“You stay here, now. I’ll be back soon,” Red says cryptically. Then I watch as his teeth elongate, his eyes turn a darker blood red, and his skin leeches of all color. He hisses, baring his razor-sharp teeth and I can’t restrain the scream that rips through my throat any longer. I throw myself back against the wall, scrabbling to get as far away as possible.
I strain to listen as his footsteps recede into nothingness. When I’m certain he’s gone, I get to work trying to escape…again. Roots stick out of the soil and I test each one until I find a sturdy one a few feet above me. I manage to grab onto it and find a foothold in the soil wall with my uninjured foot. I find another, but with my sore ankle it takes everything I have not scream out in pain as I put all of my weight on it.
I repeat the process until I’m able to throw my arms over the lip of the hole. There’s a slim-trunked tree a little ways away and I manage to get my arms around the base of it to pull myself the rest of the way out.
My eyes dart around the tree-line, searching for his pale white skin against the darkness. When I see nothing, I get to my feet and limp away from that hellhole. I make it halfway around the clearing when I hear the shouts. I pause and try to quiet my thundering pulse. I hear it again, coming from the door to the cellar which is the only thing remaining of the old tourist center.
I check the clearing for signs of Red. When I don’t see any, I dart from the cover of the trees to the cellar door. My ankle gives out just as I reach the door. Leaning heavily against it, I whisper-shout, “Sam! Sam, is that you?”
“Sullivan, thank fucking God,” Sam answers.
I find a hefty rock nearby and get to work smashing the lock to the door. It busts free and I rip it off, throwing it somewhere over my shoulder. I throw the door open and launch myself at Sam when he appears in the doorway.
“I’m so sorry,” I say. “I’m so sorry I’ve been such a bitch to you. I’m sorry I shut you out when Mom and Dad died. I’m sorry for every horrible, terrible thing I’ve ever said to you.”
He wraps his arms around me, too. “I should get kidnapped more often,” Sam says against my hair.
I pull away long enough to deliver several sharpthwacksto his chest. “Don’t. Ever. Do. That. Again. Sam. Thomas.”
“Trust me, the last thing I want to do is have a repeat of today. What the fuck was that thing?”
I shake my head against his chest. “Something. I don’t know…something else. This is the weirdest fucking town,” I say. “First there’s bear shifters, now freaky creatures with weird eyes that eat humans.”
“Wait, they have bear shifters, too?” he asks in alarm. “And who eats humans?”
My brow furrows and I release Sam from the hug. “What do you mean they have bear shifters, too?”
“That…thing. Whatever it is. When it found me at Declan’s place, it brought me here and tied me up before putting me in the cellar. I watched it chase a wolf that turned into a woman. I know that sounds crazy, trust me, I’m not on drugs or anything, but I watched it with my own eyes. Then it killed it and ate it. With its bare hands. When it was done it was faster, way faster, than before. It fucking ran around on all fours. Maybe I am going crazy, but it looked like it was turning into a wolf, too.”
I think about Declan and how fast and strong he is. How quickly he was able to heal after I bandaged him up.
Then I realize that Red had the chance to kill both Sam and I and he didn’t. He isn’t after us. We’re human.
He is after Declan.
chapter fifteen
SULLY
“We have to find him,” I say.
But Sam is already shaking his head, his eyes wide. “The hell we do. If he’s a fuckingbearhe can take care of himself. I meanwhat the fuck,Sully? First I find out that you’re a wizard or some shit and now you’re dating a zoo animal?” I start to object, but he cuts me off. “You bet your ass we’re going to talk about that. Later. What we need to do now is get the fuck out of these woods before fuckface gets back and changes his mind about having us for dinner, if you know what I mean.”
“I’m not going to leave him here, Sam, just like I wouldn’t leave you here. Now c’mon. We have to find Declan before Red does. If you’re right and he’s killing shifters to absorb their powers, he could be stronger than Declan now. And if that’s the case, he may not have much time.”
I peer around the clearing, but I can’t see much in the distance. Swift River National Forest is huge. So big that Declan could be anywhere by now.
“Why even take us in the first place?” Sam asks. “I mean if he doesn’t eat regular humans, then why even go to the trouble to take me or trap you?”
My body freezes and I turn to face Sam, whose face has also frozen mid-question, the both of us coming to the same conclusion.
“We’re bait,” I whisper and I nearly heave what little contents I have in my stomach all over my shoes.
“Keep it together for fuck’s sake. We have to get out of here.”
That manages to snap me out of my fear. I remember the can of accelerant in my back pocket when I hear the thunder of feet racing toward us. My heart stops and I forget the horror in front of me for the one on its way. Declan appears in the tree-line, his body in bear form. Dark fur covers his visible skin, his muzzle longer, and his teeth sharper and more deadly. He’s huge normally, but this way he’s nearly eight feet of pure, powerful muscle and claws.
When his eyes land on me the sound of his growl fills the night air. Behind me I hear Sam whisper, “Holy shit he really is a fucking bear.”
