Authors: Casey Elliot
MC Bear’s Baby
*****
A massive bear paw clawed down and swiped at a black bear’s chest, drawing blood from the scratches. The wounded bear stumbled, struggling to regain its footing when the brown bear tackled it and pinned it to the ground.
Cheers erupted from the crowd of spectators circling the two bears. One of them emerged from the crowd, walking to the animals fearlessly, and placing his hand on the brown bear that was still snarling at its opponent.
“Get up, son. The battle is over,” he said, and almost immediately, the brown bear calmed and got off of the other bear. The man then took both of the bears’ paws and faced the crowd.
“The winner and chosen pack leader of the Ursa clan is…,” he paused dramatically, the spectators waiting and holding their breath in anticipation. “Lucas Wilde!” he roared, raising the brown bear’s arm in victory.
The crowd went wild, most of them happy with the decision while a handful disagreed and booed. The brown bear slowly transformed; his fur shedding away, revealing tanned skin, it’s massive size shrinking a little, stopping just over 6’3’’, and its body transformed into that of a man’s.
Lucas Wilde took two quick breaths and one long exhale, as his body returned to his human form. He gave his opponent a curt nod, one that was respectfully reciprocated, and he walked away from the ring. The people who cheered for him clapped their hands on his back and arms, congratulating him. He nodded at all of them before excusing himself to go to the shower room, expelling a sigh of relief upon seeing that he was finally alone.
He wasn’t even interested in leading their clan. He was just made to compete because all males must do so, and as he was a direct descendant of one of the founding fathers of their clan, it was mandated that he join. He was never much of a people-person, always by himself and speaking only when spoken to. The only time he talked freely was when he was out on some sort of hunt or mission with his fellow shifters, and he had to issue orders. Other than that, he rarely opened his mouth.
It was a wonder, then, how a lot of people were rooting for him in the battle for clan leadership when he was the most unsociable of them all.
It was probably the way he looked, he mused, letting the water pelt down to his face, as he washed up the blood, sweat, and dirt from his body. Even by clan standards, where most of the males (and a few females) could transform into huge bears, Lucas was strange in that he was so much bigger and more in control of his ursine alter ego than the rest.
The way he looked as a man was kind of peculiar as well, not in a way that he was hideous, but quite the opposite.
His eyes were a strange combination of blue and green, sometimes glowing when he was surging with power and emotion. His hair, which was the same color as his fur when he was a bear, was cropped close to his head, unlike the others who didn’t bother to have it cut and kept it long. His aquiline nose and full pink lips that were stuck in a perpetual frown made him devastatingly handsome. There were a lot of women in his clan that tried to seduce him to their beds or to consider him as their mate because of this, but he always declined. He couldn’t risk imprinting on them, and he wasn’t ready for that kind of life, especially now when he was officially next in line.
“Lucas,” a voice called from behind him. Lucas turned his head as he caught sight of the elderly man from earlier. Lucas took the towel he had hung from the side and wrapped it around his waist wordlessly before fully turning toward the man. “Congratulations once again for winning the competition,” he said.
Lucas nodded curtly in response, his brows furrowed a little, as he tried to see where this conversation was going.
“I believe I don’t have to tell you the responsibilities you have to accomplish before you take your place as leader of the pack, no?” the man asked, and Lucas slowly shook his head.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t care much for the rules, so I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lucas said, making the Elder sigh.
“How clueless our future leader is,” the Elder murmured before clearing his throat. “Since you will be taking the mantle once our current leader passes on, you must be deemed an acceptable successor,”
“Didn’t I just do that? I won the competition,” Lucas said.
“You won the bid, the rite of passage, if you will, but the Council could still revoke that rite if they find that you are shirking off your duties,” the Elder clarified, and Lucas was gob smacked.
“So… the competition was a farce?” Lucas asked, one eyebrow raised.
“No. It was a test of prowess; for it is our belief that only the strongest among us is fit to lead our people,” the Elder answered.
“Yeah, but no one is ever actually qualified until they go along with whatever you want, right?” Lucas fired back, and the Elder shook his head in disappointment.
“Rules were made for a reason, Lucas, and you’re blatant disregard for them is quite disturbing,” the Elder said. He waved his hand to stop Lucas from replying any further and continued. “And, none are more bound to it than the person who leads. As such, I must inform you that one of the rules you have to abide by is to have a mate within the year before you take your place as the pack leader.” Lucas’s eyes widened.
“You’re forcing me to get married within the year?” Lucas asked. “How am I supposed to find a wife by then?”
“Well, it has been the work of the Council to match the clan leader to a woman from a different and equally strong clan, usually the offspring of the current leader. Naturally, such an alliance is most advantageous for both groups.” the Elder answered, and Lucas scoffed, shaking his head in frustration.
“So, not only am I to marry against my will, I can’t choose who I’m going to be with for the rest of my life, is that right?” Lucas asked scathingly, pushing his fingers through his hair in frustration. If he had known it was going to be this bad, he wouldn’t have treated the competition so seriously. He’d rather have lost the match than be stuck with such a miserable fate for the rest of his life. The Elder winced as he sensed what was going on in Lucas’s mind, and he reached out his wrinkly hand and patted Lucas’s shoulder sympathetically.
“It’s not as bad as it seems. Your father and mother were the same way, and they fell in love over time. Look how you turned out,” the Elder said in an effort to placate the seething young man, only for it to have the opposite effect. Lucas shook his head and walked past the Elder to one of the lockers, grabbing his bag and taking out the clothes he packed.
“Yeah well, too bad their relationship was the exception and not the rule, eh?” Lucas replied before sighing.
He really needed to get out of here.
*****
Justine Haley was having the time of her life, drinking and partying like there’s no tomorrow. She raised her drink in the air, as she swayed her hips to the beat of the base booming from the stereo. The club was packed, the dance floor crowded, and the heat seething from everyone’s body was making her heady and sweaty, but she didn’t mind.
She’d been dancing for so long that she’d lost count of how many guys she’s grinded and danced with or exactly how many shots any of these guys handed her. But, as she stopped turning and her sight refused to stop with her, she realized she may have had too much already. She squeezed through the crowd, trying to navigate her way to the table, as the world continued to spin. It was a hard feat, but when she could finally feel the blast of air from the air conditioning, she mentally gave herself a high five for making it through.
She got to the empty table, wondering where the girls she went out with went, and feeling a little miffed that they left her things unattended on the table and didn’t even bother to call her about it or something. She got over it quickly though, as she felt the contents of her stomach slowly rising to her throat. She spotted a waitress carrying a tray of drinks and she snatched one glass of champagne before downing it in one gulp.
“Hey there, gorgeous. You alone?” a voice asked. Justine raised her head and squinted up at this guy who just approached her. He was scruffy and wasn’t very good-looking, and Justine quickly dismissed the thought of spending any more time with him. She ignored him and stood up from her chair abruptly, holding onto the edge of the table, as her vision spun from her sudden movement.
She was about to move out of the way when he blocked her exit, his eyes flashing in annoyance.
“Hey, I asked you a question. Don’t be such a bitch,” the guy said, grabbing her elbow, and Justine tried her hardest to glare at him despite her condition.
“I’m not interested,” Justine finally spoke, wrenching her arm away from his grasp, almost tripping over herself in the process.
The man was relentless; however, and Justine was shocked when a hand holding a white cloth covered her mouth while another hand held her by the waist, pulling her back against a bony chest. She tried to pull away, but the effects of the chloroform were almost instantaneous and she fell unconscious.
The man removed his hand from her mouth before hoisting her up in his arms. He nodded at two men just by the bar, and they made their way to the exit, trying to look as casual as possible, even with an unconscious girl in their arms. They walked over to a van, one of them sliding the door open, as the other two hauled Justine inside. They laid her haphazardly on the seat before going to the front of the van and driving off.
“Are you sure she’s worth a lot?” the driver asked.
“Positive. She was chugging down drinks one after another and treated everyone to two rounds of shots. Girl’s gotta be rich to pull that amount of dough off of her,” he replied.
“So, we’re just gonna hold her for ransom, right? Do you know who she is?”
“No, but she’ll tell us once we scare the crap out of her,” he chuckled darkly.
“You gotta admit though, she’s really hot,” the guy at the back said, his eyes roving Justine’s body hungrily. “We can mess with her a little, right? Because I won’t mind going to pound town on her fine ass, if you know what I’m saying.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be in the woods in a little while. We won’t be disturbed there,” he replied.
*****
Lucas adjusted his goggles, as he maneuvered down the streets in his Ducati. He found that he did all his best-thinking moments when he was riding his bike so fast just for the sake of it, without any destination in mind. Today; however, it didn’t seem to be working.
Lucas didn’t like the predicament he was in; how little options he had available. He was suddenly thrust into a position where he could no longer decide and act on something without having to think of the huge ramifications they could do to his clan, and he didn’t like not being in control of his own life.
He had asked the Elder if there was some way he could renounce his position, but the Elder said nothing, merely giving him such a murderous stare that made him roll his eyes and leave him in the shower rooms.
And now, here he was, still contemplating how to get out of his situation and, if he couldn’t, how he’s going to make his life a little bearable than what it seemed it would be.
He passed by a speeding black van and he scowled, as he swerved away from it, muttering about crazy drivers when his ears picked up the conversation in the van; something about a woman inside their van and planning to have some ‘fun’ with her in the woods.
Lucas’s hold on the handle bars clenched, as he stopped on the corner, watching the van turn smaller and smaller as it got farther away. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, thinking of whether or not he should follow that van. It’s not any of his business anyway.
Lucas groaned, already knowing his answer to his own question. He gassed up and turned his bike in pursuit of the van, keeping his speed a little lower, so the van wouldn’t notice he was following them. He was going to rescue the girl inside the van.
An hour later, Lucas was surprised at the location he followed the black van to; it was on the outskirts of town. They pulled her off of the van and laid her on the soft ground, and Lucas waited patiently for the girl to come to.
Lucas heard the sound of wolves howling in the distance and it made Lucas feel uneasy. They were too close, and they sounded hungry. Lucas realized that he’d have to take out all three of the guys, so he could rescue the hostage.
Deciding on a proper course of action, Lucas took his shirts and pants off, not wanting to wreck his clothes. He closed his eyes, crouched down by a huge boulder, and concentrated.
Lucas’s skin slowly transformed, his fur growing out of his arms and legs, and his face slowly widening and turning into that of a bear.
He clenched his teeth, as he heard the three men sniggering as they surrounded the woman, touching the hem of her skirt and slipping a finger or two underneath the start of her dress. Lucas saw the woman twitch and he watched, as she blinked a couple of times before her focus returned. She took one look at her surroundings and she gasped, bolting up into a sitting position, as she looked up at the three men who kidnapped her.
“Who are you and what do you want from me? Jamie asked, and the guy who she first talked to spoke first.
“We want money,” he said, and Jamie bit her lip, her eyes starting to tear up from the tears she was trying not to cry.
“And, you’re gonna give it to us.”
“Look, whatever you want, no matter how much, I’ll do it, okay? I’ll give you all my money, just please don’t hurt me! Let me go. Just please, let me go…,” Justine gasped, her whole body shaking with fear as the trio laughed.
“Oh, we know you’re going to give us the money. But, you were pretty rude to me back there at the club, you know,” he said, trailing off as he brushed his hand over her arm, making her flinch. “You hurt my feelings. Aren’t you going to apologize for doing that?” he asked, an eyebrow raised.
“I’m sorry,” Justine said automatically, eliciting another chuckle from the group and making Lucas bristle with rage as he continued to listen. “Please, I’m so sorry for what I did…,”
“Hmm, I don’t know, man. I think we should teach her a lesson or two about respect,” the other said, his mouth widening in a manic smile. “What do you think?”
They moved closer to Justine who huddled herself to a tree until she couldn’t move anymore. Her eyes widened as all of them reached out for her at once, and she covered her head with her hands, her eyes shut tight, as she waited for them to grab and attack her.
She suddenly heard a loud roar and she raised her head up just in time to see one of her kidnappers sailing through the air and hitting his back on a huge tree branch before falling to the ground, dead.
Justine turned her head and her eyes widened, as she saw a huge brown bear attacking one of the kidnappers as the other was on the ground, paralyzed with fear. The bear swiped his claws to the man, the latter narrowly missing a hit to the face when the bear grabbed him by his hips and swung him to the trunk of a tree.
The bear turned its gaze toward the last man who was shaking violently, as he raised a gun at the animal.
“S-stay back!” the man stuttered and cried, but the bear moved toward him slowly, as if sensing that the gun was a dangerous object. The bear took another step before he lunged toward the man who panicked and pulled the trigger.
“No!” Justine shouted, her hand covering her mouth as she saw the bullet enter the bear’s left shoulder and the blood that splattered from his back. Lucas hardly registered the pain and proceeded to rip apart the man’s chest, the latter screaming in agony, as Lucas continued to torture him to death.
There wasn’t much left of the man when Lucas was through with him, and Lucas turned his head to look at Justine, who was watching him with slight fear, curiosity, and dare she say it, gratitude. He opened his mouth to ask her if she was okay until he realized that he was still in bear form, so he turned away from her and ran off.
“Hey, wait!” Justine called out, but she only saw the bear pick something up from behind the boulder before disappearing through the trees. She placed her hand on her chest, feeling her heart pounding so fast and so loud over what happened. She didn’t have to check if her attackers were dead since there was hardly anything left of one of them, and the other one probably broke his spine from hitting the trees. She stood up from the ground, brushed the dirt off of her dress, and looked around.
She needed to get out of here, but she’d never been in the woods before, and she was unconscious when they brought her to this part of the woods.
“If only that bear could speak English,” Justine sighed helplessly.