Jade Crew: Forgotten Bear (A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Ridgeback Bears Book 3) (2 page)

As if he was completely oblivious to the tension inside, the man walked toward a table right in the middle of the two groups.

Perhaps he’s far more aware of it than I thought,
Russell mused as he realized that his choice of seating had to be one hundred percent deliberate. A quick glance over at Ajax confirmed that the Alpha had the same thoughts. There was no way someone like Gabriel would seat himself between two bear crews by accident. No veteran of life in Genesis Valley was that stupid.

Though his arrival was completely unexpected and odd, Russell was grateful for his calming presence. After all, Gabriel was one of the Stone Bears, the elite shifters tasked with protecting the dragon stones that Russell and the other miners spent their days digging up. They were highly proficient shifters, specially trained in combat warfare in both their human and bear forms.

He was also a walking behemoth, easily four or five inches taller than Ajax, who was himself a couple of inches taller than Russell. Although he sat down gently, the chair still groaned under the titan. Gabriel clasped his hands in front of him, resting them easily on the table, before quickly readjusting the black and red checkered tablecloth that had been knocked askew by his seating. His tan long-sleeve shirt fit tightly, emphasizing the slabs of muscle that covered every inch of his body.

“Ferro, do you happen to have any of that terrific beer available?” Gabriel asked, acting for all the world like he was innocent of what he had just gotten himself involved in.

Russell wondered why he would willingly place himself in the middle of the conflict. It’s not like he was a regular at The Tongue & Flame. In fact, Russell wasn’t sure he had
ever
been inside before. Although he probably got along okay with Ajax, the crews and the Stone Bears made it a point not to become too friendly. Which must mean he was doing it for Ferro. The dragon had, to Russell’s knowledge, been in Genesis Valley for quite some time, so perhaps the two had forged a relationship based on that. It seemed entirely likely, he supposed. A lot of the crews came and went, but Ferro and Gabriel had both been here for a long time, as far as Russell knew.

Grunting, the bartender reached under the bar and brought forth a brown bottle that Russell had never seen the likes of before. He placed it on the bar next to Russell, who, recognizing that Ferro didn’t want to walk into the middle of the room at just that moment, got up and walked it the five paces to Gabriel’s table.

“Thank you Russell,” he said with a smile, and a faint nod to indicate he understood that something was going on. Russell was standing between the unknowns and Gabriel, which is the only reason he got away with it.

He nodded silently, not trusting his voice. On the return to his seat, his phone buzzed. It was a text from Garrett, finally stating that he was on his way. It was too late now, he thought, though maybe the rest of his crew might arrive to do damage control. Maybe.

As if on cue to add to the drama, the door opened again, and in walked Emma. Russell opened his mouth to tell Gabriel that it was Emma, in the hopes that the Stone Bear might immediately escort her back outside in order to avoid any of the coming conflict. He could see in his periphery that the other crew was perking up at the sight of a woman.

Women, he noted, his mouth still not working. It was frozen, because the second woman who walked in stole his breath away. She was tall, much taller than average. If he had to guess, she was almost six feet tall, and while she wasn’t athletically slim, she wasn’t weak either.

Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and as she turned to say something to Emma, he noticed that it still reached down past her mid-back. It wasn’t until she looked around the room that he saw the brilliant green of her eyes.

“Wow,” he whispered, completely taken aback by her beauty, and just for a moment, he forgot all about the dangerous situation brewing around them.

Gwen

“You want me to apply
here
?” she asked skeptically, hoping that it was just a joke.

The oversized bungalow that had been turned into a bar was in rather rough shape, if the exterior was anything to judge by. The owner kept it clean, but it was still looking rather worn, as if it had been there for some time. To her practiced eye, she thought a new coat of paint, replacing some of the fixtures, and updating—or at least fixing!—the neon sign that hung from the roof would go a long way to making it look presentable.

She shuddered at the thought of what might await her inside. She hoped that it was at least clean. If it was dirty, she was going to walk out. There were some things that could be stomached, but working in a filthy environment was not one of them.

“Come on Gwen, it’s not that bad,” Emma snorted, snatching at her friend’s hand and pulling her along.

“I mean, I didn’t expect the Ritz when I came out here, but a dive bar? What did I ever do to you?” Gwen complained, sullenly following along like a little child.

“You’ll love it inside. It’s so charming. Trust me!” Emma said, pushing open the front door.

All thoughts of the interior décor were gone as the two of them stepped inside. Although Gwen was used to the spotlight to some degree, the way that the women instantly became the focus of attention unnerved her.

“Emma, why are there so many large, muscular men staring at us all of a sudden?” she said, turning slightly to face her friend. “I didn’t realize I was signing up for a gangbang,” she joked.

But when Emma didn’t reply, she inspected her friend’s face more clearly and saw the tension etched in her eyes and the tightness of her cheeks. Something was not good. Not good at all.

She swept her eyes over the gloomy interior, trying to figure it out. The lighting was terrible, but as far as she could tell, the place was fairly clean. Off to her left, a large group of massive males all stood, watching her and Emma. She didn’t like the looks on their faces. They looked…hungry, she thought was the best word.

In the back corner was another smaller group of men, equally tall, broad-shouldered, and covered in more muscle than a Greek god. Between the two were a number of small two- or four-person tables, covered in red and black-checkered tablecloths that she instantly wanted to toss into a fire. The simple wooden chairs didn’t seem like they could hold up if one of the men sat down, but even as she thought that, she noticed the big man sitting between the two groups. He was easily the largest man in the room, and he radiated a sense of calm and relaxation that wasn’t present anywhere else.

“Emma?” she said again, as her eyes swept the bar itself, briefly making eye contact with the man behind the bar, before sweeping toward the person seated in front of it.

He was staring at her, but she didn’t care, because she was staring right back. He was delicious. There was no better word that came to her mind. He was tall and handsome, and his dark, brooding eyes seemed to be gazing straight into her soul. She wanted to reach out and run her hands through his hair. Most of the others in the room kept theirs cut short, but not him. His sides were trimmed short, but the top was easily finger length, swept off easily to one side, neat enough to be natural-looking.

“Emma?” she repeated, coming back to her senses.

“I said,” her friend hissed, “go stand behind the bar, right now.”

“Why?” she asked, not understanding a thing about what was going on.

“If ever there is a time in your life where you just do something for me and don’t ask questions, this is it. Go walk behind the bar and stand next to the bartender,” her friend snapped.

Emma had never talked to Gwen like that before. The two had been friends for ages. Gwen knew when her friend was scared, and she could feel it now, though the way she controlled herself was impressive. Something bad was going on. Something very, very bad. Tentatively she started to walk toward the bar, her gaze flicking back and forth between the two groups of men.

Are they
all
bear shifters? There’s so many of them!
She had known that Genesis Valley was home to a large population of bear shifters, but she hadn’t truly understood that until now. Gwen was almost next to the bear who she had locked gazes with before when Emma spoke up from behind her.

“Hello, Gabriel. I’m glad you were able to make our appointment,” her friend said, the strong alto voice cutting through the air like a knife. There was some quiet mumbling going on in each group, but overall the room seemed balanced on the edge of a blade, one wrong move or comment away from a full-blown confrontation.

Perhaps that was why Emma wanted her behind the bar. Gwen had shown up two nights earlier without warning, and was still a complete newbie when it came to understanding life in Origin and the valley. If there was about to be a fight between bear shifters, behind the bar was probably the best place to be, she decided.

She almost made it.

“Of course, Emma,” the large shifter sitting alone replied, confirming Gwen’s suspicions of who her friend had been talking to. “When a liaison from the Mining Consortium asks for my time, I give it.”

The man sitting at the bar in front of Gwen fought to keep a smile off his face, but he didn’t entirely succeed. Gwen wondered why the mention of Emma’s position would matter.

Unless,
she thought, her brain processing everything,
he’s hoping that the fact that she’s a liaison will kill some of the tension.

He was wrong.

“Hey Emma. Gabriel doesn’t deserve you. We’ll show you a real shifter,” one of the men who she didn’t like the look of shouted.

“Hey, pretty lady with the long blonde hair. Why don’t you come over here? We’ll show you a good time,” another one of the “hungry” men said, looking directly at her.

Gwen made a retching motion, and continued her walk toward the perceived safety of the bar. Although they might be bear shifters, she wasn’t new to being hit on or made fun of. One thing she had learned long ago was to stand her ground. So she simply smiled at him when the unknown man snarled and got up, though her pace may have quickened a bit.

She froze as movement exploded in her peripheral vision. Turning to the right, she noticed the other group of men had all risen from their chairs.

Uh oh.

“We treat ladies with respect around here,” the largest of them snarled, his voice deathly serious.

“Good for you,” someone spat back, his voice dripping with venom.

“You are no longer welcome here,” the first man said.

Gwen jumped as an arm snaked around her waist while the two sides continued to jaw at each other.

“You should step back here,” the man with the dark brown eyes rumbled as he easily moved her behind him and farther out of harm’s way.

“Okay,” she said meekly, feeling very out of place as thunderclouds seemed to form out of nowhere between the two groups. She looked at Emma, who was standing next to the man he had called Gabriel—who was still looking unconcerned about the entire thing.

“Who is he?” she asked her unexpected protector, motioning to the middle of the floor.

“Someone that these idiots are going to be very, very sorry they messed with if they keep it up,” he replied.

BANG

She jumped in shock as the noise echoed through the bar. Turning to find the source, she saw the bartender with both his fists on the bar. She wasn’t sure how he had managed to make so much noise, but it had been impressive enough to quiet even the jerks down, she noticed.

“I said no bears, no fighting. Take it outside if you can’t control your hormones,” he said levelly, though he was staring directly at the larger group of shifters, who had been nothing but rude.

“Oh piss off, we’re just having a little fun here!” the one she took to be the leader shouted back.

“Who is ‘we’?” Emma said, stepping into the conversation once more.

“You can call us the Opal Crew,” one of them crowed proudly.

“Really? Interesting,” she said calmly, pulling out her phone and dialing.

While everyone looked on in confusion, the man who had pulled her out of the way turned to face her.

“Hi, I’m Russell,” he said.

Gwen stared at him, shocked. “Don’t you think this is a rather bad time to be flirting?” she asked him. “Are you insane, or just have a death wish?”

“Probably a little of the former, and I don’t think much of the latter,” he said jovially. “Don’t worry, it’ll work out. Emma is a pro at this,” he said, though she could tell he didn’t entirely believe what he was saying.

“That reassures me so much,” she said dryly.

“So, what brings you here?” he continued. Behind him, the room seemed to have put itself on pause while Emma made a phone call.

“I’m friends with Emma,” she said distractedly, trying to look around the man’s frame to understand what was going on.

“You’re Gwen?” he asked in disbelief.

“Is there something unbelievable about that?” she said, standing upright and doing her best to look him in the eye. It was tough, but she was tall enough to make it work, giving him her best “You had better have a good explanation for that comment” look.

“Uh, not really. I mean, it
is
one hell of a welcome to Genesis Valley,” he said with a smile, hooking a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the current situation.

“You could say that,” she said, feeling her lips tug upward in response, despite the close proximity of danger.

“It’ll be okay,” he said calmly. “Things may get ugly,” he paused and looked behind her at the bartender. “Okay, well according to Ferro, they
will
get ugly,” he amended, “but it’ll be okay for you. We’ll make sure you’re safe.”

The grunt from the bartender didn’t exactly reassure her, but it seemed to work for Russell. Oddly enough, that seemed to calm her, as if she implicitly trusted his word.

Which would be a bad idea, Gwen Revere. You have no idea who or
what
he is. Well,
she told herself snarkily,
part of that is easy to find out.

“You’re a bear shifter right?” she asked, having given up trying to hear what her friend was saying into the phone.

“Everyone but you, Emma, and Ferro are bear shifters,” he said, motioning to every other person in the bar.

“That’s just great,” she said, her current biggest fear confirmed. “And just how likely are they,” she said, nodding her head in a particular direction, “to listen to his rules about no fighting, and no bears?”

“Uh, I have no idea,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I have no idea who they are. In fact, I don’t think anyone here knows. But they’re breaking a lot of rules, and Ajax is getting pretty close to having to do something or risk losing face.”

“Ajax?” she said dumbly.

“The big one over there. The Alpha of that crew,” Russell told her, turning to glance over at the smaller group of bears.

The smaller
crew
. They call themselves crews,
she corrected internally, trying to get the terminology right.

“Is he... are you... on my side?” she asked all of a sudden.

“This time he is, yes,” Russell said with a soft snort as if he couldn’t believe what he was saying. “As for me, I’m always going to be on your side. Cheesy line or not,” he finished with a smile.

She loved the ways his cheeks dimpled when he let the smile flare fully into existence. It lent him such an air of roguish charm that she felt he didn’t know he had. On top of that, like every other aspect of him, his teeth were perfectly straight. Bear shifters had all the luck when it came to genetics.

“So, Gwen, how long are you in town for?” Russell asked, not backing down.

“Well, if this is the sort of thing I can expect on a daily basis, then not very long,” she shot back, though part of her recognized what Russell was doing.

He was flirting shamelessly, and she knew it, but he was also distracting her, allowing her mind to start working at full capacity again. It was appreciated, and she hoped to tell him that later when nobody was looking to turn into an animal and destroy everything around her.

“What? This? This is just a little bit of bear shifter hospitality!” he said ruefully.

Abruptly his face lost its humor as he heard Emma clear her throat behind him.

Gwen watched as the entire room turned to look at Emma. She was in awe at the way her friend commanded the situation, if not complete respect, from the room. Even the unknowns—the Opal Crew she thought they had said—were paying her attention. That was not the Emma Labelle that Gwen knew. This was a newer, stronger version of her friend.

Part of her liked what she saw, wanting that confidence for herself. Gwen was no pushover, and she wasn’t afraid to give as good as she got. But there was a command presence about Emma now, like a captain on his ship. Some people had it naturally, and others acquired it through life experiences. Her friend, it seemed, had followed the latter path. It truly was a remarkable change, and one she made a note to ask about.