Burden (3 page)

The entire
clan
had been ordered to stay up all night, cleaning and straightening and putting on a show. I didn’t know what they were prepping for, but a twinging in my chest told me it was something to pay attention to. I worked alongside them, forgoing my perimeter sweeps for a different kind of sweeping, dusting, mopping and cooking. Whatever they were prepping for was huge. I’d made ten casseroles, two pans of lasagna, fourteen cakes, all flavors and sizes, and I still had to make bread and various salads. I was also told that under no circumstances was I to make an appearance in front of the visitor. I was sure to embarrass them.

They
were set to arrive by noon, so I had to be long gone by eleven thirty. That’s what Horace had told me. He’d suggested I run in the forest or go for a swim in the river but I knew exactly what I was going to do. I would go to the furthest boundary north and take the nap of a lifetime. I twisted my butt length black hair into a knot after covering all the food with aluminum foil and lining it up in the ovens. I also had snuck a spoonful of each dish into a Tupperware container under the cabinets to be stuffed in a bag that would go with me for naptime. If I didn’t sneak food around here, I’d starve.

I set up the eight foot long granite countertop with plates, napkins and si
lverware and looked over my work, making sure everything was covered. Glancing at the clock, I grabbed my stolen food, stuffed it and a plastic fork into my bag and waited by the front door for the clock to strike eleven thirty. Horace came out of the hallway, dressed in a well starched, white button down shirt and some hideous dark green, polyester pants.

“Is everything ready?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Good, any mistakes will be paid for later.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I wanted one of those little machines, toys really, that would record a saying and then at the press of a button, repeat it.
I’d seen one of the cubs playing with one, ‘Yes, Alpha. Yes, Alpha. Yes, Alpha.”

“Make yourself scarce then.”

I skipped the niceties and bolted. Entering the woods, I shed the backpack and the clothes, bundling them up and stuffing them into the worn bag. A smile broke out over my face as I felt the first of the change, my shift bringing me down on all fours, rounded black ears taking over my human ones, short claws replacing my fingernails, a warm blanket of fur sprouting from my pores.

My vision phased and my hearing peaked. My bear saw things so differently than I did. I was reactive while she was proactive. She saw the most minor of movements and color.

Grabbing the bag in my mouth, I sprinted for the boundary on one side of a trickling stream. The perfect watering hole and sleepy lullaby mixed in one shot. I shifted back into my human form and put my clothes back on, which didn’t do much in the freezing weather. I played for a while in my temporary freedom, splashing and tiptoeing through the cold spring water until my stomach growling and muscles churning reminded me of my real mission.

I sat on the edge of the water and partook of my meal. It lasted less than ten minutes as hungry as I was and after quenching my thirst with the clean spri
ng water, I laid back, my bag as my pillow, under the warm sun and gentle wind and took the best nap of my life.

About a mile
before the entrance to the Grizzly clan lands, I slowed down the truck to a crawl. It was cramped again in the truck, and River and Flint groaned when I lessened to a turtle pace. It wasn’t very nice to pull into another Alpha’s lands at full throttle, petal to the metal.

“You’re killin’ me
, Alpha. We won’t be there until tomorrow. And I’m about to kill the other Beta in this cab.”

“We have to be respectful. We don’t want him to get defensive. We are coming in here to potentially steal one of his
clan members. Have some tact.”

“I have no tact,” Flint moaned.

“That’s what B says,” River joshed him.

“At least I have a mate. You can’t even find one. No one wants to put up with your shit.”

I recoiled mentally, that one stung, and it wasn’t even targeted at me.

“Sorry, Alpha.”

“It’s fine. That’s my problem. Can’t find a female who wants to step into the tornado with me.”

“
Not to add to the stress, but B says there are some clan members not making their kids go to school every day. Principal Landry told B yesterday that you’d be getting a letter about the seriousness of truancy and the possibility of fines for parents of truant children.”

I punched the steering wheel in anger, “I don’t get it. Does everything have to be an exact, specific, order from my mouth in order for them to do something? Do I need to visit every parent and command them to make their cubs go to school before they’ll be obedient? I swear, if I don’t spoon feed them, some things they just don’t get. They need an Alpha female. But I’ll be damned if I can find one.
I shouldn’t have to micro-manage everyone.”

“Chloe is certainly willing,” River snickered beside me.

I rolled my eyes at his jeering, “She practically humps me if no one’s around. It’s ridiculous. Maybe I can command her to get over herself. She knows how it goes. We are not mates and I’m not interested in anything with a female who isn’t my mate.”

“Well, I heard she’s been sniffing around the LaFourche Clan, so maybe you’re okay.”

They laughed at the humping comment for a while until we approached the gates—iron gates, at least seven feet tall with a grizzly bear design in the rods.

“Straighten up,
Betas.”

I stuck my head out of the window and greete
d one of the guards at the gate. He was stoic and suspicious, but after I stated my name, he let me in immediately with a much friendlier attitude and bared his neck with his hand pressed against his face as we passed. At least, they had a few manners.

My
Betas tensed as we entered their land, as did I. My bear recognized the vulnerability of the three of us among so many of another species of shifter, so far away from home. He trembled with trepidation and general pissiness.

A log cabin, an enormous log cabin
, came into view. I threw the truck into park away from the rest of the cars in the driveway in case a swift getaway was necessary.

“Take a good look around, boys. We know what we’re looking for.”

“Hawke, I can smell another bear. It’s not grizzly, but it smells off, not like us, but there is something familiar about it. It’s faint though, goes towards the trees.”

“Let’s play it cool. No more talking about it. There are ears everywhere.”

An older man, came out of the front door of the cabin, arms crossed, looking very stern and solid in his stance. Not to mention, very disco militant in his dress. The colors screamed Army with camo green pants, but they were polyester looking and had the old wrap around side button.

“This isn’t gonna be easy.” I grumbled to myself.

But perception was everything in clans and amongst shifters. I got out of the truck, walked through the yard and up the stairs of the cabin like I owned the place and everything in it, including him. His clan bared their necks and hesitantly, he did, as well.

“Horace, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope you and your
clan are well.”

“We are excellent, Alpha. Please come in, we’ve created a feast
for your visit.”

I allowed my
Betas to go one before me and one after me, showing I was both dominate and humble. As soon as I entered, I smelled her. The scent of pure longing and raw desire bolted through my veins awakening the bear, whispering in my ear that a potential mate was near—potential because I hadn’t seen her yet. I had to see her, make the eye connection to know for sure. He stirred inside me, roaring at me to shift and find her—nothing else mattered—
find her now
.

She smelled
like black bear, but something else, as well, as if another scent was stirred in with hers. I’d never experienced anything like it.

“Alpha, will you bless the food so we may begin?”

A small voiced woman chimed in from next to Horace. She seemed uncomfortable with speaking in front of the group. That struck me as odd since Alpha females should be very comfortable speaking in front of the clan. They are regarded as an equal half of the Alpha pair, and their voice and commands just as heeded and obeyed as the males’. Even in the private home of my father, my mother, the Alpha female was not given orders or commands. Although, the female always recognized and respected the tendency for the male to strongly suggest measures to keep her and their family safe. And in matters of security, the male usually won.

At least, that was the way it was supposed to be.

So why was Horace’s female so shy?

“Yes ma’am.” We bowed our heads
, and I led us in a prayer. Immediately I noticed everyone hesitating to eat.

“Alpha, we do not eat until you do. Please,” he waved me along.

“I’m sorry. I am unfamiliar with the customs. Where I come from, the Alpha eats last. Forgive me.”

“The Alpha eats last? The Alpha needs his strength.” Horace boasted as I almost unwillingly picked up my plate first.

“But the Alpha must always maintain his humility. Otherwise there’s no clan, it’s just Alpha—alone. And that’s not a clan at all, it’s a dictatorship.”

I could feel the waves of dissension come
off of the Alpha behind me. My Betas and I would have to tread lightly, but smartly, to find this black bear. She wasn’t in the room, but she was on the grounds. The more I tried, the more I could scent her.

I was practically forced to seat myself at the head of the table. I’d rather be in the mix of the
clan, getting to know them better.

“Alpha, I was unaware of these routine inspections. How often will they be conducted?”

I finished chewing, an act more about making him wait than actual manners and then replied, “At my disclosure. My father didn’t carry them out at all while my grandfather inspected on a monthly basis. Mine will be spur of the moment, no more than twenty-four hours’ notice, if any at all.”

The grizzly Alpha’
s face became distorted in rage. He could barely grip his fork any longer.

He was hiding something—s
omething other than the female. Or maybe it was something to do with the female. The table finished their meals in silence, and the females retrieved the plates from in front of us and offered the males dessert.

“Actually, I’ll pass. May we begin the tour? River will come with me while Flint goes with whichev
er Beta is in charge of finances.”

“
Yes, Alpha. Flint, Ridge is our financial officer. He will show you to his office. And right this way, I will show you the pantry and other facilities.”

We walked out of the main house, down the steps onto what looked like almost a small town. But the houses were entirely too small for growing famili
es and the buildings were worn—and dated, much like their alpha.

“
These are our laundry facilities,” the Alpha stated.

We walked into a l
aundromat which seemed off. Thinking of my own mother with cubs, I couldn’t imagine a female having to drag her laundry to and from a laundromat in the center of the lands. I walked around the squared off U shape, and as I came back towards the door, I walked slower, her scent was prominent by the front washers, it couldn’t be any more than ten hours old. She was there somewhere, I just had to find her.

“Here is our pantry. It is inventoried once a week. We divvy out rations according to the family’s needs. Then they are free to supplement with their own purchases.”

“I see.” I tried to suppress the envy I had over this portion of the tour. It was so pristine and orderly, and inventory sheets kept on a clipboard by the entrance. I picked it up and pretended to cipher through the numbers but really I was scenting her again. She had been in that very building. The inventory sheets even carried her scent. My bear rumbled inside me. “Who is this E. initial? Who does the inventory here?”

“One of our younger bears, Echo. She’s pouncing around somewhere. Always late for meals.”

I laughed, trying to cover my registry of the twinge of deception in his voice, “I’ve never known a cub to be late for a meal.”

“Well, she has a problem with obedience—always has.”

“I see.” I let his admittance simmer for a while, and trap him.

“I’d quite like to meet this c
ub. I can’t picture a bear so strange.”

“Strange, Sir?”

“Yes, on one hand you claim she’s absolutely disobedient and on the other you show me a pantry with complete and exact kept records. She’s a mystery. Have one of your Betas hunt her down.”

He stuttered, “Yes, Alpha,” nodded his head towards a quiet man with a soldier like stance.

I suspected they would conveniently have trouble finding her. I’d either have to demand her, or be a little coyer in my search.

I was brought on a shallow tour of the rest of the
clan lands and was taken aback by the contrast of the buildings versus the belongings of the people. Their clothes were upscale, furniture looked to be brand new, pantry full, freezers cleaned, but the buildings were crumbling and the cars were older makes. My first instinct told me they were doing something illegal. But I couldn’t accuse them, and quite frankly it was their own business. I could force them to stop, but I’d rather leave them to their own devices, get caught or not. If it were a black bear clan, I would demand they cease and desist.

I just wanted the female and to get out of there as soon as possible.

We were led back to the main house and again offered dessert. We declined and I made one more move, trying to catch his king unattended.

“And the female? Echo? Is she so stealth
y she cannot be tracked?”

“I’m sorry, Alpha. S
he will face discipline as soon as we find her.”

They were rushing me out. Even the
second offer for dessert carried an air of ‘please say no’.

“I’m sure she will. Thank you for your hospitality. I hope you can get your buildings in better repair for the next time we visit.”

“Thank you. We will try.”

Flint appeared from a back room with a wary look on his face. We departed, no more knowledgeable than when we’d left.

They refused to tell me everything—so sneaky Alpha it was.

“Tell me, Flint.”

“It’s shady. On paper, it looks as if the families get stipends from some fund, but the numbers don’t add up; plus, they work their regular jobs. But conveniently, the Beta couldn’t find any of the tax returns, nor the W-2s for the males. He was awfully tense too, wanted me out of there as soon as possible. And Alpha, the female black bear lives in the house. After leaving the office, while you were still on tour, there was no one in the house, so I walked around. There’s a small room at the end of the hall, I opened it, and her scent is everywhere. It’s…”

“What?” I growled at him.
My bear really didn’t appreciate him smelling her out, even though he was trying to help.

“I think she’s half human.”

“Half human? It’s not possible. You’re either human or shifter, even mixed, she’d be either or.”