The Bear’s Nanny by Erin Havoc
13
ASTRID
THIS... CAN’T BE happening.
My fingers close tighter around Owen’s leg. I swallow, my eyes wide as I ask myself if I am truly seeing what I think is in front of me. But this can’t be real. Yeah, winter in Montana gets cold but not polar-bear-cold. I haven’t had alcohol in days, which is both shocking and upsetting. Upsetting because, well, if I’m not drunk, then why am I seeing a polar bear in the middle of the woods? I can’t even convince myself it escaped from a zoo. The closest one must be three hours away.
Owen screams next to me, his sobs so loud and so desperate I can barely focus on anything else. I try to bounce him on my arm, but I can’t convince him it’s all right. It would be a lie. A bear just took the front door down. It happened after Kieran left. Owen cried, and I walked him to the windows to check the woods. Search for any sign of what was going on. Then I saw it, a pair of yellow eyes in the night. It immediately made me shiver.
I pulled back and forced my breathing to settle, knowing the door would keep us safe, no matter the beast outside. I thought of the wolves I heard howling at the moon, and I wasn’t the best science student back in school, but I knew wolves couldn’t take doors down.
Bears, on the other hand, seemed perfectly capable of doing so. That’s exactly what this massive polar bear did.
At first, I watched the doorknob turn. As if the bear was hoping it would be unlocked. I grit my teeth together as I tried to hear its steps over the sound of Owen’s pain. He knew we were in trouble. Did babies feel it? Because this one somehow did. His face was an angry red, tears pooling onto his lashes and darting down his chubby cheeks to soak his clothes.
Either Owen’s sobs were too loud, or the bear was quiet because I just caught notice of it when the door trembled, a loud thud informing me someone, or something, was shouldering the door. My jaw hung, and I rushed to the window to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. If I wasn’t so afraid, I would have picked up my phone and filmed the gigantic bear slamming his body to the door. Instead, I backed into the middle of the living room, where I still stand, my teeth clattering in fear as the bear knocked the door down — or almost, it still hangs from a hinge — and locks eyes with me.
Owen, if possible, doubles his efforts. He’s shaking in my arm, and I hug him close, wishing I could use both my hands for this. But I hold my pepper spray in the other, feeling suddenly stupid. I thought whoever invaded the lands were, I don’t know, bandits. Maybe teenagers seeking some rebellious fun. Not a bear. Not one that should be found in the Arctic.
Fear rolls inside my stomach, making me sick. I would clench my jaw, but my teeth tremble too hard, clattering together as if I’m shivering. What should I do in case of a bear attack? Pretend I’m dead? It certainly already knows I’m here. It stares at me with something almost cruel flickering in its yellow gaze, huge teeth bared and saliva running from its maw.
“Fucking hell,” I shiver, gripping the spray so hard my nails dig into my palm, cutting into my flesh. “This can’t be happening.”
The bear takes another step into the living room, and I swear, I freaking swear it smiles. It gives me a knowing, sadistic smile that makes it look so freaking intelligent.
My blood rushes into my head, pumping in my ears. I’m both painfully aware of everything and numb. There’s no way I can run around the bear, so it’s time for Plan B.
Where is Kieran? I can only think of him. Of how he told me he’d protect me, he’d protect us and the land. And I wonder why he thinks he could fight another bear. He’s big, yeah, and strong. But another bear? A polar one at that? He can’t live through the experience twice.
The bear takes another step, his hind legs tensing and springing, and in a moment, the time for musings is over.
It comes up on its two hind legs, towering over me, its head touching the freaking ceiling, and I let out a gasp. When it comes down, I only have the time to jump back before its jaw closes inches from me. A huge roar makes my bones quiver, and I waste no time slamming my forefinger into the spray’s nozzle. The pepper sprays out, and I turn my body away, pressing my chest to Owen’s face and closing my eyes. The scent is strong, pungent, but an immense roar sounds pained just a foot from me, and I know I hit my target.
I hear the bear fumbling around, and I throw my other arm around Owen, keeping him close. My body whirls to the other side, and I use my memory to run into the kitchen. Luckily, I find no cloud of pepper spray as I enter the premises, my heart threatening to escape my ribcage. My feet take me to the laundry, and I slam the door closed behind me. It will give me just enough time to escape through the back door here.
My hands tremble as I grip the knob and turn it. I stumble out of the house and rush to the cars. Sabrina’s Toyota comes into view just as a huge shadow rises in front of me. I skid to a halt, almost toppling back as I raise my head to see another freaking bear.
My jaw drops. I’m dead. I’m so dead.
The light from the house spills out, hitting the black fur of this one. Its eyes search for mine for a moment, and my stomach drops when I meet its gaze. Why do his eyes remind me of Kieran? This makes no sense. They’re not even blue. The bear touches a huge paw to my arm and, though I jerk, it’s gentle. The touch is warm, fuzzy, and careful. I step aside, rushing away into the car.
The bear drops to its four legs and looks over its shoulder. And I can read what’s written on its face. It’s telling me to stay away. It’s telling me it will protect me. My gut twists as I step back. The thick fog in my head won’t let me make sense of what’s happening. I grip the Toyota’s handle and pull. It doesn’t open. Fuck. I left the keys inside.
Kieran and the others are gone; I don’t know where; I don’t know why. But there are two bears in the house, strangely intelligent, and one of them makes me more fearful than a usual bear would. The alarm ringing in my head doesn’t set off for the newcomer, just for the polar. As if the newcomer couldn’t kill me with a slash of its paw.
My stomach roils as my mind races between options. Should I run into the woods? A bear could easily catch up with me. And I can’t climb a tree with Owen in my arms. I couldn’t climb it even without him.
The black bear seems to study me. Then it juts its snout to the side. I follow its gaze to Kieran’s pickup. It takes me a while to remember, but the others don’t lock their cars. I do an about-face and grip the handle of Kieran’s pickup. A relieved sigh escapes me when it opens. I climb into it and close the door, bouncing Owen in my arms, trying to calm him. He catches his breath, opening his eyes to stare out the windshield at the bear who just arrived. He seems almost... calmer. Owen trusts this bear for some reason. Maybe I should trust it too.
The polar bear seems to be having some trouble with my pepper spray still, but that doesn’t stop it from fighting. It roars, the sound racing down my spine and making every hair on my body stand up. I shiver, holding Owen close, already developing a plan in case this one goes wrong. With unsteady fingers, I find the keys and turn the engine on. But I don’t leave.
My gaze drops to the black bear’s back. A scar on its shoulder mars the fur. It’s in the exact spot of Kieran’s.
The polar bear exits the house and the two fight. The black bear is smaller but has the upper hand. He holds the polar bear with strong front paws and pulls it off the porch, shoving it to the ground. I had never seen bears fighting, but it’s like something out of a movie. Huge beasts, every shove making the car shake.
They’re strong, and they’re mad. One roars at the other, and they get to their feet and shove and bite and scratch. I had no idea bear claws could be so sharp, but they cut at each other’s skin, and soon the polar bear is soaked in red.
The black one seems so out of his mind I know he won’t let me get hurt.
A strange taste takes my tongue. Why do I keep thinking of this bear as he? Why do I feel so protected by it, and why did Owen feel safe once he arrived? A tiny voice inside my head tells me I know why, but I shake my head. It isn’t possible. It can’t be.
I thought of Kieran as a bear earlier. Because of his bulk, his enormous frame, the softness of his hair. He’s protective of the ones who are precious to him. It doesn’t mean he’s a shapeshifter or something.
But Shadow Falls is a strange place; it isn’t on the map. Everyone’s so secretive about certain things. I heard the wolves howling. And there’s the way Kieran and his friends here consider themselves part of a clan. I’ve heard a guy in the bar talking about his pack. The strangers that visited called Sabrina a witch. At first, I thought it was an insult, but... I swallow. Does she read minds? Were all the jokes real? The girls that defended me back at the bar. They roared at the strangers. And they weren’t the only ones. Who roars anyway?
The realization makes my head swim. The fight draws on, their movements growing sluggish, but I watch it all with wide eyes. Could this black bear truly Kieran? If so, does it mean the other bear is also a person? It would explain a polar bear in the woods of Montana.
Might-be-Kieran gets to his hind legs and comes down with monstrous force, slamming both front paws into the polar bear’s head and making it — or him — drop facedown. He does it again, and I see blood. Might-be-Kieran takes a step back and roars straight into the polar bear’s face, and it sounds like a last warning.
The polar bear slams his eyes shut for a moment, then opens them to gape at me. I don’t like the way he’s glaring at us. With movements so fast I wouldn’t guess this bear was down a second ago, he gets to his feet and darts. At us.
For someone so big, he’s fast. I cover Owen’s head with a hand and drop on the seat, knowing he can break the window and hurt me, but he won’t reach Owen. A rush of warmth races through me as the window shatters. Glass rains down on my back. But I don’t feel the fiery pain of claws digging into me. More shuffling, a crash, a couple of roars, and the sound of something breaking, and I’m still here. My eyes slammed shut, Owen cradled to my chest, his tiny hands holding onto my shirt.
My heartbeat takes forever to slow down, even after the sounds are over. There’s the rustling of leaves for a moment, and Owen stops crying. A shuffling of feet, and the door opens. A pair of big, warm hands close around my arms. Kieran pulls me up, and regret is so obvious on his face it makes me choke. He’s careful as his hands touch my cheeks and my arms, and then he finds Owen and searches him too. He’s looking for wounds. He wants to know if we got hurt.
I peek under his arm, my teeth clattering. The polar bear’s body is stretched on the gravel, blood soaking into the earth. He doesn’t move. There’s no sign of the black bear. But when I meet Kieran’s eyes, I’m sure he’s our savior.
I throw an arm around his neck. He wraps himself around me, careful to not squeeze Owen too hard. Kieran’s powerful hands pull me out of the car as I shake. I bury my head into his neck and breathe the scent of the woods and sweat and blood. He’s naked beneath my fingers, and my body warms up to the thought. I have to fight a primal, stupid instinct to study his delicious muscles when I pull back.
“Are you all right?” He asks in a hoarse voice that sounds like worry.
I nod and swallow. But I can’t say a word. Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, my body’s trembling too hard. Kieran offers me a hand, and I take it. He holds me around the waist and keeps me steady as we walk back into the house. I have to focus so hard on Owen not to look down. From what I can see in the dim light, he’s as freaking yummy as I expected. But there’s too much going on, and I shouldn’t focus on this.
We’re stepping onto the porch when several thundering steps enter the clearing. I turn to find a gang of four bears rushing closer. My first instinct is to halt and hold Owen close. But this time, the baby doesn’t even complain.
He’s safe.
I roam my gaze over them. There are two grizzly bears and another black one like Kieran. The one leading the group is huge, a Kodiak bear with smart eyes. Its gaze dances between Kieran and me.
Just like that, I know that’s Wyatt. Just from the way he’s looking at Kieran, like telling him what to do. I’ve seen little of him, but he’s clearly the one responsible for calling the shots.
My lips part and I’m not afraid. I lick my lips. “Is that Wyatt?” I ask, looking up at Kieran.
The bears shuffle in place. Kieran’s face drops. There’s a mix of shock and pain on his features as he studies me for a long moment.
“We need to talk,” he says, a firm arm around my waist leading me into the house.
I look over my shoulder once. I have no idea what’s coming up next. Paranormal creatures exist. And from how secretive they were, I shouldn’t know about them. Am I in danger? And most importantly... Can I stay in Shadow Falls? Should I?