Page 39 of Damien’s Mate

He almost passed 86 Sawmill Road. It was nothing but a sparsely graveled driveway disappearing into yet more fucking trees.

He stopped to make sure. Yup, this was the place.

The rusted mailbox sat at a drunken angle, like somebody had hit it and not bothered to stand it back up straight. He’d had to get up close to see the number on it.

Below that, nailed to the post, was a tattered sign that said Keep out. Trespassers will be mauled. And probably eaten.

A huge set of claw marks went right across the sign.

Damien didn’t know whether to laugh, or make sure his weapon was loaded.

In case they were serious, he drove up the driveway slowly and cautiously. Brock had never called him back. The fucker could be gone, or dead, or living in South America for all he knew.

And the others probably didn’t know he was coming. He just hoped they didn’t maul first and ask questions later.

His wheels crunched up the dark, curving driveway. It went slightly uphill, and then opened into a weedy lawn spread out in front of a large, three-story house—more like a mansion—that looked like it was in the process of being renovated.

There were a bunch of cars and trucks outside—three in a neat row at one side of the parking area, and the rest scattered randomly as if everybody had come home drunk and parked wherever they felt like.

Maybe this Brandon guy didn’t run as tight a ship as he’d thought.

He stopped the car and turned off the ignition. The night was silent, the dark pressing down on all sides, despite a couple of ceiling lights on the wraparound porch.

He didn’t want to wake up Lila until he was sure they were going to be able to stay here. Without being eaten.

He opened the car door quietly. He still had his shoulder holster on, and he made sure the safety was off his weapon.

Then he stepped out of the SUV.

The house was totally surrounded by thick dark woods rising up a hillside. There was a slight breeze, and through the moving branches he could glimpse a pinpoint of light appearing and disappearing farther up the hill, like there was another house up there.

Except for the sound of the wind and the branches rubbing together, there was utter silence. Damien stood, his ears straining, the quiet freaking him out way more than all the noises in the city.

Far away, an owl hooted, and something screamed. A bobcat? Probably rabid, like the squirrels. A minute later, he heard the faint howl of a wolf. It sent chills up his spine.

Who the hell wanted to live near wild animals? Unless they weren’t wild…

Okay, well, he couldn’t stand here by the car like a scared little bunny. It was a normal damn house in a normal damn yard. He just needed to go over there and knock on the door.

He was halfway to the house when a twig snapped behind him. He felt a gust of wind straight from the arctic, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Slowly, he turned around.

About twenty feet behind him was the biggest damn bear he’d ever seen.

It was pure white, standing almost as tall as him even on all fours. Its paws were the size of dinner plates, with wicked claws.

It was a fucking polar bear, staring him straight in the eye.

Damien froze. Even if the polar nightmare wasn’t between him and the SUV, being in the car wouldn’t save him—those claws could probably open up a vehicle like a can of tuna. He could run for the house, but this thing could rip him to shreds before he got inside. He had an insane vision of just diving in through the porch window in a shower of glass, like a guy being thrown out of a saloon in an old Western.

Or he could shoot it. The problem was, a 9mm bullet probably wouldn’t even slow it down. And besides, these were shifters, right? It might be a person.

“Jaeda?” he asked tentatively. He didn’t think it was her—her bear had been all Jello-y. Plus, Jaeda liked him, and this bear definitely did not. It was staring at him with eerie silver eyes, growling softly.

No real bear had eyes like that.

The bear growled louder and took a step forward, then another. It broke into a lumbering run.

Damien stumbled back towards the porch. Fuck it all. He fired a shot over the bear’s head and yelled, “Jaeda! Brandon! Brock!”