there.

“You seriously spent the money I gave you on pepper spray?” he said.

That’s what he was worried about?

“Well, you gave me the money, which therefore makes it my money. So I can spend it on whatever I want. However, if it makes you feel better, I stole this pepper spray from the convenience store by the highway.”

That got a crooked grin out of Flynn. “It makes me feel better,” he said. “You’re my kind of girl—you got balls, and no respect for the law. But don’t use it in here, babe. You can’t get that smell out of the fucking furniture.”

And he knew that how? “Do women pepper spray you a lot?” she asked sweetly.

The grin deepened. “No, though I’m sure they want to,” he said. “But don’t worry, babe. Nobody’s going to hurt you.”

“Rapists all say that,” Lissa said. “And I already know you lock naked people in sheds.”

Flynn rolled his eyes. “Xander has issues,” he said. “He got too upset, and shifted into his animal, and he couldn’t shift back. We had to put him in the shed so he wouldn’t hurt himself, or run off and get shot by some hunter.”

Right. They all turned into animals. They were nuttier than the People of Ursus. But Flynn wasn’t leering at her or invading her space. He was just peeling off his jeans like it was no big deal that his giant dong was hanging out. Before Lissa could adjust to that, he stepped away from her and Tank, yanked his head to the side to crack his neck, and then crouched over.

His body rippled and shimmered, and Lissa heard more ‘pops’ that sounded like his bones were breaking. She covered her mouth with her hand, biting the skin on the back of it to keep from freaking out.

Tawny gold fur sprouted from him, and in seconds there was a lion standing before her. A huge. Freaking. Lion. With a black mane and a black tuft on his tail, and giant-ass paws with two-inch claws.

The lion gazed at her with the exact same expression Flynn had, and then yawned. His mouth was big enough to stick her head in, and his teeth were sharp enough to bite it off.

Lissa shrank back against Tank. The demon was screaming inside her, and she was trembling.

“He just turned into a lion,” she whispered. Nope, nope, nope. Traumatic delusion. Tank tightened his arm around her.

The lion rippled and shimmered, and huge naked Flynn was crouched in its place. He got up nonchalantly, stretched, and put his jeans back on.

“Holy fuck,” Lissa said, still staring. Flynn raised his eyebrows at her.

They all waited.

Lissa shook her head. “That’s all I got.”

Flynn gave a half-snort, half-laugh.

People can turn into animals. People can turn into animals. She couldn’t wrap her head around it.

“You’re trying to tell me that Brother Damien really turned into a bear,” she said finally.

“Don’t know him,” Flynn said, “But if he’s the one who bit you, then yep. He really did. He also put a bear inside of you, and if you don’t manage to come to terms with her pretty soon, she’ll kill you.”

“You’re a fucking asshole, Flynn.” That was Tank’s angry voice. Lissa had managed to walk around the couch before her legs buckled, and now she had her head between her knees and was listening to Tank and Flynn argue and feeling floaty.