Quinn’s high heels echoed off the tile floors, and as she came to a stop with the rest of her crew in front of towering double doors, she smoothed the wrinkles form her mint green dress. All she had to do was sit in there next to Rory and show her solidarity. This wasn’t so bad. It was cake—if she could forget all the cameras trained on her.
The seats were filling up inside the sprawling room, and the volume of murmuring increased the second Cody walked across the threshold. Dade’s strong hand on her lower back was the only thing keeping her knees from buckling against the forward movement.
Cody led the crew to a long table up front, angled to face both the large room and a similar table where seven older men and women sat. If the name plates were anything to go by, it was the mayor and town council members.
She took a seat between Dade and Rory, who was cuddling Aaron close in her lap.
“Good evening,” Mayor Randolph said in a booming, authoritative voice that silenced the crowd as they took their seats in rows of plastic chairs. “We are here tonight to speak candidly with a new and emerging group of people who are members of our town. The decision on what to do about them is ultimately up to our great government, but as for this meeting, we can open up lines of communication and begin to understand one another so that we can assure you that Breckenridge is still a safe place to live.” Mayor Randolph’s dark hair shone in the fluorescent lighting as he turned his steely gray eyes on Cody. “Our main concern is all of the negative attention we are receiving in the media. As you know, this is a town that thrives on tourism. If the tourism isn’t there for us, we lose jobs, residents, and funding for schools.”
“That’s bull-honkey and you know it,” Rory’s Aunt Leona spoke up. “I call it now. This skiing season will be the best one yet. Everyone will flock here to try to get a glimpse of the bear shifters. Already, two of the condos are booked through the entire winter and into spring.”
Mayor Randolph narrowed his eyes. “In an attempt to keep some semblance of order today, I’ll ask that you refrain from speaking until asked to do so.”
Aunt Leona glared but sat down beside the other Blue-Haired Ladies and zipped her lips.
“Great,” Randolph muttered. “Now, I think we should start this meeting with the shifters introducing themselves and giving us a brief history of their kind.”
Cody cleared his throat and nodded, then stood and addressed the room. “My name is Cody Keller. Some of you know me as one of the town firefighters, along with my brothers, Gage,”—he pointed—“Boone, and Dade. We are third generation firefighters. Some of you knew our father, Titus Keller, who presumably died fighting a fire right inside city limits when I was fifteen. This is my mate, Rory, and our son Aaron. Rory is human. Aaron is like me.”
“Why do you call her your mate instead of your wife?” a woman in a purple dress asked.
Mayor Randolph looked annoyed, but allowed it.
“Marriage is a human tradition that we only sometimes participate in. For us, pairing up and claiming a mate is the equivalent of marriage. We bond with one mate for life. The rate of infidelity for bear shifters is almost none because our animals simply won’t allow it.”
“But bears in real life mate with several partners.”
“Yes, true, but we don’t. It’s not how we are wired,” Cody explained.
“But you’ll still spit on the sanctity of marriage and raise families never being married,” the woman in the purple dress called out.
“Ma’am, with all due respect, there are lots of people in this society who aren’t allowed to get married, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t a family. Rory and Aaron are my family. Gage is mated to Leah, and they have twin cubs, and they are a family. We aren’t aiming to smite out marriage, and in fact, Rory and I are planning a ceremony in the winter to bind us legally. But it isn’t necessary for us. It’s just a different culture. Being mated is equivalent to being married. My brother Dade is a prime example of it. Dade?”
Dade slid his hand off Quinn’s thigh and stood. “Some bear shifters go their entire lives without the urge to settle on one mate, and then some of us are lucky enough to form a bond. In Rory and Quinn’s case, they were both human when Cody and I fell for them, so it isn’t dependent on them also being shifters. For Leah, however, she was born a bear shifter, and Gage knew instantly they were it for each other. For our kind, it works very fast. It’s a very powerful motivator to want to please our mates because their happiness allows us to be happy. It’s like…first love, but all those months it takes to form that bond wrapped up into an instant. With Quinn, I knew the second I set eyes on her she was mine.”
“And what if the woman doesn’t want you back? What then? Does your animal side force them?” a man called out.
“Absolutely not,” Boone said, standing. “Women in our culture are revered and make their own decisions. If they don’t feel the bond, it’s their choice to tell us to fuck off.”
“Language,” Cody warned.
“Can the infection spread through sex with the human population?” one of the council members asked.
Rory stood and held Aaron tightly. “I’m Cody’s mate. He is a very dominant bear shifter, and the alpha of what we call our crew. I can assure you, I’m still very much human and will remain so until I choose to Turn. Which might be never because I don’t envy what they have to go through.”
“Like what?” Mayor Randolph asked.
“Like the pain of the Change is very real. I watched my son experience it for years before I came back here seeking help from Cody and his Breck Crew. It is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. In addition to that, our crew has been taken advantage of by a special interest group called IESA. The men in our crew have been forced to do many, many things they didn’t want to because they were threatened with exposure, death, and the torture of their families. Which is why we have decided to come out to you and beg for your aid to stop the exploitation of our kind. We are just trying to live our lives quietly, but many of our kind have been killed simply for not doing missions IESA ordered them to.”
“Have you killed anyone?” a man asked in a hard voice.
“No,” Rory said, anger flashing across her green eyes.
“Not you, human. I’m talking to the bear shifters.”
“They served their country in wartime,” Rory gritted out. “That isn’t a fair question.”
“If a human is going to speak for them, why are we even here?” the man asked, his bald dome shining with sweat.
“Answer the question,” Mayor Randolph said.
“Don’t,” Cora Wright ordered from beside a camera man. She held a microphone in one hand and a notepad scribbled with notes in the other. “You don’t have to answer anything without a lawyer and a trial. You aren’t being accused of anything today. This is a question and answer meeting only, not a trap to string you up.” She narrowed her eyes at the sneering man. “Next question.”
“No answer means yes!” the man yelled. “They’ve murdered people. Humans. And we’re just going to let murderers live unpunished in our town. Fuck that.”
Quinn shook her head as the crowd erupted. It wasn’t fair. Most of the people the Kellers had killed were shifters at the order of IESA.
“What kind of shifters are there?” an older woman asked over the erupting crowd.
Looking troubled, Cody stood and leaned toward a microphone. “That we can’t tell you since we aren’t sure. It wouldn’t be our place to talk about people who have nothing to do with us.”
“How can we be sure our children would be safe around your children in a public school system?”
“Because we teach them to behave just the same as you teach yours to.”
“Mine don’t have teeth and claws. They don’t have built in weapons! I want any shifter cub, as you call them, registered as a shifter, wearing a name badge or tracking bracelet or something so that we can easily identify what and where they are.”
Panic seized
Quinn’s throat at the thought of how close they were getting already to discussing trackers. Dade swallowed hard beside her and shot her a wide-eyed look. They were losing control of this meeting.
“Are males the only bear shifters able to Turn humans?”
“No,” Cody said, shaking his head.
“Are you trying to take over the world?” a man shouted.
“What? No,” Cody growled out.
“Quiet down!” Mayor Randolph warned.
“Is the Breck Crew a cult?”
“Why have you decided to come out now?”
“Do you eat raw meat, more specifically human flesh when you are in your animal form?”
“How fast can you heal?”
“Maybe if we put them in special housing behind fences…”
“Do you live forever like vampires?”
“How many of you are there?”
Cody sat heavily into his chair, looking at Rory as if he were utterly overwhelmed.
“Enough!” Quinn screamed, standing so fast her chair clattered to the floor behind her.
“Introduce yourself,” Cora called out in a rush.
The room dipped to silence.
Quinn’s voice quivered, and her breath shook. “I’m Quinn Copeland, the one you saw on that awful video. I was human a few days ago, and now I’m not.”
“Babe, you don’t have to do this,” Dade whispered, worry pooling in his sea green eyes.
“I do,” she said, gulping down a sob and glaring at the audience. She clenched her trembling hands at her sides and lifted her voice. “I can’t just sit here and watch you all pick apart a group of people who are more amazing than you can imagine. You have mentioned putting tracking bracelets on them, on their cubs, but here is what you haven’t considered. That’s already been done. Dade, please stand up.”
With an uncertain glance at the crowd, he did.
“This is my mate.” Dammit she was already getting choked up just thinking about doing this. “I met him before the fire, and he tried to stay away from me because of this.” She tugged his top button loose and pointed to the horrific chemical burn that spread across his throat. Several audience members gasped and murmured, but she pressed on. “He wanted to keep me safe from what IESA was doing to them under the radar of the public’s attention. This burn was caused by a tracker that IESA had placed in his neck, as well as every bear shifter here, including those two little babies over there, Tate and Arie. They wanted to put one in Aaron, too, and that’s when Cody made the decision to make a stand. If it were you or your children, would you submit to having trackers surgically implanted in your necks? To be controlled by the threat of a kill switch? IESA detonated my mate’s tracker, and acid did this. His father was killed the same way, though it was made to look like an accident to the public. Countless other shifters have been killed using these techniques and others like them, and the worst part? These people aren’t dangerous to you. I don’t want to hear anything more about trackers. Cody’s hand was ruined trying to dig that damned thing out of Dade’s neck before IESA pushed that kill switch on him. You ask if they’ve killed people, but you were the ones who threw them a parade when they came home from war, both times. My mate bears the deep scars of fighting for his country and serving his community, and he’s never once complained. He’s a good man.”
“He isn’t a man!” Baldy yelled.
“He is a man! And I’m a woman, and these three precious angels are children. I am new to the Breck Crew, but I can tell you my experience with them as a human and as a shifter. They’re kind and close-knit. They love each other and have a strong moral compass. They worry about their children’s future above their own safety.” The first tear slipped down her cheek as she looked at the people she adored. Rory was crying, and she gripped her hand and held it tight. “I can tell you they are good, honest people who have been through so much just trying to survive, and they are still fighting to remain servants to their community and to people in need, if you’ll let them. IESA wasn’t going to stop pressing on them until they were all dead. This is a group of people striving to be treated with dignity, trusting humans who call us monsters, and begging for the help of the public. We aren’t here to take over the world, nor can I even imagine them Turning anyone they hadn’t chosen as a mate. It’s against the rules of their culture.” She looked up at Dade beside her. “Of our culture. And I’m scared,” she admitted, swinging her beseeching gaze to the quiet room. “I’ve only just learned bear shifters existed like you have. I understand your fear, but I’m standing in front of you, telling you that these people are incredible. I haven’t really had a family before, and now I feel like I’m right where I’m supposed to be with people who genuinely care about me. Which is crazy because I have a freaking bear inside of me. I’m scared to death of my first conscious Change, and I’m scared I won’t be any good at this. And I’m definitely scared of public speaking and the insane amount of attention this has garnered. And those cameras over there are super-duper terrifying.”
A few soft chuckles sounded from the crowd, and she laughed thickly and wiped her damp lashes with her knuckles.
“But mostly, I’m scared of something bad happening to my family. They are the reason I’m here, still breathing, still living. I fell in love with this incredible man, but the scars on his body say there will always be a chance something bad will happen to him if we can’t find a way to fit into society without being exploited. These people, these bear shifters, are just like you in so many ways. They laugh and tell dirty jokes. They’re loyal and have water gun fights and barbecues. They go to their jobs and take pride in their work. They love their families without abandon. Without a single question of distrust, they accepted me into their crew and are helping me through this transition with such tender attention and affection. And I know this won’t change some of your minds. You’ll hang onto your hate because you think this world is only big enough for humans. I’m sorry for it, but it isn’t in my power to change every mind. I just hope that some of you will consider that we aren’t the monsters you thought we were. We’re just men and women and children who have to turn into a bear for a few hours every couple of weeks. We’re just people who are tired of hiding.”
Someone began clapping slowly in the audience, and another followed. More joined in until the sound of applause was deafening. Some walked out, and some looked angry, but the cheering overwhelmed the jeering. Cora Wright nodded her head slowly as she clapped, eyes on Quinn with something akin to pride in her eyes. The Blue-Haired Ladies in the front were whistling and cheering, and Moira stood leaned against a side wall, a smile stretching her face. Even Mayor Randolph was clapping.
And when she looked toward the door, a man with dark hair and sparking gold-green eyes stood stoically. The corners of his lips turned up in a slow smile. He offered her a small wave and mouthed well done. She recognized him from the photo albums Ma had showed her. Bruiser Keller had come to show his support after all.
And from the way Ma was sobbing with her hands over her mouth at the end of the row, her shoulders shaking with emotion and her eyes locked on Bruiser, she’d seen her adopted son, too.
Rory squeezed her hand even tighter as tears streamed down her face, matching Quinn’s.
And Dade. Her Dade. Her tall, confident, steadfast mate was staring at her with such adoration in his eyes. He blinked hard and cupped her cheek. “You’re amazing,” he whispered, and she glowed under his tender touch and hushed compliment.
Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against hers, settling the rest of the remaining nerves that fluttered around in her stomach.
Easing back, Dade rested his forehead against hers. She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent as the pad of his thumb traced little circles across her cheek.
For as long as she lived, she was in this with him.
He’d saved her life, then given her so much more. Her bear, love, friendship, a family. A home.
From now on, no more hid
ing. No more fear.
For the rest of always, she would stand tall beside her crew in the arms of the man who had proved worthy of her heart.
Epilogue
“You can do this. Just open yourself up to her,” Dade advised.
He sat on the porch cuddling two very happy-looking doggies in his arms. Daffodil and Beans now followed Dade wherever he went. Arms tingling with nervousness, Quinn jumped up and down in front of Dade’s cabin, naked as a jaybird and covered in gooseflesh from the chilly wind.
She snorted a laugh as Dade bent down and kissed one of the pink bows on top of Daffodil’s head. He didn’t have a shirt on, and his scars stood stark all over his body. His eyes were bright because he was on the verge of needing to Change, but that didn’t stop him from cuddling the frilliest dogs on the planet.
“I can’t even take your advice seriously with you cuddling those dogs like that. Big tough guy. Just a werebear and his yorkies.”
“Bear shifter,” he corrected. He set them down and herded them inside.
Her dogs listened to Dade way better than they did to her. If she told them to go inside like that, they’d look at her like she needed to make them bacon first.
“I only get to play with Tank when I work my forty-eight hour shifts, woman. In between, I get time with Daffodil and Beans.”
She snorted a laugh at their ridiculous names in his deep baritone voice.
“Now stop messing around and focus. You were the one who wanted to Change today.”
“Yeah, because Bruiser is Changing with everyone else, and it’s hard for all of us to get together. I don’t want to be left out.”
“Well, Bruiser has a flight to catch. He’s missing Diem and needs to get back to the Ashe Crew, so chop chop. They’re probably all waiting on us.”
“You’re rushing me.”
Dade hooked his hands on his hips and arched his brows. “I told you I’d draw your bear from you, and you said you didn’t want the help.”