A Change To Bear (A BBW Shifter Romance) (Last of the Shapeshifters) (13 page)

“Yes,” Liam said. He made a face. Evidently, even he had found that bit surprising. “That is exactly what happened. I knew in general where to search, but just one day, I saw him through the trees.” He put out a hand. “He’s huge, a great big and hairy thing. Ugly as all hell.” Terry smiled. “And I just ran after him.”

“You weren’t scared?”

“No. I thought we might fight. I don’t know why. I was ready to shift, of course.”

“You fight better as a bear?”

“Of course,” he said. “I’m like five times bigger and heavier as a bear. Five times stronger, too.”

“Where does it all come from?”

“I don’t know,” Liam said. Once upon a time he had asked himself all the same questions that must be sparking in Terry’s mind, but he didn’t know. He had no answers.

“Is it tiring?”

“It can be.”

“So what happened with that Leon guy? Nothing?”

Liam shook his head. “He’s an odd man. He saw me when I was still a bit away. He just looked at me, and the look in his eyes stopped me dead. I wasn’t afraid, but I knew I was looking at something strange, something new. And then he just continued to walk. He didn’t say anything, or even appear surprised.”

“So what did you do?”

“I walked beside him. And eventually he spoke to me. He asked me what animal I was.”

“How did he know?”

“I don’t know,” Liam murmured. His face told her he was lost in thought, probably reliving the memory. She wondered how much he could remember. Did his brain fill up? Did he only have room to remember the big details, the broad strokes? Did he have to pick and choose between memories?

“How long were you there for?”

“In Borneo?”

“Yeah.”

“Nearly ten years.”

“What?” Terry blurted. “So you mean when I was still in school you were traipsing around in Borneo, looking exactly like you do right now?”

“I have a couple of new scars,” he said, and he smirked at her. “But, yeah, that sounds about right.”

“Jesus.” It was mentally odd having to try to reconcile his looks with his age. “You’re a really old man.”

“I am.”

“It’s okay,” she said, and she put her head against her shoulder. “I’ve always been sort of into older men. So when did you leave?”

“Just a few days ago. Got into Hong Kong, then China, and now Vietnam.”

“So why did you
really
come here?”

“I told you, because I like it.”

“There’s nothing more?” Terry pressed him. “I really get the feeling like you’re hiding something.”

“I’m not hiding anything. I already told you, I knew the last owner of the Lucky Phuc Guest House.”

Terry laughed, wondering why she even found it funny anymore. She let go of Liam’s hand and pulled his arm over her shoulders. He held her tight. “And?”

“And I reckon he’s dead.”

“What?” Just like that, the bubble had burst.

“Nothing dramatic. Old age, probably. I was last here thirty years ago. He was, I don’t know, a friend I suppose.”

“How do you know he has died?”

“That’s what I did yesterday. Spent time asking around, eventually I found someone who told me old Sammy had died.”

“His name was Sammy?”

“Yeah. That was his English name.”

“How did he get it?”

“Guess.”

Terry thought for a moment, but shook her head. “Don’t know.”

“Uncle Sam.” Liam face was somber.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Is that weird?”

“I’m not sure. It could be. It also might not be. We certainly see enough t-shirts.”

Terry nodded. She had seen all the American cultural paraphernalia in the tourist shops and stalls. “Why don’t you find his grave?”

“What?” She could tell from the tone of his voice that he hadn’t been expecting that question.

“You know, get some closure.” She felt a wave of sympathy for him. Every now and then, a new kernel of understanding of what he was, of how long he lived, cracked open in her mind, and the implications were always staggering. This time it was the thought that he outlived people he had formed attachments with. It was heartbreaking, and went a long way to understanding why he had initially been so reluctant.

Then, a tailgating thought followed the first into her mind. He would outlive her. Would she end up breaking his heart by dying of old age? She didn’t want to think too far ahead, or presume to know the future, but the notion was sobering.

“I don’t know his Vietnamese name. I’d never be able to find him. And, besides, I’m not interested in doing that. Let’s change the subject.”

“Okay,” Terry said.

“Let’s talk about you.”

“No, let’s not. I feel kind of boring now.”

“You’re not boring,” Liam said. “You
did
just do something illegal, after all.”

Terry peered at him for a moment, wondering what on earth he was harping on about. The glimmer in his eyes and very slight smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth were what got the message across. “That’s illegal?” she asked, seconds too late realizing how stupid a question it was.

“Of course it is.”

“Well, then let me tell you about this one time I broke the law. Coincidentally, it was the same night I found out that shapeshifters fucking exist.”

“They do?” Liam asked. “You’re joking.”

“Cross my heart,” Terry said, before stopping. She regretted saying that. “Hey, come have a night cap in my room tonight?”

“Yeah,” Liam said. “Let’s do that.”

*

“What was that?”

Liam’s eyes darted to the window, before flicking back to Terry. “What?”

“I saw something big on our balcony.”

“Really?” He glanced at the door, saw only his reflection in the glass. “You sure?”

“I think so.” Terry’s voice wavered, and he put a hand on hers. They had gone inside, retreated from the mosquitos that came alive in the middle of the night. The television was on, but they couldn’t understand a word of it.

And then he saw it, a shadow too large to remain unworried, perched on the railing. He saw it through his own reflection in the glass, and on the bed beside him, Terry was also staring.

“There,” she said, pointing at the dark mass. It hopped away in a blur. “It’s gone. It was huge!”

“Wait in there,” Liam hissed, waving his hand down toward the ground.

“Why? I’ll just wait here.”

But Liam’s instincts had kicked up a storm of caution and worry in his mind. “No, no, go into the bathroom.” He watched as Terry tiptoed past the door reluctantly before he returned his attention to the balcony. He knew he’d seen something, but he couldn’t be sure what. They were on the fifth floor, so it couldn’t have been a bird or a cat. Besides, it had been far too big, and the way it had hitched and stopped to look at him, had been far too deliberate.

He opened the heavy door to the balcony, an old and rusty metal thing with glass squares inset in heavy frames. The hinges groaned, and he winced, wishing that he wasn’t making so much sound. Stepping out onto the balcony, he closed the door behind him, leaning against it.

“Come out,” he said quietly, keeping his voice low, so that Terry couldn’t hear him. A quick glance over his shoulder, back through the glass pane into the room told him that she was standing in the doorframe of the bathroom and watching through the same glass pane.

He waited for a few moments, but heard nothing. He tiptoed toward the railing, leaned over quickly, and saw the empty alley below, washing lines strung between the guest house he was in and the one opposite. Multicolored clothe pegs swung back and forth on the lines in the light evening breeze.

He turned around, leaned with his back over the railing so that he could look up. There were still two floors above him, and as he peered into the darkness, he saw two bright yellow spots flash in the darkness. “I see you,” he said, pulling his head back in, anticipating an attack.

Moments later he heard a voice from the balcony of the floor above. “Somebody got careless tonight.” He recognized the voice. It was one he hadn’t heard for a very long time.

“Marcus.” It was as if a wealth of memories had been dredged up from the bottom of a lake he had scratched off the map. Anger, rage, fury, and fear throbbed in his veins, and thumped in his chest.

“Long time, Liam.”

“Never long enough,” Liam said, venom in his voice. “What are you doing here?” He gripped the handrail of the balcony, and his knuckles were white.

“You know exactly what I’m doing here,” Marcus said, clucking his tongue. The noise irritated Liam, filled him with a deep longing to hurt Marcus again, but only this time he would break him. If he got his hands on Marcus, the wolf would never dare approach him again.

“And, like I said, you got careless,” the hunter continued. “You think nobody saw you? You sure that pretty little girl of yours didn’t call any attention to her when she screamed?”

“Marcus,” Liam began, backing up against the glass window and this time turning the handle so that it shut properly. “Don’t do this. Not here. What is wrong with you?”

“What is wrong with me?” The reply came back hoarse and full of venom. “Nothing is wrong with me. But you made your choice long ago, Liam, and you knew this day would come.”

“Would you rather I had killed you?”

“I bet you’re wishing you did now.”

“How did you know where to find me?”

“It wasn’t difficult. People talk.”

“Yeah? Like who?”

Marcus laughed without any mirth. “Fishermen can be bought for currency, Liam. It didn’t take much. And don’t you think my interest was piqued when I heard about illegals crossing the Vietnam border into China? Oh, or what about the fact that a hole big enough to fit a
very large animal
through was found, cut into steel mesh half an inch thick? You don’t do that that with a rusty hacksaw, Liam.”

“Marcus,” Liam said, a breath quivering as it left is lungs. “You know I’ll fight you and beat you again. I’m not lying, Marcus. I will break you this time.”

“That’s why you’ve been hiding, then?” the hunter continued, as though he hadn’t heard Liam. “So don’t ask me why I’m here, or what I want. Don’t be foolish. Don’t be an idiot, Liam. You know why I’m here. Worse, you brought this on yourself.”

“There are too few left, Marcus. You really want to be responsible for ending your own kind?”

“I won’t be ending it completely by killing you. But, eventually, yes, I will end my own kind!”

“What?”

“Aren’t you forgetting someone?” Marcus asked. “Your
friend
in Borneo?”

“You saw him?”

“Sure I did. I met his estranged lover, too. Keegan had lots to say about you.”

“Did he?” Liam asked, feeling a surge of anger at the boy he had spoken to that smoky night in Brunei. Then it hit him. If Marcus had talked to Keegan, then he must have found Leon! “Did you hurt Leon?”

“Hurt him?” Marcus asked, amusement turning his voice shrill. “Why would I do that?”

“Do you know him?” Liam asked, feeling like he was missing something.

“Of course I know Leon,” Marcus spat. “You’re just a boy, wading in shit neck-deep. I know
much
more about Leon than you do.”

“I don’t care,” Liam said. “I’m done with him. And I’m done with you, too. You’d better leave, Marcus. Remember what happened the last time we met?”

“I was younger then, inexperienced. But I’m not anymore. You, on the other hand, seem soft and weary. Are you sure you’re up to this?”

“More than you know.”

“Why is that?” Marcus asked. Liam had shifted right to the edge of the balcony on the right side of the wolf. He was certain that the hunter was standing on the left side of the balcony above him. “Is it your new
mate
?”

Liam’s eyes widened. “Her? She’s nothing but a distraction,” he said, imbuing his voice with as much disinterest as he could.

But Marcus laughed. “Such a distraction, and yet you shifted for her?” Marcus clucked his tongue. “I don’t think so. It looks like history is about to repeat itself, Liam. And you’re going to watch this time.”

A second of silence passed by before Liam heard a growl he was once very familiar with. “Don’t do it,” he said. He fell down into a squat, his muscles obeying him without wavering, without trembling complaint. “Not here. Not her.”

He knew what he had to do. He had to lead Marcus away. They had to get out of the city, or at least as far away from other people as possible. He saw a snout poke over the edge of the balcony above him, snarling, white razor-sharp canines bared, and angry yellow eyes behind them. The blade-faced wolf, huge, hopped down onto his level, landing on the railing first before skipping to the tiled floor, all agility and grace that disguised what Liam knew to be brute and terrifying strength.

The wolf paced left and right what little it could. The balcony was narrow. Liam shifted, quickly. It was more uncomfortable when he couldn’t take his time, but there was no choice. Mid-shift, he charged at the wolf, raked it with a heavy clawed paw, before jumping over it onto the handrail and kicking off, a leap to the adjacent building. His balcony was level with its roof-top, and he landed with a hefty thump on the rough concrete surface.

The wolf yelped at the strike, but took the bait, and for that, Liam was glad. Furious, Marcus turned, shot over the gaps between the buildings, drooling saliva and snarling with hatred. Liam now fully a bear, bounded across the roof-top, leading Marcus away from Terry. He leaped to the next roof, and again the next, before looking back. Marcus was on the chase, nimble and quicker than he, and so Liam pushed harder, his paws thundering on the concrete below him. It was late enough that there would be few witnesses, but he was sure he was waking people up.

There was no time to get out of the city completely. There was too much ground to cover. The next best thing was the lake. There would be nobody there.

*

Terry saw Liam shift in midair as he jumped off the balcony. She got up and ran to the balcony, watching as the wolf jumped off, too.

“Oh, thank God,” she breathed, relieved to see the two animals bounding across the roofs of the low-rises in their area. As fast as she could, she put on her shoes and a light hoodie and took the steps to the ground floor two at a time, bouncing off the walls of the landing and using her palms to protect her.