Page 21 of The Bull's Head

Callum moved cautiously, nudging Teddy’s hand. As if he was in automatic, Teddy stroked Callum’s hair.

“So, listen. I know I didn’t tell you why I came to Wald, and maybe I should. A few years ago, the leader of our sleuth—that’s what a group of bears is called—betrayed my brother Ivan and me. Well, to be fair, he betrayed all shifters. See, he told Hyde about us.”

Callum tensed. It was because of Teddy’s leader that he and his brother had been taken?

“None of us knew about it, and we didn’t find out until much later that he’d offered to sell shifters to Hyde. When Hyde told our leader no, that he’d already found shifters, he….” Teddy sniffled. “He killed his wife and kids, then blamed it on us. We were beaten and left to die. If it wasn’t for Cece, the wolf’s wife, we would have frozen to death on the mountain. Then Mal called and said they needed help rescuing shifters from a lab. This place. Ivan and I were the first ones to volunteer, because we believed our leader’s family died due to us.” He scratched harder. “I’ll be honest. I didn’t care if I lived or died, as long as it was in the service of the Maker.”

Teddy leaned in and brushed his cheek alongside Callum’s.

“We killed everyone that worked here. It didn’t matter if they hadn’t done anything themselves—they knew of our existence, and we couldn’t have that.”

Callum had no problem with these assholes dying. The screams, the cries in the night, the absolute terror? Yes, kill them.

“I was asked to come here to be sort of an archivist. I was supposed to scan the documents in and put them onto the computer for Dr. Hamilton. Today, as I was doing that, I found…. I found….”

Whatever it was, it obviously was tearing Teddy apart. Callum nuzzled his neck, hoping to encourage him to continue talking.

“Callum, I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “They killed your brother.”

As though a switch was flipped, Callum snorted, then slammed into Teddy, who fell to the hard packed earth.

He started to get up. “Callum, please, I?—”

This time Callum charged him, ramming into his side and knocking him head over ass, until he landed fifteen feet away. Teddy got to his feet slowly, and Callum lowered his head again. He rushed forward, grazing Teddy with a horn. The scent of blood was strong as Teddy cried out.

“Callum, stop! Please,” Teddy growled.

But Callum refused. Cooper was dead because of Teddy! Maybe he didn’t do it himself, but he was just as responsible. He raised his head, ready to rush Teddy once again, when he saw it. Teddy stood, his glower dark as his body rippled. Hands became claws with nails at least four inches long. That face Callum liked to look at elongated, the snout protruding outward, and the teeth pulled back into the mouth, only to be replaced by a sharper set. Callum stood, shocked, as Teddy’s transformation left him in bear form. Yes, he’d seen Teddy before, but now? He had no idea how big he was. Then he rose onto his back legs, making himself even larger, and a niggle of fear ripped through Callum. This version of Teddy stood at least ten feet tall. He roared at Callum, who stepped back.

Teddy dropped to his paws and stalked toward Callum. Pain seared through him at the thought of his brother dying in this hellhole. If Teddy had stopped it…. He lowered his head and charged, but was surprised when Teddy latched on to his horns and drove Callum to the grass. He tried to lift his head, but Teddy wouldn’t be budged. He leaned in, and Callum knew he could bite through his throat and kill him. Maybe he should.

“Callum, please,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

The weight was gone from Callum’s head, and he peered up to see a naked Teddy on his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“I would give anything for you to have your brother back.”

It wasn’t fair. Cooper shouldn’t have died. He…. He….

Then Callum realized it wasn’t Teddy’s fault. It was his. He ran and left Cooper alone, fighting against too many men. He’d frozen, and because of it, his brother had died. Grief surged through him, and he ran into the woods, needing to get lost.

“Callum, come back! Don’t go out there!”

He heard, but didn’t listen. He needed to get away from Cooper’s voice in his head. The one that was hurling the accusations that Callum had abandoned him. It was because of Callum that he was dead. It was?—

Before he could react, Callum was slammed from the side, which pushed him into a tree. He turned and found a very pissed off bear staring at him. Well, fuck him. Callum had just lost his whole world, and if Teddy thought he’d calm down, he could go to hell. Before he could get up, Teddy was on top of him, this time not allowing Callum to move at all. His struggles were in vain, as the bear outweighed Callum’s bull by probably five hundred pounds or more.

Buried beneath the massive body, Callum could do nothing but try and breathe. Each time he did, he smelled a slight musk from the bear. It wasn’t anything like Callum thought it would be. He thought it would be strong and disgusting, but instead it was actually pretty clean. And the weight pressing down on him? Why did it feel comfortable, like a blanket you wanted to curl up with? What was wrong with Callum? All the fight had gone out of him, and he wanted to cling to Teddy, to be held in those arms as he cried.

The weight continued to increase, until it became painful. Callum struggled, but was unable to find enough purchase to move the massive bear. He opened his mouth to bellow, but what came out shocked even him.

“Teddy, you’re crushing me.”

Chapter 8

“Teddy, you’re crushing me.”

In truth, Teddy had wanted to hear Callum’s voice. To know that his friend was safe and healthy was something he’d been desperate for. He couldn’t imagine being locked into his animal form. He loved being a bear, but there were times when being a man had serious advantages. He shifted back and found himself naked atop an equally nude Callum.

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