The Truth About Kadenburg (19 page)

Mrs. Bamey didn’t have to answer that question.
Multiple scents hit Dimitri’s nostrils, clouding the smell of food as he
quirked a brow.

“More ursithropes?” He questioned, looking back and
forth between Arnold and Lorcan.

Lorcan seemed to be relieved as he grinned. “I’ll be
damned,” he stated thoughtfully. “She called them back.”

Dimitri watched as the two males got up from the table,
leaving him alone with all the glorious food as various voices could be heard
through the open door.

He wasn’t sure what Lorcan meant by ‘she called them
back’, but he had to wonder why they’d left in the first place.

Nineteen

S
he awoke to what sounded like a party in full
swing. The shouts of laughter and excited chatter stirred her from a somewhat
peaceful slumber, and Presley wasn’t certain what was going on. All she knew
in the moment was that it was
loud
, and she secretly hated whoever had
such a big mouth.

Sitting up in bed, she groaned. What time was it? How
long had she been out? What in the hell was so funny?

A knock sounded on the door and she jumped. She
watched as it inched open and Mrs. Bamey’s head popped into view. “Good
morning,” she whispered with a smile. “Did we wake you?”

“Um, no,” Presley lied. “I was already awake.”

“Oh, well good!” Mrs. Bamey slipped inside, shutting
the door behind her. “I washed the clothes you left behind,” she said as she
placed a stack of folded clothing at the foot of the bed. “I thought you might
like these a little better than my old night gown.”

Presley frowned, glancing down to see that she was
indeed wearing a nightgown. It was a soft white color with faded blue
flowers-definitely not her style.
Oh, right.
Now she remembered. It
was the only thing Mrs. Bamey had to offer when Presley arrived the night
before, covered in mud.

“Thank you,” Presley nodded. “Thank you for washing
my clothes.”

“It’s no problem, dear,” Mrs. Bamey eased down onto the
bed beside her, reaching out to pat Presley’s knee gently. “I’m just glad you
and that hard headed uncle of yours are all right. Can I get you anything
else?”

“I don’t think so,” Presley replied as she lifted her
eyes to meet Mrs. Bamey’s motherly gaze. Sometimes she missed not having a mom.
Mrs. Bamey was honestly the closest thing she’d ever had. “What’s going on out
there?”

“Oh!” Mrs. Bamey’s smile grew brighter as her eyes
sparkled. “I called in some recruits to help with the, uh, little problem
we’ve got.”

Little problem?
Presley blinked.
She’s
calling a pack of wolves trying to kill us a ‘little problem’?

She fought the urge to roll her eyes as she nodded
again. “Oh, well…that’s a good thing, right?” Hell, she didn’t know what she
was talking about. All of this was still way out in left field for her; but
strength in numbers was a better strategy than just waiting to be killed,
wasn’t it?

“I’m hoping it is,” Mrs. Bamey replied honestly. “A
part of me wishes they’d tuck their tails and run, but I know that it won’t be
a permanent solution either way. They’ll only come back. I don’t think we’re
going to have any other choice, Presley. We have to fight.”

Presley could feel the nervous knots tightening in her
stomach as she hugged her hoodie against her chest. She wasn’t sure that she
liked the idea of her uncle facing off with the werewolves. Come to think of
it, she wasn’t fond of Lorcan being involved, either. She didn’t want
anyone
to be in danger’s way, but what choice did they have? The werewolves had a
history of wreaking havoc in Kadenburg, and they would continue to do so if
somebody didn’t stop them.

Can we stop them?
Presley wondered as she chewed
her lower lip.

We?
The bear asked.
Since when did
this become a ‘we’ thing? I thought you hated us.

I don’t hate you,
Presley frowned.
It’s just a lot to take in, okay?

I have been silent for most of your life
because it is what your uncle wanted, but I will not be quiet a day more. We
do need to help. Lorcan needs us. Your family needs you; I need you.

“Presley?”

The conversation she was having with her inner-bear was
interrupted by Mrs. Bamey’s soft voice, and Presley lifted her head to gaze at
the woman. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Don’t be sorry,” Mrs. Bamey shrugged. “My bear likes
to talk often as well. I know it’s weird and it seems a little crazy, but I
promise she knows things you do not yet understand. I don’t know what I’d do
without mine sometimes.”

That is so weird…
Presley thought as she stood
from the bed and scratched her arm nervously. She knew that Mrs. Bamey was
trying to ease her into whatever sort of lifestyle this was, but Presley still
needed more time. It was happening too fast.

We don’t have that luxury,
her bear
stated sadly.
Time is not on our side, Presley.

Great,
she
sighed.

“Why don’t you come have some breakfast after you’re
dressed?” Mrs. Bamey asked as she opened the bedroom door. “But hurry, the
boys tend to eat a lot.”

Once she was alone, Presley quickly got dressed. There
was a certain feeling of anxiousness teetering within, and she knew it was
because of the newcomers. They were back for a good reason, but Presley wasn’t
sure she wanted to meet more ‘ursithropes’ at the moment.

They are family,
her bear insisted.
Don’t
be nervous to be around them. They are here for the same reason you are.

I didn’t volunteer to
fight,
Presley shook her head furiously as she pulled open the
door. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

And with that, she made her way down the hallway,
unsure of what she’d be greeted with once she made it back into the land of the
living.

–––––—

The usually quiet atmosphere of the Bamey home was
anything but as ten large and rowdy men stood around the living room, chatting
amongst themselves as Mrs. Bamey scurried about in an attempt to serve
refreshments.

Mr. Bamey was seated in his recliner, listening
intently to a discussion about football as he took another drag from his
cigar.

He doesn’t even smoke,
Lorcan thought with a
roll of his eyes.

“Look how much you’ve grown!” Another male stated as he
patted Lorcan on the shoulder. “You barely came to my knee the last time I saw
you.”

Lorcan forced a small smile as he glanced at Davey Berdine.
The man was probably well into his sixties by now, and Lorcan honestly had no
idea why he even returned. Didn’t he feel that he was a little too old to be
getting involved with something like this?

The older male didn’t seem to be bothered with the age
difference as he grinned a little more broadly, the crow’s feet around his
sparkling blue eyes becoming prominent as he laughed. “Time flies,” he
commented. “But I am glad to see you’re taller than that father of yours.”

Mr. Bamey grunted in response.

“Liam was taller,” Lorcan offered.

Silence immediately fell over the crowd of men, and
Lorcan felt an awkward tension thickening in the air.

“I’m sorry about your brother,” Davey said after a
moment. “We’re all very sorry about that.”

“It just gives us more motivation to do this,” Mrs.
Bamey stated as she moved to stand near her husband. “We’re doing it for Liam,
and for Pierce Carroll. We’re doing it for the future generations of our kind
so they will not have to lead a life of fear as we have.”

All eyes were on the female ursithrope as her fingers
dug into the back of the recliner. She frowned, allowing her gaze to move from
one man to the next. “So many of you have fled from this town; I do not blame
you, but this is
our
home. We should not have to leave because of them,
or anyone for that matter. This is our town. This is where the great Urseth
created our ancestors and what gives the werewolves the right to take it away?”

Various murmurs sounded around the room as she sucked
in a sharp breath. “They took away my son, but I will not allow them to harm
another ursithrope ever again. Last night they attacked Arnold Goult and his
niece, Presley.”

Arnold Goult stood near the door, lowering his head as
he frowned.

“Both are safe now, but what happens when the
werewolves return? Breslin Connor will not stop until he sheds every last drop
of ursithrope blood upon the ground of Kadenburg. My son’s blood stains the
earth already. Pierce Carroll’s blood remains on that tree. Breslin will
continue slaughtering our people until none remain. He
must
be
stopped. That is why I asked you to return. We cannot do it on our own.”

Seconds passed by as Lorcan’s eyes scanned the room.
He really hadn’t anticipated his mother giving a speech, but he was impressed
with her gumption. Mama bears were always dependable for motivation, weren’t
they? At least his was.

“How many wolves are we looking at?” Colin Grimes
asked.

Lorcan remembered Colin; or at least he thought he
did. Colin was only two years older than him, and he was fairly confident he
could remember Liam playing with him in the backyard during the summer. The
memories were a little fuzzy, but he was certain he remembered those hazel eyes
and dimpled cheeks.

“At least fifteen or more,” Mr. Bamey finally answered
as he exhaled the large cloud of smoke from between his lips. “Breslin’s been
busy getting recruits. It’s much easier to make mutts anyway.”

Several grunts of agreement echoed around the room and
Lorcan nodded. It was true. Werewolves had the benefit of being able to turn
a human into one of their own with a simple bite, but it didn’t work that way
for ursithropes. One had to be born into the lineage, and he wasn’t sure that
many had been brought into the world as of late. Even if there were any new
ursithropes, they were far too young to fight.

“We can take them,” Gregory Kress insisted as he
crossed his large arms over his equally large chest. He was young, but just
as massive as his fellow ursithropes.

Lorcan definitely remembered his last name. Greg’s
parents had owned an ice cream shop right in the middle of town years before.
Lorcan and Liam had enjoyed many treats there as youngsters. Things were never
quite the same after they moved away.

“There are fifteen of us, right?” The 18 year old
asked. “We’re bigger; stronger. We can defeat them easily.”

“They are faster,” Parson Downing argued. “And Breslin
fights dirty; we all know that. He’ll kill us in our human forms if he can get
away with it. We need more bodies.”

“We do need more bodies,” Mr. Bamey nodded. “But how
are we going to convince anyone else to come back to Kadenburg? Those families
moved away over a hundred years ago. Our fight is not their concern.”

“It is every ursithrope’s concern,” Parson muttered.
“Kadenburg is basically the mecca of ursithropes. We need to fight to keep
it.”

“And what about the wolf?” Kyle Frey asked.

All eyes moved to Dimitri then, who had remained
relatively quiet in the kitchen. The muscle in Lorcan’s jaw tensed and
relaxed; he wanted to hear about that, too.

“He is with us,” Mrs. Bamey stated firmly. “He was
Liam’s mate, and he’s on our side.”

Murmurs of confusion started to grow louder, and Lorcan
wanted to face-palm harder than ever before.

“My brother was gay. So what?” He finally said as he
turned around to face the stunned ursithropes. “He was in love with another
man. Who cares? He was still Liam, and he died because some asshole thought
he didn’t deserve to be with this guy,” he glanced at Dimitri again. Their
gazes connected and Lorcan felt the ache in his chest surge to life once more.

“Breslin Connor needs to be destroyed,” Lorcan added.
“And I’ll die trying if I have to.”

Twenty

I
t was very weird to have so many pairs of eyes
on her as she attempted to eat a cold breakfast. Presley timidly bit into a
piece of bacon before lifting her gaze to meet piercing blue eyes. She
supposed Gregory Kress was every bit as handsome as a man could be; given that
he could turn into a ferocious, large beast at will.

Lorcan is handsome, too,
her inner bear
scowled.
Lorcan is the one for us.

It doesn’t hurt to
look.
Presley responded as she swallowed the crisp meat and licked
her lips.
Besides, Lorcan and I aren’t together. Stop talking to me as if
I’m in a committed relationship. He’s just trying to be nice to me.

Gregory being nice might have been an understatement.
He’d been staring at her for the last five minutes and he was teetering on a
thin line between flattering and creepy. She had to constantly remind herself
that he was a great deal younger, and that made her creepy, too, didn’t it?

“So you like bacon, huh?” He asked after a moment.

“Doesn’t everyone?” Presley countered, lifting the
glass of orange juice to her lips for a quick sip.

“My sister’s a vegetarian,” He stated
matter-of-factly. “So I’m going to guess that she doesn’t like bacon.”

“Good for her,” Presley replied, unsure of what else
she was supposed to say. She wasn’t necessarily in the mood for conversation,
and her stomach was only interested in devouring every piece of food she could
get her hands on at the moment.

“You’re new to the whole bear thing, huh?” He
questioned as he tilted his head to the side. “How did you manage to go so
long without bearing out?”

Presley blinked, placing her glass back on the table as
she shrugged. “I don’t know. It just never happened.”

“Don’t you think that’s weird?”

Oh my god. What is wrong with this dude?
She
thought as she stared at him quizzically.

“It’s not weird,” Mrs. Bamey commented as she passed by
the table, moving to the sink so she could begin washing the mile high stack of
dirty plates. “It just seems like our Presley has better self-control than the
rest of us.”

There was something different about the way Mrs. Bamey
said ‘our Presley’, and it made Presley wonder if the woman was trying to be
possessive. What was even stranger for Presley, though, was the fact she
didn’t
mind
the older ursithrope being possessive. It even made her
smile a little as she poked at the cold eggs with her fork. Gross, she wasn’t
going to eat cold eggs.

I guess that’ll teach me to wake up earlier.

“I don’t think I could’ve gone
twenty something years without bearing out at least
once
,” Colin Grimes
voiced in as he seated himself next to Greg and smiled at her.

Why do they keep getting closer and closer?
Presley wondered as she pulled a biscuit apart and lathered a generous amount
of butter in the center.
It’s like I’m fascinating or something.

You –are-fascinating,
her
bear offered.
You are a female ursithrope and all unattached males will
be interested in us. They like our scent.

Presley nearly choked on the
bite of biscuit she’d just taken as she heard her bear’s words. They liked her
scent
?

“Presley, are you all right, dear?” Mrs. Bamey asked as
she turned away from the sink and frowned.

A gentle pat against the back caused Presley to jump,
and she turned her head quickly to see her uncle staring down at her with an
amused expression on his face. “Did it go down the wrong pipe?” He asked.

She coughed and sputtered, quickly taking another drink
of her orange juice as three worried sets of eyes stayed focused on her.

“I’m fine,” she managed to say after another moment.
“It just went down the wrong pipe, like Uncle Arnold said.”

How was she supposed to get through this day if she
couldn’t even get through breakfast?

––––––—

He didn’t like it. He didn’t like it at all. Ever
since Presley had entered the kitchen earlier that morning, Greg and Colin
acted like she was a shiny new toy and they couldn’t wait to play with her.
Nope. He didn’t like it.

It didn’t help matters when his father asked him to
join the older ursithropes in a short trip around Kadenburg to see if any
werewolves had been in the area within the last little while. He didn’t like
the thought of being away from Presley. He wasn’t fond of giving them the
opportunity to catch her interest.

She is ours,
his bear stated
confidently as Lorcan’s gaze watched the scenery pass by. He was riding back
to the Bamey house with Davey, and it seriously wasn’t helping to ease his mind
at all.

“So Pierce’s daughter has grown into a fine looking
young lady, hasn’t she?” He asked, glancing Lorcan’s way occasionally as he
gripped the steering wheel.

“Yeah,” Lorcan agreed as he pressed his forehead
against the cool glass of the passenger side window. “She’s beautiful.”

Davey chuckled as he flipped on his turn signal,
waiting for a few cars to pass by before he turned left turn onto Jessen Bend
Road. “If only I was forty years younger…”

Over my dead body,
Lorcan scowled. A frown
tugged at his lips as he turned his head to stare at the older ursithrope. “I
don’t think your wife would like that too much.”

“No, she wouldn’t,” Davey laughed. “She’d probably
skin me alive and put me in the dog house for a few months,” his eyes sparkled
as he turned his head to gaze at Lorcan again. “Don’t worry, little Bamey. I’m
not going to stray from the good woman I’ve got back home. I love her.”

Lorcan suddenly felt stupid for getting jealous so
easily. That wasn’t like him at all. But it wasn’t him, was it?

She will see we are meant for her,
his
bear concluded.
Soon, she will see.

She will choose whoever
she wants to choose,
Lorcan responded as he pressed his forehead
against the glass again. His brown eyes watched the scenery blur as they
passed by the river. They were almost back to his house now, and his father
was right behind them.

“So, Lorcan, when do you think you two will get mar-”

Davey’s question was cut short as a thunderous roar
rang in the air. It was so loud and
so
powerful that Lorcan couldn’t even
see straight. His shoulder slammed into the door before he had time to realize
what was happening, and he hissed out in pain. He caught a glimpse of dark
black fur before the car swerved off the road. Davey cursed as they headed for
the woods and quickly brought Lorcan back into reality as he tried to focus his
vision.

“Hold on, Lorcan!” Davey shouted as he attempted to
regain control of the vehicle. He pressed his heavy boot against the brake
pedal and grabbed for the gear shift. Shifting down into second, he pumped the
brake a few more times. “Damn piece of shi-”

Lorcan turned his head, watching the expression of
horror that overcame Davey’s aged face. There was something
very
wrong.

“I think we just lost our brakes,” Davey said in a
grave tone. “Don’t hold your breath.”

Lorcan wasn’t sure what holding his breath had to do
with their current situation, but his grip on the door handle was evidence
enough of the fear he was currently feeling. The hard plastic was crushing
between his fingers as he clenched his teeth together.

“Oh shit,” Davey muttered. “Lorcan, I want you to
jump.”

Lorcan glanced up, understanding why Davey had made
such an insane request as the huge pine tree got closer and closer. They were
going to hit it. It wouldn’t matter which way they turned. One way would put
them on course for the river, and the other would send them over a deep ravine;
the tree definitely had to be the best option.

“On the count of three, open your door and jump out,”
Davey instructed as he shifted the vehicle into neutral. “One…”

I can do this,
Lorcan thought as sweat trickled down
his temple.

“Two…” Davey grabbed for his door handle as he relaxed
his grip on the steering wheel.

“Three!”

Lorcan felt like he was in an action film as he shoved
his door open and pressed his boots against the floorboard. He didn’t even
look at where he was going. All he could see were thousands of dead leaves on
the ground, blurring with the speed of the vehicle as he hurled himself forward
and shut his eyes as tightly as possible.

The movies definitely made it look easier. He
anticipated that he would simply hit the ground and roll a few times, but
instead he found himself barreling down the embankment as the vehicle roared
past him.

One roll, two rolls, three rolls, four rolls, and then
his back slammed into the trunk of a tree and the air was knocked out of his
lungs.

Definitely not like the movies,
he thought with
a wince. Lorcan rolled onto his stomach, attempting to push himself up from
the ground as his palms began to burn. He cried out, clenching his jaw.
What
in the hell?

It felt as if liquid hellfire
was consuming his entire body. It didn’t matter which way he turned, the
burning sensation seemed to be everywhere.

“Lorcan!” Davey called out. “Lorcan, you have to get
up!
Now!
”

Releasing a small growl, Lorcan forced his hands
against the earth again and pushed upwards with every last ounce of strength he
had. Once he was on his feet, the burning went away. He examined his palms
and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to understand why his flesh was
blistered.
Pepper.

This wasn’t just a random
accident, and the wolf suddenly appearing in the middle of the road should have
been proof enough. However, the pepper covering the ground now was definitely
sufficient enough to cause the alarms to go off in his mind. This wasn’t good.

“Lorcan,” Davey panted as he approached him, resting
his hands against his knees as he doubled over. The poor old man was out of
breath and the gash on his forehead wasn’t healing.

Nothing will heal while we’re surrounded by pepper,
Lorcan frowned.

“We need to get the hell out of here,” Davey commented
as he finally straightened up. “This ain’t good, son.”

“No, it’s not,” Lorcan agreed as his dark eyes scanned
the area. Davey’s car was smashed into the tree, head on, and smoke billowed
from beneath the bent metal of the hood. The wheels were still spinning but
they had no place to go.

At least we weren’t in there,
Lorcan thought to
himself as he lifted his hands to gaze at them again. The blisters were raw
and painful, but he couldn’t do a damn thing about them until they were clear
of the woods. They had to get back to the main road-and fast.

“You, too, huh?” Davey asked with a frown. “Those
sum-bitches.”

Despite the pain and frustration he felt, Lorcan
snickered. Davey was still the same guy he remembered from childhood, blunt
and colorful.

“Lorcan!”

He could hear his father’s frantic shouting from the
top of the embankment, but Lorcan wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say. He
knew that the werewolves were lurking nearby. In fact, he could smell their
stench and it was strong. What were they waiting for, exactly?

If I shout back to him, there’s a chance they will
go after him,
Lorcan thought with a frown.
But if I don’t respond,
he’ll come down here anyway.

Stupidly stubborn father.

“I’m fine!” Lorcan finally said, though he kept a close
eye on his surroundings as he licked his dry lips. “We’re both fine, Dad.”

“I ain’t so sure about that,” Davey commented in a
lower voice.

Lorcan met the older male’s gaze, but quickly realized
Davey was looking past him. He slowly turned his head to follow his gaze and
determined he was in agreement.

Four large werewolves stalked towards them, baring
their fangs as their vicious growls grew louder. Lorcan could see the saliva
dripping from their mouths as they got closer.

“I don’t know about you,” Davey muttered. “But I ain’t
really aiming to be dinner today.”

“Me either,” Lorcan agreed as he felt his body
temperature rise to dangerous levels. He couldn’t change right now. He
couldn’t risk his paws touching the pepper. It was all around them-he could
smell it. His boots were the only things keeping him from being completely
vulnerable to the pestilent spice. “Any ideas?”

A loud gunshot sounded in the air, and Lorcan could
literally feel the bullet as it zoomed by his head. He heard one of the wolves
yelp in pain before it slumped over. The other three wolves growled again, barking
like angry dogs as they watched their fallen companion slowly change back into
a human.