Page 24 of Bear Haven
“I know what you’re thinking, but no. Just… No,” the man stated. Luke tilted his head in acknowledgment, then sat back on his haunches, waiting.
“Right. Why’d I bring you this way? I bet you’re wondering about that, yes? Or maybe you’re wondering how I shifted so quickly? You could also be curious about the delay in revealing myself to you when I knew you’d been waiting for me, looking for me.”
Was he just going to ask questions because he knew Luke couldn’t talk? Was he doing it to be an ass? Luke would gladly show the man what he thought of that tactic.
“Seriously? No reaction at all? Maybe I overestimated my charming personality.”
Luke’s top lip lifted to reveal razor sharp teeth, willing and able to take a chunk of flesh from bone. Roan smiled. “There, see? That’s all I wanted. Now, let’s get down to business.”
About damn time, Luke thought, but when the man inched closer, Luke shuffled backward. Roan shook his head. Luke stopped, but remained on high alert. Any sudden moves, any provocation, and he take off.
“There’s dissent among the ranks. The father of the man you followed to the cabin? He’s not in charge anymore. He’s more a figurehead now, he just doesn’t know it.”
The Mayor wasn’t the head honcho? When the fuck did that happen? And if it wasn’t him, then who the hell was it?
For once, Luke was pissed that his wolf couldn’t talk. He needed answers. He thrust his head up, hoping the panther got the hint to continue.
He would’ve howled, but if they weren’t the only once in the vicinity… No, he wasn’t willing to risk it. He just had to hold out hope that the panther would catch on to keep talking.
“I’m not sure who’s calling the shots. Names are never mentioned in the conversations I’ve managed to overhear, but there’s anger and discontent among the men. It started after the wolf they’d captured was let go.”
He had to be talking about the nurse’s brother.
“The wolf was a means to an end. The men wanted answers, but he had none. They sought to kill him as a warning. When he was used instead as a bargaining chip for Beck… That’s when things among them started to go downhill fast and a plan was hatched. They think he’s gone soft, the father.”
Luke huffed. Beck was going to get them all killed because he chose to stay with Bex. Not that Luke blamed him, but if the Mayor was no longer in charge, that meant not even Beck was safe.
Shit.
“As to why I brought you this way when it may have seemed I didn’t know where I was going? I’m sure you think my erratic pattern was meant to confuse you, but it was really to throw off anyone who may have been tracking my whereabouts. No one trusts anyone right now and the strange shifters I sense in the woods make me feel even more uneasy. But I brought you to this spot because it’s a direct shot from here to Douglas Lake in Dandridge. They’re planning something. I learned that much last night and got away as soon as I could to give you a heads up.” The panther looked away, as though thinking about his next words. “I have to go. I’ve been gone too long as it is. I know I don’t have to tell you, but when there’s a this kind of disruption in the ranks, it’s never a good thing. You and those you protect need to get out. I don’t know what’s being planned or for when, I just thought you might want to warn your friends.”
Luke had even more questions than before and fuck all, but he couldn’t ask any of them.
He stood, needing to shift so he could give voice to the thoughts running through his head, but before he could do more than begin the mental process of shifting, the panther took off at a dead run, leapt into the air, and came down a full size, black cat.
Luke lunged for him, but was too late. Roan was gone, running at top speed back the way they’d come. He was torn. Did he continue the chase, or did he do as the panther told him and go back to Dandridge and warn the bears?
Shit. Again.
The lake wasn’t too far. He could make it by dusk if he didn’t run into any problems.
He’d been so keen on tracking the cat before, that he hadn’t realized until the panther mention it, that yes, they were very close. He’d combed every inch of the area between Deal’s Gap and Dandridge, on up to Knoxville, back down to Gatlinburg, and into North Carolina to Bryson City.
And now that his sole attention was on his location and not another shifter, he could make good time.
He pushed himself to the limps of his speed and endurance as he ran toward Bex’s house.
Fear, which he’d never admit out loud to feeling, spurred him on. As the miles ticked by, and exhaustion began to catch up to him, he forced it back. There was no time for rest, no time to slow his pace.
And he wouldn’t give in to the fear that he may already be too late. He’d left pack mates there. He wouldn’t let them down. He wouldn’t fuck this up.
The edge of Douglas Lake came into view. He was so close now, but the smell of smoke in the air brought him to an abrupt halt and… Bear? Bushes nearby gave way as one lumbered through. Luke hunkered down to remain unseen. Almost immediately, two wolves ran past. One howled, followed by the other. He knew those howls. Those were his wolves.
He would’ve gone after them, but he needed to get to the house. He needed to see what was going on. His gut churned at what he was afraid he’d find.
He surged forward down the street, sticking to the edges of the yards and stopped. An orange glow rose above the tree line. Fire engines honked their horns and sirens blared. Luke crossed a side street, three over from the corner where Bex’s house stood. He jumped a couple of low fences and rounded the bend in a driveway at the end of her road.
He let out a whine when he saw the flames, the people standing, staring. He heard the roar of a motorcycle a few blocks up. Gus and Bex. He breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn’t been at the house.
