Bearly Saved My Heart: Quake Lake Bears (Madison Range Shifters Book 1)

by Margery Ellen

  “Man, it’s a small world. Alright, let’s get to work.” Charles needed to break the somber mood. “Bradley, Donald, let’s get to work.” Charles explained to them how to concentrate and search for their inner animal. Luke stayed and helped until he had to leave for a meeting. It didn’t take long before they had a cougar and a black bear sitting in the conference room. Charles wasn’t surprised that Bradley was a bear, he was a big guy. They already knew Donald would be a cougar.

  They practiced for a couple of hours until it was time for lunch. Luke arranged for lunch to be brought into one of the conference rooms and got everyone together. While they ate lunch, Charles and Jackie explained about clothes, healing, poachers and hunting season. How they needed to keep their shifting a secret.

  Luke explained that law enforcement was slowly being briefed on shifters and shifting, but they still needed to keep it under wraps.

  “If you go around telling people you can turn into an animal, you’ll either get admitted to a psych ward or end up back where we found you, prisoners of those black-market dealers.” That made everyone turn pale a bit. It was the best way to make them realize how serious this situation was. After lunch they practiced some more until about three o’clock. Charles finally told everyone to relax. Go take a swim in the pool, have some fun.

  Jackie had made a quick trip, at the end of lunch, to the local Walmart and bought a generic bathing suit for each girl and a set of sweats and underwear so the girls didn’t have to wear the jumpsuits from the jail. They could get their own bra’s when they got home. She was tired of them all looking like a jailhouse work crew. They would all be going home after one more day of training. She also picked up some swim trunks for the boys.

  Franny and Beth both had their own clothes. After Franny’s parents came to visit, Beth gave Fanny’s mom the key to her room in a local boarding house and had her picked up some of her things.

  ****

  Luke and his men spent all afternoon going through the warehouse from top to bottom. It was disgusting. The women had been kept naked and in filth. There were no bathrooms and they were apparently hosed down every morning.

  Unfortunately, they found several bodies buried outside the warehouse in the woods, in shallow graves. Four girls and the one boy. The smell was attracting wild animals. Cane shifted and searched the whole area. That was all he found. They made arrangements for the remains to be taken to the city morgue.

  During the interviews, the girls had told Luke that several girls disappeared. They didn’t know what had happened to them. Luke made sure they would never know the truth. Several of the bodies showed signs of extreme abuse, beatings and torture.

  Later that day, while the younger generation was enjoying the pool, Luke was having a meeting with his men and Charles. He filled Charles in on everything they found. Something was bothering Charles and he kept pacing.

  “What is it Charles. What’s got your panties in a bunch.” Luke asked and everybody laughed.

  Charles stopped and scratched his head. Everyone looked his way. “I’ll tell what has a lot more than my panties in a bunch. Now hear me out. Most of these kids had no idea they were shifters or even what a shifter was. Right?” Everyone agreed.

  “They didn’t know anything about shifters, didn’t know they were shifters, and they didn’t know how to shift.” Charles paused and then yelled. “SO HOW IN THE FUCKING HELL DID THESE SICK FUCKERS KNOW THEY WERE SHIFTERS?” It was suddenly so quiet; you could have heard a pin drop on a carpet.

  *****

  Luke was stunned, he didn’t know what to say. “My god, Charles, you’re right. How could they have known?” Luke looked at his men. “All right everyone. Up to now we have used our brawn, now we need to use our brains. Start kicking around some ideas because personally, I don’t have a clue where to start.

  “First, you need to interrogate those men you took into custody.” Charles told him. “They have to know something.”

  “Galen and Cane, after the meeting, head over to the jail and see what you can find out, if anything. We’ll go through all the paperwork we found at the warehouse, see if there are any clues there.”

  They pulled out everything they found in the office at the warehouse. Every note, every sheet of paper was laid out on the conference table.

  Agent Harrison spoke up. “Luke, what if they knew the families, or at least the genealogy? We need to find out what all the women have in common, or what their families have in common.”

  Charles spoke up. “Jackie’s parents were killed together. Donald’s father died in Iraq, after which, his mother disappeared, which isn’t surprising. Anybody else?”

  Harrison spoke up again. “I think I heard someone say Beth had been adopted and Franny’s father was killed, don’t know the particulars though.” Pieces of a puzzle were forming.

  “All right. After dinner, I want them all in the conference room. We’ll start throwing questions out there and see how many of the same answers we get back. Harrison, since you brought this up, I’ll let you handle the questions. It’s after five. Get something to eat and I will see all of you in the conference room at seven. Good work, Harrison.” Luke patted his man on the shoulder.

  They all headed out to get something to eat and prepare for a very long night.

  Chapter 21

  Charles went looking for Jackie. The pool was empty, so everyone must have gone to get dressed for dinner. He headed for their room. He was just about to open the door when she opened it for him.

  “Hey, sweetheart, I was looking for you. Is everything alright?” He asked as he pulled her into his arms and closed the door behind him.

  “It is now. I missed you.” She pulled up his t-shirt so she could run her hands over his skin. “I needed to touch you. I was beginning to think this was all a dream or a nightmare, I didn’t know which. Now that you are here, I feel much better.” She looked up at him. “I love you.” She was wearing nothing but a robe.

  “Mmm, and I love you. I can’t even start to tell you how much.” He picked her up so she could wrap her long legs around his waist. He turned around and held her against the door as her robe fell open. He reached down to unbutton and unzip his pants. His cock was hard and could no longer be contained in his pants. He freed his cock from his pants and guided it into her wet pussy. They both moaned as he adjusted his stance so he could go deeper. She put her arms around his neck and he grabbed her ass; he spun around and headed for the bed. He sat on the bed and fell back. She rode him, raising herself up and down on his stiff shaft. He held her hips so he could meet her with equal force.

  “My god, you feel so good, baby.” He finally turned them over so he could bring it home; he was so ready and so was she. He pounded her until they both started to go. “Now baby, go with me, now.” He felt her go and she tried not to scream, she dug her nails into his back. She screamed his name as he groaned, trying to hold the roar that he wanted to release so badly. It seemed like it would never stop as they climaxed together, it went on and on. Finally; it lessened and he started to relax.

  Both breathless, he flopped down beside her. “My god, how have I lived without you all these years?”

  Catching her breath, “I don’t know. What I do know is you’ll never live without me from this day forward.” She laughed, still trying to control her breathing. “My god that was good.”

  It was his turn to laugh. “Do you think anyone heard us?” They both laughed. “We need to take a shower. We have a meeting at seven and we haven’t even eaten yet. We don’t have much time. I wonder if Luke would get mad if we ordered dinner and took it to the meeting?”

  “What’s he going to do, kick us out of the meeting? Come on, get your pants off and join me in the shower.”

  He watched her ass as she threw off the robe and went into the bathroom. Charles looked down at himself and laughed. He was already getting hard again. He heard her turn on the shower. He dropped his jeans and went to join her. She was already lathered
in suds as he stepped into the shower and reached around her. He rubbed his cock against the crack of her ass. “God, what I could do to you right now.” He ran his soapy hands up to her breasts and all over her body.

  She leaned into him and put her head back against his shoulder. “Can we miss the meeting?”

  He let out a long breath. “No, we better not. It’s a very important meeting. Rinse off, sweetheart, we better get moving.” He waited for her to rinse off and step out of the shower so he could rinse himself off. He turned the shower to as cold as it would go. He let the cold water run over him to cool his desires. He finally turned off the water and stepped out to dry off.

  “Hey, babe. Can I ask you something? If it upsets you, I’m sorry, but I have to ask.” He walked out into the room. She gave him a funny look and nodded her head. “How did your parents die?”

  “A car accident. They were returning from a military base where my father worked. They only had one car, so on Tuesdays and Fridays my mom would drop him off and pick him up so she could use the car to shop and run errands. My aunt said they were on their way home when a semi ran a red light and hit them. I was usually with her, but that day she let me stay with a neighbor because I was playing with their kids.” She sat on the bed and twisted her towel in her hands and stared at the floor. He went over and sat beside her.

  “I didn’t know he was a military man.”

  “He wasn’t. He was a civilian and worked on the base. We lived in North Carolina. I came here after they died, to live my aunt and uncle, but you already know that. Why?” She got up to start getting dressed.

  “There is some kind of connection between you and all the rest of the girls that were kidnapped, the boys too. Your parents died, Beth was adopted, so something happened to her parents, Donald’s father died in Iraq and his mom disappeared, which is normal, she probably went off and died alone somewhere of a broken heart. Franny’s father died. What happened to him, do you know?” Jackie shook her head. “Well, we’ll find out at the meeting. We need to figure out what the connection is, then maybe we can figure out who is behind all of this.”

  Charles didn’t say anything, but he had a feeling there was a military connection. It had to be connected to Special Forces somehow. Luke wasn’t going to like that. Someone knew about military shifters and which ones had kids. Were they killing the parents so they could get to the kids? There were five shifters killed in Iraq. Charles had a sickening feeling that four more of those kids were related to the men in that sniper attack.

  “Charles? Are you okay?” He looked up at her. “You were a million miles away.”

  “Sorry. Let’s get this show on the road. I have a feeling tonight is going to shock a whole lot of people and they’re not going to like it.”

  They had forty minutes before the meeting to get something to eat or they would have to eat late, after the meeting. As they came out of their room, Cane and Beth were coming out of a room.

  “Have you guys eaten yet?” Charles asked. “If you haven’t, you may as well join us, we haven’t either. We can all be fashionably late for the meeting.”

  “Thanks Charles.” Cane said. “Beth and I didn’t realize the time.”

  “No problem, we didn’t either, we were kinda busy. We’ve only been mates for what, three days?” He looked to Jackie for conformation.

  Jackie thought for a minute, “Ah, we’ve know each other for ten days, but have been mates for four days actually, I think. It’s been rather hectic.”

  “Really. You guys are new mates? I’d never have guessed.” Cane answered.

  “That’s why we’re here. Jackie was sold five weeks ago, but my brother and I found her before it was too late. We came here to find out who her uncle sold her to, but he was killed before we got here.” Charles told Cane as they walked to the restaurant. “Never thought I’d ever meet my mate, especially like this.”

  Cane laughed as he hugged Beth. “You and me, both.” Beth looked up at Cane and had nothing but love in her eyes.

  They passed Luke on their way to the restaurant. “Don’t be late for the meeting,” was all he said.

  They got to the restaurant and sat down. Charles told the waitress they were in a rush and would like to order right away. They all ordered burgers and fries except Jackie, she was craving a chef salad.

  “You better make it all to go. We’re going to be late for a meeting.” Charles told the waitress. “So Cane, you were there this afternoon, did you make any connections as to what is going on here?”

  “You mean the possibility there’s a military connection? Yeah, I did. I haven’t told Luke yet, but Beth’s father was one of the five. She was adopted by family friends, but they didn’t know her father was a shifter.”

  “Shit, I was afraid of that. Jackie and I were trying to make the connection. Her father wasn’t military, but he worked on a base. Both her parents were killed when a semi broadsided them. I hate to say this, but I think whoever is behind these abductions might be ex-military with a grudge.” Cane agreed.

  The waitress brought their food and they headed back to the conference room. When they got back, Charles and Cane went to talk to Luke and Harrison. Harrison was going to be asking the questions. Charles and Cane knew that what they told him would give him a starting point and save a lot of time.

  Luke was the commander of the Special Force members that were killed in Iraq. He was the only one here that was a member of that team. The closest person he knew that was with him in Iraq was his friend in California, Jeremy Long.

  “I have to make a phone call, go ahead and start the meeting. I’ll be back shortly.” Luke went outside to make a call. He needed to call Jeremy.

  Chapter 22

  Jeremy Long’s phone rang. He and his mate Andrea were just finishing their dinner.

  “Hey, Luke. How are you; where are you?”

  “I’ve been better and I’m in Bend, Oregon. Listen, I don’t have a lot of time. I’m working on a case and it involves family members of the Iraq Five. Can you think of anyone that would have a grudge against the squad; maybe someone that wasn’t a shifter or maybe flunked out of the unit?”

  “Not right off hand. That’s an odd question to ask, Luke.” Jeremy told him.

  “Well, if you think of anything, anything at all, give me a call. Oh, by the way. Charles McCormick is here with me. His mate is one of the victims in the case; so is DJ Smitherson’s kid.”

  “What the hell? What’s going on Luke?”

  “I don’t know. I have to go, call me if you think of anything.” Luke hung up and went back to the meeting.

  By the time Luke returned, Harrison had two more family connections accounted for. That was four out of the five.

  *****

  Jeremy Long sat staring at his phone. Smitherson’s name kept going through his head. His mate, Andrea, asked him if everything was alright.

  “That was the strangest call. It was Luke. He is working on a case in Oregon and Mack’s brother Charles is with him. Charles found his mate. Did you hear anything about that from Peg?”

  Andrea just shook her head. “Maybe it just happened, what did he say?”

  “That Charles mate was one of the victims in the case he was working on and so is the son of my best friend that was killed in Iraq. Sweetheart, I’ll be in the office for a while. I need to go through some old records.” He pulled her to him and kissed her pregnant belly, he got up and gave her a hug and a kiss. “I love you.”

  “I love you too. Let me know if you need anything.” She kissed him back and let him go.

  Jeremy went in his office and pulled out some file boxes from the closet. Something was eating at him. He remembered something that happened on base after his troop came back from their first deployment. One of the soldiers found out about the special unit made up of shifters. He would sneak around outside the barracks hoping to witness one of the men shift and one night he got lucky. It was Smitherson that was caught unawares. After that, the so
ldier called them all freaks. The soldier created a lot of problems. He complained to his father who was a General. He wanted the freaks kicked out of the military, they didn’t belong there.

  The Special unit was protected as top secret and the Generals hands were tied, he couldn’t use his rank as leverage. It was during their second deployment that the five special unit members were killed as well as the sniper. Jeremy finally found the file he was looking for. A newspaper article, the headline read “Gen Blackburn retires after son is killed by friendly fire in Iraq”.

  Jeremy pulled out his phone, snapped a picture of the article, and called Luke.

  They were still in the meeting when Luke’s phone buzzed. Luke answered. “Jeremy, did you think of something?” Everyone stopped to listen to Luke.

  “Have you caught any of the perps?”

  “We arrested eight men, but they aren’t the ring leaders or the man in charge. Why? What have you got?”

  “I gather they have been interrogated. What are they calling the victims?”

  “What do you mean, what are they calling them?” Luke was confused.

  “What do the perps call them when they refer to the shifters?”

  Jackie walked up to Luke, she could hear Jeremy. She put her hand on Luke’s arm. “Could you put your phone on speaker, please. Who is it on the phone?” she asked quietly but loud enough for Jeremy to hear her.

  “It’s Jeremy Long, my best friend and a life-long friend of Charles. He was with me in Iraq.” He put his phone on speaker.

  “Jeremy, are you there? My name is Jackie and Charles is my mate.”

  “Hello Jackie, it’s a pleasure to talk to you. What can I do for you?” Jeremy was puzzled. Andrea heard him talking and came into his office. Jeremy put his phone on speaker as well, but put his finger to his lips for her not to say anything.

  “Would you please repeat the last question you asked Luke regarding the perps.” She asked.

  “Sure Jackie, I said ‘what do the perps call the shifters.”