Bear's Temptation

by Fay Walsh

  A feeling of malice was around the pace, and while Darren didn’t want to engage, he desired to uncover it. He moved a bit closer, noticing a figure that was hanging around right by the office. He lookd around and didn’t see her car, which meant that either she had walked home or that she was already gone. He moved towards the figure, and the guy turned around.

  He looked so familiar and Darren tried to recall from where. There was a familiar scent in the air which made Darren flinch. He stepped forward, confronting the guy, and that’s when he saw a knife in his hands. He quickly shifted into his bear form, letting a loud roar, and soon the figure attacked him.

  The fight was long, and Darren took the liberty to throw a few claws here and there at the other person. The guy countered, and both of them fought hard and relentlessly, neither of them stopping. Darren used his mouth and claws to hold the guy pinned to the ground and he noticed that the guy was looking at him with a smile.

  “You wouldn’t want to kill me,” he said with a grin.

  “And why would I not do that? You’re clearly stalking this place,” Darren said pushing his claws even harder.

  “Because I know about her. You wouldn’t want to kill me because I know about Tina,” he stated.

  At the mention of her name, Darren felt all of his control lost. His body grew weak and when he let his grasp loosen a bit, the guy slipped away.

  “I knew that you’d come around here eventually. You’d take the time to ensure that she was nice and safe. Just like you tried to do with Tina. You won’t be able to save her, just like you weren’t able to save Tina,” the person said.

  “Shut up!” Darren screamed, smashing his claw into the man’s skull.

  He hit him again and again until he was a borderline unconscious mess. He wanted to kill this man, oh how he wanted to. His hands were bloodied from the way that he was hitting him. But the guy didn’t put any resistance and just smiled.

  “You need to leave everything be. Don’t bother with her anymore. If you say anything, we’ll kill her and blame it on you. We’ll expose you for who you are, the secrets you have, including the one about how you left your sister to die. I’ll make sure it’s published the very next day, and I’ll make sure this new girl is taken out as well,” he said.

  Darren felt his body grow pale and his heart raced as he heard those words. The guy immediately ran away, smiling at the slightly dazed Darren. He felt his body practically frozen in time.

  He needed to do something.

  The assailant left and Darren stayed in the shadows. After a while Lisa got out and made her way home safely. As it turned out she was still there and Darren was happy that the guy was gone. If he attacked her, she wouldn’t probably survive. Darren wondered if there was a specific reason for her staying this late at the office, but he didn’t want to pry. He feared that asking her would make things worse.

  What that mysterious figure said bothered Darren. In truth, Darren knew that only a few people were aware of the existence of his sister, and what had happened back then.

  Darren didn’t want anyone else to find out about her. He liked to keep it personal, and he liked to stay quiet about it. This guy would force him to talk about it. He didn’t want to live in those memories again. There were a lot of factors in play.

  He noticed that Lisa didn’t sense a damn thing, not even his presence. He wondered if there was a chance that she had felt him, but he doubted it. Lisa would mostly be interested in making sure that she was getting her scoop. At that moment, he couldn’t believe in anyone.

  Despite the fact that he was angry, despite the cold nature that he had adopted because of what had happened, deep down he knew that Lisa needed to be protected, no matter what the stakes may raise. Talking this through with Travis would help.

  Of course, he didn’t even know about Tina. That was something from a long time ago, a person that he had loved and cared about more than life itself, a woman that he vowed to protect no matter the odds. And yet, he had failed. He knew that if he never talked about it, nobody would find out about his failure. It was better this way, better to keep things get lost in time.

  Chapter 15

  Lisa went yet another month without speaking to Darren. It was strange, to not even see him, but at times she felt like his presence was nearby. He continued to reject her calls, nor did he call her back.

  Lisa wanted to forget him, but her feelings lingered there, no matter what reasoning she kept repeating. Lisa felt a constant shiver of worry and wondered how Darren was doing.

  One day after work, she got a call from a number that was familiar, yet surprising. After a moment, she answered the phone, trying to make her voice sound cheerful.

  “Alana!”

  “Hey, girl! I wanted to check up on you. Funny how you live in the same city that I do, and yet I didn’t even know you were around. Why don’t we get some lunch together? There’s a lot we got to talk about,” she said.

  Lisa agreed to that. “Yeah. I’d love that.”

  “Good. Then let’s meet at The Ruse at seven. How does that sound?”

  “Good to me,” she replied.

  Lisa put it down in her planner, excited to see her friend. The two of them had been pretty close after high school and Lisa had actually moved here on Alana’s recommendation. She was surprised that the two were so close, and yet never saw one another. But Lisa would be changing that today. When she got to the restaurant, she saw the familiar curvy girl, and when they saw one another, they hugged. Lisa sat across from her, and after the server took their orders, Alana smiled.

  “Sounds like you have a lot going on,” she said.

  “You could say that. A new job, and my love life is a fucking mess. My hands are full,” she admitted.

  “Oh shit, what happened? I thought you were seeing some guy,” she said.

  “You knew? Yeah. I was seeing this guy, but he ghosted me. I really like him, but the two of us had a fight and... I don’t know if it will continue,” she said.

  “Could it be something that you could fix?” Alana asked.

  “I don’t know. I wrote something about him on the website and this was probably not the best thing to do. He got very upset with me, because he had explicitly had asked me not to. Right now, I feel almost bad for doing it. I get that he didn’t want me posting it, but it was either that or have my boss fire me. And after that, I don’t know what I’d do,” Lisa cried.

  “I get that. I may know who you’re talking about. Is he a bit cold and cocky?” Alana asked.

  “You could say that he’s cold and cocky, yeah. You do know him? He wasn’t as cold with me though, at least not until then. But, I feel bad. I didn’t want to betray his trust, but I feel like I did,” she said.

  “Well Lisa, it’s up to you to figure out if you did the right thing. I’ll tell you right now, that if we are talking about the same person, he tends to be like that. He is the type that struggles with love, and while I do like him, I know that he has his own demons to battle before he can really take on another’s. But, you should realize as well, Lisa, that with love, he’ll come around. And don’t forget that sometimes you need to respect the wishes of both parties. Sometimes, you need to be a bit more wary of the content that you post, because it can offend some,” she said.

  “I know Alana. I just thought that he was a bit different, you know?”

  “Oh, I know. We all expect the other person to be different, but it’s not always the case,” she said.

  “Yeah. It’s what I hate about all of this,” she said.

  “Well, the best thing to realize is that you need to take some time, and you need to do what’s right for you. You’re a good person, Lisa, and I know that if you work through these feelings, this guy will too. I think it’s safe to say that the two of you need to work on yourselves, and if he is able to let you in, then accept what he says. I mean, I know that the secrets that my fiancé shared with me scared the fuck out of me initially, but not everyone is out the
re to hurt you, Lisa. Sometimes, the harm is all in your head, and that’s something that you, as a journalist, need to realize,” she said.

  “I know, Alana. I know. I just feel a little down about it, that’s all,” she told her.

  “I know. You’ll find your way, I’m sure of it,” she said

  “Thanks. By the way, congrats on the engagement. I mean, if you need help with picking out dresses, and whatnot, I’m here for you,” she said.

  “Yeah, I may need that in a bit. I think it is safe to say that we may be waiting a little while before we have the full ceremony though,” Alana told her.

  “Well, if you need anything, I’ll be glad to help. You are a big part of my life Alana, and I appreciate all that you’ve done for me,” she said.

  “And you as well, Lisa. I mean, had I not met you, I probably wouldn’t have the personality and drive that I do today, and that seems to be working for me. Maybe take things a little easier, and see where it ends up,” she told Lisa with a smile.

  Lisa listened to this, nodding in agreement.

  “Alana. I owe you.”

  “You don’t owe me jack shit. I’m just here to be a better person to you than I was before. That’s all,” she said.

  Lisa smiled, feeling happy to have this woman in her life. The two of them spent the rest of dinner talking about the past and Lisa didn’t feel like she was being judged at all.

  She didn’t know if Alana knew about the shifters, so she kept that to herself. However, it felt a little strange to Lisa that she seemed to understand perfectly what was going on.

  “You’re amazing, Alana, you know that?” Lisa pointed out.

  “I try to be, Lisa. I really do. I glad that I find you here. Now I know that I’ll always have support when I need it,” she said.

  “Yeah. I’m just… I’m glad too,” Lisa said.

  The two of them parted ways, and for the first time in a while, Lisa didn’t feel like she was being pressured to do anything. When she got back home, she made her way to bed, feeling happy about the way things were. Suddenly, she felt exhausted of it all.

  Lisa went into work the next day, feeling refreshed by it all. When she got in though, she noticed that the air had changed once again. She looked at her boss who kept staring at her, and she felt a strange fear course through her body.

  “Are you okay, sir?”

  “Yes. We will need to talk in a bit, I’ll see you in a while,” he snapped.

  His voice was also definitely different. Although a little while ago she was happy to have spoken with Alana, it felt like that was forever ago. She didn’t fully believe that Darren would come around, but she accepted her words. It was just nice to talk about this with another woman.

  But now, she felt as if she needed to be on her guard. When she tried to focus on her work, she could practically feel the negative energy radiate from the whole place, permeating into her office which she tried desperately to keep as a safe haven. After a bit, she heard a knock at the door. It wasn’t a friendly knock though, as it sounded almost malicious. She went to the door, opening it slightly, and in front of her was her boss.

  “Hello there, sir,” she said hesitantly.

  “Hi. I need to talk to you,” he stated.

  “Sure. That’s fine,” she said, closing the door.

  Her boss entered and locked the door. Immediately she felt fear heighten in her body. She looked at her boss as he scoffed, sitting down at the chair across her.

  “How is content posting going?”

  “Good, sir. I’ve put up some new posts, and I hope they get the right amount of reactions,” she said.

  “Fine. Listen, I want to talk to you about a piece that I’d like for you to put together, something that will get you a lot of money,” he said.

  Lisa paused, feeling the agony grow within her. There was something very wrong about this, something that had her hairs standing on end in worry.

  “What do you mean?”

  “What I mean is simple, Lisa. I need you to write a piece. But not just any old piece,” he said.

  “What kind are you looking for, sir?”

  “More paranormal pieces. But this time I want you to write content about shifters in particular. It’s a very hot topic right now and I think that it’s something that will get us a lot of views,” he explained.

  “I mean… I am not sure if I have the expertice to do that, but I guess I can try,” she said to him.

  “Good. There is one piece that I’ve been thinkin… one that will definitely net us a lot more results and hits. I’d like to discuss this with you personally,” he added.

  “What do you need?” she inquired.

  She didn’t have a good feeling about this, but no wasn’t an option at this point. Especially while being locked in a room with him.

  His face curled into that of a smile, which was a big red flag to her.

  “I need you to write a piece on Mr. Roberson, a real smearing one. I know that he’s been in some trouble as of late and I’d like for a disparaging piece to be written on him. I want you to really dig deep, really fuel the piece with some serious hatred. If you do that, the readers will eat it up, and they will come to us, no matter what,” he said.

  Lisa immediately froze, realizing what her boss was asking her to do. She didn’t want this, she could write this generic content on shifters but not this. This was the last thing she felt like writing.

  “I… I don’t know sir.”

  “Why not? You’re good at what you do, Lisa. You’re good at lying, which is something that I want you to do. Doesn’t have to be true, it can even be about the shifters. Maybe even talk about how Darren has ties with them and really lay it on to get that scoop,” he suggested.

  Lisa felt her fingers start to tremble. She didn’t like any of this. He had called her a liar, and on top of everything her boss’s eyes kept getting wider and wider, giving him a weird disengaged look.

  “Why should I do this? It’s not like I’m going to be making a shitload of money off of it. And plus, it’s weird that you had such a change of heart about the shifters. I remember when I asked to write a piece on this a while ago, you completely snubbed me, but now, here you are, coming in here and asking for me to do that. So what gives this sudden change?”

  “I just wanted a piece on them, that’s all. And you are being offered some serious bucks if you do this. So, I want you to make me a nice little piece on this. I’ll even give you author credit! You’ll be rich, and you won’t have to worry about anything. I know that Darren is your little lover, but I’ll tell you right now, you’re not going to ever get him. So, why don’t you avenge your love and write a piece on him for some extra views?” he inquired.

  She looked at him, feeling a bit surprised by the way that this was happening. She couldn’t believe it, and she felt like everything was getting worse and worse with time. She took a deep breath, shaking her head.

  “No. I won’t do this! I won’t do this to him,” she said.

  “And why not? He’s already hurt you,” Thomas said to her.

  She paused. He had hurt her. There was fight and a lot of hatred in his bones, and yet, she didn’t want to hurt him.

  “I don’t want to hurt him, Thomas. I know for a fact that he’s a good person. He might have done a lot of things, but he isn’t the bad guy that you want me to paint him as, so I’m not doing this,” she said to him.

  “This is the first time that you’ve stood your ground and refused a piece, Lisa. You’re growing harder. The one thing that I always liked about you is the fact that you were so pliable, so compliant, and yet here you are, mouthing off against me because you think you can do that!” he cried out.

  Lisa felt a hesitation in her heart. She didn’t want to hurt Darren, not like this. She knew that they didn’t have the best relationship at the moment, but accepting this assignment would mean the definite end of them.

  “You may think I’m going to sell out Darren like that, but
I won’t. I have no intention of selling him out. I don’t want to hurt him like that,” she told him with a conviction that she normally didn’t show people.

  Lisa herself didn’t know why she was doing this. Darren had hurt her. At the same time, writing about him was wrong and she knew that. She wondered if there was something she could do to fight back, but then, her boss stood up.

  “You’re really making this harder for both of us, my dear,” he said.

  “I’m not trying to, I just don’t take kindly to other people hurting me like this, and I don’t want to betray others,” she told him.