Scottish Werebear: A Second Chance: A BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Scottish Werebears Book 6) (10 page)

"I'm in. Just tell me what you need me to do," Charlie spoke directly to Henry now.

When Charlie woke up, she barely remembered the confusing events at the park. She blinked a few times in an attempt to let her eyes adjust to the darkness of the strange room she found herself in. Slowly, outlines of furniture came into view. She was in a single bed, still fully dressed. The side of her head was tender, as though she'd been bruised somehow. Across from her bed, stood another one with a desk and chair in between underneath the window. Where was she?

She closed her eyes again and inhaled deeply. James had been here. His scent lingered on the pillow, which reassured her. She was safe.

After laying there, finding her bearings for another minute or two, she got up to investigate the rest of the house. She opened the door and heard voices coming from down the hall. One she recognized as James, the other, she wasn't sure. They were arguing.

As she walked along the hallway, the cold of the tiles underfoot alerted her to the fact that she wasn't wearing her shoes anymore. Still, she didn't just march into what she presumed was the living room. No, she stayed back a bit and listened. Something about a video on Facebook. They needed help to manage the fallout from it.

This tied in perfectly with the idea she'd had at night. She could help these guys swing public opinion their way. She could help appeal to people's hearts to convince them the shifters weren't the bad guys here.

"Talk to her. We need to sort this out as soon as possible," one of the men - the one she'd heard arguing with James before - said.

That was her cue.

"No need. I'm in," Charlie spoke as she stepped into the room that contained about a half dozen shifters, mostly men. All eyes were on her all of a sudden. "Just tell me what you need me to do."

She glanced over at James, who was staring at her as well now. She could feel him so keenly now; it was unnerving. If this was what it meant to be part of a couple, she had to wonder how these people got any work done whatsoever.

Charlie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and she sat down on the couch beside James, taking his hand.
It'll be fine. Let me help.

"Very well," the man across from them said. Charlie recognized him as the one who had been there with James at the House of Commons the day before. "Take a look at this."

He got up and handed her a phone; on it was a video of what had happened at the park. Her memories had been sketchy, but even so, the video wasn't much better. Everything had happened so fast that the camera had had trouble capturing it all. Within a couple of minutes, it was over.

"This sort of reminds me of those ambiguous bigfoot or yeti videos - no offense," Charlie spoke. "It's not very clear."

"None taken," the woman who'd been with James yesterday as well spoke with a subtle smile playing on her lips.

That's Gail, and the man next to her is Henry. They're a couple,
Charlie heard James' voice in her head. Very convenient indeed, being able to communicate like this without anyone else knowing.

"Here's the deal. I work at a paper up in Edinburgh, but I'm not high up or anything. If you want to influence how this is perceived, I'm going to have to convince my boss to help us."

"Is he trustworthy?" Henry asked.

"If we offer him an exclusive of some sort, I don't see how he could refuse."

Henry and Gail nodded, as did most of the other people she'd never met before.

"Very well, so here's the deal," Henry started. He explained the back story of Matthew Brown's childhood kidnapping many years ago by a rogue Sons member, and how he'd only recently been reunited with his family. He spoke of Jamie, a member of the Edinburgh Alliance, who had paired up with a prominent Sons member's daughter who had switched sides. All of these people would be willing to face the media to make their case against the Sons of Domnall.

Charlie noticed her bag leaning against the side of one of the sofas and got her notepad out. She wrote down everything Henry told her, as well as her own ideas for how to best present the story. By the end of it, she'd filled three A4 sized pages.

"This all sounds promising. My boss will salivate over it; I can guarantee it," she said. "If that's all, I should make the call."

James squeezed her hand.
Are you sure you want to do this?

Charlie smiled briefly.
Anything, as long as it helps keep you guys safe.

So it was agreed. Charlie got up, grabbed her phone and notepad and retreated to the bedroom she'd just woken up in. Penderton would give her an earful, at least at first. But this was necessary. James had charged at the guy at the park without hesitation, and in the process potentially ruined the shifters' image. The least she could do was call up Penderton. What was he going to do? Yell? Fire her? Once he heard her story, he
had
to come around.

She dialed his number with trembling fingers and waited. The phone rang once, twice...

"McAllister, what a surprise!" His tone was heavy with sarcasm. "I thought you'd vanished permanently."

"Sir, please hear me out. That lead I told you about the other day? It panned out. I managed to track them down, and I'm on the inside with the New Alliance."

"Wait... what? You were supposed to talk to someone who
knew
them! Instead, you fall off the radar for two days. Who knows if these people are who they say they are. And if you're talking to the actual New Alliance, I need an experienced reporter on the story, not you!" he argued.

The experienced reporter rant again. Charlie took a deep breath to maintain her cool.

"Sir, if you could please log on to Facebook. See the trending topics. At the top, there's a video which I'm sure will prove that I'm telling the truth."

Penderton didn't say a word; there was only rustling on the other end of the line. Then she could hear the beginning of the video when the stranger called out James' name. Penderton let out a slow whistle, presumably when Charlie came into view.

"Okay, McAllister. I'm listening," he finally said.

Charlie felt a rush of excitement as she picked up her notepad. This was her chance!

She went through the whole story Henry had told her. About the disappearance of little Matthew Brown, the desertion of Alison Campbell from the Sons of Domnall, as well as her role in the capture of her father.

Penderton barely said a word, though she could hear him scribbling it all down at his end as well.

Charlie ended on the most important point of all: that if he wanted exclusive access to these prominent New Alliance members, he had to figure out a way to spin this video in their favor, and do it fast. The exclusive interviews and other content would keep flowing, as long as Penderton guaranteed it made the New Alliance look good. It was mutually beneficial cooperation they were after, and they wouldn't approach any other media outlets as long as Penderton and the Edinburgh Herald remained their allies.

"Understood. I'll get things moving immediately," Penderton said. "And... McAllister, good work." Charlie forgot to breathe as she heard these words.

Finally. The recognition she deserved.

Once she'd finished her call with Penderton, Charlie breathed a big sigh of relief. No matter the twists or turns in this story, she had achieved what she'd set out to do. And in the end, she didn't even need to deceive anyone either.

She lay the phone down on the bed and stared at its black screen for a moment. Penderton was on it, and knowing how he worked, he'd get some kind of strategy together quickly.

Only now did Charlie realize how exhausted she still was. The events at the park had taken a toll on her. The bruise on her head throbbed. She hadn't even checked herself out in the mirror yet; who knew how bad it looked?

The door opened behind her, and it seemed the atmosphere of the room instantly changed. She didn't even need to turn to see who it was, because she already knew. James.

He rested his hands on her shoulders and started to massage her.

You're tired. You should rest.

Charlie closed her eyes. His touch was magic.

I promised to help, so that's what I need to do.
She put her hand on his. It didn't make sense, how much she wanted him. How absolutely desperate she was for his affection now. Gone were the doubts and anger she'd felt when they had lunch together. Even the memories of the heartache he'd caused had faded.

She'd never felt this way, except perhaps during that one moment they'd shared so long ago.

Funny, she'd never even believed in true love or any of that stuff. Some people - Ella most notably - were quick to call her a cynic, but Charlie considered herself a realist.

Not anymore.

She believed now.

Charlie turned to face James and found that his eyes were that same funny color again like at the park. They definitely
were
glowing now.

You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.

Charlie pressed her lips together and averted her gaze. Nobody had ever told her that.

You're not so bad yourself,
she thought, as she looked up at him again. Bloody hell, he was gorgeous.

"Why are all shifters so handsome?" she wondered aloud.

James chuckled. "They're not. Shifters all look the same. Humans are beautiful in their diversity."

Charlie frowned. She'd never thought of it like that.

James sat down in front of her on the bed and raised his hand to her cheek.

I want to kiss you again.

He leaned forward, his face neared hers until their lips were just a fraction of an inch apart.

His scent intoxicated her, making her feel faint. She reached out for his upper arm to steady herself.

Then, the intrusive ring of her phone made her flinch. James pulled back and held it up to her. "I guess that's your boss?"

Yep, it was Penderton all right.

Charlie sighed. "The man isn't known for his timing."

James smiled and let his gaze linger on her lips. "You'd better get it before he changes his mind about helping us."

"True," Charlie said and raised the phone to her ear. "Mr. Penderton."

"McAllister, here's what we will do: I've made a few calls and set up a press conference for four o'clock. All the major news outlets are sending someone."

Charlie checked her watch. Not much time to go on. She had known he was well connected, but even so, everything was happening very quickly indeed.

"Okay, and then?" Charlie picked up a pen, readying herself to take notes.

"Start the press conference by playing the video. It's already out there, and you can't deny it. All you can do now is attempt to control the narrative. Point out the threat posed by the attacker. How this is typical of the kind of persecution shifters have had to endure at the hands of the Sons of Domnall. Get some photos up of victims already claimed by the struggle. Focus on the protective nature of shifters, how they'd sacrifice themselves to keep their loved ones happy. Make the public love them."

"Wait... you mean for
me
to attend the press conference?" Charlie dropped her pen in disbelief.

"Why, yes of course! If they speak for themselves, it'll be less convincing. Plus, you're in the video, so you might as well own it. Once you've said your piece, let one of the New Alliance take over and confirm the message. The people have nothing to fear unless they attack first."

James took Charlie's hand and squeezed it gently.

It's too dangerous. Let someone else handle it,
his voice urged.

She shook her head. Penderton was right. And she was already in the video anyway.

"I understand."
I have to, James. I have to do this.
She picked up the pen again.

"That's step one. Step two; talkshow appearances for those people you mentioned. The brothers who have only recently been reunited and the rest of their family. The public will lap up their story. They'll do the morning show circuit; regional as well as national. We'll keep hammering the viewing public with their story until
everyone
knows it by heart. We want to get people talking about it at work, at school, everywhere. This will take some time to set up, of course, in the meanwhile, have them call me, and I'll see to it that they receive some media training. At the same time, we'll get missing persons spots on the reality crime shows. Those features will subconsciously teach the public that a lot of shifters have been harmed by the Sons; that shifters are the victims here."