by Celeste Raye
Isabo knocked a little harder and called out to Jasper.
“Open the damn door, Jasper! I've got word from the Rebel Bears, and I need to talk to you right now.”
She banged on the door until her hand started to hurt and waited a few more minutes to see if anybody came. If they were down there torturing him right now...no, Isabo had to get her mind off of such things. All it did was stress her out, and there was really nothing she could do about it.
After what felt like a lifetime, Isabo finally started to hear noises coming from the house. She knew the sound of the basement door, and when she heard it close, relief started to rush over her. Isabo was so afraid that she was too late, and Jake would be dead. There would be no coming back from that, and she would be left with no family guaranteed then.
“It’s just not the best time, Isabo. We both know you don't have the stomach for this, and I’m in the middle of something.”
He was covered in blood, and her stomach turned just to see it. She knew for sure that she didn’t want to see any more than that. Her constitution wouldn’t allow for such things.
“I don't want to go in there and see all that, Jasper. You know I’ve got a weak stomach. Why don't you and Brick come out here and I can tell you what's going on?”
Jasper pause for a moment and Isabo's heart was pounding in her ears. She knew what he said next would determine if he lived. Could Isabo really go through with it, standing aside and letting the Rebel Bears do as they would to them? Was she willing to lose the last of her family for Fred, her new lover?
“Well, Isabo, you know that we're in the middle of something right now. It’s not a good time. Come back later, like in the morning, when he’s passed out and no fun.”
She ignored the last part, not wanting to visualize it in her mind.
“You can take a minute off and let me tell you what I found out. It’s good news. You’re going to want to hear it.”
He started to move out of the house, and she stopped him. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
“Don't you want to get Brick?”
Jasper had a questioning look on his face, and he asked Isabo why she was so worried about Brick. “I was under the impression that you didn’t really care for Brick. You’ve never asked about him before.”
Isabo could hear alarm bells going off in her head.
“If you want to keep him in there doing his thing, go ahead. You know he doesn’t listen, though, and he will kill that guy before you can use him to get the rest. You know how hard it is for him to chill on the temper. I just thought…oh, never mind, Jasper, you’re in charge.”
It was just enough of a real possibility that after a moment, his expression changed, and there was a hint of worry in it. She breathed out a sigh of relief when he decided that he was going to go get Brick so that they could talk.
“We need a break anyway.”
Isabo waited patiently for them to come out. She was supposed to walk them back to the driveway, and then they would be shot standing in the open. From there, they would be able to save Jake and get out before Brick and Jasper were conscious or any wiser.
That was the plan, and she kept repeating it in her head, trying to remind herself why she was doing it to begin with. She was trying to save them from getting killed and this was the only way. It was the only way that she could think of, and Isabo wasn't alone. It had been a group decision, and since there was such a push on getting it done fast, it had holes for sure. Isabo just hoped the plan was good enough. It had to be.
Isabo saw Jasper and Brick coming out, and she immediately felt a surge of relief. Jasper was the first come out, and instead of waiting until there was a little bit of space between them in the house entry, he was shot in the side of the neck almost immediately.
She saw the look Brick had on his face; the realization that something was amiss was clear.
He turned around and ran back inside. Brick understood the betrayal, and Isabo knew what would happen next. Isabo understood she was not going to be able to save him, no matter how badly she wanted to.
Whoever had shot that dart too soon had just signed the death warrant for Brick. Isabo could be a little content in the fact that she was at least able to save Jasper, but Brick was going to be a lost cause.
There were dark figures coming out of the woods towards the house, and Isabo recognized that they were now going into Plan B. She was going to have to wait outside while Fred’s clan killed her cousin.
Isabo didn't have to hear the gunshots to know that they were coming, and she tried not to let it get to her too much. Now, all she could hope for was a little bit of common sense on Jasper’s part. If he kept going after the Rebel Bears with the blind rage he had, she knew that they would finish him off. Given some of the looks that Isabo was getting, she had to wonder if they were going to take her out as well. Being a Bennigan was not popular at the moment.
Just like everybody else, Isabo was holding her breath until Jake came out. He was in worse condition than Fred had been in, and there was a murderous look in his eyes. When he saw Jasper, his brother had to hold him back from attacking him, even though he was completely out of it. The rage that everyone saw in his face was something she'd never forget.
“What is he still doing alive? He should be dead!”
Fred looked over at Isabo and then back to his brother. Fred was nervous, and she could see him moving towards Jake like something was going to happen.
“Isabo helped us, with the assurance that they would live.”
“After what they have done to me, there's no way I could allow them to live. I don't give a crap who helped you. I would have gotten away anyway, so we will not be keeping that promise.”
Just like that, Jake grabbed the gun out of his brother's hand and shot the man in the head. Everyone was left standing there a bit stunned because it had happened so fast.
Jasper wasn't even moving because he had been unconscious, and now, he was never going to move again. Isabo's eyes welled up with tears. Watching what had happened in front of her, parts of her cousin blasted onto her body, Isabo knew that she wasn't going to stay.
She shifted into her wolf form and took off. Isabo thought she heard Fred calling after her, but there was nothing that would stop her. Seeing someone killed right in front of her was more than her brain could process at the moment, and she wasn't going to stick around so she could be another victim.
The image was never going to leave her mind, nor would the betrayal. Fred had just stood there, not doing anything to help.
Chapter Seventeen
“Dammit, Jake! What the hell did you do that for?”
Jake looked at Fred and shrugged. “I think you know exactly why I did that. That man doesn't need to stay living. The world is a better place without him in it. There are very few people that I can say are honestly evil, and he was right up there with Father. He needed to die.”
Fred had a mind to agree. The guy was anything but a loving family member to Isabo. He had seen what they had done to her, but he had gone back on his word because he had promised her that if they could get Jake out safely, they would let them live. Now, both her cousins were dead, the rest of her family, and he didn’t know how she was ever going to forgive him for that.
“It doesn’t matter what we thought about Jasper. We made a promise. We've always stuck to our word, and now all of a sudden, we're breaking it?”
Jake just kept shaking his head. He wasn’t feeling bad, that much was clear, but Fred hoped that he could see his point. It wasn’t good.
“I guess I lost it for a moment there, but when I saw him, and I wasn't chained like an animal, there was no way that I could do nothing. You have to understand. How could you stand next to him and do nothing?”
“Because I'm free and he was unconscious on the ground. I've never attacked a man that couldn't fight back.”
Jake shook his head and refused to feel bad about it.
“That man needed t
o die. The only thing that I will ever regret is the fact that I didn't make it last longer.”
Fred could see that Jake was doubling down, and that didn't bode well for any conversation after that. He wasn't going to listen to reason because he wasn't being reasonable. He was still in the mindset, and Fred could relate. He had sent Isabo away last time when he’d first gotten free. Just the sight of her had made him so seething mad that it had taken him a while to really see things for what they were.
“I would be dead if it weren't for her. We might all be dead.”
“I would have gotten free, and you would have too.”
“So, you could break promises and kill her, too, huh?”
Jake disagreed. “I would have never killed her. I wouldn't touch her, even if you'd told me that I could, because of what she did for you. But I wasn’t going to let her family live, Fred. I just couldn’t.”
Fred wanted to be upset about it, but he understood it too. But at the same time, how the hell was she ever going to forgive him? She would never be able to trust him, and she certainly wouldn't be able to trust his family.
“She was the one, Jake, and I don't know if I'm going to get her back now.”
Jake waved him off like it was no big deal, and that pissed Fred off because he had never felt that way before. Why was it that love was so important to Jake and his other two brothers, but when it came to his, none of it mattered?
Instead of standing around listening to them congratulate themselves and pat themselves on the back, Fred shifted into his bear form and tried to follow Isabo. He realized after a few moments that she was gone. Isabo didn't want to be found, and he didn't think he was going to be able to find her.
Fred tried his best to get all of the unkind thoughts out of his mind. It wasn't like it was Jake's fault. Jake was the one that had sacrificed himself and went through hell because of Fred. He had done it all to save his younger brother from the pain and the strife of it. That was not lost on Fred, either, which made it harder for him to be mad about it. The only ones he could really be mad at were Donovan for doing bad deeds ten years before and a witch that had killed people that she didn't mean to. There wasn't a whole lot of blame to go around. Really, it was just people reacting to the situation they were put in. How was he supposed to react to his current predicament?
The way Fred ended up going was retreating back into himself. He spent a lot more time up on the hill with his own thoughts, and for about a month, he was avoiding most of his family and friends. Fred had always been the kind and gentle one, but now he was full of anger and regret. It was a tough combination, and Fred tried his best to get past it, but there was no getting out of it.
They were still waiting on the ancients to arrive. With all of their threats and intimidation, they had filled the clan with a sense of impending doom. But they never showed up. Maybe waiting was half the punishment, because it was getting into all of their heads, never knowing when they would arrive.
Fred was starting to think that they weren't going to come at all. He had worried for so long. He worried about Isabo and how she was. He worried about her hating him as much as he feared. None of it mattered because he didn't have any answers. The ancients, though, that worry finally came to pass one morning when Fred was getting up about to start his morning run.
Jake came quickly into the kitchen, where Fred was fixing a cup of coffee. He had an expression on his face that Fred had not seen very often. Jake was afraid, and that made him instantaneously feel the same way. If his brother was upset, that meant that there was a reason for it.
“What's going on, Jake?”
“The ancients are here, and it looks like they're going to take all of us.”
“What do you mean?”
“I'm getting taken in for killing Dad. Charlie and his wife are being taken in because of the mixing of species, as well as Donovan because of his deeds done to other shifter clans. They have also added another charge to mine because I killed Jasper.”
Fred didn't understand for a moment. It was all coming at him so quickly, and his brain was stalling in trying to understand what was being said to him.
“You're just going to have to step up, Fred. With all three of us out, you're going to have to take charge. If we leave a power vacuum in our wake, then someone's going to fill it, and it will most likely be one of Dad’s old friends. That's the last thing that we need.”
Suddenly, it was also real to Fred, and he remembered what India had told him. How it was going to be quick and then how deadly it was going to be. The punishments that were given to them were going to be more than he could handle
“Don't go. You heard what India said about what's going to happen. I don't want that to happen to you guys. Just don't go.”
Jake waved him off. “I don't think they have the authority they think they do, and we will fight it. We can't just run away. This is our land, and the Rebel Bears have never run. We’re not going to start now. It’s time that we take a stand.”
“I don’t know, Jake...”
Jake stopped him from saying anything more and told him that he was just going to have to trust him.
“It's going to be all right Fred. Believe me. You stay here and take care of things while we take care of the trial.”
“How do they even know about Jasper?”
Jake shrugged. “I don't know, but I think they have someone that they're going to call as a witness. It doesn’t matter. I will admit to that shit if I have to. I don’t regret it, and I have a right to my revenge. That law is as old as time.”
With everything being said and going on, it took Fred a moment to understand. There was only one other person that could have said anything, and that would be Isabo. Maybe Jake’s betrayal had ensured her as an enemy.
The sad part was that even though Fred knew that it was a complete mess and there was a very clear indication that Isabo was going to try to get all of his brothers killed, he couldn't help the surge in his heart when he thought about seeing her again. It was crazy how after all that time, there was still a part of the night where he just tossed and turned, thinking about the few moments that they had shared together.
Fred knew he was never going to find someone like her again. He couldn't be mad at her, and at the same time, he couldn't stop loving her. Maybe this was the chance he needed to get her to see that it was all a mistake.
“Why do you not look as upset as you should, Fred?”
Fred shrugged. “I just have a good feeling about it. It's all going to work out, brother. Trust me.”
Jake was dubious, but he went along with it. There was nothing wrong with a little bit of optimism. Fred had it pouring out of him, and he hoped that he wasn’t wrong about it. He wanted to believe that they would be brought back together by the universe until they finally got it right.
Chapter Eighteen
Isabo had thought long and hard about what she should do for revenge. It was, of course, the sole reason that she had gotten into it to begin with. The Rebel Bears had killed every single living member of her family. They were all gone, and that was something that was never going to be forgotten.
There had been a lot of confusion and pain and distrust in the beginning. Isabo had run away, literally and figuratively. She'd stayed in a hotel for a week, drinking a little too much and sleeping on the beach. She didn't know anybody, didn't talk to anybody, and it gave her the time that was needed to come up with some kind of plan.
Isabo had really tried to walk away from all of it. Turn the other cheek and keep her distance. What more could they do to her besides kill her? Isabo liked to think that Fred wouldn’t let anything happen to her, but he had not been able to keep the rest of his brothers in line. They had broken their promise to her and killed Jasper as he lay unconscious.
The visceral experience, the images in her mind that kept her up, were almost as much, as the images of Fred and the time that they’d spent together. After they killed Jasper, though, it wasn’t a
feeling that she could repeat. Isabo wanted to get Jake back for what he did to Jasper. He didn’t have to kill him. He was out and wasn’t hurting anyone. It wasn’t self-defense.
So, she did what her cousins would have done if they’d had the chance. She called on the consortium of ancients, to help her get her revenge. Isabo knew that they were already coming after some of the Rebel Bears, so why not Jake as well? She was just going to help them tack on one more thing.
Isabo had been so sure of herself when she met with them and gave her story. She’d been running on rage and sadness and grief, but now there was a flicker of regret when she thought about it. Not only had she given a statement that would help them to convict the brothers, but she was also going to testify if need be. If they didn't confess, she was going to have to stand up there with Fred not too far away and tell them everything that she knew. Everything that they had done to her cousins and how it had all gone down.
The day came, and she was going to have to testify. She’d been told the day before and was not given the option to back out.
While she waited, her hands were clasped together hard, and she sat them on her stomach. She had never been so nervous in all of her life. Isabo had known that the day would come when she would have to face them, but it hadn’t prepared her for what it would really feel like.
She was wearing her black dress because it felt like a funeral. The hopes and dreams that her family had were gone. Isabo was left with no family, nothing. It was a depressing feeling, and the color really seemed to match her mood. It wasn't just her current mood either; it was her daily state of being.
When the door burst open, it was one of the ancients that she had talked to before. When she had told her tale, he had been practically foaming at the mouth. He was excited for the bad news, and Isabo knew then that she had probably made the wrong decision. She plowed ahead, of course, and now, there she stood, ready to walk in and convince others to convict the Rebel Bears. It was the only way to get rid of them, and since they were already going to die, she was just going to put her two sense in so justice could be found for Jasper.
