Chapter Ten

Jasper

The big day had finally arrived and the red carpet had been rolled out for our friends from the north. Literally. There is a long, red carpet that runs from the valet station, well into the lobby of the hotel.

We're all standing in the lobby of The Marquis, the nicest hotel in Black Salmon Falls. It's not a Four Seasons, but The Marquis is a very upscale, elegant place. Every year, Asher rents out the top floor for the Phayngo Clan. They're here for a few days, there are lots of feasts, even more drinking, followed by communal bonding, and eventually, the ceremonial renewal of friendship.

I really hated this time of year.

Although most years, I'm able to wriggle out of the festivities, citing one excuse or another, Luca denied my every request to get out of it this year, telling me that it was time I feel the pain he feels on a yearly basis.

We line the walkway, watching the procession of the Phayngo walk by. And standing at the head of the red carpet are Asher, Mariana, and Luca's father, Ewen. The Phayngo are beautiful people. All of them. There isn't a Phayngo under six feet tall. They all have pale skin, stark white hair, and crystalline silver-blue eyes.

Merry and Holly are twins and the co-Chiefs of the Phayngo. Holly has a pink streak in her hair and Merry has a purple streak. Honestly, if they didn't have those streaks setting them apart from one another, I never would have been able to tell the difference between them.

I don't know them all that well, but I like them well enough. They're both quite pleasant and down to earth. Not to mention they have a wicked sense of humor. Oh, they get caught up in all the pomp and circumstance of ceremony, but they do it out of tradition. Not because they necessarily like it personally.

Then there's Frost. The brother of Merry and Holly and a guy with a perpetual chip on his shoulder. I've never liked him and do everything I can to avoid being around him. He always holds himself above everybody else, seeming to believe that we're all somehow beneath him. I know it stems from the fact that he believes he should be the Phayngo Chief, rather than his sisters. But, the Phayngo are a matriarchal society, the title of Chief being passed from mother to daughter.

“Enjoying the parade?” she says, her Eastern European accent as thick as ever.

I turn and see Winter standing beside me. She'd moved so quietly, I hadn't even heard her walk up. I should have expected it though. She stands about six-foot-one, has the trademark pale skin and white hair of the Phayngo, but unlike the others, has eyes blacker than coal. It's striking and sets her apart.

“Do I ever?” I ask.

She shrugs. “About as much as I do.”

I pull her into an embrace and then step back, giving her a grin. “It's good to see you, Winter.”

“Good to see you too.”

Winter is one of the more down to earth, easy going in her Clan. She's Merry and Holly's cousin, which I guess, technically puts her into the line of succession to be Chief. But, she's more like me. A fighter. She's a woman who doesn't like sitting back waiting for life to happen to her. She's more of a take charge type. I respect that about her.

She's also got a bawdy sense of humor, is a great conversationalist, and every time she's down, we always slip off to have a few drinks and catch up on things. Honestly, Winter is the only reason I even bother attending the functions at all every year.

“You look troubled.” she says.

I touch the streak of blue in her hair. “Going native, I see?”

She shrugs. “If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, I suppose.”

“You're not much of a joiner.”

“No,” she says. “But, you're ducking my question.”

“You didn't ask me a question,” I say. “You made a statement.”

She arches an eyebrow at me, a smirk tugging at one corner of her mouth. “And you're still deflecting,” she says. “Must be something big.”

I shrug and let out a breath. “Only if you consider a town Sheriff proposing a genocide something big.”

“Depends on the size of the town,” she says, chuckling.

I laugh. “True enough.”

I look up at the gift exchanging ceremony between Asher and the Phayngo. It's all very stiff and proper. I notice though, that Frost is standing off to the side, an even more hateful look on his face than usual. Not even pretending to be interested in the ceremony, he's looking down at his hands, fidgeting with a silver ring that has a large, blue stone embedded into it. He very clearly doesn't want to be here. It's about the only thing he and I agree on.

“I see Frost is really in the holiday spirit,” I say. “Doing a good job of really renewing our vows of friendship.”

Winter rolls her eyes and chuckles. “The man is getting bitchier and bitchier by the day,” she says. “I swear, I wish Merry and Holly would establish a clan at the North Pole and let Frost be the Chief. Maybe then, he'll whine and complain less.”

“Or he won't be close enough for you to hear it, at least.”

She shrugs. “Either way, it's a win.”

“What's his problem today?” I ask.

She shrugs. “He's been traveling the last few weeks,” she said. “Wanted to skip this altogether, but Merry and Holly said no. I wish they would have let him go home.”

“Traveling?”

“So, he says,” she replies. “I just think it's an excuse to be away from the clan for a while. Not that I mind it at all.”

“Is he thinking about joining another clan?” I ask. “Maybe even going rogue?”

“I doubt it,” she replies. “Frost enjoys the cushy lifestyle he has. If he goes to another clan, or goes rogue, he loses all of the perks that go with being part of the Chief's family.”

“Good point,” I say. “He's always seemed a bit prissy and pampered.”

“You don't even know the half of it.”

The ceremony ends with some very formal bows and then warm embraces. Except for Frost. He remains at the outskirts of the procession and doesn't embrace anybody. I just chuckle and shake my head. I may not be into the ceremony of it all, but at least I put on my big boy pants and make the best of it that I can.

“So,” I say, turning to Winter. “Now that the opening ceremonies are over, up for drinks?”

“Thank the gods,” she says. “I thought you'd never ask.”

~ooo000ooo~

Winter and I walk into the Salmon Run. It's busier than normal for a weekday and it doesn't take me very long to realize why that is. Holding court in the corner is none other than Brooks Green himself. When we walk toward a booth in the corner, I catch the would-be Sheriff's eye and he stops what he's saying, mid-sentence and glares at me.

Slowly, the twenty or so people gathered around his little stage all turn and the bar falls completely silent as all eyes fall on us.

“Well, speak of the devil,” Brooks says.

I shrug. “And the devil shall appear, I guess?”

The tension and hostility in the bar grows thicker by the second and I'm starting to grow a little uncomfortable beneath all the scrutiny.

“And to think, I came all this way to get away from the freezing cold,” Winter says, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Green, emboldened by his supporters, steps off his small platform and walks over to us. I turn around, not bothering to sit down and wait for him. He stops a foot or so away, a look of absolute derision on his face. About half of the people who'd been listening to him carry on fall in behind him, cranking the level of tension up even higher. It's so thick now, you could cut it with the proverbial knife.

“Jasper Neville,” he says. “Heard of you. Don't believe I know your friend though. I assume she's one of your kind too.”

I give Winter a small smile. “He's the president of my fan club.”

She laughs, a rich, throaty sound, and doesn't look the least bit intimidated by anybody. I've seen her fight and she's downright lethal in her human form. In her polar bear form though, she's something else entirely. I'm not intimidated by Green or his sycophants, but I've got a healthy dose of respect for Winter's fighting skills given that I'm pretty sure she could wipe the floor with me without breaking a sweat.

I turn back to Green. “Look, my friend and I are just here for a quiet drink,” I say. “So, go on back to your little hate rally in back and leave us be.”

A sneer crosses Green's face as he turns back to his crowd. “You hear this, folks?” he says, pitching his voice loud so everybody can hear him. “He calls us, coming together to protect the good people of this town, a hate rally. These unnaturals have held sway in Black Salmon Falls for too long.”

He turns back to me, his face red, his eyes burning with hatred. I so badly want to bash his face in, but I hold myself in check. Getting into a barroom brawl with the man would not only not end well for him, it wouldn't do us any favors either.

“Well, I'm standing here to say,” Green says, his eyes boring into mine, “that time is over. We're taking this city back for us. For real people. We're reclaiming Black Salmon Falls for humanity.”

I laugh out loud, doubling over and slap my knee. “You do realize this town was founded by the shifter community, don't you? Our forefathers built this city from the ground up. Built the cannery. A lot of the business that employ the people in this town. Us. Not you.”

Green's face darkens and his glare at me gets even harder. “I think it's time you get going.”

“My friend and I haven't had our drink yet.”

“Then you're gonna need to have that drink somewhere else because you aren't welcome here,” Green hisses.

The crowd behind him nods and I hear the murmuring of agreement from them. I look at Winter, who's still leaning against the booth, a bemused smile on her face.

“No, I think we're fine here,” I say. “But, please, feel free to carry on with your campaign speech. I'm sure it's riveting stuff.”

I sit down in the booth and with a small shrug, Winter slips into the booth across from me. Green leans down, his face inches from mine.

“I don't think you heard me correctly,” he says. “You and your albino whore here need to get out.”

I smirk at him and shoot a glance at Winter. Her jaw clenches and her eyes narrow – the only outward indication she gives that his words bother her. I can tell though, that she's a ticking time bomb and is just waiting to go off. Not that I can blame her, Green's act is getting really old.

“So, what is it, Green?” I ask, genuinely curious. “Why do you hate us so much? What did the bear community every do to you?”

“You're abominations,” he says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. “You and your kind aren't natural. You shouldn't exist.”

I nod. “Oh, so you're just a garden variety bigot then. Good to know,” I say and lean forward, addressing the crowd. “Just so you know, by supporting Mr. Green here, you're supporting bigotry and racism.”

Nobody says anything, but I see some people looking away, an expression of something akin to shame crossing their faces. I decide to press the point.

“The shifter community and humans have co-existed peacefully in Black Salmon Falls for a long, long time, folks,” I say. “There's never been –”

“Until you and your kind started killing the good citizens of this town,” he shouts. “A fact that you and your lackey, Sheriff Richards, are covering up.”

There are murmurs of approval again and nodding heads again. Emily is right, scared people do stupid things. Green obviously knows this and is using it to his advantage, using it to promote his campaign of hatred and bigotry.

“There are no facts to anything,” I say. “It's an ongoing investi –”

“Which is just another way of saying they're covering it up. Four people are dead. Four good people. Citizens of this town,” Green roars and then points a finger in my face. “And you abominations are responsible for those deaths!”

“You're going to want to get that finger out of my face,” I say calmly. “Now.”

“Or what?” Green says, not moving his finger. “Or you're going to turn into a big, bad bear and kill me? Because that's what your kind does, right?”

Green is really starting to piss me off and I feel the anger, dark and abiding rising up within me like a malevolent tide. I know he's baiting me. He's trying to provoke me to get me to do something that plays to his narrative. Even knowing that though, I don't know that I'm going to be able to keep myself in check much longer. Surprisingly, Winter slides out of the booth and puts herself between me and Green.

“You should run along now, little man,” Winter says. “You are only causing problems here.”

Green's face doesn't soften as he stares at her. “The only problem this town has is a bear problem,” he says. “A problem I plan on fixing.”

There's a pause in the conversation, but like a gathering storm, the tension and the expectation of violence grows. Jack, the Salmon Run's manager and a guy I know well, a guy I call a friend, steps between Green and me, putting himself next to Winter. He looks down at me, his eyes full of apology and I already know what the next words out of his mouth will be.

“I'm sorry, man,” Jack says. “But, I don't want any trouble in here tonight. Might be best if you and your lady friend take off.”

I smirk and shake my head. “How long I been coming here, Jack? How long we been friends?”

He sighs and won't meet my eyes. “A long time.”

I let out a derisive snort. “Yeah,” I say. “A long time. And in all that time, I never knew you were somebody who'd support such blatant bigotry.”

“You know I don't, man,” he says quickly.

I look around the bar and nod. “I guess the money of a couple dozen bigots means more than two people who've never done you wrong though, huh?” I say. “Good to know where you stand.”

“Dude, come on, it's not like –”

“Forget it.”

I stand up and head for the door knowing Winter will be right behind me. As we reach the door though, Green's voice stops me. I stand at the doorway without turning around, seething. Wanting nothing more than to shift into my bear form and tear the place apart.

“This is just the beginning for you abominations,” Green shouts. “You're not welcome in Black Salmon Falls anymore. It's time you all get out or suffer the consequences.”

The muscles in my arms are tensing and the rage in me is on the verge of boiling over. But then I feel Winter's hand on my shoulder.

“He is not worth it, Jasper,” she says. “Do not let him win this way.”

I let out a long breath and push through the door, stepping out into the cold evening air.

“And here I thought Frost was the biggest asshole I ever met,” Winter says.

I look at her for a moment and then erupt into laughter. It's not the funniest joke ever, but it's either laugh hysterically or vent all of the emotion coursing through me in a fit of rage. Which makes laughing the wiser option.

“Come,” Winter says. “I need to run.”

I nod. Maybe a good run will burn off the excess energy burning through me. We're parked at the edge of the parking lot near the woods, so we head to the car. The night air is cold, but I'm so keyed up, it feels good on my skin. We strip down and stand naked for a moment, basking in the chilly air. I imagine that compared to where the Phayngo live, this has to feel like summer weather to her.

I make sure to lock my keys in the car – we'll come back for it tomorrow.

“Ready?” I ask.

“Ready.”

We shift into our bear forms and dash off into the woods, running like the devil is on our heels, relishing the exhilaration of the night air in our fur. Reveling in just being who and what we are.