Chapter Six
My bear instincts sucked. Not that my human ones were that much better, since I got myself into this mess.
I’d been walking for several days, more like, nights. I was exhausted, sore, thirsty, hungry, and disoriented. I knew enough to travel by night. Humans loved the idea of living close to nature, until nature got too close to humans. Then things got ugly.
The only thing keeping me together was that every tender step got me closer to Sawtooth Forest.
I’d been there exactly once for my performance at The Stepchild. But it was full of shifters and that seemed safe.
It’s also full of bodyguard bears named Brad…
No, I wasn’t running back to my bodyguard so he could curl those full lips into a smug smile and tell me he told me so. Even now, I wanted to protest that I didn’t need his help…
I could barely hunt. Even the salmon and trout were faster than me. And the berries I’d found growing wild in the woods were delicious, but not enough to sustain me in this form. It was time to admit I needed…something. I couldn’t say the H word yet.
What did I want? I wasn’t sure how many days I’d been gone now. People would be looking for me. Jen would be worried sick. The chances of me still having a job were close to zero. There was no way I could tell them why I ghosted without also telling them I was Synamon Honey.
My life as I knew it was over.
Good! My bear exclaimed. You’ve been clinging to that pathetic security blanket for far too long. Now you can finally thrive.
Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. How’s that working out for us so far?
You’re getting closer to Granger Falls. Even if you don’t want to talk to Brad, there are so many shifters there. It’s safe.
Was it though? It had been a long time since I felt safe. Synamon and Ellie led completely separate lives, and unpacking them meant I’d have to unravel all those secrets and lies.
And why had I kept Synamon a secret? Because I was scared to death of having nothing? My parents had lived off the land, embracing their wild nature. And when that land got developed into a subdivision full of cookie cutter starter houses, they lost everything.
It was one of the reasons why I made sure we kept wild spaces near the city. Sure, I pissed off so many hot-shot developers with big ideas that everyone insisted would add to the tax base. Humans had taken so much from us. But to protect my fellow bears and other animals, I was stronger as a human.
And if I was to survive this, so many things had to change. I had thought I’d been saving my bear side, but I’d been ignoring it. Starving it. And now, as I came up on the little town that I was pretty sure was Granger Falls, I needed to find a place to rest.
My nostrils twitched, and my stomach rolled with excitement. I smelled food. Night had just fallen, and families had just finished dinner. If I got too close to their houses, nothing good would happen. But houses meant food...
No, I would not dumpster dive…
But yes, I would, because I was starving, and if I had a moon’s chance of surviving this, I needed to keep my strength up. There was a building in the distance that didn’t look like a house. It was probably a business and hopefully, the humans had gone home for the night.
As I approached, that musky animal scent got stronger, which didn’t make any sense. The animals should be outside, not inside. But I couldn’t think about it too much because that food scent got stronger too.
There was a storage unit out back, and a few metal crates. That didn’t seem like a good sign…
The scent of food was so strong, I could barely think straight. I’d never felt less human or further away from all their rules.
I would rip this fence down and pry the door off the hinges to get to the food. Stilling myself, I assessed the situation, but my instincts felt as unfamiliar as my surroundings. I needed food now.
Hooking my claws into the fence I pulled as hard as I could.
Lights illuminated the space. Dogs barked. I froze.
But nothing else happened, except for another desperate protest from my belly, reminding me how close I was to food. And humans, but I wouldn’t be able to take care of one without the other.
Another yank, and I was inside.
A woman appeared in the doorway of the building before I had a chance to get to the shed. Damn it.
Our gazes locked for what seemed like eternity. If I stayed still, maybe she’d let me go.
“Hello, there,” she said softly as she stepped toward me like she had absolutely no fear. “I won’t hurt you, but you can’t stay here, either.”
Shift, my bear urged. But that was a bad idea too. The activity could scare the woman, and as she got closer, the weapon she held came into view. If I could pull off the shift, I’d be naked, human, and just as desperate…
But you can explain…
Another belly rumble cut my bear off mid-thought. No matter what form I was in, I needed food.
I took a step forward, not sure what I’d do next.
The woman’s scent spiked. Pure human fear. She leveled her weapon at me and pulled the trigger.
Everything went black.
* * *
There was something deeper than sleep. This heavy void where nothing made sense but somehow had all the answers. I felt safe here. Warm. Like nothing could touch me. But the fog began to lift, and I couldn’t stay. I had to leave all those answers behind.
My eyes didn’t want to open. I wiped a human finger over my lid, swiping away the crust.
I was human? I blinked, but that fog hadn’t completely lifted.
I was in a bed with soft mismatched sheets and a pillow under my head like I’d gone to sleep human. But that last thing I remembered in that heaviness was being a bear.
My stomach rumbled again, so real and so hungry.
There was overhead lighting, bright and anything but homey. I scanned the room, finding sterile cabinets, medical supplies on the counters, and posters of animal anatomy on the wall.
My heartbeat raced and I scrambled to sit upright. The flowered sheet fell away, and I was naked.
Where the hell was I?
Someone knocked on the door, and the noise that came out of my mouth was somewhere between bear and human.
The door opened slowly and the woman who walked in looked familiar. Dark blonde hair in a ponytail, jeans and a T-shirt. Didn’t make sense with the doctor’s office setting.
Clutching the sheet, I practically jumped off the bed. But there was only one way out and she was standing in the middle of it.
“You’re safe here,” she said, and I recognized that voice.
“You’re the one who shot me.” My heart pounded with the realization.
She let out an apologetic sigh. “With a tranquilizer gun, and only to keep you safe. Most of us are pretty animal friendly, but if you were willing to get that close to houses in your bear form, looking for food?”
She cocked a brow and I nodded.
“It was only a matter of time before someone used a real bullet on you. You shifted as soon as you went down, so I’m really glad I’m the one who found you. My name’s Trina Channing. You’re at Forever Home Animal Shelter.”
“Oh.” A wave of relief washed over me as I reassessed my surroundings. “I thought it was a hospital.”
Or worse, some weird place that they did experiments on captured shifters. My brain was still foggy from the strange dreams, and my imagination was running wild in all the wrong ways.
She shook her head. “This is our examination room. The doctor we have on staff sees both our shelter animals and some of the local shifters. When I say you got lucky, I’m not exaggerating.
We brought you here because we don’t have many beds that can accommodate a human, and if you needed medical attention, we wouldn’t have to move you. ”
I wanted to thank her profusely, but I wasn’t feeling human quite yet.
“Water,” was all I could manage.
“Of course. I’ll be right back.” Trina closed the door softly.
I took a moment to sit up fully, tucking the sheet under my armpits. My body felt heavy, my muscles sore, but I could thank the moon that nothing hurt like an injury. Trina was right—I’d gotten lucky.
And now, I needed to get out of here.
You’re safe, my bear was practically screaming at me to stay, to relax and let these ladies take care of me. I didn’t even know what day it was. How long I’d been out and gone.
People would be looking for me. Jen, my coworkers, maybe some of the people who’d been watching the live stream…there was no telling how much of the encounter they saw. Not like there was anything they could do about it. Synamon Honey only existed in their fantasies.
Trina knocked on the door, and I tried to relax. Look normal. But I felt like I was about to climb the walls, looking for a way out of here.
She held up the water bottle before handing it to me. I took a greedy sip, relishing the way my body came back to life with every ice-cold gulp.
“I put some electrolytes in there. It will help with the dehydration. I brought you a pair of sweats, too, since you came to us only wearing your bear suit.” She placed the neatly folded, black clothing at the foot of the bed. “I just realized I didn’t ask your name.”
My throat contracted, and I managed to cover my mouth before I spit water all over me. The coughing fit bought me a few moments, but Trina Channing wasn’t going anywhere until I answered her question.
She tipped her head, brow furrowed, as too much time passed. It was a simple question, and this woman saved my life. She put me into a soft bed and let me sleep off the worst experience of my life. She deserved so much more than just the answer.
“Are you in trouble?” she finally added when I didn’t answer.
“Big trouble.” That I could admit easily, but it didn’t make me feel any better. “I won’t get you involved. Thank you for everything, but—”