Page 44 of On Tap for the Bear
My hand is still pressed against his snout, fur soft and warm under my palm. My other hand lifts without conscious thought, reaching for his massive head.
"The bear from that night," I whisper. "In the woods by the Inn. That was you."
He nods. Actually nods, the movement so human it steals my breath.
"You've been watching over me."
Another nod.
Wonder blooms in my chest, raw and startling. Not fear—I should be terrified, should be running—but something else entirely.
I sink down onto the moss, my legs finally giving out. The bear follows, settling onto his haunches in front of me. Still huge. Still impossible. But not threatening. Never threatening.
"How many?" I ask, remembering fragments of stories. Urban legends about shifters, about people who could become animals. Things I dismissed as fantasy. "How many of you are there?"
The bear can't answer. Can't speak. But his eyes hold mine, and I see the answer there.
A lot. More than I can imagine.
"The whole town?" My voice cracks. "Everyone in Redwood Rise?"
He dips his head once. Yes.
I drop my face into my hands, trying to process. Trying to make sense of any of this. "Cilla? Evelyn? Beau?"
A huff of breath that might be affirmation.
"What are they? What kind of...” I gesture helplessly at him. "Are they all bears?"
He shakes his massive head. Makes a more complex gesture with one paw, like he's trying to communicate something he can't say in this form.
"Different animals," I guess, and he nods again. "Okay. Okay." I'm babbling now, words spilling out. "So this whole townis full of shapeshifters. That's why everything feels different here. Why the ley lines work differently. Why...”
Why I can taste his food. Why the land feels alive. Why I felt pulled here from the moment I crossed the town line.
"For us," I whisper, and the bear's eyes soften. "The land brought me here for you. Not just you as Eli the tavern owner. You as—this. All of this."
He rumbles deep in his chest, and somehow I know it means yes.
I should be freaking out. Should be running back to the Inn to pack my bags and get the hell out of this supernatural town that's apparently full of shapeshifters. Normal people would run.
Instead, I reach out and bury my fingers in the thick fur of his neck.
The bear leans into my touch, careful not to knock me over with his weight. A sound vibrates through him that I can only describe as a purr, though I'm pretty sure bears don't purr.
We sit together in the clearing as the ley lines pulse gently around us, woman and bear, while I try to wrap my mind around the fact that my entire understanding of reality just exploded.
After what feels like hours but is probably only minutes, the mist rises again. Swirling silver-green, obscuring the bear's massive form.
When it clears, Eli stands there—human, naked, breathing hard.
"Tree," he gasps, and ducks behind the largest redwood.
I hear rustling, the sound of fabric, and then he emerges wearing jeans and a t-shirt that must have been stashed there. His hair is disheveled, his feet bare, and he looks exhausted.
But he's Eli again. Human. Whole.
He stops a few feet away, watching me with the same wariness the bear showed. Waiting for my reaction. Waiting for me to run.
