Lured by the Bear (The Alaska Shifters Book 1)

by Ashlee Sinn

  She never answered Zane. “Please,” she said with a slight foreign accent, “put on your robes and meet me on the beach in five minutes.” With that, she turned and marched over to the area where all of the cameras were being set up.

  “Major, who is she?” Seth asked, also falling under the spell of the mysterious ISC representative.

  “She’s someone you don’t even want to think about,” he replied cryptically. “So seriously, are you all ready for this?”

  “Where are the others?” Julia asked.

  And just as she did, I noticed the brothers and their mates, along with several other members of the clan and pack pulling off the road and struggling to find a parking spot. As I watched, Julia’s phone beeped with a message and she quickly took it out of her pocket and left my side. I heard her make a call and tried not to listen in.

  “We should go get changed,” Major said.

  “Where?” Zane asked, looking around with wide eyes and a little panic etched onto his face.

  “The bar.” Major jerked his chin toward the back door, and we all followed him.

  Julia ran up to me just as we reached the building and linked her arm with mine. “My friend’s supposed to be here to tweet and post during the reveal, but she got lost.”

  “Got lost?” I asked with a smile. “There’s only one road down onto the spit.”

  Julia rolled her eyes. “I know. That’s what I told her.” She looked over her shoulder with a sigh. “Hopefully she’ll be here soon.”

  “Does she know what’s going to happen?”

  “No, and she doesn’t know about me. Not yet, anyway.”

  “What do you think she’ll say?” I asked, holding the door open for Julia.

  “Oh, she’ll probably love it. She’s a fan of fantasy and comic books. She’ll think it’s the coolest thing in the world.”

  If only everyone would react that way. While I thought some would be in awe, I knew there would be haters out there too. And probably some who would want to kill us on sight. Those were the ones that had my stomach doing flips and my bear on the edge of my skin right now.

  But I didn’t have much more time to think about it anymore. A few minutes after we were all in our white robes, Danika came into the bar and forced us outside. The crowd had tripled in size but Danika, or someone, had set up a path for us that finagled through the humans and fellow shifters waiting for the big announcement.

  “You line up here,” Danika said, pointing to a line literally drawn in the sand. “I will stand there and move to the side as I announce each of you.”

  “Wait, you’re announcing us?” Zane asked.

  “Yes,” Danika said with a clipped tone.

  “One by one?”

  “Yes.”

  “Shit.”

  Zane’s sentiment echoed through my mind. Nothing like stripping in front of a bunch of frightened humans and shifting into a grizzly to get the nerves firing. And the humans were frightened, or at least a little curious. Before them stood five people dressed only in robes with the knowledge that they needed to hear some kind of announcement that was “important to their human civilization”.

  Brandt broke through the crowd and slapped me on the shoulder while making eye contact with everyone else. “Thank you for doing this,” he said low enough for just us to hear. “We’re ready in case anything goes wrong.”

  I followed his gaze to see members from our clan, the wolf pack, and a few of the coyotes lining the edges of the crowd. The ISC had made sure no firearms were in the immediate area, but I was sure there would be a few tucked away in the trucks nearby. However, anyone wanting to harm us would have to go through a pretty powerful frontline of hidden shifters first. I felt a little bit better seeing them here.

  Danika clapped her hands and gently shoved Brandt back into the crowd. She must be old, and powerful, to feel comfortable enough to shove a grizzly clan leader. “It’s time.”

  A teenage boy, the one following her around earlier, ran up to her side and gave her a microphone. Then she waved her hand, signaling the reporters that she was ready. Someone counted backward from three and gave Danika the signal to begin.

  “Hello, citizens. I represent an organization called the International Shifter Coalition and am here today with a very important announcement.”

  The crowd was so silent, only the crashing waves and occasional gull passing overhead competed for attention. Even the reporters themselves had their eyes glued to the mysterious woman in black who’d captivated their minds from the moment she’d opened her mouth. I grabbed Julia’s hand, not so much for her, but for me and my assurance that we would get through this together.

  “For countless centuries we have coexisted,” Danika continued. “For years we have hidden what we are in fear that you wouldn’t be able to accept our differences.” Sweeping her hand at us and looking directly into the camera, Danika paused for dramatic effect. “But our world has changed. We live in a time when communication and global connection are available to all. Where phones are our cameras, our recorders, and our way to connect to the world around us. We accept all races, creeds, and colors. We live as one. And therefore, the ISC has decided that it is time to let you know who we truly are.”

  “Here we go,” Zane muttered on the other side of Julia. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her squeeze his hand. But I was way too nervous to care.

  “Major?” Danika was ready for us to perform and Major was up first.

  He took a deep breath and then dropped his robe. The crowd murmured their shock at his nudity, a few of them whistling lightly. As though putting on a show, Major stepped forward into the space between us and the cameras and winked at the audience. The women up front loved that and my nose instantly filled with the scent of their excitement.

  Major looked at Danika and waited for her nod. When she gave her approval, he met my eyes, grinned, and then let the magnificent white tiger explode from his skin. A variety of responses flitted through the gathered crowd. And when Major opened his mouth and roared, the humans pushed back to give him more space.

  He made a few small loops inside the cleared area, allowing some of the braver onlookers to rub their hands over his fur. The women who’d been admiring his naked body now had another unreadable look on their faces that made me fear for Major’s safety. Coming back into our line and sitting down, Major stayed in his tiger form as Danika nodded to Zane.

  Stepping forward, Zane repeated a similar show. Only this time, when he dropped his robe, he played the crowd for all it was worth. Zane took a lap of his own, as a human, giving the women a full view of what he had to offer in his human form. And when he showed his grizzly, he stood on his hind legs like a circus performer and somehow made himself look like a pet instead of a deadly predator.

  Julia was next, but she didn’t respond to Danika right away. As the only female here today, I wondered how she felt about all of these men staring at her in a way that only I should. So, ignoring Danika’s glares, I walked ahead with Julia and told her we would do this together. As quickly as possible, we took off our robes and shifted into our bears before the fabric even hit the ground. And we didn’t take a victory lap either. Instead, I nestled up beside Julia’s light brown grizzly and showed the world that she was mine.

  Throughout the crowd, the whispers were getting louder. And in animal form, we could hear them all. Some were wondering how they hadn’t known about this already. Others worried they may have killed one of us when they went hunting. But there were a few already plotting how they would rid the world of these abominations. I flashed my teeth in their direction and reveled in the smell of fear wafting off them.

  Danika snapped her fingers at me. I whipped my head around to give her a look, but our stare-off ended in a draw when Seth took center stage in order to redirect her attention. Like Zane, Seth toyed to his audience in a way I didn’t know he was capable of. He’d always been so quiet and stoic—I had no idea he even knew how to smile. But th
e ladies played into his hands like putty, waiting to see what the giant man would turn into. His black wolf stunned most of the onlookers, his fur so dark and silky even I found his animal form beautiful. And not only did he let the women touch his back, he licked their faces like a dog trained to please its owner.

  And the audience was ours.

  Danika sensed this and used the moment to finish her speech. “As you can see, we may be different, but we are also very much the same. We are human first, animal second. We work by your side, send our children to your schools, and live in peace among you.” With a dramatic flair, she waved her hand at us again. “These citizens are your citizens. They are your coworkers and friends.” Turning back to the cameras, she smiled. “The ISC thanks you for your support. At this time, we will be available for questions.”

  A flurry of shouts and hollers erupted from the crowd, but the ISC security held them back. Danika walked over to the line of us and lifted the corner of her mouth in what I expected was the best she could do for a smile. “Please change back. I have arranged several individual interviews for each of you.”

  My bear didn’t want to go away. He felt threatened and didn’t like the way the humans were staring at him now. But once Julia dropped to the ground and grabbed her robe, I forced my bear back down inside so that I could talk to her.

  “Well, we did it,” she said.

  “Yeah.”

  “I feel like I’m in a dream,” she whispered.

  “You two,” Danika interrupted. “You need to separate so we can spread out the interviews.”

  “I don’t—”

  “It’s okay,” Julia interrupted me. “I’ll be fine.” With those words, she wrapped her arms around my waist and kissed me. Not a kiss that I would normally do in public, but a kiss that claimed me and let all of those watching know that we were a couple. I held onto her tightly, not wanting to let go. Ever.

  “We’ll be fine,” she said against my lips.

  “I just want to protect you,” I breathed.

  “And you always will.” She pulled away, ignoring Danika’s nasty glares again and letting her helper lead her to a reporter from a major news station.

  “You’re over here,” Danika said as she grabbed my arm and yanked me to the other side of the cleared area. “Be nice to the reporters.”

  I watched her walk away, not sure what to think. So many voices were filling my head right now that it took a lot of concentration for me to block them out. A few women tried to grab my arm, but Bo and Brennan were there keeping them away. Grateful for their support, and anxious for this day to be over, I turned to the reporters and smiled.

  “Hello. My name is Derrick Ward, and I’m a grizzly shifter.”

  “Does it hurt?” “Who is that man?” “Do you eat raw meat?” “What’s it like being a grizzly?”

  I felt overwhelmed at first with the speed of the questions being thrown at me. But then I tried to remember all of my classes in communications and public speaking and envisioned myself behind a podium and ready to go. Clearing my throat, I tightened the robe and looked at the closest reporter. She was a middle-aged woman with glasses and frozen hair, but she studied me in awe and not disgust.

  “I’m sorry,” I said to her. “What was your question?”

  The woman threw a cocky smile in the direction of her competitors and refocused on me. “I asked how long have you been able to… Have you been a….”

  “Shifter?”

  The lady smiled warmly. “Yes. A shifter.”

  “I was born this way.”

  “And your parents?”

  I hoped the woman wouldn’t pry too much as I wasn’t really prepared to discuss my dysfunctional family life. “Both of them were grizzly shifters too.”

  “Were?” The reporter missed nothing.

  “They aren’t alive anymore.” I didn’t know if that were true for my mother, but I had always considered her dead in my heart.

  “I’m sorry to hear that. So tell me, Ms. Housten, how does this work?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your…bear. Inside. How much control do you have over it?”

  I tried to shove down the impending accusation I was sure was coming. “Are you asking if I’m a danger to society?”

  The woman truly looked appalled by the question, and I instantly felt bad for jumping to conclusions. “No, no. I mean I’m curious as to how it works. When do you shift? How often do you shift? How much of your human side is left when you are a grizzly?”

  And so it went. For several hours, me and the others answered question after question about our lives. My head ached, and my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. After all, who could fear a girl with a smile? On occasion, I caught glimpses of Derrick and each time I did, he was always watching me back. I loved the idea that we were so connected and still couldn’t believe that he was mine. So much had happened in the last few days, my brain was almost in shut-down mode from the overload of emotions and thoughts.

  “Yes, you can find out more at our website, ShiftersAmongUs.com,” I told an older gentleman from one of the Anchorage news stations. “The site launched today, and you can contact me through there if you have any more questions.” He gave me a curt nod at his dismissal, but I was already walking away. Just before I reached Derrick’s side, two small girls yanked on my arm and forced me to stop.

  “Are you really a bear?” the littlest one asked. They both wore long skirts, long-sleeved tops, and had their hair pulled back into tight buns. The excitement in their eyes had me smiling again.

  “Of course she is, you idiot,” the older, or at least the taller one scolded. “You saw her transform.”

  “We call it shifting,” I said with a laugh. “And yes, I am able to shift into a grizzly bear.”

  The small one looked up at me with stars in her eyes. “Wow.” Yanking on her sister’s arm, she continued. “I want to be a bear like her. No! I want to shift into a unicorn.”

  “There are no such thing as unicorns, dummy.”

  “How do you know? If there are people who can turn into animals, why can’t there be unicorns?”

  Neither her sister nor I had a good answer for that. Maybe there were unicorns out there somewhere. And I had to admit that it would be pretty freaking cool if there were.

  “Jessica! Josie! Get away from that!” A woman who had to be their mother pushed through the crowd and rushed up to her kids. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked as she forcefully yanked them back.

  “I wanted to meet the bear,” the little one said.

  Her mother glanced at me and then immediately dropped her angry glare to her child. “She is an abomination and a spawn of Satan. You never, ever talk to these people again.”

  “But she’s nice. And pretty.”

  “Thank you,” I said to the young girl a second before her mother shoved her behind her back and got in my face. I towered over her, and my bear wanted to reveal itself, but I stayed calm as the scent of hatred filled the air.

  “Stay away from my children!” Pushing them backward into the crowd, she continued her threats. “I swear to my holy God that I will kill you if you come anywhere near them again.”

  “But I—”

  “Stay away you evil thing!”

  By now, the people around us had tuned into the show. And by the looks on their faces, they weren’t quite sure what to do. Hell, I wasn’t even sure what to do.

  But then someone decided for me. From my left side, a shoulder slammed into my arm, causing me to stumble forward into the angry woman. I caught myself by grabbing onto her arms so that I didn’t knock all three of them down. She screamed out in fear before I had a chance to release my grip. The older girl fell back, being caught by a man just before landing on her tail bone.

  “Jessica!” the man cried out. Taking one quick moment to make sure his daughter was okay, I was immediately met with a glower of pure hatred. “Devil!” he pointed at me. His hand whipped out so f
ast I didn’t see it coming and even my bear reflexes were too slow. Long fingers wrapped around my neck and gripped hard enough to squeeze the air out. Too stunned to react at first, I let him push me back into the people gathered behind me. My neck throbbed and my lungs burned as the panic began to well up inside.

  And then my bear took over.

  A deep growl rumbled in my throat, sounded even more menacing while I was a human. I grabbed his arm with both of my hands and yanked down hard enough to break his grip. With skin rippling from my bear underneath, I let the animal take over for just a second. My eyes landed on his throat and I lunged forward.

  But a pair of thin, yet strong arms held me back. Even as I tried to break free, they squeezed tight enough that I knew I’d have some bruising. “Stop,” Danika’s calm, cool voice spoke to me.

  Just as I turned to scream at the strangely solid woman holding me still, Zane rushed forward and lifted the man up by his shirt. “You apologize,” he growled.

  The man blanched white but stuck to his values. “I will never apologize to you demons.” He spit in Zane’s face and the whole crowd reacted as one. This moment would be a turning point, and Zane’s response would forever be scrutinized.

  Maintaining control where I’d had none, Zane laughed and used his shoulder to wipe his cheek clean. Still holding the man, he yanked him in close and showed his teeth. “Run!” he whispered into the man’s ear. Only someone with excellent hearing would have been able to understand the words, but there were a few of us around.

  Zane dropped the man, who quickly grabbed his daughter’s hand and led his little family out of the crowd. Several people cat-called at them, making fun of their reference to the Devil or giving the father a hard time about being manhandled by a grizzly.

  Danika let me go but before I could turn to say anything to her, Derrick rushed over to my side and pulled me into a hug. “Are you okay?”