Alpha’s Claim (Bad Boy Bears #1)

Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

D arius

I swim in a sea of pain. Shouts and screams sound in the distance, then I hear the clank of bars slamming down.

I come to again when a soft hand closes around mine. I jerk and Paloma shushes me. “Shhh, Darius. I’m here.”

“Princess?” I slit open my eyes, but the world is blurry. My head aches like someone pounded it with a sledgehammer.

“Oh, thank God you’re awake.” Paloma’s soft hair falls on my cheek, and I turn my head to drink in her sweet scent.

My skin burns where the net touched it, but the pain is nothing to the fire raging inside me. Whatever was in those darts is poison. I feel incredibly weak.

“Where–”

“They took us somewhere. I overheard one of the guards say we’re on a private estate, but I don’t know where. They drugged me. They drugged us both.” Her breath hitches. She’s been crying .

I want to raise a hand to comfort her, but I can’t lift it more than a few inches. She grabs it and holds on with both hands.

There’s something important I have to tell her. I reach through the fog to find it.

“Wren,” I mumble.

“I know,” Paloma’s voice cracks with a sob. “Thom poisoned her. I can still sense her, but she must be dead…”

“No. Matthias. Medicine.” My lips feel heavy, but I force them to shape the words. “She…alive.”

“ Ay, Dios mio ,” Paloma gasps. “Oh, thank you.” She presses my hand to her face. I feel the rain of her tears.

“It’s okay.”

“We’re going to get out of this. I promise.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” someone rasps. A sharp, clove smell hits me. A heavy thump of boots brings the scent closer. “Give him another dose of tranq. He’s awake.”

“Stop,” Paloma snaps. “What are you doing?” She drops my hand, and I sense her standing, defending me. “Leave him alone!”

My chest rumbles as my bear voices his wrath. There’s a whoosh and another dart pricks my chest.

“It’s just a knockout drug,” the guy rasps. “Special blend for shifters. It’ll burn but there’s not enough silver in there to kill him.”

I hear Paloma fighting, and my bear pushes to the surface, making me surge upwards. But the dart has done its work, pumping the tranquilizer into me. I’m fading.

A heavy hand lands on my chest, pushing me down with laughable ease. I choke on the numbing scent of cloves. “Rest up, bear man. We’ll have use for you later.”

Paloma

I watch as Darius’ body goes limp. The guy standing over him has to be some sort of shifter. He’s huge, with a scarred face. Big, black sunglasses hide his demon eyes.

He sets down the crossbow he used to shoot Darius and faces me. “Mr. Thompson wants to see you.”

I fold my arms over my chest. “If you think I’m going to do anything he says, you can think again.” Now that I know for sure Wren is alive, all my emotions have turned to rage.

“Suit yourself,” he shrugs. “I’m not the one with a boy bear whose life is on the line.”

“What are you going to do with him?” I ask, in case he’ll gloat and give me more information. I don’t know much about our situation. Thom’s men gave me a tranquilizer to knock me out. I woke up here, in this cold hangar with a concrete floor, lying on a medical table next to Darius. He’s restrained in silver chains, but they’re letting me move about freely. For now.

The big guard doesn’t answer. The door at the end of the large space bangs open, and Thom trots in, followed by a group of guards.

“Paloma,” he shouts in his reedy voice. “What have you done?”

I move, so I’m standing between him and Darius. Thom stomps over to me. He’s supposed to be intimidating with his angry face and the armed guards. But I feel no fear, nothing but hatred. This man kept me and my sister captive. He tried to murder my sister and almost succeeded. He had his troops try to kill my friends.

He deserves what’s coming to him and more .

“You wicked child,” he says. His normally pale skin flushes an unhealthy red. “How dare you target my fund!”

I know why he’s so upset. He’s discovered the trades I made on the flight over here. I spent the whole time making trades that would ensure the downfall of Thompson Capital. I know exactly what Thompson’s holdings are, and how to target them.

“What’s wrong, Thom?” I taunt. “Did someone boost the profits of the companies you were shorting? After a bunch of those deals go through, you’ll get caught…shall we say… short .”

“You bitch.”

“Careful.” I examine my nails. “You’ll give yourself another heart attack. It’s only a few hundred billion.”

“You’ll find a way to make it back. Every penny. Or else–”

“Or else what? You’ll kill an innocent child? I’m done with your threats. You can kill me. But then it’ll be all over. You’ll have nothing. You’ll be nothing. Because that’s what you’re really worth, right? You inherited a fortune, and in a single decade, you ran your family’s companies into the ground.”

“You shut your mouth–” He steps forward to strike me, and I slap his hand away. He’s not used to me being able to fight back.

“You know it’s the truth. The only thing you’ve done was kill my parents and take me and Wren prisoner, so I’d build your fortune. And with a few clicks of a mouse, I took it all away. You’re a failure. And the world will know.”

“You will rebuild all you’ve taken from me. I will chain you here, and you will never see the sun–”

“I will never work for you again.” I use my rage as a weapon. I’ve never felt so much power with Thom–I was too trapped in his web before. Now that Darius got me free, I’m a new person.

He sputters, unable to speak.

A phone rings, cutting him off. He pulls out his cell and stiffens when he sees the name on the screen.

“Is that one of your investor friends?” I ask. He turns beet red, so I know I must be right. “They can’t be happy with how much money you’ve lost them.”

“Oh, they’ll be happy.” He pockets the phone. He’s breathing heavily, but a tinge of triumph enters his voice. “Because not only will you rebuild my investments, you’ll rebuild theirs. And I have something else to offer them.” He points to Darius. “A shifter to hunt.”

I suck in a breath, feeling like he punched me in the gut. My skin crawls at his smile. Terror seeps back in, bleeding me of the rage and power I felt a moment ago.

“You wouldn’t.”

He chuckles, feeling like he has the upper hand. “Something you never knew about me, daughter. I’m part of an exclusive club. We call ourselves the Venatores. It’s an old Latin word that means hunters . And guess what sort of creature we like to hunt?”

“ No ,” I croak. I don’t want to believe this, but it makes sense. The silver chains, the nets, the tranquilizer: Thom’s men were prepared to take shifters down. There was a reason he told me to bring Darius back with me, and it wasn’t for revenge.

He is so sick.

“Oh yes. Ordinary game is no longer a challenge. That’s the reason I invited Darius to Lockepoint in the first place. To confirm what Hannibal here had already sniffed out.” He motions to the big, scarred guard.

Hannibal is huge. He has to be another shifter, one who turned on his own kind. Because who could better teach someone how to hunt a shifter than another shifter? He’d know all of a shifter’s strengths and weaknesses.

Thom cocks his head to the side. “Do you think Darius’ brothers will come to save him if we put up the distress signal?”

Ice water floods my veins at the thought of the werebear brothers storming in to save Darius and me, only to be captured, one by one. “No,” I croak. “You can’t.”

“Oh, I’m going to. Darius will be the first to be hunted as soon as he calls on his friends.”

“He won’t do it.”

“I think he will.” Thom motions, and a guard steps up, opening a medical case and showing me the vials inside. “Especially if I threaten to poison you. That’s one thing I’ve learned about shifters. They’ll do anything if you threaten their fated mate.”

Wren

“Are you sure you want to do this?” the doctor, Matthias, asks. He’s seated beside the bed in the guest room where I’m staying. Beyond him, the huge blond guy, Teddy, and his gorgeous wife Lana stand in the doorway. Matthias and Teddy are my sister’s friends, and they rescued me. Apparently, I was on death’s door after Thom poisoned me. Luckily, Matthias was there and able to heal me.

Right now, I feel amazing. I’m riding a surge of energy, and instead of lying down to rest, I want to do anything I can do to help find and rescue Paloma.

“I’m sure.” I lie down and close my eyes before anyone can argue. Connecting psychically with my sister is easy as breathing. Right now, my rescuers are doing all they can to find her and her boyfriend Darius. Thom took them, and no one knows where. I can use my psychic gifts to See where they are and maybe get some clues to their location.

I calm my breathing, like Paloma taught me, and slip into a trance. Next thing I know, I’m looking down at the version of myself lying in bed. Matthias waits beside me, head bowed in thought. Teddy paces the living room of his and Lana’s gorgeous mountain home. Lana is watching him worriedly.

I let myself sink deeper, and the vision fades. I expand my energetic field, imagining a ball of light pulsing bigger and bigger until it’s stretching from horizon to horizon. My sister is out there, and I can sense her energy–it’s so much like mine.

All of a sudden, she’s right next to me. I touch my energy to hers, but she’s too preoccupied. Her field is full of worry and a heavy sadness. I imagine light and love flowing from my heart space into hers.

The picture of where she is becomes clearer. I keep feeding Paloma my warmth and let the vision solidify.

She sits in a big warehouse type place, with boxes and guards all around. Next to her is Darius. I take in every detail of her surroundings, trying to get a clue as to where she might be.

“They’re in a warehouse in a forested area. Somewhere high in altitude,” I murmur.

“Good, that’s good. They’re both alive? What else?” Teddy asks.

“Thom is there. I…don’t see him, but I can sense him. Blech.”

Wren? Paloma senses me nearby but can’t see me. I send a push of love her way. She’s still worried and confused, but she accepts my presence.

Satisfied, I turn to Darius. His energy is a raw, pulsing wound, and I can’t ignore it any longer. He’s in so much pain.

I drop to my knees beside him, trying to send healing energy. I only sense more rage.

And then the light changes, and I get a vision of Darius not as a man, but as a huge brown bear.

“There’s a bear inside Darius. I don’t know–that’s how it shows up.”

“That’s right, Wren. Darius has a bear side, and if he would let it out, it could save them. Can you tell him to let it out?” Teddy asks.

I study Darius. There’s something over him, isolating him from me and everyone, even Paloma.

The shadow over him solidifies into dark bars. Darius’ bear is in a cage.

I pace closer, and an angry paw swipes out, narrowly missing me. I jump back. The bear roars, a wounded, echoing sound.

“I know,” I tell it. “You’re not free.” I pace around the structure, but it’s solid. I can’t figure out how to break it open. The bear won't let me get close enough to comfort him.

I need someone to speak to the bear and calm him down. He doesn’t trust me. Who would he trust?

All at once, I’m back in my body in the guest bedroom.

I open my eyes and sit straight up, startling the others in the room. Matthias, Lana, and Teddy all peer at me.

“Are you all right?” Matthias leans in to check my vitals, and I hold up a hand. I don’t want him to touch me. I’m about to try something I’ve never done .

If it works, it could change everything. But if I fail, I could lose my sister.

It has to work.

I turn to Teddy. “I need your help.”

Darius

There are murmurs all around me. I strain to hear, but my ears fill with the bear’s roaring.

And then it all fades, and I hear Teddy calling my name. “Darius.”

I see him clearly, striding out of the darkness towards me.

“Brother? What’s happening?” The darkness dissipates. We’re both standing in a forest clearing. I recognize every rock and tree. “This is where we grew up.”

Am I dying? Is this what people mean when they say their life flashes before their eyes?

“We need to talk,” Teddy says. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“I don’t have time for this. I have to get back to Paloma. She needs me.” I can feel the pain in the distance. Terrible things are happening while I’m asleep.

“She needs you.” He takes a step forward. “But you need your bear.”

“What?”

“Brother, listen.” He stares into my eyes. It’s like looking in a mirror, or would be if he shaved his bushy beard. “Embrace your bear.”

“I can’t.” I shake my head, retreating. “I can’t let him out.”

“You can. You must. ”

“No. He’s too wild.” I turn around, and there it is, the trailer where we lived. The one that I destroyed. Its side is dented in. “He’ll ruin everything.”

“He can help. He can save you.”

“No. He can only cause destruction.” I can feel the hair growing on my chin, sprouting into a beard like Teddy’s. Maybe that’s why I shaved, to keep from looking too much like my twin. To keep from looking wild.

All for nothing. My bear is trying to break out.

“Look at this.” I wave a hand at our ruined trailer. “Look at what he did.”

“You have to embrace that side of yourself. You have to be who you were meant to be.”

“And Paloma? What if he hurts her? What if he scares her?”

“She’s strong, She won’t scare easily.”

“She’ll leave,” I shout.

He comes closer, and I push him away. “Like Winnie. Like mom.”

“No–” Teddy grabs me, wrapping his huge arms around me. Somehow, the bastard is stronger than me. I try to fight him, but he just holds me.

He holds me until I stop my struggle.

“She left because of me,” I say, and as the words leave my mouth, I hear them in a smaller, younger voice. I’ve shrunk to the size I used to be when I was young.

Teddy crouches to the level of my shorter self. “It wasn’t your fault our mother left. You can’t blame yourself.” He morphs and becomes younger Teddy. No tattoos, no beard. A mirror image of me.

“It wasn’t about us,” he says in his seven-year-old voice. “She made her own choices.”

“I’m all alone.” The clearing has grown dark .

“No, brother. I never left you.” Teddy throws his skinny, seven-year-old arms around me. “I never have, and I never will.”

And then we’re grown again, back in our adult bodies. “Neither will our brothers. We’re not going to leave you.”

The clearing has faded, and our childhood trailer is gone, replaced by the cabin on Bad Bear Mountain. My cabin. The home I rejected.

“Neither will Paloma. But she needs you now.”

There’s a shadow lurking behind the cabin. It’s too big to hide behind the cabin, so it hulks there, its spine bowed. Its eyes glow, and the light glints off its oversized claws.

It’s a monster, scary enough to give a child a lifetime of nightmares.

“He’s waiting. He’s your strength. You have to let him out.”

I say nothing. I don’t even have the energy to tell him “I can’t.”

Teddy studies my face and sighs. “This is my fault. I was wild, just like you. I fought with you too much. I didn’t realize it then, but I was trying to provoke you to embrace your bear. If I’d realized that sooner, I could’ve done a better job and just talked it out instead of fighting.”

I glare at him. “This is my dream, and you're making it about you?”

“This isn't a dream. And your mate needs you.” The light flares in his eyes, and I see his own bear looking back at me. “You’re out of time. Remember what I told you.”

He steps back, bunching his fists. I recognize his stance well. He’s about to start a fight.

I raise my hands. “Wait–”

He knocks my defenses away and socks me right in the face.

Teddy

I wake with a gasp, flailing. Something’s trying to strangle me, and I let out my claws to tear it to pieces.

“Teddy,” Lana calls. She’s right next to me. “It’s okay.”

I force myself to stop fighting, feeling wild. I’m in the living room in our new mountain home, lying on our leather couch. Lana’s beside me, sitting on an ottoman. Matthias is standing behind her.

Shreds of baby blue fabric litter my chest and the floor.

I brush them off. “What…?”

“It was a blanket covering you,” Matthias says. “You destroyed it.”

I sit up and rub my face with both hands. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Lana holds out a hand and waits for me to take it. I pull her into a hug, needing her solid warmth to ground me.

After a long embrace, she pulls back and lets Matthias check me over. He must be satisfied with my vitals because he leaves and goes into my guest bedroom, quietly closing the door.

“Did it work?” Lana asks. “Did you make a connection?”

“I think so. I don’t know.” The trance state put me into a dream that was so real. “I saw Darius, spoke to him. I think he got the message.”

I rise to my feet, unable to sit any longer. My knuckles throb like I’ve punched someone. Darius has just a hard head in a vision as he does in real life.

The door to our guest room swings open, and Matthias walks back out, escorting Paloma’s sister Wren. She looks pale and shaky, and I rush to help her sit down .

“Did it work?” I ask. “Did you reach them?”

“It worked.” Wren says. Matthias helps her sink to the couch.

“Give her some space,” he orders.

Lana tucks a blanket over her shoulders. I jog to the fridge to get her a glass of water.

Matthias holds it, so Wren can drink. After a moment, the color returns to her cheeks, and she clears her throat. “They’re alive. I can sense them both.”

“Did you get any impression of where they were?” Matthias asks.

She nods. “In a steel frame building, like where you keep a small plane. I sensed a lot of land around them. Forest. Some mountains. There was a stack of boxes with a logo on them. A circle around an X. Both the circle and X were made of silver chains.”

“Got it,” Matthias rises and pulls out his phone. “I’ll let Kylie know. She’s tracking all private plane flights in the US. This will help her pinpoint where Thompson could’ve taken them.” He heads outside to make his calls.

“You did good,” I tell Wren. “Thank you.”

She nods. “I linked you and Darius, so you could give him the message.”

Goosebumps rise on my arms. I don’t know how these psychic visions work, but when I stood there with Darius beside our childhood home, it all felt real.

“I gave him the message,” I say.

“Then it’s done.” Wren blinks and lifts her head. Her eyes have a dreamy quality. “Now it’s up to him.”

Dariu s

I come to, thrashing awake. I can’t move much. I’m upright and bound to a hard surface by heavy chains.

I’m in the same space as before, surrounded by guards. Thom and Paloma stand a few feet away.

“Darius.” Paloma strides towards me, but two guards grab her and pull her back. “Let go of me.”

“Paloma,” I growl. I don’t like anyone touching her. Neither does my bear. He lurks under my skin, but doesn’t fight to come out.

I remember my dream–the dream that Teddy told me wasn’t a dream. It felt so real. My face throbs from where Teddy hit me. The pain is good and clean and invigorating compared to the sickening weakness the silver brings.

In my dream, my bear was a misshapen monster.

Embrace the bear, Teddy told me.

“Tell him,” Thompson says to Paloma. “Tell him what we plan to do to him and all his shifter friends.”

“Let me go, and I will,” she says. He motions to the guards to let her go.

Paloma walks slowly toward me. “Darius, I need to tell you something.” She steps close to me. Her beautiful face is solemn. “I don’t know if we’re going to get out of this. But it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is…” she takes a big, shuddering breath. “I love you. I will always love you.”

“Princess,” I whisper. I strain in my bonds, wishing I could break free and hold her.

“Whatever happens, I want you to know that.” And she whirls and snatches up the crossbow that was sitting on a nearby table. She faces the crowd of Thompson’s men. “If you’re going to hurt him, you’re going to have to go through me.”

“No.” A big guy in black sunglasses pushes his way through his fellow guards. He smells weird, like he’s covered in clove oil. I can’t get anything else from his scent. He bears down on Paloma, who stands firm, expertly bracing the crossbow against her. Guarding me as I should be guarding her

“Don’t hurt her,” Thompson cries. The big guy slows his approach, and Paloma shoots him in the chest. He roars, ripping out the dart, but the tranquilizer is designed to work quickly. The weakness overtakes him, and his legs bow, causing him to slump.

“Who’s next?” Paloma bares her teeth. She looks like the warrior princess she is.

Ever since we first met, she called me her Viking. Because that’s who she needed me to be. She didn’t need the civilized man in a suit. She needed a warrior. Someone strong and wild, who would stop at nothing to fight for her.

She has no idea how wild I can be. It’s time I answer the call and bring out my bear.

I need you, I tell him. Our mate needs you.

Mate?

We will mark her. But first, we must break free.

I give up control, and it’s like taking a breath of fresh air after holding it for years. My lungs fill. My muscles swell. The bear pumps strength into my body, more than I thought possible. The silver under my skin burns like acid, but I lean into the pain.

My arms and torso tingle with excruciating sensation. Metallic droplets bead on my skin, tinged with red. I’m sweating silver. Silver and blood. I blink, and silver tears run down my face, leaving trails of fire.

The weakness leaves my body along with the silver. All that’s left is to break the chains.

Paloma is still waving the crossbow, providing a distraction .

“Don’t just stand there. Grab her,” Thompson orders his men. They run forward. Paloma shoots another dart, but is quickly overwhelmed. They grab her and bring her to Thompson.

“Hold her. I’ll administer the injection.” He plucks a vial of blue liquid from a medical case and holds it up. I can smell the acidic stench from here.

Poison , my bear shouts.

Save her, I tell him. He hesitates. I’ve fought him for so long.

I’m sorry. I was wrong to subdue you. You are a part of me, and I need you. You are my strength.

He rises to his feet. Energy pumps through me. I strain in the chains. They don’t budge, but the solid metal at my back buckles.

“No,” Paloma tenses her arms, leans into the men holding her and kicks her legs in Thompson’s direction. More guards rush to grab her legs.

“Hold her still,” Thompson orders. He advances on her, ready with a syringe of poison in his hand.

I bow my back, bending the metal around me. The chains loosen enough that my feet can touch the ground. I can stand, with the metal table at my back.

“Wha–?” The guards nearest me hears the clank of chains and turns.

And I let out my bear.

Paloma

A roar shakes the walls and the concrete floor. Thom jumps and drops the syringe he was about to inject me with .

“What?” he looks annoyed, turning to see what’s interrupted him.

A guard goes flying past us, and crashes into a knot of six other guards. They fall like bowling pins.

Darius is on his feet, still chained to the metal slab, but somehow able to move. He drags the whole apparatus with him. The chains clunk as he stomps towards the rest of the guards.

“Shoot him,” Thom screams. He tries to run and falls.

The guards whip out their guns and fire.

“No,” I shout.

Darius whirls and the bullets hit the metal at his back. There’s more creaking and popping sounds, and then a giant furry paw reaches up, grabs the top of the metal slab, and jerks it over its head.

Darius’ bear stands up. The chains still bind his huge, furry body. There’s smoke rising and a sizzling sound where the chains burn his flesh. But it doesn’t seem to care. It drops to all fours, charging a line of guards so quickly, they don’t have time to leap out of the way before he pounces on them. Guns and human arms go flying.

I let myself go limp in the guards’ arms. They drop and abandon me to grab their guns, and I’m able to roll away.

More guards form a line to shoot at Darius, and I find the crossbow again. I take cover behind a fallen table, brace against the bow’s recoil, and shoot at them. My aim is off, but it distracts them enough to turn and shoot at me while I duck.

Bear Darius’ form flexes. His body grows impossibly huge. The silver links strain to the breaking point, and he bursts free from the chains.

More guards pour into the hangar.

“Look out,” I shout .

Bear Darius doesn’t need my warning. He’s already rampaging around the room. Gripping the chains used to bind him, he whips them around. He becomes a hurricane of fur and silver chains that blows through the hangar, ripping through guards, knocking over equipment, and splintering stacks of boxes.

In the madness, the guards keep firing, but he keeps coming. The bullets only seem to make him madder. He roars loud enough to shake the building. His pelt is red with his blood, and the blood of his enemies.

Most of the guards have fallen, mowed under by the lethal whirlwind. A few run for the door, and the bear gives chase. There are wet, meaty sounds, and blood sprays. It’s a massacre.

There’s a groan nearby. The big shifter guy, Hannibal, is rousing. I rise with the crossbow, but can’t find any more tranquilizer darts. They’re lost in the chaos.

“Darius,” I shout. “We have to go.”

The bear whirls around. Its golden eyes fix on me, and I feel a ripple of fear. Is Darius there, behind that wild gaze?

“Darius,” I keep my voice low and firm, like I’m talking to Starlight. “It’s me. You’ve done well.” I take a step, and my foot hits a patch of something slick. I keep walking, not daring to look down. “...but it’s time to leave now. We can escape. Together.”

Something grabs my leg, and I yelp, almost losing my balance. Thom has me.

I shake him off, but he hangs on. “Get off me,” I growl.

A huge shadow falls over us both. The bear is right there, growling. The bits of brown fur that aren’t matted with blood bristle.

It rears up on hind paws. Dios , it’s twice as tall as Darius in human form. Goldilocks would shit her pants .

I want to call his name, but my mouth is too dry. I can only stare up at him.

With a giant, blood-encrusted paw, it gently nudges me out of the way. The heat of its body is like a furnace, searing me.

It drops to all fours, shoves its head near Thom’s, and bares its teeth. Its mouth is big enough to swallow Thom’s head whole.

I don’t really want to see the bear eat someone, but I can’t look away. The bear places a paw on Thom’s chest, but doesn’t press down.

Instead, its form morphs until Darius is standing there, human and gloriously naked. His fingers are fisted on Thom’s collar.

“Paloma,” Darius murmurs.

“I’m here.” I make my way to his side. His wounds look worse on bare human skin, but even as I watch, the worst of the gashes and silver burns are closing.

“What do you want to do with him?” Darius asks me. His voice is gravelly.

“I have money,” Thom says in a rush. “I’ll give you anything you want–”

“You don’t have money,” I remind him. “Not anymore.” My boot hits something small and sends it rolling. I stoop and lift the syringe he was going to use to inject me with poison.

I know exactly what I’m going to do with it.

“You kept me prisoner for years,” I say to Thom. “You tried to kill Wren.”

Thom twitches and opens his mouth. Darius’ growl silences him.

“You were going to hunt my shifter friends for sport. ”

Darius sees what I’m intending, and rips open Thom’s shirt, baring the old man’s scrawny chest.

I crouch and tell Darius, “Hold him.”

Thom writhes but Darius is too strong and grips the old man, so he can’t budge.

“This is for my parents.” I plunge the needle into Thom’s chest. I don’t know what dosage Thom prepared for me, but I can bet it’s strong. He meant to punish me, weaken me. And he’s had heart issues. “Let's give you a taste of your own medicine.”

Thom’s eyes roll up into his head. He starts thrashing. Darius releases him and lets Thom’s limbs drum on the concrete floor. We both watch as he goes still.

I turn away from the sight of his body, feeling nothing. Thom deserved to die.

“You did it.” Darius wraps his arms around me. I hug him gingerly and pull away.

“You’re bleeding.”

“It’s worse that it looks. It’s not all my blood.”

“We have to get out of here. Can you run?”

“Yes. But you don’t have to. Climb on.” He steps back, and with a whole body shiver turns back into the bear.

I take a moment to run a hand down its fur. It’s thick, and softer than I would’ve imagined. The bear grunts at me, and lifts an arm to boost me onto its back. I settle on top of it and take handfuls of the bear’s fur, so I don’t slide off.

There’s a crash behind us, and Hannibal rises from the detritus of the warehouse. His glasses got knocked off, and his black eyes glint. He bares his teeth at me. His fangs are growing bigger before my eyes.

“Go,” I shout and grip the bear’s fur. Bear Darius lumbers towards the wall and tears a hole in the metal siding. I duck to shield my eyes from the falling debris. The bear’s muscles bunch under my legs, and we shoot from the hangar into thick woods.

Riding a bear is nothing like riding a horse. I plaster myself to the bear’s back as best I can, but his bulk is too broad for me to grip well with my knees. It doesn’t help that we’re racing over uneven terrain, dodging bushes and trees. Bear Darius keeps reaching back to push me into place.

I get the hang of it just in time for a roar to go up behind us. This roar is different from a bear roar. It’s more like the bellow of a water buffalo. Something is crashing through the woods behind us. Trees are falling in its wake.

Hannibal is coming for us.

Bear Darius picks up speed. I flatten myself against him and squeeze his big bear neck. He’s running flat out, but Hannibal is gaining on us. What I wouldn’t give for a tranquilizer dart right about now.

A tall pine tree arcs through the air and crashes down beside us. Darius veers left to avoid it. A few seconds later, another.

Hannibal is herding us. But where? I can’t lift my head very much without risking falling off.

Overhead, there’s a thunk, thunk, thunk sound. I tense, expecting a new sort of attack, but a big black helicopter flies overhead. The wind from its propeller shakes the tops of trees.

Bear Darius runs through a boulder studded clearing, and the chopper swings down. Canyon sticks his head out the open side.

“Head this way,” he shouts and waves his arm in a westerly direction.

There’s a crunch nearby. Through the trees, Hannibal has uprooted a tree and is hoisting it to launch it at the chopper .

“Look out,” I scream.

The tree trunk sails through the air, straight towards Canyon.

“Shiitake!” Canyon shrieks and ducks back inside.

“Hang on,” shouts Bern from the pilot’s seat. The chopper zooms off to the west. Bear Darius follows, leaping over boulders. I’m jostled so much, my legs go flying, only to bang back down on Darius’ back. The only thing securing me are my arms around the bear’s neck.

Ahead of us, the forest ends abruptly. I can’t see until we break from the treeline to run over the rocky face. We’re on top of a cliff. I can tell from the falling trees that Hannibal is right behind us. He has us cornered.

Bear Darius dashes forward. He’s going to run us right off the cliff. I bury my face in its fur.

At the last second, the chopper swings out and dips low.

Bear Darius leaps–

Bern tips the chopper on its side–

Bear Darius grabs the skids. The chopper rocks wildly but doesn’t plummet to the earth. We hang in the air. My arms strain, fighting to keep hold of Darius.

Hannibal skids to a stop on the cliff’s edge and throws a final tree trunk like a spear. It hurtles through the air. Bear Darius twists to avoid it. And I lose my grip on his neck.

“Darius,” I scream.

He shifts in midair and reaches out, grabbing my arm. The move jars my bones all the way up my shoulder, but I will him to hold on.

“I’ve got you,” he says. His fingers wrap around my biceps, holding me tight. We dangle in the air, breathing hard, until Canyon reaches down to help us up, and Bern throttles the helicopter up and away.