Guardian Bears: Karl (8 page)

No matter how hot he was, and how much she wanted to be in his arms right now.

Behind her, she heard a roar. A deep animal sound, fierce enough to lend her speed.
What is
that
?
She’d have thought it was the werewolf everyone was chasing if she hadn’t been sure that
she
was the monster herself.

Maybe Karl is wrong, and I’m wrong, and there’s another explanation for all of this!
She didn’t believe it, not really, but it was a nice thought.

Whatever it was, it brought her some much-needed good luck. In the hours she’d passed with Karl (and even running away from him, she couldn’t help feeling a sharp flash of joy at the memory of
how
they’d passed that time) the two hunters hadn’t moved from the parking lot, coordinating with their fellows. And she didn’t know how she’d have explained her appearance to them once she’d run into them.

But the sound of a predator roaring in the darkness brought their heads up and around, and even as she was running past them they were grabbing gear from their car and running the other way. A half-naked woman rushing past didn’t give them pause, not when they had a werewolf to catch.
Maybe they think I’m running from it
.

The gravel stabbed her bare feet, and she was already out of breath, but somehow Karl hadn’t caught up with her yet.

I can make it to the road
, she thought. She didn’t really have a plan for more than that. Onto the road, then head home. And then… something. She’d need help to get away from Karl, she knew that, but where could she go?

* * *

K
arl watched
Allison run out into the night, fighting down the instinct to chase and pounce. With the hunters around, it would be far too public a confrontation, especially if she couldn’t control her shifting. He made a split-second decision: the most important thing right now was to make sure that she got past the hunters in the parking lot without getting caught. He could catch up with her later, once he’d had time to work out what he was going to say.

Of course, she was running straight towards them, and they were on the lookout for the werewolf tonight. They knew she was in the area, after all.
God damn it, this is getting too complicated fast.

Fortunately, his Special Forces experience had taught him to make plans on the fly when he had to. Ducking out of the room, he turned the opposite direction from Allison, shifting as he went.
If they’re looking for a monster, I’ll give them one to hunt. One that won’t be as easy prey as Allison.

If it let him work out some of his frustration in the meantime, so much the better. Roaring as loud as he could, he burst out of the motel, charging around the building at top speed. Behind him he heard shouts of alarm and delight, and he grinned
. I’m not going to make it far in this heat,
he thought,
but Allison won’t need much time to get past them. I hope.

He put aside the question of what he was going to do once she was safely away. That was something he couldn’t think about at the moment – he was here to stop the werewolf from hurting anyone. Finding out that it was his fated mate who was terrorizing the community of Mayfair was tying his thoughts in knots.

Better to get it out of my system somehow,
he thought, turning towards a flashlight shining out from between two of the motel’s buildings. He felt as though he was burning up, as though the heat of the night and his actions was melting his bones. There wasn’t much time for him to manage anything.

But he didn’t need much. Ahead of him, a hunter emerged from the gap, turning to look straight at him. The man’s eyes went wide as he saw the polar bear charging him, and he froze in place. It was almost comical, Karl thought. Here was a werewolf hunter, on the search for a monster, and now that he saw one he couldn’t cope. Karl roared again, rearing up on his hind legs and swiping the rifle out of the terrified hunter’s hands with a mighty paw.

Looking up at a polar bear towering over him was clearly too much for the hunter. He screamed, a high-pitched piercing sound of terror, and then fell backward in a faint.

Well, if the roaring didn’t get their attention, that will,
Karl thought with some satisfaction as he shifted back. He was panting for breath, his body drenched in sweat, but his improvised plan seemed to have worked. There wasn’t any sound of commotion from the direction Allison had fled, and his bear felt confident that she was getting away.

I guess I have to trust that
. He didn’t have much choice, after all – right now, unless he wanted to get caught as the werewolf, he needed to get out of sight. Fortunately, he knew which room was his, and he’d left the windows open to let the night air move. Sprinting in human form might not be as fast as he would have been as a bear, but he wasn’t going to faint from heat exhaustion. It seemed like a fair trade.

D
awn came
as Allison collapsed onto her bed. She was glad that she left a spare key under a rock outside. That was all that had saved her the embarrassment of having to explain how she was locked out of her home wearing only a man’s shirt. A man she’d only met the day before, and then run away from.

She looked at the shirt, hanging over a chair where she’d thrown it, and cringed at the memory. Karl knew where she lived, knew where she worked, and now knew what she was. Which was more than she did, at that. He’d called her a ‘werewolf’ and she couldn’t deny that the evidence fit, but what did that
mean
? She certainly hadn’t been bitten by a wolf, and the strange attacks around town hadn’t happened on the night of the full moon.

That pretty much exhausted everything Allison thought she knew about werewolves.

But the attacks
had
happened on nights where she’d had her strange dreams, and she’d been waking up in strange places. It made too much sense, as ridiculous as it sounded. Allison hugged herself and stifled a sob.
Did I attack Jeremy? Was that really me?

She felt a faint, guilty pleasure at the thought. It wasn’t as though he didn’t deserve it, after how he’d treated her.

Shaking herself, she tried to put away thoughts of the past and think about what would happen now. Whatever was keeping Karl, he’d catch up with her soon – if she wanted to stay safe from him and the other hunters, she needed to do something fast. And she could only think of one thing to do.

Grabbing her phone, she dialed Kirby’s number. He might not be the perfect person to help her out, but at least he wasn’t actively hunting her right now. That put him one up on everyone else.

“What’s up, doll?” His voice was cheerful, far too cheerful for this early in the morning. Allison gritted her teeth and tried not to notice the too-familiar ‘doll’.

“Kirby, I need some help,” she said. It wasn’t easy to keep her voice even, and she didn’t manage it perfectly, but at least she didn’t sob into the phone.

“What can I do?” he said, sounding curious more than concerned.

“I’ve got to get out of town for a few days,” Allison said. “But I’m a bit scared here, and… I could do with some company to keep me safe while I pack.”

“Scared of the Mayfair Monster, huh?” Kirby chuckled, and Allison blushed at the patronizing tone in his voice. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe. If you’re worried about it, I could check on you overnight too? I’ll make sure nothing’s hiding under your bed.”

Allison could just imagine his grin at that, and had to fight the urge to hang up. The only thing that stopped her was the knowledge that she did need someone to keep Karl and the other hunters off her back until she could get out of town. And that meant she needed Kirby.

“Can you just come over, while I pack?” she said. “It’s not the Monster I’m worried about.”

“Sure, sure,” he replied, obviously humoring her. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

For all that his advances were annoying, he was good at his word. Allison had barely gotten her suitcases out when she heard his cruiser pull up outside, and there he was, grinning behind his mirrored sunglasses. She let out a sigh of relief at the sight of him.

He might not be the man I want to see right now, but he’s damned well better than no one. And the man I
do
want to see is the man I’m trying to get away from.
She sighed, shaking her head, trying to keep herself from thinking about Karl and the way he made her feel. Her body still ached for him, and her heart felt as though someone had shoved a blade of ice into it as she set her course away from Karl.

Stop that,
she told herself sternly.
I can’t see him again, it’s not safe, and that’s that.

She opened the door and let Kirby inside. It wasn’t the first time he’d been in her home, but he wasn’t a regular visitor either, and the smile he gave her was one of the reasons why. Too familiar by far, and not the kind of smile a married man should be giving anyone apart from his wife.

“Hey, doll, what’s bugging you?” he looked around as he said it, and Allison tried to tell herself that he was checking up to make sure she was safe. She couldn’t shake the feeling that he was checking to see if she was alone, though. After a glance into every room of her small house, he turned back to her, cocking his head and waiting for an answer.

“Nothing,” she said, nervously shifting around. “I mean, I guess all the weirdness the last few days has gotten to me a bit. I just want to get away for a few days.”

“Uh huh.” Kirby didn’t sound very convinced by that. “If it’s all the newcomers in town that are frightening you, don’t worry. I’ll keep them away from you.”

If only you would,
she thought, starting to pack clothes. The two suitcases she owned weren’t going to fit very much of her wardrobe, but she’d just have to make do. Waiting any longer than she had to was just asking for trouble.

“You can’t be everywhere,” she told Kirby. He leaned against the door frame, watching her and shaking his head.

“Has someone been giving you trouble, Allison? Just point me at them, I’ll make sure they regret it.” That sounded a little more sincere – Kirby sounded like he wanted to be the hero of her story. Like he wanted a chance to show off. Glancing up at him, Allison saw a nasty little smile on his lips.

He doesn’t want to protect me,
she realized.
He wants an excuse to hurt someone, and to put me in his debt.
It wasn’t about her at all.

Straightening from the wall, he stepped closer to her, putting his hand on the pile of clothes she was stuffing into a suitcase. So close, she could feel his presence looming over her.

“I said, tell me what’s wrong,” he said. His voice was firm, threatening. “You’re not going anywhere. I’ve invested too much time in our relationship to let you get away like that.”

“Kirby, it’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer,” she said, backing away. “I just need to get away, okay? It’s not about you.”

Though she wasn’t sure she shouldn’t be running from him as well, now. His well-meaning facade was failing, and he loomed over her, stepping closer and forcing her back against the wall. Kirby loomed over her, smiling, but she didn’t see much friendship in his smile.

“Now don’t be hasty, babe,” he said, putting a hand on the wall beside her and leaning closer. She shrank back as far as she could. “You know we should be together, right?”

“Kirby, you’re a married man!”
Not to mention at least a decade too old for me,
she didn’t add. “I called you because I thought you would help me.”

“And I will, I promise,” the deputy said, reaching out with his free hand to brush her cheek. Allison shuddered at his touch, so unlike Karl’s gentle, caring caress. “You just need to help me out, first. If you’re determined to leave, we ought to do what we’ve both been wanting for so long first, right?”

Allison swallowed, fear rising in her. Fear and anger at this from a man she’d worked with for years.
Have I really given him any reason to think I’m interested?
She couldn’t help wondering, but she knew she had never been more than friendly to him. Even if she had been attracted to him, he was a married man.

She put her hand on his chest, pushing him back and trying to give herself space to breathe. He didn’t seem inclined to move, though – and while his bulk was largely fat, there was enough muscle under it to make him impossible to push aside. He chuckled.

“Come on, don’t be like that,” he said, leering down at her. “I know you like to play hard to get, but don’t push things too far.”

“I’m not playing!” Allison heard the fear in her voice, but if Kirby noticed he clearly didn’t care. His oily smile spread wider on his face and he shook his head, dismissing her protest. “Kirby, don’t do this, I’ve had a really bad few days! I thought, I thought we were friends.”

“So did I,” he said. “But you can’t lie about your feelings, doll. Not to me. I know you want me as much as I want you, and there’s no denying it.”

She repressed another shudder at the thought, struggling to find words to get him to back off. There had to be something he’d listen to. “What would Jane say about that?”

“Jane doesn’t need to know. C’mon, it’s just this once, and it’ll be our secret.”

Allison found herself wishing Karl was there, wishing that he would rescue her from Kirby. Which she had to admit was ironic, given that she’d called Kirby to keep her safe from
him
. But she knew that, no matter what, she’d feel safer in Karl’s arms than she ever would in Kirby’s presence. The same part of her that longed for the security of Karl’s embrace was pushing her to fight Kirby off, to attack him, to protect herself.

She felt that urge growing, and tried desperately to push it down. To bury it under all the reasons it was a bad idea. Kirby was a big man, not big and tough like Karl but still far too much for her to fight, plus as a sheriff’s deputy he was trained to fight. She wouldn’t have a chance against him.

But no matter how much she tried to tell herself that, the feeling inside her grew. An animal part of her wanted to hurt him, to drive him off, to make him pay for scaring her. And it would not be denied.

Whatever part of that conflict showed on her face didn’t seem to discourage Kirby at all. If anything, the opposite – his weight pressed her back against the wall, driving her hand back as she tried futilely to keep him away. His face filled her vision, his eyes, fixed on hers and full of a dark lust. She snarled, baring her teeth, and he just laughed.

Allison felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. Her heart raced, fear and anger mixing and something rising past them to overwhelm her rational mind. Suddenly a fresh fear shot through her, not for herself but for Kirby.
He doesn’t understand the danger he’s in
, she thought. Not that she did, either, but she knew, irrationally, that if he didn’t back off he’d be in serious trouble.

Kirby’s lips touched hers, and for an instant she froze. Then she pushed with a strength she didn’t know she had, shoving him back a step. He frowned, stepping closer again, and before she had time to think about it she’d slapped him. Her hand connected with a crisp
crack
that spun his head to the side, and he looked at her with shock plastered across his face and a crimson handprint on his cheek. Shock and outrage at having been denied what he clearly thought was his due.

“You teasing
bitch
,” he snarled, stepping closer again. Allison felt her heart pounding in her chest, raising her hand again. Faster than she’d thought he could move, Kirby grabbed her wrist and held it painfully tight. “I’ll teach you to behave, oh yes I will.”

His eyes shone with anger, and slowly, deliberately, he raised his hand high. Allison looked up at him and was surprised to find her anger taking over from her fear. It filled her, every part of her, and Kirby seemed to be moving in slow motion as she watched him, an animal growl escaping her. Everything felt different, slow, dreamlike, and she let herself let go, her instincts taking over and carrying her towards him.

Something changed in his eyes, a sudden fear showing as she moved. His mouth opened in a scream as she pounced, teeth sinking into his fat neck. Allison surrendered to the beast within and let it carry her away.