Suzanne's Sexy Shifters [Shy River Pack 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Bec Adams

  “Suzanne, we could have a problem. Either we’re looking at Jay or his brother has his phone. Just ask the man who answers if he’s had any luck finding his brother yet.” He could feel her curiosity and nearly laughed out loud when he realized she was rifling through his recent memories to catch up on the situation. They’d have a chat about personal boundaries later.

  He “heard” Suzanne’s side of the conversation through their link and Jay’s side through his better-than-human hearing. Jay denied having found his brother, but it was the fact that he lied about his location that had both Gideon and Shaw on edge.

  “I think we’re onto something with Brigden’s theory,” he said telepathically as he watched the man who may or may not have been Jay Holks wandering around the back of Suzanne’s cabin. He seemed to be looking for something very specific. After several minutes of searching the area he scuffed his feet through what appeared to be something in the dirt—most likely paw prints—and then followed the trail into the forest behind Suzanne’s home.

  “Is he covering his brother’s tracks?” Suzanne asked.

  “I don’t know,” Gideon said as he lifted his nose and followed the bear-shifter’s scent. He could only smell one shifter, so it seemed likely that the tracks had been made some time ago.

  “Either the tracks are really old—we would have noticed the scent this morning otherwise—” Suzanne said speculatively, “or they belong to Jay and were made in the past few hours.”

  “But why would he hide paw prints when many of the shifters on this mountain could track his scent?”

  “Maybe he’s just hiding them from humans,” she suggested uncertainly.

  “I don’t know what he’s up to, but it seems suspicious,” Shaw said in a whisper as he morphed back into his human form. “I’d rather not confront a grizzly bear-shifter alone, but if I send up a signal, he’ll hear it and know we’re onto him.”

  Gideon morphed back into human form to agree with the beta’s assessment. He didn’t add the thought that if they weren’t so behind in technology they would have been able to silently contact and track each other on a search like this. Considering how close some humans lived to the Dry Creek wolf pack, it was nearly a miracle that they hadn’t yet been discovered.

  “We’ll follow him as long as we can stay downwind. If necessary I’ll just ask him what he’s up to.”

  The beta gave him a crooked grin but nodded in agreement. “It sounds far preferable to the alternative.”

  They both morphed back into their wolf forms and followed the grizzly bear-shifter as he wandered through the forest in man form.

  * * * *

  “Brigden Hawkes,” a very tiny voice said as a human no more than ten inches tall ran into the room. “I thought I heard your voice. Long time no see.”

  Brigden smiled as he lowered a hand to the ground and helped the turtle-shifter onto the cushion beside them on the sofa. He was always amazed at how fast turtle-shifters moved in human form. It was almost like they saved their energy for superhuman speed by moving slowly in turtle form. He was pretty sure a turtle-shifter in human form could outrun a squirrel-shifter in squirrel form though he’d never actually seen such a thing.

  “Eejar,” Brigden said as the tiny humanoid practically danced on the spot with nervous energy. “What are you doing on this side of the mountain? Your family thinks you’re dead. Witnesses saw you carried off by a bald eagle.”

  “Yeah, the stupid bird carried me for miles before dropping me. You’d think if it was going to snatch me up for lunch it would at least have the decency to eat me instead of dropping me from a great height. Dinged my shell pretty good, but unlike wild turtles,” he said with a wink at Suzanne, “we shifters can repair a broken shell. Hurt like hell though.”

  “So why haven’t you headed home?”

  “What, you mean apart from the fact I have no idea where I am?”

  “Of course, sorry,” Brigden said with a shrug. With most of the smaller shifters living practically their entire lives in animal form they really didn’t have any need for the type of information or technology that he sometimes took for granted.

  “So who’s the bitch?”

  He felt Suzanne bristle at what was essentially an insult in human terms but accurate in wolf terminology, and moved to correct his old friend quickly. “My mate, Suzanne, prefers the term ‘she-wolf.’”

  “Oh, apologies. No offense was intended.”

  Suzanne nodded. She didn’t say anything, but he could sense confusion rather than anger in her emotions.

  “Suzanne this is Eejar. He’s a turtle-shifter who used to live in the pond behind my home.”

  “Nice to meet you,” she said in a tone that suggested she wasn’t really sure if it was nice or not. Considering how many new shifters she’d met today, it was no wonder she was feeling a little off-balance.

  “So what’s the story?” Eejar asked in a superfast voice that would have made a chipmunk proud. “Did you join a new pack? Or was there a meeting or something? I’ve seen a whole lot of shifters pass by my pond this morning. Is there something afoot? Are the humans causing trouble again?”

  “No,” Brigden said with a quick shake of his head, and then because the meeting wasn’t classified, quickly filled Eejar in on what was currently happening.

  “Grizzly bear-shifters?” Eejar exclaimed in alarm. “Those guys don’t give a shit if they’re eating sentient beings or not. Not like wolf-shifters and the other predator-shifters on this mountain. They have respect for life. But not grizzlies. They have no regard for others. The last thing we need is grizzly bear-shifters on this part of the mountain.” He paced back and forth several times, going very close to falling off the edge of the sofa before he added, “Hey…there was a family of grizzly bear-shifters slaughtered by humans not far from here. Aagan told me all about it. Something about twin brothers whose mate and three cubs were slaughtered right in front of them. One of them died trying to save them. The other ran to safety, abandoning them all to their fate.”

  “Those are a few details we didn’t know. Are you sure they’re accurate?”

  “Aagan has no reason to exaggerate, but I guess the story could have grown by the time he heard it.”

  “Maybe, but if it’s true…” He turned to Suzanne. “Contact Gideon. Tell him what we know. I think the situation just got a lot more dangerous.”

  * * * *

  “He what?” Gideon asked as shock reverberated through him. He’d been concentrating on staying downwind and out of sight from Jay Holks and hadn’t been following the conversation that Suzanne was now relaying.

  “They think Jay’s twin died with their mate—their mate, not just his brother’s—and that Jay left them to die. We don’t know how accurate the story version is, but it would explain why Jay’s supposed brother looks exactly like him and has been spotted wearing a National Parks Service uniform.”

  Shaw tilted his head to the side, a wolfy version of curiosity on his face. Jay quickly morphed back into his human form to explain the information Suzanne had relayed.

  “It makes sense,” Shaw agreed in a whisper. Bear-shifters didn’t have as keen a sense of hearing as werewolves, but Gideon and Shaw weren’t taking any chances. If Jay was behind the bear cub’s abduction—even if they were dealing with some sort of split-personality disorder brought on by the traumatic deaths of his family—he could be extremely dangerous and unpredictable. Two wolves versus one grizzly was not a fight they would win, ever. “Can you ask your mate to call all of the other shifters back to Dry Creek?”

  Gideon nodded but he wasn’t very happy to involve Suzanne or Brigden in this way. He had a feeling he knew what was coming next.

  “Once they’re in place, have her call Jay Holks and ask him to meet her at your cabin.”

  “No problems,” Suzanne said inside his head, obviously having followed the conversation again. Before he could even begin to protest she quickly cut him off. “Brigden and I are the middl
e of a werewolf pack and will soon be surrounded by predators of every species on this mountain. You’re not putting us in any more danger than we already are. Relax, Gideon.”

  “Baby girl, when it comes to yours and Brigden’s safety I will never relax.”

  “I know,” she said very seriously. “And Brig and I both love you for it, but we’re safe here. We’ll be fine.”

  “Okay, but make sure the others are in position before you call Jay Holks.”

  “Of course,” she said as he sensed her turn to Brigden and explain what was going on.

  * * * *

  Brigden didn’t like it any more than he suspected Gideon did, but he and Suzanne quickly located a wolf—one thankfully left behind this time to coordinate the search—who chose to send a group of younger wolves out to gather up the searchers rather than alert Jay Holks that something was wrong by howling the message out loud.

  At least by knowing where Jay Holks was, thanks to the true-mates link Gideon and Suzanne shared, the youngsters would be relatively safe. But now it meant all they could do was wait.

  The car leaving a dust trail on the way up the mountain was concerning, but it was the man who stepped from the vehicle that had the whole pack on edge—well, the few of the pack that were still here.

  “Suzanne,” Jay Holks called urgently as he climbed from the vehicle, “we’ve got a problem.” He glanced at Brigden, apparently finding him unimportant. “Where’s Gideon?”

  “Searching for your brother,” she said, clearly holding back information. Gideon had said nothing about Jay getting into a vehicle, so it seemed more likely that there were two brothers and not just one struggling with his sanity. Of course Suzanne was likely in touch with Gideon right now, but with the man standing right in front of them she couldn’t exactly relay that information to Brigden.

  He glanced around the area and realized that most of the pack had melted into the forest. It wasn’t exactly comforting to be abandoned in this way, but since most of the werewolves not involved in the search were mothers caring for small children at least Brigden wouldn’t have to worry about them as well.

  “Does he have a cell phone or something?” he asked, apparently unaware of the true-mates link Suzanne and Gideon shared. “It’s urgent that I speak to him.”

  “He went in wolf form,” Suzanne said with a shake of her head.

  “Call him back,” Jay ordered Brigden. “You’re in serious danger.”

  “Danger? Why?” Suzanne asked, shaken by Jay’s words. Thankfully, Brigden could also sense her determination underneath.

  “My brother stole one of my uniforms, my phone, and my driver’s license. Whatever he’s up to, he’s trying to make sure that I get the blame.”

  “Why would he do that?” Suzanne asked, doing a good job of seeming bewildered. If the story Eejar had told them held any truth—and it seemed to have been wrong about only one brother surviving—Jay’s brother was likely to seek some sort of revenge. Even if it hadn’t been a true-mates bond, the loss of the wife and children they both loved would easily have been enough to send anyone into a psychotic rage—especially if Jay’s brother blamed him for them not being able to save them.

  “It’s a long story. Look,” he said as he reached over to grab Suzanne’s arm, “you’re not safe here.”

  Brigden knocked his hand away and stood in front of his mate. He knew it was a stupid idea to piss off a grizzly bear-shifter, but there was no way he would stand by and let this man take her anywhere.

  * * * *

  Gideon’s heart pounded in his throat, fear for both his mates threatening to cut off his air supply. He changed into his human form and called Jay’s name. The bear-shifter turned toward them, growled audibly from his human-shaped throat, and headed for them.

  Shaw gave Gideon a werewolf version of an incredulous look but then morphed into his human shape and stood beside him.

  “You better know what you’re doing,” he said very quietly.

  Gideon hoped so, too.

  Either the man headed toward them was dangerous or the man with his mates was. Either way he needed to know one from the other right now.

  * * * *

  “You must be the other mate,” Jay said with a growl of frustration. “Fine, you can come with us, too. I’ve known Suzy way longer, but it would seem that she doesn’t trust me anymore.”

  “Jay, it’s a little hard to trust a man who lied to me for a year.”

  “Lied?” he asked irritably. “You expected me to come clean about being a grizzly bear-shifter?” He shook his head tiredly. “You were human, Suzy. If you hadn’t been caught up in this, I would never have been able to tell you anyway. Do you have any idea what humans would do if they knew we existed?” He took a tiny step closer, apparently trying to intimidate her with his size. “Do you?”

  “I have a pretty good idea,” she said calmly. Brigden hoped that was a sign that Gideon was close by. “Jay, I do trust you. You always looked out for me at work, always made sure to say hello. But it’s not a matter of trust. I just don’t want to leave here until Gideon gets back.”

  “We don’t have time for this,” he said, reaching for her once more. He tried to knock Brigden sideways in an attempt to reach her, but then he stilled, sniffing the air. “Too late.”

  All three of them turned to face the massive grizzly bear running full speed toward them.

  Chapter Nine

  “Run!”

  Gideon’s order reverberated through her mind.

  Suzanne reached for Brigden, barely registering that they were already in motion as the man they’d been talking to knocked them both to the ground.

  “Stay down,” he growled as his twin charged.

  “Josh, don’t do this. They’re innocent shifters,” he said as the bear skidded to a halt mere feet from them. The bear growled loudly, his message apparently understood by the man. It circled around, blocking Suzanne and Brigden’s path for escape. “I won’t let you hurt her. She’s been through enough,” the man said. The bear growled again, the noise truly terrifying. Brigden held her close, trying to inch them both away as the man spoke calmly. “I don’t want to fight you, brother. I know how much you’re still hurting, how much we’re both still hurting, but this isn’t the way to deal with it. Do you have any idea how many shifters would have died if that bear cub had been found by humans?” He pulled a very large handgun out of his jeans and pointed it calmly at his brother. “I don’t want to shoot you, but I will if I have to. I can’t let you do it, Josh.”

  Suzanne was pretty sure that even the biggest handgun would be nothing more than an irritation to a grizzly bear, but the man seemed pretty confident. The grizzly made a noise that sounded like frustration and started to change into human form.

  “Josh,” the naked man said, confusing Suzanne even more, “why would you try and set me up?”

  Hell, the men were identical in every way. Suzanne had no idea which was Jay—the man who’d knocked them to the ground or the grizzly who’d almost run them down.

  “Gideon?” she asked nervously, suddenly realizing the silence in her head. “Brig, I can’t hear him.” Her voice was low, nearly soundless, but Brigden seemed to hear her. He nodded slightly, his eyes still on the gun that Josh or Jay held pointed at his brother. As things stood right at this moment, distracting either of the bear-shifters seemed like a really bad idea.

  “Josh,” the naked man said, “I don’t know what you were trying to do, but I want to understand. Just put the gun down and we can talk. I promise you everything is going to be all right.”

  “You know nothing is going to be all right,” the man with the gun said. “You tried to out shifters to humans. And you tried to frame me in the process.”

  The naked man shook his head sadly. “Josh, don’t do this to yourself. You’re unwell. Put the gun down and I’ll make sure you get the help you need.”

  “Suzanne,” the man with the gun said without even glancing their way. “Do y
ou remember the conversation we had about your brothers at the last Christmas party?”

  She searched her brain, trying to remember details of that day. It didn’t help that she’d been so stressed and uncomfortable in a social situation with workmates that she’d stayed less than an hour and had spoken to only a couple of people. She didn’t remember speaking to Jay at all.

  The naked man was already shaking his head. “I didn’t go to the Christmas party. Suzanne, I wasn’t there.”

  The man with the gun glanced quickly in her direction when she remained quiet. “Damn it, Suzanne,” he said, sounding more annoyed than anyone she’d ever known. “We talked about your brothers, all three of them. You told me that you barely knew each other because you all have different fathers, but that your brothers had all ended up joining the Navy SEALs.”

  She finally remembered the details of that brief conversation and the information she’d given nervously as Jay Holks had asked about her family. But it didn’t prove anything. No one had any idea how long Josh Holks had been in the area. The brothers were so identical that it was very possible that Josh had gone, pretending to be his brother even then. It was also possible that Josh was just claiming to have missed the party to throw her thoughts into confusion.

  Hell if she wasn’t so damn scared she’d have a headache.

  The man holding the gun looked angry enough to want to strangle her, but it was the sudden realization that she could feel Gideon again that had her heart pounding double time.

  “Baby girl, we have a problem.” Gideon’s telepathic words were slow and if spoken aloud would have been slurred.

  “No shit,” she said, making sure he could see the situation from her eyes.

  “Stay close to Brigden. I’m almost there.”

  Again the sensation of movement while sitting still left her feeling nauseous but she’d never been so glad to feel it. In wolf form Gideon burst from the tree line and leapt at the man with the gun, disregarding his own safety as he fought to bring down a bear-shifter. The naked man scrambled to pick up the weapon as it fell, but Brigden beat him to it, immediately aiming it at the man’s chest.