Bear Shifters: Hunt Collection #1 (22 page)

Chapter Nine

Something hard poked Toby in the leg. He brushed it off and tucked his arms closer to his body. A shiver shook him to the core. He opened his eyes to the brightness of the sunlight filtering through the canopy of leaves above him. He looked up at the white-haired stern-looking police officer holding a night-stick in his hand. His head was cocked to the side as he spoke into his radio. “I found the body. Looks like another drunk.”

Why wasn’t the man scared? He was a bear!

He sat up, his hands pressing into the rocky ground. He lifted his hand. His hand? Toby wasn’t a bear anymore. He was back to his human self. His very naked human self. He pressed his back into the bark of the tree, wincing as it cut his skin. His body was damp as if he were a blade of grass covered in morning dew. He hoped it was dew. Another violent shiver rocked his body.

“Get up, buddy,” the police officer said. His accent was thick, telling him to
git
up.

Toby stood and the officer diverted his eyes. Toby cupped himself and stood there. Unsure what to do. He hoped the officer wouldn’t handcuff him, then he would really be exposing himself.

“Can you walk okay?” the officer asked, looking as if touching Toby’s dirty body would be crossing a line for him.

Toby nodded, not wanting to be touched either. “I’m good.”

Thankfully, the officer was parked at the edge of the woods, limiting Toby’s exposure to any onlookers who might be frequenting the park.

Toby sat on the back seat and the officer slapped a pair of handcuffs around his wrists then tossed him blanket.

The ride to the station was silent, though the officer attempted to make small talk by accusing Toby of being a slobbering drunk.  He decided not to say a word about how he got there. If he said he’d been a bear all night chasing rabbits and squirrels he knew he’d be headed to a much worse place than lockup.

“Do you have to take me to the station?” Toby asked. “I live nearby.” The metal handcuffs around his wrists clinked together.

The officer looked at him through the rear-view mirror. “Usually I would. But you were discovered by a female jogger who was particularly offended by your lack of clothes. Since it was called in, I have to perform proper protocol.”

Toby gripped the rough blanket around his body, leaning back against the plastic seat. He looked out the window, recalling the night before. His senses were still heightened, though they were more intense when he was a bear. His vision and sense of smell was sharp. The officer must be a smoker, he smelled the faint imprint of cigarettes and minty gum. His nose wrinkled at the smell of cleaning materials used in the backseat. He wondered how many people vomited or had done worse to the seat in the past. He tucked the blanket under his butt, trying to limit contact with whatever was left over.

Toby rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling smooth skin instead of tufts of fur. He clung onto the fact that even though it was impossible, he
had
been a bear the night before. How? Hell if he knew. He smiled, remembering how simple the world had been the night before. He worked on instinct and all of his worries and cares were left in the human world. But now that he was a human, his mind began to sift through what had happened and he needed to put the pieces together.

Toby tugged at the hem of his too-short, once-white tank top. The shorts squeezed his manhood but they were better than the blanket. Especially around the company he had in his cell. Two tattooed Latinos eyed him from the corner and Toby quickly looked away.

Something slapped his leg and he jumped. A man with a scraggly gray beard has his hand on Toby’s leg. “Is this your first time?” he asked in a warbley voice.

Toby scooted away from the man, pushing his hand off his leg. “Yeah.”

The man gave him a checkerboard smile. “It’s nice and cool in here.”

Toby’s heart squeezed. He assumed by the state of the man, he was living on the street. If they met in the real-world, Toby wouldn’t have given him a second glance. Being in the same place together had given them a commonality they would have never had before. “It is,” Toby answered, tearing his eyes away from the sad blue ones sitting next to him.

The man laid on the bench and within minutes was snoring.

Lockup had been segregated to one end of the large open space of the police station. Officers sat at their desks, paying him and the others no mind. The cacophony of electronic locks opening doors, phones ringing, and radios squawking grated on his nerves with each passing minute. He wanted to be in and out of there as quickly as possible, his reputation was taking a blow with each passing minute. He didn’t need to have any of this on his record.

He tried to flag down the officer who booked him, but failed miserably. Everyone else who walked by ignored him. When the two in the corner were snickering and looking in his direction he took a page from the panhandler and rested his head against the wall, closing his eyes. Without his sense of sight, the sounds and smells of the place intensified. He smelled the intense body odor from the man next to him and nearly gagged. His eyes shot open.
Well that idea went to shit
. He tried to hold his breath for as long as he could. He probably looked like a weirdo but it was better than having that smell stuck in his nostrils.

A half-hour later, Toby spotted Stan the other side of the partition from the front desk. He could have kissed his friend. He’d been given one phone call but didn’t expect Stan to come that quickly. He leapt from the bench and stood by the bars. The officer who had locked him up came by the cell with a set of keys.

“Next time, keep your clothes on, son.”

“I’ll remember that,” Toby said. He didn’t care if the guy was mocking him, he was out of there.

Within a few minutes, Toby walked into the lobby, attempting to keep his head high.

That was until Stan burst out laughing at Toby’s outfit. “I knew we drank last night, but did you take something without me? Remind me not to party hard with you anymore.”

Toby rolled his eyes. “Get it out of your system now.”

Stan’s eyes twinkled and he burst out laughing before they reached the doors. “What the hell are you wearing man? Did you rob a trailer home?”

“It was the cleanest thing they had in the lost and found.”

“The cleanest set of girl’s clothing.” Stan reached out to touch the fabric but pulled his hand away, wrinkling his nose. Stan assaulted him with another round of laughter. His face was bright red by the time he calmed down enough to speak. “They said you wandered miles away from your house, naked, and you scared a jogger. This is priceless, man.”

Toby shrugged, offering a self-deprecating laugh. It was all he could muster at the moment.

Stan clapped a hand on Toby’s bare shoulder and Toby flinched. The sensation rocked his sensitive body. Now that he was moving, he felt the underlying soreness in his muscles as if he’d worked out harder than he had in his life. Carting around the excess weight of a bear all night would do that to a person.

Stan looked at his hand with mock-disgust. “I’m going to have to wash that before we eat. You’re disgusting right now.”

“Eat?” Toby asked. The transformation had taken a toll on his body but his stomach churned fiercely.

“After last night, you need my hangover cure.”

Toby wasn’t hungover from booze, but he hoped that Stan’s cure would work just the same.

The sunny-side up eggs and greasy bacon stared up at Toby from his plate. He imagined his other self, tearing apart a chicken and a pig with its large paws. He pushed the plate away with his finger. His other hand rested on his leg as it bounced up and down involuntarily.

Stan dipped toast in his runny eggs. “I’ve never seen you this bad, man.”

He told his best friend about his clandestine heart transplant but he wasn’t completely sold on sharing what had happened the night before. Even best friends had limits. And by the way Stan was watching him, he didn’t want to worry him further.

“Yeah, well, Alexa broke up with me through text so I must have overdone it.” It was half a lie.

Stan’s mouth twitched. “That’s harsh.”

“Yeah.” The prickles of anger pinched at his chest. A stirring inside of him made him catch his breath. Was his anger at Alexa a trigger for him to change into a bear? He’d been a frustrated guy for a while after his father died, feeling more helpless than he did the previous night. What was different then all those other times?

“And a little immature,” Stan added.

Toby nodded, agreeing completely. “I’m going to try and talk to her today—”

Stan dropped his fork on the table and sat back against the booth. “Seriously?”

Toby held up a hand. “To give us both closure. It’s not fair that she gets the last word.”

Stan closed one eye, really looking at Toby. “Or are you going to beg her to come back to you?”

Toby rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not going to ask her to come back. “He swallowed a bite of the egg. The bacon grease had mixed with the egg and his stomach trembled. “It’s over.” He dug into his meal, unable to control himself. Just like he had with the rabbit.

Their waitress appeared at the table. “Can I get anything else for y’all?”

Stan pointed to Toby. “I think he could use more food. A trough if at possible.”

Chapter Ten

Stan covered for Toby at work, again. He came up with the excuse to say he had a doctor’s appointment. Toby watched his friend’s car back out of his driveway, lucky to have him in his corner. He needed to take the day to get himself together and then work even harder for the next few weeks to show his worth at the company.

The first thing on his agenda was to talk to Alexa.

After showering and putting on his own clothes that actually fit, he called Alexa. Of course the call went to voicemail. He tried calling her friends. Alexa had used their phones at random points in their relationship and he’d saved the numbers for situations like this.

It took three obvious hang-ups before he reached one, Faye.

“I think she’s staying at Megan’s,” Faye’s shrill voice sounded over the phone.

He waited for Faye to share the location.

She didn’t.

“Can you give me Megan’s address?” Toby pressed.

The girl sighed as if he’d asked her to do a hundred push-ups. “I’ll text it to you.”

“Thank—” The line went dead. Toby looked at his phone. The girl hung up on him. “Thank you,” he said to himself.

The text with the address came up a few seconds later.  It was across town. He knew he’d have to battle downtown traffic but thanks to Stan he had all day.

As he was putting away his phone, Estrella’s name popped up on the screen. He clicked the ‘decline’ button.
I’ll call you back, Doc.
He didn’t need to be clouded by anything right now. Especially her voice. A twinge of guilt squeezed his chest. His relationship with Alexa was barely cold and he was thinking of another woman. He wasn’t that guy. That’s why he needed to be as done with her as she was with him.

On the way to Megan’s, he thought about how everything had come together at the same time. If Alexa had decided to stick with him, he wasn’t sure how to explain the turning into a bear situation. It was one more lie that would be sure to drive a wedge in their relationship. Other than the fact that she was willing to take money from a dying man. The thought made his stomach clench.

He was at a dead stop in traffic when Estrella called again. He declined it again. This time a voicemail came through. He connected with the car’s Bluetooth and listened to the message.

“Toby. This is Dr. Martinez. I’m checking in with you to see how you’re doing. Give me a call back when you get this.” Her normally calm voice was rushed, shaky even.

The cars in front of him moved at a slow crawl, but he needed to concentrate. The doctor could wait.

He reached Megan’s an hour later, not what he expected but he couldn’t lift the cars around him. He smirked, thinking of his bear-self, would he be able to lift a car? He’d certainly be able to walk faster as an animal than battle the congested traffic downtown.

Alexa’s car—that he paid for—sat in the driveway next to what he assumed was Megan’s, a sporty red convertible.
Typical chick car.

He knew through conversations that the mansion belonged to Megan’s parents but they were traveling most of the year so it was practically hers.
Must be nice
. He wondered why these people spoiled their kids like that. Though it was almost the same thing he’d done with Alexa. He gave her anything she wanted. Though that would end today.

He rang the doorbell and waited.

A man in a suit answered the door seconds later. “Can I help you?” He was older, refined even, with his hands clasped behind his back and a straight spine.

“I’m looking for Alexa, Faye said she was staying here.”

The man leaned forward, speaking in a volume above a whisper. “Is she expecting you?”

Shit
. “No, but I won’t be long.”

He straightened up again and blinked slowly. “I’m sorry, Sir, but if she isn’t expecting you, I can’t let you inside.”

He pointed into the house with his hand. “Can you bring her here then?”

The man paused before answering. “Stay here, Sir.”

Toby crossed his arms. He didn’t think it would be that difficult to see her. He had called her on the way over and left a message. On a normal day, her phone was permanently attached to her palm, he was sure she got his message. He thought about pushing the older man out of the way and stalking into the house, but the guy was just doing his job. He understood that. Though the wait made him impatient.

The door flung open, Alexa was in a skimpy bikini. She’d probably been lounging by the pool all morning. “What do you want?”

Hi to you too.
Anger flared inside him. “You broke up with me over text? Come on, are we in high school?”

She pursed her pink, glossy lips. “I didn’t want to see you in case you wanted to
attack
me again.”

Her friend, Megan, poked her head out from behind the door. Toby ignored her. He wasn’t going to have people think he hurt women on purpose. “It was an accident.” He indicated her arm that—
thankfully
—showed no sign of the red streaks.

She clasped a hand over her arm. “This has been over for a long time.”

“Are you kidding me? We only had one fight.”

“Babe!” a guy called from inside the house.

Megan’s head whipped around and Alexa’s body stiffened. A blond guy wearing nothing but bathing suit shorts entered the foyer. His arms hovered around his sides like he was carrying something between them. He’d seen guys like that at the gym, their arms were so big they couldn’t even put them down properly. He came up beside Alexa and slid a hand around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

The guys green eyes met Toby’s. “Hey man, I’m Mark. Who’re you?”

Toby pressed his lips together and his gaze darted from Mark’s hand on Alexa’s waist to her eyes.

“This—this is Toby,” she said.

Mark’s smiling eyes turned cold and he pushed Alexa behind him. “You’re her ex? The one who came after her?”

Toby held his hands in front of him. “Alexa, stop lying. You know that’s not what happened.” He was furious that she was telling everyone ridiculous lies. Probably to cover her ass, knowing she was the one in the wrong about the whole situation.

Alexa’s eyes were wide, for the first time Toby saw actual fear in them.

Mark turned to her. “Is that true, babe?”

Alexa’s hand was tiny against his chest. “Mark, honey, I’ll be in in a minute. Let me handle this.”

Mark held two fingers out, bringing them to his eyes then back to Toby. “I’m watching you, man.”

I’m terrified.
He wondered how Mark would feel if Toby was able to control his changing into a bear. Would Mark be so confident?

Alexa closed the door behind her and stepped onto the stoop.

Toby clenched his jaw. “You’re seeing someone. That’s what this was all about?”

She scoffed. “We’ve been seeing each other for a while.”

Toby tugged at his hair. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Alexa crossed her arms. “I was going to tell you. Then you were in the hospital. What kind of person would I be if I left you then?”

His hands fisted at his sides. “You were a shitty person
after
the hospital. I would have preferred you were honest with me and saved me the trouble of trying to figure out how to fix us.”

Alexa shook her head. “We’ve been over for a long time.”

“How so?”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know. You worked a lot.”

It was a flimsy excuse. She somehow didn’t want to be in a relationship with him and was grasping at straws. “How else was I supposed to support the both of us?”

She bit her lip. “I don’t know.”

“And you never said anything. You just go out and get a replacement.” Something dawned on him. “Were you going to those places that you charged on my credit card with
him?
”

She shrugged. “Sometimes.”

“God dammit, Alexa!” Toby kicked the ground with the toe of his sneaker. The impact sent a sharp jolt through him, waking him up from the nightmare that was Alexa.

“Whatever, this is over,” she said, waving at hand at the air between them.

“Damn right it is.” Toby clenched his fist around his keys, drawing blood. He took the steps down to the driveway, adrenaline coursing through his veins.
I can’t believe this
.

“What about my car?” she called to him.

He didn’t want to deal with her ever again. “Keep it!”