Bear's Claim (Bear Heat Book 3)

by Natalie Kristen

  He walked towards her, breaking into a broad, proud smile.

  “What I'm doing is creating the perfect weapon.”

  Aubrey stared at him, speechless for just a moment. She recovered quickly enough. “You're nuts.”

  “Am I?” Dr. Faizel dismissed the two mercenaries with a flick of his hand. The two soldiers moved to stand guard outside the door.

  Dr. Faizel went over to Luke and shone a light in his eye. Luke wheezed and coughed up a spray of fresh blood.

  “Oh God! Dr. Faizel, you have to let him go. Look at him, he's bleeding. This is serious, doctor! You...you're a doctor. Your duty is to save lives. Please,” she implored.

  “Oh, I am doing my duty.” The doctor patted Luke's pale cheek. “I am making him better, much better.” He pressed a hand-held device against Luke's heaving chest and squinted at the screen. “Not yet. Just a bit more,” he muttered.

  “Not yet?” Aubrey gasped. “What are you waiting for? Please, he's bleeding internally. He needs proper...”

  “The bleeding is normal. He needs to bleed a bit more before I can start the procedure for the Change.”

  Aubrey thudded her head against the steel table. “I think either you've lost your mind. Or I've lost mine. This is not happening.”

  “Oh it's happening all right.” Dr. Faizel sounded pleased. “Since everything is going so well, I'll show you the prototype.”

  The doctor went to a glass door and pressed his palm against the control panel. “Michael,” he called. “Come on out. I'll like you to meet your...successor.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Thor folded his arms and waited for his Alpha's orders. They had just reported their findings to Ethan, and they were discussing how best to proceed. He saw Baxter start to tilt his chair back on two legs before thinking better of it. They were sitting in Ethan's office, and even Baxter wasn't going to goof around in front of their Alpha.

  Ethan turned to Baxter and gave him the go-ahead to interview the leaders of some of the more prominent bear clans in the city. “It's just to be thorough. But I have a feeling you're not going to find the killer among any of the clans,” Ethan said grimly. He agreed with them that although all signs pointed to the killer being a bear, the savage murder wasn't committed by a bear shifter.

  “It's not a real bear either,” Baxter said unhappily. “A real bear would have gone on a rampage. Things would have been overturned and broken. But everything was in perfect order.”

  Ethan nodded. “What do you think, Thor?”

  “As Bax reported, nothing has been touched in the house. The killing was precise, premeditated, calculated and clean. The body was messed up and torn apart but it wasn't done in a frenzy. In fact, the murder has all the hallmarks of a Mob execution. Cold and cruel.”

  “After the arrest of Ray Shapez, all the other crime bosses must be real jittery,” Baxter added. “They'd target C-18 to protect their own skins.”

  Ethan put down his pen and leaned forward. “I think you're right. But we don't know which gang and which boss ordered the hit. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. We've got to catch the killer and the mastermind fast, before another dead body turns up.”

  “I'll try to find out more about the recent activities underground while Bax goes and investigates the bear clans,” Thor said. “I might be able to get a lead, and a name or two.”

  “I want to help,” Baxter said, cracking his knuckles. “I can help you get those names faster.”

  Thor and Ethan chuckled.

  “I'm afraid I have to split you guys up so you can cover more ground. Bax, if you can wrap up your investigation into the clans quickly, I'll let you join Thor in his underground work.”

  “Yes, Alpha,” Baxter said sulkily.

  “Work fast. Get what you need and get out, understood?” Ethan said, fixing his gaze on Thor.

  Thor and Baxter stood. “Yes, Alpha.”

  As they left Ethan's office, Baxter clapped Thor on his shoulder and said, “Good luck, man. Don't have too much fun without me.”

  “It's never fun without you,” Thor deadpanned.

  “Aww, you're just saying that.”

  They bumped fists before Baxter turned to tease Ethan's very chatty secretary, Tabitha. Tabitha was just about to knock off. She took the day shift, while Olga, a stern, fifty-something human woman, was Ethan's night secretary.

  He heard Tabitha giggle as Baxter fired off a joke and a compliment. Thor had a feeling Baxter wanted to find out something about someone from Tabitha. Thor left them to it and strode out of the office building.

  He rubbed his chest absently. His bear had been restless and angry the whole day. His beast had quietened down a bit when he was working the murder case, but now his bear refused to back down.

  Thor got into his car and peeled out of the parking lot.

  His bear was right. He had to see her.

  He didn't know what he would say when he saw her. He just knew he had to get to her.

  It was late afternoon, almost evening. Aubrey should still be in the hospital. Her shifts were long but she seldom worked the night shift. He'd heard her mention that in passing to one of his clan members. He hoped to catch her before she knocked off. Maybe he could drive her home. Or...ask her out. Have dinner with her.

  He shouldn't have left without a word. She wasn't a one night stand. She was so special and amazing. And he was a jerk. He didn't deserve her, but she didn't deserve to be treated like dirt. He had to make it up to her. She was too good for him, but perhaps he could be...her friend.

  His bear growled. He didn't want to be just a friend—with benefits. She wasn't just another woman in his life. She was his life. Aubrey...was his mate!

  Thor inhaled sharply. He had known that the moment he set eyes on her. But he'd thought that he could protect her from his dangerous world, from his enemies by keeping her at arm's length.

  He had underestimated the pull and power of the mate bond.

  It was something that couldn't be ignored, denied or rationalized away.

  They were meant for each other, a part of each other's hearts and souls. He should have held on fast to her and not push her away.

  There were bears who lived their whole lives without ever finding their true mates. Thor swore as he floored the pedal. He was a bloody fool not to have claimed her and made her his.

  His muscles throbbed and pulsed painfully as he sped towards the hospital. His agitated, furious bear rose and rippled just under the surface of his skin.

  A sudden streak of cold, stark fear lanced his heart.

  He thought he heard a cry at the back of his mind. It sounded too much like Aubrey's voice.

  Something had happened to her.

  Thor's claws sliced out and he almost shredded the leather off his steering wheel.

  “Aubrey,” he growled.

  He should never have let her go.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Come out, Michael,” Dr. Faizel commanded as he held the glass door open.

  Aubrey stared in horrified fascination as Michael stepped out. The man was wearing only a pair of boxers and he had a metal collar around his neck. A long chain dangled from his collar.

  “This is Michael,” Dr. Faizel said proudly, like he was showing off his creation. He yanked Michael forward by the chain. “He's the first prototype. He's worked well so far, but there are refinements to be made.”

  Michael lifted his bloodshot eyes to Aubrey. He was a well-built man with a face that had once been handsome. But now it was covered with fresh cuts and bruises, and his eyes were filled with regret and loathing.

  Aubrey squinted at the poor man and she felt the instinctive urge to see to his injuries. “How did you get those cuts? You need to get them cleaned up.” The nurse in her spoke up. “Michael, how did you hurt yourself?” she said in a gentle, soothing tone.

  Michael merely shook his head at her. His black hair was short a
nd disheveled, and there were dark shadows under his eyes. He had been stripped down to his boxers and chained and collared like an animal. But his eyes were human and intelligent.

  Aubrey turned to Dr. Faizel and was about to demand that he let the man go when the doctor's phone chirped shrilly. Dr. Faizel turned away to take the call and Aubrey could only hear his curt, short replies. “I'll be right there,” he snapped. He clicked off his phone with a frustrated grunt and hurriedly locked Michael's chain to the leg of Aubrey's steel table. Michael had no choice but to crouch at the foot of Aubrey's metal bed.

  “Hey! Hey, where are you going? You're not leaving us here!” Aubrey yelled after Dr. Faizel as he walked briskly out of the chamber. She heard his impatient orders to the mercenaries just as the chamber door closed leaving Aubrey alone in the chamber with Luke and Michael.

  Aubrey peered over the side of her steel table and whispered, “Michael? Michael, can you talk to me? Who are you? Were you a patient at the hospital too? I'm a nurse, and Luke here is my patient. Did Dr. Faizel stick a needle into you and drag you here? Talk to me. I can help you escape.” When Michael didn't reply, Aubrey hissed, “You don't want to be chained here forever, do you?”

  “I killed him.”

  Aubrey blinked.

  “Huh?”

  “I killed him,” Michael repeated, staring straight into Aubrey's bugged eyes.

  Aubrey swallowed. “Who...who did you kill?”

  “A good man. My boss. He would have been my boss,” Michael said hoarsely.

  Aubrey gulped and took a deep, steadying breath. “Can you...tell me why you killed him? And why are you here? How did you…?”

  “Kill him?” Michael cut in. “I ate him.”

  “Ha. Ha. Not funny.” She stared at him for a few painful heartbeats. “Shit. You're not joking,” she muttered.

  Aubrey whimpered and tried to inch away when Michael pulled himself up and knelt at the side of her table. “Has he given you the injection?” Michael's eyes bore into hers as he growled out the question.

  Aubrey shook her head. “No,” she squeaked. “Not me. Him.” She swiveled her eyes towards Luke, who was moaning on the other table. “Dr. Faizel injected Luke with some drug that made him appear dead. Then he brought him back to life again with another jab.”

  Michael stared at Luke. “You have to get him out of here. Don't let him become like me.”

  “You?”

  “I'm a killer,” Michael stated. She heard the rancor, shame and bitterness in his voice. “A weapon. A monster.”

  Despite her fear, Aubrey wiggled her fingers from under the metal restraints and managed to touch Michael's shoulder. “You're not a monster,” she said softly. “You're a kind, good man. I can see it in your eyes.”

  Michael's laugh was a harsh, grating sound. “You haven't seen me when I'm in my other form.”

  “What other form?”

  “Dr. Faizel injected something into my blood, something that makes me change uncontrollably into a beast, a monster.”

  “Oh God...”

  “He's going to do the same to your friend there. You have to get him out before he is Changed.”

  Aubrey raised her head and stared at Michael's cut, wounded face. “We'll all escape,” she said. “We'll help each other. You'll come with us.”

  He gave her a brief, sad smile. “It's too late for me. But I'll use what little time I have left to help you.”

  “No, it's not too late,” Aubrey said fiercely. “It's never too late. You're a good man...”

  “I'm a murderer,” he reminded her. “I...”

  “I know. You ate him. But tell me something, Michael. Did you want to eat him?”

  “No. God, no.” Michael closed his eyes, looking sickened. He clutched the sides of his head and doubled over. “No...no!” he roared, and when he threw back his head, Aubrey saw that his eyes had turned yellow and feral, and there were sharp, lethal claws glinting from the tips of his fingers.

  She made a strangled sound but she couldn't look away. The man was changing before her eyes, but he didn't shift fully into an animal. He was no shifter, she could see that.

  His change was tortured and messy. He clawed at his own skin as he changed, and she saw pinpricks of blood on his skin as tufts of fur pushed out from his smooth human skin.

  “Michael,” she whispered fearfully. “Please...”

  He turned towards her, panting and snarling. She held his gaze unflinchingly until his eyes stopped glowing and as he blinked, the fur receded from his body and his claws retracted slowly.

  Michael crouched before her, shivering and bleeding.

  “I told you,” he said in a raw, ragged voice. “I am...”

  “You're not a monster.”

  Aubrey stared at the top of his bowed head for a long time. “You are not a monster, Michael,” she repeated quietly.

  He looked up at her and snarled, “How can you say that? I killed...my friend! I tore open his body, and I ate his organs. That voice—that voice in my head, Dr. Faizel's voice, kept commanding me but I just couldn't swallow Walter's flesh and organs.”

  Aubrey winced. “Oh, Michael...what has Dr. Faizel done to you?”

  “It's not the doctor. Someone else is behind this. Dr. Faizel is working for Alberto Birns,” Michael spat.

  Aubrey furrowed her brows. “He did mention that name, but I have no idea who Alberto Birns is,” Aubrey said, glad that her voice sounded steady, not hysterical.

  “Alberto Birns is a Mob boss. He's the boss of the second largest crime gang in the city. He's always wanted to be the biggest, most powerful Boss, the Boss of the bosses.” Michael rattled off the information with a faraway look in his eyes.

  “How...do you know so much about the Mob? Are you a gang member?” Aubrey gulped, wondering if she had a violent mobster crouching just inches from her.

  “No.” Michael smiled. For the first time, she saw the light return to his deadened eyes. “I was a cop. I was to be Walter's deputy, help him fight organized crime and clean up the city. It was my job to know who's who in the underground world. But now...” He turned away from her.

  “I deserve to die for what I did.” His voice was soft but firm. “I can't live with myself, but...I don't want to die a monster.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Thor ran from the hospital car park straight through the main entrance and into the lobby. He skidded to the reception counter and said, “Where can I find Aubrey Williams?”

  There were three receptionists on duty and they all widened their eyes at him. “Aubrey? Well, Aubrey's shift would have ended by now,” one of the receptionists said after glancing at her watch. “I think she's gone home.”

  “Did you see her?” the other receptionist asked. “She always stops by to chat with us before she leaves.”

  “No. In fact, I don't think I've seen her the whole afternoon.”

  “That's funny.”

  “Yeah. But...”

  A group of elderly folk approached the reception counter to make enquiries and Thor stepped back to let the receptionists attend to them.

  He backed out of the hospital but he didn't go back to his car. Aubrey hadn't gone home. He was quite sure of that. He could sense that she was still here in the hospital somewhere.

  He closed his eyes and let his bear take over for a moment. His bear was tugging him towards the open field behind the hospital.

  Should he follow his instincts?

  His instincts had kept him alive thus far. His bear could always sense danger and trouble. And right now, his bear was telling him that his mate was in trouble.

  Thor didn't waver. Reason and good sense told him to search for her in the hospital, but he would act on sheer instinct and impulse this time. He had held back his feelings for Aubrey because his overthinking logical brain had told him that it was best if he backed off and let her go. This was no time to overthink anything. He had to get to Aubr
ey. And he had to trust his bear to find his mate.

  There was nothing but a wide, overgrown field behind the hospital. Beyond that was the edge of a forest. There were no buildings, no dwellings, no roads. There was no reason for Aubrey to be traipsing through the woods.

  But that was where his bear wanted to go.

  Thor waded through the field and pushed into the woods. His bear knew exactly where to go. Thor released his hold on his bear and let the beast rise to the fore, but he didn't shift into bear form. He simply let his animal take over his will and control his body. His senses were sharper, and he was stronger and faster when his bear was dominant.

  Thor dashed through the forest, moving closer and closer to Aubrey. Her scent was stronger now. But it was still faint, muted, like there was something blocking her from him.

  Where was she?

  Was she in some sort of enclosure?

  Was she...underground?

  He crouched and scented the air closer to the forest floor. A growl rumbled from his throat. There really was something under the ground.

  Under the soil and leaves was the scent of metal, medicine and blood. There seemed to be a chamber hidden underground, and it was filled with electronic machines, computers, sterile equipment. Thor could detect the faint scent of a handful of live humans.

  Aubrey was among them.

  What was this place?

  An operating theater?

  A computer lab?

  Thor shook his head. It made no sense.

  He took another whiff and reared up. Aubrey!

  Her scent was much stronger, clearer and nearer now. She was out in the open and she was coming towards him.

  He could scent her tears and blood.

  Thor roared and bolted ahead at full speed.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Aubrey scrambled out of the tunnel and kept running. She swiped furiously at her tears which were blurring her vision. She had to get help. She didn't want to leave Michael and Luke behind, but if she stayed, she would be dead. And she couldn't help anyone if she were dead.