BAD BOY ROMANCE: DIESEL: Contemporary Bad Boy Biker MC Romance (Box Set) (New Adult Sports Romance Short Stories Boxset) (94 page)

She took a sip of the cold coffee and pulled a face. It wasn’t going to be easy talking to Drew, but she was going to have to do it, no matter how distasteful it seemed. It was like cold coffee. Something that sounded like it could work if you were prepared, and at the end of it, it still tasted vile.

She put the cup back on the coffee table and moved down until she was lying down. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, tried to ignore the heavy feeling that pressed on her chest, the sense of foreboding that was creeping in.

Chapter 3

On his day off Bruce changed into a bear in broad daylight and started working his way through the woods. His starting point was close to the town so he was careful not to be seen. He worked through the trees, fanning out in a spiral.

He wasn’t hunting. He would do that later. Right now he was risking being a bear for longer because he wanted to find tracks. He wanted to find evidence that the Family had been around the town, keeping an eye on his people. And as a bear he could spot the signs easier, find footprints and scents without having to look so hard. Every sense was sharpened when he was in bear form.

He knew that usually the animals all hunted at night. It was safer that way, and easier to change, because no matter the shape of the moon, she was visible at night.

Most of the time.

But Bruce had a feeling that they’d started hunting his people during daylight hours. It was just a hunch, but it would make sense. During the day the town’s folk were out and about, easier to get to. At night they were tucked into their homes and harder to get to without leaving a trace.

Bruce spent almost five hours working his way through the trees. And he found tracks. Tracks and scents that he recognized. The wolves, Stephen and Rosa, Lori the bear and even something that reminded him of Tara herself.

They’d been here.

Nothing had happened to the villagers yet, but he was worried. All of them were special to him, but he was scared for Jenna the most. And this couldn’t happen. He wouldn’t let Tara take away his people.

There was a sound in the bushes, a crack as a twig broke, a rustle of leaves. Bruce turned himself to face whatever was coming full on. If it was a man with a gun, say Murray or his sons, or one of the lumber yard men, he was in trouble. He wouldn’t attack them, and no matter what, they would try and attack him.

He held his breath and looked for a way out. He went up on his hind legs in case he had to defend himself. But a man stepped into the clearing before he could move, and a moment later his scent rode the wind to Bruce.

It was a smell his bear knew. Dwayne walked up to him.

“Bruce,” he said softly, recognizing the man within, but he held out his hand so the animal could sniff it.

Bruce smelled his skin, curled up his lip, and dropped back to all fours. Dwayne was the only human in the Family, only accepted because he was psychic, and a strong one at that. He had senses he could send out anywhere he wanted, and he knew things. He couldn’t read minds, but he read emotions and intentions, and that was almost the same thing. His long hair was tied back in his neck and he wore a brown, rough leather jacket and something that looked like moccasins. His eyes were almost black and with his sharp features he reminded Bruce of a crow.

Bruce turned his focus inwards, and concentrated on his body, the movement of his blood in his veins that ran alongside the magic. His cells, the space that he took up. His human.

Slowly he started shrinking. The fur felt like it was getting to big, hanging over his hands and bundling around his shoulders. The bones in his body shifted, moving under his skin uncomfortably and he groaned.

When he was back into human form, standing on all fours on the mulch, he heaved and panted, trying to catch his breath. No matter how many times he changed into a bear and back, it was a strain every time and it took a lot out of him.

“What are you doing here?” Bruce asked Dwayne when he was ready to speak. Dwayne had sat down on a rock, waiting for Bruce to reach his human self again.

“I’ve come to warn you,” he said. “You can’t run.”

Bruce sighed and sat down on another rock so that they faced each other. He leaned one elbow on a knee, and a hand on his other knee.

“You think Tara will come after me?” he asked.

Dwayne shook his head. Sitting on his rock, with his face serious and his eyes full of wisdom, Bruce could imagine Dwayne living in the old days, when the world was still savage. He didn’t belong in this era.

“This is not about Tara,” he said. “This is about the Assassins. If you run with Jenna you will be hunted down and killed. And they might take her, too, if she tries to defend you. They can feel the humans, know when they know about you. And they’re everywhere right now.”

Bruce nodded. He knew some of the Assassins were in Rhodestown a while ago.

“Haven’t they moved on?” Bruce asked.

“No, they sense something here, and they’re not wrong. The only reason they don’t know is because the humans don’t know about the Family, about all the shifters in the mountains. If you leave with Jenna you won’t be safe.”

Bruce dropped his head into his hand.

“So what am I supposed to do? You know Tara won’t let this go.”

“You were a fool to date her. I could have told you that,” Dwayne said, and he was insulting in such a calm voice it was hard to get offended by it. “Ride it out for now. She hasn’t said anything yet. Maybe with the threat of the Assassins she’ll forget.”

Bruce nodded and Dwayne nodded, but they both knew that wasn’t true. When Tara bit into something she didn’t let go.

“Thanks for letting me know,” Bruce said and got up. He didn’t extend his hand to Dwayne like he would have to any other human. Dwayne didn’t do physical contact unless he had to. It was no party having insights into every person’s worst nightmares, just because he touched them.

Dwayne nodded and walked into the trees, moving softly for a human but Bruce could still hear his footsteps, still tell the difference. Dwayne was a part of the Family, not really part of the humans. But he would never really be one of them.

The night of full moon Bruce was out of the cabin before the light of the sun had faded away, and made his way up the mountain. He wanted to be at the plateau first. The moonlight felt like cold water on Bruce’s skin, creeping up to his shoulders and down his back. He took a deep breath and another one, fighting to keep the change at bay.

He wasn’t going to change. Not yet. The night was still lying ahead, long and painful by the feel of things, and he wanted to wait.

He was at the plateau first as he’d planned, and when he stepped onto the flat ground the magic prickled up his leg. There was a lot of power that night, the ground felt like it was alive and the bear moved inside Bruce.

It was full dark when the others arrived. Lori was first, and Bruce was relieved. Wherever she’d been a few nights ago, it hadn’t been with Jenna, but he felt better that he knew where she was. She was a dangerous animal, not because she was powerful, but because she was reckless and prone to give herself over to her animal.

Any shifter that did that was dangerous.

“What?” she snapped when he looked at her for long enough. It wasn’t a challenge, she was below him, but she was still edgy. He shrugged and shook his head.

“Nothing,” he answered. She walked across the clearing and as she did a ripple traveled over her skin in a wave. Bruce could see it from where he was standing. Lori was struggling to hold onto her human form.

Dwayne and Cleveland appeared almost at the same time. Cleveland was small and pale and looked like he was shrinking in on himself, maybe he was heading toward his change already. Bruce didn’t know how the moon affected Cleveland. Of all the shifters in the Family he knew the least about him.

Tara appeared and it was like the world held its breath, too scared to do something wrong in her presence. She walked like she knew she was the boss, and the Family members turned their eyes down when she looked at them. No one wanted to offend her during full moon, when her power was stronger than usual.

Bruce was relieved that she couldn’t draw his power the way she had before. It must have been because of their bond when they were mates. What bothered him now, though, was the fact that nothing was happening. She wasn’t angry, she didn’t seem like she had a grudge or that she was planning something terrible. And that was suspicious.

Tara never gave up without a fight. And there hadn’t been one yet. Which meant it was still to come.

Bruce turned his head toward the trees, hearing the others approach. Steven and Rosa were still missing, and it was getting dangerous to be away from the alpha. With the moon so full the wolves lost control almost completely, and without the alpha to reign them in there was no telling what they would do.

Bruce felt the moon tugging at him, the pull to change was almost irresistible. A moment later Rosa appeared. Her eyes glowed in the dark and her face had already taken on animalistic features. Her nose was further out, like her face had been pushed out by a hand, and she moved like it hurt.

Bruce watched the trees for Stephen to appear behind her, but he didn’t. The tension built. He glanced around the circle of Family members but no one made eye contact with him. No one, except Tara. She looked him dead in the eye without flinching.

“Where’s Stephen?” Bruce asked Rosa. But it was too late. The moon ripped her out of her skin, and he could see the split and the fur flowing out of it. The change was horrible to look at. But his thoughts weren’t with Rosa right now. Stephen wasn’t here, and Tara was too calm.

He started running. The power of the night pushed him onward, faster and harder. He heard a roar behind him, and just after he reached the trees Tara, in her leopard form, jumped in front of him. Bruce skidded to a halt so he wouldn’t run into her. She growled low in her throat and her eyes were a bright white.

She was stopping him from getting down the mountain. That could only mean one thing.

“Jenna,” Bruce breathed, and then he forced the change. It came fast, and it wasn’t as painful as when he forced it outside of full moon. The bear was so close to the surface it was almost natural sinking into form. Once he’d changed he roared and smacked at Tara. She fell to the side and he barreled down the mountain, taking out small trees and avoiding rocks.

Tara was after him a moment later, and she lunged for him, jumping on his back. Her nails slammed into his fur and he grunted. There was no time to stop. He aimed for the closest tree in front of him and fell against it with his shoulder, using his downward momentum. The tree tore loose from the ground, but he’d managed to squash Tara and she made a strange screaming sound as she tumbled off his back.

Three seconds of peace was all he got as he raced on. He heard a wolf howl and he didn’t know if it was Stephen or Rosa. The night was alive with energy and power and he could feel Tara behind him, closing in like a force of nature.

She tried to get ahead of him this time but his speed was hard to beat with his using gravity to propel him forward. She managed to snap at his leg and when he pulled it out of the way – instinct – he stumbled and fell. He rolled down the hill and Tara was on him, and then dragged with him into the roll. They fought, tumbling and rolling down the hill, teeth gnashing and claws slashing and the mountain feeling like it was never going to end before the valley came up to meet him.

Finally they came to a stop at the foot of the mountain. Bruce’s body ached, and Tara was heaving, her legs trembling like it was hard to keep herself upright. There was another howl and it was from dead ahead, not from where they’d left the others. It was Stephen.

It was enough to push Bruce up. He climbed over the last rocks that marked the start of Williamsburg and he moved through the trees.

For some reason Tara didn’t follow him. Maybe she’d had enough, although Bruce knew that was unlikely. He moved towards Jenna’s cabin, slowly and carefully so he wouldn’t make a sound.

He crept through the trees, and then he saw him. Stephen’s wolf was big, light gray with a dark gray stripe down his back, and his eyes glowed in the night. He sat crouched underneath Jenna’s bedroom window.

Bruce felt a growl rumbling in his throat but he swallowed it. He didn’t want to give himself away, not to the villagers or Stephen. Instead he crept up slowly. Stephen went up on his hind legs, with his paws on the windowsill and his nose in the open window. I knew he could smell her, and it made Bruce furious.

Not just because Jenna was in danger, but because he saw her as his, and no other male should come close to her.

He moved up to Stephen, and raised his paw. He was about to smack him when the wolf realized he was there and spun around. He pulled his lips up in a snarl, and then he bolted, running right into the village, howling as he went along. It wasn’t on purpose, Bruce knew that. The village was the only way out for Stephen to avoid Bruce. The lesser of two evils.

Bruce wanted to follow, but cabin lights switched on and he fell back into the woods. They would see him now if he came out of the trees.

He heard shouts, another howl, a growling sound. And then a gunshot, a whimper. And another shot. He paced around in the trees, until he saw Jenna’s light go on. He fell back when he knew she was awake. Instead of waiting to see what had happened, he headed back into the trees and toward the mountain side.

Stephen wasn’t dead. If he was injured he was going to survive. The Family would feel it if something had happened to him. Their bond as pack mates would rip and it would hurt as much as if they’d lost a limb if one of them died.

Jenna was safe, for now. Stephen was stopped.

And there was no way Bruce was going to be able to keep this up every night if it was going to be a fight. He had to work out something else, something that would keep his people safe. He couldn’t leave the town with Jenna, and he wouldn’t leave without her. And this was turning into a war.