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“You know, speaking of bears, I saw the resort guy’s daughter at the mall today,” Will announced casually, a bit of news that seemed to catch the attention of all those present. “I guess Earl never managed to take care of her.”
Espie’s inner grizzly’s hackles shot up, a surge of protectiveness washing over her. If Espie could, she would have hugged the bear close. It felt good to know that something within her always had her back, even if by some rare chance she didn’t have it herself.
“And?”
“She was with that miner…the polar bear…just like before. I think maybe those two might be a couple.”
“You didn’t do anything, did you?”
“No,” Will replied dully, tossing the spray bottle back to the shifter who had thrown it his way earlier, “but I sure wanted to.”
“Don’t be fucking stupid.” She noted the glares a few of his companions shot him, clearly not impressed with his bravado. “Vesper has the whole thing planned. Don’t ruin it by being a jackass. It doesn’t make you a hero.”
“But they were just sitting there…a resort worker and a miner.” Will huffed like a petulant child, kicking something into the fire. “They’re exactly the kind of people we’re supposed to go after, aren’t they?”
“Not the daughter,” someone remarked like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “She’s too prominent a figure. We want to make both sides decide to leave town. Maybe make ‘em fight amongst themselves, too. But we don’t want to involve the power players in it, just stir the pot. Vesper has big plans for Angel Fire. He’s going to punish the resort and the mines for what they’ve done to this Earth, one son of a bitch at a time.”
“Fuckers,” Luther hissed, and Espie caught his arm when he lurched forward. While he didn’t expose himself completely, the movement of her grabbing him jostled him enough that his boot slipped—none too quietly, either. They both stilled as the conversation died inside the cave. The silence was deafening, as the rest of the mountain seemed to have fallen silent, too.
“D’you guys smell that?”
“Run,” Luther hissed. He snatched Espie’s arm at the sound of cougar growls echoing out from within the cave, pushing her ahead of him and down the mountainside.
“Not down,” she told him. “Across!”
With a pack of cougars in wild pursuit, the safest place to go would be the bear clan’s cave. It’d be a good half hour of running, but Espie knew the mountains, the trails, and the wild better than anyone present.
All around them, big cats seemed to fall from the trees, yowling and snarling and lashing out at Espie and Luther as they dipped and dodged throughout the trees. Her legs pumped so hard that she knew if she stopped, she wouldn’t be able to start again. Luther seemed to be faring slightly better, but he went back for her whenever the distance between them was more than ten feet.
When the hairs on the back of her neck rose, Espie didn’t second guess it—she tore right through her clothes and shifted on the spot, just in time for a cougar to slam into her. The force of impact may have broken her arm in her human form, not to mention the glistening sharp teeth snapping at her, but her bear form was stronger, more durable. And pissed.
The grizzly swiped back at the cat that dared attack her, striking hard and fast and knocking the shifter unconscious. Espie whirled around to face the other approaching cougars, all of them crouched low and advancing steadily through the foliage. She pounded her paws on the groundbefore giving a mock charge. One of the cougar’s reared back, back arched and fur straight up like a housecat when frightened. The others stopped, but their tails swished back and forth, eyes sparkling with malice.
That is, until Luther strode up beside her. His white fur stood out starkly amongst the greens, browns, and blacks of the Angel Fire woodlands. There was no way he could ever camouflage himself out here, not unless he had that spray Willard Vesper was producing.
Espie noted how the cats looked between them, as if weighing the odds. Seconds later, they unanimously decided two bears were too difficult to fight. They turned, lightning fast, and skittered off into the trees—back to their not-so-secret lair. Espie watched them go, her dark brown eyes tracking their movements until they vanished completely. Since she and Luther had been discovered, the cougar den would probably be gone by the time she brought Miguel out to investigate.
But at least they had something now to prove Luther’s innocence in the eyes of her clan. Nuzzling him with her snout, she offered a soft chuffing sound before turning and heading for her clan’s cave. Saturday afternoons meant most of the clan would be there—those left in Angel Fire, anyway. Now was as good a time as any to clear Luther’s name and bring the real menace to light.
