Bear Savior

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As he brought back a large haul of fish, Dom couldn’t remember the last time he felt so accomplished. It seemed challenging at first, but then Mason and Kate shapeshifted, showing how easy it could be once instinct took over. Grabbing more for later was the tricky part. One person transformed and snatched the fish with their teeth, while the others caught it with the net.

Mason, Kate, and Dom smiled as they trekked up the steady hill back home. It had only been a few days with the new werebears, but Dom already felt like part of the family. It was easy to settle into the wilderness with his own kind.

Being on top of the enormous Appalachian mountain, far from any city and anyone who wasn’t like him, there was peace. Things started to fall into place naturally. He didn’t worry about all the stresses of civilization. His new worries were much more straightforward.

There was something still nagging him, but it began to get easier. He'd abandoned Amy. As Dom trekked up the mountain, crossing rivers and climbing craggy hills, venturing through forests untouched by man, he contemplated how he left her.

Over time, he started to feel better about it, or he told himself he did. After all, it was the best for both of them. Time would heal all wounds, and eventually, it would heal hers. At the very least, time would bury those wounds enough to allow them to go on living. He hoped Amy would understand that.

Dom also hoped she didn’t foolishly try to look for him. She would never find him. His superhuman sense of smell was the only way he discovered Mason and Kate. Bears knew how to hide when they didn't want to be found, but they couldn't hide from each other.

There were more too. Dom could sense them scattered about the caves in the area. Mason told him there was a small town a couple miles away. No one bothered them. The land was technically a reservation for American Indians. They were a tribe native to that land but weren’t American Indian; they were all shapeshifters. The government gave them this far-off land, worthless to them because of its remoteness, and let them be.

Dom hadn’t been to the town yet, but he wanted to go. He would've liked to meet more of his kind. But Mason and Kate had been very welcoming. They were nice enough to house him and show him around. They hadn’t said anything about wanting him to move out either.

“He seems happy,” Kate said to her father, Mason, while grinning at Dom.

“He does.”

Kate was the first female werebear he ever met. She purposefully didn’t tell him about it until they got to the river to surprise Dom. Or maybe she didn’t realize Dom would be surprised. There was bound to be more like her.

Kate had the figure of an Amazonian warrior: tall, thin and agile on her feet. She was a girl who spent most of her life in nature. Her long auburn hair reminded Dom of the changing seasons.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yes, too obvious,” she said. She flashed her white teeth at Dom. He diverted his attention to his walk up the hill. Smiling back at another woman after running from Amy seemed like a betrayal. Kate probably meant nothing of it. She was probably just being friendly. It was his problem, really.

He didn’t have to wait long to meet the others.

“We’ve got company,” Mason said.

The tone in his voice didn’t sound promising. At first, Dom thought it was because he didn’t like conversing with the others, but there was something else. The crowd ahead, loitering around Mason and Kate’s cave entrance, pointed to them. They approached like a marching army. Was it a welcoming party or a mob? They had the scowls and the shouts of a mob but no pitchforks.

“What’s going on?”

Kate and Mason stopped walking. Kate shook her head slowly at Dom, telling him it wasn’t good. She kept the corner of her eyes pointed in Mason’s direction. Wild, long hair like his daughter, but entirely gray, he would look like a wise village elder if it wasn’t for his muscular, lean form. Dom thought the crowd would listen to Mason.

“Mason, come over here,” one of them shouted.

“I’m not moving. If you want to talk, we can talk fine like this.”

A motherly-looking woman shouted, pushing her way to the front to be heard. She was so loud that even the people in the back could hear her. “Why is there a human with you?”

“Human? What are you talking about?”

“The human,” another shouted, a tall teenager who looked like a long-distance runner.

“What is this all about?”

Mason took a step forward, shielding his daughter. She inched her way closer to Dom. The teenager and two others took an identical step toward Mason. They must have been brothers because each one looked identical. The only difference Dom could see was they had about two inches of height difference between them.

The human? They were talking about Dom, but they should’ve known that he was a shapeshifter. Dom sniffed the bears hiding in their caves, so why couldn’t they sniff him out? As Dom pondered that, the crowd grew more unruly and an alarming scent hit him.

Humans. Not one, but many.

An elder held his hands up and shouted for everyone to quiet. He looked like Mason’s intimidating counterpart, except he had black hair instead of silver, pulled back into a ponytail.

“No, you idiots! Can’t you sense it? It’s not him. He’s one of us. There’s more than one.”

At his proclamation, they all stopped and looked at the woods beyond. They weren’t interested in Dom now. No, now they were curious, most of them worried. Dense forest circled their caves and their town. Beyond the woods, a wall of rock made travel practically impossible.

Mason turned around to face Dom.

“Is there something you haven’t told us?” Mason whispered to him.

“Dom,” Kate said. She gave his hand a squeeze. The warm comfort of her touch jerked him back to reality.

Kate and Mason were the only ones stopping him from being torn apart by this unruly mob. He liked Kate’s touch. It reminded him of Amy’s. But it wasn’t Amy’s. He pulled his hand free and pretended to scratch the back of his head in worry. Dom didn't want her to feel like he was being dismissive. He had enough enemies, and he was just starting to get comfortable.

Kate peered at him, her expression curious. “Did you bring friends with you?”

Friends? No. Enemies? Most likely. Did Apex track him the whole way?

The crowd grew louder. Those holding the angriest at bay could hold them no longer.

Mason yelled, “Just wait one second, stop right there, let’s hear him out!”

Dom feared that his voice couldn’t be heard over all the others or that they simply wouldn’t care. He walked forward to get swallowed by the angry sea of shifters. He couldn’t allow Mason to be the first in line. They wanted Dom. Kate and Mason didn’t deserve trouble. They were more than welcoming.

“You brought them here!”

“What have you done?”

“Who are they?”

Just a group of soldiers intent on capturing a werebear to use as a test subject, that’s all. Finding this place would be a gold mine. Could Dom say that? Should he?

But then a familiar, lovely scent struck him as they were about to drag him away.

“Wait!” he said. The crowd stopped to listen.

“They’re friends,” he said.

He knew that scent. He got excited once he picked it up. She'd followed him…