by J. K Harper
In her ear, Pix was saying with increasing urgency, "Haley? Haley, what's going on? Is he there? Haley!"
Justin suddenly lunged forward. Haley squeaked and jerked back, dropping the phone to the ground. With a glacial smile, he shot his leg forward and neatly kicked it off the bridge to be swallowed into the icy creek below.
She stared at him in horror, her heart beating inside her like that of a tiny little creature that had suddenly encountered a deadly predator. Finally, she managed to shove words past her constricted throat. "What—what are you doing here? My phone," she added disjointedly, looking at the creek before she looked wildly back at him. She took half a step backward. "How did you find me? And how do you know about shifters?" The words came faster, spilling heedlessly out of her as her shocked brain tried to find coherence again.
Justin smiled at her, a calculating one that went nowhere near his eyes. "Because I'm smart, Haley. I tracked your IP address through that last email you sent me. I also had a very good source of information here that told me you were around."
He tracked her IP address? The insidious lengths to which he would go became crystal clear and even more terrifying. Staring at him, this man who once had been her husband, someone she so foolishly had thought she loved, and really seeing the truth of how genuinely screwed up he was, made something else even more clear.
Cortez wasn't fucked up, nor was he a fuckup. Haley wasn't fucked up either. No, Justin had just proved to her what true ugliness really was. He was broken beyond repair. Monster. She blinked, stunned at the clarity she'd never before truly recognized. She'd never been the broken one. Justin had, all along, and he'd just made her feel like she was the one who could never be healthy and whole again.
"How do you know about shifters?" she asked again, her voice still ragged, trying to buy herself time. She literally had no idea what he was capable of right now, but she knew if he tried anything really scary, she couldn't really defend herself. Justin was a pretty big guy. Nowhere near as big as Cortez, but bigger and much stronger than Haley.
His eyes never left her as he spoke. It was unnerving. "Remember Marisa? The woman I left you for?"
The blunt, perfunctory way he said it took her breath away. How had she ever thought he was a good person?
She moved her head in a jerky nod.
"As it turns out, she was special in more ways in one. She's a panther shifter. She explained everything about shifters to me." A brash grin lined his face, though his eyes were still dead pools of black.
Panther shifters? Like the ones who'd given Cortez such a hard time?
Suddenly, despite her fear, she just wanted to reach forward and slap that ugly grin off of him. Narrowing her eyes, she shot back, "There's no such thing as panther shifters. That's just a highfalutin' name for mountain lions. She sounds like a snob." Haley was half delighted and half shocked at her boldness, but Justin's face instantly became so brutal and angry her heart almost stopped.
"What the fuck do you know, you stupid little cunt. All you were ever good for was working for me."
His voice was so menacing, it rattled her entire body. Her mind now beginning to gibber with fear even though she tried to hold onto her anger, she steadily replied, "I never worked for you, Justin. I was working for us, and you never appreciated it. You lost out on a good thing when you screwed me over."
He suddenly laughed. As he did, Haley caught a glimpse of something horrifying in his mouth. Long, sharp canine teeth. "Oh, my god," she breathed as a deep, instinctive terror clawed its way up her. "What are you? Did she turn you?"
She didn't know it was possible for shifters to show part of their animal while still in human form. But Justin had sharp teeth in his mouth. Teeth like a big cat's.
"Yes. Everything is more amazing now that she turned me, Haley." Something strange lurched in his eyes then. A flash of something more than the cold darkness. She took another step backward.
Had Pix heard her say where she was? Would she know? Haley was alone with someone who clearly was a madman, a madman who now was very lethal. Haley was just human. Vulnerable. She understood why Shane wanted Jessie to turn. Haley couldn't protect herself against a shifter. Especially not one who seemed insane.
Justin curled his lip, revealing those sharp teeth as he started to laugh. Haley could hear her own terrified breathing, ragged and loud in the oppressive silence of the day. She could see it in his eyes now. True, literal madness. Had getting turned into a shifter made him insane? Were mountain lions insane? Or...maybe Justin always had been insane and she'd just never seen it.
"Being turned made me realize what I had been missing. It also made me realize our story isn't over yet, Haley."
He stalked toward her. Hissing. Hissing like a fucking cat. Holy shit. Oh god, oh god. Kitty, kitty. Big, dangerous, menacing kitty. Her heart was catapulting out of her chest, her limbs liquified by fear. She couldn't move.
"Our story is that you can come with me, Haley.” He grinned in a way that raised the hair on her neck. “Not with that stupid bear you've been hanging out with. Your place is with me."
Her blood curdled. No. She stared at him in shock.
He laughed. “Oh yes, I know all about that fucking bear. I've been here for a while now. Watching you. Watching you with him.”
Her stomach lurched. The cat scream in the woods at Cortez's place that day. Justin.
"I'm with a group of shifters who are much better than any of the ones here, Haley. You can join us. You will join us. It's a completely new world." He laughed suddenly, an ugly, definitely crazy sound that scratched the air, making her recoil. "Just think of all the new stories I'll have for you to write down and sell so we can make even more money than we did before. We need that money." His lip curled up in a snarl. Holy fuck, that was terrifying.
Haley shook her head. Focus. She had to stay calm and focus, or else she would die. "What happened to the new writer you found. Can't he write down stories for you?" She tried desperately to make her voice nonthreatening, though it shook so hard she almost couldn't speak. She could tell she was close to the other side of the bridge. It was completely insane and stupid, but maybe if she ran for it, she'd be able to hide in the trees. But that was totally dumb. If he was a shifter now, he'd be able to smell her no matter where she headed. Besides, she wasn't sure she could get her legs to work, she was so scared. Cortez. Where was he?
I can't rescue anyone anymore, Haley.
No. He would find her. She believed in Cortez. She had to believe in him.
"The new writer was okay but then he got greedy. He wanted credit and more money. I had to cut him loose. You, Haley.” Justin's eyes bored into hers, gleaming in an eerie way. They were freaking her out. “You'll come back to me. Especially after I bite you and make you mine."
What? She stared at him in deeper horror. No. No, no, no. Why hadn't she asked Cortez to turn her already? She could defend herself if she was a bear. She could—
"I'm ready, Haley. Are you?" Justin's eyes suddenly glowed a bright copper.
She opened her mouth to scream.
Too late. He changed into an enormous mountain lion and leapt at her like a snarling, clawed wall of doom.
An earthshaking roar shattered the silence as Haley turned to run but slipped on some ice on the bridge and went down, hard. She screamed again, trying to scramble to her feet and run, but something grabbed her foot and pulled.
Then suddenly it was gone. A chorus of horrifying growls and snarls ripped through the air, coming from everywhere. She staggered up and turned around, holding onto the bridge railing, and stared. An enormous, stunning chocolate-cinnamon bear grabbed the mountain lion, his dinner plate-sized paw raking with huge, lethal claws down the cat's back, eliciting a yowling shriek of rage and pain.
Cortez. He was here! He'd come for her, like she knew he would. Hope blossomed in her.
Behind him, another bear charged forward. Shane? She wasn't sure, but she thought he looked like the bear she'd met during her first d
ay at the lodge. Whoever he was, he was on their side. Following closely after were Abby and Quentin. As she watched, mouth open, Quentin abruptly burst out of his clothes into a huge grizzly bear, Abby erupting into a beautiful but deadly-looking wolf mere seconds after.
In the sky above her, a dragon screamed. Haley wildly looked up. Pix flew up there, her beautiful, powerful friend, a gigantic silver dragon, circling the air and shrieking with rage. Pinpointing Haley's location. Calling for help.
From the woods behind her, more roars and growls ripped out. She whipped her head around and saw a flood of huge cats, some bears, some other wolves. Holy shit. Friends? Foes?
One of them bared its teeth and dove straight for her, growling, jaws opened wide.
Fuck! Definitely foe. She screamed again, sheer panic making her hold tight to the railing and kick her legs out at the oncoming cat in a futile move born of a desperate desire to live. Cortez roared, but she could hear that he was fighting with Justin. He couldn't get to her. Wouldn't be able to help her. There was too much action, too many snarling, leaping animals everywhere. All she could do was hang onto the railing like a useless weakling and wait to be killed.
I can't rescue anyone anymore, Haley.
Suddenly, another bear was there, big, with a black coat but still clearly a grizzly to judge from the silvertipped fur and huge hump. He thundered over the bridge past her, meeting the oncoming cat in an explosion of sound as the enormous bodies slammed into one another at full speed. The bear growled with rage, shaking the cat by the scruff of its neck, retreating back when the screeching feline twisted around to sink its claws into the bear. Then the bear rose to his hind legs and simply dove at the cat, meeting it in a terrifying embrace of snapping jaws, hideous snarls, enormous claws that raked at one another. He managed to slice the cat open with his jaws, right on the hindquarters. The cat shrieked, then rolled over, flopping as it tried to get away. Its hind legs were half dragging as it scuttled off, badly limping and bleeding.
The bear roared after the cat, then turned and looked briefly at Haley. Shocked, she recognized the haunted eyes. Riley. It was Riley, Cortez's angry, grief-stricken brother. He nodded sharply at her, then went tearing off to engage another enemy in battle.
Even if he didn't fully trust her, she was part of his family, his bear clan, and that meant something to him. He had just saved Haley's life without even thinking about his own safety.
Overhead, Pix shrieked again, then went into a torpedoing dive towards the earth. She grabbed one of the cats, which snarled in rage and tried to claw her exposed belly. But Pix simply tossed the cat into the woods, where it slammed against a tree and slid limply to the bottom.
Another huge bear roared from behind her, the same side Cortez had come from. Haley whipped her gaze that way. He came charging up, trying to help Cortez. Maybe that was Beckett? Whoever it was, he was a friend. Okay. Friends were here.
Her mind tripped and crashed over itself, trying to make sense of everything, trying to figure out how she could help too. She had to help them! She had to help Cortez.
On the other side of her, the wildly fighting Shane and one of the enemy cats rolled and flipped and roared so close to her she could feel their hot breath. She swung her head around, looking for an escape route. She could so easily get killed. But there was nowhere to go. She was trapped.
Quickly, she climbed over the side of the bridge and hung onto it over the creek, her arms wrapped tightly around the top railing as her feet tried to find purchase. If she slipped, she'd fall into the icy river and maybe drown or get sucked under the ice. Oh, that sounded bad. Very bad. Terror made her arms grip like steel to the bridge. She started shivering from both fear and cold.
"Haley!" came a shriek from the good side of the creek. It was Jessie, jumping up and down and waving at her. "Hold on! We'll get you!"
How? Another bear loomed menacingly near Jessie, clearly meant to defend her while also clearly wanting to jump into the fray on the bridge.
Well, it was great that they wanted to help her, but unless they planned to leap into the river and have her ride one of them out of there, she didn't see how that would happen. Clearly the same thing was going through Jessie's mind, because she looked both helpless and freaked out as she stood there, watching the attack. Just as human as Haley, just as helpless against them. And with one bear guarding her, that was one less who could help fight the intruders. Who were they, anyway?
Somehow, Haley knew it all hinged on Justin. Justin, the fucking psycho bastard who'd already ruined her life. And now he was trying to ruin not only her new life, but the lives of her friends, both new and old. Damn it, she couldn't let that happen.
Overhead, Pix bellowed again, the sound echoed by the enraged screech of what sounded like a hawk. Haley looked up. Yes, a hawk flew up there, much larger than any mere animal one. It dove towards one of the cats, a whistling scream tearing out of it and raising goosebumps on Haley's skin. Definitely a friend, and someone good to have on their side, even if she didn't know who it was. It seemed that the local bear clan had a lot of allies here.
Looking back at Jessie, Haley gasped and shouted. "Jessie! Behind you!"
An enormous mountain lion was running behind them, straight for Jessie and the bear with her. Jessie whirled around, but instantly relaxed. She looked back at Haley and yelled, "It's okay! He's a friend!"
Haley gave up trying to figure out who was friend and who was foe. Clearly not all cats were bad. And clearly, she thought grimly as she looked to the side where the cats mostly were, there were bad bears and wolves as well.
Beside her, Justin and Cortez battled closer, Justin trying to get past Cortez to reach Haley. Cortez attacked him ferociously, roaring and yelling. His head whipped once to look at Haley, a frustrated bellow shaking out of him as he turned back to Justin. There was too much going on, and she was the weak link. The vulnerable one.
Yet at the same time, her heart swelled immensely. Cortez was here for her. Trying to save her. Trying to rescue her. She'd sworn to herself that she would protect him too, though she didn't know how. Unless…
Unless she chose to join as one of them and fight alongside her mate and her new family. Her bear clan and their friends.
"Cortez!" She pitched her scream loud enough to be heard above the battle of all these incredible, huge creatures around her. "Turn me. Turn me!"
Cortez's huge head swiveled toward her, his bright golden eyes catching hers. She nodded firmly, frantically. Then she said it again, whispering this time but enunciating the words one at a time. “Yes. Turn. Me."
A soft noise left his throat. He had heard her and understood.
Unfortunately, so did Justin. With the eerie mountain lion scream that sent Haley's stomach into knots, Justin yanked himself away from Cortez and launched for her, his mouth ripped back in a snarl, those giant teeth coming for her. Haley gasped, reflexively yanking herself backward, almost losing her grip on the bridge railing. Cortez bellowed with rage. He moved quickly, so very quickly for such a huge, magnificent creature. One bound and he was on Justin, bringing the cat to the ground, both of them snapping, snarling.
Suddenly, a dragon scream tore through the sky above them again, this time so close the blast of it made every shifter fighting on the bridge startle. Pix swooped low over the bridge, one leg with its razor-sharp claws on the end extended. Haley held her breath. The trees were close to the bank here, too close for a dragon the size of Pix, who was enormous compared to her tiny human self. Her wings were pinioned back along her sides as she swooped through, her eyes a glaring, brilliant green. As she raced over the center of the bridge, she reached out her foot and neatly whacked Justin's chest and shoulder, sending him spinning and toppling out of the way. Instantly, another bear leapt on him, fighting and hanging on with desperate fury to keep Justin from getting up again to stop Cortez. Haley thought it might be Quentin but she honestly didn't know.
In half a heartbeat, Cortez was in front of her,
his enormous golden brown face and huge snout inches from her. Even in this form, she could see the question in his eyes. She nodded again, awkwardly clambering over the bridge and stumble-falling into him. "Turn me! It's only way I can help. And I want this, Cortez. I've always wanted to be a shifter ever since I was a little girl. I trust you, Cortez." She caught his big, fuzzy face between her hands, simultaneously aware of how soft his fur was and how enormous his body was, whispering now. "You're my mate, aren't you? I trust you. Turn me into a grizzly bear, just like you."
Her strong, powerful mate didn't wait another second. His mouth opened, exposing his big, alarming teeth. Haley couldn't help her instinctive nervous gasp, but she tilted her head and exposed her neck for him. Squeezing her eyes shut, she hoped that being turned into a bear didn't involve severing an artery at the same time.
There was the faint scrape of something hard and rough against her neck. A tooth, running down the side of it. His touch was gentle, though it stung against her skin. Was he actually piercing it? He stayed there for a few seconds, blowing hot breath on her, then moved his mouth down until the tooth gently bounced over her collarbone. Then he pulled back.
Haley opened her eyes, looking at him. He looked back at her, blinking, huffing softly at her. With shaking fingers, she reached up to her neck, which felt wet. When she pulled them away, blood was streaked on them, but not a lot. He'd just grazed her, just opened the skin.
Cortez was so damn gentle with her, even in his big huge bear self.
She opened her mouth to say something, though she didn't even know what. Maybe thank you. Before she could, Cortez was abruptly yanked backward, bellowing as he went. Justin again, that fucking bastard. He somehow had gotten away from the other bear holding him and leaped onto Cortez's back, his claws buried into her mate's hide, his teeth bearing down on Cortez's neck. Cortez gave a mighty shake, again and again, trying desperately to dislodge the enemy from his back. But Justin tightly held on.
Haley saw red.
She. Saw. Red.
That was her man. Her mate. Her Cortez. Being attacked by the insane, sick bastard who had tried to ruin her life. In trying to save Haley, Cortez might die from the effort. No way. No fucking way. She wouldn't let that happen.
