Oberon Dragon: Shifter Romance (Star-Crossed Dragons Book 1) by Sage Hunter (15)

Reynaldo took a quick, jerking drag of his cigarette as he looked at Tessa with a side-eye.

“Let’s say I believe you; why should I let you talk with Mister Henderson? I mean, I could get you up there with him. But he doesn’t just talk to anyone.”

“Trust me. I’m someone who he’ll want to talk to.”

Reynaldo considered it.

“OK, fine. I’ll get you in with him.”

“That easy?” asked Tessa.

“Yeah,” he said. “I like your face.”

Tessa shuddered internally at Reynaldo’s leer as he walked passed her, gesturing for her to follow him. They moved through the party, Tessa staying close behind Reynaldo, but no too close. The two eventually made their way to a flight of stairs, the pounding of the bass decreasing as they traveled up. Once they reached the top, Reynaldo pointed to the door at the end of the long hallway.

“Mister Henderson should be in there. Just, uh, don’t tell him I sent you.”

With that, Reynaldo dashed back down the stairs, leaving Tessa alone in the hallway with a handful of kids who seemed to be all passed out, slumped unconscious against the wall. She spotted a crack of light at the bottom of the door and as she stepped towards it, she found herself wondering if Lucas was in there, or if this was some trick that she didn’t understand.

Tessa looked over the passed-out partiers in the hallway, noting that just like the ones downstairs and out front, they all seemed to be no older than their early twenties, with many still in their teens. All seemed to be either strung-out or high on meth, and as Tessa stepped around their limp, splayed-out limbs, she began to realize that if Lucas was here, it either meant that he was a user himself, or, even worse, that he had something to do with what was going on here. Either way, Tessa felt herself growing queasy at the possibilities.

Finally reaching the door, Tessa wrapped her hand around the handle and prepared to open it. But before she did, she heard murmuring on the other side. She leaned in and pressed her ear against the flimsy wood of the bedroom door, plugging up her other ear to listen more carefully.

“You like that, baby?” asked a female voice.

“I think he does,” spoke a voice belonging to a different girl.

“Mmm,” said another voice on the other side, a man’s voice. “Yeah, just like that.”

Tessa instantly recognized the man’s voice as Lucas. She’d heard that voice every day for the last 16 years; there was no way it could be anyone but him. Taking a deep breath, she twisted the handle and pushed the door open. And she couldn’t believe what she saw on the other side.

It was Lucas, alright. He was sitting on the end of the bed in the middle of the room, his pants down at his ankles, his shirt off, exposing his sculpted chest. At on the floor, at his knees were a pair of girls. They were young women, one a blonde, the other a redhead, neither of which appeared to be out of her teens. The redhead had Lucas’s cock deep within her mouth, her eyes wide as Tessa opened the door. The blonde was at a different sort of work, her tongue mid-lick on Lucas’s balls as Tessa stepped in.

“What the hell?” shouted Lucas.

He pushed the two girls away, his cock leaving the mouth of the redhead with a loud, sucking “pop.” The girls, both nude, slim, and long-limbed, let out a pair of shrieks as they darted to the other end of the room, covering themselves up with their skinny arms.

In the room, Tessa noticed money here and there, stacked into neat piles of hundred-dollar bills sitting among small baggies of white drugs. Her stomach sank to her feet as she realized what was going on.

“Please tell me that I’m not seeing this,” said Tessa, standing frozen at the door.

“You need to leave, right now,” said Lucas, his voice stern and demanding.

“I’m not leaving until you tell me what all of…this is!” she shouted, gesturing to the girls, the drugs, the money.

“It’s what you think it is,” he said.

“Luke, baby, who is this lady?” asked the redhead, her voice sweet and somewhat fearful.

“Shut the hell up!” he said, holding up a finger at the girl, who responded by doing as he asked, her pretty face an expression of concern and confusion.

“I can’t believe this,” said Tessa. “I can’t believe that you’d do this, that you’d live this life and hide it from me.”

“Well, believe it,” said Lucas, rising and pulling up his pants.

“Is this your wife?” asked the blonde. “She’s…so old.”

“I said, shut the hell up!” yelled Lucas, the blonde silencing just as quickly as the redhead.

“I don’t ever want to see you again,” said Tessa, her heart feeling like it was being sliced in half by a dull knife. “Don’t come to the house ever again.”

“Wait a minute,” said Lucas. “Don’t you leave. Don’t you run out! You do and you’ll regret it!”

Tears in her eyes, she turned and ran down the hallway, out of the house and to the car. She wanted to do nothing but curl into a ball and weep, but more than that, she wanted to leave, to put as much distance between her and Lucas as possible.

She’d save her tears for the drive back. 

When Tessa awoke the next morning, she, by instinct, moved her arm over to the other side of the bed. But touching nothing but air, the reality of her situation came into brutal clarity. The images of last night- the party, the drugs, seeing Lucas in the middle of being pleasured by two girls whose ages combined probably weren’t much more than Tessa’s- flooded her mind. She felt sick, she felt weak, and she felt lost. She lay in bed for a time, not wanting to move, as though she could pretend that reality wasn’t what it was simply by refusing to interact with it.

Eventually, however, she made the decision to not be a weak woman, lost without her man. Placing both feet on the ground, she stepped out of bed. The bedroom was just as sunny and cheerful as it had been the previous morning, but now she was alone. Her first stop was the bathroom, to take a long, hot shower, as though she could wash away the memories of last night. As she soaked, she realized that at the very least, she could wash away the grime that the air at that horrible party seemed to be full of.

Stepping out and wrapping a towel around her body, she thought about just what her husband had gotten himself into. Tessa had considered that he was having an affair, and had considered that he had picked up a substance abuse problem- what other reasons could a husband have for acting the way he did, after all- but what he was into was something that she wasn’t prepared for at all. She couldn’t tell for certain by what she saw over the course of that horrible minute, but it appeared that Lucas was involved in the meth business- not simply using it, but dealing it. There were hundreds of young adults, kids, just about, at that party last night, and judging by the amount of drugs in that room, it wasn’t hard to believe that he was responsible for supplying the whole thing. She wondered how the artist she fell in love with so many years ago could fall so low as to get involved with something like this.

Tessa threw on some simple clothes, making sure to put what she wore the previous night in a sealed bag for fear of that astringent, industrial smell of burning meth would infect the house. And as she tossed the plastic bag stuffed full of her clothes into the back of her closet, the image of the two girls came into her thoughts like an invader. She knew that the sight of her husband sitting at the edge of the bed, his cock deep in the mouth of another woman while yet another serviced him, would be burned into her memory for as long as she lived. She cursed Lucas for doing this to her, knowing that these two girls were likely just two of many others.

And their age stuck in Tessa’s mind like a pebble in a shoe. She knew that she was still beautiful, that she was still an object of desire for men. But she also knew that however attractive she might be now, it wasn’t going to last forever. When she married Lucas, she had hoped that he would be the man that she would grow old with, that he would still be at her side when her looks faded, that she wouldn’t have to worry about finding someone knew, that that part of her life was taken care of. But it wasn’t to be. And now, just a few years short of 40, she found her world turned upside down. Not only was she left to pick up the pieces, but she now had to wonder whether or not she would ever again find someone to love. 

After finishing her morning routine, she stepped into the kitchen. She wasn’t hungry in the slightest, but she knew how easy it would be to ignore her appetite and let the stress take over her body. She was determined not to let that happen. Pouring herself a tall glass of orange juice and a small bowl of granola, she ate and drank, forcing down each swallow as she stared listlessly out of the window. As she watched the gentle rustling of the leaves in the trees, she even felt something approaching calm and peace.

But the rumbling of a motorcycle up the path to their home broke that feeling right in half.

Tessa’s stomach dropped when she heard the sound of what couldn’t be anything other than Lucas’s bike approach the house. Looking down, she saw that her hands were shaking as the noise grew louder. Soon, Lucas appeared on the path leading to the home, racing towards the house. Lucas drove the bike right onto the lawn, letting it drop out from under him and onto its side when he reached the house.

“Tessa!” he shouted as the engine died. “You get out here right now!”

Tessa ducked away from the window, watching Lucas run up to the door and attempt to open it. She thanked herself for having the presence of mind to lock the deadbolts last night, though she knew this wouldn’t stop him if he was truly determined.

“Get out here right now!” he yelled, his face twisted in rage.

She stayed still, fear creeping over her body. Opening the kitchen junk drawer, she removed the mace that she kept in there, feeling disbelief at the fact that she might have to use it on her own husband. Steeling herself, she walked to the front door and opened it, looking into Lucas’s eyes as she did so.

“There you are,” he said, his voice edged with anger. “What the hell did you think you were doing last night? Huh?”

Tessa said nothing.

“Coming to Dusty’s place like that. You have no idea what kind of people were there!”

She still said nothing.

“And I don’t know what you think you saw, but it wasn’t what it looked like,” he said, his body tight and tense as a bowstring pulled taut.

Now Tessa was angry that he would think she was so stupid. But she said nothing.

“You better say something,” he said, his hands clenching and unclenching as he stood on the lawn.

She didn’t know what to do. She was trying to stay strong, to look tough, but she knew that she wasn’t prepared to handle this confrontation. It wouldn’t take much for her to break into wracking sobs. Tessa wished that she’d just stayed inside and hoped that he might leave.

“I said 'say something!’” demanded Lucas.

“You need to leave and never come back,” said Tessa, her voice weak.

“What?” said Lucas. “You think you can tell me to leave my own damn house? You got another thing coming.”

He paced back and forth for a moment, as if deciding just what to do. Then, he turned to face Tessa, and began walking towards her.

“Not at a chance in hell you’re gonna tell me what to do.”

But then, just as he seemed poised to do something terrible, a strange thing took place. Right at that moment, Tessa spotted the shaking of leaves in the distance at the edge of the lawn. Her eyes tracked to the spot as Lucas’s stayed fixed upon her. From within the dense, green leaves, emerged a massive, dark animal; it was a black bear. Tessa didn’t know how but she recognized it instantly as one of the bears that she saw last night, and not only that, but the one that approached her. Just as it did yesterday, the bear stared at her impassively. It stood still once it fully emerged from the forest, standing there for reasons Tessa didn’t understand.

But something about the bear’s presence filled her with a sense of safety. She felt as though it were watching out for her, a thought that she instantly recognized as silly, if not insane. What she felt, however, couldn’t be disputed.

Then, before Tessa could say anything, the bear made its presence known. It stood up on its back legs and let out a deafening, mighty roar- a roar so loud and powerful that it shook the branches of the nearby trees and sent the birds perched upon them into the clear, blue sky above.

“What the hell?” said Lucas, turning around and staggering at the sight of the black-furred beast.

Tessa took advantage of the distraction and ran back into the house, setting every lock on the door and rushing back into the kitchen.

“This isn’t over!” said Lucas, lifting his motorcycle back upright and hopping on top of it.

With that, he revved the engine and flew down the path, disappearing down the road, the bear watching him carefully as he left, as though to make sure he was gone. Tessa listened as the engine faded, the sound diminishing as Lucas drove away.

From the safety of the kitchen, she watched as the bear looked towards the house, then back towards the road. He looked to Tessa like some kind of guard at his post, making sure that no one approached without his knowing. Then, after a time, he disappeared back into the trees, leaving Tessa in the silence that there had been only a few minutes before.

Tessa spent the rest of the day inside. Between Lucas and the strange bear that seemed to be lurking on the property, in her home with the doors locked and her mace nearby was the only place he felt safe.

She couldn’t shake the image of the bear, how it didn’t seem to be some ordinary animal; it seemed as though it was behaving in an intelligent, planned way, like it knew that simply being there would be enough to intimidate Lucas into leaving. And Henry’s comments about how there hadn’t been bears in this area for decades further confused her. Just why were these strange animals making themselves so obvious to her?

Spending the rest of the day trying to work on her art, but distracted by what was going on in her life, the day slowly passed. Tessa had no idea if Lucas would return or if the sight of the bear was enough to keep him at bay. Either way, she knew that he wasn’t the type to just give up; it was only a matter of time before he returned.

The evening arrived and Tessa sat in the living room watching trashy television, reality shows picked out specifically so she wouldn’t have to think. Sitting with her legs draped under her on the couch, Tessa found herself looking at her wedding ring, spinning the band around her finger with her other hand. Taking her ring off was something that wasn’t entirely new to her- she did it every night before bed- but during the majority of the day, it was on her finger. As she gazed at the facets of the stone, she realized that even today, after all that happened the previous night, she had put it on without thinking about it.

So, taking a sip of wine, she worked the ring off of her finger and set it on the coffee table, trying on for size what it might be like to not wear this ring during times she normally would’ve, what it would be like to feel single. Tessa looked at the thin band of slightly paler flesh that wrapped around her finger under where the ring would normally be. Looking at it, she felt a sense of longing, of emptiness; she’d forgotten what it was like to be alone.

But before she could consider these thoughts further, the power to the house cut out abruptly, leaving Tessa in total darkness.

She began to panic as she fumbled around in the dark, wondering what happened, why the electricity cut out. Standing up, she walked with slow, careful steps around the living room, fearful of bumping into anything.

Then, the fear that there might be someone responsible for the cutting of the power gripped her.

That it might be Lucas.

Tessa fumbled in the dark, finally finding her phone and flicking the flashlight on, a bright, cone of light projecting from it. She waved the phone around as though it were a cross being used to ward off malevolent spirits, and, to her relief, found that the living room was empty.

Then, she spotted a figure outside. It was a dark outline against the bay windows of the kitchen, followed by a pair of shorter, skinnier men. Tessa felt her heart jump up into her chest, realizing that this meant the power being shut off wasn’t simply an accident. Now scared that she might be spotted, she flicked off the phone flashlight, the silver glow of the moonlight outside the only source of light, bathing the front lawn in an otherworldly, milky glow. With quiet steps, she moved to the kitchen and withdrew the slim, sharp knife that she used for cutting chicken and held it out in front of her. Tessa knew that if these three men wanted to do something terrible she’d be no match, but it made her feel better than nothing.

Her limbs felt tense and tight as she spotted the three figures, now further away from the house. Moving closer to the window, she watched as the figures, two small and scrawny, one tall and bulky, dash away from the house and into the woods beyond, a small amount of relief washing over her as they vanished into the darkness.

After standing still for several minutes in order to make sure they were gone, Tessa set the knife down, pushing it away from her as she did so, the thought of having to inflict such violence on someone repulsing her on a deep level.

Surrounded by darkness, she knew now that she was likely safe, but the possibility of the men returned was stark in her mind. Tessa debated whether or not to run to her car and drive into town, but even the idea of leaving the house to do that was too much for her. Turning her phone flashlight back on, she debated what to do next.

But before she could think too much about, Tessa spotted a now-familiar rustling in the tree line. But unlike earlier, when one bear emerged, it was now the same wide stretch of movement that she saw when the bears approached her last night.

Terrified, she watched as the pack of bears walked out of the woods, numbering ten in total, with one bear, just as before, larger than the rest. The larger bear walked forward, moving onto the lawn. And just as before, it rose on its hind legs. But unlike before, it didn’t roar. Instead, it waved one paw in a great swipe in front of its face.

Tessa felt insane for thinking this, but it almost seemed that the bear was trying to get her attention.

Then, the bears split up, surrounding the house and pointing their bodies away from the home. Tessa watched them take their positions, all of the bears evenly distributed around the house, as though forming a perimeter. Tessa felt as though she was in some kind of bizarre dream as she watched these bears exhibit behaviors that she could only describe as “human-like.” Once each of the bears assumed their position, they leaned down, poised and ready with the moonlight shining on the sleek, black fur of their backs. 

Tessa didn’t know what to do. She knew that their behavior could easily be interpreted as penning her in just as easily as it could be interpreted as protecting her. But something about the bears being there instilled in her a feeling of safety, as though she knew their presence was benevolent. Returning to her living room, she sat back onto the couch and before she could give the matter any further though, slipped into a deep, exhausted sleep.

Tessa looked over the massive, clean slice through the main power line that led from the solar panels on top of the house to the generator. Sure enough, it was cut clean through. And judging from how it was done, there was no way that an animal could’ve been responsible for it.

It was the next morning and when Tessa awoke her first act of the day was to run to the living room window to see if the bears were still there. But they had left, no sign of their presence remaining.

Returning inside to take a shower, she was in for another surprise, however. When she turned the water on, nothing but a weak dribble resulted. She moved through the house, checking every source of water, only to encounter the same result. She realized that not only had the men cut the power, they’d cut the water as well.

And her trip outside to look things over only confirmed this.

She headed back inside, and looked through her phone for the nearest electrician, paying close attention to the ever-draining battery display in the upper right-hand corner. Flipping through the results for “electrician,” she found that there was only one place within a fifty-mile radius. She pulled the listing up and looked it over.

“Atticus Swift – Brenlan’s #1 Electrician – Available For Emergencies”

This was followed by the number.

Tessa figured that if anything was an emergency, having the electricity cut by an angry, drug-dealing ex was it. She tapped the number and waited for an answer.

“Atticus Swift, electrician,” came the voice on the other end, a low, purring male voice.

“Oh, hi,” said Tessa, a little startled by the voice; she was expecting a kindly old man to answer, not what she had heard. “My name is Tessa Henderson. I live up a-ways up Bear Mountain.”

“Of course, Miss Henderson,” said Atticus. “How can I help you?”

“I had a little bit of an issue with my electricity last night,” she said.

She felt somewhat hesitant to tell him that someone cut the power, but she figured she might as well tell him the truth, figuring that lying to an electrician about something like that was probably just as pointless as lying to a dentist about how much candy you’re eating.

“Someone cut it,” she finished.

“Sorry to hear that,” said Atticus. “Well, the good news is that if it’s cut, it can be pretty easily fixed; not like the wiring went bust or anything. I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume you want this fixed as soon as possible?”

“Yes, please,” said Tessa.

“Well, lucky for you I just had a cancellation for around eleven. That work for you?”

Tessa looked at the time, seeing that she would only have to wait a couple of hours.

“That’s perfect,” she said.

“OK. Well, sit tight, don’t touch the wires, don’t open your fridge unless you need to, all that good stuff. I’ll be by around then.”

“Great, thank you so much.”

“Of course.

With that, Tessa hung up. And as she stood with the phone cradled in her hands, she couldn’t  shake just how attractive the voice of the man on the other end was. She set the phone down and shook her head, deciding to kill the time until he got there by taking a look at the water main.

Slipping on her sandals, she walked towards the massive, circular water pump in the backyard. Taking a look at the pipe, she saw that just like the electricity, it had been cut through cleanly. Fortunately, it was simply a matter of replacing the section of PVC pipe and turning the water back on, which she was able to do in ten or so minutes. She headed back to the house and flipped the water on, and after a few groans and strains from the pipes, water sprayed from the sink, cool and fresh.

Tessa nodded at her handiness, happy that Lucas had taught her how to deal with a broken pipe. But thinking of Lucas, aside from the distress that the subject brought her, she now chastised herself for realizing that it was almost definitely him who cut the power and water last night, likely him and a couple of his meth-dealing buddies.

She felt her cheeks grow hot with anger. Tessa understood now that not only was Lucas essentially living a double life, but now that she didn’t take him back, he was determined to make her life as difficult as possible. Stepping into the shower for a quick rinse, she wondered what she would do if he continued to harass her. She knew that there was no chance that she’d take him back, not after what he’d done to her. Tessa didn’t know what Lucas was capable of; She realized now that she was going to learn what it would be like to be on the receiving end of the hostile shades of those sentiments.

Frustration running through her, she stepped out of the shower. After drying herself off and throwing on some simple, light clothes, Tessa walked into her studio, put on a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, turned up her music up as loud as she could take it, the classic rock feeling as though it might shatter her eardrums. She set to work with her paints, knowing that working on her art was the only possible thing that could even begin to soothe her rattled nerves.

Tessa lost herself, painting with intensity and wild abandon, her brush strokes slashing across the canvas, yet leaving on the most precise and minute details. Stepping away from the canvas, she looked at the painting approvingly; it was nearly done and ready to sell.

But before she could get back into her work, she spotted a figure out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she saw a man standing just outside of one of the large windows. Tessa took in a sharp gasp, her paint dropping to the floor and splattering everywhere. Her first instinct was to call the police, but as soon as she came to her senses, she remembered that the electrician was due to come by. Checking her phone, she saw that it was fifteen after eleven already- the time had flown by.

She gestured for the electrician to meet her at the front door, and though she couldn’t make out his features through the window, she saw that he gave her a thumbs-up of acknowledgment.

Her face hot with embarrassment, Tessa walked with short, quick steps to the front door. Throwing it open, she gasped at what she revealed.

It was the electrician, alright, but this man was far from the skinny, small-town handyman she was expecting. The first trait Tessa noticed was his height: he was tall, a good few inches over Lucas, who was himself a taller-than-average man. His face was strikingly handsome, with soulful, sensual hazel eyes, a nose with a straight, strong bridge, sandy-blond hair that was tousled and wet-looking, and a wide, red mouth turned upwards in a roguish smile. His jaw was wide, and his face was slim, his bone structure more what she’d expect from a New York model than an upstate electrician. He was dressed in a simple, white shirt that hung from his square-shouldered, strapping torso, with a pair of loose blue jeans on below, and a stylish pair of brown Red Wings on his feet. If she didn’t know better, she’d almost guess he was one of those hipster guys she’d seen all the time in Brooklyn who liked to dress in blue-collar styles, but she could tell right away he was the real deal- a man who actually knew how to use his hands.

“Afternoon, miss,” he said, his low, melodic voice the same one she’d heard on the phone a couple of hours ago.

“Oh my God,” she stammered. “I’m so sorry if you were waiting a while. I just lose track of time when I’m painting sometimes. Please, come in.”

“Not a problem at all,” he said, stepping over the threshold.

Tessa noted that if he was upset, he didn’t show it in the slightest.

“I’m Tessa Henderson,” Tessa said, still coming to grips with how handsome this man was. “Can I, um, get you something to drink?”

“Atticus Swift,” he said. “And a glass of water would be just fine, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, not at all,” said Tessa, rushing towards the kitchen.

“Are you a ‘shoes-on’ or ‘shoes-off’ kind of home?” he asked as Tessa filled a glass of water.

“Oh, on is fine. I’m not too fancy here.”

She returned to the living room and handed Atticus the glass of water.

“Thank you much,” he said, before taking a long, slow drink, his Adam’s Apple bobbing as he swallowed.

Tessa took the glass from Atticus, her eyes on his thick, ropy arms.

“Now, let me take a look at things, if you don’t mind,” he said with a smile.

“Oh, sure,” said Tessa. “Well, like I said, I think someone cut the electricity.”

Atticus’s brow furrowed.

“Well, that’s no good,” he said. “I don’t want to overstep my bounds, miss, but have you spoken to the police about this?”

“No, I haven’t gotten a chance yet.”

Atticus’s face flashed an expression of mild skepticism as he walked to the nearest light switch and flicked it a few times.

“You weren’t lying,” he said. “Totally out.”

He turned his expression back to Tessa, who felt like she might melt under his gaze. And as she looked into his eyes, she sensed something strange, something...familiar. It was almost as if she’d met him before, somewhere.

“Why don’t you take me out to where the line was cut? That’d be the best way to get to the bottom of this, I think,” he said.

“Sure, right this way,” said Tessa. “Just right outside.”

Atticus gave a smile and a nod, and headed back out the front door. Tessa’s eyes went straight to his ass as he walked, paying special attention to the way it flexed and tensed as he walked. She couldn’t understand what had come over her, but she couldn’t stop looking at him. And as she walked at his side, she felt a strange crackling of heat between them, as though the space between their bodies were charged with energy.

She led him in the direction of the electrical main.

“Sorry,” said Tessa, feeling the wet slickness of dew on her bare feet as she walked. “But I have to ask- have we met before?”

“Hm,” said Atticus, giving the matter some thought. “I don’t believe so.”

“You ever go to Hannigan’s?” asked Tessa.

“Yeah, I’ve been. Probably recognize me from there. The town isn’t all that big, you know? Bound to run into the same people.”

“Yeah,” said Tessa, not entirely convinced.

They approached the main, and Atticus let out a slow whistle as he looked over the clean slash through the main line.

“Yep, that definitely wasn’t an accident.”

“Oh, I know.”

“Well, I like I said on the phone- it’s a clean cut, and shouldn’t be too hard to fix.”

He turned back towards Tessa.

“You can go ahead and get back inside. I’m going to get my tools and get to work.”

“Sure,” said Tessa.

She started to walk off, but stopped and turned back around.

“I’m going to be in my studio again with my headphones on, so if you need me just come on in.”

“Will do,” he said, flashing another smile of pearl-colored teeth.

Tessa walked back into the house with quick steps, her eyes fixed forward. She couldn’t shake the strange mixture of feelings that was going through her mind. First, was her immediate attraction to this man. It was intense, gripping her like a massive hand; she couldn’t take her eyes off of Atticus’s lean, muscular body, his simple workman’s clothes hanging off of him in just the right way. And his face was so gorgeous and striking that it was almost difficult to look at.

And on top of everything, she just knew that she’d seen him before, that she’d met him somewhere, sometime. He hinted otherwise, but there was something familiar about him, and what’s more, the familiarity seemed recent, as though she’d met him within the last week. But the only place she’d been was that horrible party where she’d found Lucas and Atticus didn’t strike her as the type to be doing meth with dozens of teenagers.

She headed back into her studio, knowing that she needed to put all of this out of her mind- he was just the electrician, she thought. He’d fix the line and be out of here in an hour or so, and she’d never see him again. Tessa figured there was no sense in trying to puzzle out this particular mystery.

But still, his smile, and those arms.

She shook her head, flipped her music back on, cranked the volume, and snapped her headphones back onto her head. Taking her paint supplies back into her hand, she went to work, but not before flipping the room’s light switch so she’d know when the power as back on.

Turning towards the canvas, she started to paint.

After a time, the canvas in front of her was set aglow, and looking up, she saw that the overhead light was alight with a soft, orange warmth. Surprised that Atticus could be done so quickly, she looked at her phone. Just as before, time had flown by.

“That’s a hell of a pineapple,” said the voice from the door.

Spinning around on her feet, Tessa saw that Atticus was standing in the entryway to the studio, his sweat-glistened body leaned against the doorframe.

“Oh, thanks,” she said, taken aback by the way the slick moisture on his body highlighted every dip and curve of his arms, the muscles of his chest visible through his t-shirt.

“You’re a painter, I take it?”

“Yeah, still-lives, mostly.”

“Well,” he said, looking around the room. “They’re pretty damn impressive.”

“Thanks,” Tessa said, her face growing hot and red, feeling as though she were a schoolgirl who’d somehow gained the attention of the most handsome boy in class.

“As you can see, the main’s fixed; you shouldn’t have any more problems with the line, assuming it doesn’t get cut again, that is.”

“Thanks again,” said Tessa, taking off her headphones and setting down her equipment, her arms and shirt stained with paint. “Let me get you something to drink. It must be hot out there.”

“That’d be great,” he said.

Tessa led him back into the kitchen, the whirring of the refrigerator’s motor filling what was previously dead silence.

“I think I’ve got some ice tea, and I didn’t open the freezer…” she said, opening the freezer, a small gust of cool air rushing out. “There! Cubes are still kind of OK.”

Atticus let out a small laugh.

“Anything’s fine.”

Tessa poured them two glasses of ice tea, topping the drinks with freshly sliced lemon wedges. Handing the drink to Atticus, he held the glass up to his forehead, letting the cool drink cool his skin, a drop of condensation from the glass darting down the side and along his thick, tanned wrist.

Tessa walked over to the counter by the window, glass in hand.

“Listen,” said Atticus. “Like I said, it’s none of my business, but can I ask what happened to your electrical main?”

Tessa would’ve normally made something up, and not shared personal details with a stranger. But something about Atticus made her feel comfortable opening up, and telling him the truth.

“It’s…an ex. I mean, I think it’s an ex. I mean, I think I have an ex.”

Tessa’s face scrunched up as struggled to explain her situation.

“Sounds complicated,” Atticus said, leaning against the fridge.

“It is. I mean, I’m married. Technically.”

Atticus’s thick, sandy-blond eyebrows raised.

“It’s…a long story. But the relevant part is that my husband cut the main. At least, I’m pretty sure. I don’t know what’s going on, really.”

She crossed the arm holding the glass in front of her and brought the free one to her mouth, covering it, as she looked down. Saying the words out loud filled her with a helpless, scared feeling, as she realized that she was in the middle of a situation that she had no idea how to navigate.

Atticus walked over to her, seeing that Tessa was clearly in distress. Standing next to her against the counter, he placed a hand on her shoulder. As soon as his skin touched hers, a feeling of safety and calm washed over her, as though simply being near this man was enough to let her feel that everything was fine, and that she didn’t have anything to fear.

“Sounds like you’re in a tough spot,” he said, setting his drink down on the counter.

“Yeah, you could say that,” said Tessa.

As Tessa stood near Atticus, the feeling of warmth and safety only grew, mixing with the attraction that she already felt for him. She was confused by her feelings, but what she wanted was growing clearer by the moment.

She turned and faced Atticus, looking up into his beautiful hazel eyes as he looked down at her, his brow knitted in concern. Then, giving in to the nearly overwhelming sense of attraction that had been building in her since she first lay eyes on him, she reached up, pulled Atticus towards her, and kissed him deeply and slowly. She could tell by the way his body tightened and tensed that he was somewhat surprised by what Tessa was doing, but he soon loosened, and kissed her back, wrapping his strong arms around her slim, small body.

Tessa may have initiated the kiss, but Atticus took charge of the situation quickly. He leaned into Tessa, opening his mouth, his tongue slipping over and past her lips and meeting her own. He placed his hands on her hips, pulling her closer to him as he kissed her. Tessa took in a slow, deep breath through her nostrils, smelling his hot, sensual musk, the scent of a man who’d been working in the sun. Her fingertips moved along his arms as they kissed, the thin sheen of sweat on his body cool and wet against her skin. She wanted to drink him completely, to take in his manly essence, to envelop him into her.

Atticus began kissing Tessa on the on the side of her face, moving downward along her jaw, then down to her neck and behind her ear, the feeling of his lips on this delicate skin sending waves of gooseflesh along her limbs. The feelings inside Tessa were ones of passion that seemed strange, almost alien to her. She’d been with Lucas for years, and while she was still attracted to him, the passion seemed to have faded from their relationship as the years went on. But here, with Atticus, as he kissed her deeply and passionately, these feelings of almost animalistic lust were coming to the surface once again, seeming as though they might reach a boiling point at any moment.

Atticus, his hands still on Tessa’s hips, turned her body, placing her back against the countertop. Then, with a heave that seemed almost effortless, he lifted her onto the surface, her legs wrapping around him as she sat upon it. They continued to kiss and now their hands were exploring one another’s bodies, moving over and under each other’s clothing, to the places they both wanted to touch from the moment they first lay eyes upon one another. Tessa slipped her hands under Atticus’s shirt, confirming that his body was as hard and taut as it appeared to be. She felt herself grow wet as she snaked her hands along his body, feeling the hard divots of his tight abs and the solid contours of his pecs. It was a body that she wanted to feel, to hold, to have on top of her. And as she kissed and caressed him, Atticus moved his own hands below Tessa’s painted-stained shirt and simple, white bra, kneading her breasts softly, the feeling of his fingertips on her nipples driving her wild with lust.

Then, with a swift movement, he pulled her shirt off of her body and tossed it to the other side of the room before returning to kissing her. His hands moved down to the waistband of her pants, and after working the button free, he removed them with a slow, careful pull. Tessa was now bare aside from her white bra and simple, black, cotton panties. She felt slightly self-conscious, wishing she were wearing something sexier, but she realized with a sly smile that it didn’t really matter; she probably wouldn’t be wearing them for much longer.

Tessa slipped her hands up to the collar of Atticus’s shirt and pulled it off of his body. Though she was busy with kissing him, she knew she had to take a look at what she’d just revealed. Placing her hands on his shoulder, pushed him back slightly, her gaze dragging over his body. Sure enough, his torso was as sculpted and toned as she expected, its color a sun-kissed bronze.

“Get a good look?” he asked with a smile.

“Shut up,” she said with a wink before planting her lips back on his, opening her mouth wide, as though wanting to drink him down completely.

Whipping his shirt across the room, she next set to work on his pants, slipping the button out of the slit of his jeans and yanking them down with a hard jerk, taking his boxer-briefs down with them. She cast another side glance down as she continued to kiss him, noting with sly pleasure that his cock, by now rock-hard, was just as long and thick as she was hoping.

Atticus moved his hands up Tessa’s bare curves, moving up to her bra, reaching towards the back of it and unhooking the clasps. Pulling the bra off, her breasts tumbled free, her womanhood ample and full. She knew that though her body might be aging, she still had breasts that even girls in their early twenties would kill for, and judging by the way Atticus set upon them with his mouth, kissing and sucking on her pink nipples, Tessa figured that he agreed.

He stepped out of his jeans, which were now crumpled on the floor at his ankles, moving them over his boots, which he kicked off next. After he was completely disrobed, he slipped his fingers under the waistband of Tessa’s panties, pulling them down, her legs shimmying to assist him in sliding them off.

Tessa took a look at Atticus’s cock, wanting nothing more than for it to be inside of her right at that second. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt such desire, such need for a man to be in her, to pleasure her.

Then, as if sensing exactly what she wanted, Atticus took his cock by the base, and with a slow, aimed motion, slid himself into her. Tessa let out a long sigh as he entered her, feeling each inch of him move into her, stimulating her in a fashion that was so intense that she could barely stand it. He held himself still, letting his cock rest buried within her for a moment, kissing her neck.

But Tessa wanted him to fuck her, and to fuck her now. Moving her hands to the firm, curved flesh of his smooth ass, she pressed against him, imploring him to push deeper into her, then to slide out, and do it all over again.

Tessa realized happily that Atticus was very good at picking up on hints. Sliding out of her, his cock stimulating her just as much on the way out as it did on the way in, Atticus began thrusting. Slowly at first, his throat emitting a soft grunt as he came to terms with how good his cock felt inside of her. Tessa’s hands remained on his ass, feeling the muscles beneath the taut skin flex and release as he thrusted, moving his cock in and out of her.

Gradually, he picked up the pace, thrusting harder and harder, his hips slapping against the soft skin of her inner thighs as he moved inside of her. Tessa closed her eyes, focusing on the feeling of him pounding her, feeling the pace of his thrusting build and build until he was hammering her at a pneumatic pace, her lower half feeling as though it was melting into cream as he fucked her. She moved her hands along his body, taking sweet pleasure at the feeling of his hard body underneath her touch, his torso seemingly created by the hand of a Greek sculptor. Tessa was in awe of his body, it was so perfect that she couldn’t even understand it; everything about Atticus physically was pure perfection.

She wrapped her hands around the wide span of his upper torso, resting her face on his brawny shoulders, taking in his musk as he continued to pound her. Tessa let her body relax, loosening her muscles and allowed no feeling other than the radiating waves of pleasure take hold, letting the world beyond melt away as Atticus buried himself into her, over and over.

Tessa felt an orgasm begin whipping into a froth deep within her. Atticus was fucking her at just the right pace, just the right intensity, for her to be lulled into the trance-like, almost hypnotized state that she knew would bring her to orgasm. She took in another slow draw of air through her nose, the scent of Atticus doing something to her, something that she didn’t understand. He smelled like pure man in his natural state, straight out of nature. She took another breath as he continued to fuck her, her legs nearly limp from the intensity of feelings that were coursing through her body like a rushing river.

Atticus’s grunts continued. Tessa had never had sex with him before, but she could easily sense that he was about to cum, and cum hard, his deep, full breaths signaling his orgasm’s arrival. And her own came closer and closer, ebbing and flowing like a steadily rising tide, pulling back, only to lap up further along the shore with the next wave. Next, her arms began to slacken and loosen, the power of his cock seemingly taking away her ability to keep her muscles flexed.

Tessa moaned more and more, her sounds of pleasure almost taking on a tone of pleading, as though begging him to fuck her, to not stop, to never stop, to pound her until her orgasm ripped through her.

Her orgasm arrived soon, followed by Atticus’s. Pleasure blasted through Tessa’s body like an unstoppable wave, her eyes rolling into the back of her head, her toes curling, her fingers digging into the thick skin of Atticus’s back. He grunted hard, emptying himself into her, driving his cock into her body as far as it would go. Tessa felt a brief, shrill scream escape her throat as Atticus unloaded himself into her, spraying his seed deep into her body.

Then, he slowed down, and Tessa’s orgasm ebbed gently. They held onto each other’s body for a moment, each taking slow, deep breaths.

Tessa couldn’t remember the last time she’d been fucked like that.

Tessa sat on the floor, her nude legs splayed in front of her. Not only did she not want to move, she didn’t think she could even if she had to.

“Well, that’s a first,” she said, Atticus sitting next to her.

“What, having sex?”

Tessa playfully slapped Atticus on the arm.

“No, jerk.”

“Having sex with the electrician, then?”

“Well, I guess that would be another first. But I was referring to cheating.”

“Ah. That’s what some might call a dubious honor.”

“I suppose so,” said Tessa, debating how much to tell about her situation with Lucas to this man who she still didn’t know.

“I’ve never been married myself, so I wouldn’t really know about those kinds of things.”

Tessa raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“You’ve never been married?”

“No, ma’am,” he said.

“That’s…surprising,” said Tessa.

“How do you mean?”

“Well, you’re about my age, right? Late thirties?”

“Yeah, thereabouts.”

“When I think of a man my age who hasn’t ever been married, a man like you isn’t who comes to mind.”

“Oh?” asked Atticus, raising an eyebrow. “And what kind of man does come to mind?”

“The kind of guy who still lives with his parents. And spends most of his free time jerking off and playing video games.”

“Who says I don’t live with my parents?” he asked, a sly smile on his face.

Tessa slapped him on the arm again.

“And who doesn’t love jerking off and playing video games?”

Tessa laughed.

“OK, I get it,” she said.

“Seriously, though, I’ve had my fair share of serious relationships that went on for years, but nothing that ended in getting hitched.”

“Hmm,” said Tessa. “Sounds like someone’s got high standards.”

“More that I’m the sort of guy who enjoys his freedom. Well, take our little rendezvous just now,” he said. “Not really the type of thing you can do when you’re tied down.”

“Didn’t stop me,” said Tessa.

Atticus let out a quick laugh.

“I suppose you’re right. Though I get the impression there’re some extenuating circumstances in your case.”

“You’d be right on that.”

“Anything you want to talk about?”

Tessa did want to talk about it. She wanted to blurt out the who situation with Lucas, to get it off of her chest, to hear someone else’s opinion on the matter. But, again, she decided against it.

“Like I said, I think I’ve got an ex.”

“Say no more,” said Atticus.

Reaching across the kitchen and grabbing his pants, Atticus checked his phone.

“Whew,” he said, looking at the time. “I think I need to get going.”

“Duty calls, huh?”

“Something like that.”

He got up and stepped into his pants. Moving around the kitchen, he picked up his clothes and put them on, one after the other.

“I suppose we should talk business?” asked Tessa, standing and fetching her own clothes.

“Huh? Oh yeah, I did fix your electricity.”

He furrowed his brow in thought.

“You know what? I think this one’s on me.”

Tessa raised an eyebrow.

“I hope you’re not thinking we have a quid-pro-quo arrangement going on.”

“Ha. No, not at all,” he said, pulling his shirt on, Tessa feeling a slight tinge of disappointment as he covered up his body. “It was an easy job and I think it’s the least I can do for someone who’s going through what looks to be a tough situation.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

He reached into his back pocket and slipped out a silver card case.

“On one condition: You need any help, be it electricity-related or otherwise, you give me a call.”

“Aren’t you a good Samaritan?” said Tessa, taking the bone-white card with his information on it from Atticus and looking it over.

“Just think of me as a friend,” he said with a smile.

Tessa smiled, noting that part of her wanted to think of him as more than that.

His boots on, he walked towards the door.

“Anyway, I should get moving. Pleasure doing business with you, ma’am,” he said.

“Likewise, sir,” Tessa responded.

Atticus gave her a slight nod and headed out, Tessa’s eyes on him as he walked out to his black truck, tossed his tools in the back and with a final wave, drove off. A strange sense of longing in her heart, she watched as truck disappeared down the curving, winding road of the forest.

Pulling his truck onto the main road of Branlen, Atticus Swift checked the schedule in the phone one last time, confirming that he was done for the day. Upon seeing that he was, he let out a sigh as he considered the workday that he had just finished. The memory of Tessa was as fresh in his mind as it could possibly be. Sleeping with a single woman while on a job wasn’t new to him, but this one was different. Ever since he had spotted her the other night while out with his brothers, he felt drawn to her. And when he learned that she was having troubles, troubles that put her safety at risk, he knew that it was time to enter her life in a more direct way.

Sure, his brothers and the other members of the pack objected, but he was their Alpha, and one of the benefits of that position was that he didn’t have to listen to siblings of a lower rank. But making unilateral calls like this came with a cost, and he knew he could only do so sparingly unless he wanted to risk a younger member of the pack challenging his leadership.

All of this weighed on Atticus’s mind as he turned onto the gravel road that led up to the compound where he, his brothers, and the other members of the pack lived. He drove away from Branlen, passing through the two-lane road that cut through the middle of a handful of buildings- mostly bars, grocery stores, and a movie theater that constituted the town center. He drove off onto a winding, unpaved path that led further up Bear Mountain. It was the opposite direction he traveled when making his call to Tessa’s, though he and the rest of the pack could easily make their way to her place by cutting through the woods rather than by car- one of the advantages of their powers.

Atticus was a shifter. A bear shifter, to be exact, born with the power to change into a black bear at will. He didn’t know where, exactly, his powers came from, only that they had been passed on from his parents, and their parents before, and so on. After the death of his parents by poachers when he was only a teen, he was made the alpha of his pack, forced to adapt to the responsibilities of leadership at a young age. The bulk of the pack was the Swift family, him and his brothers, but many of the dozen or so men of the group were men without families, born- or cursed- with the same power of bear shifting, They had found that being a member of the Swift pack was preferable to attempting to make on their own- a wise decision, in Atticus’s opinion.

The gravel crackled as he drove up the winding path, the sun flickering through the canopy of tall trees heavy with lush leaves. After a time, he reached a large, imposing gate made of solid steel, covered in no trespassing signs and topped with conspicuous security cameras. He pressed the control on the sun visor and the gate opened with a mechanical groan. Atticus continued driving up, putting more and more distance between him and civilization. Eventually, he reached the second security gate, which he passed through in the same fashion.

Then, after another fifteen minutes or so of driving, the first boxy shapes of the compound became visible through the trees, the beige-colored buildings surrounded by a tall, steel fence that wrapped around the several acres of the property. As he drove closer, and more of the compound became visible until it dominated the view. Finally reaching the last gate, he put the vehicle into park, jumped out of the truck, and opened the several locks that kept the gate shut. Hopping back into the car, he drove through.

The Swift Compound was a massive set of buildings constructed nearly ten years ago by the pack when they decided that keeping the secret of their nature was just too much work while living among civilization. The main building of the compound was a huge thing, a four-thousand-square-foot place built so solidly that it almost had the appearance of a fortress. It was where he and his brothers lived, and the handful of smaller houses scattered among the property is where the rest of the tribe took up residence. Several cars were parked here and there on the property, but Atticus didn’t spot any sign ofthe pack.

Atticus pressed another button on the visor, the leftmost of the three doors opening and revealing a sleek, modern garage. He drove the truck into the open space and killed the engine. After getting out and ascending the staircase leading from the garage, he stepped into the massive living room.

The main room of the compound was a tall-ceilinged space of neutral colors, simple yet expensive with well-made furniture and a large, gas-powered fireplace. The wall facing outside was entirely comprised of a huge window that looked out onto the greens and browns of nature beyond. Towards the top of the room, there was a second-floor balcony that looked out over the space, hallways entering from either side led to the rest of the first floor on one end and the dining room and kitchen on the other. The walls were decorated with simple, modern art and a subtle, musky scent wafted through the air. It was a clean and tastefully-appointed bachelor’s compound for him and his three brothers.

The air was still and quiet, and Atticus wondered where everyone was.

“Is that you, Atticus?” called out a deep, manly voice from the second floor, the sound carrying through the open space of the home.

“Clyde! Where are you?” called Atticus in response.

Clyde responded by appearing at on the second-floor balcony, his huge, muscular frame dominating the view, his typical wide smile on his face. Seeing Atticus on the first floor he turned toward the stairs and ran down, the footfalls of his enormous feet sounding through the living room. Upon reaching the first floor, he ran towards Atticus and wrapped him with his massive, beefy arms, lifting Atticus into the air.

“Good to see you, brother!” he said.

“You too,” said Atticus, his face muffled by Clyde’s chest. “But if you could put me down, I’d appreciate it.”

He complied, and Atticus took a step back and looked at his brother.

Clyde was the brawn of the group, a role that he was happy to fill. An enormous man of nearly six-and-a-half feet of height, he was loaded with muscles. His hair was cut to a buzz and his handsome features always seemed to project warmth and friendliness. Atticus’s younger brother by several years, he always thought of Clyde as a Golden Retriever- loyal and kind.

“How was the vacation?” asked Atticus, referring to Clyde’s recent trip to the woods of the Pacific Northwest, were he spend the better part of the winter with a pack of Grizzly shifters.

“Not much of a vacation,” he said, looking away. “Lot of work.”

Atticus looked around the house.

“Where’s everyone else?” he asked.

“Out in the woods, on a pack hunt. I would be with them, but I just got back in not too long ago and, well, I didn’t really feel up to it.”

Atticus was about to press Clyde for more details, before he did, the movement of shapes in the window beyond was visible in the corner of his eye.

“Ah, that must be them,” said Clyde his attention drawn to the same place.

Atticus walked towards the enormous glass wall and looked down at the cleared grounds of the compound. Sure enough, the rest of the pack was moving from the southern entrance, the precession of nude, freshly-shifted men striding through the grounds, all with the same confident gait.

Sighing, Atticus wasn’t looking forward to the conversation he was going to have with them.

“How’s the girl?” asked Clyde, walking to Atticus’s side.

“You’ve heard?” asked Atticus, surprised.

“Only a little, that you’ve been having the pack look after some woman in town.”

“That’s right,” said Atticus.

“Why?” asked Clyde, giving Atticus a playful jab to the arm, which Atticus found still hurt quite a bit, even despite Clyde’s playful intentions. “You have a little crush?”

Atticus smirked and rolled his eyes, the events of the day flashing through his mind.

“Nothing so indulgent. You remember the meth dealers who’ve been taking up residence in the woods?”

“I do,” said Clyde. “Bringing more and more crime into the area.”

“Exactly. Besides that, they’re putting up more and more drug labs in the woods, setting up booby traps and destroying the woods around them with their chemicals.”

Clyde shook his head.

“We need to rid them from this area, if you ask me.”

“I agree,” said Atticus, his eyes still on the pack as they split up, his brothers making their way towards the house.

“So, what does the girl have to do with all of it?” asked Clyde.

Atticus heard the doors open on the floor below.

“We’ll talk all of this over in a minute. For now, I need a damn beer.”

“That does sound nice,” said Clyde.

The pair walked through the living room and down the hall leading to the kitchen, passing the dining room on their right, a room with a long, birch table and a view onto the woods just as spectacular as the living room.

Atticus made his way to the tall, stainless steel fridge and opened it, letting the cool air rush over his body for a moment before he withdrew a pair of Budweisers. He cracked the two caps and handed one to Clyde.

“Thank you,” said Clyde, taking a long draw. “But you’re not going to meet with Ian and Roland?”

“As much as I need to talk with them, I think I’ll give them a minute or two to throw on some clothes.”

Clyde made an expression of realization. The two of them then walked out onto the large patio that overlooked the property, took a seat and sipped their beers.

“I never get tired of this view,” said Atticus, looking out at the trees just outside of their compound, followed by the gentle, rolling curves of the hills beyond, the view building to a crescendo of faraway mountains painted with a glow of soft pinks and creamy whites from the dramatic sky of the setting sun.

“It’s quite a place to call home,” said Clyde. “Especially after where I just came back from.”

“Not as nice of a view?”

“The home of the pack was more…cave-like,” he said. “And it rained every damn day.”

“That’s the Pacific Northwest for you,” said Atticus. “It’s why I prefer our little slice of land.”

“Agreed,” said Clyde, taking a sip of his beer.

Before they could continue, Atticus heard his brothers enter the den. Soon after, the door to the patio opened, and turning in his seat, he was greeted with the sight of Ian and Roland, his other younger brothers.

“There’s our older brother,” said Ian, walking around the deck chairs where Clyde and Atticus sat, taking position leaning against the wooden railing in front of them, blocking their view.

Ian was the opposite of Clyde in just about every way. Where Clyde was tall and brawny, with an open and warm personality, and interests that tended to veer towards the physical, Ian was a slighter, leaner man with a sharp intellect and a mind more inclined towards the cerebral. He had the same sandy-blonde hair as the other brothers, his pin-straight, grown to shoulder length and tucked behind his ears. His features were just as handsome as the other men, though his were sharper and leaner, cheekbones pronounced and high, his hazel eyes narrow, giving him an expression of constant skepticism. Ian was wearing a tight, gray t-shirt that showed off his ropey, slim musculature, and a pair of jeans that fit his legs snugly. His feet were bare and pale.

Roland, on the other hand, was all business. His sandy-blond hair was slicked back and had a sheen that gave it the appearance of being polished. He had the same wide jaw and rugged, handsome features as Atticus, but his expression was fixed and serious. His shoulders were wide and square, and his solid, muscular physique marked him as a man who attended to his health and appearance with the same serious-minded focus that he applied to every other facet of his life, including the finances of the pack. He was in charge of making sure that their money was wisely invested, and that the maintenance of the compound was always attended to. He was dressed in a simple white button-up shirt and pair of black slacks, his feet in a pair of black, stylish slip-ons.

“And your younger one, too,” said Clyde, almost sounding hurt by his brothers not giving him the same warm welcome as Atticus.

“Of course,” said Roland as Clyde rose to his feet. “Welcome back.”

The brothers greeted one another briefly, followed by a quick hug between Ian and Clyde.

“I’m glad you’re both here,” said Atticus, resting his beer on his flat stomach. “We have matters to discuss.”

“I hope this doesn’t involve another slumber party at your crush’s house,” said Ian.

Atticus shot him a narrow-eyed look.

“No, Ian. This is about the meth operation in the area.”

“Go on,” said Roland, preparing to pay close attention.

“Well, as we already knew, Lucas Henderson is a high-up the Bear Mountain meth scene. And I actually had an appointment with Tessa Henderson this afternoon. Turns out that they’ve split for one reason or another.”

“No doubt she found out about her husband’s involvement with the drug scene,” said Roland, folding his hands in front of him.

“Or she walked in on him fucking one of the strung-out teenagers he can’t seem to keep away from,” said Ian.

“I’m thinking both,” said Atticus. “I talked to her about it, briefly, and she was cagey. Cagier than if she had just found out that he was cheating. I got the impression she was dealing with something that she wasn’t expecting in the slightest.”

“And the reason you were over there?” asked Ian, a sly smile crossing his red lips.

“An appointment, like I said. Lucas did cut the power to her place, after all.”

“Something tells me that wasn’t the only need of hers you were attending to,” said Ian.

“That’s enough,” said Atticus, shutting him down.

“Wait, what?” asked Clyde. “A girl? Does this mean you’re finally getting married?”

Atticus held up his hand, getting the brothers back on topic.

“It means that she’s likely to be a way to get closer to Lucas. Maybe with her on our side, we can finally get at him. And if we were able to do something about him, it might be just the thing to turn the tide on the meth gangs in the area. Not to mention that if he’s willing to sneak up to her place at night and cut her power and water, who knows what else he’d be willing to do. Especially since she now knows what kind of business he’s involved in.”

“True,” said Roland. “Meth doesn’t exactly lead to ‘cooler heads prevailing’ types of situations.”

“Did any of you see anything in the woods?” asked Atticus.

“That’s what we want to tell you about,” said Roland. “We found another abandoned trailer out there, not too far from town. No drugs. But the, ah, chefs left plenty of ingredients behind.”

“Chemicals just leaking into the ground,” said Ian.

“That’s terrible,” said Clyde. “Who would do something like that?”

“Assholes who don’t care about anything other than making money,” said Ian.

“They need to be eliminated, that’s for sure,” said Roland. “Even if we didn’t care about the harm they’re inflicting on the community, it’s only a matter of time before they wreck the environment in the area.”

“Not to mention, they do something to Tessa,” said Ian.

“Hey, you guys don’t have to sell me on this,” said Atticus.

“I say we just shift at night, go to that house on the other side of town and tear the place apart,” said Ian.

“That’d be a temporary solution at best,” said Roland.

“Right,” said Atticus. “Not considering how they outnumber us, unless we get the leadership to help, we know they’ll just reform and get right back to it.”

“You can say a lot about meth users,” said Roland. “But a lack of focus isn’t one of them.

“Fine,” said Ian. “What’s the next step, then?”

“Next step is we make sure that nothing happens to Tessa, just like we’ve been doing,” said Atticus. “Aside from it being the right thing to do, she might just be the key to getting this problem solved.”

“And maybe you can finally pick up a bride in the process,” said Ian.

Atticus shot him a dirty look.

The tradition of the black bear shifters was that the Alpha of the tribe, typically the oldest male, would be the first to find a bride. Once he was married, the rest of the men of the tribe would follow suit. Atticus, by preferring to stay single, had put something of a strain on the rest of the pack. Ever since his 35th year, the age when the Alpha of the pack was expected to wed, Atticus’s brothers had been putting a fair amount of pressure on him to settle down and find a mate. And now that his 40th birthday was drawing nearer and nearer, this pressure had been becoming less and less subtle.

“But for now,” said Atticus, “we just keep an eye on Tessa.”

“Fine,” said Ian, his body tensing, telegraphing to Atticus that while he would obey his Alpha, he didn’t care for sitting around.

Silence fell over the brothers as they watched the sun set over Bear Mountain. Atticus let himself slide further back into his chair, the subtle buzz from the beer weaving through his body. However, the phone ringing from where he left it on the kitchen counter snapped him out of his relaxed state. Setting his beer down on the wood floor of the deck, he trotted into the kitchen and picked up his phone. Looking at the display, he saw that it was a number that he didn’t recognize.

“Hello?”

“Hey, is this Atticus?” asked the voice on the other end. It was a woman’s voice- a familiar woman’s voice.

“It is. Who’s this.”

“It’s Tessa. Are you free to talk?”

Tessa drove her car down the road heading to the center of Branlen, her headlights cutting through the pitch darkness that surrounded her. She drove with more care down the sloping, winding road, as tough Lucas and his cronies might jump from the shadows at any moment.

She called Atticus on a whim. Tessa realized that she barely knew the man, but between the feeling of unease that being alone at her house instilled in her, and the fact that she felt strangely comfortable and safe around him, she knew that she wanted to spend more time with him. So, dialing his number, she asked him to meet her at Hannagan’s for a drink and was pleased- not to mention, relieved- when he agreed.

The soft glow of the town lights appeared down at the end of the road, and after a few more minutes of driving, Tessa was in the center of town. She drove the last bit of distance to Hannigan’s and scanned the parking lot as she drove in. The lot seemed bare and she couldn’t spot Atticus’s work truck- the only cars there were a handful of older-model trucks and sedans. She slid her car into an open spot and headed into the bar.

Hannagan’s was fairly dead, which wasn’t uncommon for a weekday night. Having her choice of places to sit, she slid into an open spot at the bar, Julianne arriving moments later with her usual smile on her face.

“Well, look who it is,” Julianne said, tossing a coaster onto the bar in front of Tessa.

“Hey, Jules,” said Tessa.

“Still no Lucas?” Julianne asked, pouring Tessa a pint of her usual.

“No,” she said, realizing that she was about to meet Atticus here and that wouldn’t be the best look. “I’m, ah, meeting the electrician who did some repair work today. It, uh, turns out he’s a pretty good artist and he’s going to give me some tips on getting more of my art sold.”

Julianne looked at her with a lowered-eyelid, skeptical expression.

“Hey, no judgements here, girl. I’m on husband number three, remember?” she said, holding up her left hand and pointing to the ring on it. “Henry told me some name he has for it.”

She turned to Henry, who was pouring a line of whiskey shots for a group of construction workers.

“Henry! What’s that thing you called people cheating on each other?” she yelled, Tessa’s face turning a deep shade of red. “That French thing.”

“Luh comedy humaine.”

“Yeah, that,” said Julianne. “Kinda means, people cheat, people break up; it’s just how people are, you know?”

“Oh, OK,” said Tessa. “I’m not doing any of that, though.”

“Sure, sure,” said Julianne with a wink before leaving Tessa with her beer.

But before Tessa had a chance to think about the conversation she just had, Atticus walked into the bar.

Since their encounter earlier in the day, Tessa had been debating whether or not she should’ve done what she did. But seeing him again, in the flesh, Tessa knew that she made the right decision.

He nodded at her with a small uptick of his chin, walked towards where she sat, and slid into the open seat next to her.

“Hello, again,” he said.

“Hey,” said Tessa.

Julianne walked up to them once more.

“Whiskey, please,” said Atticus.

“You got it,” said Julianne, making no effort to hide the eye-fucking she was giving Atticus.

A moment later, she returned with a small glass of brown liquid.

“To be honest, I didn’t think I’d be hearing from you anytime soon,” he said, taking a sip of his drink.

“Oh, yeah?” asked Tessa, curious as to why he would think that.

“Mhmm,” he said. “Like I said, you’re not my first married woman, let alone the first woman who was, well, taken. Those types tend to have changes of heart about screwing around that are…sudden, to say the least.”

“Well, before you flatter yourself too much, the main reason I called you was because I didn’t really feel safe at the house. What, with my husband and his friends sabotaging the place.”

“That’s definitely something to worry about,” said Atticus. “Why not just head out of town for a few days?”

“Nowhere I could go, really. Parents are dead, no brothers or sisters, the closest couch I can crash on is in Idaho. Besides, I’d rather just get this thing over than flee the state, you know?”

“I can understand that.”

Tessa shook her head.

“Enough of this crap,” she said. “I just told you about my family, what about yours? You got any brothers or sisters? Parents?”

“No parents. But definitely brothers.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Three of them. And we all live together.”

Tessa raised her eyebrows.

“Really?” she asked, her beer near her mouth.

“Yep. All up on Bear Mountain; the other direction from town than your place.”

“Sounds cramped.”

“It’s not bad. We have a lot of family money and my brother Ronald is a whiz with investments, so we’re able to swing a pretty big pad up there. We can go the whole day without bumping into one another.”

“Wow, sounds a lot nicer than my little shack.”

“Oh, give yourself some credit- that’s a nice little cabin you have up there.”

“It’s cramped.”

“It’s…cozy.”

Tessa smiled and took a sip of her beer.

“Why do people always say ‘cozy’ when they want to say ‘unbearably tiny?’”

Atticus matched her smile with one of his own, showing off his perfect teeth.

“Because it sounds nicer.”

Tessa let out a laugh, and looking down, she saw that her and Atticus’s legs had moved closer together, nearly touching.

They passed the evening chatting and drinking, the conversation light and easy. They asked each other questions, getting to know each other better, though with Atticus eliding the small detail about him being a bear shifter, and Tessa avoiding the topic of just what she had found out about Lucas, just what he had gotten himself into. The hours passed, and Tessa found herself enjoying talking with Atticus; she found him charming enough that she was able to put thoughts of just how crazy her life had become out of her mind, at least for the time being. Taking a look at her phone, her eyes widened in surprise when she realized how much time had passed- it was nearly midnight.

“Shit,” she said. “I should be getting back.”

“Same here,” said Atticus, looking at his own phone.

Then his eyebrows lowered in thought for a brief moment as he considered the danger of sending her back home by herself, knowing what he knew about Lucas.

“Let me follow you back to your place,” he said, tossing back the rest of his drink.

“Someone’s direct,” Tessa said, finishing her drink. She wasn’t planning on inviting him home, but as the night went on, it seemed like more and more attractive of a proposition. She figured she could go for round two.

“Not what I meant,” he said. “I really think you should get out of town for a few days, but if you’re insistent on staying at your place, I’d feel a lot better if I went back with you make sure there’s nothing to worry about.”

“That’s sweet, but I think I should be fine,” said Tessa, the alcohol doing its work on her confidence.

“If your husband’s fine with coming to your place in the middle of the night and cutting your power line, then who knows what he’s capable of.”

Tessa thought about it, and letting her rational mind kick in, she realized that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a man make sure she got home safe.

“You know what? Sure, that actually would be nice.”

“Let’s hit it, then,” said Atticus.

The two killed their drinks, pushed out of their chairs and headed out of the bar. Tessa went to her car, and Atticus to his truck. As she pulled out of the parking lot, Atticus moved his truck close behind her.

The drive up to her cabin was uneventful and Tessa realized that she did feel better having Atticus follow her, making sure she was safe.

In his truck, Atticus made sure to not lose Tessa. Just as he told her, he was surprised that she seemed to be so eager to go home alone; he knew Lucas better than Tessa realized, and he knew just want kinds of people Lucas was now associating with. He thought about an occasion several months back, when he and the brothers came across another temporary lab, now long abandoned. As they prepared to clean the place up and dispose of everything as best they could, they noticed that there was a scent in the air that wasn’t the typical chemical smell that they encountered in the meth labs. And when Ian took a look inside of the trailer, they discovered that there was more than just drug material in the trailer- there were the remnants of what appeared to be a deal gone wrong.

They made the final turns up to the house and as soon both pairs of headlights fell upon the house, they knew something was terribly wrong. Tessa parked her car and jumped out, Atticus close behind her.

The house was a wreck. The front door was kicked open, knocked completely off its hinges. Each window appeared to be smashed to shards and the front lawn was carved across with deep tire marks that ripped the grass out by the root, leaving muddy, brown tracks. The water pump wasn’t merely cut this time, it was crumpled in, as if a car had driven into it. The cheerful plants that lined the front of the house were stomped and ripped.

“Wait!” Atticus shouted, as Tessa ran headlong into the home.

Seeing that she wasn’t going to stop, he chased her in, his body sensing danger and preparing to shift. Tessa disappeared into the darkness of the house and Atticus followed her in. But first, he took a look at the electrical main and saw that, like the water tank, it wasn’t simply crushed- it was wrecked beyond repair.

Tessa looked over the inside of the home, tears welling in her eyes as she surveyed the damage. The kitchen was a disaster, all of the plates and glasses smashed across the floor. Throughout the interior the walls were crisscrossed with red slashes of spray paint and smashed in here and there with what appeared to her to be impacts from a baseball bat. The TV was turned over and smashed, and the couch looked to have been cut with knives or razors.

“The house…” said Tessa, looking over the damage.

Atticus, now standing at her side, wrapped his arm around her shoulder. But before she could feel comforted by him, a flash of realization struck Tessa. With quick steps, her phone flashlight in her hand, her dashed to her studio.

To her horror, she saw that every piece of art, including the one that she was currently working on, was slashed in the same way that the furniture had been. But in addition to this, each piece was covered with different colors of spray paint and topped with smears of her own paint, as though whoever did this took special pleasure at ruining her art.

And on top of everything, the wall of the studio was marked with a message written in black paint.

“LEAVE NOW OR ELSE,” it read.

Looking over the wreckage of her studio, tears poured from Tessa’s eyes. Not only was her work destroyed, she knew now that Lucas was intent on making her feel as unsafe as possible, to let her know in no uncertain terms that she was to leave and never come back, that her refusal to see him again meant to him that she was now persona non-grata, that she, in his eyes, was banished from their former home.

Atticus watched her sob into her hands, knowing that Tessa would only feel worse the longer she stayed here.

“Let’s go,” he said, placing his arm on her shoulder once again and leading her out of the place she was now realizing she would never call home again.

Tessa didn’t feel up to driving. Sitting in the soft, leather seat of Atticus’s truck, the smell of dirty tools and sweat wafting into her nose, she said not a word. She had cried most of her tears on the way out of the house and during the first few minutes of the drive, but as the truck rumbled down the road, bouncing gently with each dip and bump, a stray tear would form in the crook of her eye and hold there for a moment before dripping down her cheek.

Atticus’s eyes were fixed on the road ahead, one hand on the wheel, the other on Tessa’s leg, only removing it to shift gears. Tessa was glad that she was with Atticus, though she didn’t know him very well. The presence of a man like him instilled in her a modicum of safety.

“Where are we going?” she asked, her voice still caught with sobs, speaking the first words that she’d uttered since leaving her home.

“My place,” he said, still looking ahead.

Atticus sensed quickly that Tessa was unsure of this, possibly wondering if letting her guard down around a man she barely knew was the prudent thing to do.

“I know this is a lot, but you’re going to have to trust me. My place is safe,” he said. “Probably the safest place in the area.”

Tessa nodded, feeling a little better. Though she still had her reservations, his calm and self-assured manner made her feel as though she could trust him.

They took the road around town, not driving through the center of Branlen, instead staying on the roads shrouded by the woods. After a time, they curved around Bear Mountain and turning onto another road leading up, which Tessa realized would lead them to a place that could likely be reached simply by walking through the woods on the mountain. Atticus had never been too far from her.

Tessa saw the compound appear in the distance through the trees, the boxy form of the buildings visible under washes of light from tall towers that seemed to be positioned to keep an eye on the perimeter. The two made their way through the gates and pulled up to the massive property.

“This is…huge,” said Tessa, looking left and right across the property, unable to believe that such a place could’ve existed in the area without her knowing about it.

“Like I said- safest place in the area.”

“No kidding,” said Tessa as she looked down the length of tall, barb-wire-topped fence that encircled the area.

The compound was certainly built with the intention of keeping away unwelcome guests and Tessa was already feeling better knowing that she would be staying here.

Atticus pressed the garage door opener and drove the truck into his usual parking spot. As they entered, Tessa scanned the interior of the garage, noticing the array of sports cars and motorcycles that filled the space.

“My brothers have expensive tastes,” said Atticus, noticing her gaze.

“I’ll say,” she responded.

Then a thought struck Tessa: She barely knew Atticus, let alone his brothers.

“Um, your brothers, are they…”

“They’re all completely trustworthy,” said Atticus, his voice calm.

“Good,” said Tessa. “The last thing I need is more strange men.”

“Well, I can’t promise that they’re not strange,” said Atticus with a warm smile.

The truck slowed to a halt and Atticus killed the engine.

As she stepped out of the vehicle, Tessa was struck by how sleek and modern the garage was: the walls were a flawless, stainless-steel, the concrete floor was spotless, and the lights above gave the space the bright appearance of a showroom floor. It wasn’t at all what she’d expect from a place referred to as a “compound.”

Atticus led her up the stairs to the first floor and as they stepped into the living room, Tessa let out a small gasp when she looked around the room, noting with awe the luxurious, spacious nature of the place. The clear wall looked out onto the property and the dark-shrouded woods beyond, a fire crackled in the enormous stone fireplace, and classical music piped in through a built-in speaker system. Tessa noted that the place made her cabin look even more humble than it already was.

And seated in the room on various, modern-styled chairs and couches, were Ian, Roland, and Clyde. Busy with what they were engaged in- Ian with a book in his hands and headphones on his ears, Clyde with a video game that he was playing on the enormous, wall-mounted TV, and Roland at a corner desk, piles of papers in front of him- and didn’t so much as look up when the pair entered.

“Everyone!” called out Atticus, finally getting the trio’s attention, their eyes snapping right to Tessa, who felt immediately nervous. “This is Tessa, she’ll be staying with us for a while.”

“Oh, really?” asked Ian as he slipped a bookmark between the pages of what he was reading and softly closed the pages.

“Hi, Tessa!” said Clyde, pressing pause on his game and giving her a friendly wave.

“Hmm,” muttered Roland, stacking a pile of papers.

“That’s Roland at the desk, Ian with the book, and Clyde at the Xbox,” said Atticus, stepping out of his boots.

“Hey,” said Tessa, giving a shy wave.

Ian stood up and approached the pair with his usual slinky saunter. Tessa looked him over, noting that while he had the same general features as Atticus- sandy hair, hazel eyes, and a muscular build- in the specific details he looked dramatically different. Where Atticus was wide-shouldered, square-jawed, and projected masculinity, Ian was slim-bodied, with lean muscles, straight hair, and a face that was more beautiful than handsome. He had a different aura to him, one more androgynous.

“Didn’t think to run this by us first?” he said, looking Tessa up and down in a way that made her feel self-conscious.

“I’m the alpha, I don’t need to run things by you first,” said Atticus, not perturbed in the slightest by his brother’s needling.

A look of playful disappointment crossed Ian’s face.

“Fine, just don’t touch my books.”

“Sure,” said Tessa, realizing that Ian meant no harm and that he was simply busting her chops in his own way.

Roland stood up from his desk and walked over with a stiff-backed, confident stride. He struck Tessa as more business-like, his expression serious and appraising, his business-casual clothes pressed and tailored, his hair slicked back and in a hard, right-side part. His body was strong and muscular in the way you’d expect from someone who put in his requisite hour of weightlifting and cardio per day.

“Welcome to the compound,” he said, extending his hand towards Tessa and giving hers a firm shake. “I’m Roland Swift.”

He then turned his eyes to Atticus.

“Do you know for how long she’ll be staying? If she’s your guest, she’s, of course, welcome, but I’d like to know in terms of how I’ll need to adjust the numbers this month for her added food costs and electricity usage.”

Atticus put up his hand and gave a quick shake of his head, indicating to Roland that this wasn’t the time for such details. Roland picked up on this quickly and returned to his desk as Clyde approached. Tessa looked over this brawny, tall man, who had a bit of an ungainly manner to his walk.

“Nice to meet you, finally,” he said, shaking Tessa’s hand enthusiastically.

“You, too,” said Tessa, the word “finally” sticking in her head.

“Tessa’s had a rough day,” said Atticus, his voice firm and clear. “I’m going to show her to where she’ll be staying tonight.”

The three men nodded and returned to their activities and Tessa followed Atticus down the long hallway lined with tasteful, modern art hung on the walls in black frames, her shoes clicking against the glossy, birch floor as they walked. Reaching a flight of stairs, they ascended to the second floor, and after a time, they arrived at a door at the end of the hallway, which seemed to be away from the rest of the home. Tessa still couldn’t get over just how big this place was; she felt that her own home could be stuck in a faraway corner of the place and forgotten about.

“This can be your room for the time being,” said Atticus, opening the door to the room, the lights flicking on a revealing a cozy space with the same glass-wall style that looked out onto the woods beyond. “There should be some women’s clothes in the walk-in, and if you want privacy, just hit this button.”

Atticus pressed a button on the wall which turned the glass wall opaque.

“And if you need anything, just let me know. I’m the room at the far end of the hall with the double-doors. Help yourself to whatever you want in the kitchen.”

He turned to leave, but before he did, he stopped himself and faced Tessa.

“And you’re free to leave whenever you want, of course, but I really recommend you stay on the compound until we get this whole situation sorted out.”

A moment passed. Tessa was unsure of how to act around Atticus. He was treating her as a house guest but though they had only known each for a brief period, she wondered if she was something more.

Atticus knew that Tessa must’ve been feeling overwhelmed by everything that was going on, however, and rather than complicating things by inviting her to his room, he instead chose to keep things platonic for the evening.

“Goodnight, then,” he said, turning and walking down the hall.

Part of Tessa wanted to follow him, to grab him by the shoulders and plant a deep kiss on his lips, to slip her hands behind his belt and pull him into the room. But as she looked at the bed, the events of the day began to weigh on her mind, and shutting the door behind her, she pulled her clothes off piece by piece. Once nude, she took one look at the swaying branches of the trees visible through the window before collapsing onto the bed and falling into a deep sleep.

Tessa stood on the lawn in front of her cabin, the noon sun above her, the air still and warm, the grass gentle on her bare feet. As she looked upon her home, she was struck by how it looked- it wasn’t a vandalized wreck the way it was last night, but instead, it was as clean and well-kept as it had been when she lived there with Lucas. She remained in place for a moment, listening as the breeze picked up, the low gentle howl rustling the branches around her, flock of birds flying overhead under the cloudless, blue sky.

Looking around, she saw there wasn’t a soul in sight, she was completely alone. And to her surprise, she saw that there wasn’t even a car in the driveway.

But as she looked upon her home again, she felt a sense of peace wash over her. Rather than think too much about what was going on, she decided to take advantage of her circumstances. She entered her cabin, noting with pleasure the sight of the sun streaming in through the windows, and the subtle scent of her favorite candle already burning. A smile on her face, she decided to head into the kitchen and pour herself a glass of ice tea, her favorite drink on days like today, when the sun was out and the weather was as perfect as she could imagine.

But as she tried to open the fridge, it wouldn’t give; the door seemed to be stuck. Tessa didn’t think too much of it, instead deciding to head into her studio and get some work done on her latest piece. She quickly switched into her paint-streaked work clothes and got her equipment ready. But as she put brush to canvas, she noticed that the paint wouldn’t stay on the brush. Tessa brushed and brushed, dipping the end into the paint until the bristles were gobbed and heavy, dripping to the floor, but no matter how much pressure she applied, the canvas remained pristine and untouched.

And as this went on, a creeping sense of dread began to overwhelm her. Her hands shaking, she dropped the brush onto the ground. Right when it hit, she noticed a rumbling that was at first nearly imperceptible, but soon grew to a bass-like rattling that shook the house, dropping art from the walls and knocking over anything that wasn’t nailed down.

She dropped her supplies onto the ground and ran outside. To her horror, the sky was now heavy with dark storm clouds that roiled and crackled with lightning. Then, a shape descended from the clouds, first coming down in a black swirl, but soon coalescing into the shape of a man, a faceless man black as pure pitch who loomed over Tessa. Fear gripped her heart in a fist as the wind picked up, catching her into a swirl of leaves and branches. The man-shaped being then reached towards Tessa as she stood frozen with fear.

But before it could touch her, a beast came stomping out of the woods. It was the bear who had protected her before, its face in a rage as it howled and roared at the dark being. The man-shaped thing turned towards the bear, leaving Tessa alone. The storm around her built to a fevered pitch as the bear and the thing stared at one another, seemingly preparing for a fight. Then, the bear ran towards the thing, its paws thundering against the ground as it ran.

Just at the moment that the two creatures would’ve begun fighting, Tessa woke up, bolting upright in bed, her body slick with sweat. She looked around her, confirming that she was still in the bedroom and the Swift Compound. Pulling down the covers, she looked out of the window in her room, her eyes settling on the substantial border that separated the compound grounds from the woods beyond. 

Tessa put her head back down on the soft pillow but realized quickly that she wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. Throwing the blanket from her body, she got out of bed. There was only one thing she wanted right now and she was determined to get it.

The carpet soft on her bare feet, Tessa opened the door to her room and stepped out into the hallway, which was now dark and empty, the brothers all seemingly in bed. Tessa walked down the hallway, her eyes narrowed on the double-doors at the far end. One she reached them, she grasped one of the handles and pushed it open, revealing a massive master bedroom that looked out onto the compound. And in the king-size bed in the middle was Atticus, sleeping nude, his perfect body splayed out on the sheets, his cock resting against his thigh. 

Tessa placed her fingertip on her lip as she looked upon Atticus’s body, the traces of sleep that remained in her being replaced with a blossoming feeling of arousal. The silver of the moon poured into the bedroom, casting his form on a ghostly sheen that highlighted the curves and contours of his physique, and Tessa allowed her eyes to scan every inch of his body, paying special attention to his prick, which was thick and full even in its flaccid state. The salty taste of skin washed over her mouth and Tessa realized to her surprise that she had begun sucking on her finger.

Atticus shifted in bed, rolling over onto his stomach, his sublime, sculpted ass now facing Tessa.

After looking it over for several long moments, she decided that she couldn’t simply look at him any longer. With gentle cat’s-paw steps on the carpet, Tessa moved closer to the bed, finally reaching it and lying down next to Atticus. He stayed just as still as he had been as Tessa got into bed with him.

Hesitant at first, Tessa reached towards Atticus’s body her fingertips grazing his skin before she rested her hand on his toned stomach. She held her palm there for a moment, taking in the feeling of his body, savoring how it felt on her skin. Then, she allowed her fingertips to dance downward, along with his stomach, through his pubic hair, then onto the base of his cock.

Tessa noticed that while Atticus didn’t seem to notice her touch, his prick did, twitching slightly to the right as soon as her fingertips touched it. She moved her fingers up further and further, feeling the smooth, flawless skin of his shaft, his cock moving slightly. Next, she wrapped her fingers around his cock, squeezing it gently, his flaccid prick thick and heavy in her hand. She moved her fist up and down slowly, and after a moment or two of this, she began to feel him grow hard in her hand, his prick stiffening by the second. Looking up at Atticus, she saw that he was still asleep, though the brow of his handsome face was furrowed, as though his sleeping mind was trying to determine just what was happening to it.

Soon, Atticus’s cock was rock-hard. Tessa looked at it in its full, erect glory; she still couldn’t get over just how long and thick it was, how perfect it looked. It was almost a work of art in her eyes. Giving it one more squeeze, she removed her hand, licked it, and placed it back on his cock, stroking him with a new, liquid smoothness.

Tessa continued to stroke him, gradually building up the pace, his cock now fully engorged. She wasn’t sure if it were possible to make a man cum in his sleep, but she was more than willing to try.

But before she could find out, a hand shot out and grabbed onto hers. With a gasp, Tessa looked up and saw that Atticus was now fully awake, gazing at her with sensual, bedroom eyes.

“I was having the best dream,” he said through a sly smile.

“Oh yeah?” said Tessa, continuing to stroke his cock.

“Yeah. But I think this is better.”

Tessa smiled and continued, happy that Atticus was awake. She would pleasure him either way, but she vastly preferred to see his eyes on her as he came. She continued with her right hand, and with her left she began to softly squeeze his balls. She picked up the intensity of her work, squeezing his cock hard when her hand moved up to his head, letting her fingers do their work on the sensitive skin of his prick.

Atticus reached down and pulled Tessa’s shirt off, and  leaving her breasts bare. He fondled Tessa’s breast as she stroked him, the feeling of pleasure beginning to well in him from the masterful way that she worked his cock. Then, he slid his hand along the bare curves of her body, up along her neck, finally resting it in her hair. He gave her a gentle push and Tessa knew right away just what he wanted.

Looking up at him with a sly, sinful glance, she moved her head down further, inching closer and closer to his cock. When she finally reached it, she took a long look at it close-up, devouring it with her eyes before she devoured it with her mouth.

She spread her lips slowly, aiming his cock towards her mouth, touching it with her tongue before sliding it into her. Once it was fully sheathed, she sealed her lips around it, letting its warm, salty taste linger on her tongue. Then, she began to suck, bobbing her head up and down, licking him the entire way.

Atticus moaned as she sucked him, running his hand through her hair as she did her work, feeling orgasm already building deep within him, at the base of his cock. He knew that it wasn’t going to take much to get him to cum, and he was already relishing the notion of unloading himself deep into her, watching her drink down every last drop of him. He watched her suck him, watching her head bob up and down on his prick, her tongue darting out from the side of her mouth and her eyes flicking up towards him as she sought to make sure that his face was as tight with pleasure as she hoped it was.

Atticus listened to the sound of her lips on his cock, the sloppy, wet sound filling the air of the bedroom. But just as he was about to reach the point of no return, Atticus had a change of heart. Running both hands through Tessa’s hair, he gently pulled her head up, his cock slipping out of her mouth.

Sitting up, he took Tessa by the hips, flipped her over onto her back, and climbed on top of her, his cock just inches away from her pussy.

Tessa was looking forward to having Atticus shoot his cum into her mouth, to taste him so intimately, but she was just as pleased with this turn of events. She placed her hands on his sides, waiting for him to plunge himself deep into her.

She didn’t have to wait long.

Wet and slick from how aroused his cock in her mouth made her, Atticus entered her easily. She moaned softly as he sheathed himself fully in her, knowing that it wouldn’t take long at all for her to cum hard. Burying himself to the hilt, Atticus began fucking her at a pounding pace instantly, his thrusts full and deep.

He pounded her for minutes, fighting off the urge to cum. But as he fucked her, Tessa slipped her hands through his hair and looked deep into his eyes.

“Cum for me, baby,” she said, wanting nothing more than for him to shoot his load deep into her.

She herself was on the verge of climax, knowing that feeling him unload himself into her would be just the thing to push her over the brink.

And hearing Tessa’s urging was just the thing to make Atticus cum. With a long grunt, he came, his cock shooting deep into her, filling her completely. Orgasm rocked his body, weakening his arms, nearly forcing him to collapse onto her.

Then Tessa came, her orgasm exploding, ecstasy running through her body, as she shivered from the powerful thrumming of the pleasure pounding through her.

Atticus’s arms gave way from the pleasure and he allowed his body to fall on top of Tessa’s, her skin warm and wet. Tessa ran her fingers over his skin as both of them looked out of the window, their breath regaining as they watched the subtle play of the night wind through the leaves.

When Tessa awoke, Atticus was already out of bed. On his pillow was a note was written on stiff, white paper, the handwriting all straight lines.

Breakfast is in the kitchen. Eat up, then come find me.

-    A

Tessa smiled at the note, the mere thought of Atticus was enough to bring a feeling of warmth to her heart.

She rose out of bed and made her way back to the room that had been set aside for her. She hopped in the shower, taking her time and enjoying the luxury appointments of the bathroom, such as the double-headed shower that sprayed water on her skin with the exact right pressure to undo the knots that had been tightening in her body over the course of the last few days.

Getting out, she dried herself with one of the thick, soft towels that hung on the stainless-steel hooks and entered the walk-in closet. To her surprise, there was a bevy of women’s clothing, bringing to Tessa’s mind the question of just how many women the brothers brought to this compound. Picking out a simple white blouse and a pair of blue jeans, along with a matching set of expensive-looking lacy underwear, she dressed herself, drying her hair and putting it up into a simple ponytail.

Heading into the kitchen, she was presented with a sight of scrambled eggs, bacon, whole-grain toast, and what appeared to be freshly-squeezed orange juice and recently brewed coffee. Feeling hungrier than she was anticipating, she piled a plate high with the food and poured herself a cup of both coffee and orange juice, bringing it all to the kitchen island and taking a seat there.

Without even thinking, she slammed the orange juice down in a single, long swig before diving into the eggs, shoveling them down as though it were the first meal she’d had in days.

“Good?” asked a deep, booming voice from behind her.

A little surprised, Tessa, spun around in her seat and was presented with Clyde, who was dressed in a tight-fitting gray t-shirt that showed off his bulky, powerlifter’s muscles and a pair of soft-looking black running pants. Tessa noted that he was, like the other brothers, very handsome, though in a unique, boyish way, almost harmless.

“It’s amazing,” said Tessa, speaking with her mouth full, her need to shovel the food down overwhelming her sense of decorum.

“Great!” said Clyde, stepping around the kitchen island and standing across from Tessa. “Atticus told me that you’ve had a rough few days, so I figured you could use something good to eat. That always helps me feel better, at least.”

Tessa realized that over the course of however long it had taken for her to scoop down half of the food on her plate, her mood had definitely improved.

“This is exactly what I need, thank you so much,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, blushing slightly. “Sorry if it’s a little protein-heavy; that’s what the guys and I mostly eat.”

Tessa chewed on a piece of bacon, her eyes looking out of the kitchen window onto the compound grounds outside, noting that there was a gathering of men forming.

“What’s going on out there?” she asked, pointing towards the men with her bacon.

“That’s, ah, that’s our weekly meeting.”

“Meeting?” Tessa was confused. “Who’re those other guys?”

“They’re the other men who live on the compound,” said Clyde, seeming now unsure of himself, as though he were afraid of saying too much.

“’Other men’? What are they doing here?” asked Tessa, taking a sip of her coffee, curious as to exactly what kind of organization the Swift brothers were heading up. “Wait, this isn’t some kind of cult, is it?”

“No, no,” said Clyde. “Atticus will be in soon, he’ll explain everything. Trust me, though, you’re in good hands here.”

“Why? You mean because of my situation?”

Clyde’s eyebrows raised.

“You mean you didn’t hear?”

“Hear what?”

“Oh,” said Clyde, pointing towards the kitchen TV with a nearby remote.

The display flicked on and the picture was filled with an overhead helicopter shot of a building that Tessa immediately recognized as Hannigan’s.

“A drug deal gone wrong last night as local bar Hannigan’s was wracked by gang-related violence,” said the female reporter in a calm, professional voice as the camera zoomed in on the bar.

As the picture moved in, Tessa could see, to her horror, that Hannigan’s looked like a small war zone- the windows were smashed, cars in the parking lot looked as if they’d been worked over with lead pipes, and the steel sides of the bar were dinged with lines of what looked like bullet impacts. A perimeter around the bar had been formed by police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks. 

Tessa walked closer to the screen, her mouth open.

“Though details are still coming in, it appears as if a gun battle between two groups broke out in the late hours of the night. While no patrons or members of the staff were present, three gang members were killed in the gunfight and four more were injured.”

The screen then cut to a serious-faced police officer who discussed the rise of gang violence in the Bear Mountain region due to the increase in meth production activities in the region.

Tessa let out a sigh of relief when she heard that no one other than gang members were involved in the shooting. But she knew that this was the sort of business that Lucas had gotten involved in.

“Sad, huh?” said Clyde. “And it’s only been getting worse.”

“Where’s Atticus?” asked Tessa, not wanting to wait around any longer.

“Outside, with the rest,” said Clyde.

Tessa turned to leave but looked back over her shoulder as she headed out.

“Thanks again for breakfast,” she said.

“Of course!” said Clyde, giving a thumbs-up.

Tessa walked with quick steps down to the garage level and went outside through a steel door. She looked over the compound, seeing it for the first time in daylight. To her surprise, she saw a handful of wood cabins here and there on the huge stretch of land, small homes that seemed similar to hers.

And the in the middle of flat space that was completely clear of brush or trees, was a group of about ten men, all standing in formation, with Atticus standing at their head, and Ian and Roland at his sides.

Tessa walked towards the meeting with careful steps, worried that she was interrupting something important. But she reminded herself that Atticus had told her to come find him when she was up.

As she drew closer to the group, the eyes of the men all latched onto her. She looked the group in front of Atticus over and saw that they were all men of varying looks, the only commonality between them seeming to be that they all were in excellent shape, all appeared to be under the age of thirty, and all were dressed in expensive-looking gym wear.

“You’re up,” said Atticus, who was dressed in a simple white t-shirt and a pair of slim, black-and-white track pants, his eyes on Tessa.

“I am,” she said, walking to Atticus’s side. “What’s going on?”

“Is it finally time?” asked Ian, his mouth in a sly smile.

“I’d say so,” said Roland, his arms crossed over his full chest.

“There’s something more to what’s going on here than men living in the woods,” said Atticus.

Tessa felt both her curiosity and anxiety pique. For a moment, she began to wonder if she had been right and that he was about to induct her into some kind of cult.

“Oh?” she asked, not sure how to react to what he was saying.

“We’re…something different,” said Atticus, seemingly searching for the right words. “Something unique.”

“Not exactly human,” said Ian, cutting in.

Atticus shot him a silencing look.

“What does that mean?” she asked. “And who are all these men?”

Atticus opened his mouth to speak, but stopped, as if realizing that words wouldn’t be enough.

“Ian?” he said, looking to his brother. “Care you show her what I mean?”

“Glady,” he said.

With that, he pulled off his shirt, revealing a lean, sculpted physique, smooth and hairless. He then stepped out of his track pants and underwear, his long cock dangling at his thigh.

Then, what he did next, Tessa could believe.

He closed his eyes and clenched his fists, his body shaking with tension. Black hair began to sprout from his skin, covering his body in smooth, lustrous fur. Next, his muscles began to bulge and expand, twisting his form, changing him into something not human. His head increased in size, his mouth lengthened, and razor-sharp claws began to sprout from his fingers as his hands turned into large, padded paws. Once the transformation was complete, Ian had changed into a massive, majestic black bear.

A black bear that Tessa soon realized was one of the bears that she had seen nights ago.

“What the hell did he just do?” asked Tessa, her voice shocked as she staggered backward from Ian, who now loomed over her.

“Roland?” said Atticus.

Roland nodded and stripped off his clothes, revealing a toned, bulky body and a thick cock that was just as long as both of his brothers’. He repeated the process and changed into a black bear. Though he and Ian looked alike in their new forms, Tessa saw that Ian’s physique was still leaner, even in his bear shape and Roland’s was stockier, more stout-chested.

“We’re shifters,” said Atticus. “We have the power to change into black bears. Me, my brothers, and all of these men.”

He swept his hand across the men who stood in front of him.

“We watch these woods, protecting them.”

“And…” said Tessa, realizing the truth of just who Atticus was. “You also protected me?”

He nodded.

“I and my clan are the bears that have been watching over you. And we’ll continue to watch over you, if you’d like us to.”

Tessa said nothing, still trying to come to terms with what she was seeing.

“I can see that you’re at a loss for words,” he said.

Tessa gave a quick nod.

“Then come with us, we’re about to patrol the woods.”

He turned to the crowd, Ian and Roland looming at his sides.

“Shift! And follow me!”

The men proceeded to spread apart from one another, giving one another room to change. They pulled off their clothes, folding them neatly and placing them on the ground. All of the men had beefy, muscular bodies and Tessa found herself looking over them without thinking.

Then the men all began their change, shifting into a fearsome pack of black bears.

Atticus was the last one to change, shifting into a bear, the largest and strongest-looking of the pack. When he was done, he swung his massive head towards Tessa, and as soon as she looked into his eyes, she realized that he was, in fact, the same bear that had come so close to her, that led his pack to her home, who made sure that she was safe.

He snorted, a puff of steam shooting from his glistening nose. Tessa knew that she should’ve felt fear, but as she looked into his eyes, the only emotion that passed through her was one of calm and safety, as if she knew on some level that she had nothing to fear from Atticus.

All four of his paws on the ground, he nodded backward, a gesture that Tessa recognized as an invitation to crawl onto his back. She was hesitant at first, but as he turned his massive body around, the feeling of safety only grew.

Looking upon the glistening fur of his body, she took a deep breath before walking towards it and grabbing a handful of smooth, almost silken fur. She grabbed another with her left hand, and with a hoist, pulled herself up onto Atticus’s body. Grunting, she reached the top of him and held on tight to the skin at his neck, her legs wrapped around him. Finally, she sat up upon him, looking over the pack of bears that Atticus commanded.

Then, with a mighty, thundering roar, Atticus took off across the compound, towards a large gate that opened mechanically as the pack approached it. Atticus picked up speed as he ran towards the gate and for a moment, Tessa found herself wondering if they would crash into it.

But Atticus timed things perfectly and they ran through the now-open gate, the pack stomping as they followed behind. They entered the open woods, the fresh, cool air whipping at Tessa’s face as the woods around them began to melt into a green and brown blur, the sun peeking through the canopy overhead.

Atticus’s paws pounded the ground as he ran and as Tessa rode on his back, her fears began to dissipate, and she gave herself over to Atticus’s control, letting him take her wherever he may. The pack ripped through the woods, covering massive stretches of ground, and Tessa closed her eyes, letting the feeling of the air rushing over her face rejuvenate her.

Tessa felt something as she held on to Atticus, a feeling that she’d hadn’t experienced in a long time, a feeling that was so foreign that she almost thought she’d forgotten what it was like- she felt alive. 

The pack continued on, stomping up Bear Mountain, the creatures of the woods scattering as they thundered on, the thuds of dozens of paws pounding across the forest floor an almost deafening sound. They went up until they approached the peak of the mountain and once they arrived, Tessa gasped at the sight that was before her- it was the entire stretch of the surrounding land, the smaller mountains around them rolling on for miles, the blue sky endless and beautiful above.

Tessa leaned back, letting the warm sunlight hit her face, her hands gripping Atticus’s fur tightly, her heart warm with the feelings inspired by the man…this man, or beast, she quickly corrected herself.

One week later…

Tessa sat on the crest of Bear Mountain, looking out at the swirling mist around the base of the nearby mountains. Her feet were bare and she took exquisite pleasure in feeling the cool grass between her toes. She looked over at Atticus, still nude from his shifting, his body glorious in the evening sun.

“Nice ride?” he asked.

“Wonderful as always,” she said, a wide smile on her face.

The last week had been one of the most amazing of her life. She spent the days with Atticus in the woods, exploring nature, taking occasional breaks to admire the scenery or to make love. And while she was back at the compound, she got to know the brothers better, who, despite the differences in their personalities, all seemed to take a shine to her. She was beginning to feel like she had a place to belong.

She learned more about the pack, how they’d been charged with protecting Bear Mountain, a task their people had been entrusted with for generations. The men of the pack who weren’t members of the Swift family were drifters, mostly. They were men who couldn’t seem to find a place in the world, burdened with their strange power, lost until drawn by a strange compulsion to come to Bear Mountain, where they found the compound.

And what’s more, Tessa, learned from Ian after sharing a bottle of wine one night when Atticus was outperforming an emergency electrician call, that Atticus was shirking his responsibility to the pack. As the Alpha, he needed to take a bride first, choosing the best woman available to pass on the line of the tribe. And once he chose, the rest of the tribe, brothers first, could select wives of their own. But Atticus found that he had grown accustomed to the single life. Tessa learned that it was fast approaching the point when the brothers were growing intolerably frustrated with his inability to settle.

But despite all of this, the problems with Lucas and the meth gang were getting to the point where she and Atticus could no longer ignore them. The incident at Hannigan’s was only the beginning. From the compound, the pack received news daily that the meth gang had robbed one store or another, or attacked a police officer, or raided a nearby property. The gang seemed to be based in the house in the woods where Tessa found Lucas that night almost two weeks ago.

Thoughts of Lucas troubled her as well. Though she hadn’t been there when the house was ransacked, the message was loud and clear: Lucas wasn’t to stand by and let Tessa walk out on him. She knew that the only reason she hadn’t seen him was because she’d been secreted away at the compound, and she couldn’t stay there forever…as much as she might want to.

But for now, she was content to enjoy the day with Atticus. Looking over at him, her eyes fell onto his arms as he supported himself with them, observing how the muscles flexed and tensed; she couldn’t imagine ever getting tired of his body.

And as if reading her mind, Atticus moved closer to her, slipping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her in. Tessa leaned her head against him, taking in the strange, animal smell that hung on his body after a long run through the woods.

“I’ve been up here for as long as I can remember, but this view never stops being amazing,” he said, looking out over the vista beyond.

“It’s incredible,” said Tessa.

Then, taking her chin into the crook of his finger, he pressed his lips to hers. Tessa let herself fall quickly and deeply into his kiss, the soft breeze of the wind rising up the gentle slope of the mountain as soft and sweet on her skin as Atticus’s touch. She turned herself to face him, her eyes searching down at his hard, muscular body, watching his cock grow harder by the second. Reaching down, she wrapped her hand around his prick, feeling a shudder of pleasure run through her body at the joy of holding him so intimately.

“Cutting right to the chase, huh?” said Atticus through their kiss, a sly smile on his sensual lips.

“Why wait?” asked Tessa.

She began stroking him, softly at first, letting her fingertips drag against his skin. And as she touched him, Tessa felt Atticus’s own hand slide down her body until it reached the hem of her dress. Atticus slipped his hand under it, placing his fingertips on Tessa’s sex through her silk panties.

Tessa let out a gasp as he touched her, his hand slipping under the fabric and grazing her, the feeling of his skin on her lighting up her body with pleasure. Then, as Tessa continued to stroke him, he slid a finger inside of her, Tessa’s pussy already slick with anticipation. They stimulated each other for a time, Tessa jerking Atticus’s cock at an increasing pace, and Atticus working her sex with his fingers, fingering her with expert precision.

Then, a smirk crossed Atticus’s face. He removed his fingers from Tessa, the pleasure running through her body replaced with a wave of disappointment. But that soon faded when Atticus lunged over, grabbed Tessa by the hips, and moved her onto her hands and knees, manhandling her in a way that aroused her for reasons that she couldn’t quite explain. Atticus was strong, very strong, and Tessa loved nothing more than when he tossed her around during lovemaking, feeling dominated by him in just the right way.

Tessa looked out onto the rolling mountains as Atticus flipped her dress up, exposing her ass to him. He slapped one cheek, squeezing a handful of Tessa’s ripe flesh, the anticipation of him being inside of her building by the moment. Then he moved her panties to the side, exposing her pussy to him. Tessa smiled as she awaited him being deep, deep inside of her.

She didn’t have to wait long. One hand on the supple curve of her hips, the other on his cock, Atticus slide into her easily. Once his cock was fully sheathed in her, he moved his other hand to her hips, holding her in place as he began to fuck her. He pounded her hard, her dark hair whipping back and forth at the rhythm of his thrusts, the pleasure filling her body within seconds.

Just like every other time she and Atticus made love, Tessa felt orgasm quickly approach; sometimes she wondered if his cock had been made specifically for her body. A silly idea, but it was the only way she could explain how perfectly he felt buried into her.

Atticus fucked her hard, his hips slapping against her ass, the striking of his hand against the flesh of her cheeks crackling through her body like a lightning bolt.

Soon after, Tessa’s body exploded with orgasm. Her arms went limp as the pleasure ran through her, and she pressed her face against the grass under her, wrapping her arms around her head as she tried to contend with the sensual pleasure that hit her. It was such intensity that she felt her body might be ripped to pieces. She let out long, passionate moans as she came, taking advantage of their secluded position, not feeling the need to keep quiet in the slightest.

Atticus came soon after, grunting as she fucked her, spraying his cum deep into her pussy, filling her with himself in every imaginable way, Tessa taking sensual pleasure from him draining himself into her.

Atticus slowed down and with one final slap of Tessa’s ass, finished, sliding out of her. He moved back to her side as she sat down, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her in close for one more kiss.

“I think we need to be getting back,” said Atticus, noting that the sun was inching closer and closer to the horizon, the sky slowly shifting from blue to a smoky lavender mixed with a creamy orange.

“As much as I think I could stay up here forever, you’re probably right,” said Tessa.

Atticus stood, and after a moment of focus, shifted into his bear form. Tessa climbed onto his back, savoring the feeling of safety and warmth that she always experienced when holding him in this way. His shifting was strange, easily the strangest thing that Tessa had ever seen, but as she began to understand it as just another trait of the man who she was falling for more and more by the day, she found herself being less startled by it each time he shifted.

Atticus started off down the woods, stomping back to the compound. Tessa, as always, closed her eyes and hung on tight, letting wind whip through her hair.

Soon, they arrived back at the compound and after passing through the gate, Atticus shifted back.

He put on his track pants and t-shirt that he had left behind, and as the two of them made their way across the compound grounds they were struck by a realization: There was no one else there.

“Where is everyone?” asked Tessa, looking around.

“Not sure,” said Atticus. “But they should’ve been back by now. And there should be a few of the pack still here.”

The two of them approached the main house, entering through the basement door and traveling up to the main floor. And as Tessa ascended the stairs, a strange, medical scent struck her.

“You smell that?” she asked.

“Yeah,” said Atticus, his face tense. “Stay close.”

They entered the main floor, and to their horror, saw that the kitchen was trashed. Tessa gasped when she saw the scene. Pots and pans were thrown everywhere, glasses were broken, and plates were shattered on the floor. The strange smell grew more intense, and Atticus and Tessa could now hear a commotion coming from the other room.

Atticus and Tessa approached the living room, and as they entered they saw that it was occupied by a dozen or so grungy-looking men and women, all in various stages of meth use, from lighting up to running around the compound, smashing whatever they could get their hands on.

And seated on the couch, calm and steely-eyed among them all, was Lucas.

“Long time, no see, Tess,” he said, a sinister smile forming on his lips as the rest of the gang members formed up around him.

“Take a seat,” he said, his eyes cold, and his tone murderous.

Atticus closed his eyes, preparing to shift, his anger nearly boiling over.

“Ah, ah, ah,” said Lucas, still pointing his gun.

Atticus and Tessa felt the touch of cold, sweaty hands upon their arms.

“I know all about your powers, my friend,” said Lucas. “And I want you to make a quick estimate about your odds. There’re about twenty of us, and two of you. Now, you might be able to get a few of us with those big bear claws of yours, but can you do it before we kill her?”

Her pointed the gun at Tessa.

Atticus’s jaw clenched as he stared Lucas down. Realizing that Lucas was right, Atticus stopped his shifting process.

“What is this?” Atticus demanded.

“Why, this is me taking back what’s mine, of course,” said Lucas, flicking his red-lined eyes towards Tessa.

“Fuck you,” said Tessa, spitting her words. “I’m not yours.”

Lucas shrugged, as if considering the point.

“Well, they say ‘might makes right,’ and this is definitely one of those cases where I think that’s true.”

As Lucas spoke, Tessa couldn’t help but notice the drastic change that Lucas had gone through since the time that she saw him last. His face was gaunt, his skin looked sickly, and his eyes were red and bloodshot. It looked to her as if he were on day ten of a non-stop drug binge, a shadow of his former handsome self.

“Where are my men?” demanded Atticus.

“They’re out,” said Lucas. “We created a little distraction to keep them busy; probably won’t be back for a while…if they come back.”

Rage boiled in Atticus. The idea that this man would simply storm into his home, threaten Tessa, put his men in danger- it was something he couldn’t abide. But he knew Lucas was right, making a move wouldn’t work out well for him or Tessa, not with every one of the scuzzy meth-heads armed and with an itchy trigger finger.

“And you might want to take a look at your security,” said Lucas, his voice both anxious and cocky. “Impressive set-up, but nothing a few highly-motivated tweakers couldn’t figure out.”

“If you don’t leave right now, I swear I’ll kill you and every last worthless member of your pathetic gang,” said Atticus, his voice a growl.

“That’s…not what’s going to happen,” said Lucas, rising from his seat and walking around the room with a cocky stride. “Here is what is going to happen. I’m going to take my girl back from you- my wife, I should point out- then I’m going to leave you here with some men of mine. They’re going to, well, work you over until you give up the access codes to the little fortune you Swift boys have stored away. Then they’re going to kill you.”

Atticus didn’t want to hear another word. He burst from the grips of the meth heads who were holding him in place and rushed towards Lucas, ready to shift his hands into claws and carve open his stomach.

But Lucas didn’t seem fazed by this. He simply gestured to the men holding Tessa and gave a quick nod. Atticus heard the cocking of two pistols sound from behind him as he closed the distance across the living room, the sound stopping him in his tracks. Turning, he saw that the two men were holding guns to Tessa, her face red as she wept in fear. As he looked at her, Atticus realized that he couldn’t remember the last time he felt such anger.

“You might get me,” said Lucas. “But you definitely won’t get them before they put a couple of rounds into that pretty thing. I may want my wife back but I want my revenge even more.”

Atticus froze in place, the feeling of impotence driving him to heights of anger that he never thought possible. He watched as Lucas strolled across the debris-strewn floor of the living room and over to Tessa. Once he stood in front of her, he placed his hand on her cheek, wiping away her tears.

“Don’t worry, Tess,” he said, his tone a mockery of sympathy. “I’ll get you away from these…freaks of nature, and back by my side, where you belong. There’s money in meth, a lot of money. I’ll make sure you never want for anything ever again.”

Tessa said nothing. Instead, she whipped her head back and spit in Lucas’s face.

Lucas took in a slow, deep breath, pulled his hand back and struck Tessa across the face.

The cracking sound echoing through the living room, Atticus felt himself boil over with rage. Only the last shreds of self-control that remained allowed him to prevent himself from shifting and carving every last man in the room to pieces.

“You’ll pay for that,” Atticus said, his voice a roar.

“Not likely,” said Lucas.

He slipped the shiny, chrome body of his pistol into the back of his beltloop and turned to address his men.

“I think it’s time to get going, everyone,” he said, his mouth curled into a smile. “But as for my little werebear friend, I’m going to leave a few friends of mine here to keep an eye on you. And just so you know, their guns are loaded with silver-tipped bullets, a material that I’ve heard your kind isn’t exactly fond of. Anyway, these men are going to make sure that you transfer all of the money in your family accounts to ours.”

“And why the hell would I do that?” demanded Atticus.

“Because if you don’t, I’ll kill Tessa.”

Atticus said nothing, instead breathing heavily through his nostrils, his animal form only barely kept at bay.

“And the rest of my crew should be returning with what remains of your pack before too long. They’ll stick around to make sure the transfer goes off. Then, once you’ve done it, they’ll kill you.”

“Then why would I help you?”

“You and the pack die either way,’ said Lucas. “You’re all simply too much of a threat to my little enterprise. But if you transfer the money, I can guarantee you that Tessa will be safe. Well taken care of, in fact.”

He cast another lecherous look at Tessa, who seemed to be partially in a state of shock.

“So! You have 48 hours from right…now,” he said, setting the timer on his phone. “Don’t disappoint me.”

With that, Lucas and his crew left, leaving a few men in the room with guns trained on Atticus. He stood with his shoulders hunched, a defeated feeling gripped his body as he considered the tragedy that had just befallen him.

“Where the hell are they?” asked one of the men, a dirty-looking, wiry man in a denim vest and ripped jeans.

“Keep your fuckin’ pants on,” said the second of the two men, a beady-eyed youth who looked to be no older than 20. “They’re taking down that whole pack, give ‘em at least an hour.”

The third man, a fat-bellied black man with patchy hair, kept his pistol trained on Atticus, who sat wordlessly on the couch.

“I need another hit,” he said. “This is all gettin’ to me.”

“You heard Lucas,” said the man in the denim vest. “No hits until the rest of ‘em get here.”

“How would Lucas even know?” asked the beady-eyed man as he paced frantically around the room. “You think he’s got cameras or some shit in here?”

“Who knows what he can do?” said Denim Vest. “He took over our whole operation in a month. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was keepin’ some kind of tabs on us.”

Silence fell over the men as they all considered their situation. Atticus was quiet, instead keeping in mind that Lucas said nothing about keeping these three lowlifes alive. Though he felt confident about his situation, he worried about the rest of the pack. Lucas mentioned that something happened to them, and they should’ve been back by now. Atticus cast an eye towards the tree line beyond the compound, hoping for some sign that the rest of the pack was near. But the trees were still aside from the evening breeze, darkness descending over the compound as the last traces of sun twinkled beneath the forest.

“Besides, I’m gonna start to lose my focus here if I don’t get a hit,” said Patchy Hair.

“What the hell are you two talking about?” demanded Denim Vest.

Atticus surmised that Denim Vest was the one in charge, but from the looks of things, he didn’t seem to be keeping a very good handle on the situation. He’d watched these meth heads from afar for long enough to know that they could only talk themselves out of using for so long before they gave in.

“Nah, nah,” said Beady Eyes. “I mean, things are fine now, but if I don’t get a hit, I’m gonna start thinking more about crystal than I am about watching the freak, you know?”

He pointed to Atticus with his pistol, who winced in response. He also been around these types long enough to know that accidental shootings among them were surprisingly common.

“Yeah, yeah, he’s right,” said Patchy Hair. “Plus, you know how the shit works- we’ll be way more focused once we do it, you know? And that’ll make our job even easier, and we’ll do it better.”

“I don’t know,” said Denim Vest, scratching the back of his head with his pistol. “We use and Lucas will have our asses. You saw what he did to that kid who took a hit on guard duty last week.”

“Yeah,” said Beady Eyes. “But that was ‘cuz that kid let some junkie slip past the perimeter. Lucas wouldn’t have given a shit if he would’ve done his fuckin’ job.”

Denim Vest scrunched his ugly, pock-marked face and Atticus could tell that he was marshalling his limited intellect to ponder the situation.

“Come on,” said Patchy Hair. “Just a hit to keep us steady and then we’ll finish the job. Besides, we’re here ‘till he gives up the money- that could be the whole 48 hours. You want to wait that long?”

Denim Vest considered this further. Atticus simply waited, knowing that an opportunity would soon arise.

“Yeah,” said Beady Eyes. “And when he said ‘don’t use until the job’s done,’ he was, uh, speaking, you know, metaphorically.”

“Right!” said Patchy Hair. “He was saying, like, don’t get fucked up until the job is done, like, don’t go overboard until the bear fucker gives up the goods.”

“There’s no way he would’ve expected us to not use,” said Beady Eyes. “I bet he’d probably even think it was weird that we didn’t!”

“He’d probably get mad at us, actually,” said Patchy Hair. “He’d think we fucked up by not keeping steady.”

Denim Vest’s eyes lit up with understanding, this seemed to be just the justification he needed to hear to give in to the temptation that had been dogging him.

“Fine!” he said. “But just enough to keep us on the level.”

“Yeah, yeah! Sure!” said Patchy Hair and Beady Eyes as they eagerly pulled out their paraphernalia.

A small smile crossed Atticus’s lips as he watched the junkies go to work. And that smile spread even further when he saw a long rustling along the tree line, the outside now completely black with evening dark. Yellow eyes emerged from the woods, and Atticus knew then that his pack was back. He smiled with pride, knowing that they managed to get through whatever trap Lucas’s men had set for them.

Looking down at the zip ties that kept him restrained, he shook his head at how careless the junkies had been. Atticus watched the bears emerge from the woods as he flexed his muscles, the zip ties snapping like rubber bands stretched too taut.

His eyes on the junkies as they huddled over their supply, Atticus rose from the couch, preparing to shift. He glanced at the pistols loaded with silver-tipped bullets- he was sure he’d be able to get to them before they could aim them, let alone crack off a shot, but he also knew that junkies could be unpredictable. A stray round in his leg would mean he’d be out of commission for a week while he recovered, and that was time he didn’t have.

“Guys,” said Atticus, standing mid-shift, his muscles large and fur-covered.

The junkies snapped around, their eye wild and fearful as they stared at Atticus.

“I hope you brought enough for the rest of the family,” he said, gesturing to the pack of bears that were currently crawling through the tree line, their faces painted with rage as they drew closer.

“Shit, shit!” cried Beady Eyes, fumbling for his gun.

But none of the three were quick enough. Atticus retained his mid-shift form, not wanting to become the larger target that fully shifting into his bear form would result in. With blinding speed, he rushed at the three, striking Denim Vest with his razor-sharp claws, cutting through his skin and sending him flying backward against the wall. Patchy Hair and Beady Eyes, both going for their weapons, were next. Atticus grabbed Patchy Hair and threw him against the wall on the other side of the room, his body connecting with a sickening thud-crack.

Then, Beady Eyes managed to raise his gun and fire a round, the pop from the shot cutting through the air, the bullet going wild and hitting wide. Atticus shook his head and drove his claws into Beady Eyes, plunging them deep into his stomach, the junkie grabbing Atticus’s wrist feebly before dropping to his knees.

Atticus backed off, sighing as he surveyed the mess made of his home. But before he could think for too long, Ian, Roland, and Clyde appeared in the door frame.

“Wow,” said Ian, looking over the wreckage. “What’d we miss?”

“What the hell happened?” demanded Atticus, looking over the pack as they stood on the grounds of the compound.

“They surprised us,” said Clyde, his voice weighed with shame.

“They lured us into a damn trap,” said Ian, slamming his fist into his open palm.

“How?” demanded Atticus, noting that his men all looked ragged and tired. They were barely able to stand at attention as the cool evening wind whipped across their bodies.

But he noted they were fewer in number- three of the men from the tribe were missing. Atticus’s stomach tightened when he realized what had likely happened.

“They must’ve known that we’d been on the lookout for meth labs and other signs of their presence,” said Roland, crossing his arms over his chest. “They left evidence strategically placed in the woods.”

“Like a trail of breadcrumbs,” said Ian.

“I should’ve known better,” said Clyde, shaking his head sadly.

“By the time we realized that what we were finding was too good to be true, it was too late,” said Roland. “They all came out of the woods, dozens of them.”

“Richard, Tyler, and Martin sacrificed themselves,” said Ian, looking over the men as they nodded at the sound of the names of those who gave their lives. “They created a distraction that allowed us to break through the circle that Lucas’s men formed around us and turn the tide.”

Atticus repeated the names of the men aloud, making sure that everyone heard them.

“Remember those names,” he said to the men, who all nodded in understanding.

“And what about Tessa?” asked Clyde.

Atticus clenched and unclenched his fists.

“Lucas was here and he took her,” he said. “The gang knows about us- they know everything. We’re the only thing keeping them from taking over this town and turning it into anarchy.”

“Then they won’t stop until they’ve rid us from the region,” said Roland, nodding his head in understanding.

“And what’s more,” said Atticus, his voice lined with anger as he thought of Tessa’s face, wet with tears as they took her, “They want our money.”

“Fuckers,” said Ian. “It’s not enough they want us dead, they want our resources to fund their operation.”

“We have less than 48 hours before they kill Tessa,” said Atticus, the last two words paining him to speak. “We’re going to have to make a full-on assault on the farmhouse where the gang operations are centered.”

“That’s the plan?” asked Ian, incredulous. “To just smash in through the front gate?”

“No,” said Atticus. “There are too many of them for that. But one way or another, we have to destroy that house and the facilities inside. If we don’t, Lucas’s gang will just get more and more powerful until we won’t be strong enough to beat them. They’ll take over this whole region and turn it into a meth-addicted hellhole.”

He turned to the men.

“You all get some rest if you need to and if anyone has any bright ideas, let me know. But just remember, not only is the fate of Tessa on the line, but everyone in this town. Dismissed.”

And with that, he turned away from the men, moving towards the main house with determined strides, thoughts of saving his love the only ones on his mind.

Tessa stared at Lucas with murderous eyes as the luxury car bumped along the unpaved road leading to the gang’s farmhouse. She thought of Atticus and how angered he looked as Lucas took her from him. She sat on the cool leather seat across from Lucas, her hands bound behind her back. All she wanted was to lunge across at him and wrap her hands around his neck, draining the life from him.

But instead, she sat helplessly, two gang members flanking her, her former love sitting across from her in the cab of the car with a silver gun in one hand and a drink in the other.

“I can’t believe that you’ve done all of this,” she said, her voice a hiss.

“You can’t believe that I’ve done what, exactly?” asked Lucas through a grim smile. “That I was able to go from a starving artist to a drug kingpin?”

“Among other things,” said Tessa. “How you could live a double-life and still look me in the eyes would be another.”

“It was easy. You and I had been growing apart for years,” he said, the car making a slow turn on the road towards the property that she had visited where she learned that Lucas was cheating on her. “But you didn’t even seem to notice it until it became blindingly obvious.”

“What’re you talking about?” asked Tessa, her eyes flicking towards the ramshackle settlements that had cropped up along the road since the last time she’d been there.

“I’d been getting more and more into this world for the last year, why do you think I’d been abandoning my art? I started by hanging out with these guys after drinks at the bar. It just kinda grew from there. Turns out I’ve got something of a knack for this business.”

“A ‘knack?’” asked Tessa, feeling as though she were talking to someone she’d never met before.

“Yep. Making connections, distributing, supervision, production- all that. These guys were small-timers until they found me. I was able to do for their business in the last few months what they’d been unable to do in the last two years. They just needed someone with a little imagination.”

“You must be very proud of all this,” said Tessa, gesturing towards the road that led to the compound, the fields on both sides strewn with vagrants and junkies eking out meager existences for the sole purpose of being near the meth lab.

“Cost of doing business,” he said, seemingly immune to the sight of the human misery around him. “This town was on the brink of collapse anyway, it just needed a little push to finish the process.”

“But why?” asked Tessa.

Lucas’s eyes narrowed.

“Because I was tired of our boring life, nothing happening day in and day out. I wanted excitement, while you wanted nothing but the same things every day.”

“So, you thought this was the way out.”

“It was the way out.”

The farmhouse grew closer, another party raging out front, just like the one that Tessa ventured into the night she found Lucas.

“I did this for us, by the way,” said Lucas, looking out the window at the party on the lawn. “You have no idea how much money I’ve been able to make so quickly. I was going to buy the life that we’d always wanted.”

“Is that why you cheated on me?” asked Tessa, not buying his altruistic explanations.

“Hey, when you’re the head of a meth empire you end up getting a lot of attention. You say ‘no’ 49 times, on the 50th, you’re gonna crack.”

Tessa glared at Lucas.

“Besides, that’s all over now. Once we, well, I’ll tell you about the rest of the plan later, but now that you’re here back by my side where you belong, away from those bear freaks, we can get back it just being you and me.”

“’Bear freaks’?” demanded Tessa. “You don’t know the first thing about them.”

“I know that they’re standing in the way of me expanding my market. Do you have any idea how many labs this crew has lost to them over the last few years? Too many, that’s for damn sure.”

The car attracted a crowd as it pulled through the party towards the stretch of land behind the large farmhouse. The crowd was comprised of everyone from junkie hangers-on to teenage groupies to tough-looking gang members, all recognizing the car as Lucas’s, all wanting to discuss business with him…business of one form or another.

“And these yokels here in Branlen all figured they were forest spirits or some crazy shit like that. They needed someone with half a brain to realize that there was something weird going on with that compound that the Swift boys owned, something probably connected to what was going on in the woods. Needless to say, one of my first orders of business was to wipe them off the map. And when I found out that they were loaded, well, so much the better.”

“You’re a monster,” said Tessa, her eyes narrowed.

“No,” said Lucas as the car pulled into what appeared to be a recently installed garage. “The monsters are those…animals out there.”

He pointed towards the general direction of the compound.

“They’re beasts, they kill because they can’t help it. It’s part of their nature. And I don’t know what Atticus or the rest of them told you, but they’ll kill you in time.”

“You’re wrong.”

Lucas shrugged.

“Maybe, maybe not. Either way, my plan seems to be going off without a hitch. The pack should be wiped out by now, with the exception of Atticus, who’ll be helpfully depositing his millions into the designated account any minute now.”

The car came to a stop and the driver killed the engine.

“And you’ll be right where you should be, at my side. With the money and power I’ve earned for us, we can do anything. We can even start that family you’ve always wanted.”

Thoughts of a wanting a family flooded back into Tessa’s mind. It was true, starting a family was a journey that she’d always imagined going on with Lucas. But as the years went on, the idea grew more and more distant, until it was only a shadow of a thought. She’d felt that they’d grown so accustomed to their lives as they were that there was simply no room for a baby. But now that Lucas spoke the words aloud, she realized that the love that she had felt for Lucas had simply faded over time, and with it, the desire to start a family with him. And as she grew older, on some level she felt that family was just something that was never going to happen for her.

But now that things were the way they were now, the idea of carrying Lucas’s child brought a feeling of sickness to Tessa’s stomach.

“I’ll never start a family with you,” said Tessa, her eyes narrow, her glare as sharp as blades.

But Lucas only smiled in response, a sly, knowing smile.

“We’ll see about that.”

The driver, a reedy man in a button-up shirt of blue silk and a pair of jeans embellished with rhinestones opened the doors and led the two out of the car, the pair of gang members following close behind. That familiar thumping bass, the same one that she’d heard that night weeks ago, filled her ears. Tessa wanted nothing more than to leave, to never see this horrible place or its hundreds of wasted, junkie inhabitants ever again. But as Lucas took her arm in his grip, she knew that this wasn’t possible.

“Come with me, Tess,” he said, flashing a toothy smiled as he gazed at her with narrowed eyes.

The driver opened the door from the garage, leading to a small, dark, hallway. The volume of the party increased as they reached the end, and once they did, the driver, flashing a smile of his own, opened the door. Beyond was a crowd of parties, dancing to the music, their bodies filling all available space of the farmhouse. But once Lucas entered with Tessa at his side, all eyes nearby fell upon them.

The crowd held still for a moment, as if confirming what they were seeing, before bursting into wild cheering. To Tessa, they seemed to be celebrating Lucas’s return, and she surmised that he must’ve told them that when he came back his business with the Swifts would be long-finished.

Lucas held up a hand, a smile on his face. The crowd continued cheering and Tessa’s gaze swept upon the jubilant masses, noting that each face seemed to be stricken by the effects of meth abuse in its own way. Some were pock-marked, some were red-eyed, some were prematurely-aged. But all looked terrible.

“They’re celebrating us,” said Lucas, yelling to Tessa over the crowd. “I told them that when I returned with you at my side, it would mean that we’d won.”

Horror crept through the Tessa as she looked over the crowd.

“Don’t you get it?” he asked, yelling louder. “These are your people, I’m their king. And you’re my queen.”

Tessa felt as though she wanted to drop to her knees and scream. It was hell that Lucas promised her, a horrible reign over a court of the damned.

“What’s the plan, big brother?” asked Clyde to Atticus, who was looking out through the living room wall at the darkened woods beyond the compound.

“We go get her, it’s as simple as that.”

“That much is obvious,” said Ian, entering the room, his feet crunching on the broken glass that lay strewn across the floor. “But what are you proposing, exactly?”

Atticus was still figuring out just how he wanted to approach the plan of rescuing Tessa and destroying the meth operation. But he had some ideas. And all of them ended with him poised over Lucas, preparing to rip him into shreds with deadly swipes of his claws.

“Let the men get a few hour’s rest,” said Atticus, not turning away from the window. “And that goes for you all, if you need it.”

He could sense that Roland was there in the room with them. Turning around, his instinct was confirmed: his three brothers stood side-by-side, awaiting orders.

“No need for rest here,” said Roland. “I’m ready to do what needs to be done.”

“Yeah,” added Ian. “I’m still riding a high from the fight in the woods.”

“I just want to get Tessa back,” said Clyde. “Every moment she’s with Lucas is another moment she has to suffer.”

Atticus nodded, pleased that his brothers were as loyal as ever. He considered just how he might reward them for their loyalty when this business was taken care of.

After a moment of thought, he had just the idea.

But for now, he needed to figure out how to both take advantage of the element of surprise and to overcome the numerical advantage that the gang had.

“How many junkies did the pack take out in the woods?” asked Lucas.

“Hmm,” thought aloud Roland. “Had to have been at least 30.”

“30?” asked Atticus, surprised. “Then that means we can take them at three-to-one  odds. Maybe more if we surprise them.”

Then, a thought occurred to Atticus.

“Ian, do you still have the satellite map of the region? The one that showed all of the infrastructure?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because I think I just might have an idea.”

* * *

It was hours later, and the pack was ready to take the fight to the gang. But as they followed Atticus through the woods, still in their human forms, running through the still evening air, each man was gripped with the question of what Atticus had in mind, exactly. He had them bring no weapons, all dressed in outfits of their “worst” clothes- what Atticus told them to wear.

But after nearly an hour of running through the woods, they only stopped when they came across a massive power generator, an enormous relay of two large, metal coils draped with power lines, a small shack in the middle. The perimeter of the place was a tall, steel fence topped with vicious-looking barbed wire and festooned with signs covered in large, red letters of warning. Atticus stopped at the entrance gate to the place, looking over the facility with a careful eye. The men fell in line behind him, waiting for a command.

“Everyone!” he shouted to the men and his brothers, who all stood in front of him. “The farmhouse is a mile that way.”

He pointed down the slope of the hill they were on, a path that followed the black drooping power lines.

“Form up, here’s the plan.”

Tessa sat on the tacky, leather chair in Lucas’s bedroom, the very same room where she encountered him in flagrante with two barely-legal women. The room was expansive, it was the master bedroom of the farmhouse. Though whatever tasteful farmer’s décor might’ve brightened the place was gone, replaced with tacky colors, garish posters, and drug paraphrenia that seemed to cover every available surface.

She felt insulted, as though he were rubbing her face in what was going on, that he had succeeded in stealing her away from Atticus, that he had managed to get her right where he wanted her, despite her wishes and protestations. And the worst part was that she knew there was nothing she could do.

“See, this is pretty nice, isn’t it?” asked Lucas, throwing open the curtains of the bedroom, exposing the vast tract of cleared land behind the farm, the first half of which was packed with partygoers, the crowd trailing off into the distance.

It was a massive throng, a black, shifting mass dotted by tiny flickers of light that she assumed were drugs being sparked up. What’s more, she noticed that the crowd was even larger than it was before, meaning the amount of users addicted to Lucas’s poison had only increased. She feared that soon the entire town would be under the thumb of Lucas and his gang.

Tessa glared at Lucas from her seat, her arms flat on the rests, her nails digging into the glossy, red fabric of the chair. Lucas looked out of the window, shaking his head in awe at the masses of people below.

“That’s something, isn’t it?” he said, his eyes fixed forward. “You remember when we first moved here? This place was nothing, just a handful of buildings surrounded by the woods, that big mountain looking down on everything. Population, what, 300?”

He shook his head.

“Now look at it- it’s like an actual city. Sure, it’s mostly junkies and drifters, but it’s more than it was before. And the best part is that I run things.”

“Oh?” asked Tessa. “You’ve ruined this town and you think this is an improvement?”

“Better than wasting my days in that cabin, waiting for a big break that was never going to come.”

He turned towards Tessa.

“And now that the bears are done for, this whole area is under my control.”

“You’re not going to get away with it,” said Tessa, glowering at Lucas.

“That’s where you’re wrong, my dear,” he said. “Because I already have.”

With that, there was a gentle rapping on the bedroom door.

“Come in!” called Lucas.

The door creaked open and Tessa's eyes shot towards whoever it was that was none other than the two girls who she’d seen Lucas cheating on her with. Her stomach dropped as the two scantily-clad women sauntered in, their gazes sensual and fixed on Lucas.

“Tess, I’d like you to meet Becky and Jessica,” said Lucas as the two girls made their way over to him, Lucas slipping his bare arms around their slim shoulders as they reached him.

“Hey,” said the redhead, waving her fingers.

“Hey,” said the blonde, her eyes tracking up Tessa’s body.

“What’s going on?” Tessa demanded.

“Well, you all recognize each other, right?” asked Lucas, to which the two girls nodded in agreement. “Good. Well, I figured that we all got off on the wrong foot that night. And now that Tessa’s back into the fold, I think we ought to give her a proper welcome.

“Sounds great to me,” said the redhead, a seductive grin on her face.

“Mmm, I’d love to,” said the blonde.

The redhead then pulled her shirt over her head, revealing a pair of small, pert breasts with small pink nipples. The blonde followed, her larger, tanned breasts tumbling out from underneath her thin t-shirt. Tessa wanted to get up and leave, to run out of the house right then and there just like before, but she knew there was no way she’d get far.

Instead, she dug her nails into the fabric as the two girls moved their hands up Lucas’s body underneath his shirt, pulling it over his head and off, revealing the sculpted, perfect physique that Tessa knew so intimately. The two girls began kissing his torso, their lips dragging across his body as Lucas took a long swig from a nearby bottle of whiskey.

Then, Lucas ran a hand through each of the girls’ hair, guiding them away from his body and towards one another. The girls got the hint right away and locked their lips together as they kneeled in front of Lucas, their wet sounds of their kissing loud and sensual.

“Didn’t we always talk about spicing things up in the bedroom?” asked Lucas, turning his gaze towards Tessa. “Well, now’s the chance.”

Tessa watched as the blonde scooped one of the redhead’s breasts into her hand and began sucking and licking her nipple, the redhead moaning all the while. But as Tessa watched, a strange feeling began to come over her. She was disgusted by Lucas, sure, but something about watching these two beautiful women kiss and touch one another aroused something deep in Tessa. She watched the girls kiss and fondle one another, the redhead slipping her hand up the blonde’s skirt, the blonde taking in a sharp breath as she did so.

“Beautiful, beautiful,” said Lucas. “See? It’s good to be king.”

Lucas left the girls to their business and walked over to a nearby dresser, retrieving drug paraphernalia from it.

“You know what would make this even better,” he said, a lighter in one hand, a glass pipe in the other.

The two girls eyed the drugs with hunger and as Tessa watched how their expressions lit up as they looked at Lucas’s offering, whatever arousal she was feeling disappeared like mist on the wind. The two girls eagerly took the drugs from Lucas’s hands and got them ready to smoke.

But right at the moment they would’ve sparked them, the lights in the room cut out, leaving the four of them in total pitch darkness.

“What the hell?” demanded Lucas.

But a slim smile crossed Tessa’s face as she sat in the dark. She didn’t know how she knew, but there was only one thing this could mean: Atticus was here.

Atticus watched from his vantage point on the small hill beyond the farmhouse as the lights to the place went dark, shrouding the building and the partiers around in a deep darkness, the deafening thumping of the music shutting off abruptly, the silence of nature reasserting itself.

The generator has been a simple set-up, and looking over the equipment, he saw that it would be easy to rig the thing to shut off at a particular time- in this case, a half hour. His brothers and the rest of the pack were given orders to infiltrate the party, to take up positions in the crowd, and to be ready to shift and strike when the power shut off.

He looked over the crowd, trying to spot the members of his pack, but it was simply too dark.

But the roars and screams that sounded seconds later signaled to him that the plan was underway.

Atticus was pleased that all seemed to be going according to plan, but this feeling was quickly replaced with a sense of urgency. He knew that Lucas was smart enough to realize that the power outage wasn’t a mere coincidence and that it almost certainly meant that Atticus and the rest of the pack were gearing up to make an attack. And Atticus knew that as soon as Lucas realized this, Tessa’s life would be in danger.

Atticus took off into a run, his legs pumping with wild abandon as he closed the distance between him and the house. As he drew closer, he could begin to make out the shapes of the pack among the crowd, tall, fearsome night-shrouded shapes that filled the air with deafening roars, the crowd in a mad rush to escape them.

He kept running towards the house, now getting closer and closer to the partygoers who had made the quickest escapes, the faces of them painted with fear and shock as they ran past Atticus and into the woods beyond.

Then, the flashing and popping of gunfire began to sound, the pack now doing their work of neutralizing the guards of the house. Atticus gave the men strict orders to not harm anyone who wasn’t a direct threat to them, but he knew that things could get chaotic in the middle of a battle.

As Atticus ran closer, more and more of the junkies rushed past him and he could now make out clearly the forms of the members of the pack as they set upon the armed gang members, roaring as they swatted them away with massive, fearsome claws.

Atticus knew that they needed to have the element of surprise on their side and having the pack ready to shift and fight the gang from the inside out was just the way to do it.

He finally closed the distance between him and the house and Atticus was now among the teeming throngs that were in a mad, frenzied dash away from the building. He guessed there easily was hundreds of people there, all running from the bears that had seemingly appeared from nowhere. The place was becoming more and more of a scene of chaos by the second.

Looking to his right, Atticus watched as two members of the pack set upon a pair of guards, swiping them away effortlessly, only to have another trio of gang members approach them from the back, all brandishing pistols. They began cracking off shots at the bears, the pack members roaring as the bullets impacted their thick hides. As Atticus drew closer, he recognized one of the bears as Clyde, his bulky, powerful form easily identifiable even in his shifted shape.

Atticus rushed towards the three guards, slamming into them at an incredible pace, knocking them off of their feet and onto the ground. Now that the gang members were stunned, Atticus looked up at Clyde, who flashed him a look of appreciation as he turned towards the gang members, all holding their hands up and shouting in fear as Clyde and the other bear loomed over them.

Atticus turned his attention back to the house, watching as party-goers streamed out of the entrances, some even jumping from the windows and landing in the sparse bushes before breaking into a run. He pushed his way past the throngs of people, making his way into the farmhouse.

Once inside, he saw that the scene was just as chaotic was it was outdoors. The rest of the pack was among the crowd and all were shifted into their fearsome bear forms. Atticus spotted Ian and Roland, who were busy fighting off the guards, taking care not to harm any innocent members of the crowd. The gang members shot round after round at the bears and Atticus sighed in relief as he realized that they didn’t seem to be armed with silver-tipped bullets. Though enough regular shots could take down a shifter, especially a well-aimed one- Ian, Roland, and the rest seemed to be handling the panicked, ill-trained guards with ease.

Atticus rushed through the house, his eyes settling on the stairs that led to the second floor. He didn’t know exactly where he’d find Tessa and Lucas, but he figured that up and away from the chaos was a likely place.

He ran up the stairs, weaving through men and women who streamed down, and arrived at the second floor. It was a large, expansive space, and his eyes settled on the door at the end of the hallway to his right, which he guessed led to the master bedroom. Atticus stormed down the hallway, rage building in him as he realized that Tessa was close.

He could feel it.

Reaching the door, he threw himself into it with a mighty kick, ripping the thing off of its hinges. Once he entered, he was greeted with the sight of Lucas, one arm wrapped around Tessa, the other holding a gun that was pressed against her temple. A pair of girls were also in the room, and as soon as Atticus entered they ran past him screaming, out into the hall.

“Surprised to see you here, shifter,” said Lucas, his grip tight on Tessa.

“What, did you really think your meth-head flunkies would do their job?”

“Maybe, maybe not, but it doesn’t matter- now I’ve got you right where I want you.”

Atticus’s eyes fastened on Tessa and the gun, rage boiling within him at the sight of his love being held in danger.

“You OK, Tessa?”

She nodded, Lucas’s thick arm crossed over her neck, her eyes winced in pain and fear.

“Here’s the deal,” said Lucas, moving towards the large window in the bedroom. “You and your pack leave now. Leave Bear Mountain and never come back. Tessa stays with me, but I guarantee you she won’t be harmed.”

“And leave you to ruin this city even more than you already have? Not a chance,” said Atticus.

Lucas scoffed, his eyes fixed on Atticus as he kept the gun trained on Tessa.

“I had a feeling you might say that.”

He rattled the gun in his hand.

“My guards weren’t smart enough to make sure they were loaded up with silver bullets, but I was. One shot from this right to your gut and I’ll take care of this shifter problem real fast.”

He pointed the gun at Atticus, whose body tensed as the weapon was trained on him. He knew that Lucas was right- a shot from that to the limbs wouldn’t necessarily be fatal, but a solid shot to the torso or head would kill him on the spot.

“Of course,” said Lucas, pressing the end of the gun to Tessa’s head. “These work just as well on non-shifters, too.”

Tessa let out a whimper as Lucas tapped on her temple with the tip of the gun.

“You wouldn’t,” said Atticus, his body ready to pounce.

“I would if it meant you left and didn’t come back,” said Lucas.

“You kill her and you’re next,” said Atticus.

“You know what?” asked Lucas. “I think it would be easier just to kill you.”

Before Atticus could react, Lucas trained the gun on him and fired a shot. Atticus moved at the last minute, jumping towards the side of the room as Tessa let out a scream. The shot slammed into the wall just behind where Atticus stood only seconds ago.

Then, Lucas aimed the gun at Atticus once more, and Atticus knew in that split-second that he wouldn’t be able to avoid this one.

But before Lucas could fire, Tessa extended her arm and drove her elbow right into Lucas’s gut, the air rushing from his lungs as the second shot went wide. His hold on Tessa broke, and she ran towards Atticus, who rose to his feet and drew Tessa close as she approached.

“You bitch!” he yelled, snatching the gun from the ground and heading out of the window.

Atticus followed him, rushing to the window just as Lucas scrambled out of it, following him up onto the roof.

Another shot rang out over the din of the crowds below as Atticus pulled himself up onto the roof.

But as Atticus finished climbing, his eyes fixed on Lucas as he stood on the roof, the farmhouse land stretching beyond, the night black above and Bear Mountain looming in the distance like a silent observer, he knew it was time to finish this.

With a mighty roar, he shifted into his bear form, his clothes ripping as he changed. He watched as Lucas trained the gun on him once more and cracked off a shot, this one connecting with Atticus in his upper left arm. But Atticus closed the distance and with a killing swipe of his paw, he slashed Lucas across the chest, the impact sending him careening off of the roof, his body slamming into the ground below.

Looking down at Lucas’s now still body, Atticus shifted back to his human form, the night wind cool on his skin. Turning, he saw that Tessa was now climbing onto the roof, and seconds later was at his side. A tear fell from her eyes as she looked down at Lucas’s body, she realized that it was finally over. 

The light streaming in through the glass wall of the bedroom, Tessa closed her eyes, a smile on her face as Atticus kissed her along her stomach, the sensation of his lips upon her bare skin a sensual pleasure that she never grew tired of. She opened her eyes slightly, watching his sandy, blonde hair dip down further and further, his kisses moving down the small bump of her stomach, over her hip bones, and then along the soft curves of her hips, before ending up on the small tuft of brown hair above her sex. He flicked his eyes up her and she sighed as she felt his hot breath on her most sensitive skin.

Still kissed her, Atticus slid a finger inside of her, the feeling of his penetration making Tessa feel as though her body were lighting up like a Christmas tree. She sighed, her gaze falling to the window as she watched the morning breeze pass through the branches beyond the compound.

Atticus slid another finger inside of her and moved them in and out of her slowly and gently. Tessa spread her legs wider to accommodate him as he worked. After a few minutes of this, Atticus moved his head down even further and Tessa felt giddy with anticipation for what was about to come.

He didn’t make her wait long. Atticus began licking her with small, quick darts of his tongue, teasing her at first. Before too long, he shifted to long, slow drags of his tongue, covering her clitoris completely with his warm, wet mouth as he continued to finger her. Tessa listened to the sound of him licking her, a soft, wet lapping that drove her wild as he stimulated her in this most intimate way.

She stretched her limbs, feeling as though Atticus could bring her to orgasm very easily in this manner. And part of her wanted to let him right then and there. But another part of her, a more insistent part, wanted him inside of her.

Tessa slid her fingers into his hair and pulled his head up, his sensual lips glistening with her.

“Want me to keep going?” he asked, his voice a purr.

“I could have you do that all day,” she said, her breasts rising and falling with each breath.

“Then you should let me,” he said with a smile.

“No,” she said. “I want to ride you.”

“You sure?” he asked.

Tessa rolled her eyes playfully. Ever since the two of them found out she was pregnant, Atticus wasted no time in slipping into the role of overprotective father.

“I think the babies can handle it,” she said with a sly grin.

Atticus let out a quick laugh.

“That’s right, if they’re like their mother, they can handle anything.”

Not wanting to say another word, Tessa pulled Atticus up and gently pushed him onto his back. She spread her legs as she climbed up on top him, a smile on her face as she slowly descended, taking his cock into her inch by inch.

Tessa sighed as he was fully sheathed into her, and as soon as he was, she placed her hands on his rock-hard chest, supporting herself as she moved up and down on top of him.

She rode him gently at first, slowly. They’d made love dozens, if not hundreds of times over the last few months, but she still found herself needing to take him slowly at first- his cock was simply too large to just jump right on top of. But once he was inside of her, the slickness of her pussy allowing him to slide in perfectly, she began to ride him harder and harder still.

After a few minutes, Tessa was bouncing up and down on top of him with wild abandon. She listened to the soft, wet sound of his cock plunging into her over and over, taking sweet pleasure at the feeling of driving him into her time and time again. Atticus’s hands rested on her hips at first, but over time traveled up to her breasts, squeezing and kneading them as he played with her nipples, a feeling of sensual, electrical pleasure running through her body as he stimulated her. She looked down at his face, his gorgeous, masculine features twisted into an expression of erotic agony as she rode him.

Her orgasm came quickly, almost without warning. Tessa screamed and moaned as she came, her body snapping back, her breasts shaking as convulsions of pleasure rocked her. Then, with a low moan, Atticus came, his cock emptying into her, filling her pussy with his hot seed. Tessa let out several more moans, her body completely in the grip of the orgasm.

But soon, it faded, and she collapsed on top of Atticus, her face pressed against his sweaty, sculpted chest.

Minutes passed, the two of them saying nothing, only taking in slow draws of air as they lay together.

Finally, after ten minutes or so had passed, Atticus spoke.

“I think it’s time to get up,” he said, looking at the clock next to the bed.

“So soon?” asked Tessa, her voice disappointed. “I think I have another round in me.”

“I think I have another three rounds in me,” said Atticus, sliding out from under Tessa and sitting up. “But I happened to see Clyde and Sarah putting up some decorations in the living room and I don’t think we should keep them waiting.”

“Oh, a party?”

“Something like that.”

Atticus started off for the shower, but stopped mid-step, as if remembering something.

“I love you,” he said, kissing Tessa on her forehead.

“I love you, too,” she responded, her mouth wide with a smile.

Tessa and Atticus took a quick shower together, getting dressed after they were done. After she put on her clothes, Tessa took the beautiful ring that Atticus had proposed to her with from the nightstand and slipped it onto her finger, a warm feeling rushing through her, a reminder of the joy she felt when he proposed to her months ago.

After the night when Atticus rescued her from Lucas, she felt that everything happened so fast. Within weeks, the leaderless meth gang fragmented, their members melting away, leaving nothing but a small group of a few dozen stragglers that the local law enforcement were able to put behind bars with all due speed. The meth blight that came so close to swallowing the communities near Bear Mountain whole was now gone, and things started to return to normal. And once the rebuilding went on, it seemed that Branlen might be even stronger that it was before.

Tessa and Atticus were married in a wonderful ceremony attended by nearly all of the town of Branlen (though the bear secret of the pack was kept under wraps.) The event was a joyful one, not only because of the joining of Tessa and Atticus but because the marrying of the elder brother meant that the rest of the pack could now choose mates. Indeed, within weeks, nearly every man in the pack had found a mate.

That and the new women of the pack took residence with their men in the ever-growing Swift Compound, which was now resembling a small village. Soon after the flurry of marriages, the new women began to show signs of carrying the next generation of bear shifters, their bellies round and full with the promise of new life for the pack.

Tessa was the first among them, of course. Soon after she and Atticus were married, Tessa began to sense that there was something different about her. One doctor’s appointment later they learned, to their joy, that not only was Tessa pregnant, but she was pregnant with twins- a boy and a girl. Atticus explained to her that this was the greatest omen that they could hope for: the boy would grow to be the next Alpha after Atticus, and the girl would lead the women of the tribe. He told it was a sign that the pack would grow even stronger than ever before. Tessa took the news in stunned silence, a happiness that she’d never thought possible filling her, tears welling in her eyes.

Dressed and ready, Atticus and Tessa headed down to the living room, which was covered with all manner of baby-related decorations. Every member of the pack was there, the men and the woman.

“Surprise!” the pack shouted out as Tessa and Atticus descended the stairs.

Warmth filled Tessa as she looked over the pack, all of their faces lit with happiness and joy.

“We never got a chance to congratulate you officially on the baby, so we figured that now was as good a time as any,” said Clyde, his pretty, stout wife at his side, her blonde hair parted in the middle, her eyes twinkling with the sort of glimmer that a mother-to-be had.

“Though, perhaps this would be a good time to celebrate all of the babies of the new tribe,” said Ian, his slim, ethereally beautiful wife seated next to him, her hand on her burgeoning baby bump.

“Why not a celebration for everyone?” asked Roland, his own pregnant wife at his side, a handsome-faced, sharply dressed beauty.

Atticus looked over at Tessa and saw that her eyes were welling with tears. With a smile, he realized she wouldn’t be speaking anytime soon for fear of bursting into joyful sobs.

“That sounds wonderful to me,” said Atticus, slipping an arm around Tessa as he raised a glass of sparkling wine taken from a nearby tray.

“To the pack!” he said, raising his glass.

“To the pack!” the rest of the pack responded in unison.

Tessa smiled as the party commenced, her head on Atticus’s shoulder, her hand on her belly. She didn’t know what the future would bring. Atticus assured her there would be challenges to come, that the life of a shifter pack was anything but boring. But she knew with this man, her love, at her side, they’d be able to take on anything, together.

THE END