Page 53 of Bear Strength

“Don’t you dare call me that!” I hiss.

There is still a distance between us, but it is by no means safe. I know his hands could be squeezing my neck in less than a second. Then, it hits me. If he’s here, then that means that… I gasp silently. It can’t be. It just can’t.

“I know you have another guy who calls you sweet pet names now, but you gotta admit, we were so good together, Danny. And, we’re a family. You can’t deny that.”

“We are not your family!” I hiss again.

“Of course you are.”

The dark enshrouded figure takes a step towards me. My palms open up to the wall. There is nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. And, he knows it.

“My blood runs through that boy’s veins. I will always be his father. You can’t take a son away from his father.”

Somehow, he is still calm. Before, he would have exploded into one his infamous angry fits, and I’d be black and blue all over, already. And yet, he hasn’t laid a single finger on me. Not yet, anyway.

A crazy thought pops to mind. Maybe I can take him by surprise. Run into him. Push him aside. Rush out the door and down the stairs. The moment I’m out on the street means I’m safe. But, I know it’s impossible. He’s twice my weight. It’d be like a feather crashing into a boulder. Impossible. Better not agitate him even more.

“You know why we left you,” I mumble.

“We’re not having this conversation here,” he suddenly rushes over to me, and grabs me by the wrist. The familiar pang of pain shoots through my body. A broken bone always remembers it was once broken. It also remembers who broke it.

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” I growl.

“You can walk there, or I can knock you out and take you there. Your choice.”

My mind frantically tries to come up with a solution to this. But, I know he means it. He’ll probably enjoy it if I choose the second version. Maybe it’s good he only came to get me, and not Dominick. So many maybe’s…

He tightens the grip on my wrist, to remind me that the clock is ticking. I remember Wagner again. I want to ask him what he did to him, but I’m too frightened of what the response might be.

“I’ll go, Russ,” I finally tell him.

The mention of his name does something to him. I haven’t called him that in ages. Only Russel. Only when I need to. Russ takes us both to a time before. A time that was probably just a figment of my imagination, as I was trying to make excuses for his behavior.

“Where’s your car?” he asks.

“It’s not here.”

“Fuck!” he kicks the other chair so hard that he breaks two of its legs. “Fine, we’ll fuckin’ walk then.”

He pulls me close to him, so close I can smell his bitter sweat mixed with alcohol. His t-shirt has soaked up all of his secretions, and is now hanging on him like the sign of the dead. It brings back painful memories, but I try not to dwell on them right now.

“If you try anything, and I do mean anything, I’ll break your fuckin’ neck, you hear?” he grumbles into my face, his breath acetose and sharp. I just nod, unable to say anything. Fear has taken over me, completely. “Move!”

He shoves me out of the room and down the stairs. As I exit my home, I wonder if I’ll ever enter it again.

CHAPTER 24

Mason

That feeling won’t let me be. It’s like eating some bad meat, which doesn’t sit right. Only you know you ate no meat. It’s more than that. It’s an ancient calling that only a few of us share. It’s the ability to call upon a member of your pack with just the strength of your mind. Nothing else.

I enter Violet’s shack. Adrian’s been watching Dominick. They’re sitting on the sofa, with a movie on. They both jump up when they see me. I guess they recognize the look on my face.

“What’s wrong?” Dominick asks first.

“We need to go,” I pretend like I didn’t hear the question.

How do I tell the kid that I think, no, I know that his mother is in danger and we need to get there fast?

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