Page 43 of Laid Bear

“Will do.” Heath clicked off without waiting for Gavin to respond, but Gavin didn’t mind. He was already planning his next move. He hoped they’d find Zora safe and sound. God help the person who hurt her.

~~~

Tears streamed down Zora’s face as she frantically searched for her phone. She knew there was a tracking device on the inside because she’d heard Heath and Logan discussing it when they thought she wasn’t in the room. At the time she was annoyed, but knew they meant well. Even though she had planned on purchasing her own phone, she was now thankful she hadn’t gotten around to it.

Catching sight of the jewel-cased phone, she stuffed it in her jeans pocket. When her car skidded out of control, she’d managed not to swerve into the ditch, but she hit a huge obstruction on the side of the road, which damaged the wheels on the passenger side so it would no longer accelerate and made a funny scraping noise.

She didn’t know what to do as she saw her fatherget out of his vehicle and walk toward her. She couldn’t wrap her head around why he was there. Zora checked to see that her doors were all locked, but it wouldn’t stop him from breaking a window. She opened the glove compartment to search for any weapon she could use to protect herself. Nothing but a pen. It would have to do. Just as she grabbed it, the driver’s side window shattered as a rock flew through the glass hitting her on the shoulder.

“No!” Zora screamed out as her father approached with a maniacal gleam in his eyes. When she’d seen that he was the driver, she was shocked. Most of her life she’d grown up with the fact that he hated her but never to this extent. It was heartbreaking and frightening all at once. He reached in and unlocked her door. Before she could scrabble to the passenger side door, he dragged her out of the car by her hair.

“Why are you doing this?” She struggled to get out of his hold. Remembering she had the pen in her hand, she reached back and shoved it through his hand with all her might, causing him to release his grip.

“You little bitch! I should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance. You don’t deserve to breathe and by the time I get through with you, you won’t,” he yelled, clutching his injured hand.

Zora took off, not knowing where to go. She knew if she continued running down the road, he could easily run her over with his car. So she got off the road and headed into the woods. At the very least, she could hide and buy herself some time until help arrived. “Please hurry,” she whispered to the wind.

~~~

Logan tore down the road in his truck toward the location Heath had last pinpointed Zora’s cell phone signal. Since his store was the closest to the house, he figured he’d get there first. He wasn’t a particularly religious man, but in that moment, he prayed like he never had before. He prayed Zora was all right and he prayed to find the motherfucker responsible for this.

He wished he’d insisted she stay indoors unless either he, Gavin or Heath was out with her, no matter how much she protested. At the very least with the store being so close to their home, he should have driven her to Heath’s office and then picked her up. The very thought of losing her caused him more pain than he’d ever dealt with in his life. Angry tears burned the backs of his eyes and the more emotional he became, the more pissed his bear got. Already the animal was bursting through. Black fur popped out along his skin, but he fought to keep the beast at bay until he could get out of the car.

As he continued on, he started to feel her presence. She was close. Another half mile ahead, he spotted two cars along the side of the road, both empty. One was Zora’s and her driver’s side window was shattered.

He barely managed to pull over, put the truck in park and get out of the car before the transformation took over. His joints and bones contorted and his mass bulked, slitting the seams of his clothing until he burst free. By the time he moved to the edge of the road, his transformation was complete and he went in search of his woman.

~~~

Zora ran deeper into the woods, trying not to look behind her as her assailant got closer. She tripped over tree branches but managed not to fall. If she got out of this ordeal alive, she promised to never make fun of those girls in horror movies who always fall when they’re being chased by the killer.

She wasn’t familiar with the layout of the land and wasn’t sure where she was heading. In this moment, it didn’t matter why her father wanted her dead or how he’d found her. The only thing on her mind was survival.

She made the mistake of looking behind her to see him catching up. She wasn’t watching where she was going and this time when she tripped, she fell flat on her face. Before she could get up, he was on her. Grabbing a handful of her hair, he turned her around and delivered a vicious backhand.

Pain exploded in her cheek but her instinct to survive was strong. The endorphin rush kept her from swooning. Zora brought her knee up, catching him in the solar plexus.

He grunted, falling back just enough for her to get out of his grasp. Zora scrambled to her feet and only got a few yards before he gripped her ankles, sending her to the ground. He was on top of her again, his eyes glistening with madness as he wrapped his hands around her throat.

Zora clawed at him, trying to break the hold. She then tried to claw at his face, going for the eyes. It only made him tighten his hold on her throat. Zora continued to fight, but she was fast losing energy and was getting dizzy from lack of oxygen. With his hands around her neck, she couldn’t do anything but mouth the word, “Why?”

A satisfied smile curved his lips, giving him a look of pure evil. “Because you were born.”

~~~

Gavin spotted Zora’s car as well as Logan’s on the side of the road. Logan’s car door wasn’t closed, which meant wherever he’d gone, he’d left in a hurry. He looked around for signs of which direction and sniffed the air. There was one thing he was certain of, his cousin was in bear form, and Zora had definitely been here. He loosened his tie and headed in the direction where the scent was strongest.

He could smell Logan, Zora and someone else. As he headed toward the woods, he heard another car pull up behind him. Without looking back, he knew it was Heath. He kept going, knowing his cousin would catch up. He didn’t want to lose precious time getting to Zora.

By the time Gavin reached the woods, he’d shed his shirt and kicked off his shoes. He could tell from the tattered clothing trail, Logan didn’t bother to undress before changing. He kept moving as he practically ripped his clothes off, starting to morph before he was completely nude. He paused just long enough to completely transform. Once his bear was loose, his senses were heightened. He could smell better, run faster and see farther.

He reached out to Logan knowing he was much farther ahead. “Do you see anything yet?”

There was a pause before his cousin answered. “I thought I heard some rustling a few hundred yards ahead. Her scent is strong. I’ll be there in…”

“Logan?”

“I see them!”

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