Bear Shifters: Hunt Collection #1

by Ava Hunt

  "Okay, thanks, Jaime," Jeneva climbed down from his truck and he parked nearby. The Council building was low-lying, smooth and imposing, made of some kind of white granite with rounded edges. The entrance was cold and sterile. Jeneva was glad she wasn't here to see the Council today. She walked past their rooms to the medical center.

  "Jeneva Markham," she said to Misty at the front counter.

  "Hey, Jen. You made it. Have a seat and I'll let the doctor know you're here."

  Jeneva sat down. A few minutes later, Doctor Henry Sands emerged from the back rooms, with his white mustache and hair. "Hey Jen. Come on back."

  "Good luck, Jen!" Misty called.

  "I'm just going to check that you're in good general health," Doctor Sands said. "Then we'll send the obstetrician in. She can check your female health. Have you ever been pregnant before?"

  "No," Jeneva said.

  "And when are you planning to have cubs with your new mate?"

  "We haven't decided on that yet. Not now," Jeneva added. "But soon."

  "Okay. You'll need to let us know as soon as you conceive, so we can start your regular checkups and monitor the cubs. Now say ahh.'"

  Doctor Sands did a thorough check-up on her, including her heart rate, breathing and blood pressure. Then Doctor Theresa Handel came in, snapping on rubber gloves.

  "Go on and lie back, and put your feet up here. This isn't going to hurt, but it isn't going to feel good. Just relax," she said.

  Jeneva emerged from the exam unscathed but deeply violated. She sat in the front office and waited for the results.

  "The first time's always a pain," Misty commiserated with her. "It doesn't get better, but it doesn't get worse either."

  "Eh. Thanks," Jeneva mumbled.

  The doctors came out together. Doctor Sands held a long sheet of paper and Doctor Handel had a smile on her face. "It looks like you're all clear to mate, Jen," Doctor Sands said.

  "Wait, what?" Jeneva stood up.

  Doctor Handel explained, "Now that we've done a thorough exam on you, it turns out the defective trait is benign in you. It came back OC negative. You and Rayner can have cubs with no problems."

  Misty was on her feet clapping, "Jeneva, that's great!"

  Jeneva threw the doctors into a bear hug, "Oh my god, thank you!"

  The doctors laughed awkwardly. "Sure thing, Jen. Go home to your husband."

  "Thanks again," Jeneva called. "See you at the bar, Misty!"

  "Bye Jeneva! Congratulations!" Misty waved.

  Jeneva called Jaime up and he met her at the front. "I'm all clear!"

  She shouted while she got back into the truck.

  "Wait, how?" Jaime was confused.

  "They had it wrong! It was benign in me from the beginning! They just needed to do better tests on me."

  "Jeneva, I'm so glad!" Jaime bear hugged her. "Let's go share the good news!"

  "Okay!" Jeneva strapped her seatbelt in. "To the bar!"

  The lunch crowd was at The Big Dipper. The Nuñez brothers, Mary Totham, Sabina Fleischman, and George were all there. Jeneva ran up and gave George a hug.

  "What was that for?" George peeled her arms away.

  "I can mate! I don't have the defective trait," Jeneva stood up on the bar. "Everyone, I have an announcement! I don't have the genetic defect! I'm going to stay here and have cubs with Rayner!"

  A cheer went up from the bar patrons. Everyone got in line to give her a hug and pat her on the shoulders.

  "Hey, let me get you a beer, hun! I'm so happy for you!" Mary Totham ordered a round for Jeneva and her brother. "You and Rayner are the perfect match. We knew it ever since that night, right boys?"

  "Oh yeah," Carlos Nuñez agreed. "No one fights that hard for someone they don't want to bed!"

  "Exactly!" Dakota Nuñez leaned on his brother's shoulder. "If you hadn't mated with him, one of us would have had to, just to get him to settle down and stop being such a hardass!"

  "Promise us you'll make a tame Bear out of that one? I'm tired of cleaning up after his fights," Mary pleaded.

  "I promise," Jeneva boasted. "No more fights. You have my word."

  George leaned over the bar, a shadow over his face. Jeneva ducked away from the crowd to put her arm around his shoulders. "What's wrong? Aren't you happy for me?"

  "Yeah, I am Jen," George said. His face was plaster white. Jeneva thought she'd never seen him look so stiff and awkward before. "You made quite the show. The bar is buzzing because of it."

  "I'm just in a good mood! It's totally different than last month, when everyone was consoling me on being alone for the rest of my life."

  "That was an interesting day," George turned back to his beer.

  Jeneva left him alone and celebrated with the other Bears. Then she and Jaime left for home.

  Chapter Eight

  George sat around in the bar. All the patrons left as the lunch hour ended.

  Marcus came over, wiping down a beer glass. "Do you want another soda, George, or...?" He looked at George. The kid seemed really on edge. George had never rubbed off well on Marcus. He got along with him because he was best friends with the Alphas. It was hard to deny anything the Alphas wanted – what they said, was how it would go. It was sort of in the blood of the rest of the Den to listen to whatever they said. But George's eyes were darting around the bar like he was looking for a deer to kill, and not in the good way, for food or sport, but just because you wanted to make something suffer a bit on this earth.

  Marcus screwed his mouth up, trying to think of a way to get George to leave before the after work crowd got here. He didn't like his energy. He was looking to cause trouble, and he didn't want that trouble in his bar.

  "Hey George, if you're not going to order anything else, maybe you should head back? You've been in here a while. Are you waiting for Jen to come back?"

  George shook his head, impatiently. Marcus sighed and walked away to clean the tables and restock them with silverware.

  Rayner Garcia came in late for lunch.

  "Hey Rayner," Marcus was wiping a table down. Everyone's already left. I can reopen the kitchen for you. What are you going to have?"

  "Steak sandwich, Marcus. I appreciate it," Rayner stretched his shoulders and yawned.

  "Are you okay? You look like shit," Marcus observed.

  "I haven't been sleeping at all, and the overnight at the prison was pretty brutal. I just want to eat, and see Jen."

  "She was in here earlier today," Marcus said.

  "Yeah?" Rayner sat at a bar stool far from where George was, keeping Marcus company while he cleaned this part of the bar.

  "I think she has something to tell you," Marcus said mysteriously.

  "But no doubt you'll hear it from her for yourself. I'll go put your order in. Hold on," Marcus threw his rag over his shoulder and went to get the cooks back on the grill for Rayner's lunch.

  Rayner opened his book up and started reading. He stopped when he felt eyes on him. George was sitting only a few stools from him. He could have sworn he was sitting at the other end when he came in. He shrugged and went back to read, but then George said something.

  "What?" Rayner closed his book.

  "I said, did you have a long day at work? You look awful."

  Rayner bristled. He didn't like George. He wished that he could keep him away from Jeneva, especially now that he and Jeneva were mated. Rayner shrugged and played off the deep exhaustion and pain he felt, aching for his mate to be with him, "I've had worse nights. It'll be good to see Jen's face after I leave here."

  "Actually, I need to talk to you about Jen," George said, standing and reaching into his pocket. "I know we don't always see eye-to-eye," George said. "But you do know I care about Jeneva a lot. Probably more than you do."

  Rayner closed his book. George was holding something in his hand. Rayner sized George up. Sandy brown hair, low on the muscle mass, and filled with tense energy. What was he trying to prove? Why now?

  "George, I get
it. But it's been a long day. I'm going to take my food to go. If I get out of your hair, I'm sure you'll feel better," Rayner relented.

  George put a friendly hand on Rayner's arm. "No, I'm not trying to attack you. I'm trying to warn you. Jeneva's playing you for a fool."

  "What did you say?" Rayner was on his feet. He squared off at George and George stared him steady in the eyes, not backing up.

  "It's true. She told me yesterday," George opened up the text messages on his cell phone, handed it to Rayner to read. "She doesn't want to be with you, man. She's playing you for a chump."

  Rayner took George's phone and read the text messages lit up on the screen.

  George, I made a mistake. I don't want to be with Rayner. He's terrible.

  I understand, Jen. What can I do to help you?

  No one can help me now. I'm going to go to Brazil when he doesn't expect it. It'll be easier if I disappear from his life.

  Rayner staggered back heavily into his seat. His stomach was churning and his appetite was gone. "This doesn't make sense, George," Rayner's head was swimming, too, making the whole room spin while he got reoriented to reality. It was the exact opposite of what Jeneva had told him. He didn't know her to lie or go back on her word, ever. She was straightforward and didn't play games. That was one of the things that he loved about her. And the texts didn't even sound like she'd written them. He didn't understand what was happening. "Jeneva told me that she would never leave me."

  "She probably told you that to keep you happy until she could get away from you. She hates hurting people. But there it is on the screen. There's no denying the truth."

  The agony in Rayner's body was dialed up tenfold. He knew Jeneva had no problem letting people down. She had pushed him away to his face so many times before, right? But, it was there on George's phone. The words blazed up at him like a curse from God, telling him he was doomed to be alone, doomed to push women away from him. Why couldn't he get this right?

  He examined George's face for clues, his body language. He was totally relaxed. He seemed sad for Rayner. That felt like a sucker punch to the gut. He was pitying Rayner. George had always been Jeneva's friend. He and George didn't always get along, but he had to admit George knew Jeneva better than he did. So why was his gut gnawing at him, telling him something was off? He read the texts again and again, the timestamp, the date. He looked for any clue that this was a deception of some kind, or a joke.

  When he couldn't find any sign that he was being fooled – even though his feelings were blaring warning signs at him that he was about to make the wrong decision - he had to accept the obvious, as much as it hurt - Jeneva had played him. The dull rage he'd known for so long settled deeply back in his chest and heart.

  "Thanks, George. You're a good friend," Rayner said as Marcus came back into the room.

  "Rayner, got your sandwich on the grill now," Marcus said.

  "Cancel it," Rayner growled. "I've lost my appetite. I need a drink. Give me a beer."

  "A beer? You don't drink?"

  "I'd better start, then to make up for lost time."

  Marcus looked between George and Rayner. Now that Rayner was scowling down at his hands, George had a smug satisfaction on his face. Marcus shook his head and poured Rayner's beer. He'd have to make sure George got banned from the bar, if he could.

  Jeneva tightened a screw on one of her motorcycles in the front yard of the house. "There you go, baby. Now you should purr." She revved the bike into life, and the engine rumbled steadily.

  She heard the door open and Jaime came out of the house holding her cell phone. "Jen, George is calling you over and over. You should answer it."

  "Thanks, Jaime," Jeneva wiped her hands on a rag. The yard was full of junk asking to be fixed up, but everytime she fixed something, she took it for a ride before she sold it. She petted the motorcycle affectionately. "Be patient. You'll get your turn." It gleamed silver in the setting sun.

  Jeneva turned on the screen of her phone. She had five missed calls, all from George. She dialed him back.

  "George? What's going on?"

  "Jen," George said. "Rayner's here at the bar. He's drinking. You know how he gets after only a beer or two. He's had five. Everyone is scared he's going to do something awful. You should get over here, help him so he doesn't go off of the deep end."

  "Oh my god, George, thanks for calling me." Jeneva ended the call and went into the house to find Jaime. "Rayner is drinking at the bar. He's freaking people out. We've got to go over there now before he does something bad."

  "Alright. I'll drive. Get in the truck."

  Jaime sped down the pine-lined roads leading to The Big Dipper. They pulled in front. Jaime let Jeneva out and went to find a parking space. Jeneva jumped out of the truck and ran into the bar.

  All eyes were on her when she burst in. Tommy and Gabriel were there. George and Marcus were asking Rayner to calm down. Three beer glasses were smashed against the wall, and two stools were overturned. Jeneva ran to Rayner's side and put her hands on his arm. When he turned, he didn't even seem to recognize her. His eyes were glazed and glossy and his mouth was turned into a furious scowl. She didn't get the embrace she expected to get. He stepped towards her and pushed her away, hard.

  Jeneva froze with shock, being shoved by her mate for the first time. He was looking at her with hatred. She didn't understand what could have made him shift in such a short time. Was it something she did? Or didn't do? Did something bad happen at work? Or was he finally regretting mating with her? She took a cautious step towards him.

  "Why did you push me? I came here to see you, Rayner."

  Rayner shook his head, shutting her voice out. "Lies. Everything was a lie. You're a lying whore, Jeneva. Did you think I wouldn't find out?"

  Jeneva looked at Marcus for help. Marcus shrugged and shook his head at her. "Rayner," Marcus said, "I wouldn't have served you if I knew this was how you were feeling today. Go home and sleep it off, man."

  Rayner whirled on Marcus and pointed an accusing finger at Jeneva. "Not before I tell this bitch what I really think about her," Rayner strode to Jeneva, his muscles tight with anger.

  "Bitch?" Jeneva clenched her jaw. "Rayner, honey, I don't care if you had a bad day at work, or whatever is going on, you don't ever get to call me that."

  Rayner took her wrists and pinned her against a wall, "I'll call you whatever I want." He glared into her eyes. "I never want to see you again, you lying slut. Do you understand?"

  His words felt like a slap to the face. Jeneva caught her breath, trying to make sense of the situation. She couldn't make sense of it. Her temper flared and she pushed back against her. He was stronger.

  "Why are you being this way?" Jeneva yelled. "If you regret mating with me, just tell me! I'll go! No problem!"

  "Yeah, I regret mating with you," Rayner said. "I regret ever laying eyes on you!"

  Jeneva's heart broke into a million pieces. All the breath went out of her and it was hard to see straight. Was this the loving man who had held her so protectively just two days ago? His face had transformed. She'd never imagined anyone could look at her with so much hatred and disgust. She kicked him hard in the knee and he backed off of her, letting her go. Suddenly, Jeneva wanted to kill him. Her fur sprouted and her claws came out as she shifted into her Bear form. She leaped for his neck.

  Rayner shifted quickly and caught Jeneva's kill attack before it could get him. He rolled on top of her and tried to pin her, and keep her from attacking him. He was pissed, but realized there wasn't a bone in his body that wanted to hurt her. Too late, because she was really trying to kill him, now. She sank her teeth into his arm. Rayner roared and fell to the side. Jeneva was on her feet. She took a swipe into his back. The gash bled heavily onto the floor.

  Jaime came in to see his sister trying to end Rayner, and doing a good job trying. Rayner was obviously holding back, but Jeneva didn't notice, or didn't care. She snapped at Rayner's face and Rayner merely batted her
away before she got him in a death grip. Rayner was losing this battle. He wouldn't be able to fend her off forever.

  Jaime shifted, turning into a large Bear. He barreled Jeneva over and grabbed her by the nape of the neck. Jeneva couldn't move towards Rayner, or get Jaime off of her. Rayner took the opportunity to shift out of Bear form. He fell to his knees painfully. Tommy went to help him up, but Rayner pushed him away. He limped out of the bar, leaving spots of blood on the floor.

  Jeneva roared and struggled to go after him. Why was everyone helping him to get away? Didn't they hear what he called her, how he'd talked to her? Didn't they care? They should be trying to tear his face off, too. Instead, everyone was now looking at her with worried, tense faces. Jaime kept her by the scruff of the neck until he heard Rayner's truck driving away. Then he released her.