by Ariel Marie
“He lied to us, man,” the shortest robber said to the leader. “We’re going to go to fucking jail and rot, while he continues living the high life.”
“Shut up!” the leader yelled, stepping in front of the other guy. “Let me think for just a goddamn second. He betrayed us, and he will pay for it. We’re going to get out of this.”
The phone to the bank began to ring. Stacia said a little prayer that the cops had done what the robbers had asked. The sooner the robbers left, the sooner this whole ordeal would be over. She was just glad that no one had been hurt.
“Is it here?” the leader barked into the telephone. “Good, just like we agreed. My men and I will get into the truck and drive off, and no one gets hurt. If I feel the slightest hint of betrayal from you, I will put a bullet into one of these people.”
Stacia glanced around the room, finding Carla looking shell-shocked, sitting beside the disheveled bank manager and the other three employees. Stacia could see that the robbers had roughed the manager up a little, as a faint bruise could be seen forming by his right temple.
“Let’s go, people. You’re going to be our tickets out of here,” the leader yelled out.
“Get up!” the third robber instructed, waving his gun around. Stacia stood, her body stiff from sitting in the same spot for so long.
“You! Come here,” the leader called out, making his way over to Stacia. “You’re one of those shifters, aren’t you? I can tell by the color of your eyes.”
“Get off me,” she yelled, pulling her arm away from the leader.
“Baines,” he snapped.
She watched in horror as the other robber pulled his revolver and placed it against Carla’s temple. Her bear snarled, but she drew her back, knowing that one wrong move could end the bank teller’s life.
“Now, you’re going to come with us,” he sneered. “One wrong move and you’ll have this innocent woman’s death on your hands. Are you going to cooperate?”
Stacia’s head jerked in a quick nod as she watched tears trail down Carla’s face.
“Whatever you want,” she whispered in a low voice. Her bear was not happy that she couldn’t maul these men to death. Soon, girl, she told her bear. Now is not the time. Her bear seemed to settle down with the promise of blood later.
“Good girl.” The leader grabbed ahold of her arm and led her to the door. He glanced out the glass before motioning for the other robbers to bring the bank employees.
Stacia looked around the leader and saw a black SUV pulled up on the curb and parked on the sidewalk. She swallowed hard, knowing that if they dragged her into the waiting vehicle, there was no telling where she would end up. She certainly couldn’t shift in a vehicle.
The sound of the door cracking open broke into her thoughts.
“Stay back!” the leader shouted out the door. “One person at a time, and no funny business. I will shoot you,” he threatened. Both his goons had their guns trained on the employees as they made their way out in a single file line.
“Boss?” Baines’ voice spoke up from behind her. There was one bit of information she now had about the robbers, a name.
“He just opened the door to the truck,” he snapped as the last employee rushed out of the bank. “Let’s go!”
Stacia gasped as the man grabbed her from behind and used her as a shield. The sun’s glare temporarily blinded her as she was dragged towards the vehicle.
“Let me go!” she shouted. “You don’t need me!”
“Shut up, bitch!” he growled in her ear.
Time seemed to slow as he pulled her towards the truck. She frantically looked around, her eyes adjusting to the bright light, searching for someone, anyone, who could help her, and her eyes met a set of familiar brown eyes. The face of the first SWAT officer was covered by a black ski mask, but a set of murderous eyes were narrowed on her and her kidnappers.
Izek!
Even in his full army fatigues, black bulletproof vest with GFPD etched across the front, and a deadly assault rifle aimed their way, she would recognize him anywhere.
“Help me!” she screamed as they tried to stuff her inside the vehicle. Her foot caught the outside of the truck as she kicked and screamed. “Izek!” she screamed out one more time before a burst of pain at the base of her skull caused her world to go dark.
4
Izek’s bear let loose a roar as he watched helplessly, as the black SUV drove off with Stacia Sagona, his sister’s best friend and the local alpha’s sister. Fuck! His bear tore at his chest, trying to burst free. Izek’s body slammed back against the brick building as he fought the change. A red haze clouded his vision as the rage from his bear tried to take over.
“Captain!” he heard his name through his struggle of power. Dark brown fur spurted out on his forearms, while his gums began to burn as his fangs descended. Curses filled the air as two solid arms held him against the building, and his weapon was snatched from his hand. He mentally fought his bear and finally, it began to recede. The battle of wills literally drained the energy from Izek. Now was not the time to go bear in front of all the media.
“Captain!” Javri’s voice broke through Izek’s haze. “Fight it, Captain. Fight the change.”
“You don’t want to do this in front of the humans,” Vernon said.
“I’m good,” Izek gasped, unable to catch his breath. He had never lost control of his bear before. In all of his thirty-five years of life, he had always been able to control it. His eyes searched down the street, but the dark SUV was nowhere in sight.
“You good?” Javri asked, tightening his grip.
Izek jerked his head in a quick nod before they let him go.
“Where’s the girl?” he asked. His bear whined, pawing at his chest.
“She’s gone. They took her,” Vernon informed, handing his weapon back to him.
Izek took off running towards the command vehicle, with Vernon and Javri on his heels.
“Ross!” he shouted. Jumping into the truck, he snatched his ski mask off. “Please tell me you got something.”
“We got the license plate. Running it now,” Ross said, his fingers flying across the keyboard.
“I need information on that truck yesterday!” he snapped, grabbing his phone from his cargo pants.
“Yes, sir,” Ross murmured.
“What the fuck happened out there?” Lou demanded as he and the other men stomped up to the truck. “How in the hell did they get away?”
“They took a hostage with them,” Javri snapped. “What would you have us do, risk her getting shot?”
Curses filled the air as the rest of the SWAT team stood outside the truck.
“Does anyone know who the woman was?” Lou asked, snatching his helmet off his head.
“Yes, I do,” Izek admitted, staring down at his phone, unsure of who to call first.
“Who?” voices echoed around him.
Izek hit a preprogrammed name into his phone before looking up at Lou. “It’s our alpha’s sister. They just kidnapped Stacia Sagona.”
“Did she appear injured?” Landon Sagona asked. His voice was low as his deep brown eyes locked on Izek. He stood before his alpha, unable to explain how the GFPDs finest let the local alpha bear’s sister get kidnapped.
Calling a family to deliver bad news was never easy, and this time, it was even harder. Stacia was not only his alpha’s sister, but his sister’s best friend. Callia was going to lose her fucking mind when she found out that Stacia had been taken.
As a bear shifter, Izek still had to report to his alpha. He may be a police officer for Great Falls, but he still had an obligation to his clan. His job of protecting both supernaturals and humans kept him plenty occupied, and left little time for clan business.
“No, sir,” he answered, meeting the alpha’s intense stare.
He closed his eyes briefly as the memory of her struggling came to mind. His bear shifted, not liking the memory of Stacia being kidnapped, either. His bear’s an
ger was festering deep down, and Izek had to continue to fight for control. It needed to be let loose. It wanted to break free and roam the woods to go hunting.
What do you need to search for? he asked his bear internally as he fought for control again.
Her.
His eyes snapped open at the answer. Could it be? For the past few weeks, he would shift and his bear would roam the forest, searching for something Izek didn’t understand.
Was his bear searching for his mate?
“Any idea who the men were that took my sister?” the alpha growled.
Izek glanced around the alpha’s office and knew that he had to be honest with him. Just because his unit had the best reputation in all of Montana, it didn’t mean he could be cocky. Shit, the feelings coursing through him right now left him confused more than ever.
“We don’t know yet, but my men are on it,” Izek answered truthfully. He had decided to come to his alpha alone, to deliver the news in person. “I am confident that we will find her.”
The alpha stood from his chair and slowly walked around the massive desk. He was a large and burly man, as was pretty much all bear shifters. But the alpha stood just over an inch taller than Izek.
Izek knew that his extreme size worked in his favor for his occupation. Not many criminals wanted to tussle with the likes of him. His massive hands alone could crush a human skull easily. But this was his alpha standing in front of him, not a criminal. Izek had enough respect to submit to his alpha.
“Izek, our families have history. Hell, your sister and mine go back to their pigtail days,” Landon said, gripping Izek’s shoulder.
Izek looked up at Landon and nodded in agreement. He could remember Callia and Stacia running around with their dolls in their yard, both in pigtails, while laughing and screaming as only little girls did. He was a teenager at the time, ten years older than Callia. Not once had he ever paid any attention to Stacia in that manner.
Seeing her snatched up by the kidnappers had awoken something in him. His bear had been on the hunt, and Izek was just too occupied with his career to fully understand what was going on.
“I’ll find her,” he said, his voice full of confidence.
“I have something that might help.” Walking back around his desk, Landon flopped down in his chair and tapped out a few commands on his computer. “I never told her about this because she would have bitched about it. Never thought that I would have to actually use it.”
“What is it?” Izek asked, moving around the desk so he could see the screen.
“I gave her a diamond pendant for her birthday this year, the crest of our clan. It has a tracking system built into it.”
“Wow.” Izek chuckled at the balls his alpha had. He liked the way Landon thought.
No way would Izek try or admit to Callia that he had put a tracker on her. She already thought that he went overboard with their chats when he offered his advice for when she would want to go out for a night on the town. No way in hell would he admit to tracking her. Not that he really needed to. Bears had keen noses, and he could follow her scent anywhere.
Right now, the alpha was a genius. It would be hard to track a scent when the person was thrown into the back of a truck and carted off to only God knows where. This will at least give them a ballpark figure of where to start their search.
“Well, at least you can say you had a good reason,” Izek muttered as he watched Landon navigate a website.
“Bingo,” Landon murmured, his fingers pausing on the keyboard.
Izek glanced at the screen and instantly recognized the area. The blinking pink dot was located about two hours north. They had taken her smack dab in the middle of Blackfeet Country.
The Native Americans and shifter society were allies, each having great respect for the other. It would be easy for Izek to get Stacia back.
“I’m leaving now.” Izek stood up straight, intent on leaving immediately to go after her.
“I’ll call Chief Wapti,” Landon said, picking up the phone. “Oh, and Izek?”
Izek paused midway to the door and turned to face Landon.
“I heard about you almost losing control of your animal when my sister was taken. I’d be honored to welcome you into the family. Now just bring her home safe.”
5
Stacia grimaced as she slowly came to. Her head ached liked the dickens. It was as if some tiny man was inside her brain with a jackhammer pounding away at her brainstem. She did a mental assessment of her body and found only her hands were handcuffed. The idiots didn’t secure her legs. She slowly looked down and found her diamond family crest pendant, the one that Landon had given her, was gone.
Bastards!
Low voices filled the air. She strained to hear what her kidnappers were speaking of, but their voices were too low for her to hear with the dulling pain. Stacia glanced over slowly, not wanting to alert the men that she was fully awake. The men stood posed alongside a round table, conversing about something on the table.
They were in what looked to be an old hunting cabin with scarce furniture, and a hallway that must lead to a bedroom.
“What are we going to do about the girl?” the shortest of the robbers asked.
“We could get good money for her on the black market. She’s one of those freaks. You know plenty of people will pay money to own her.”
Her bear snarled at the thought of being sold. She’d die before letting them sell her to one of those sick bastards that enslaved shifters.
“We’ll hide here for tonight, and tomorrow we’ll get a new vehicle. We’ll find out why that fucker screwed us over,” the leader said.
“Maybe he sent two teams after that safety box and they beat us to it,” Baines said.
“Doesn’t matter,” the leader snapped. “He needs to pay us the rest of the money he owes us.”
Agreements were muttered between them.
“We’ll take turns sleeping tonight. I don’t trust the area. Baines, you’re up first for patrolling around this shit of a cabin,” the leader ordered.
“No problem.”
She closed her eyes before they had time to notice she was listening in on their conversation. She heard a door open and close.
“What are we going to do with her?” the short robber asked.
“Leave her ass on the floor. She’s handcuffed, and won’t be going anywhere tonight. She wakes up, knock her ass out again.” His gruff voice faded away before she heard a door slam shut.
The couch released a groan as the remaining robber dropped down onto it. Her mind raced, trying to determine what she should do. She knew she had to make her move tonight. There was no telling what they would do with her tomorrow.
She opened her eyes and found the guy stretched out on the small sofa with his arm thrown over his face. She angled her body slightly, so that she could keep an eye on him. After a few moments, when she was sure he was sleep, she would—
A gunshot broke the blanket of silence outside the cabin, followed by a short holler. A low growl followed, causing the windowpanes to vibrate. Her ears perked up as the roar of a very pissed off bear filled the air.
“What the hell?” The guy scrambled off the couch at the same time the leader ran from the back room.
“What the fuck is that?” the leader yelled as they both disappeared outside the front door, leaving it wide open.
She drew strength from her bear and ripped the handcuffs apart, freeing her hands and scrambled from the floor. The sounds of growling increased as she stumbled to the door. Gunshots rang out again, and the sounds of the men hollering continued.
She pulled open the door and found a massive brown grizzly bear standing on his hind legs. Baines, or what was left of him, was laying on the ground near the bear. The thick smell of blood reached her as she stepped out onto the porch, where the two humans had their weapons pointed directly at the bear.
The bear, oddly familiar, pulled at her own bear. Her steps faltered as her bear lunged f
rom within her in a state of panic, trying to get to the bear. It couldn’t be…Izek?
Mate, her bear growled.
“Shoot the fucker again!” the leader shouted as he raised his rifle.
“No!” Stacia shouted as she ran down the stairs towards Izek.
She could feel the burning of her gums as her fangs descended. She gave herself over to her bear, who demanded to be set free, and this time, she was not going to remain suppressed. Stacia fell to the ground, her fur bursting forth, rippling across her pale skin.
She let loose a tortured scream from the pain of her bones shifting and lengthening. Her changing body ripped through her human clothes, leaving them a tattered mess on the ground. Within seconds, she had completely transformed into her dark brown grizzly bear, and it was enraged. Stacia had promised her bear vengeance, and it wanted to exact her revenge on the two humans in front of her.
A low growl vibrated deep in her chest as she took a step towards the humans. The smell of fear permeated the air. The sight of the guns pointed at Izek threw her into a fit. She paused, standing back on her two hind legs, displaying her true height to the humans. She bared her sharp incisors, daring them to pull the trigger.
“Fuck!” the leader exclaimed, fear etched on his face as he stared at Stacia. He slowly lowered his gun as his eyes jerked back and forth between her and Izek.
“Run!” the other human screamed, scrambling towards the vehicle with the leader right behind him. Stacia’s paws slammed into the ground as she moved to chase after them.
They don’t get away that easy, her bear snapped. She moved to follow, but a low growl grabbed her attention. She glanced back and saw the taillights of the truck as it disappeared down the long narrow driveway. The larger brown bear marched in front of her, and she could see the pain radiating from his eyes.
Vengeance was forgotten by her bear, and morphed into fear. Her bear began to panic as the smell of blood grew more intense. She was unable to see the injury, so she nudged him with her head, trying to get a good look at him. He pushed her away and started to amble away from her, towards the woods.
