The Bear’s Secret

by Fay Walsh

  “Lies!” you’ve been looking for information on them. Well, you made a big mistake my dear. You got in way too deep, and now, you’ll pay for what you've done,” she said.

  She was pushed to the ground, feeling her teeth rattle as she was slammed into the pavement.

  “Who the hell are you?”

  “You won’t make it out alive. I see you hanging out with that little knave, and he's nothing more than a worm. You’ll die along with him. You’re going to die because that’s your fate!” she cried out.

  The voice was so familiar that it hurt. She tried to move, to get a feel for what the hell is going on. She looked at it, and then, she tried to move her legs again.

  “What the hell are you talking about? I don’t know you,” she said.

  ”Oh but you do. Emilia will take you right now, and she’ll lure those damn bastards out” the strange figure spat.

  “You’re not making any goddamn sense lady!” she said.

  But, Nikki couldn't fight this. She tried her best to overcome the pain that she felt, but it didn’t work. There was no use, and she didn’t think she would get out of this alive. She was struggling to get anywhere, and she knew for sure that this would be her end.

  She felt a sharp pain in her leg, like it was about to snap in two. Tears washed down her face as she was knocked to the ground yet again, feeling disoriented. The creature, whomever it was, was hitting her with everything that they could, and she could barely stay alive.

  But then, something threw the assailant off her body. She looked at the figure in front of her, and then, her eyes widened.

  It was a giant bear! She looked at it for a second, and while she was utterly terrified, she felt a strange familiarity that came from this creature. She looked at it, and the two of them locked eyes. She scrambled forward, staring deep into his eyes, but she was interrupted by the figure that attacked the bear.

  “W-what the hell is going on?” she asked herself.

  She couldn't stay here. She had to get as far as possible from them. She freaked out, realizing that whoever was attacking this mysterious woman, could be a foe as well. She didn't want to stay. She didn’t want to get into this mess.

  After getting on her feet, she took a quick look at the figure in front of her, before running away. She didn’t know why that bear was there, or if he was friend or foe, or even if it was an animal or something else. She just remembered that beautiful brown fur, and how much she wanted to touch it.

  Chapter 9

  Billy stood there, looking at the figure. His mind lingered to Nikki, who got out of there before he could explain himself. He wanted to talk to her after this, but first and foremost, he needed to kill whoever this person was.

  “What the hell do you want with Nikki?” he said.

  “She’s nothing more than a pawn. She’s being used by everyone, and I was going to take her to get you guys all out of here. I wanted to make sure that she saw me tear you all apart!”

  “Well, that’s not happening because, for one, she’s gone, and for two, she’s not to be involved. Don’t get her involved. It’s my job to make sure nothing hurts her, and if that means I have to kill you, then so be it,” he said.

  He let his power grow, generating the muscular power to fight this creature. As he did that, the woman smiled.

  “Oh honey, there is no way that you can-”

  As she said those words, Billy soon cried out. As if on automatic, he lunged forward, goring her neck. He tore the fleshy parts of her neck apart, getting his claws out and swiping at her. He normally didn’t let this side of him get out, but he wasn't going to let anyone kill Nikki. The figure started to speak, and when Billy saw the woman in the light, he immediately gasped.

  “Martel,” he said.

  “Yes. I was wrong. You were much stronger,” she said.

  “Tell me, why are you siding with the enemies? I knew you from my past, but I… I didn’t think you were alive,” he said.

  “I was offered a lot. Emilia was...”

  As she uttered those words, she passed away, and Billy looked at the figure with horror present on his face. He couldn't believe that she had died right there in front of him like it was nothing. He looked at her, noticing that she wasn’t breathing anymore, and although he felt bad for what had transpired, he realized that this was something that was bound to happen.

  Why was Martel here though? He thought she had died all those years ago. She had been his teacher, and right now, he had just killed his teacher in one move. He let his power get the best of him, and he wondered why she was even with that Emilia, whomever that was.

  Regardless, he had to clean up the mess. He placed Martel’s body in the ground, notifying the other shifters about what happened. He hadn’t wanted to kill the woman, but he knew that whatever she was doing was something that would ultimately change everything. As he left, he sighed, realizing that she was definitely not the same Martel that he knew before, which begged the question: what happened to her? Who was Emilia? Why was this all happening right then and there?

  He wondered all of this but, for now, Billy just wanted to get the hell out of there and try to find Nikki. He was worried about Nikki because he had a feeling that she might have discovered the truth about him being a shifter. He had a feeling she was curious, and well, unfortunately, curiosity does kill the cat at times. But he didn’t expect her to get involved, that’s for sure.

  Billy was quite worried about Nikki. Did Nikki know that it was him? He wondered this. She didn’t get that good of a look at him, so maybe she didn’t pick up that the person that saved her was him, and he knew about the traps because of the truth about who he was. Nikki seemed a bit on edge though, and he wondered what the hell was going to happen next.

  He wanted to talk to her, but when he called her, there was nothing. Either she didn’t want to pick up, or she left her phone unattended. Maybe she suspected that he was the shifter. If she had found the truth, would she be happy or freaked out? He didn’t know what to do to fix this.

  Billy wanted to protect her. No matter what, he would. Even if she didn’t understand what was going on. He knew this would happen eventually.

  He tried to call her again for the third time that night when she finally picked up.

  “Nikki?” Billy asked.

  “Hi. What do you want?” she asked, her voice as cold as ice.

  “I want to talk to you. Listen, we really need to talk. I mean, that is if you want to,” he said.

  He regretted being so snarky with her, but he didn’t like the fact that she was so mean towards him. After a second, she sighed.

  “I don’t think there's much to talk about,” she said to him.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I'm just… I have a lot on my mind right now, and I'd rather keep to myself. I'm trying to figure out what to do next. There’s a lot that happened and right now I'm… I'm struggling,” she said.

  “I know. I'm sorry that it has to be like this,” he said.

  “No, it’s understandable. I hate that it’s like this,” she told him.

  “I hate it too. But, if you want to talk about it, we can together,” he said.

  “No thanks. I'd rather just… keep this to myself,” she said.

  “I understand. I do miss you,” he said.

  “Right. I guess I do as well. Just give me some space,” she said to him.

  As he heard her hang up though, he knew the truth. She wouldn’t be responding to him for a long time...

  “Fuck, did I really mess this one up?” he mumbled.

  He didn’t know whether he had done the right thing or not. Everything felt so… so different. He felt like there was so much happening underneath. It bothered him like no other, and it made him want to scream.

  There was so much that he didn’t understand, so much that he felt like he was struggling with, that he didn’t know whether or not he should move forward with any of this or not. He felt a bit scared, that was f
or sure.

  He went back to his place, and as he got in, he sighed.

  “Did something happen with Nikki?”

  “Kind of. Something attacked Nikki and I think she found out I'm a shifter. So I don't know what to make of that,” he said.

  “Does she know for sure?” Travis asked.

  “No. she’s been quiet, and her conversation with me is anything but friendly right now. I feel like... I feel like I royally fucked this one up, Travis, but I'm not sure if I did,” he said.

  “You didn’t. She’s clearly going through some shit. So, don’t be afraid if she’s a bit distant. I mean, I remember I freaked Alana out hardcore when I first came out that I was a shifter,” he said.

  “No shit. I thought you were going to kill me,” she teased.

  “Nah. I just lied to you and I was a dumbass that didn’t know how to show it,” he said.

  “Anyway, what do I say to her? I mean, I really like Nikki, but I feel like I completely botched my chances with her. She was so cold to me, and she told me that… that she needed some space. So who the fuck knows what I should be doing?” he asked Travis with a sigh.

  “Give her some damn space, and when the time is right, you talk to her,” Darren said, interrupting the conversation.

  “Yeah well, that’s easier said than done. It’s hard to not just tell her that I'm sorry,” Billy said.

  “You can grovel all you want, it’s not going to change things, Billy. The best thing for you is to make things right with time, and just don’t worry so much about it,” he said to the other.

  Billy nodded. He felt that it would be better this way, and better for him to just keep things this way. He hated that it had to be like this, but it happened to him so quickly that he didn’t know whether he should talk to Nikki or not.

  But, maybe Travis and Darren were right. Maybe space was his best friend.

  He decided to do just that, giving her the space that she needed. He dedicated to not bother her about their relationship for a couple of weeks. Though, that didn’t stop him attempting to call her. He knew that she was freaked out by the whole mess, but Billy just wanted to apologize. He wanted to say he was sorry for scaring her, and not telling the truth about what he was. He just wished she would accept as he hoped that she would.

  A couple of weeks passed, and after a little bit, Billy grew more worried each time she ignored his calls. He wanted to do something, to say something to her, but he felt that it would scare her away. He decided to go to the bar one night, to see if he could get his mind off of it. He went inside, and immediately, the way that he looked at her was different.

  He gave her a shy smile, but she clearly felt a bit unsure of what to do there. The obvious look of fear in her eyes, the way that she stared at him so forthrightly, made Billy feel unsure of what to do. He wondered what she might say, what she might do, and after a little bit, he sat down. He looked at her, and she simply stared at him.

  “And what are you doing here?” he heard her ask.

  “I'm here to talk. It’s been two weeks since we last saw each other,” he said.

  “Yeah well, you’ve got some explaining to do, that’s for sure,” she said.

  “I know that I do. I'm just… I'm sorry for everything,” he said.

  “Yeah well, things have been weird. And you’ve been acting weird. What are you, some kind of monster or something? You’re so weird Billy. You knew about the traps. I could've sworn I saw you right before that strange creature attacked me. You looked… different,’ she said.

  “I see. So maybe you do know,” he told her.

  “Know about what? What do you mean?” she asked.

  “About what I really am,” he said.

  “What the hell are you talking about Billy? I'm confused,” she said, her voice a little bit nervous, but mostly just curiosity.

  “About the truth behind what I really am. I didn't know when I should tell you, but I think it’s safe to say that you’re here, and you’re not running away, so maybe you’ll listen,” he said.

  “I mean, I'll try to Billy, but the way you've been acting is strange, to say the least. You’ve been distant, you know about things that I don’t, and I feel like… I feel like there are answers that need to be given here, answers that I feel I should know. I mean, if you want to still… see one another and stuff, you’re going to need to let me in. I know I'm just little old me, but I promise I won’t freak out and run away at the first sight of your secret,” she said.

  “I know that you want to know the truth, but it doesn’t mean that I'm not scared to do this,” he said.

  “Well, I'm scared to see what will happen if I don't know if the attacks will keep on happening just because I know you. I want to know why, Billy, and I feel you at least owe me that,” she stated.

  Billy knew that she had a point. He did at least owe her that.

  “When do you get off?” he asked her.

  “In about 40 minutes. I do need to close up,” she said.

  “How about, after all of this, we head out to the back of the bar, and I'll show you the truth. I'll stick around,” he said, throwing a twenty in the tip jar. Nikki looked at him with a shocked expression, but then she clicked her tongue.

  “Fair enough. I'll listen to you,” she told him.

  Billy smiled, and he knew that, despite the fact that this was definitely not going the way he expected it to, he wasn't going to complain. He had her in his life, and he felt a strange happiness grow within him at the idea of this.

  At the end of the night, Billy and Nikki both sat around, waiting for the last customer to leave. After she put everything away, she then turned to Billy, and after a moment or so, she hesitated before speaking.

  “Alright, so… what happened?” she asked.

  “Come with me,’ he said.

  She looked confused, and after following him outside, she turned to him, speaking to him with a hesitant glance.

  “You’re not going to… turn into a monster are you?” she asked.

  “No. I'm not a monster at all Nikki. What I am is a little bit different,” he said.

  She looked at him with anticipation in her eyes. He then shifted, looking at her directly in the eyes as he began to change into something else, something bigger than she thought.

  He looked at her, and he could see the obvious fear in her eyes as he changed. He became the large, brown bear with golden fur that she had seen that night, the one that would be imprinted in her mind almost forever.

  Billy felt scared to do this. He feared what she might say, and for a minute or two, neither of them said anything. He wondered what she might do next, if she would run, take pictures like how Lisa did, or even just escape before they could discuss this anymore.

  But, what happened next was different from what he expected, and quite drastic. In fact, it changed the entire game. Instead of running away, her response was completely different, and for the first time ever, Billy didn’t feel ashamed about what he did. He was unsure of the future, but he believed that Nikki would stay next to him, no matter what.

  Chapter 10

  For Nikki, the whole reveal was almost obvious to her. She knew something was going on, but she wasn’t quite sure what. However, she still had so many questions and so few answers. She was deeply bothered by everything. However, instead of cowering in fear, instead of running away from the truth, she was happy.

  “Wow,” she said. She instinctively hugged Billy, causing a gasp of shock to emit from his mouth.

  “You’re not… scared?”

  “Not really. I guess. I mean, I didn’t expect this, that’s for sure,” she said.

  “You mean… the whole reveal and everything,” he asked her.

  “Yeah. I knew that you were something. But, definitely not this,” she said.

  She did find him pretty cool. His fur was truly beautiful, prettier than anything she’d seen in her life. Although he was big, she didn’t feel any hatred or anything bad from
this man. Instead, she could feel a little bit of fear from him. But, maybe it was just her own fear that she kept seeing.

  “You’re not… going to run away, are you?”

  “Nah. I mean, honestly, I think it’s kind of cool. And in a strange way, it kind of explains the whole shifter thing. I mean, there's been possible evidence that shifters exist out here, so I feel like, it’s only natural that all of this shit happened. While I don’t really get it, at the same time, I feel better knowing the truth,” she said to him.

  “Wow. This is much better than I thought it would go,” he admitted.