Page 18 of Knox's Fate

"Come on," Coco continued, gesturing toward a path that led deeper into the woods. "Let’s head back to the compound. We’ll have breakfast."

"Can I say no?" Ruby asked, her defiance rising. For all her courage, the circle of bears served as a stark reminder of the power these beings wielded.

Coco's lips curved into a smile reminiscent of her brother’s. "I'm afraid not."

Ruby swallowed hard, feeling the weight of her predicament settling over her like a heavy shroud. She nodded once, conceding for the moment. Coco signaled the bears, and as if by some unspoken agreement, they parted to allow passage.Ruby followed Coco, her mind racing with questions and the chilling realization that Knox—and this town—harbored secrets far beyond her wildest imaginings.

The grizzly-shifter compound loomed ahead, a fortress of logs and stone nestled among the towering pines. As Ruby walked through its iron gates, her heart pounded with a mix of dread and defiance. The place was an interesting mix of beauty, comfort, and an undercurrent of danger that made her skin prickle.

"Knox!" Coco called out, her voice echoing off the walls with a certain amount of authority. The compound was eerily silent but for the distant sound of water cascading down a hidden stream.

He emerged from a large wooden door, his muscular frame filling the entryway. The rising sun cast long shadows across his face, highlighting the tension in his jaw.

"Ruby," Knox acknowledged, his voice a low rumble. He approached, his movements controlled but revealing an undercurrent of urgency.

"I want answers, Knox," Ruby demanded, pushing past Coco, closing the distance between them, and planting her feet firmly on the ground as if to anchor herself against the revelations to come. "What is this place? Who are these people? What are these people?"

Knox's eyes held a pained resignation as he glanced around the compound before returning his gaze to hers. "Let’s go inside.”

“Thanks, but I’ll stay here.”

Coco walked past her. “Not a good idea,” she said as she passed Ruby.

Without another word, Knox came down the stairs from the front porch, put his shoulder into her lower abdomen and stood up, hoisting her over his shoulder. “I said inside, Ruby.”

Ruby beat on his back as she kicked her legs. His only response was to land a painful swat on her backside. He walked up the stairs, carrying her as if she weighed nothing. Coco was standing just inside the door. “Not one word, Coco, not one,” he growled.

He stalked past his sister into a large room at the back of the hall. As he turned around to close the door, she could see it was an office. It was wood paneled with what looked like first edition books lining the bookshelves.

Knox set her down. “If Coco brought you here with her posse in tow, you must have seen something you shouldn’t.”

“Should I be frightened, Knox?”

“No. No one will lay a finger on you.”

“Because you’re alpha, and you say so?”

“Something like that. Do you have any questions to start with?”

“I know what I saw…”

He nodded. “I take it you saw Coco shift?” Ruby nodded. “Then you know the crux of it. We're shifters, Ruby. This is our clan’s compound. I am alpha here."

Ruby’s breath hitched, her mind struggling to wrap around the impossible truth before her. "Shifters," she said flatly, her voice barely above a whisper. The word tasted foreign on her tongue, like a concept from one of her paranormal romance novels. But they had not prepared her for this reality. “And the town?”

Knox nodded solemnly. "Silver Falls... it's a town populated by shifters of all kinds—wolves, hawks, mountain lions. We all live here, hidden in plain sight."

“My aunt?”

“Your aunt fell in love with your Uncle George. He was a beaver-shifter. Your aunt opted to be turned and to become one, too.”

Her mind reeled, every rational thought grappling with the fantastical scene she'd witnessed. The grizzly bear turning into a woman—Knox’s sister—and the circle of bears, no people, that had surrounded her. It was too much.

"Are you saying that everyone in Silver Falls..."

"Almost all of us, yes," Knox interjected gently. "It's why we can live freely, without fear of being discovered."

Fear warred with fascination within her, a tempestuous storm that threatened to sweep her away. She could leave, return to the city where life made sense and bears were just animals in a zoo. But as she looked into Knox's earnest eyes, she realized the depth of her feelings for him, feelings that tethered her to this strange, new world.

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