Wanted By The Soldier Bear (Heroes of Shifter Creek 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Obviously, it left a bad taste in the mouth of some shifters.”
                  Marcus didn’t get a chance to explain more. A roar sounded from outside. “Stay here,” he ordered, and he left to check it out.
                  He obviously didn’t know her well if he thought she’d obey. She followed him out onto the porch. A grey bear stood nearby, standing on his hind legs, roaring into the night. His roar was weak, but he was not injured. He was old. It was obvious in the way his fur shagged off of his lean body.
                  “It’s the old man,” Marcus stated. “The one I saw in the woods, right before I was stabbed with the spear. He’s here for you.”
                  Without another thought, he shifted into a bear and leaped off the porch to attack. The bear bodies clashed together, ripping at each other. Though the grey bear was old, he defended himself well against Marcus, clawing at him with vigor, well trained in combat. But he was no match for the much younger colossal black bear. Marcus bit into his neck, paralyzing the old man in his place.
                  That’s when Cecelia saw it – the hurt and regret that haunted the old man. “Stop!” she shouted. When Marcus refused to let go, she ran to him, tugging at his arm. “Let him go!”
                  Both of the men changed back to their human forms, and the old man fell onto the ground, catching his breath. Cecelia went to him to see if he needed healing, but he seemed okay. There would be a bruise on his neck in the morning, but that was all.
                  “What are you doing here?” Marcus rumbled, mistrustful.
                  “I came to warn you,” the old man said, looking at Cecelia. “I know what you are.”
                  “How?” she asked.
                  “My gift is to sense other gifts. That is why the Bear Hunters kept me captive. They’re collecting bears, using us against our own people so that they can grow stronger.”
                  “Why would you oblige?” Marcus snapped.
                  “Because they don’t kill those they capture, but they would have killed me if I didn’t do as they asked. I was traveling with the Bear Hunters to the coast. Along the way, I sensed the presence of a healer nearby. I wasn’t going to tell them, but the cougar – he has a gift of his own. He knew I was hiding something. He always knows. So I directed them towards the cabin.”
                  “But they didn’t take me because I wasn’t a shifter.”             
    “Yes,” he confirmed. “There are four of them in this band of Bear Hunters– three wolves and a cougar. One of the wolves is female, the rest are males. They carry spears as weapons when they are in human form.”
                  “As I learned,” Marcus said coolly.
                  “And the Johannssons?” Cecelia asked. “What of them?”
                  “They are tied together in a cave, heavily sedated so that they don’t shift. I think the Bear Hunters are waiting for backup before they wake them. They don’t yet know that none in the family is the healer. I managed to escape before it became an issue.”
                  Marcus zeroed in on the old man. “If you were able to escape, why didn’t you save the Johannssons as well?”
                  “Because my bones are slow and cracking. I shifted and slipped away while the Bear Hunters were preoccupied with the family. It was my first chance at escape I’ve had since being captured.”
                  “I don’t buy it,” Marcus said.
                  “I do,” Cecelia argued. “He risked his freedom coming back here. He could have just gone home, wherever that is.”
                  “Far,” the old man said.