They’d gotten lucky with the almost direct flight and had made the trip in just eight hours. By now her absence would have been noticed. She wasn’t sure how long Remy could stall Laurent with excuses of “we’re looking for her” but she was certain that by this evening Laurent would be on his way home.

Etienne had flown out from the airport in Montreal so his car was still parked in the long-term lot. They paid for the parking and he navigated out of the city. For Jane nothing was familiar. It had been five years since she’d seen this city and had only driven through it a handful of times in those first eighteen years of her life. She’d been too busy looking over her shoulder for Laurent to look at her surroundings the day she left. Now she found it looked like any other city at first glance. Lights, cars, people, noise. She never imagined she’d be used to it.

Once out of the city, he pointed them North-East on the highway. Now she started to feel nervous. Coming back here had never been a consideration before now. Staying would never be an option. Get in, get the information you need, maybe get a few keepsakes from Marnie, and get the hell out again. Get home and make things right. Because that was what this boiled down to. Etienne may have been a dear friend once, Marnie had always had her back in little ways, but New Orleans was her home now and she wasn’t leaving it unless Remy forced her out.

At some point the countryside, broken only by the occasional gas station or small town, lulled her to sleep. She woke when the driver’s side door slammed and she looked around. They were in pack territory for sure, Marnie’s house by the look of things. Marnie had lived only a few miles down the road from Jane’s childhood home. The house was similar, small but cozy rather than cramped, with the familiar woods threatening to walk right out onto the neatly kept lawn. She shivered. Somehow she had made it here without having the dream again. She always thought coming back here would trigger it.

She stepped out of the car and stood there, staring off in the direction she knew her house to be, one hand on the top of the car, the other on the car door.

“Jane, you all right?”

She nodded.

“Come on. Marnie’ll be waiting for us inside.”

The door opened as they were climbing the low flight of steps up to the front porch and Marnie came out. She hadn’t changed at all since the last time Jane had seen her, which had been only days before her exodus. She came out with arms open wide, her dark hair pulled back by a hair tie, the errant strands held off her face with a rolled up bandana that made her look like a Rosy Riveter poster, except for the floral summer dress she wore in place of overalls. She had the shoulders and hips of a woman who worked hard and enjoyed good food and good company. And she was smiling like a sunrise.

“Jane Gratton, for the life of my mother, may she rest in peace, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

If you could’ve rewound time by even five minutes and paused it long enough to ask Jane what she expected by way of welcome, she wouldn’t have had an answer but as Marnie enveloped her in the first real, honest, tight, hug she’d had in years, she wasn’t the least bit surprised.

“Hello, Marnie.”

“Well, at least you’ve enough sense not to Mrs. Henzel me. Etienne texted from the airport so I have a bed all made up for you, and dinner too. Come in. Etienne, you too.”

“I’ll just grab her bag,” he said. “I’ll be inside in a minute. I’ve been cooped up for half a day.”

“All right, but I’m not waiting the food for you.”

“Understood.”

“He’s a good kid,” Marnie said as she ushered Jane inside. The door closed behind them, affording them some privacy. “Weren’t the two of you an item at one point?”

“More out of necessity, I think. There was no one else my age.”

“And now?”

Jane looked away. “I don’t know. I left so suddenly to come here.”

“There is someone.”

“Is. Was. I don’t know if he’ll be waiting when I get back.”

“Oh, hun, I’m sorry. I told Etienne not to bother you. We had this all under control.”

“My Clan Chief practically ordered me to come here so there wasn’t much choice.”

“He did?”

“Well, not in so many words, not with Laurent standing right there. But he said proof was the most important thing and I couldn’t think of any other way of getting it.”

Marnie had ushered her into the kitchen and settled her at the table. “I’ve got soup, good thick pea soup, and homemade bread, and then a country ham with vegetables and some baby potatoes from the garden for dinner tonight. For now there’s crepes, as much as you can eat.”

“It sounds delicious and smells even better.”

Once they were seated and served, Marnie said, “So tell me about your Clan Chief and Laurent. We knew Laurent was leaving town for a few days, but that’s all we were told.”

“Etienne showed up a few weeks ago claiming there was trouble in the clan and he was looking for proof of something. He claims Laurent is working with The Human Order. Before he could find proof, Laurent showed up in New Orleans looking for Etienne. Remy wants to get to the truth of the matter but he didn’t want to offend Laurent either. So I’m sort of guessing at his orders but here I am, looking for proof.”

Marnie nodded and opened her mouth to say something but the front door opened. “Sure smells good in here Marnie!” Etienne called as he took his shoes off and set Jane’s bag by the front door.”

“Help yourself to crepes.”

“You were going to say?” Jane prompted.

Marnie looked at her then gave her head a shake and smiled. “I was going to say that whatever the reason, it’s good you’re here. There are some people who’d like to see you, I think. I’ll let you get settled and later we’ll do some visiting. I only hope... well, there’s time for the serious discussions later. Tell me all about you. You’re all grown up now.”

They talked and ate and laughed together while Etienne sat at the end of the table watching them, keeping oddly quiet. Finally, when Jane could eat no more, Marnie said, “Did you get any sleep on the plane?”

“Some.”

“Well, you’re welcome to lie down a bit, or help yourself to the shower.”

“I might do that, in a bit. I think I’ll go for a run.”

Marnie paused, a dirty plate in each hand. “You’re heading up the road, aren’t you?”

Jane nodded. She respected Marnie too much to lie.

“New people living there again. Second family since Laurent put it up for sale. I told him he shouldn’t have done that. I told him to hold onto it, that you might want it someday.”

“I don’t,” Jane said. “I’m not planning on staying.”

“It was your home. I know he tried to raise you, tried to do right by you, but he sold your home without asking your opinion, nor anyone else’s, and then you left and he wonders why. If he wanted you to stay, wanted this clan to be your home, he shouldn’t have taken your home from you.”

“Marnie, it’s okay. I didn’t leave because of the house. A house is just a building. I just need to see it. I did leave in a rush.”

“Well, Luc still lives down on the corner if you want to stop in for water or whatever.”

“I’ll wave if I see him but I’m not quite ready to face everyone.”

“Is tonight too soon?”

“You already called everyone, didn’t you?”

Marnie’s grin was sheepish. “Can you blame me? We’ve had so many leave these last few years and so few of them come back. I know, I know, you’re not back for good, but at least we get to see you. Can you blame any of us for wanting to get a look at you?”

“No, I guess not.”

“I can call ‘em all back.”

“No, Marnie, it’ll be fine.” Jane smiled and was surprised when she didn’t have to force it. “But I am going for that run to stretch my legs and clear my head.”

“And you?” Marnie said, turning to Etienne as Jane headed to the door to lace up her shoes.

“Me?”

“What are you going to be doing between now and dinner? It’s a whole day.”

“I don’t think you have a bed for me,” he said. “So, I think I’ll head home for a few hours. I need to sleep, check my emails, all that. But I’ll take you up on dinner. Thanks for breakfast.” He followed Jane out the door. He almost offered to go with her but there were footsteps on the porch and a quick glance over this shoulder told him Marnie had followed them out. Instead he waved to Marnie and smiled at Jane. “I’ll see you later. If you need anything, Marnie has my number.”

Jane nodded. She had stopped to stretch her legs and now she waited for the car to back out.

As Etienne was leaving, Marnie said, “Of all the ones that came back, may’ve been better for that one to stay gone.”

Jane’s head snapped up but Marnie was already heading back inside.

Jane tried to shake the feeling of unease but it wasn’t going anywhere so she jogged to the end of the driveway and turned right, away from Etienne’s quickly disappearing taillights, and headed down the road.

The old house looked much as she remembered it. Whatever updates they’d done over the years had been pretty basic. It probably had a new roof, the curtains in the windows were a different color, and there was no way to know what they’d done to the inside. But from the road it looked just the same and the tears quickly overwhelmed her.

She brushed them away with the back of her hand and turned back towards Marnie’s. There was nothing for her here. She couldn’t change the past no more than she could in her dream.

---

Marnie’s house, though cozy, was built for entertaining, and even though more and more people kept coming through the front door, most without knocking, it didn’t feel overly crowded. The house was full of talking and laughing and the smells of gravy and butter and garlic.

Clan meetings in New Orleans consisted mostly of take-out and beers. Jane had almost forgotten what a good, old-fashioned potluck was like.

As soon as Marnie hollered that the food was ready, everyone lined up to grab a plate and the noise died down a little. They settled round Marnie’s giant dining room table and dug in.

Jane was bombarded with questions about New Orleans and Remy and what it was like shifting in a warehouse. Didn’t she miss the woods? An awkward silence had followed that question and then Marnie said, “So you know.”

Jane nodded.

“Well, least no one has to pussy foot round the truth anymore. Told Laurent to tell you sooner.” Marnie shook her head. “Someone slide the gravy this way.”

As conversation resumed Ginette said, “So, anyone special waiting for you in New Orleans?”

Luc rolled his eyes. “Leave the poor girl be. Sounds like she’s been too busy for that nonsense.”

“Actually …” Jane blushed.

“Oh, darling you have to tell us everything,” Marnie insisted.

“Not much to tell, really.”

“What’s his name? How’d you meet? How long you been together?” Marnie said, her food forgotten.

“Is he cute?” Ginette added and everyone laughed.

“Bryce, at work, a month, and yes,” Jane said.

Conversation moved on as people got up for seconds, and thirds. Except Etienne who sat picking at his plate.

“What’s wrong? Suddenly you don’t like my potatoes?” Renee said. Renee was Ginette’s older sister. Though not a werebear herself, she’d married one and they already had four kids. The oldest was still a few years off of his first shift, if he was going to become a bear. Jane remembered her as this curvy teen and as a twenty-something newlywed, but now she was nearing thirty and had a motherly roundness to her cheeks. She sat between her husband and her sister, but in such a way that her shoulder was almost always touching Ginette’s.

“I love your potatoes,” Etienne said, drawing Jane’s attention away from the sisters. “I just don’t feel well. I think it’s just the jet lag still.”

“Your loss,” someone else said. “Pass the gravy back.”

“Why don’t we have two gravies?”

And so it went until everyone was leaned back in their chairs patting their stomachs and a contented quiet settled over the room.

Jane took a deep breath. “Just how bad is it?” she asked the room.

People glanced at each other and Jane could see real concern on their faces.

Marnie broke the silence. “Bad. Look around. You can see there’s faces missing. Chased off by The Human Order and our Chief just sent ‘em away. For their own protection he says, but I haven’t heard of other clans doing the same. Other clans are fighting to protect their people. And, well, it’s just not good any way you look at things.”

“I know about the marriages,” Jane said. “I know what Laurent planned for me and Etienne. I’m guessing there were others.”

“You were one of the others,” Luc said. “Before Etienne. There was another. He was older than you by about ten years. Laurent made the arrangement almost as soon as became Clan Chief. You were months old at the time.”

“Did my parents know?” Jane said.

Marnie nodded. “But they didn’t find out until you were a bit older. They wondered why Laurent insisted this young man be their on-call babysitter.”

“Him?” Jane stared at each face around the table in turn. Most of them wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“He went away to school just before your parents died and said he wasn’t coming back. Met a girl out wherever he went and fell in love. Guess he didn’t want to wait ten years for you to grow up. That would have been the end of it but Laurent started making noise about finding you a new mate …”

“I was eight.”

Marnie nodded. “That’s how your parents felt about it. They were leaving. Had their transfer request ready to send to the council.”

Jane turned to Etienne. “Did you know about this?”

“Some of it, but not the transfer. I didn’t know that.” He took a deep breath. “Look, I really don’t feel good. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He pushed away from the table and headed for the door.

Marnie put her hand over Jane’s. “I’m sorry sweetie, this must be so hard for you.”

“And my parents were human when they were shot?”

Marnie nodded.

“Is there …” She couldn’t put the question into words because she didn’t want to know the answer. She’d lived with Laurent for ten years. Did he really have something to do with her parents’ death? She swallowed hard. “Etienne said he was looking for proof about Laurent and The Human Order. Is there some connection there?”

“I don’t know,” Marnie said. “It would make sense but I just don’t know.”

Ginette and Renee both stood. “I need to go send the babysitter home,” Renee said. “I’ll leave Phil and the car. Ginette will drive me home.”

“You’re all dropping like flies,” Luc said. “Something going around?”

“No, we feel fine,” Renee said. “Just don’t want to be out too late.” She smiled but it looked thin, forced. “Goodnight everyone.”

“Is it just me,” Luc said when they’d gone, “Or did they look scared?”

“What would they have to be scared of?” Phil asked.

“I don’t know,” Luc said.

---

The third time Jane’s phone call went straight to voicemail, Bryce let off a string of curses. Whatever emergency had called her away had put her out of cellphone range. Or she had it off. Or she’s just ignoring you. She did have that other guy staying at her place. Maybe this is just her way of blowing you off. He sighed. If she was still showing up at work, he might believe that, but she hadn’t shown up there either and Carter said he’d gotten a rushed phone call from Jane claiming the family emergency had blown up and she needed a few days off.

Maybe she went home. Maybe she’s moved back to Quebec and didn’t want to tell you.

It was hard not to think that way when she’d left with hardly a goodbye and no explanation. He’d driven past her apartment but her car was gone and when he buzzed up, no one answered. He didn’t have contact information for any of her friends and no last names, so he couldn’t even look Jules up.

Briefly he’d considered calling the Mayor’s office to talk to Brock but he was pretty sure he’d be shut down before he could even successfully explain who he was. How many people call with these weird stories trying to get in to see the Mayor? Hi, I’m sort of dating this girl, Jane, who says she’s a werebear and says she knows you. They’ll either arrest me for stalking or arrest me as a member of The Human Order. Jane did say she wasn’t out yet.

No, there was nothing to do. Jane was gone, at least temporarily, and he had no way of contacting her or knowing when she’d be home. Or if she’ll be home.

Karl was in overdrive with the house, so between picking up Jane’s slack at work and the renos, Bryce was able to drown most of his worries in work. Driving nails into baseboards and hucking garbage out the second story window was almost therapeutic. The guys had asked after Jane and had teased him a bit the first day or so, but when they saw the head-down, single-minded, get-shit-down way he was working, they soon stopped and let him alone.

No one teased him at work but it wasn’t any better there. At work it was more obvious she was missing, for one thing. For another, Carter was on a rampage over her sudden and unexplained disappearance. At least she’s not picking up the phone for him either, Bryce thought. The nurses smiled at him a lot and told him not to worry, that everything would be fine, and Jane would be back to work soon, tired and maybe a little emotional, but safe and sound nonetheless. It wasn’t reassuring at all. It only made him miss her more.

He missed her puttering in his kitchen. He missed waking up beside her, even if she was a bed-hog. He missed the sound of her voice, which may be why he kept calling her phone. At least she’d put a personalized message on her voicemail and he could hear at least a recording of her voice.

The whole situation with Karl didn’t make things any better. Bryce had tried to talk to him about what he and Jane had seen, about what they suspected, but he wouldn’t listen. Jeff and Jason didn’t know anything about it, beyond the fact that the renters really liked their privacy, and they hadn’t bothered to ask questions beyond that. The money was good after all. When Bryce mentioned drugs to them, they both shrugged. “We’re not involved,” they said. “This isn’t on us.”

“It could come back to hurt you both. And they could really hurt Karl.”

“He’s stupid,” Jeff said with a shrug.

Jason was a little more sympathetic. “Look, he’s our cousin, I get that. But he’s an adult, Bryce. He’s in charge of these projects. And we have no proof that it’s drugs at all. What did Karl say?”

“Karl won’t talk about it, except to tell me I’m making a big deal out of nothing.”

“There you go. It’s nothing. Come on, we have to get this house finished.”

Saturday night he couldn’t sleep. It had only been a few weekends since they’d started dating, but already Jane felt like a fixture in his life, a necessity, and when she wasn’t there, his sleep suffered. The worry was making it even worse and she’d only been gone a few days.

He threw back the covers, tossed on his work clothes, and headed out. He wasn’t quite sure where he was going except that he had to move, had to shake off some of the restlessness. He considered going for a jog, just around the block a few times, it wasn’t so bad a neighborhood that he couldn’t be out late at night on his own. He hesitated in the parking lot and then headed for the car instead.

He drove towards the rental and parked down the block where he and Jane had parked a few weeks earlier. He locked the doors and headed up the front street at a steady jog. The lights in most of the houses he passed were out. The odd glow from behind curtains highlighted other night owls. Colicky babies and their worried parents, video game junkies, people coming or going to odd shifts at work, insomniacs. Tonight he shared the world with them.

All the lights were out at the rental, which was a good sign since no one was supposed to be there. The houses on either side looked quiet as well. If anyone was up, they had good thick curtains or they weren’t in a room with a window. You don’t need lights on to be up this late, he thought, thinking once again of Jane.

At the end of the block he turned and came back up the alley. He missed the house the first time, with the deep shadows and not being familiar with it from this angle, and had to jog back. He double, triple checked that he was in the right place, and let himself in the back gate. No need to upset someone over a misunderstanding. Or wake up someone’s dog.

He hadn’t thought to bring a light but he had one on his cellphone. He pressed it, and his face, against the window of the garage, trying to peer inside. There were boxes piled high enough that he couldn’t see past them, and the windows were filthy, inside and out. He wasn’t even sure what he was looking for. If there was something illegal in there it wasn’t going to be left lying out in the open to be spotted by anyone glancing in. And it wasn’t going to be written on the side of the box.

He sighed in resignation, ready to take a step back and go back to his car, when the hand landed on his shoulder, making him jump.

“Can I help you?”

It wasn’t Karl’s voice.

“No. It’s okay. I was working on the house earlier and forgot something here. I couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d swing by and pick it up but of course the house is locked up tight. Thought there might be a spare around, you know, an emergency, but I can’t see one.”

“Hey, weren’t you the one snooping around here the other day?”

“Uh, I work on this house almost every evening and weekend so I’m here a lot.”

“Yeah, and you were here when you weren’t supposed to be, just like you are now.”

They were too far from the street lights for Bryce to get a good look at the guy but he was beginning to suspect that it was the same guy who’d threatened to rough him up that day Karl cancelled work and he’d shown up anyways.

“What are you doing here? I’m not sure renting the space gives you permission to be sneaking around the property at all hours either.”

He laughed. “That’s where you’re wrong. Your buddy Karl isn’t about to tell me I can’t be here, not when one phone call from me will have the cops pouring over this place with all the blame landing squarely on his shoulders. But you, I’m going to tell you one last time, you stay the fuck away from that garage. You stay off this property unless you’re working on the house with Karl. You stay out of my business or you’re going to disappear and no one is going to find you. Ever.”

A half dozen smart ass remarks danced through Bryce’s mind, but for once he kept his mouth shut and just nodded.

“Get lost.” He shoved Bryce hard, sending him reeling.

Bryce jogged to the sidewalk and headed up the street without looking back. He got into the car and locked the doors and just sat, staring at the street lights lining the street ahead of him.

Was it shameful to run? To be afraid? Whatever Karl was into was likely dangerous. He trusted Jane, after all she was a werebear and supposedly had amazing senses and if she smelled drugs then there were drugs involved somehow. Drugs and gangs and a man who knew his face and had told him twice to stay away.

Jeff and Jase might be able to shrug and look away but I can’t. Karl’s my cousin. I might not particularly like him most of the time but he’s family, and whatever he’s into I have to find a way to get him out. Someway that doesn’t involve me facing off against the gangs and getting killed.

---

Sunday morning, Marnie and Jane were having a lazy breakfast together. People had been in and out since that first big dinner and it was nice to have some time for just the two of them. Etienne was the only one who’d made himself scarce.

“Are you really going home?” Marnie asked.

“Etienne thought I could help but I guess I can’t. There’s nothing for me here, Marnie. My life is waiting for me back in New Orleans. I’ve booked a flight for tomorrow.”

“Yes, I heard you mention something about that to Renee and Ginette last night.”

The phone rang so Marnie wandered into the next room to answer it. When she came back, she looked serious. “You remember you asked about Laurent and The Human Order?”

“Yeah. Etienne was looking for proof but he never found any.”

“That’s because the proof wasn’t online. It’s on paper. And I know where it is. I need to make some phone calls. Looks like we’re having a meeting tonight – before Laurent gets home.”

Jane just nodded.

---

It was strange how the same crowd of people could take up the same amount of space and make ten times less noise.

Everyone found a spot around the table. Faces were serious.

“Jane, do you trust your Clan Chief?”

Everyone looked at Ginette. No one had expected her to get things started, and certainly not with such a loaded question.

Jane nodded. “Yes, I trust him.”

“Will he protect you?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t know what to do. I knew it had to stop, but I didn’t know what to do. He’s the Chief. I was so scared.”

“What are you talking about, dear?” Marnie said.

“The papers. But I couldn’t go to the police. They can’t protect me.”

“So she gave the papers to me,” Renee explained.

“What papers?” Phil said.

“I couldn’t tell you,” Renee said. “Laurent came by and asked if you knew about them and you were able to tell him the truth. If he suspected you of lying, he’d have used that damn Clan Chief magic on you and we’d all be in trouble.

Etienne put his hand over his mouth and lurched to his feet. “Excuse me,” he mumbled and stumbled towards the bathroom.

“Poor boy,” Luc said but his voice lacked any real compassion.

“Why didn’t you come forward when Laurent left for New Orleans?” Marnie asked.

“We didn’t know who we could trust,” Renee said. She turned her full attention to Jane. “But you haven’t been here for five years. You have no reason to listen to Laurent and a lot of reasons to hate him, even if he did raise you. You were strong enough, and brave enough, to run away. And you don’t have to listen to Laurent.”

“What are you saying?” Jane asked.

“I’m saying that I think we can trust you. Am I right?”

Now everyone was staring at Jane.

“Yes,” Jane said. “You can trust me. My Chief sent me to get proof. He wants to know the truth.”

“Are you still planning on leaving tomorrow?”

“Yes. I thought I’d be going home empty handed though.”

“Not empty handed, no.” Renee pulled an envelope out of her purse and handed them to Jane. “That’s everything we have.”

“I’ll take care of this,” Jane said.

Marnie pushed her chair back and stood. “Jane, I think you should leave. For your own safety and ours. I’ll drive you to the city, to a coffee shop. From there you catch a cab to a hotel so if anyone asks any of us if we know where you or those papers are, we can be honest.”

Jane nodded “I’ll get my bags.”

“You’ll say your goodbyes first,” Luc said, standing to hug her. Others stood too and a bit of the tension lifted from the group.

The crunch of car tires on the gravel driveway was distinct. Everyone froze. A few people started looking around and Jane could tell they were doing a mental head count. Who was here? Who wasn’t? Who could be pulling up unannounced? They all knew who it could be, and who they didn’t want it to be.

The door opened. No knock. No doorbell. Everyone knew, with that click of the door knob turning and the creak of hinges, exactly who was walking in.

He was too close. Even a whispered plan would be overheard. There was nowhere they could hide Jane before he crossed the small house and entered the kitchen. Marnie folded the printed emails and handed them to Jane. There was only one hiding place available to her. She slid them under the back elastic of her bra and adjusted her shirt.

“I’m glad to see you all together,” Laurent said as he came in. “Now I don’t have to call for you.”

“You’re back from New Orleans then,” Marnie said. “And Etienne is back. So I guess it all worked out in the end.”

Ginette eased her way around the table, headed for her husband.

“Yes. It all worked out exactly as planned.” He raised his arm and let Ginette slip into her usual place at his side.

Jane frowned.

“What’s wrong, Jane? Can’t figure out why I might need you here?” His smile was smug again. “When the evidence went missing from my house, I knew it could only be one of a few people who had taken it, but who had they hidden it with? I could have strong-armed the answer but that would run the risk of a rebellion. I knew the only person the clan would trust as not being my spy would be you, Jane. I knew whoever had taken it would turn it over to you. And they have.”

“I don’t have anything,” Jane said.

“Don’t lie to me.” Any power he might have been able to throw into the command slid harmlessly off of her.

“I’m not a member of your clan, Laurent. I can tell you the sky is purple and that fish fly and that your hair is full of cockroaches and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”

“I will deal with you in a moment. Right now I have to deal with a thief.”

Before anyone could react, he had a hand on the back of Ginette’s neck and had her on her knees. There was a loud protest but no one moved.

“My own wife. I didn’t think the betrayal would come from so close to home.”

“That’s not the only betrayal,” Jane said.

His eyes flicked up at her, then his attention returned to his wife. “Are you putting the pieces together, Jane?”

“Fuck you. This is Marnie’s house. I am not a part of your clan. You cannot keep me here. I’m going home.”

“You have something of mine. I’ll take it now.”

“Go to hell.” She turned, ready to walk out the sliding door and onto the deck so she didn’t have to walk past Laurent.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Laurent said. He didn’t appear to move but Ginette started to sob. “I can kill her, right now. A little tighter, a little twist, and it’s goodbye Ginette. You wouldn’t do that to her would you? Not after the risk she took getting you that evidence.”

Jane hesitated.

“I thought not. Grab her.” The last two words tasted of power.

Jane felt the magic slide off of her but she knew it would affect every member of his clan. To resist a direct command was painful for more dominant bears and impossible for less dominant ones. His blackmail controlled harassment had targeted the most dominant bears in the clan so he could send them away, far away. Jane wasn’t sure anyone here could resist.

Except that no one moved.

“I said, grab her,” Laurent said again. Again no one moved. “Fine. Etienne, if you would be so kind?”

He’d looked every inch the poor, food-poisoned, traveler a few minutes ago when he’d disappeared in the direction of the bathroom. There didn’t appear to be anything wrong with him now. He slipped his phone in his pocket and approached Jane with a smile.

“I don’t have it,” Jane said again.

“You were too busy looking at the windows and looking at each other. You weren’t looking at me. But I was looking at you, Jane.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Why not? Laurent’s little game has put me in a very good position in this clan.” He backed Jane up against the counter and reached around behind her. His hand slid up under the back of Jane’s shirt and he pulled the papers free. And while he was that close, he leaned in and kissed her.

She leaned back but couldn’t get far enough away to break the kiss. When he was done, she slapped him.

He slapped her back. “Bitch.”

She didn’t bother replying.

Etienne turned to walk back to Laurent but Jean stuck out a foot and tripped him. He hit the floor with a solid thump.

“Luc, the pantry,” Marnie said.

Laurent bellowed, “Stop!” so loudly and with so much power it staggered nearly everyone in the room. Even Jane felt it and she had been free of his influence for years. Everyone else in the room had only been free of it a few days. The only people who seemed not to be effected were Marnie and Luc. The pantry door flew open, Luc’s actions hidden behind it, at least hidden from Laurent.

The shotgun was tossed across the room to Marnie who pumped it once and pointed it at Laurent.

“Jean, grab the papers,” Marnie ordered.

“What is this?” Laurent screamed. In his grasp Ginette whimpered again. She was shaking.

“It’s a revolt,” Marnie said. “Everyone here was more than willing to leave your clan. There’s a moot scheduled for tonight to select a new Clan Chief for this territory.”

“Until a new Clan Chief is chosen, until someone new takes over the bonds, the oaths of loyalty, you are all mine. Etienne, I command you to shift.”

“No. We will never be yours again. We will not allow any more of our daughters to be wed against their will. We will not allow our friends to be driven off by your paranoia and greed.”

A pained grunt cut her off. Etienne hit the floor on his knees. Shifting in clothes was always more painful, and shifting on someone else’s command could be difficult. Luc grabbed a vase off the shelf and hit Etienne on the back of the head, just behind his ear. He went down like a sack of potatoes.

Marnie hadn’t taken her eyes off Laurent. “Let Ginette go.”

Laurent’s face twisted into a snarl and before he could say anything, Marnie pulled the trigger. The blast hit him in the chest, enough to knock him away from Ginette and to the floor but not enough to kill him.

Jane leapt forward and grabbed Ginette, pulling her away from Laurent. He pulled himself to his feet and grabbed Jane. She could feel the hot wet blood seeping into the back of her shirt. Desperation leant him and his bear strength she didn’t have, strength she could only get by shifting. They struggled. The second blast was deafening and he let go suddenly. Jane flew from his grasp and hit the counter.

Marnie stood over Laurent. He was on his chest on the floor, hands over his head, gasping for air. The linoleum was a bloody mess. His suit jacket was shredded. A few others had cuts where stray bird shot had caught their arms or faces and not one of them flinched or looked away. Their faces were hard.

She put a foot on his back. He was trying to say something but all that came out was a wet gasping sound. “Asshole,” she said, and then she pulled the trigger.