Unbearable: Russet Falls Series (11 page)

Zane pulled alongside Gabby’s car at the hotel. Gabby said
nothing, but instead shoved the door open and hurried out, making sure to slam
it extra hard.

Zane shook his head. He had a million questions, but he knew
that he couldn’t ask Gabby.

At least not yet.

He also knew that right now, out of sight, were at least two
other bears that would follow Gabby home and then keep watch outside her house.
Or wherever she lived.

“No goodbye?” Zane asked out of his rolled-down window.

“Fuck you,” she retorted, jumping in her car and revving the
engine. Zane shook his head again, but backed up so that he was out of the way when
she backed her car out. He wouldn’t it past her to plow into his car.

He pulled out of the parking lot, and felt his body fill
with tension as his bear began to push near the surface. He was back to the
park office in record time, and he could smell the tension and fear among the
others.

He entered the lobby and was greeted by the others pacing
the floor.

“What the fuck is she?” Grayson exploded as Alicia tried to
calm him down.

What the hell did she see in him? Zane couldn’t help but
wonder as he prepared for the onslaught. He would never understand how Alicia
could have left him for a dick like Grayson. But he guessed that it didn’t
matter. She had left him. And that was all that mattered.

“We need some answers,” Michael growled. “Are you all sure?”
he asked looking over at Quentin, Mick, Alicia and Grayson.

“Positive!” Grayson snapped.

Mick said, “Absolutely. It was like an alpha order.”

Michael looked over at Alicia, who nodded. He finally looked
at Quentin. “There was no mistaking it,” Quentin said quietly. “It was nowhere
near as strong as one of your alpha orders, but it was some
type
of
alpha order.”

“But how?” Zane argued. “How could that be? She’s not a
shifter, we know that.”

“Do we?” Grayson argued.

“We would have smelled it in her blood,” Michael answered,
obviously irritated. “And even if none of you could smell it, I would be able
to pick it up.”

“What about a different type of shifter? A wolf, maybe?”
Quentin asked.

“I had considered it,” Michael said thoughtfully, “But we
should be able to pick that scent up as well. And why would she have been so
frightened? She should have defended herself against the bear attack.”

“And she smells like a human!” Zane argued, raking his hands
through his hair.

“Well, obviously she’s more than human,” Grayson said, his
voice dripping with disdain.

“Clearly,” Zane shot back. He wanted to punch Grayson in his
fucking mouth.

Alicia gave Zane a warning look. “Michael,” she began, “We
all felt it. There was power in the girl’s voice. I don’t think she is a
shifter either, but I agree that there is something else to her. Perhaps she
doesn’t even know herself.”

“Fuck,” Michael hissed. “Whatever it is, I’m guessing the
Cruentus know.”

“How is that even possible?” Zane asked.

“It would explain their interest in her,” Quentin added.
“And also explain why someone wanted to kill her.”

“We need to figure out what she is, and then we need to see
if there is any connection to the cub slayings,” Michael said, the authority of
the alpha in his voice. Zane could feel Michael’s power deep in his bones, and
he knew whatever Michael commanded of them, they all would have no choice but obey.

“So what do we do?” Grayson asked, his mouth twisted in an
ugly line.

“For starters, we keep the surveillance on her,” Michael
said, “And I want you, Alicia, to try to drag some of those old recluses out of
hibernation and see if they can tell us something. Maybe there is some
knowledge to be discovered there.”

Grayson sniffed at Michael’s order. “I can do that,” he said
arrogantly.

“People don’t like you,” Michael said flatly and Zane
couldn’t help but snort, which earned him a warning glance from Michael. “Allow
Alicia to talk to the elders. If you try to do it, they will never help us.”

Michael definitely had a point. There were a few older
shifters who kept entirely to themselves and never left their homes. It
wouldn’t be surprising if some of them had knowledge of the clan that no one
else did because it had died out with some of the older bears.

“What can I do?” Zane asked. He knew what he wanted to do,
he just didn’t know if Michael would allow it. Michael gave him a shrewd look,
and Zane knew that Michael could read his thoughts.

“Yes, I suppose that’s best,” Michael said grudgingly.
“Oversee the surveillance at her house. But I want you back here if we can
convince the elders to share information.”

Zane quickly agreed and hurried out before Michael changed
his mind. He didn’t care what Michael had to say to Quentin, or Grayson for
that matter. And he had spent more than enough time around Alicia.

Once in the privacy of the woods, he quickly shifted into
bear form, feeling the liberation that came from leaving his restricting human
form. He ran along the clan lands, careful not to overstep boundary lines as he
weaved his way toward the town.

With each thud of his heavy paws against the earth, he was
closer to Gabby. He growled with protectiveness as he thought of her, and he
ran faster, knowing he wouldn’t be able to rest easy until she was within his
sight.

He made it quickly to her development, and he slunk around
until he had a decent vantage point on her apartment. He heard a low growl and
he looked behind to see Tommy and Sam, in their bear form. He was satisfied it
was them protecting Gabby.

At least he would be satisfied as long as he was there too.

He could tell though that Sam and Tommy were annoyed by his
presence.

Fuck it.

He hung back in the woods, his eyes roaming across the
apartment building.

Then he spotted her.

She was standing by her window, looking out. Her hair was
pulled back on top of her head, and from the looks of it, she had changed into
a tank top. Zane wished that she would come out onto the balcony, but he knew
they wouldn’t be that lucky. Sure enough, Gabby pulled the blinds closed.

At least Zane had gotten a glimpse of her.

He spent the next several hours patrolling the grounds of
her apartment building, along with Sam and Tommy. The longer he spent as a
bear, the more animalistic he felt. It was frightening how easily his humanity
fell away, and in just a few hours time he felt more like a beast than a man.

As night approached, Zane vowed to remain just as vigilant,
if not more so. Suddenly the quick sound of an approaching bear sent him into
protection mode. He relaxed once he recognized Quentin.

He watched as Quentin changed into human form, his body
shaking and shuddering as it condensed and the hair recoiled into his skin. He
stood before Zane, naked.

“One of the elders claims to know something. Michael wanted
me to tell you so you could return to hear it.”

After relaying the message, he quickly shifted back into bear
form, the shift fast and seamless because he spent so little time as a human.

Zane looked longingly up at Gabby’s window. He didn’t like
leaving her alone, though she wasn’t really alone with Sam and Tommy. And he
did want to hear what the elder had to say.

Reluctantly, he turned to follow Quentin, who was already a
hundred yards away. This elder had better have some real information, or Zane
was going to be pissed that he was called away from Gabby’s apartment.

He ran quickly through the dark forest, the moon not visible
through the dense trees and leaves. It was mere minutes before he was back in
the parklands, and he ran faster once he was within sight of the park building.

Michael came out to greet him, and Zane changed back to his
human form, grabbing his clothes, which he had stored along the side of the
building.

“Which elder is it?” Zane asked, starting to throw his
clothes on. “Is he here?”

Michael shook his head. “It’s Jeffries. And no, he isn’t
here. He refuses to come here. He says,” and his face twisted as if he had
tasted something sour, “that we’re a bunch of idiots running around here.”
Michael burst out with a hard laugh, but Zane could tell he was annoyed.
“Alicia and Quentin are there,” Michael added as he began to stride towards the
parking lot. “They’re waiting for us. Let’s go.”

Zane hopped into his shoes and quickly followed Michael
toward the parking lot.

“And Grayson?” Zane couldn’t help asking.

“I don’t have time for him. Jeffries wouldn’t talk if
Grayson was there, you should know that. I sent Grayson over with Sam and Tommy.”
He walked directly towards Zane’s Hummer, so Zane figured that he was driving.

The men got in the car, and Zane sped towards Jeffries’
house. Zane wasn’t sure how old Jeffries was, but he knew Jeffries had been
around for a long, long time. He lived in a small cabin deep in the woods, and
Zane couldn’t recall the last time Jeffries had left his house.

He wound his way through the dark forest roads, knowing at
one point that they would have to abandon the car and travel the rest of the
way on foot or paw.

The ride was bumpy and the Hummer’s headlights flashed in
the dark, lighting up the brush as small animals skittered out of the way.

“I hope Jeffries isn’t a dead end,” Michael muttered.

Zane reached the end of the dirt road, and the men got out
of the car and began making their way through the dark forest.

“Should we shift?” Zane asked as he swatted at a branch in
his face and nearly tripped over a cluster of roots.

“It shouldn’t be much further,” Michael explained. “There.”
Up ahead was the small cabin, a tiny light the only sign that anyone lived
there.

Taking long purposeful strides, Zane made his way towards
the house. He wondered what, if anything, Jeffries would be able to tell them
and what it might mean for Gabby.

Michael knocked loudly, and Alicia opened the door.

Zane tried to forget about what loving Alicia had been like.
It was easier to ignore those feelings when he was a bear. He didn’t like being
around Alicia in human form.

Quentin was standing in the back of the room, and nodded
when the men walked in.

The cabin was nearly dark, and it took a moment for Zane’s
eyes to adjust. The cabin was dusty and poorly kept, and it dawned on Zane that
Jeffries probably spent most of his time in bear form rather than human.

There in the corner of the cabin, which was essentially one
large room, sat a weathered old man who seemed permanently twisted into a
hunchback position.

“Jeffries,” Michael said, moving towards the man and
kneeling down so he was on his level. “The clan appreciates your help.”

Jeffries nodded, pulling his gnarled, weathered hands
together on his lap. “Did you know,” he began in a scratchy baritone, jumping
right in, “that bear kings once roamed the land?”

There was a pause, and Zane wanted to scoff aloud. What he
thought might be informative now seemed silly. Clearly, Jeffries was not of
sound mind. What the hell was a bear king? But with shock, he noticed Michael
nodding in agreement.

Huh?

How did Zane not know about this? He wanted to interrupt,
but Michael shot him a look that was so deadly, he snapped his mouth shut.

Jeffries continued. “There was an ancient bear dynasty. It
was believed that they came from Siberia, thousands of years ago, crossing the
Bering Strait and settling in Alaska before making their way down into Washington.”

This was making no sense to Zane.

“However,” Jeffries cleared his throat, “There is a record
of at least one of these bear kings leaving Washington and settling in Oregon.
When I was a young boy, there were whisperings that the leader of Cruentus was
the Bear King. No one believed it, but he had unparalleled strength, superior
senses, and we quickly learned that it was true. A bear king still existed, and
not only that, but the royalty was among us.”

Michael shook his head in disbelief, as Alicia and Quentin
hung on every word. Was everyone really buying this bullshit?

“The king was a quiet man and kept to himself. He had a son,
but it was clear that his son was not taken with our shifter lifestyle. As the
older bears began to die out, less and less knew about the bear king. The king
was killed in battle, though if you ask the few of us that remember, it seemed
like sabotage by the Atrocitas because they had discovered the knowledge of the
king.”

Jeffries inhaled sharply, his frail body shaking. This story
was taking a huge toll on him.

“The cub became king, but it was clear he was afraid of
being a shifter. I don’t remember the boy much because he and his mother kept
to themselves. He led the Cruentus, but barely. From what I remember, he
allowed other members of the clan to take over.” Jeffries paused, taking a
ragged breath. “He wasted it!” he burst out, his pale, puckered skin turning
pink.