Waking the Bear (Shifter Wars) (2 page)

“Maybe they have a plan of attack or were just gathering intel.” Griff raised his eyebrows in question.

Elijah shook his head then sauntered to the table to look at the map, moving slowly and steadily like a bear in a human-shaped skin. No mistaking his power, both over those in the room and over the Deep Creek bears in general. He owned a small grocery store in town, and the humans trusted him as much as the bears did, despite his frightening presence. They didn’t even ask questions when he disappeared during winter, letting his trusted manager, a human, run the store for him.

The bears stilled, awaiting Elijah’s appraisal of the situation. He studied the map a couple of minutes then his broad shoulders slumped a fraction. “The lions are up to something and it isn’t something of the happy kind, for sure. For once, I had hopes my dreams were wrong, but I think they were accurate.”

“So what do we do?” Derek asked. “We can’t attack their compound. We’d be slaughtered.”

“No, not attack, but we’re gonna have to be ready to engage them when they attack us. The war we’ve been dreading is on the horizon and growing closer, and right now, I think a defensive position is the best option.”

“Why now?” Griff asked.

Elijah turned to him. “Why not now?”

Griff closed his eyes, his head throbbing.
Why not now?
Elijah seemed to be able to cut through everything and see the truth. The lions would come, without rhyme or reason.

The bears had to be ready.

He opened his eyes and saw Elijah staring. A slight nod was all it took to show his deference to the wisdom his surrogate father held. The clan needed and trusted Elijah. Whatever he said, would be done.

“Everyone should be awake, sir.” Derek stared out the large picture window into the forest. “I don’t think we’ll have trouble holding our own. We’re strong and we’ve trained.”

“We still have some winter fat, so we need to train more and harder. I don’t want to lose anyone in this battle if we can help it. Gather the clan and get them back on training schedule A.” Elijah folded the map. “We’ll meet in the Cave of Whispers on the night of the full moon. Till then, make sure everyone is keeping alert and watching out for lions. Report anything unusual.”

“Yes, sir,” Powell and Derek answered in unison.

Griff motioned toward the kitchen. “Coffee’s ready, if anybody wants some.” He rubbed his throbbing head. As soon as everyone left, he would take a nap.

“Me.” Derek ducked into the kitchen with Powell on his heels.

Griff started to follow but he felt Elijah’s hand on his shoulder.

“One more thing for you, Griff. It’s important.” Elijah reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “We found this when we were downloading data from one of the cameras.”

Griff took the paper. “What is it?”

“Open it.”

Griff unfolded the paper. A printout of a grainy picture from a wildlife camera filled the page in black and white. Dizziness made his head swim.

It couldn’t be. Griff looked to Elijah.
It can’t be!

Elijah nodded, frowning.

“Evers.” Acid pooled in Griff’s stomach and he fought the urge to hurl. “But how? I thought he’d moved on. That lion is crazy.”

“He must have been away and now he’s back. Who knows? One thing’s for sure.” Elijah stared into Griff’s gaze, his eyes filled with fire.

“What’s that?” Griff crumpled the paper.

“He’s going to try and avenge his parents’ death.”

“That wasn’t my fault.”

“I know, but he insists it was. He’s not going to give up until you pay for it.”

“I never should have taken his father to the cave.”

“You tried, son.” Elijah put his hand on Griff’s shoulder.

The weight of it calmed Griff and he stood firm. He wasn’t afraid of Evers, but the lion was unstable. Unpredictable. He was a ghost from the past, one that he’d take care of if need be. “I should have let him die in the car. He wasn’t healed in the lake and now Evers thinks I killed him.”

“You need to go to the cave and talk to Shoshannah.” Elijah squeezed his shoulder and warmth radiated from his fingertips. “She’ll give you the guidance you need.”

“You know I don’t believe—”

“Doesn’t matter what you believe. You’re my son and I’ve asked you to go. You go.”

Griff bowed his head. “I’ll try to get out there sometime in the next week.” He backed away from Elijah’s grasp. The last thing he wanted was to spend any more time than he had to in the damp cave trying to talk to some ancestral spirit he didn’t believe in. The cave lake might have healing mineral waters, and many bears were buried there, including his family, but that didn’t mean the cave held a shifter spirit that handed out advice like fortune cookies.

Besides, he didn’t have time to go now. Not with Evers back and on the warpath.

“No. You need to go before tomorrow, before Evers is seen again.” Elijah’s voice dropped a register. “Promise me you will. If you don’t, you may not ever get the chance.”

“Why not?” Griff paused.

“Doesn’t matter. Just go.”

He couldn’t tell Elijah no. “Fine. I’ll go. But she’s never appeared to me or helped me at all. Not once. I don’t know why you think it will be any different now. Especially now.”

“Maybe it isn’t that she appears to you that’s important. Maybe it’s that you appear to her.”

Chapter Two

“From the description in the ad, I kinda expected something a little...” Amy looked around the living room. This was the living room, right? “...bigger, maybe? Yeah, it has tall ceilings and sort of an open floor plan, but...”

Could she live in such a small space? The Realtor had emailed her plenty of photos, but still images couldn’t capture the size.

The cabin was quaint and tiny—nothing like her home back in Atlanta where she had a separate art studio and a spacious guest bedroom. It even had a spare full bath that she’d basically used as an overflow closet. Since she’d wanted to be out in the woods, the cabin certainly fit the bullet point. Close to the park, and also close to town. Adventure required letting go of a few luxuries, she supposed.

Okay, a lot of luxuries.

“I think you’ll find the cabin has plenty of room for your needs for a temporary stay. You’re the only tenant, right?” The real estate agent plumped up one of the couch cushions and a spray of fine dust rose into the air. She coughed. “It’s not rented in winter while the landlord is unavailable to check on it regularly. I can make sure it gets cleaned before you move in.”

“Just me. I can clean it myself.” Amy pushed aside the heavy curtains to peek out the wide living room window. “If I decide to rent it, of course.”

The view across the valley stunned her grayed city vision. The bright greens of an awakening spring traced the edges of old growth, outlining the forest in conifers of varying shades of light. Just outside the window a large jasmine bush bloomed, the dewy white petals offset with the deep greenery of the leaves.

She relaxed her shoulders. So much green. The east-facing window would bring in the perfect morning sunshine for painting and the warm summer sunsets would bathe the whole world in hues of gold.

Painting here would be a dream come true. In fact, painting anywhere would be a dream come true, but the cabin in the mountains was the perfect place to reawaken the dreams she’d had since high school. She should have never let her practical side tell her that making money was more important that doing what she loved.

Being in advertising had seemed to be a worthwhile compromise at first—creativity and money, but it was a false creativity. Art school would have been a choice more true to her calling.

Never too late to follow your dreams, right?

She had to get away from the bustle of city life for a while or she was going to break. Maybe she already had broken and didn’t realize it. She’d find out here. Away from the city. Away from Darren and his games and lies and abuse. Away from all the stress that had been slowly killing her.

Win, win.

“What do you think? It’s relaxing up here, for sure.” The Realtor walked over to join her.

Amy startled. She’d almost forgotten the Realtor was in the room. “It feels amazing. So peaceful.” She looked out the window. “Thank you for showing it to me, Ms. Watkins.”

“Please, call me Jill.” The Realtor stared out the window. “I’ve always loved this view.”

Amy nodded. “It’s lovely.”

Rolling mountains surrounded the little cabin like a rumpled bedspread after a dream-filled night. From the porch swing, she’d be able to see the expansive national park as it parted into a deep valley where a blue river flowed like a thin crumpled ribbon, barely visible in the distance.

This could be the fresh start she needed after finally getting away from Darren and being ousted from a job she hated but felt compelled to keep because it was the responsible thing to do. All in one week.

She sighed.
Yes
. For two months, she could be as impractical as she wanted. Paint to her heart’s content. Not worry about bills and work and boyfriends. At the end of that time, she’d know what to do next.

She was sure of it.

The cabin was perfect. The location was right and her soul already told her this was where she belonged. Going from city chick to nature gal would be an interesting change, but it was one she looked forward to.

“I’ll take it.”
I think
.
Yes
. “Tell the owner I’ll pay the two months’ rent in full as soon as she draws up the contract. It’d be great if we could sign today so I don’t have to find somewhere to stay the night tonight. I’ve already had a long drive today.”

So I don’t back out. Chicken out
.

“The owner’s a he.” Jill smiled and clasped her stack of papers a little tighter.

“I’d rather not have to drive back into town if I don’t have to. Not yet. If I can sign today, then I can worry about extra supplies tomorrow.”
I need to do this. You don’t know how badly I need to make this move on my own.

“As it turns out, Mr
.
Martin is the park ranger for this area of the national forest. Since he moved into the government-provided house down the ridge, he rents out his old cabin during the spring and summer. So, you really couldn’t have a better landlord, well, unless he was a cop.” She rocked back on her heels, smiling.

“And?” Amy stared at Jill, who was clearly dying to gossip. She knew the signs. There had been plenty of those types at ADvert, and she’d not participated in their games. Might have been one of the reasons they let her go. She didn’t play politics.

“He’s a fine sight to look at, too.” Jill stood on her tiptoes and reached up high. “‘bout this tall. Big guy.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Jill blushed. “Nothing. I just said the owner is a he and he’s handsome. You’ll be glad he is. A he, that is.”

“Fine. He. She. Whatever. How soon can I sign the lease?” Amy pulled the curtains back into place and the room dimmed. So what if the landlord was a hot guy? That was the very last thing she needed. This was Amy time and no guy was going to push in on it and use it up. Two months was short already.

No harm in looking, though.

The agent shuffled papers in her notebook at the kitchen table. “The rental agreement is the same paperwork I emailed you last week. I printed it out because I knew once you saw the cabin, you’d want to rent it.”

“Yes, of course.” Amy scanned the room again. Before she could work on anything, she’d need to give the place a thorough cleaning. That meant a trip into Oakwood for supplies and food—she only had a cooler and a couple sandwiches with her, and some bottled water.

It’d be great if she could wait till tomorrow to drive back into town. She was so tired. She moved aside her thin scarf and rubbed at her tense neck muscles. A good night’s sleep would work wonders. The cabin wasn’t
that
dirty. Just some dust from not being used. Cleaning could wait a day. “How close are we to Oakwood? I drove here through Henredon, but Oakwood’s closer, yes?”

“Yes. The national park, Deep Creek, sits between Oakwood and Henredon, but we’re closer to Oakwood. Oakwood is fifteen minutes away, at most. Henredon is forty-five and in the other direction. Oakwood only has one hotel and I think Henredon has three or four.”

“I don’t think I could make it all the way back there tonight.” She slipped the scarf from around her neck and set it on the table. “The cabin is still available? That’s shocking. It’s so nice.”

“It’s one of the nicest short-term rentals within fifty miles. Too bad he doesn’t rent the place in the winter season. People would be all over it. Someone tried to start a camping park outside the national forest but we only get a few RVs in the summertime.”

Amy ran her hand over the soft chenille spread draped over the couch’s back. Yes, she wanted this cabin. She belonged in the place. “I’m sure they would. Let’s make this legal. Has Mr. Martin signed the lease?”

The drive from Atlanta had taken two days, the last of which meandered through tiny roads in New York. Having a bed for more than one night, a bed she could call her own for a while, was pretty appealing. She picked up the paper and glanced over the terms. It was the same form she’d read before arriving and things looked to be in order.

“No. He wanted to meet the prospective tenant first. I’ll call him right now.”

“Great. Thanks.”

Jill pulled out her phone and scrolled through numbers. “If we’re lucky, we’ll catch him at home. The ranger station is down the ridge near the park entrance. Would save everyone some trouble if he could come on now.”

“Thanks! I’m going to check out the rest of the place.” She set the paper on the table and squared it with the edges.

Her hands shook with excitement. Even the air felt alive here. Maybe it was getting out of the city or maybe it was the chance to finally do what she loved, she didn’t know. She was as close to happy as she’d been in—she couldn’t remember.

Here, she’d be able to get out into nature every day and paint and take photos, or stay home and relax, whichever she preferred. She could sit out on the porch and work, or go into one of the little towns and spend the day doing nothing. No one to tell her what to do, when to do it or if it was done well enough for their satisfaction.

She could even stay in bed reading all day if she wanted to.

Jill nodded and began tapping on her phone. Amy headed down the short, narrow hallway toward the only bedroom and bathroom. The wooden floors creaked as she walked and she noticed the paint was chipping from the bead board on the hall walls.

Quaint.

She peeked into the bathroom, finding an okay-sized room with an antique clawfoot tub and shower. The pine vanity was small, but the room held a bit of wire shelving and a small closet for linens. With a toilet tucked in the corner and a large beveled mirror over the vanity, no one could say the room was impractical. Certainly not the marbled spa with jetted tub she had in Atlanta, but it would do for two months.

The bedroom had to be the next room—the last one in the hall. She turned the crystal doorknob, pushed the door open and reached in to flick on the light. The room held a white king-size wrought-iron bed and a boxy mid-century dresser with a framed mirror above it.

What looked to be a small closet was tucked beside the dresser. Sufficient. Even charming. Larger than she expected. The room was the same size as the living room, if not a bit bigger. Why on earth would such a tiny cabin have a king-sized bed? A quilt in hues of blue and trimmed in florals covered the bed and several extra pillows lined the iron headboard. Sure looked comfortable.

She moved to the closet door and yanked it open. Two shelves and a rod for hanging. A few extra pillows crammed on the shelf up top. Adequate. She didn’t have a lot of clothes and shoes with her anyway. This was a trip to get away from formality and structure. She’d relax. She didn’t need a new pair of shoes for every day of relaxing.
Hopefully.

The small window over the bed was framed with frilly white dusty curtains and a small oil lamp sat on a doily on the dresser.

Yes, this will work very well
.

She sat on the spacious bed and ran her hand across the smooth quilt top, admiring the handiwork. A lot of time had gone into making the quilt—and it was old. The tiny rows of stitches, while almost parallel, weren’t perfect. This quilt had been stitched with love, not in a factory.

A sigh escaped her and she listened to the quiet. She couldn’t even hear Jill talking in the other room. Hopefully, she’d reached Mr. Martin.

She patted the bed. She wouldn’t have a lot of laundry since the rent included linen delivery service. Good thing, as the place wasn’t equipped for washing. The listing had mentioned a Laundromat in Oakwood, which was fine for as infrequently as she’d need to do laundry.

She lay back and closed her eyes, imagining herself living in the little place all alone. Away from the hustle and bustle of Atlanta for two months.

Away from Darren.

Her job at ADvert Inc. had been stressful and busy, and most of her coworkers were ladder-climbing jerks, not ashamed to step on someone to move up in the ranks. That, plus a failed relationship with a different kind of jerk made holing up all alone in a cabin pretty damn appealing. She wasn’t running from her problems, at least not long term. The acid in her stomach rose to her throat.

She’d never been able to handle being alone, and that had gotten her into more than one bad relationship. Painting would fill her days. Not running away. Running to what she needed to do to regain her sense of self. Finally choosing to do what she wanted instead of what everyone else expected.

With her generous severance pay, she had enough money to live for several months, so a two-month vacation had seemed like the perfect transition to the next phase of her life—maybe she’d do something completely different when she got back.

Finding herself. She had to be in there somewhere and she was intent on improving her life.

Definitely without Darren or any Darren substitute. It would be a long time before she went looking for a relationship again. Besides, he’d made her feel like she was the bottom of the barrel. Part of her knew that wasn’t true, but another part kind of believed it. No one would want her. Not now. Not that it mattered. Too much of her own stuff to tend to have to worry about dealing with a man.

Truly a fresh start.

The options seemed endless and overwhelming, and none stood out as the right choice. She sat up and brushed her hair back. She couldn’t continue to doubt herself. This was the time to take risks. Be brave.

“Ms. Francis?” Jill pushed the bedroom door open. “I caught him at home. He hopped in his Jeep and headed over. Said he’d had meetings this morning, so what was one more. You’ll see what I’m talking about now.” She winked.

Great.
“Thanks. I hope he isn’t upset we asked him to drop things and come over.”

“No, no,” Jill whispered. “I think he was asleep.” She glanced down the hall then peeked back into the room. “So, he’s here already. You ready to talk to him?” She leaned closer. “And see him?”

“Yes.” Amy took a deep breath. Time to make a commitment. “I’ll be right there.”

Jill nodded and left, a tiny maelstrom of dust swirling in her wake. With the door open, Amy could hear her talking to someone in the living room but couldn’t make out what they were saying.