Laid Bear 2: The Kodiak Clan (20 page)

Come to Momma, big boy,
thought Veronica. Her bear smiled.

Max bore to one side, while Veronica flanked Franklin from the other. Dropping to all fours, he sidled toward the side of the cabin as they approached, not wanting to get caught with his back against the porch.

Adrenaline pulsed through her veins, giving her the boost she needed to fight yet another full-grown male
were
. Recalling the hungry look Franklin had given Jess in the cabin, she rushed him. She must have either overestimated her remaining strength or underestimated his, because his casual backhand sent her sprawling into the dirt.
 

Max saw his opening and took it, ramming into Franklin before he’d finished batting Veronica to the ground. The huge bear stumbled, allowing time for her to get back on her feet and rush to Max’s aid before Franklin could get the upper hand.

For what seemed like hours but was probably only a few minutes, the three bears locked in battle. Great tufts of fur drifted on zephyrs as claws slashed through air and flesh. Blood poured from gaping wounds and screams of fury and pain filled the air.
 

But through teamwork, Veronica and Max were able to finally overpower the monster Franklin had become. In one combined attack, they rammed the giant into the side of the cabin, knocking him out in the process.
 

That just left Yoren to deal with. Where had he gone?

Max sniffed around his SUV while Veronica scoured around the cabin for his scent. By the time she picked it up, she was back at the front porch, looking into the eyes of her lover. Yoren had him in a chokehold and was leading him into the clearing. Veronica’s heart leaped to her throat.

She and Max gave them room, not wanting to spook Yoren into hurting Jess. In an effort to ease the tension, they both shifted back to human form. Veronica held her hands up, palms out.
 

“Yoren, please—“

“Please what, bitch? Please let the human live? Please let you live? Please let your cubs live? Which? Doesn’t matter because the answer to all three is ‘fuck no’!”

Max eased away from her, forcing Yoren to split his attention. “Where’s Bethany?”

“Fuck you! Stop moving or I’ll shift so fast that you’ll blink and his ass will be dead.”

Max paused. He flicked a glance at Veronica, but she wasn’t sure what it meant.

“Listen, do what you want with this human, just tell me where my mate is.”

“Max!” Here she thought he’d picked her up to help save Jess while all he really wanted was to find Bethany. It was hard to blame him but he didn’t have to sacrifice her love to find his own!

He shot her a dark look.
 

Yoren laughed. “You thought he was on your side, didn’t you, whore? Naw, he’s just like every other man — just wants what’s his, fuck everyone else. Isn’t that right, pretty boy?”

Max tilted his head in a nod, continuing to ease closer to Yoren and Jess. “Whatever you say, boss.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m the boss. I fucking run this town, I
own
it. Nothing happens without my okay. Hey, stop moving!”

Max paused again, but Veronica edged closer.

“You, too, bitch! Don’t come any closer!”

While Yoren’s attention was on her, Max threw her a quick wink. She suddenly understood his plan and continued moving until she and Max were facing each other, Yoren and Jess in between them.
 

No way could Yoren keep an eye on them both, and desperation was growing in his eyes. He was going to shift at any moment and that would be the end of Jess. Max needed to make his move now.

Without thinking, she blurted out, “You know, I bet you’re terrible in bed and you have a really tiny dick!”

All three men gaped at her, but Max was first to recover. Yoren was still stammering at his skill and immense girth when Max tackled him. Jess was knocked free and Veronica yelled for him to get into the cabin. He hesitated, then ran for the door.

The two men were clutched together, punching as hard as they could in such tight quarters. They looked like boxers locked in a battle to the death, and Veronica had no doubt this fight would end badly for someone.

Before she could jump into the fray, Yoren cracked Max a good one in the jaw, knocking him sideways to the ground.
 

Seeing his chance, Yoren stepped back and his whole body started shimmering and shifting, growing and bulging. He was going to defy clan law and attack Max while he was still in human form.

“No!” Veronica screamed.

Two loud booms thundered in her ears and the world stopped. When Veronica opened her eyes, Yoren was falling to the ground, blood pouring from a gaping wound in his chest.

He’d been shot.

A
ll of Max’s attention had been focused on Yoren’s shifting frame when the shots rang out. He’d been a breath away from shifting himself, but instinct told him he wouldn’t be quick enough to make it in time to fight off his opponent’s bear.

Then Yoren’s chest exploded. The glare he had been leveling at Max turned questioning, like he couldn’t quite figure out what Max had done to him. His gaze drifted down to his bleeding chest at the same moment his knees buckled under him and he crumpled to the ground.

Max’s ears were ringing but he could hear Veronica’s muffled screams. He whipped his head around to find the source of the gunshot and saw Jess standing on the porch, clutching a rifle to his chest.

“Dammit, Jess!” he roared at the human.
 

Yoren was his best chance to find Bethany. If he died, there was no telling what the Brotherhood would do to her in retribution.

And as much as he disliked Yoren, he didn’t deserve to die like this. Max had no illusion that Yoren would have done everything in his power to kill him, and Max would have done the same, but that would have been an honorable death. This…this would be considered murder by many in the werebear community.

Max scurried over to where Yoren lay in an expanding pool of blood. He’d been mid-shift when the bullet pierced his chest, and his features were half-human/half-bear — elongated nose and mouth, growing ears, a fine layer of dark brown hair covering his skin. Max had never seen a bear die mid-shift — didn’t know if such a thing had ever been witnessed — so he didn’t know what to expect.
 

But that was of little importance to him now. Right now he needed to find out what Yoren knew about Bethany, before it was too late.

“Yoren!” He crouched into the dying
were’s
face and shouted again. Yoren’s eyes fluttered open and a bubbling wheeze escaped his lips. “Tell me where my mate is. Where’s Bethany?”

Yoren searched Max’s face in desperation. “Help…me…”

Despair gripped Max. He knew from personal experience that a gunshot wound like this one couldn’t be treated in time to save Yoren’s life. The healer was too far away and Yoren was fading fast. As quickly as
weres
healed, this was too much, too big of a wound.

“I’m sorry, Yoren. No one can help you now. I’m sorry this happened to you, brother.”

“I’m…dying…?”

Max nodded somberly, gripping Yoren’s hand for comfort. His breath caught in his throat at the flashback he was having to his parents’ murder. He’d crouched next to his father just like he was doing now. A tear slipped down his cheek.

“Deserved…it…” croaked Yoren. Tears were streaming down his temples, mixing with the blood on the ground.

“Don’t say that,” Veronica interrupted.

She knelt down beside the stricken
were
that had caused her so much trouble. She gently brushed a lock of Yoren’s brown hair from his forehead. Max was touched by the simple act of kindness.

With tremendous effort, Yoren switched his gaze over to her.
 

“Sorry…for…asshole…” A trickle of red ran from his snout/mouth as he spoke. The end was near.

“Shh, Yoren. All is forgiven, brother. We’ll be here to help you pass into the Great Meadow.”

Max didn’t have much time to find out where Bethany was, but he also had a duty as a werebear to ease Yoren’s passing as best he could. He was pretty sure he could do both.

“Yoren, I know you must regret some things in your life—“ Yoren blinked in agreement “—but right now you have a chance to make up for it. Tell me where Bethany is. Tell me where I can find my mate.”

Yoren’s brow furrowed slightly. With an utter honesty Max couldn’t doubt, Yoren whispered, “Who?”

A deep shudder shook Yoren’s enormous frame. It was time. Max and Veronica held onto his hands, reaching across to grasp each other’s hands and form a circle, while his body convulsed. One last gasp of pain and Yoren was still, the light fading from his eyes.

In unison, the pair tilted their heads and belted out a grieving roar. Birds stopped chittering, the bushes shook and the glass windows of Jess’ cabin rattled.
 

It was custom for werebears to send off their brothers and sisters with such a cry, and though he was not their friend, he was a member of their extended family. He wouldn’t be missed by many, and some might argue that their world would be a better place with him gone, but while he was alive, there was always the chance he would change.

But no longer. Yoren was dead. He was dead and Max was no closer to finding Bethany.
 

He sent up another cry for his missing mate.

~ * ~ * ~

Chills ran up Veronica’s spine at Max’s second heartbreaking howl. It wasn’t for Yoren, that was much was clear. A deep ache permeated this cry, not like the dutiful one they gave for Yoren. Tears blurred her vision as she stood to leave him to his pain.

Jess was still standing on the porch, holding his rifle by the stock, barrel pointing down.
Is he going to shoot me, too?
 

He must have noticed the pause in her step or the direction of her gaze because he laid down the gun and stepped off the porch. As he moved closer, his eyes never left hers.
 

Anyone else in her clan would only feel anger and hate for Jess for killing Yoren, regardless of whether he was a murderous bastard. They took care of their own, and outsiders always paid for interfering. It was that solidarity that kept them tight as a clan, but it was also what allowed such vicious groups like the Brotherhood to flourish.

His life was forfeit now. It wouldn’t matter that he’d been trying to protect Max and her. He’d shot a member of the Kodiak clan, and he’d suffer if she didn’t get him out right away.
 

She stopped a few feet away from him, not wanting to push the boundary he’d set up between them yesterday. What she really wanted to do was throw her arms around him to show him how happy she was he was still alive and in one piece, but there wasn’t time.

“Veronica—” he started, his gaze searching hers for something, understanding perhaps.

“Don’t say anything, Jess. I know why you did it. You thought you were protecting me, saving Max. I get it.”

A little crease dug a furrow on his brow. “But—”
 

“The trouble is, now you’re marked. One of Yoren’s guys is lying over there watching, though I don’t think he’ll be running back to the council anytime soon, judging by the difficulty he’s having shifting back to human form. But he
will
report this and the clan
will
hunt you down and exact their form of vengeance on you for this. To them, a human shooting a werebear is murder. You need to pack your bags and collect Fred, if you can drag him out from under the bed. I’ll figure out some way to get you off the island, but we’ve got to hurry.”

She started past him but he grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her to face him. "Stop!"

His touch sizzled against her skin and her heart started thumping faster, urging her to close the small gap between them. Concern and frustration fought for domination in his pale brown eyes. She wanted to dive into them, hide from the trouble she'd caused by giving her heart to this amazing human.

"I didn't shoot that guy." It took a moment for his words to filter through her love-addled brain.
 

"Wait…what?"

"It's true," croaked Dumber, who'd finally managed to shift and was now standing, with the aid of the porch railing. He was covered in blood and dirt, and would be sporting a colorful shiner for a couple days, but was otherwise in decent shape.
 

"He ran out with the gun, so I’m sure the filthy human would have shot Yoren if he'd had the chance, but he shot into the air. The shot that got Yoren came from over there. I saw the muzzle flash.”
 

They all craned their necks in the direction he was pointing, but they saw nothing through the dense foliage. Her keen hearing could barely pick out the sound of an animal crashing through the forest, which meant whoever it was had a hell of a head start on them. Max and Dumber no doubt heard it too but Max was more concerned about finding Bethany and Dumber was in no shape for a foot chase with a gun-toting sniper.
 

As for her, Jess was safe and his hands on her body swept away any thought of trying to track down Yoren's killer. Not to mention she had two small cubs to care for at home. She'd leave the investigation to the council.

"Shit! It must have been Ted." Jess dropped his hands and turned to the woods. "Ted!" he shouted to the forest.
 

Veronica eased up beside Jess, her shoulder brushing against his. She was pushing that boundary but she needed to feel him against her again, before he left her forever.

"Who's Ted?"

He glanced down at her and did a double take, like he was seeing her for the first time. Keeping her eyes locked on his, knowing he’d be powerless to break the spell, she reached for his hand, her fingers touching the tips of his, asking to be held. His gaze softened and his fingers clasped her tightly.

"Yeah, who's Ted?" growled Dumber suspiciously, edging closer to Veronica and Jess.
 

"I dunno. Some guy from my work who dropped by the cabin earlier. I kind of forgot about him when you guys stormed in there ready to kill me."