by Kyrii Rayne
“Grease is yummy.”
He had only started eating meat recently, after a period of being vegetarian in reaction to the horrific diet his father had pushed on him during his captive childhood. And then he had discovered bacon, and sausage patties, and burgers. And that had been that.
She snickered at him, and waved to Julia as well. “Hey guys.”
Julia smiled back. “Hey. You have any idea what everyone's freaked out about?” She was the only other human in the room, and if the way Anna was treated by the other Bears was any indication, no one had told her anything yet.
“Not yet. I know Helga here won't keep us in the dark, though.” She had better not.
There was a reason why Anna trusted Helga, and it was that she had never caught her in a lie, even one of omission. But right now, even as Helga looked gently back at her and nodded, she had to wonder if Helga didn't keep some things entirely to herself. Like how sick she really was, for example.
“I smell fear from the others,” Gray said quietly. There were reasons why he was so attuned; once upon a time the one they had been afraid of had been him. Back when he had been a slave of Jake's father, made to terrorize. “It isn't me this time, right?”
“No, Gray, it can't be. We're not scared of you anymore, so why would big, tough Bears be?” Anna's gaze swept the table, and she noticed that very few people seemed to be keeping their eyes on Gray any more. He hadn't exactly been accepted, but whatever was being whispered and rumor-mongered about right now was apparently more frightening than the bear hybrid could ever hope to be.
“I'm gonna hit the buffet before things get too serious,” Jake said, then looked at her. “Do you want anything yet?”
“I think I can try a bagel.”
She would end up mostly nibbling it until her stomach stopped fizzing like an uncapped soda, but eventually she hoped it would do the trick.
Helga waited until everyone was settled, and had had a chance to eat and talk for a while, before she stood. Immediately the voices around the table started to die as heads turned in her direction. She coughed quietly into her fist, then looked around at everyone. “Ladies and gentlemen, I am afraid that I have bad news.”
“As most of you know, we have made it our business for a long time to watch certain individuals in the Bear and Human populations, both locally and abroad, if their associations with us are close enough. A few weeks ago, we started hearing rumors of Hunter activity in Wyoming.”
A rustle went through the crowd. Whispers rose in a sibilant chorus, and a few around the table went for their whiskey flasks at eight in the morning.
“Wyoming is sparsely populated. It is one of the reasons that we picked this state as the build site for the Lodge originally. This gives us a lot of wilderness to hide our activities in. However, when we move among humans, we don't have the crowds to lose ourselves in that we might in New York, San Francisco or Seattle. When the Hunters come in, they will start by looking for those of us who live in, or visit, the local cities. They will be looking for any kind of anomaly in behavior, diet or appearance which might pick us out.” She paused. “And it is quite safe to assume that Jackson is one of the places which they will be checking.”
At that last one, she gave Gray an apologetic look. “We'll have to forgo any more trips into town for a while,” she said gently.
His face fell. “But Julia lives in town!” His voice filled with so much disappointment that he sounded almost like a kid who had been told Santa doesn't exist.
Julia reached over and clasped his huge hand with both of hers. “I'll visit more. I'll take the copter over every morning before class. I just need to visit my place to feed the dogs and look after things.”
Helga looked around at the others. “We must suspend any of the seasonal hunts we were planning for the next month or so, until they move on. My hope is that this will prove to be a close call for us, and nothing more. But from now on, continued secrecy and security must be our primary focus.”
Anna's heart sank. The Lodge was going on lock down, everyone's life was at risk... and Gray and his new love stood to suffer most from the changes they would have to make. “Can't you just bring the dogs here?” she asked Julia. “I'm sorry if that's ignorant, I've never had dogs. I don't know how they would adjust.”
“Maybe, but it would take a few days at least for me to pack everything up and move here. And I'm still expected at training six days a week.”
“We can arrange your transport.” Helga gave the girl a smile, and Gray relaxed visibly.
“Well, the lock down doesn't sound too horrible so far. I mean, what are the chances that they'll find out about the Lodge just rolling through Jackson and watching for us?” Jake shifted in his seat, his voice calmer than most of the others.
“You don't know what these guys do when they suspect one of us, Jake, you've never lived it.”
Darrin's statement was quiet and full of a private horror. Anna blinked at him in surprise, and wondered what he had seen and experienced that he wasn't telling them.
“Okay, point. But my point is, there's not really much chance that they'll learn about the Lodge as long as we're careful about visiting town. The Lodge is on private, patrolled land.”
Jake looked around before continuing.
“They have no excuse to be up this way, and even the biggest fanatics among them won't go out of their way to get arrested for something like trespassing. It's a good way to get your weapons confiscated.” Jake looked around for support.
Darrin sighed, and looked back at him grimly. “Unless, of course, someone local to Jackson, who has a grudge against us and is pretty damn xenophobic against Bear shifters, should happen to tell them.”
Anna's blood ran cold suddenly, and she and Jake exchanged horrified looks.
“Yeah,” Darrin sighed, rubbing the side of his face. “Like Mark Sanger, for instance.”
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Other Books from Kyrii Rayne
The Bear Lodge Shifters Series
Hunting Party Bear Brother
Bear Hunt
Bear Trap
Bear Territory
Coming Soon:
The Ember Dragon Series
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