Bearing It All (Alpha Werebear Shifter Paranormal Romance) (23 page)

The bike was parked right next to the main doors of the courthouse, and just as they got to it, Jamie and Izzy emerged from inside. “We’re right behind you,” Izzy said to Erik. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Don’t worry,” Erik replied. “I got this under control.” His awesomely cocky grin was enough to make Violet feel a little wiggly inside.

Erik handed turned to Violet and handed her a helmet. “You ever ride one of these?” he asked.

Accepting the skull-and-flames decorated helmet, Violet nodded. “Yes sir,” she said, still a little terrified of how...
alpha
the town’s alpha was. “But Crag – his is a lot bigger.”

“Don’t think I didn’t hear that!” Jamie yelled, as she hopped into the front seat of her convertible. She and Izzy both laughed as both the bike and the car revved up. “It’s not your fault though,” she shouted out the window. “Bears are just big all over!”

*

“H
ere?” Erik said, pulling off the road, killing his engine and rolling it as silently as possible, to the fringe of the woods where Violet pointed.

“Yeah,” she said. On the ride, he’d told her to stop being so nervous and to stop calling him sir because that’s what Erik’s father was called. “There’s his bike.”

Erik raised an eyebrow and whistled as he pushed a couple of scraggly vines to the side and staring at the chrome-covered monster.

“All right,” he said with reverence in his voice. “So it is bigger than mine. Come on,” he said, grabbing Violet’s hand and grinning back at her.

“Why are you in such a good mood?” she asked. “You’re wading into the middle of some serious stuff.” There was a note of worry in her voice. “Crag was the same way, seemed like he was excited instead of scared.”

“I’m gonna tell you a couple of secrets, Violet,” Erik said. He neatly folded his jacket and tucked it into one of the saddlebags. “First secret – always take care of good leather. It’ll last forever if you keep it clean and oiled, and don’t let it get too wet.”

“Er,” Violet said, screwing up her lips. “All right, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“The other thing,” Erik said, grabbing her shoulder as his eyes burned into Violet’s. “Is that we fighters – wolves, bears – we act like we’re excited because that’s the best way to hide fear.”

He stared at her a second longer, like he was trying to figure out what to say. Erik chewed his bottom lip. “And that’s... yeah, I’m scared. I’m sure he is too.” He tilted his head toward Ash’s bike. “But if you show it, then it gives your enemy a chance – gives them a weakness to go after. If you pretend like nothing bothers you, like you’re an invincible force of nature?”

“Then you can make
them
believe it too, right?” Violet asked.

“You catch on quick,” Erik said. “I can see what he sees in you. Now, come on, we’ve got a bunch of people to save and a pain in my ass witch who needs a lesson in why you have to play by the same rules everyone else does.”

Violet swallowed, hard, as she took her first step toward the forest. As the trees swallowed her and Erik, Violet heard the car Jamie and Izzy had taken drive up and shut off. “Are they gonna be okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Erik said, shooting her a deep, penetrating gaze. “And so are you. I wasn’t joking earlier though – I’ve seen Morgan boys fight. Hell, I’ve fought a couple of them. They’re no joke. And, worse comes to worse, the hyenas will be here in a while with the heavy artillery. They get a little rambunctious though. If we can solve this thing without the tear gas and the flashbangs, that’d be much better.”

“I hope you’re right,” Violet said, under her breath.

A few moments later, they came to the creek. Violet stared at the water, wondering where Ash was, and if he was in trouble, or if he was actually just waiting in the woods around the house like he said he would.

A huge crash followed by an unintelligible roar split the air. Immediately afterward, something that sounded like metal on metal met her ears.

“I was just about to ask which way,” Erik said. “I don’t think I need to bother.”

In one smooth motion, he ripped the shirt off his back and reached down, unzipping the legs of his jeans. “Izzy came up with this thing,” he said with a shrug. “Keeps me from tearing so many pants.”

Seconds later, Erik was off like a shot, blasting through the woods. A silver blur with a tattoo that snaked up his back, around his neck. Violet, crouching down as her red fur poured out of her, followed.

Just act like you’re not scared
, she thought as she darted through the trees, and bounced over a fallen branch.
Keep a straight face, stay brave. I’m coming Henry, I’m coming.

––––––––

H
e couldn’t wait anymore.

The first girl was taken out of her cage and thrown to the ground, and something inside Ash just snapped. Looking back, he hoped that behind him – and close behind him at that – was whatever help Violet was bringing.

But he just couldn’t sit here in the underbrush and watch anymore.

Ash looked back again and chewed his lip to try and suppress his rage for just a second longer. It wasn’t going to work, he knew, but any time he bought was something at least. He balled his huge fist and pounded it into the soft, damp ground where it made a thick, dark, thumping sound.

His flannel shirt was torn underneath both arms. The first fastened button – the fourth one on his shirt – had popped off, and was hanging by a string. This is how it was for bears, especially Morgan bears. They had this thing in their heads that would only go so far before it snaps.

Ash was bent as far as he could go.

The muscles in his already thick legs were straining against his jeans. The only way he was keeping himself together was through a strange combination of thinking about stroking Violet’s coppery hair, and burying his face in it, inhaling her scent... and counting.

One... two... three...

He needed to wait. He could take two or three of Marlin’s regular goons by himself, but no way could he take all twelve of these guys. Ralphie the weasel-looking bastard was sniffing around somewhere, no doubt trying to find a couple of coins someone dropped. The rest of them though, Ash didn’t know.

The two new guys were conspicuously absent.

Four... Five...

Ash couldn’t be sure of anything except his undeniable rage.

His heart pounded in his chest, right in time with the painful throbbing of blood in his temples. He was ready – he wanted to burst through the forest and sink his teeth into a neck or two. He wanted to tip over one of those trucks, feel bones crunch under his paw.

Six... seven...

But he couldn’t. Not if he wanted to
actually
save these girls. He had no doubt that just busting everything up wouldn’t end like he hoped.

There was a crunching sound in the distance behind him. Something was running through the woods – something big and heavy accompanied by something lighter and nimbler. He couldn’t place either sound, but at that moment, there wasn’t much he
could
place. Even remembering his face was a little more difficult than it should have been.

Ash balled his fist again, squeezing so tightly that his swelling fingers and his sharpening claws dug into his palm. Not long, he knew. Not long until he lost control. He had to wait as long as he could.

Eight... nine...

The big sound was still barreling up behind him, but there had been a snapping sound, then a yelp, and the smaller sound had stopped.

“Go check that,” Marlin sneered at one of his grunts.

“Check what?” the man – one of the squares – asked. “I didn’t hear nothin’.”

Marlin rolled his eyes. “That way,” he said, pointing in the direction where Ash had heard the snapping sound. “Something’s over there. Go check the traps.”

Traps? What traps? What’s going on here?

If there were traps, that meant they’d been expecting company. And if
that
were true, then it meant...

Ash flattened himself on his belly. The leaves and broken twigs underneath biting into the bare skin on his chest, and into his legs in the places his jeans had begun to tear. Not ten feet away, the vaguely familiar man crunched clumsily through the trees. His foot got tangled in a mess of vines. He tore at the vines violently, but it was no good.

“Goddamn son of a...” the man grumbled, bending over to untangle himself, and his glasses slipped off his nose. They fell to the ground with a soft
thump
. “Oh for fuck’s sake, now I’m dropping my glasses.”

When they were gone, Ash saw something that made it all clear. Black designs stretched around the man’s eyes in delicate, sweeping patterns that disappeared underneath his slicked back hair.

Ash gritted his teeth to keep from flying off the handle.

Don’t think I don’t know who you are
, Ash thought.
I’d recognize those marks anywhere.

They were bear marks. Edgewood marks. The Edgewood family was responsible for selling his brother out, for getting him strung up, tortured and killed, when he dared to try and bust up their drug-running operation. He couldn’t believe he never connected the dots before, but once again, it all came back to Marlin.

Ten... eleven...

Darrel Edgewood. The name stung Ash’s mind when he remembered. He was going to get a mouthful of Darrel Edgewood’s throat. Maybe he wouldn’t kill him, but he wouldn’t stop without at least mangling him a little.

That meant the other one was Davis Edgewood. It was just like a very, very uncomfortable high school reunion. Ash grinned to himself -
maybe not any more uncomfortable than a normal one though, just more likely to end with blood and broken bones
, he thought, with grim satisfaction.

Twelve...

Wherever Darrel had gone, he found something that was making a great deal of noise as he carried it back to the trucks.

Another girl was unloaded, but this one didn’t look entirely conscious. She half-stumbled toward the cellar, and as soon as she was ushered inside the door slammed shut with a sound so loud that Ash jumped.

Right behind him, the crashing sound was almost upon him.

“Don’t move,” a calm voice said.

Ash chose to ignore it and looked backward. A huge, silver-gray wolf stretched out beside him. The muscles of the creature’s arms and legs thickened into something halfway between man and wolf.

“I said don’t move,” Erik said.

“Who are you?” Ash shot back. He couldn’t hold on for much longer at all. Not much longer at all.

“I’m your backup. You got a hell of a girlfriend. Good job, son,” Erik said. “You ready to bust a couple heads?”

Girlfriend? I have a girlfriend?
Ash thought. His heart sunk and then jumped. He couldn’t believe she said that. “Yeah,” he said. “I guess I am. Where’s Violet?”

“I lost her back in the woods.” Erik asked, as he sidled up beside Ash. “She came after me, but god
damn
is she fast. Kinda what you expect out of a fox though, I guess.”

“She’s—”

“Hey, boss!” Darrel, the half-witted egg, stuck his arm out toward Marlin. “Look what I found! She sure likes kicking!”

On the end of Darrel’s ham-like arm was a writhing, screeching, kicking fox with a beautiful red coat, and jet black forearms.

That... just about did it.

Ash, shaking with rage, pounded one fist and then the other into the dirt beside him. His jeans ripped all the way up to his waist as his thighs swelled, and fur poured out of him until he was covered from head to toe. His knuckles twisted, his fists creaked and crackled until they were massive, bowling-ball sized paws, and then he shot a glance at Erik.

The wolf nodded.

The bear felt rage course through him. Sweet, beautiful rage.

This was it, he knew, this is when it all came down. He was walking out of this place with his Violet no matter what. And unless something really weird happened, he’d leave with his overwhelming need for vengeance slaked, too.

Erik grabbed for him, but it was too late.

With a roar so wild and mighty that it shook the trees, Ash slapped a branch, carving out a claw-shaped chunk, and then dove headlong into the crowd.

Charging straight in, Ash took two surprised guards with one wild swing of his arm, and then slammed his head into a third. The first two men fell backwards, shocked. The third flew backwards, hit the hood of one of the pickups, busting the windshield and collapsing on the hood.

From the house, Leota emerged, shrieking like a banshee, but Ash didn’t notice her. He didn’t look anywhere except straight into the face of the man he wanted to kill most in the world – right that second, anyway.

Murderous rage coursed through his veins as he watched that bald, yammering idiot with his precious Violet held in the air by one leg. She was kicking, thrashing, and every now and then, managed to sink her teeth in and get a chunk.

“This stupid fox!” Darrel Edgewood shouted. “Do something Marlin! I don’t wanna get nibbled to bits!”

“Darrel, you fuckin’ baby,” Marlin snarled. “You want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.”

Ash was trembling, shaking, full of hate. And then, in a split second, Marlin backhanded Violet. His gnarly-knuckled hand smashed into her face, busting a lip and forcing a pained yelp to escape her beautiful lips.

Before his eyes, Ash watched Violet go limp, and then be tossed like garbage to the ground.

“No... no!”

His voice was pure, seething rage. The blood coursing through his temples was oddly almost comforting. Like he had gone back to a place he’d forgotten how much he loved.

One last look at his beautiful Violet, crumpled on the ground, was the last push he needed.

“Wait!” Ash heard, vaguely, as he charged forward. “That one has a gun!”

Ash’s paws crushed the trembling ground. Leaves and twigs and sticks all breaking under his massive weight. He had Darrel Edgewood in his sight and he wasn’t going to stop until that soft, white neck was...

The first shot hit Ash in the shoulder, but he didn’t react except to flinch. The second was almost exactly where the first hit, but a little lower. His arm throbbed, but he didn’t care. A quick check of his arm showed Ash there wasn’t any real danger – the bullets hadn’t hit bone – only some pain.