Unbearable: Russet Falls Series (5 page)

Zane hurried down the hall, and Michael pushed open the door
to his office, waiting for him in the doorway. His expression was troubled. No
questions asked, Michael had read Zane’s thoughts.

“What the hell?” Michael growled as Zane came in and closed
the door.

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly, feeling the power of
Michael’s alpha. “I was patrolling the grounds and picked up the scent of
another bear. I was ready to attack the fucker, but then I picked up a human
scent. I somehow managed to change quickly enough to rescue her.”

“And it was black?” Michael asked, fixated on the bear and
not caring one iota about Gabby.

“Yes.”

“Fucking Cruentus.”

“That’s what I thought, too.”

“Well, we need to do something. I’m not having all these god
damn trespassers on our lands!” Michael was almost always in control, though he
was struggling now to get a hold of himself. Zane noticed the way his muscles
twitched just beneath his skin, and his normally green eyes were as dark as
night.

“Hey,” Zane said cautiously, “we’ll take care of this.”

Michael turned towards the window, closed his eyes and
breathed in and out steadily. “Tell me the rest of the story,” he said flatly.

“The girl ran right into my arms. I looked the bear in the
eyes and told him to leave.”

“And he listened?”

“Yes.”

“Do we think the bear was after cubs?” Michael stared out at
the forest and Zane could only imagine what he was thinking. The clan couldn’t
lose any more cubs. It was already too much.

“I really couldn’t say. But he was definitely after the
girl. That was clear.”

Michael shook his head in frustration. “Why? What sense does
that make?”

Zane raked his hand through his hair, picturing Gabby’s
voluptuous ass and her tits.

“I don’t think the bear was after
that
,” Michael
pointed out and Zane turned red from embarrassment.

“Really? Can’t you stay out of my head for one fucking
minute?”

“Believe me. I’d rather not be in your head. But yes, the
girl has a great ass.”

Zane focused on the problem at hand instead of letting his
mind wander and leave him vulnerable to Michael’s alpha senses.

“So, why would the bear be after the girl? Did she pose a
threat?”

Zane let out a laugh. “What kind of threat? She’s a tiny,
curvy thing. What could she have done? She says she was minding her business
and the bear came after her.”

“Maybe some kind of sick game?” Michael asked, stroking his
jaw.

Zane shook his head. He couldn’t figure it out either. “What
kind of game? It’s against the law to hunt humans.” Well, unless they knew the
secret of the werebears—then they had to be
taken care of
.

“Yes,” Michael agreed, ‘’but it’s also against the law to
kill cubs. And that hasn’t stopped it from happening. Maybe killing cubs got
boring and now the tribes are looking for a new game to play.” He paused.
“Killing humans.”

Zane thought for a moment. “I just don’t know, Michael. It
doesn’t seem right. Also, it was a black bear, which pretty much means the
Cruentus clan, and I’ve always felt that the Atrocitas clan was behind most of
the cub killing.”

“That’s just a theory. We can’t prove shit. Both tribes can
be assholes.”

“I know. Just a thought.”

Michael turned around and kicked at his chair. “Fuck!” Zane
watched as his muscles rippled under his shirt, stretching the material and
threatening to rip it. “We’re going to have to send someone over there. I don’t
like the idea of going onto their lands, but I don’t know what else we can do.”

Zane knew Michael was right, but he hated the idea too.
“What if we called a council meeting? Discussed it there?”

The council was made up of three members from each of the
three clans. The idea was that the clans could find ways to work together and
to help solve problems the clans faced as a whole. They also determined many of
the laws—such as not killing cubs, as well as not harming humans. Also, they determined
the laws of keeping their identity a secret.

“I’d prefer that,” Michael admitted, “but I think we’re
beyond that. The council has turned into a fucking joke. No one follows the
rules, so why bother?”

Zane knew better than to argue with Michael, yet he couldn’t
help feeling that Michael was asking for a bloodbath. But Michael was the
alpha, and his word was law, so if he was going to send Zane onto the other
clan lands, then Zane could do nothing but obey.

“I think it’s best if we go in human form,” Michael
continued. “That way the tribe will know that we only want to speak with them
and come in peace.” Michael scoffed, “though I think peace is the last thing
any of these tribes have in mind.”

Zane sank down into one of Michael’s chairs. “That still
doesn’t answer why the cubs are being killed.’’

“No, it doesn’t. And I think what we need to do now is have
constant surveillance. It’s not enough for you to be here at the park during
so-called business hours. I’ll make some decisions about who I want patrolling
our lands. Then you can focus on other matters. Like why the hell we’ve got
bears trespassing on our god damn lands.”

“Right.” Zane sat in silence as he watched Michael think.
Sometimes Zane thought it would be incredible to be the alpha. Everyone has to
obey you and no one can go against your word. But then when he saw all the
responsibility that came with the power, not to mention the higher likelihood
of being killed—well, then the position didn’t seem quite so appealing.

“Alright, well you don’t need to stay here while I think,”
Michael said, his voice changing into one of authority. He was going to give
Zane an order. “Go back to your office.’’

“Was there a chance that she could know about us?” Michael
suddenly asked.

“Huh?”

“The girl. Could she know about us? Maybe that’s why the
other bear was after her.”

“I don’t think so. She was scared out of her fucking mind.”
He bit his tongue.

“What?” Michael demanded. “What are you holding back?”

“Nothing.”

“Spit it out,” Michael growled, and Zane winced at having to
obey when his mind was trying to resist.

“It’s nothing. It’s just that the girl kept pressing me
about why the bear listened to me when I told it to leave.”

Michael let out a low breath and swore. “Damn it, Zane! Why
didn’t you mention that?”

“I didn’t think it was important!”

“The hell it wasn’t! We have strict laws about our secrets!
You didn’t think the girl knew anything before, but it sure as hell seems like
she knows something now.”

“I don’t think so,” Zane snapped, feeling his blood start to
boil. He didn’t like to be treated like an idiot. Yes, Gabby thought something
was up, but Zane certainly didn’t suspect she had guessed that he could morph
into a beast.

“I don’t have time for this!” Michael exploded, pacing the
floor. “First the cubs, now this damn human.”

“Alright, I’ll get out of here so you can think and take the
girl back to her car. Anything else you need me to do?”

Michael didn’t speak, so Zane moved towards the door.

“Wait.”

Zane paused, his hand hovering just above the knob.

“Are you sure she doesn’t know about us?”

“No, I’m not sure. I’m not inside her head. But I seriously
doubt it. Why? Want me to dig around more?”

“No. I don’t have time for that. I don’t have time for any
of this other bullshit. Just take care of girl.”

Zane froze. “What?”

“You heard me.
Take care of her
. I don’t have time
for this.”

“But—we don’t even know if she knows anything,’’ Zane
argued. He didn’t usually question Michael, but this seemed harsh and rash to
him.

“We can’t take any risks. Maybe that’s why the other bear
was after her. Maybe she knows about us. And if she didn’t know about us, she
certainly has questions now, thanks to you.”

Zane didn’t like the edge in Michael’s voice, and he also
didn’t like what Michael was implying.

“I didn’t give anything away,” Zane spat. “I did what I had
to do to save the girl. I didn’t think we’d want a corpse on our lands.”

Michael sat down at his desk, looking weary. “Just do it,”
he said, waving his hand. “I know it’s not the right way to deal with things,
but it will get rid of this problem so we can focus on the cubs. We don’t need
any more reasons for the other clans to be on our lands.”

Zane went to argue, but he snapped his mouth shut. Michael
hadn’t given a direct order in his alpha timbre. If Zane pushed it, Michael
would give a direct order, and it would be one that he would have to obey.

Zane thought Gabby was annoying, but she wasn’t annoying
enough to kill. Michael was overwhelmed and worried about the cub situation,
understandably so…the last cub killed was his nephew.

Zane quickly left the room, carefully focusing his thoughts
so Michael wouldn’t be able to hear them. Though Michael seemed much too
distracted right now to be concerned with Zane’s thoughts.

Zane would take Gabby back to her car and tell her to stay
the hell off the parklands. Of course, she didn’t seem like the kind of girl
who would listen, so he would have to cook up something really good to tell
her. And he would need to be quick.

He burst into the room where Gabby was waiting, and he saw
her jump up, startled. She looked like she had fallen asleep.

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “Can I go now?”

“Yes,” he said tersely. “We need to go. Now.”

He grabbed for her elbow and she yanked back. “Excuse you!”

“Excuse me, what?” He didn’t have time for this.

“You don’t just reach out and touch someone!” she huffed.

What the fuck? Here he was trying to save her damn life and
the least she could do was be a little appreciative.

Of course, Gabby had no idea that a werebear alpha had just given
the order to kill her.

“I was only trying to help,” he said, annoyed. “We need to
hurry, though.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “Why?”

“Because I’m busy, and I have a lot to do.”

Gabby opened her mouth to say something, but then wisely
closed it. Zane was in no mood for her sassy attitude.

He moved down the hallway towards the front doors, and Gabby
hurried to keep up with him. Just as they approached the doors, a loud beeping
rang out.

Gabby jumped with surprise, and Zane cursed loudly.

“What is that?” Gabby cried, covering her hands with her
ears and looking wildly around the building. Alarms were screaming shrilly and
flashing red lights were going off.

Before Zane could respond, Michael burst out of his office,
racing down the hall.

“Fuck,” Zane breathed. Michael’s bear was nearly at the
surface and Zane swore he could see the color of his skin getting darker, due
to the sprouting hair.

“Put her somewhere safe!” Michael roared, and before Gabby
could protest, Zane grabbed her by the arm and yanked her toward one of their
safe rooms.

“What the hell?” she cried out, but she didn’t fight Zane.

“Wild bears,” Zane yelled, “we need to get you to safety!”

Gabby’s eyes widened with fear at the mention of bears, and
she allowed Zane to push her into a tiny room.

“I’ll be back,” he said quickly.

“Wait!” Her voice was higher than normal, and he could feel
the panic rolling off her. “What about you? Where will you go?”

“I’m the ranger. I need to investigate.” And before she
could ask another question, he pulled the door shut and locked it.

“You’ll be safe in here!” He promised.

Fear washed over Gabby, and she squeezed her eyes shut,
feeling the panic consume her.

Bears, bears, bears.

More damn bears.

And now she was alone.

Her eyes flew open and she looked around the room Zane had
locked her in.

What the hell?

It seemed to be some kind of safe room.

There were no windows and Gabby tried to swallow the
overwhelming nausea of claustrophobia. The room was no more than ten feet by
ten feet, and there were two small lights attached to the ceiling.

Other than that, the room was sparse, with a small couch and
a cupboard. Gabby pulled the cupboard open and found a pack of waters along
with some other non-perishable goods.

She gulped.

She did not want to be stuck in this room long enough to
need food.

She felt the walls closing in on her again and she went back
to the door, listening for any sounds from the other side.

Silence.

She pressed her ear to the door, and it suddenly occurred to
her that the room might be soundproof too.

Holy hell, she was going to lose her mind.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” she said to herself, taking deep
breaths. “You’re here for your safety.”

She slowly began to pace the room, repeating her calming
mantra and wondering if it was better to be locked in this awful room or to be
on the other side with wild bears roaming the grounds.

What was going on with the bears? She couldn’t help but
think of her father and all he had warned her about.

She was ready to climb the walls, so she climbed onto the
couch and curled her feet up underneath her.

At least she was dressed in comfortable clothes.

She buried her head between her knees so she wouldn’t have
to look at the stifling walls.  Instead of thinking about her current
situation, she focused on Lucy and her mother. She concentrated hard on her
family, wondering why Lucy was struggling so much and why her mother was such a
screw up.

When her thoughts drifted to bears again, she quickly
thought of anything else—her job, her beat up truck, her idiotic decision to
leave her cell phone in her car. She wasn’t wearing a watch, so she had no idea
of what time it was or how long she had been in the room.

She decided to focus on how she was going to give Zane a
piece of her mind when he finally came to let her out. And then, sexy or not,
she never wanted to see him again.