Scottish Werebear: A Second Chance: A BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Scottish Werebears Book 6) (2 page)

When Charlie reached home, she couldn't wait to get comfortable. She barely even acknowledged her roommate, Ella, as she made a beeline for her bedroom. Finally, after trading her sensible blouse and skirt combo for some warm pajamas and a pair of fluffy socks, she could breathe a sigh of relief.

"Hey you," Ella mumbled when Charlie joined her in the living room again.

"Hey." Charlie frowned as she noticed Ella watching the news. Ella never watched the news. "What's going on?"

Ella briefly glanced at Charlie as she joined her on the couch. "Don't tell me you forgot? It's all over the internet!"

"Well yeah, but don't tell me you believe that crap?
Tonight, your world will change for good.
" Charlie spoke in a dramatic voice. "Nonsense. It'll be a hoax; I'm telling you. They didn't believe it at the Herald either."

Charlie was about to get up again to get something to drink when the newsreader was cut off mid-sentence, and the screen flickered to reveal a red background with the words 'Breaking news' flashing on top.

"We are interrupting your current program with breaking news..."

"See!" Ella exclaimed, and picked up the remote to increase the volume. "No hoax!"

"For the past week, our country, along with the rest of the world, has been in the grips of what some have referred to as the most extensive social media campaign ever. A mysterious organization called the 'New Alliance' has promised us a grand reveal that will change our understanding of the world forever. What exactly this will entail, we do not know. But it better be big, or there is likely to be widespread disappointment. Over now to our reporters, who are on the ground in London, Paris, Berlin, even New York on location as communicated to us in advance by this so-called 'New Alliance' ..."

The screen flickered again to reveal a wind-blown man in a suit. "Thank you Shelley, this is Ben Thompson live from London. So far, we have not seen any activity yet."

The view panned to show more of the scenery. Westminster Abbey stood in the background with a busy road in front. Black cabs, as well as the occasional red double decker bus passed by the reporter, but nothing looked out of the ordinary.

"Try another channel," Charlie suggested.

Ella nodded and flipped across a few different channels. On each one of them, a flustered looking reporter stood in a different location around the country, braving the wintry conditions typical for mid-January. They paused on a local channel when they spied a familiar sight, the Royal Mile and a dramatically lit up Edinburgh Castle in the background.

"Wait," Charlie whispered.

She had been skeptical, sure. A healthy amount of suspicion was in her nature. That's what she thought would make her a good reporter one day. How she wished she was there, waiting for the New Alliance to show itself. But clearly, the news channels had taken the announcement seriously enough to disrupt their evening program and dispatch reporters out to various locations all over the world.

Part of her still wondered if it was a prank, even if she secretly hoped that it wasn't. With so many horrible things happening in the world lately; wars, natural disasters, terrible crimes. The prospect of change had seduced many. Even Charlie, with her level head and analytical thought process, hadn't been completely immune.

On the TV, the view changed. No longer was the camera pointed at the Castle, but instead, in the opposite direction. A group of people approached, though they were still too far away to be clearly visible.

Ella picked up a cushion and held it tightly against her chest. Charlie caught herself holding her breath.

Once they were close enough for their faces to be clearly visible, one of the men stepped ahead and started to speak. But Charlie couldn't focus on his words or his features. She was looking at someone just next to him. A familiar face.

Her heart raced, and she broke out into a cold sweat. A face she hadn't seen for years.

All those old memories came flooding back. She was the new girl in school, having only just moved to Stirling that year. The local kids were suspicious of her and kept their distance, at least at first. One made her feel welcome; the boy next door who also happened to be in her school, be it a year above her.

They'd bonded over concerns for the environment and discussions about politics which the other kids were least interested in. He had been an idealist, just like her.

And so they became friends, even if a part of her always knew she wanted to be much more than that. For a year, right up to his graduation, they spent almost every day together.

Suddenly, a certain anxiousness started to grow in her. He was graduating, she wouldn't, not for another year. He would go off to university, and she would be stuck here alone.

He said they'd keep in touch, but she was scared. She couldn't let him leave without following up on those secret desires that had been growing inside of her.

One summer evening, after the graduation ceremony, she mustered the courage. She told him.

He didn't speak, just looked into her eyes.

She stared back.

He closed his eyes. As did she.

They kissed completely on instinct. Thinking back, Charlie wasn't sure who had made the first move.

It was the best moment of her entire life.

The next day he was gone. He'd left her.

Charlie blinked a few times. Was it really him? He was a few years older now and sported a medium brown neatly kept beard. There was no doubt about it. His eyes were a dead giveaway.

Then, it happened. His features elongated and shifted around. His skin sprouted fur. Within a split second, the boy she'd once known was gone, and in his place stood a great big bear.

"Oh my God!" Ella yelled out next to her and grabbed Charlie's hand. "Are you seeing this? Tell me you're seeing this."

Charlie couldn't speak.

It was him.

James Finch.

She thought she'd never see him again. Wasn't sure if he was alive or dead even, and yet there he was. Despite the otherwise alien form, his eyes were still those same eyes she had known so well. Her best friend. The one who had broken her heart when he left.

The camera panned around and focused only on the slightly bigger bear, who was speaking again.

A talking bear. Charlie shook her head.

It should have shocked her much more, but her mind was still trying to process things. It was as though her chest had been torn open, and her heart ripped out. She ought to have been over the whole thing by now. They were kids back then.

But it hurt like it had happened yesterday.

"What's wrong?" Ella asked.

Charlie didn't respond.

"Why are you crying?" Ella said.

Charlie touched her fingertips against her face, and only now noticed tears had been streaming down her cheeks. She took a deep breath and dabbed at her eyes with her t-shirt.

"Nothing. I'm fine," she mumbled, suddenly angry that this guy could affect her still. He'd left. He hadn’t wanted her. End of story.

"Bullshit. That was some freaky stuff we just saw, but that's no reason to cry!" Ella argued.

Charlie shot her a nasty look. "Leave it alone." This was ridiculous. She hadn't cried in years.

"Nuh-uh! You've got to tell me!"

Charlie closed her eyes and shook her head. "Fine. I recognized one of them."

"Oh?" Ella paused. "Oh..."

"Now please leave it." Charlie got up to grab a glass of water from the kitchen.

Ella followed hot on her heels.

"You're kidding. You know one of the New Alliance? That's like... wow. That's so amazing!"

"Yeah. Amazing." Charlie took a sip and brusquely put the glass back down on the counter. Then she just stood there, resting both her hands against the edge of the worktop and stared straight ahead at nothing.

She knew a member of the New Alliance. And he was right here in the city.

Charlie pressed her lips together. She
knew
one of them.

She looked over at Ella, who practically bounced up and down with excitement. "You know what. You're right. It is amazing."

Ella nodded enthusiastically.

"I'm gonna track him down," Charlie said. "I'm going to track him down and get an exclusive interview with him."

Ella clapped her hands and grinned. "Yes!"

"Maybe that'll teach old man Penderton to take me seriously."

"He should!" Ella cheered.

"Maybe then he'll have me work on some
real
stories, not bullshit cat treat recipes and home remedies for dandruff."

"Good on you!" Ella said. She smiled briefly, then bit her bottom lip. "Say... did you also notice how those guys were all pretty hot?"

Charlie frowned. James had always been a looker, even back in the day when they were awkward teenagers. And whereas the years had made her fill out rather in some unfortunate places, he had piled on muscle from what she could tell. The others, though?

She hadn't even noticed the others. "Mhmm?"

"Well, I was just wondering, if you know... If you track this guy down. And you get to know some of his friends..."

"Yeah?" Charlie asked.

"Well, perhaps you could introduce me. That's all." Ella smiled innocently.

Charlie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I still have to find him, though."

"Yeah, don't you worry about that. The internet has information about everyone nowadays, and I might know someone who could help." Ella winked at her.

Now, Charlie smiled too. Ella was an avid gamer, and among her rather special group of friends and acquaintances, there was bound to be someone who could help track down James and the rest of the New Alliance. This could work.

Perhaps one day not too far in the future, she would see him again in person. An exciting, though equally scary prospect. How would she face him?

She'd make a list of questions, stuff that people would be desperate to know more about. Just like a good reporter should.

Though she just had one question for him.
Why?

Why leave like that?

After what she'd seen on TV, it was pretty obvious what his reasons would have been. But she still wanted to hear him say it in his own words. Why couldn't he just tell her then, rather than run?

Ella went back to the sofa and flipped around channels. Each of them, repeated images of different cities, where exactly the same thing had happened as in Edinburgh. Seemingly normal people had approached the waiting journalists and transformed themselves.

Charlie's suspicions had been proved wrong. The 'New Alliance' had done exactly as they'd advertised.

They'd changed the world.

It was well after midnight by the time James reached the remote farm far north of Edinburgh where they had agreed to gather. All had gone well.

He hadn't been followed; he knew this because the roads were so quiet, there was no way for anyone to do so without drawing attention to themselves.

When he pulled into the long driveway, he saw that there were some vehicles already parked up. Good. So the others had made it as well.

James unlocked the front door and stepped in. Muffled voices greeted him. They were all in the back of the house, no doubt discussing tonight's events.

"Hey," James greeted the first familiar faces. Heidi and Aidan, Henry and Gail; even Kyle was already here.

Jamie, the leader of the Edinburgh branch of the Alliance, was still missing.

"Good show, aye?" Kyle remarked, then focused once again on the TV flickering in the corner. Obviously, they had been watching the coverage.

"That's what I look like?" James mumbled to himself when they showed a still mid-shift. It was unnerving, seeing the transformation captured like this.

Of course, he'd seen other shifters transform, but it was always over so quickly, you couldn't see the process unfold. This right here was the naked truth. And it was quite ungainly.

"Strange, isn't it? We've been working toward this moment, and now it's over," Heidi remarked.

James looked over at her.

"Oh, it's far from over," Henry said. "Now, the real work begins."

James nodded in agreement and sat down on one of the empty chairs facing the television.

He watched in silence as the news channel showed images from various other locations.

The coverage from Paris took his breath away.

"I've never seen a lion before," Gail gasped, a few seats to his right.

The rest of the group mumbled in agreement.

They had done it. They had changed the world. But was it for the better?

Henry's phone rang; one of the other groups probably. He nodded at Kyle, who got to work immediately. He placed one of those flat conference phones in the center of the group and attached it to a laptop.

James meanwhile continued to watch TV.

"Ready," Kyle said at last.

Henry picked up the remote and dialed down the volume, and he pulled his chair closer to the conference phone.

"Hello? Are you there?"

"Eric from London, here."

"New York. Present."

"Paris."