Mallory's Bears (2 page)

She zeroed in on the pleading eyes. “Please, please, understand. This is unnecessary cruelty. Stop eating beef so that poor, defenseless animals like our peaceful friend need not die.”

She pivoted the camera, placing only her eyes in the frame, then gave her final lines. “Frightened, caged, and then killed without mercy. Would you like to die that way?”

She pressed the stop button and lowered the camera. “And we’re clear. Short and sweet, right? What’d you think?”

Kid let the nervous bovine go. It hurried toward the herd, mooing its displeasure. “It looked good to me. Are we doing another one or is one enough for the day?”

“Maybe one more with the slogan, ‘Cows have feelings, too. Do you?’ written in a different color. Red was great for this first one, but let’s use gold paint next. That color will stand out against the brown hide better. Plus, I’d like to get at least two videos done before we get out of here. It’s better to get as much done as we can now than to have to come back another day.”

“Whatever you say, boss.”

She wasn’t Kid’s boss or anyone else’s. They didn’t make a dime from their efforts, but it was worth it if they could save one animal from horrendous torture.

“Grab that one over there.” She pointed at an even smaller heifer. Maybe it wasn’t totally fair, but using the scrawniest cows gave the video more impact than using a large, healthy brute of an animal. As far as she was concerned, she had to fight fire with fire, making the most of her videos to reach a consumer that, if given the choice, would choose their fast-food burger over the humane treatment of a cow any day.

Kid gave her a salute—a gesture he knew irritated her—and moved into the herd, his hand outstretched as he cooed at the animal.

* * * *

“Aw, hell, do you see that?” Rick Northman pushed his cowboy hat higher onto his forehead and stared at the scene below him. “Damn it all to hell.”

“Fuck.” Gunner followed the curse with several more. His brother was usually the easier going one, but after finding yet another mutilated cow, even his mood had shifted to the dark side.

Rick and Gunner owned the ranch their father had started. They’d spent their entire life running cattle and horses, but lately a problem had come up that wasn’t, unfortunately, all that uncommon. Someone or something had killed almost a half dozen of their herd along with one of their horses. They’d also lost several of their chickens one night, although they’d been locked in the coop. Other ranchers, werebear and werewolf alike, were having the same problem.

“Do you think they’re the ones?”

Rick squinted from the vantage point they’d taken on top of the small rise. The two people, one small woman and a very large man, hadn’t notice them yet. He tugged his binoculars out of the pack tied behind the saddle and peered at them. “Naw. They don’t have knives or any other weapons.”

“Then what’s the girl holding?”

“It looks like a video camera.”

“What’s she doing with that?”

Rick scowled as he read what was painted on the cow’s side. “I think they’re filming that heifer. They painted something across its hide, but I can’t make out what it says.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“Nope.” Rick handed the binoculars to his brothers. “Take a look for yourself. Can you read it?”

“No, but I’m willing to bet it’s not
Sally Was Here
. Maybe it’s
Tip Me Over
?”

“You’re just a regular laugh riot.”

Still, the joke was pretty funny even though it reminded him of the trouble they’d had last year when a group of college students had driven out to the ranch and had tried to tip a cow over onto its side. Cow tipping was a myth he wished he could wipe out of existence. Although cows sometimes dozed while standing up, they laid down to sleep. Even if the kids could’ve tipped the cow over, it would’ve been able to get back on its feet. Their prank, however, could’ve injured the cow.

All their prank had done was frighten the animal. One of the kids had gotten a well-deserved kick in the leg for his participation. They’d heard the boy’s wails and had come running. Yet instead of helping the injured student, they’d changed into their bear forms and had run the group off their land, insuring that they’d never come back.

They’d caught hell from the rest of the clan for letting humans see them in their animal forms. Bears weren’t common running around in pastures among cattle and their stunt could’ve brought unwanted attention to other werebears. Still, it had achieved their goal and given them one hell of a good laugh to see the kids run like the devil himself was chasing them.

“That big one looks like he could kill a calf with one hand tied behind his back.”

Gunner was right. The man was large enough to grab a cow by the neck, yank its head up, and slide a knife along its throat with little effort. But that wasn’t the way the killings had gone down. “That’s the point. A man would only need one stroke to kill a cow. Naw, our animals looked like they’d gone through an oversized deli meat cutter.”

They’d discussed the killings often and had talked to other ranchers in the area. From what they could gather, whoever or whatever was slaughtering the animals was doing it for fun or malice. No meat had been eaten or cut out and taken away. Instead, the multiple slash wounds and the way the animals had been gutted spoke of an attacker that was filled with rage. The killings were deliberate and cruel acts.

“Let’s check this out before it becomes a YouVideo sensation.”

Gunner scoffed. “It’ll never happen. No one wants to watch a cow chewing its cud compared to watching cute kittens or puppies romp and play.”

“Unless there’s something funny or outlandish written on its hide.” Rick tugged his hat into place. “Besides, they’re trespassing.”

“Yeah, they are. Are we going to do this as men or as bears?”

Rick couldn’t help but straighten his back at the question. They hadn’t transformed in several days and his inner bear was aching to get free. But now wasn’t the right time. Besides, he didn’t want the clan to jump down their throats again. “As men. I’d like to get a good look at her before we run her off.”

“At her, huh?”

Shit. He’d fucked up. “I meant at what she wrote.”

“Uh-huh. I’m sure that’s what you meant.”

“Go sit on a stick, little brother.” Rick added the “little” knowing Gunner hated to be called a little anything, including a little brother.

“Damn, man. You’re losing your sense of humor in your
old
age. Are you sure you don’t have that stick up your ass?”

Rick chuckled, acknowledging Gunner’s dig. Every year around his birthday, his brother would razz him about his age even though he was only four years older. Thirty-three wasn’t old, but as long as he was older than Gunner, he’d get the same “old man” treatment.

He heeled his horse into a gallop before Gunner did. For some unknown reason, he didn’t want him to reach the girl first.

By the time they’d made it to the two trespassers, a buzz of electricity had begun to sizzle up and down his spine. The closer they got to them, to her, the stronger the current. It was as though someone had hooked him up to a power line and flipped the circuit to sear straight through his body.

He glanced at Gunner and saw his confused expression. He’d bet anything that he was picking up the same sensation.

He leaned forward and urged his horse to go faster. Running a horse in a pasture that was torn up with the herd’s hooves wasn’t the safest thing to do, but he couldn’t slow down. The hum took over all of him, giving him no choice but to rush to its source.

The nearer they came to her, the more he studied her. She was far too short to be his type. Hell, she couldn’t have stood high enough to reach low hanging fruit. He liked tall, sinewy blondes. But her body? Yeah, that was pretty damn amazing.

Her long, coppery hair reminded him of the brownish-red color of a bucket sitting in the sunlight. He could see how full and lush it was even though it was pulled into a ponytail. The color was beautiful, eye-catching, especially with the strange pink stripe running down the left side to draw his attention down to her full breasts.

Her face wasn’t the angular shape he usually liked, yet it was intriguing. She could’ve been the cover model for Girl Next Door, but with an enticing underlying allure that had him all too aware of his growing cock. Her face had a sweetness about it that made him wonder what color her eyes were. And her lips? They had him aching for a good, old-fashioned kiss.

He reined his horse to a stop, swung his leg over the saddle, and dismounted. Dropping the reins, he strode toward her, ignoring the giant of a man who stood nearby. Gunner was off his horse, but hadn’t moved.

“Lady, are you two lost?”

To her credit, she stood her ground, pulling her shoulders back as though ready to take him on. The glint of alarm in her big green eyes hadn’t faded, but that only gave him more reason to respect her.

“Not at all. I know exactly where I am and what I’m doing.”

She was a feisty one. At least she had that going for her. Okay, that and the curviness of her body. For such a little thing, she had breasts that would rival the town whore’s paid ones. Not that he knew from touching them and he’d never tell Sugar Honey that. She was more than proud of her new boobs.

The woman’s waist was small. Or was it the wideness of her hips that made her waist seem like he could fit his hands around her and touch fingertips? Either way, the package was a damn good one.

“Is that right? Then you know that you’re on the Triple X Ranch. I’m Rick Northman and that’s my brother, Gunner. This is private property, which means you probably also know you’re trespassing. Have I got it straight?”

“Hey, Rick, check it out.”

Rick twisted around to find that Gunner had rounded up one of the calves. He gritted his teeth, and had to choke back a snarl. “Lady, what the hell do you think you’re doing? Why’d you paint my calf?”

She had the audacity to fist her hands on her hips and act as though he was the one who’d done wrong. “Maybe it is your land and maybe that’s your calf, but that doesn’t mean it deserves to die an awful death.”

What the hell was she talking about? Did she know about the animals that had been killed? He reassessed his earlier opinion. Could she be involved?

Until then, he hadn’t paid much attention to her friend. Was he her man? If so, he didn’t want to tangle with him if he could help it. As a man he’d have to work hard at besting him. As a bear, he’d take him out with one strike of his paw.

“What are you getting at?” Maybe if he let her flap her yap a little longer, she’d spill enough information to make sense.

“Can’t you read?” She tilted her head to the calf Gunner was holding.

Damn, but she was irritating. And yet, even as irritating as she was, he couldn’t dismiss the growing need to have her. He wanted to tear off her clothes and wrap her legs around him. But at the same time, she filled him with a curiosity to know her better. When had any woman ever gotten to him that way? Especially so fast and hard?

“What’s that supposed to mean, anyway? Sentenced to death? Don’t you know that’s why ranchers raise cattle? To sell for public consumption? Or are you telling me that you’ve never eaten a hamburger?”

She opened her mouth, no doubt ready to give him a sassy answer, but he waved her off. “The real question is why you’d write that on one of my cows. Do you think cattle read?”

She hardened her face, then held out her hand for the camera she’d given to her big man as they’d ridden up to them. “Take a look for yourself.”

He had a bad feeling that he’d gotten tricked, but he still had to see. Taking the camera, he held it up and watched the video. Once he was finished, he had the urge to smash it to the ground.

“Don’t bother breaking it. I already sent the video to my e-mail.”

Aw, shit.
“And what are you going to do with it? Watch it every night while you curl up on your couch with your thirteen cats?”

She was not the type of woman who’d end up alone with a bunch of cats. But he loved seeing her get even angrier. She’d be fun to razz.

“I’m going to upload it to YouVideo and let the world know what’s happening to these poor creatures.”

“Poor creatures? Are you serious, lady? These animals live better than some humans I know.” The word
lady
didn’t do her justice. Maybe
princess
or
queen
would. He was surprised that such a small person could command his respect in such a short time.

“Who’s this guy? Is he your husband or your bodyguard?”

The huge man stepped closer to her, then offered his hand. “I’m Mike Shorter, but people call me Kid. This is my friend, Mallory Quinn.”

“Kid, we’re not here to make friends.” She seared Rick with another glower. “Especially not with men who are cruel to animals.”

That did it
.

His anger whipped around in a frenzy, rising to the surface with a boil. “Look, lady, I don’t know where you’re getting this shit, but we don’t treat our animals badly. If you don’t like raising cattle for food,
then that’s your problem. Until they arrive at the production facility—”

“You mean the slaughterhouse.”

The growl slipped out before he knew it. Her eyes widened, but again, she showed her stuff by not running. Smaller growls had sent grown men scurrying away as fast as they could.

“Whatever. It’s the cycle of life. Everything needs to eat.” As a human, he enjoyed a good steak or burger. His bear, however, tended to eat more fish and vegetables, but he wouldn’t tell her that.

He was astounded and even angrier when she laughed.

“For your information, it’s the circle of life, not the cycle of life. And no. We don’t need to eat other living beings. We’re not savages any longer.” Her haughtiness grew. “At least, most of us aren’t.”

“Not that I owe you an explanation, but listen up. We send our cattle to a quality-run meat packing facility. Our animals are killed in a humane way with a facility that toes a hard line on following all the governmental regulations.” He gritted his teeth so hard he thought he’d crack one.