Naughty But Nice: A Bear Shifter Christmas Romance
Page 22
“Everybody hold on!” I yelled.
The others began to scream and panic as well. The van seemed like it would never stop spinning and I was just waiting for it to begin to flip and roll off the side of the road down some heavy embankment. We were really going over. I was afraid for everyone else.
Then the van left the road and the nightmare really began.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Tyler
The van was stopped.
It finally came to a rest at the bottom of the large ditch on the side of the road, just above where the edge actually gave way to nothing but a sheet of icy rock that went down several hundred feet to a big ravine. We were lucky as hell, but the van might still slide over. We had to move fast.
“Ok, we have to go. Everyone out the back doors. Go! Move it!”
I didn’t have time to be kind or friendly. Time was of the essence and I had to be the boss here, or else we were all going to go over the side of the cliff.
Drake and Cam got the doors in the back hatch opened up and laid the back seat down all the way. I couldn’t believe we had so many people piled in this van, but everyone was too scared to stay behind, and they all wanted to see how Jackie was doing and make sure she was alright. But I was sure it was mostly the fear. The bear had actually come into a cabin and attacked the poor girl. No one was safe until this thing was killed. I knew that. I had to find it, bait it, get it to meet me on equal footing. But whoever it was had decided that playing with me was the most fun ever, and now it had escalated to torturing my friends. I wondered what they had up next for me in their little bag of tricks. The fucker.
Cameron and Drake began to help everyone else get out of the back of the car, starting with my grandmother. One by one we each got out safely. I carried Jackie over my shoulder and followed Angie out as the last one to leave the van. I laid Jackie down on a bed of coats and then we surveyed the scene. The van wasn’t actually damaged in anyway, but it was not going to drive out of that steep ditch it was stuck in, that was for sure.
“You got any ideas?” Angie asked.
“Sure,” I said. “It will be ok. I’ll get us out of this.”
“What’s the plan?” Drake asked.
I looked at him and noticed that everyone else was staring at me as well. The snow was falling like crazy and the already cold temperature was now dropping. We were all freezing and we’d only been out there for about two minutes. Jackie for sure was going to freeze to death soon if she had to stay out here much longer.
“Can we call the lodge? Surely, one of your employees will pick up,” Angie’s dad said.
I took his recommendation into consideration. “Yeah, but I think it will be too slow. By the time they get here, and then we load up, and head to the hospital. Hell, by that time the road might not even be passable anymore. I’ve got a better idea. Drake get behind the wheel and start the engine.”
“What? There is no way this thing is going to get out of here.”
“Just do it. I know what I’m doing. I need everyone else to help me push the thing. The way it’s positioned, I think we can help pull it out of here.”
I reached into the back of the van and found a bundle of rope. I then attached the rope to the bumper of the van and quickly tied it to a big tree nearby. This was more for illusion than for any other reason.
“This is never going to work,” Drake said.
“Just trust me. It’s our best shot. Now, get behind the wheel. It’s fine.”
Drake got behind the wheel as I told him, but I could tell he thought I was crazy.
“Now, everyone else get alongside the van and push when I tell you to. I am going to push from back here. I think the way the van is teetering over these sharp rocks we can somehow create enough force to get this thing rolling.”
They were all looking at me like I was crazy, but they went along with it anyway. I was amazed at my powers of persuasion. Mostly, I just needed them all to focus on something and to not be looking at me.
“Ok, Drake start the van.”
Drake started the engine and the van roared to life.
“Alright,” I said. “Let’s go!”
Everyone, except my grandmother of course, started to push the van. Angie was beside me and she gave me the clear that no one could really see me. She could see exactly where I was going with this, and she had filled in all the pieces.
I went deeper into myself and took a deep breath. When I let that breath out slowly, that sweet bear strength erupted in me and I pushed as hard as I could against the back of the van, while simultaneously gripping under the bumper. I lifted the van up a few feet and then pushed it forward until the tires were touching the road. The van then lurched forward out of our grasps and to everyone’s shock and awe the van was now once again on the road.
“Yes!” Cameron screamed. “Fuckin A! How the hell! Whoo!”
He slapped Angie’s dad a big high five and they both gave each other a hug. Heather and Lori shared a hug and a little mini cheer. I held Angie close to me, so glad that we’d accomplished all of that so quickly. Jackie was still losing blood and getting colder by the minute. We had to get her out of there right now.
We quickly got back in the van and I hopped behind the wheel. Then I drove off slowly towards the hospital. We would make it now. Jackie was still conscious, but just barely. She needed real help. She was curled up in a ball and starting to hyperventilate while Angie worked with her. She was going into shock.
“Dude, I can’t believe that worked,” Drake said slapping me on the shoulder. Then he sat down beside Jackie and held her hand. “Just calm down. Think about happy thoughts. You are going to be ok. You’re like the strongest person I know.”
I could tell that Drake had a bit of a thing for Jackie. He cared for her and I remember that in school, he’d always thought the world of her. He thought she was the most beautiful, most fun, sweetest girl he’d ever known, even though she treated him like dog shit fairly regularly. But he had forgiven her apparently, and when the two of them were together, I had to admit that there was quite a bit of magic there between them.
We arrived at the hospital and Angie went inside to tell them about Jackie. A moment later a stretcher and two orderlies helped to get Jackie out of the van and they escorted her inside. They wheeled her past everything and took her back immediately. She was going into shock and her color did not look good at all. Her life force was fading. I could feel it.
Shit. What if this ended up being all for not? There was nothing to do now but wait.
Angie rested her head against my chest and began to cry a bit. I knew she hated for anyone to see her cry. It was too weak and she was a tough woman, but she was letting it go right now. She was my angel, and I was trying to be her rock. I wished I could do something right then, but I felt a bit helpless. The doctors were doing everything they could for her.
All we could do now was wait.
I kissed Angie softly and I let her lean on me. That was all she needed. That was all I had at the moment to give her.
About an hour later, a doctor came out to the waiting room to tell us the news. We all stirred up from our chairs and waited to hear what he found out.
“Well, she lost a bit of blood, but by the time she got here, the bleeding had already subsided for the most part. We gave her some more blood, and we treated her for shock, but she seems to be doing much better. She is barely even in pain anymore, which is quite miraculous. I’m glad you brought her in, but her injuries were not nearly as bad as the could have been.”
We all breathed a sigh of relief and hugs went around. I held Angie tightly and kissed her. “I told you everything would be fine. Jackie’s tough.”
I said these words, but deep down, I knew. I’d seen the size of the gash when the attack had just happened. I worried that Jackie might have lost the leg. It was that severe. It was one of the worst injuries that I’ve ever seen. And now the doctor was saying it wasn’t that bad about an hour
later. That was not a good sign…
It was great that Jackie was alive, but I had a very strong feeling that she was now one of us. Her life would never be the same. I was going to have to be the one to explain all of this to her. Angie would help I was sure, but even then Jackie would have trouble accepting it and believing it until she no longer could, and by that time it could be too late to get a strong handle on it.
I told Angie all of this after everyone else had left the hospital. They were all going to stay in a local hotel. My treat. I insisted on paying for everyone. We agreed to stay behind to be near Jackie, just in case there were any complications or anything unexpected happening. But I knew that there wouldn’t be. She was fine. She was becoming a supernatural being.
“Are you sure?” Angie asked.
“I’m almost positive. I saw that gash. It was terrible. She started to heal almost immediately, but she was so frantic and the blood was so much that it was hard to tell. But now, the doctor just confirmed it. She is healing at an exponential rate. She is a shifter, now. There is no doubt in my mind.”
“We have to tell her.”
“Not yet. This isn’t the time or the place. We will do it tomorrow, when she is cleared to be released. Then we will try to get her to explain.”
“So, any idea who this other shifter is?” Angie asked.
“Not a clue,” I replied.
“How are we going to find them?”
“We have to find a way to make them come to us,” I said. “I’m working on a plan.”
“What plan?”
“Well, since Jackie is freshly infected by this thing, I think it will stay around closely.”
“Why?”
“Some bears like to make sure their legacy is being taken care of. In the state that Jackie is in right now, she is very fragile. Her mind and her moods are going to be all over the place. She might do something that might force a person to shoot her in self-defense, or she might do reveal to everyone that she is a bear. Those are not in this other shifter’s self-interest. She needs to be monitored, if the bear cares about its legacy at all.”
“Why would it care?”
“The way this attack happened. I don’t think the bear wanted to kill Jackie. I think it was doing this just to send a message. If it wanted to kill her, then it wouldn’t have started with the leg.”
“Ok, so you think it will reveal itself inadvertently?” she asked.
“I do. We just have to hang around and wait. Then I will strike the fucking thing down.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Angie
I closed the toilet stall door behind me and leaned against it for a moment. I was so drained. It had been a long day. Hell, it had been a crazy long week. I was so worried about Jackie, but at least she was going to be alright, or at least she would be except for the fact that she was turning into a bear shifter now. That was going to ruin her month, but she could deal with that later. I would have to help her come to grips with it. At least Tyler was there with her. She had no idea how lucky she was to have him as a friend.
I felt a bit naked sitting there in the bathroom by myself, but I knew that Tyler was just outside. He was afraid for me to go anywhere by myself with this bear on the loose. It was really difficult to say who it might attack next. If it had a problem with Tyler, then why not go to him directly. Was it just having too much torturing Tyler by hurting his friends instead?
I undid my pants and sat down on the toilet. I’d had to piss for about an hour, but with everything going on I kept forgetting. Suddenly, it felt like my bladder was about to burst and I had to get this done and take care of some business.
I took a few deep breaths as I finished up. I was just about to head to the sink to wash up when I heard something strange. At first it sounded like an odd groan. It was coming from somewhere… what in the hell…?
The noise was growing louder. It started off as a soft moan, almost sexual sounding, and then it got a bit louder, and a bit louder… and now I realized that it was actually more of a growl.
The atmosphere around me then was suddenly thick, and the lighting in the room seemed to be dimming. I saw shadows appearing on the ceiling that weren’t there a minute ago. What was happening? I was suddenly very scared.
I pulled my pants up, I quietly closed the lid, and I hopped up on the toilet seat. I crouched down and waited. My heart was thudding in my chest, pounding in my temples, and my knees were growing weaker by the moment. I wasn’t sure how long I could stay here and keep absolutely still and quiet.
I remembered my phone. It was in my pocket. I reached for it and began to text Tyler. I needed his help. The growling was growing louder and now I could hear the footsteps coming closer, scraping across the tile floor. It was almost there. I was in so much trouble. I was trapped. The beast was here. It was going to rip me to pieces. Dammit. I wished Tyler was here. I wanted to scream, but I was afraid that by the time the noise left my throat the bear would pounce on me and destroy me.
I quietly began to text a message to Tyler. I needed help and I needed help right now.
I was almost done with the message when the door on the stall rattled violently. I gasped and my hand involuntarily flexed which dropped my phone to the floor. It bounced and skidded across the floor underneath the door to the other side. My lifeline was gone now. I was a sitting duck. What the fuck? Shit!
I heard someone picking up the phone. I could see their shadow right in front of the door. They were on the other side. They were there. The breathing was loud and a bit labored it seemed. The beast was there and it was hungry. I was done for. I was beginning to make peace with the fact that I might not get out of this alive.
“That is a shame,” the voice on the other side said. It was a woman’s voice. I thought I recognized it, but I wasn’t so sure. “And it’s a bit rude, calling someone else to get in on this party, especially when that someone else is already spoken for.”
What? What was she talking about?
The door slammed open right then.
Standing there before me was a pretty girl about my age. She was maybe five feet three, blonde, bright blue eyes, but her mouth was open slightly revealing long, sharp teeth. And her blue eyes were beginning to turn redder by the moment. Her mouth was twisted in an evil smile as she stood there leaning against the door frame.
I thought I recognized her, but I wasn’t sure where I could place her.
“What’s the matter? You don’t recognize me?” she asked.
“I… I don’t…”
“That’s not exactly a surprise. You always thought you were so much better than me. You and your little bitch friends always acting like you ruled the world because you were fucking cheerleaders and you wasted your time with the likes of Oren.”
“Who are you?”
“Tobi. Daniels. Tobi Daniels. I was rather invisible at that damn school, so it isn’t any surprise to me that you don’t remember me. Hell, Tyler barely would. But we were on the same wavelength, whether he realized it or not.”
It all came back to me then. Tobi Daniels… She’d changed so much. In school, she was so different. She wore big, thick glasses, had bad acne, and was about forty pounds overweight. She also dressed in hand me down rags, and she was as socially awkward as could be.
But now, she was beautiful, confident, and apparently evil and a bear shifter. She was the one. She was the person who had been stalking Tyler. But why?
“Why are you doing this? Why me? I haven’t done anything to you.”
She laughed. “Wow, you really don’t see it. Well, thinking was never your strong suit. Listen, you stupid bitch. Tyler belongs to me. He always has. I’ve loved him since high school, since the first time I met him. You only loved him since he became a stud. I thought that finally, after all this time, I could reveal myself to him when I heard he was back in town, and I could actually show him who I was and how he had made a mistake back in school turning me down when I asked him to the danc
e. He just needed time to mature and realize who he really wanted. He wants me. He belongs with me. He needs me. And I need him.”
“So, this is all about some silly crush?” I asked.
She stepped forward, her voice seething with anger. “Watch your mouth! Or I’ll rip it from your face.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. I had to buy some time and keep her off kilter. I needed to make sure that she didn’t freak out too much, or I was as good as dead. If I bought enough time, then maybe Tyler would just come looking for me. He would be concerned. I needed him right now, more than ever.
“So, I set everything up. I’ve worked hard the last few years, clearing up my skin, losing the weight, and then when I became a bear shifter, the eyesight just kind of cleared up by itself. How did I become a shifter? Good of you to ask. I was in a car accident and almost died. Hit by a drunk driver. They had to give me a blood transfusion to save my life and it turned out the donor was a bear. That’s the only way I can figure it. Right after that, I started going through some weird changes. And it was around that time that I realized my life is so short. I needed to get on the ball about getting my life together. I sat down, I wrote out what I wanted, and then started to put my plan into action.”
“Listen, I am not your enemy,” I said.
“Don’t interrupt me; I’m just getting to the best part,” she said. “And then I found out that Tyler was back in town, so I went to see him. And then I saw you leaving his house. And I could smell the sex on the two of you. I knew that you were taking the man that belonged to me. And I wasn’t about to let that fucking happen bitch!”
“Then why did you kill Oren? Brad?” I asked.
She laughed. “I was hoping to make you go away. I could have just killed you, but that would have hurt Tyler a bit too much. He would have probably just shut himself away for a bit and gone back into hiding like he did before. Couldn’t say I really blamed him. This town has never been very good to him, nor to me. But, if you left him because you couldn’t handle all of this crazy shit going on, then he would be sad, but in need of comfort. And I would suddenly show up to provide that comfort. Soon, he would forget all about your stupid ass and be with me. Besides, both Brad and Oren were horrible people who did awful things to me back in the day. Oren bullied me, and Brad came onto me once. The guy was disgusting. I was sixteen. I guess he thought that I was desperate enough I would never say no. And then when I did say no, he threatened me and said he’d have me expelled for selling drugs. He would plant them on me. I wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not. I wasn’t going to say anything, because I didn’t think anyone would actually believe me anyway.”