The bear walked silently through the forest, sniffing for something. A few minutes later, a rustling sound caught its attention. Moving closer, it found its target—a young doe, ambling out from the safety of the tree line, probably hoping to find something fresh to nibble on.
The air was still and quiet. The grizzly crouched down, ready to pounce on its meal, when it reared back its head and let out a low, guttural sound. The doe started, then leapt away, disappearing into the cover of trees in the distance.
The bear let out an angry growl and rolled on its back, swatting its face with its claws until it drew blood. Slowly, the animal began to shrink, the matted fur receding into skin and muscle. The figure on the ground was now half the size of the grizzly, covered in mud and blood.
“Enough,” Ben Walker snarled. A rumble from his chest made him grit his teeth. “I said that’s enough.” But would the monster inside him know what enough meant?
He lay in the dirt, naked as the day he was born. Deep, haggard breaths made his chest rise and fall. Looking up, he saw the light fading in the distance, and when his breathing became steady, he slowly got to his feet.
“Damn bear,” he grumbled, wiping the blood from his face. The cuts were already healing, but they hurt like a sonofabitch. He circled back to where he had started shifting and retrieved his shirt, pants, socks, and boots. The chilly late winter air didn’t bother him; he was a shifter after all and his body warmed and cooled as necessary. But he had to be careful as he didn’t know who or what he could run into, so he put on his clothes for his trek home.
The hike back would be a couple of miles, but it would be good to tire out his body and his mind. The sleepless nights were taking a toll on him, and some days, he exhausted himself during the day just so he could get some rest at night.
If his family and friends could see him … he slammed his fist into a nearby tree. No, they could never know. This was his secret to keep, and the burden would stay on him. He wished his mom and dad were around, so he could talk to them. But, he wasn’t a child anymore. They had told him the truth some time ago, thinking it would make things easier. It hadn’t.
It was inevitable, he supposed. The bad blood taking over. Dad never said bad blood, but Ben knew that’s what he meant. It was making his bear crazy and unmanageable. The animal inside him wanted to take control of their body. It had been happening for months. Barely controllable shifts. The physical clawing at his insides. The worst had come when he woke up covered in blood next to a young buck. The grizzly didn’t even eat the thing; just ripped it to shreds. And yet ….
Ben blinked. The memory of the delicious, sweet scent was so clear in his mind it was as if it was right there. He wracked his brain, trying to figure out what it was. Fruity, maybe raspberries or oranges or a combination of both. All he knew was it somehow calmed the beast inside him. But where had he smelled it? Whenever he was out, he would always sniff the air, trying to get a whiff. He thought he was going crazy until he smelled it again a few days ago. Traces of it anyway, before it disappeared like a ghost.
A ringing sound interrupted his thoughts, and he fished his phone from his pocket. “Hello,” he said in a gruff voice.
“Ben, my man,” Nathan Caldwell answered back. “Dude, where the hell are you?”
“I’m at home,” he answered.
“No, you’re not,” his friend said. “I’m outside your cabin. Been ringing the doorbell for the last ten minutes.”
Shit. “I mean, I’m just out back. I’ve been hiking.”
“Dude, in this weather?”
Ben picked up his pace. “Yeah. What do you want?”
“I’m here to pick you up. We’re going out.”
He rolled his eyes. “You must be getting desperate for a wing man if you’re calling me. Are you going to hit up Luke next when I say no?”
“Ha! I want to meet girls, not scare them away. And no, I’m not calling you to be my new wingman. Unless you are interested.”
“No,” he said flatly. He could see his cabin in the distance, and he ran faster, if only so he could get rid of Nathan sooner.
“Aww, you sure? You know I never strike out. Besides, when’s the last time you had some pus—”
“Nathan,” he warned.
“You know, I’ve never seen you bring any girls home.”
“Just because I don’t parade a string of women around, doesn’t mean I don’t get any,” he said. He came up behind his cabin, jogged up the steps of the wraparound porch, and made his way to the front door. “I do fine on my own.”
Nathan turned to him and slipped his phone back into his jeans. “Just kidding, man. I know you got game; you’re just not flashy.” He frowned. “You … okay?”
“Yeah, like I said, I was just out back … enjoying the fresh air,” he added quickly. Even without the blood on his face, he must have looked like shit. “So, what are you doing here?”
“I told you, we’re going out.”
“You could have just called,” Ben pointed out.
“Yeah, but then you would have made some excuse to not go. C’mon man, live a little. There’s, like, tons of horny human girls out tonight, looking for some fun. If you put in half as much effort as me, you could be swimming in pus—er, women.” He waved his hand at Ben. “Chicks dig the beard and the lumberjack look these days.”
“Not interested,” he said, making a grab for the front door.
“You don’t even know why we’re going out. It’s Jason’s bachelor party, man! You can’t miss that.”
Ben stopped. His cousin, Jason Lennox, had just gotten engaged and the wedding was coming up soon. “I thought Jason didn’t want a bachelor party?”
Nathan huffed. “So? He might not want one, but he needs one.”
“Christina will chop off your balls if she finds out you took Jason to a strip club.”
“I asked her permission, don’t worry. And we’re just having a boys’ night at The Den. I happen to like my balls where they are, thank you very much,” Nate said with a wince.
Ben laughed. He’d heard about what his cousin’s fiancée was capable of and did not want to mess with her. “Fine. If it’s for Jason.”
“Good.” Nathan let out a relieved sigh. “You know Matthew’s on board; we only have to convince Luke.”
“Oh, I gotta see how you plan to do that,” Ben said. “Let me change, and we’ll head over to his place.”
Chapter 2
“Sorry, Boss,” Penny said as she whipped past Tim on her way to the employee locker room. “Stupid car,” she muttered unhappily as she went to her cubby. She whipped off her blouse and wiggled into her uniform shirt, not bothering to check her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was probably a mess, but she quickly ran her fingers through the curls, hoping that would be enough to tame them. She hadn’t even had time to put anything more on her face than a swipe of lip gloss.
Her busted up old Toyota chose the worst time to act up. Friday night was one of the busiest nights at The Den, which meant everyone had to come in. One of the girls had given her a dirty look as she passed by on her way to the locker room, but Penny tried to ignore it. She’d been a model employee the last few weeks, yet none of the girls aside from Heather seemed to warm up to her. The vivacious bartender had told her it was probably because her ‘cute face and bodacious bod’ got her more tips than anyone else, but that didn’t make her feel any better. She let out a deep sigh. It really shouldn’t bother her, after all these years, the way most people just saw boobs and a butt when they looked at her. She couldn't help but—
“Whoops! Sorry!” She collided into someone as she was rushing out of the locker room.
“Watch it!” the other girl said, her arms going around Penny to prevent them both from falling.
Penny disentangled herself from the other girl. “What are you … oh, are you new?”
The girl raised a brow at her as her gaze swept from head to toe. “Yeah, name’s Mia,” she said with a smirk t
hat made Penny uncomfortable. Mia was tall with long dark hair that fell to her hips and lips slicked with red lipstick.
“I’m Penny. Sorry, I gotta go. My shift started an hour ago. Nice to meet ya!” she said with a wave, then quickly made her way out to the floor.
“Ooohh, girl, you chose the wrong night to be late,” Heather said as she filled four glasses with seltzer water.
Penny tied an apron around her waist. “It’s my damn car. Just got it back from the mechanic, too.” Ugh, she couldn’t afford another costly repair. She supposed she should be glad the car started at all today. If only it would hang on for another couple of weeks.
“Table six,” Heather said, pointing to the table across the room and shoving a tray of drinks at her. “Olive’s just about ready to have an aneurysm.”
As if on cue, Olive shot Penny a nasty look from across the room as she took out a foot from her shoe and rubbed it with her palm.
“Sorry!” she mouthed to Olive. “You can tell her to take five. I’ll take care of her tables.” Heather gave her a two-fingered salute, then signaled the haggard-looking Olive to go on break.
Penny grabbed the tray and walked over to table six, giving the patrons a quick apology as she served them their drinks. Next, she stopped by the other tables, checking to see if they needed anything and taking more orders, then she hopped back to the bar.
Working at The Den was hard, but she was used to it. She wasn’t afraid of hard work, and it was nice to be able to pay her bills and still have some extra cash left over. She could figure out what to do next once she built up her savings. As the weeks passed by, she had realized one thing: no way was she going to be stuck in Greenville. Once she had enough money, maybe she’d head back to Houston. Joan and Gary Rinaldi, her previous employers at the restaurant, told her she’d be welcome back anytime. Of course, if she needed to make another trip to the mechanic, it would set her back a bit.
After a busy first hour, that miraculous lull every server prays for finally came when all the tables had their orders filled and everyone was happy. Penny took advantage of it and stood by the bar, leaning on the counter to get the weight off her feet.
“Another one bites the dust,” Heather said.
“Huh?” she asked.
“Another Lennox. Jason this time.” She shook her head. “I never thought I’d see the day.”
Penny turned her gaze to where Heather was looking—a table in the corner where a group of guys were laughing and drinking. “Eeep,” she squeaked.
It was déjà vu. Like her first night here. They were even sitting at the same table, though this time, none of the girls were around. Matthew, Jason, and Nathan, she knew. The latter two were regulars and flirted with her a bit, but they were always nice to her and left her a good tip. The fourth guy, she didn’t know, but something about him made her want to stay away. And then there was the last guy. It was him. Ben Walker.
After that first night, he never came back to The Den. But then she’d seen him again yesterday. She was enjoying the quiet afternoon at her favorite cafe when Christina Stavros walked in with her friends.
She still couldn’t believe it. Memories of that night were enough to make her hands start shaking. She had gone out to the back to take her break and this creepy customer had followed her. He tried to grab her, and she froze, but Christina was there to save her. She didn’t even get to thank Christina because she had run away.
Seeing Christina at the cafe was her chance. As it turned out, Christina was the nicest person, even offering to teach her to defend herself. But then she saw Ben walk into the cafe and she panicked and ran.
A flush crept up her neck, thinking of how close she’d been. She whipped around so Heather couldn’t see her as her breath came in short bursts.
“You okay, Penny?” Heather sounded worried.
“Me? Yeah, I’m fine.” He’s just a guy, she told herself. A guy who’s never looked at her and didn’t even know she existed. Deep breaths. That’s it.
“That table’s mine,” Olive said, as she sauntered past them and flashed Penny a pointed look. “You owe me.”
“You can have them,” Penny said. The moment the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. As she watched Olive lean over and flirt with Ben, she felt an unreasonable stab of jealousy. “What?” she said out loud, then shook her head. “I must be getting a fever or something.”
Penny returned to her tables, taking checks and orders back and forth from the bar. She kept her head and gaze down as she tried not to look over at their table, but she couldn’t help herself and took a peek. Hmmm. Where was Ben? She saw the other guys—Nate, Jason, Matthew, and the tall, scary-looking one—at the table but not him. Did he leave? Or maybe he went with Olive—
“Penny? Penny Bennet?”
She whipped around at the sound of her name. “Yes?”
The man who called her name was standing with two other guys around a table, beer bottles in hand. “It is you! Penny, it’s me. Kyle. Kyle Roberts.”
Penny squinted her eyes. “Oh. Kyle. From Greenville High.” She swallowed a gulp.
Kyle Roberts. She knew who he was. He hadn’t changed much over the years, except maybe for the slight paunch around the middle and some thinning hair.
“Yeah, it’s me. And you remember Jeremy and Cam,” he nodded to his friends. “So, you’re looking good.”
That familiar, uncomfortable feeling crawled through her as Kyle’s eyes ran up and down her body. She hugged the tray in her hands to her chest. “Thanks.”
“I didn’t know you were back in Colorado,” he slurred, moving closer to her. “Or that you worked here.”
“Y-y-yeah, I moved back a few weeks ago,” she stammered. The stink of alcohol on his breath was unmistakable. What were her old high school classmates doing in a shifter bar? “I’ve been working here for a while now. I’ve never seen you here before.” In fact, it was one of the reasons she took this job, even though it was a good twenty-minute drive from Greenville. So she wouldn’t have to see anyone from her past.
“Yeah, well, me and the boys heard some things. Someone told us things get wild around here,” Kyle said meaningfully. “Of course, if I had known you were here, I would have guessed it was a different kind of wild. So, tell me, how’s your momma?” Behind him, Jeremy and Cam snickered.
“I wouldn’t know; I haven’t seen her in years,” she said in a cold voice, then turned to walk away. Oh no, she would not be having this conversation here.
“Hey, c’mon.” Kyle stepped in front of her, blocking her way. “Don’t be that way.”
“Kyle, I’m working,” she pleaded.
“What? Just because you got out of Greenville a couple of years back, you think you’re too good for us?” he said, his voice raising.
“Please, just leave me alone.” She tried to side step him, but he blocked her again.
“C’mon now, pretty Penny.” He stroked a finger down her bare arm. “We just want to have some fun. What time does your shift end? I’m sure me and the boys could show you a good time.” He leaned down to her ear. “We know you like having a good time.” His hand cupped her ass and pulled her close enough so her hip brushed the bulge growing in his pants. “Just like momma, right?”
The anger that had been brewing in her, for years maybe, suddenly reared its ugly head. She had had enough. “Fuck you, Kyle!” she yelled, pushing him away.
“You wish,” Kyle said with a smirk. He stalked closer to her. “C’mon, are you shy now? You’ve been giving it up to everyone for years.”
“No!” she cried as she evaded his grasp. “Stay away from me!” She staggered back and bumped into one of the tables, sending it and her crashing down. As her butt painfully hit the floor, the whole room seemed to quiet down, and the air felt heavy.
Penny got to her knees and rubbed her sore behind. As she was contemplating what to do next, the sound of heavy footsteps made her look up.
It was him. Ben Walker, str
iding across the room toward her. He glanced briefly at her, his blue eyes blazing. She looked around, behind her, unsure. But there was no one else on the floor, so he must have been looking at her.
Kyle let out an audible gulp as Ben came closer. “Hey, what’s up man?” he asked, trying to act casual. “Are you—” He didn’t finish his sentence because a loud series of pops and a deafening roar rang out over the din in the room.
Penny thought she was in a dream for a moment because Ben was suddenly gone and in his place was the biggest grizzly bear she’d ever seen.
The bear reared up, raising its giants paws overhead. Screams and shouts filled the air, followed by more pops and growls. Glass shattered everywhere, and panic was thick all around her.
“Goddammit, Ben!” someone shouted.
“Take him down! Get him outta here.”
Penny remained frozen in fear. Around her, she could hear people shouting. And the smell … oh God, it smelled like a zoo. Fur, feathers, and all kinds of animal stenches reeked up the air.
“Let’s go!”
Someone grabbed her by the elbow and got her to her feet, then pushed her toward the exit. When she reached the door, she took a last glance backward, her eyes going wide as she saw the gigantic grizzly. It was so tall, its head nearly touched the ceiling. A gray wolf had pounced on its back, while a tall, blond man was pushing against its side.
“Penny!”
She turned her head as she exited The Den. The fresh air cleared the stench from her nose. “Heather!” she cried as she collapsed into the other girl’s arms. “What ….”
Heather grabbed onto her. “It’s okay, everything should be under control now.”
Sounds of loud animal growls and glass and wood shattering from inside The Den made her wince. “That’s under control?”
“Yeah, well … this doesn’t happen too often,” Heather said. “I mean, it is a bar and people get drunk, but Tim has a strict no-shifting policy inside.”
The Blackstone Bear Page 2
