Bear Bait (Hero Mine Book 1) Read online

  Lifting his short snout, Cade took in a big gulp of air and then let it out. His next inhale was slow, purposeful: he needed to let his brain dissect the particles and home in on any belonging to the degetty.

  It was faint, a smell not unlike rotten eggs, coming from the east. Cade turned to look at Seth and Isaac, nodding in the direction he assumed they would find the degetty. They agreed, the almost imperceptible movement of their heads telling him that was the way. He set off, casting his senses outward, pinpointing where Kurt and Kell were, hanging back out of the way of the bears. Further behind them were his mom and Tally.

  They moved as a unit, the scent of the degetty getting stronger. Seth and Isaac fanned out further, Cade’s bear keeping them on his “bear radar”; he didn’t want either of them to be picked off by this thing. Not that degetty were inherently hostile, it all depended on who had control of them. If their handler used them for bad stuff, they were bad, difficult to control, and hard to send back where they belonged. However, some people, human and Others, liked to have them on a leash, as nothing more than a status symbol, which made the degetty docile and easy to send back to the Underworld. These degetty put up little to no resistance and were often happy to be going home.

  Finding out which way a degetty was going to roll on first contact was always fun.

  They tracked deeper into the forest, Seth alerting everyone to movement to the south. They turned as one, and headed toward the sound of rustling in the undergrowth. Too loud to be a bird or a fox, this left pony, deer, or degetty.

  Or a frickin’ human, his bear cursed.

  They all caught the scent, human body odor mixed with stale beer. Freezing in their tracks, the squad assessed the situation.

  “Damn it,” Cade said, as he shifted back to his human form. They would have to send Kell in, with his badge of authority, to find out who was out there.

  “I see them,” Seth called, his voice low. “Three of them. Look a little lost. My guess is these are the guys who opened the box.”

  “They have a gun,” Isaac said, his head ducked down as he ran toward Cade. “Air rifle. Not enough to do any real damage, but enough to take someone’s eyes out.”

  Cade turned and headed back toward Kell at a jog. “You’re up, old man.”

  “And I thought I was just along for the ride,” Kell said, pulling his badge out.

  “Want one of us to come with?” Seth asked, as he and Isaac reached them.

  “Nope, I can handle this. You know how I enjoy tearing a strip off. Shifter is better, but I can make do with a normal human.”

  Kell left them, and a short time later they heard his voice calling out, cursing in a not very CID kind of a way, “Put the damn gun down!”

  “Let’s fall back and check on Tally and Mom,” Cade said, not wanting to be picking pellets out of his arse if the kids fired their gun.

  “Do you think Kell has a gun?” Seth asked.

  “Why, do you want a gun, as well as a badge?” Tally asked.

  “No. Wouldn’t do us much good.” He patted the sheath, attached to his belt, which held the long knife he used if all else failed and he had to cut off the head of a degetty. It didn’t happen often, and it verged on being a last resort, since you had to get up close and personal to a degetty to take its head off. And they were tough, and strong, and fought for their lives like a cornered tiger. “This is all I need to… Tally?”

  “Tally?” Cade called as the young witch broke away and ran toward a thicket. He gave chase immediately. The last thing the squad needed was to lose their witch. “Tally, what’s wrong?”

  “Can’t you hear it?” Tally asked.

  “Hear what, the degetty?” Cade asked, back on high alert and scanning the area.

  “No. That noise. It’s like a high-pitched whine.” She looked back at him, her face pale, the moonlight shining down on her, illuminating its child. That was how he saw Tally, a child of the moon: her hair was almost translucent, her skin white like the frosts of winter, her eyes the palest of blue. In that moment, his heart squeezed with pity for Tally; she was just a kid, and he wanted to protect her, to be her hero. But she wasn’t his to love and cherish, not in the way she wanted, and never would be. One day he hoped she would find true love, the right mate for her. Goddess knew she deserved it.

  “I don’t hear it, Tally.” He reached out for her, but she pulled away.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not crazy.”

  “I didn’t say you were,” Cade said gently.

  “But you all look at me that way.” Tally was on the defensive.

  “What way?” As if he didn’t know.

  “As if you are expecting me to go crazy like my mom,” Tally said, her voice rising in pitch.

  “Helena is not crazy.”

  Tally was about to argue when she spun around and took off again. She didn’t get far before she stopped, listening, and then darted right. Cade followed, keeping with her, but letting her go. She was tracking something. And then she found it.

  “Druid Box!” She held it up triumphantly.

  Cade didn’t have time to say anything before his blood froze, and he turned around. “Mom!”

  “Cade,” Eva’s shout echoed again, and he took off back to the place he had left her with Isaac and Seth.

  He heard growls and snarls; they were attacking something. The degetty. He shifted in mid-air, his jaws open, ready to join the others in defending Eva. As he approached, he saw Seth and Isaac, as bears, standing in front of Eva. The degetty was attempting to get past them, but they held their ground. As Cade entered the fray, he knew that his mom was the target of the degetty attack. But why?

  It didn’t matter. Cade, like the rest of the squad, would fight to the death to protect her—there was no way he was going to lose another parent.

  Not tonight.

  Chapter Two – Octavia

  Damn, she was tired. Tired of running. Tired of being hunted. And tired of not knowing when it was going to end. Or if it was going to end. What if the thing followed her, even now? Octavia glanced in the rearview mirror, but there was nothing there to see, it was dark, no headlights, no streetlights—no green-eyed monster chasing her down.

  Octavia flexed her hands on the steering wheel and let that last thought settle around her oppressively. What if it had been there? Would she stop the car, and let the thing take her? Maybe then the horror would end.

  “Coward,” she said, and put her foot on the gas. She had a plan, and she was going to stick with it. She had been given an address of a witch, Natalie Munroe, who lived in the New Forest. That was where she was going. There she would get help, in sending this thing back to where it came from.

  The Underworld. Until a week ago, Octavia had thought the Underworld was made up. A place you read about in books. Until a week ago, Octavia had been locked in grief at losing her mom to cancer; now that grief was set aside, replaced by the need to keep running.

  Taking a right turn off the A36, she headed into the forest, her small car rattling as it crossed over a cattle guard. She was nearly there.

  But what was she bringing with her? Death.

  Shaking her head, she tried to get any thoughts about death out of her head. She couldn’t give in. If she did, this thing might simply move on to someone else, and she wouldn’t wish that on anyone. No. This was her problem and she was going to solve it. Or get Natalie Munroe to solve it.

  Matthew had told her Natalie Munroe had the power to get rid of this thing, and she had to believe it, had to cling onto that hope. Octavia had to trust in Matthew. A sob erupted from her throat. What if the demon had killed Matthew? She reached for her phone, but then let her hand go back to the steering wheel. She couldn’t call him, couldn’t draw attention to him. If something happened to Matthew, because of her, Octavia didn’t know what she would do. He was the love of her life.

  That was what the fortuneteller had told her. Fates will collide and bring true love into your life.
r />   And there Matthew had been two days later, bumping into her as he got off the train, just when she needed someone to pick her up and give her something to live for. Was it only two weeks since they’d met? It seemed a lifetime ago. And a lifetime was what she thought they would have together. Not a week of dinner, theater, and good company, before this thing had come into her life, and ruined everything.

  Was she cursed? Never to be happy again.

  Concentrating on the road, and trying to avoid the ponies that roamed across the New Forest, she kept the car steady as she guided it through the night. Under the trees, the dark was absolute, only the beam of her headlights showed her the way. Shadows loomed all around her, and her sense of being alone grew. She was miles from the nearest house. No one would hear her scream if the thing caught up with her.

  Thing. Demon. It looked more like a man, until you saw its eyes. Bright green, flashing like lasers as it pummeled the life out of the guy in the park who had come to her aid as she’d run so clumsily on her heels. Maybe her would-be rescuer hadn’t died. Maybe the thing had given up and left him alive when it ran after her, afraid of losing her, when she reached her car and sped away.

  Octavia could still see the thing running after her car, green eyes flashing as it moved inhumanly fast along the road behind her.

  But that was three hundred miles ago, and she had driven fast in her bid to escape. Octavia was expecting speeding tickets to be waiting for her on her doormat when she got home.

  If she got home.

  Ten more miles. She turned right, and followed the road downhill, before it rose once more, taking her deeper into the forest. Another ten minutes and she would be there. She was going to make it. Then what? Wait in the car until morning, or wake up Natalie and beg to be allowed in?

  That was a decision she would make when she arrived. Deep down, Octavia acknowledged she was still not expecting to arrive. She was sure the thing was going to jump out at her any minute and force her off the road.

  It didn’t need to. Her car spluttered and choked, before the engine cut out and she was cruising to a standstill.

  “No, no, no,” she cried, turning the ignition key, attempting to start the engine. Her eyes flickered to the tell-tale light—she was out of gas. “Damn it.” She knew she was running on fumes, but stopping to refuel the car had not been an option. When the low-fuel warning light came on, she had calculated the miles she had left in the tank and was sure she was going to make it.

  Luck had deserted her.

  Grabbing her purse, she got out of the car, thankful it was a warm night and there was no rain. She could walk. Surely she had enough of a head start to get to Natalie before the thing caught up with her? The sooner she got started, the sooner she would get there. At least this had answered her question. When she got to Natalie’s house, she was going to hammer down the door of the witch and demand sanctuary.

  Striking out along the road, Octavia wished she was wearing comfortable shoes, not two-inch heels. But then, she had not been anticipating a midnight walk in a forest. When she left her apartment last night for her hot date with Matthew, she could not have anticipated how the evening was going to end.

  What had she been anticipating? Dinner and sex. In that order. Octavia had spent the best part of two hours soaking in the bath, drying and styling her auburn hair, piling it up in silken curls on top of her head, and applying her makeup meticulously. She had known something was out there, something that had made the hairs on the back of her neck stick up, but she could never have guessed it wasn’t a human something.

  She could never have guessed she would end up on the run.

  A lump filled Octavia’s throat, and a sob erupted. She didn’t want to die. Not when she had promised her mom she would live life to the fullest and not be afraid of loving another human being again. Her mom must have read that in Octavia’s eyes, because as she watched her mom, the woman who had raised her single-handedly, slip away, she had put a barrier around her heart.

  A barrier Matthew had kicked down. Octavia closed her eyes. She was lying to herself. Matthew was sweet, but there was no real spark. Octavia had been in love with the idea of being in love. The idea that she could fulfill her mom’s dying wish and open her heart. Now she had put him in danger, for nothing.

  If they had never met, he would not be caught up in this.

  Octavia opened her eyes, breathed deeply, and kept moving. Reaching Natalie would mean an end to this. So that was what she would do.

  After fifty feet, Octavia decided to remove her shoes, the sound of the heels clacking on the asphalt too loud to her own ears. It was like they were saying I’m here, come and get me with every step. Maybe she would be better off to walk on the side of the road; the soft earth, covered with pine needles, would dampen any sound, and if a car came she would be able to slip behind a tree and hide until it passed. The shoulder was no better, her heels sunk into the ground, making walking difficult.

  The sudden sound of a distant engine warned her someone was approaching. This was the time for decisions. Did she try and hitch a lift, or did she want to avoid people? Her shoes made her think hitching a lift might be a good idea, and she took a step toward the road.

  Looking over her shoulder she saw the headlights slow as they reached her car, and then stop. Someone was getting out. Shit, had she been followed? That hadn’t occurred to Octavia. She had expected to be chased by the demon. Not by real people. Her heart hammered in her chest as she slid behind a tree and then peered out slowly. Green eyes!

  She jumped sideways quickly, and made off into the trees, losing her bearings almost immediately as the dark enveloped her. Holly leaves prickled her feet; brambles caught at her legs and snagged her dress. If the demon was out there, would it be able to scent her blood? Had she imagined the green eyes? She couldn’t take the chance they were part of this.

  Whatever this was.

  Another sob erupted, but she swallowed it back down, this wasn’t the time for tears, this was the time for action. The promise she had made to her mom that she would lead a full life came back to her.

  Neither these people, or a demon, or whatever it was, would claim her. She would fight. Fight for her life, and fight to understand why they were hunting her. Because it was important. It had to be. She just wished she knew why.

  Natalie Munroe, Octavia said to herself. I’m coming, ready or not. Then she struck off into the unknown, trusting herself, and trusting in Matthew and the help he had given her. He was her true love, that was what she had been told.

  And maybe the fortuneteller had been right, and their love would grow. Not every relationship started with a bang, some took time to grow, and needed nurturing. And he had come through with the information she needed to get rid of this demon.

  He had been the one who had given her the name Natalie Munroe, as she had run for her life. He had saved her. Their fates were entwined, they must be.

  She needed to believe that now more than ever.

  Chapter Three – Cade

  The degetty was a big male, his face that of a young man, his body that of a bodybuilder on steroids, too muscled to be natural. Unfortunately, that was not where unnatural finished. The degetty’s green eyes flashed as it swiped at Seth, sending him sprawling across the ground. Isaac leapt to Eva’s defense, dodging the degetty as his hands balled into fists and lashed out at the bear.

  Cade’s anger grew, and he almost lost control in his need to protect his mom, who had her sword drawn and was frantically looking for an opening so she could plunge the blade into the degetty’s heart. It wouldn’t kill him, but it would knock him off balance long enough to either chop his head off, or allow Tally to cast the spell to send him back to the Underworld.

  Even as he moved, Cade could sense the witch drawing the power of the heavens and earth to her. She had to open a portal, one that would suck in this demon, taking him back to where he belonged.

  The degetty sensed it too, his body turning ligh
tning fast, and then he pounced, knocking Cade out of the way as he moved. The blow contained such incredible power, Cade knew instantly that there was no way Tally was sending this one back anywhere.

  Cade dragged himself to his feet, a quick glance telling him the two other bears were down and his mom was advancing with her sword drawn, but it was too late, the degetty was bearing down on Tally.

  “Zinan,” Eva yelled, and the degetty faltered, turning back to face Cade’s mom. “I’m the one you came for. Let’s settle this. Here. Now.”

  The degetty swung back toward Tally, who was seconds away from completing the spell. With one blow across her face, the degetty sent her flying into a tree, her head cracking sickeningly on its trunk. Torn, Cade hesitated—did he rescue his mom, or help Tally?

  “Get Tally up,” Eva yelled, her sword flashing in the light of the moon as she danced expertly across the forest floor, driving the degetty away from Cade and Tally. Then another bear joined the fray, Kurt. He was older, slower than the younger bears, but still as deadly.

  Slowly, Seth and Isaac pulled themselves back onto four paws and launched themselves at the degetty, circling around it, each of them snapping at it with their teeth and slashing with their claws.

  Cade shifted in one fluid movement to land by Tally’s unconscious body. He couldn’t see any blood, but he could smell it and taste it on his tongue. He probed the back of her head with his fingers until he found the source, and let out a sigh of relief. It was a small graze; the lump under it gave him more concern, but he had to get her to wake up, they needed her. He needed her.

  “Tally. Tally, come on, you have to wake up.” He hooked his hands under her arms and hoisted her to her feet, her body small and frail in his large hands. “Tally. Tally, love, you have to wake up.” Her eyelids fluttered open, but her eyes were out of focus. “Damn it, Tally. We need you.”