Lauren tripped over something and looked down. She made a strangled sound as she stared at the shoe on the ground.
Shaking, she picked up Eddie's shoe and started running forward.
“Eddie!” she shrieked, skidding to the base of the grassy slope.
She saw him then. At the end of the park, she saw Eddie being held by a stocky man. The boy was struggling furiously and attempting to bite the man but the man clamped one hand over his mouth and shook him roughly.
An older man with short salt-and-pepper hair was gesturing to the man as he held a phone to his ear.
Lauren aimed the shoe at the men and hurled with all her might. “Let him go! Stop! You! Let the boy go right now!”
The shoe bounced off the shoulder of the older man and he turned his head to look at Lauren. Lauren recognized him, and she felt a chill course down her spine but she forced herself to keep running. She had to reach her nephew. She saw the tattoos on the men's arms and gulped.
The Dire Wolves had found them.
“We don't owe you anything!” she yelled at the two Wolves. “I'm married now! I don't have to pay Alex's debt!” she screamed in desperation.
The older wolf motioned for the other wolf to put the boy down. Eddie immediately tried to scramble towards Lauren, but the man put a hand on his shoulder and gripped him tightly.
Lauren reached them and spat out the words, “I'm free of my brother's debt. You said so yourself. I'm no longer a Sanchez. I'm Mrs Ken. You can check the marriage register!”
The two Dire Wolves regarded her coolly. Finally, the older wolf said, “You're free, Mrs Ken. But he is not.” His eyes flicked to Eddie. “The boy is a Sanchez. He is Alex Sanchez's son, so he will carry his father's debt. We didn't come for you,” he said, looking straight into Lauren's eyes. “We came for the boy.”
The other wolf jerked Eddie back by the collar and laughed pitilessly. “Ah, the sins of the father.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Lauren shook her head repeatedly, tasting ashes on her tongue. She thought that they were free.
She had done everything she could. Yet she hadn't freed Eddie. “No...” she rasped. “You can't do this. You can't take him.” Her voice grew stronger and angrier. “I won't let you take Eddie!”
“Irfan, let's go,” the younger wolf snarled. “We're wasting our time with her.”
Irfan stared at Lauren with interest. She refused to back away and she clenched her shaking fists as she forced herself to think calmly and quickly. She met Irfan's sharp, piercing gaze. She remembered him.
He was the one who had hinted to her that there was a way out of her brother's debt. Maybe he wasn't as brutal and merciless as the other wolves. He looked older, so maybe he was wiser, more world-weary.
Lauren knew she was hoping against hope. Maybe Irfan was just like all the other Dire Wolves. He was just here to do his job and collect a debt.
“What will you do with him?” she found herself asking and felt revolted at once.
Irfan shrugged. “We'll put him to work to pay off his father's debt.”
Lauren didn't have to ask what kind of work. The Dire Wolves ran all kinds of underground businesses. They had clients who had all sorts of fetishes. She had no doubt that some of these clients would pay a lot of money for a young half-shifter boy.
Irfan tipped an imaginary hat at Lauren. “Good day, Mrs Ken. You go back to your husband. We'll leave with the boy...”
“Over my dead body!” Lauren screamed.
The other wolf gave a mocking laugh but Irfan tilted his head at her and asked, “Do you mean that?”
Lauren was momentarily startled into silence.
“Do you mean that?” Irfan repeated.
“Mean what?” she spluttered.
“That we leave with the boy over your dead body.”
Lauren blinked at the older wolf, but there was no humor in his eyes. He wasn't making a joke or taunting her. He was dead serious.
“Yes,” she spat, balling her fist. “You can take him only if you kill me!” Lauren gasped once the words were out of her mouth. She realized what Irfan was asking now, but it was too late. She had doomed them both.
“All right.” Irfan nodded solemnly at her. Turning to the younger wolf, he instructed. “Kill her, Cage, and we can leave with the boy.”
“With pleasure, Beta,” Cage smiled, handing Eddie over to Irfan. Cage bared his teeth in an ugly smile and pointed at himself. “We'll let the boy go, over my dead body.”
Lauren felt cold sweat trickling between her breasts. “Wait, I...I didn't...”
“We can take the boy now,” Irfan said quietly, looking at her.
Lauren met Irfan's intense, glowing eyes and saw the warning in them. Don't back out of this.
It was both a warning and a lifeline.
“Okay,” she said, hating the quaver in her voice. “Okay.” She closed her eyes for an instant. “If he kills me, I'm dead so I can't stop you anymore.” She hiccuped a bitter, frightened laugh. “But...if I win, and I kill him…?”
Cage slapped his knee and snorted derisively. “That's a good one!”
But Irfan didn't even smile. “If you win, the boy goes home with you.”
“And you'll leave us alone?'
“Yes.”
Irfan must have seen the skepticism on her face, because he went on, “I'm the Beta of the Dire Wolves. When I make a deal on behalf of the Dire Wolves, the deal binds the whole pack. If you win, the debt will be written off. As good as dead and buried with Alex Sanchez.”
Lauren nodded. “You won't go back on your word? We don't have any witnesses...”
“We'll be your witnesses!”
Lauren turned to see Gramma and Ne-ma jogging towards them from behind the trees. The two grandmothers were in track suits and running shoes. Apparently, they were taking their usual morning jog round the park when they came across Lauren and the wolves.
“We heard what you said.” Ne-ma waved her mobile phone at the two wolves. “And we recorded everything!”
“You...” Cage snarled and started towards Ne-ma, but Irfan stopped him.
“That's all right. We intend to honor the deal. And it's good you have the deal on record, so when we take the boy, we will be well within our rights. Her husband can bury her...” Irfan jerked his head at Lauren. “But he won't be able to come get the boy.”
Gramma turned to Lauren with a shrewd look. “You're half bear, right? When a bear fights a wolf, the bear always wins. Unless the bear is fighting a pack of wolves. But you're only fighting one wolf here, Lauren. You can do this.”
“But I'm not...” Lauren began, but Gramma shook her head.
“You'll win,” Gramma said firmly, almost stubbornly.
“That's if I can shift into a bear,” Lauren muttered under her breath.
Gramma's next words were so soft that Lauren wasn't sure she'd heard them right. “You can.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Lauren glanced at Eddie. Irfan was holding the boy by the scruff of his neck. Eddie stopped struggling long enough to flash her a brave smile through his tears and yell, “Win, Aunt Lauren! I want you to win! I know you'll win!”
“Don't worry, Eddie. I'll win.” She smiled grimly and hoped he didn't hear her gulp.
She glanced at Gramma and Ne-ma, but the two little old ladies were staring skyward with their palms out. Lauren cleared her throat and tried to catch their eye but they started mumbling some unintelligible words and were making strange gestures with their hands.
Lauren grimaced. She wanted to tell them to run and get help. She was going to get killed. Perhaps they should just call the undertaker right now. The two grandmothers seemed to be praying, but prayers wouldn't help her right now.
Ne-ma clasped her hands and pointed her fingers at Lauren. Her chanting grew louder before stopping abruptly. Nodding in satisfaction, she tapped Gramma's shoulder lightly and smiled.
“Now. I'd better record this,” Ne-ma said, holding out her phone. “So there's no dispute.”
Lauren gaped at her, but Ne-ma merely pressed the record button and stepped back to get a better shot.
How could they be so calm? They were going to be recording her grisly death, yet they seemed unfazed and unconcerned.
What were they up to?
Gramma was still chanting softly and waving her fingers discreetly at Lauren. Lauren took a deep, shaky breath and turned her eyes to Cage. He crouched slowly and shifted into a large gray wolf.
“Shit.” He was fighting her in wolf form. Of course he was. She was so dead.
Lauren stared round desperately and snatched up a broken branch. She held out the branch in front of her like a sword and shook it threateningly at the wolf. The wolf made a chuffing sound. He was laughing at her.
Lauren and Cage circled each other. Gramma was still chanting steadily as she followed Lauren with her eyes. Lauren wished she would stop her useless chanting and mumbling and go get help. After Cage finished her off, the two little old ladies couldn't possibly save Eddie from the two burly Wolves.
“Go get Reid,” she wheezed.
“I've messaged him already,” Ne-ma answered matter-of-factly. “He'll be here soon. You just concentrate on the fight and win. You can take Eddie home over his dead body. That's the deal.”
Lauren winced and gripped the branch tighter.
Over his dead body. That's the deal.
The Dire Wolves might be brutes but they weren't dumb. They knew how to play with words and get what they wanted out of their victims. They didn't take anything by force. They weren't thieves. That's how they managed to always stay one step ahead of the law. They were businessmen. And a businessman's word was his honor. A perverse kind of honor.
A deal was consensual. Lauren had agreed to let the wolves take Eddie if they killed her. They had chosen to interpret her words literally and there was nothing wrong with that, legally.
It wouldn't even be murder.
Lauren ground her teeth. She had to kill Cage. The wolves would let Eddie go over Cage's dead body.
It was as simple, and as morbid, as that.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Reid growled as he charged towards the park. His claws were slicing out and his eyes had turned feral. His bear had reared up as soon as he read Ne-ma's message on his phone.
Lauren was fighting the Dire Wolves. The wolves had come for Eddie, and it was a fight to the death. Ne-ma had sent him a short voice recording with the message. In the recording, he heard Lauren shouting, “You can take him only if you kill me!”
What the hell was she thinking? Why would she agree to such a deal? Reid snarled when he caught the scent of Lauren's blood on the wind.
He ran harder, and his bear almost ripped right out of his skin when he saw Lauren rolling on the ground as a huge wolf snapped its jaws just inches from her face.
He ran blindly forward, but someone caught him firmly by the elbow. He looked down and saw Ne-ma gripping his arm. Her hand was thin and small, but her grip was incredibly strong.
“Don't,” she said.
“I have to save Lauren,” he snarled.
“And who will save Eddie?” she demanded.
Reid snarled at her but she was right. Only Lauren could save Eddie right now.
If only he was the one who had made the deal with the Dire Wolves. He should be the one fighting that big, vicious wolf. Not Lauren, who couldn't even…
Reid's eyes widened. “Lauren, she...”
Ne-ma nodded but kept her hand on his arm. She was holding out her phone, recording the fight.
“We cast a spell,” Ne-ma said. “I finished my part of the incantation quickly and Glynda took over. The spell draws out Lauren's hidden power. It doesn't give her any powers that she doesn't already have. That would be unfair. It just draws her powers out. In Lauren's case, the magic drew her bear out from its dormant state. Cool, yeah?” Ne-ma grinned suddenly.
Reid couldn't even crack a smile, but he could hear his knuckles cracking as he stared at Lauren twisting and bellowing as her shape changed. Even her voice was changing. It was no longer human.
Lauren let out a roar of surprise and anguish as her bear rose for the first time. The gray wolf flew towards Lauren as she was shifting, aiming for her neck but Lauren raised her hand and batted him away. Her hand dropped to the ground, but it wasn't a small human hand any more. It was a massive, powerful paw.
Lauren panted and growled as her bones and muscles shifted into place. Reid saw her sniff the air. He knew she had scented him. She turned her head and looked him right in the eye.
Reid nodded once. You got this.
Lauren blinked. Then nodded back. I got this.
Gramma staggered back suddenly and Reid rushed forward to catch her before she hit the ground.
“Wow,” Gramma said, passing her hand over her forehead. “That took a lot out of me. That spell used to be easy peasy for us, right Neveah?”
“Yeah,” Ne-ma agreed wistfully. “But we're witches, not vampires. We don't grow stronger as we get older. You did good, Glynda.”
Gramma stared at Lauren and nudged Reid. “Her bear's really pretty. And sexy too, eh?”
Reid couldn't answer. His heart was in his mouth.
Lauren was a beautiful black bear. She was a little unsteady on her feet at first as she adjusted to her new weight and bulk, and the gray wolf took advantage of that. But after being clawed and bitten a few times, she fought back.
Reid saw that Lauren was discovering her immense strength as a bear, and couldn't help smirking.
“She'll win this,” he said on a slow, shuddering exhale.
“Of course,” Gramma and Ne-ma said together, without looking at him. It wasn't news to them. They had known all along.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Lauren reared up on her hind legs and roared. She was astounded by the volume of her own roar. Wow, it was a really big sound. She sounded fierce and powerful. Hell, she was powerful. She was a bear!
Lauren faced Cage and growled. The gray wolf didn't look quite so confident now. Good. He should be scared. She was going to finish him off and free her nephew.
She prowled towards him, slowly, deliberately. She never thought that she had a bear inside her. Her brother, Alex, could shift, but his bear and his senses had been dulled by his heavy drinking. In the last few years of his life, he'd hardly shifted at all. Lauren thought the shifter gene had bypassed her completely, but it turned out that she was just a late bloomer. It was better to bloom late than to burn out early, she supposed.
Cage flew at her and Lauren slashed at him with her sharp, glinting claws. Blood spattered on the grass as Cage rolled away, howling in pain.
Lauren glanced at the blood dripping from her claws in awe and disbelief. Her bear was lethal. Its killer instincts were sharp and it was baying for blood.
The blood lust of her beast both scared and thrilled her. She had a dangerous predator within her. She would have to learn to control it and not let it control her.
But at this moment, she was happy to unleash her bear fully. If her bear wanted blood, it would get blood.
Her bear had emerged very suddenly, without warning. She had experienced some pain as her body shifted for the first time, but she hadn't been terrified. Instinctively, intuitively, she had known what to do, what to expect.
She had felt something stirring deep within her as Gramma continued chanting quietly under her breath. She realized that it was Gramma's incantation that had pulled her bear out from wherever it had been slumbering inside her. Gramma and Ne-ma had cast a gentle, benign spell to help her.
Lauren glanced at the two witches. Gramma was sitting on the grass, mopping her forehead and fanning herself. She looked out of breath and exhausted. Reid was beside her, supporting her and watching Lauren carefully. If he jumped in and fought for her, the dea
l would be voided straight away. Irfan had given her a chance to free Eddie from his father's debt. She had to win this fight, and she had to win this on her own.
Lauren faced Cage and looked into the wolf's angry, yellow eyes. Lauren bared her fangs and charged.
Cage tried to twist away but Lauren closed her jaws around his hind leg and bit down hard. She heard the crack of bone and felt claws rake across her face. Shocked, she released the wolf's leg and staggered back.
Cage limped a few paces back and crouched. Lauren blinked quickly and shook the blood away from her eyes. Growling, Cage flattened himself to the ground and waited for Lauren to come closer.
Lauren had never fought a wolf before. She had never even been in a fist fight before. She didn't know how to read and anticipate an opponent's moves.
She saw the blood coursing down Cage's hind leg and decided to press her advantage.
Roaring, she ran at him, aiming for his neck.
Cage didn't move until the last minute. He remained on the ground until Lauren was within reach.
He moved so fast he was just a blur of gray fur. Lauren felt sharp teeth sink into her neck and bellowed in pain.
She reared up and tried to throw Cage off but he held on with his teeth. She stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. Writhing and twisting on the ground, she swiped and clawed frantically until she felt her claws tearing into flesh and muscle.
With a howl, Cage leaped off her and skidded to her side.
Lauren scrambled to her feet. She couldn't remain down. She was inexperienced in a fight, but she wasn't stupid.
Cage lunged at her before she could find her balance. She acted on pure reflex and slashed her claws through the air. She hadn't expected to tear into the wolf's throat as he flew towards her.
She felt the hot, spurting blood and knew she had hit an artery. Immediately, she delivered another blow as Cage collapsed on the ground. She tore into the wolf's bleeding neck and ripped his throat right out.
Mail-Order Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (BRIDES fur BEARS Book 5) Page 7
