Page 2 of I Can't Bear It

“Papa,” Georgi said. “Do you think maybe we could contact Cousin Charlie?”

The light bulb went off with his question.

That’s it!

“Yeah, baby, we will once we get out of here.”

I hadn’t considered calling my friend Charlie from college. We’d been so close that we always called each other’s kids our nieces and nephews. Our children thought they were actual cousins for a while. If I called him, he would help me. Charlie’shusband worked for the Global Shifters Council. And, right now, I needed them to protect me.

“The bear said that the secret door is there.” Georgi pointed to a discreet wooden door I’d overlooked behind the bushes. “When the feeders come, they will open it.”

“Are they sure this will work?” My anxiety was growing with each minute that passed.

“They said even if the trainers see us, they will understand. It’s the crowd and the owners we need to hide from. The zoo employees have experience with shifters; another bear shifter even hid here a few years ago. He’s one of the trainers now and would probably help us if he’s on shift.” Georgi pulled my hand. “Come on, Papa. They said they could hear that the door was about to open.”

I couldn’t help the nugget of hope that grew in my heart that everything would be okay. These trainers could help me contact Charlie or Omar. I hoped none were related to one of the families, or Georgi and I would be in deep trouble.

Working as a team, the bears walked toward the door, surrounding us and hiding us from onlookers. I snuck a look up at the crowd and noticed security officers up there calming the humans, many of whom had already walked away. I wondered if the zoo also had magic weavers helping with crowd control and wiping their memories of events. I wouldn’t be surprised considering they had spelled enclosures.

As we approached the door, it opened, and two trainers stood before us. Waving to us and leaning his head toward the room behind him, one of the men turned around and returned into the building while the other man made sure the polar bears stayed back.

Georgi looked up at me, and I nodded my consent. “Let’s follow him. It’ll be okay.”

“I know, Papa. The bears told me to trust him. He’s the shifter they were talking about.” Georgi bounced along next to me. For him, it seemed the danger had passed. For me, it wasn’t quite yet.

The man led us to a locker room and closed the door. “Hi, I’m Daniel. The bears told me you needed my help.”

“You can speak with them too?” Georgi stared up at the man, mouth hanging open and eyes wide. “They told me you were a shifter we could trust, but not that you are like me.”

“I feel you are much more special than I am.” Daniel smiled down at Georgi. “But yes, I can communicate with the bears. They said you were running from bad people and needed to get somewhere safe and contact friends. I can help you with a burner phone, cash, and clothes. Just tell me what you need.”

“I appreciate it.” Tears of relief gathered at the corner of my eyes.

“Those who are escaping toxic environments must help one another.” Daniel handed me a backpack and wallet. “Someone helped me once, and this is how I pay that back.”

Chapter Two

Karl

“Karl?”

The sound of my supervisor had me jumping from my chair. “Oh, I’m sorry. Um, can you repeat that?”

“Yes, Karl. I asked you if you were ready for the meeting.” Oscar knew I hated and often would get distracted during meetings.

“Sorry, sir,” I said. “I had a long night.”

“Yeah, we heard.” Anthony sat beside me and nudged my arm. “Dude, just because we were at a party didn’t mean you had to drink the whole bar down.”

“I didn’t overdo it.” I rolled my eyes. “Maybe just had a few too many whiskies.”

“A few?” Cindy raised a brow. “You indulged more than I did. And I’m like a frat boy during pledge week. You usually have much more control.”

I laughed at the petite woman in front of me. She wasn’t lying. She could guzzle liquor more than any of us here in the room. And I did have more than her.

“Hey, everybody, let’s leave Karl alone.” My friend Prof put down his coffee mug. “We all know he needed the release after such a rough night. Don’t remind him of why.”

I groaned. No one had to remind me. Yesterday was a day from hell—at least, my hell. Not only had my girlfriend of the last twelve years dumped me, but I had also found out that myparents were getting a divorce, and that all my brothers had known for months and hadn’t told me. I wasn’t sure if other adults were so floored by this, but in our close family, I had never seen it coming. It hurt. It all made me think about love and how it may not exist. Or if it did, maybe it wasn’t worth it.

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