Bear King's Curves: A BBW Werebear Shifter Romance (7 page)

Branson glowered. Very slowly, he hauled himself up,
shuffling toward me with one angry eye and that pitch black eye
patch.

“
There's no changing this, Nick. The last thing in
the world I want is to sacrifice one of our best and brightest –
even if he is a defiant little shit.”

Little? I'm bigger than you and over thirty years
old. Watch it, old man.

“
Let him do what he's gonna do,” Hector
said, just before collapsing into another coughing fit.

“
It's our way.
The human female
will
come back if we let her go. We can't just hold her here, away from
her own people. That's inviting trouble. If you'll recant, admit you
fucked up, we can still find our
way
through this, son.”

I'm not your fucking son either. What I wouldn't give
to have my father in charge of this clan, instead of you...

At one time, when I was very young, it looked like dad
was going to take the Alpha's reigns, an easy path to the Elder
Council. Then fate intervened and he was killed in an auto accident.

Branson reached out. I cringed as the Elder's hand found
my shoulder. He squeezed – much harder than any reassuring grip
ought to be.

It took clenching every muscle in my body to refrain
from knocking his domineering hand away and planting a fist in his
face.

“
Okay,” I said at last. “You're right.
I've been too reckless. There's only one way. Just, please,
Elder...let's put this all behind us. You've got everything you
wanted.”

Branson managed a weak smile. I'd surprised him. He was
a cold hearted bastard, but for some reason he really wanted to keep
from killing me.

If I cooperated – or pretended to cooperate –
he wouldn't need to.

It was hell shutting out Lyla's terrible screams. I
wanted to give her a wink, a nudge, anything to show her they'd have
to kill me first if they wanted to get to her.

But any little gesture would've given it all away.

I closed my eyes, staring past the Elders, past Branson
as he wandered to the edge of the room and slammed the door shut
after Victor and Beamer dragged Lyla away.

“
We'll do it tonight,” he whispered, as if
that was supposed to be consoling. “Quick and clean, young man.
I promise.”

“
I know you will,” I said.

I bit my tongue so hard I drew blood. Judy and Hector
eyed their lead man as he returned to his seat.

“
Sleep through the night. Don't let your mind
wander. In the morning, we'll have Beamer collect the artifact from
you. He'll watch you tonight and make sure you don't have any second
thoughts about our little understanding here. Does that sound good to
everybody, or what?”

“
A very reasonable plan, Elder,” Judy said.

“
Agreed,” Hector whispered, all he could
force out before he collapsed into coughing again.

“
Good!” Branson leaned back in his big
leather chair. “Then it's settled. You've done us a big wrong,
Nick. You get one chance at redemption. Don't fuck it up.”

I tried to make peace with Beamer the only way I knew
how: generous shots of whiskey over checkers.

“
Wait, man. Wait. Am I supposed to hop off the
board like this?” He slumped in his chair and belched,
clutching a black circular chip in one hand.

His big loud grizzly burp rattled the whole ceiling.

If it were any other night, I would've laughed. The
older bear had always been good to me, except for his latest stint
following Branson's orders.

Somehow, I summoned a ghost of a smile. It only lasted
for a second.

All I could think about was Lyla, no doubt being held in
some dingy corner of the Klamath Clan Executive Office, that dead
eyed creep Victor standing over her. I had to drink Beamer into a
stupor and get the hell out of here.

They wouldn't finish her until it was near dawn. Branson
had taken his usual big meal of venison and roast beef, and then he'd
probably sit with the other Elders, sipping brandy until it was time
to gloat over Lyla's death.

All that would take a few hours. Plenty of time for a
rescue.

“
Here, Beamer. Your glass is looking a little
weak, let me top you off and take my turn.”

“
Oh, it's your turn?” He rolled his head,
slowly blinking his eyes.

The big fuzzy hair on his head bounced. I helped press
the replenished drink into his hand.

For a second, the hair on his arm rippled, tiny crops of
fur sprouting. It took a lot of alcohol to make a man lose control of
his bear and start shifting.

Good. Exactly where I wanted him.

“
Come on, Beam. Drink up. This is a new night for
us. Not just me, but the whole Clan.” I raised my glass,
clinking it against his.

I made a few quick moves on the checker board and
stopped. A cub could've beaten him at this point. It was all for
appearances.

“
You said it, man! I'm real glad you came around.
I knew you'd do the right thing, Nick. And you know, I don't give a
shit what Branson says. You're still Alpha material to me. We need a
guy like you in charge when the next generation of Elders kicks
the...”

Beamer collapsed. Checkers flew everywhere as the board
folded up around his face.

Out like a light. I listened to him snoring as I got up,
grabbed a pillow from the couch, and tucked it underneath his chubby
head.

He smacked his lips, whining like a grizzly who'd just
come across some sour berries in the forest.

“
Thanks for the kind words, old buddy.” I
patted him on the shoulder. “If I was Alpha, I wouldn't have to
do what I'm about to do next...”

I saw Lyla's silhouette in the basement window.

She was exactly where I thought she'd be, up against the
wall near storage. Victor sat across from her, the handgun in his
lap, scratching at his stubby bald head.

I suppressed a growl and rounded the corner, looking for
the nearest entrance. The Executive Office had a couple old doors
from its time when the US Air Force used this place as housing for
local staff.

The doors stuck out like a sore thumb. They'd been
sloppily thrown into uneven passages to conform with US safety
regulations. Not something that ever mattered to the Klamath bears
who'd built this place, and later restored it.

I found the small silver knob and yanked as hard as I
could. Didn't budge.

“
Damn!” I muttered, gathering all my
strength.

I had to be careful. I was sure I could bust the door
open, but tearing in too loud might alert the asshole holding Lyla
hostage.

Grab it with both hands. Brace your feet. On three...

One...two...three!

I pulled. As expected, the rotten hinges snapped, even
more easily than I'd expected. One jerk of grizzly strength took the
door clean off.

I stuck my head in and listened closely. No footsteps or
voices. The Gods gave us small favors sometimes, didn't they?

Propping the door up behind me, I crept in, making a
dead target for the basement where they were holding Lyla. It was
strange to be after her again, stealthier than ever, and this time
not as a killer.

I was going to save her. I had to.

This woman intrigued both sides of my soul, man and
bear. No, not just the wild curves she had either.

Her scent, her eyes, the way she tossed her hair when
she sassed me back...

For a human, she wasn't afraid of me. She tempted and
teased the bear inside me in a way no female bear or half-blood ever
had.

Better pay attention,
I told myself, rounding the corner.
You want to keep on
claiming her, don't you?

I came a couple feet from them, just around the bend,
and stopped. It was time.

The anger prickling up inside me exploded. I dropped to
my hands and knees, bursting my clothes, growling the entire time.

Bones cracked, rearranging themselves. Dark brown hair
burst out around my pores, and so did razor sharp claws.

The transformation only took a few seconds in all. But I
needed every precious second. I intended to catch that bastard by
surprise and make him pay for what he'd done.

“
Tunder!” Victor squeaked the name when saw
me.

His gun clattered to the floor. Nobody knew better how
useless handguns were on a full sized grizzly than our kind.

He dropped, his fight-or-flight engaged, shifting to
save his own ass. I was on him before he fully ballooned in size and
ripped out of his clothes.

I dug my claws in, reaching to get a tight hold on his
half-furry back. The creature beneath me screamed, a bloodcurdling
roar of rage and pain that echoed through the whole basement. It was
almost loud enough to drown out Lyla's own shrieks.

Hearing her terror sent more fire pounding through my
heart. I pushed, fatally embracing my enemy.

I lunged at him with my mouth, getting a good hold of
his jaw. If he'd still been in human form, I would've severed his
jugular.

Too late.

Now fully changed, Victor pushed back. He was powerful,
just like any bear, but I was bigger and younger as a man and a
beast.

Ignoring the claws ripping at my sides, I tightened my
hold, going straight for his face. My jaws caught his snout and began
to shred his fat, leathery nose.

I held his mouth shut as he tried to scream. Pain,
anger, and raw fear blasted out of him. My bear tasted long overdue
blood and rejoiced.

This is for the way you made her suffer. This is for
carrying out Branson's orders like a mindless animal.

My jaw popped. I winced at the pain, struggling to
regain my hold. I released the death bite when I realized his claws
weren't pressing into me anymore, nor was he bellowing his lungs out.

The bear underneath me slumped to the ground. I stepped
past, dipping one paw into a puddle of sticky red blood pooling
beneath his head.

Sorry, brother. Except you were no brother of mine in
the end.

I never wanted to kill my own kind. Regardless, there
would be plenty of time for soul searching later.

I needed my girl. I pricked my furry ears up at the air,
gathering breath, hoping no one else had heard the battle downstairs.

I waited several seconds, listening intently. Nothing.

My hind leg touched the cold black handgun. I shifted
into a man, resting the bear, wiping excess blood onto the wall to
clean my hands. I reached toward the ground, picking up the gun and
my jacket too – the one thing I hadn't shredded to pieces when
I changed.

Lyla gave me the weirdest look when I came around the
corner. I was naked from the waist down with a slim leather coat
wrapped around my shoulders, the gun drawn at my side.

“
What the fuck happened to your pants?”

I just gave her a smile.

“
Oh...Jesus!” Her eyes popped open. “I
never thought I'd see you again! You gave me up.”

“
No, you saw a ruse. I'd never, ever turn you over
to these animals to be ripped apart. Count on it.” I moved
behind her, working out the knot in the cord. They'd bound her hands
behind the chair, a painful reminder of our first meeting. “Let's
just get you out of here.”

She stood and quickly stretched. I marveled at her
curves, shaking with their newfound freedom.

I nearly had to hide an erection.

“
There's a door this way. I'm gonna lead you down
this hall. Step over Victor carefully and don't look.”

I knew it was an impossible order, but I had to try.
Gawking at his body would only delay us.

Lyla did her best to keep her eyes trained on me. I took
her by the hand and we walked quickly down the old maintenance
corridor, past the crumpled being on the floor and the widening red
pool around him.

“
Wait!” She hissed, just as I kicked the
busted the door aside. “You're going out like that?”

“
Isn't like I have much choice. I'll change as
soon as we get away from here. We have to get to your car.”

I moved, quickly walking out into the cool dark night.
Lyla was right behind me, struggling to keep pace as fast as her big
beautiful legs could carry her.

“
Hey, hey! Where are we heading? Would you just
slow down and tell me what's going on?” Frustration boiled in
her voice.

“
We need to put distance between ourselves and
this place. Some real fucking miles. Here, there's an old barn we use
as a garage up ahead...I'm positive they would've taken your car
there.”

She followed me in silence. It only took a few minutes
to cross the back paths through the reservation.

Luckily, it was so late now that the whole town was
asleep, or else packing in for a late dinner.