Bear Flesh Delights

“All right,” she agreed, taking the bags in her hands. They trekked into the forest at a fast clip, making sure not to stumble over the uneven ground as they went. Skylar had one arm draped around Amelia’s waist, guiding her steps and occasionally pausing to kiss her temple or her ear.

He took one of the bags and bent to scoop some dirt, pouring it in, sealing it, and checking his watch, which also contained a GPS which told him their exact coordinates.

He marked them onto the bag, put it into his pack, then wrapped an arm around her again as they continued on. They did this about five times before his kisses became noticeably more frequent. Then, one of them landed on the side of her lips, making Amelia gasp.

The unmistakable call of a coyote made both of them freeze. In another part of the forest, another coyote gave an answering call.

 “It looks like we’re going to have to finish this discussion later,” said Skylar as he let her go. “Stay here, sweetheart. I’ll go see if I can scare them off. And Amelia, don’t hesitate to get back to the boat if you see any coyotes here. Do you understand?”

“Y-yeah,” she said, quaking with her fear. “Shouldn’t I head back there now?”

“There may be no need for you to go alone,” he replied. “Give me five minutes, and no more. Understand?”

She nodded.

Skylar disappeared into the woods, and Amelia zipped up her clothes, then continued to lean on the tree as she waited. Suddenly, she was no longer alone. Mr. Harper was standing in front of her. She had no idea how he’d gotten there.

“Miss Friar?” he smirked. “What a most unexpected pleasure to find you here on my land.”

“Your land?” she scoffed. “I was told this parcel belongs to someone else.”

“Not anymore,” he said, and he reached out to grasp her around the throat, but not enough to hurt her. “I’ve recently come into a large enough sum of money to claim it for my own. Which means, of course, that you are trespassing.”

Unexpectedly, the man let out a coyote howl, and Amelia flinched.

“You’re not going to like what we do with trespassers, Miss Friar,” he added.

Behind him, two coyotes came into the copse of trees where they were standing. Their teeth were bared as they advanced. Then, suddenly, Deke and Zach were standing where the coyotes had been. Amelia blinked, sure that she must be seeing things, and this made the three men laugh.

“You seem surprised, Miss Friar,” Harper laughed. “Could it be that our two favorite bears have not yet shown their true colors? I find that hard to believe, since you’re clearly covered in their stench. What a steal it will be, if I make you a part of my clan instead of theirs.”

“What are you talking about, you creepy old man?” Amelia spat. “What true colors?”

“Deke, Zach, take her to the lodge,” he said. “Leave her untouched until my return. I’ll go and deal with Skylar myself. He and I have a score to settle.”

“Yes, father,” said the two boys in unison. Harper shoved Amelia in their direction, and each man caught an arm, dragging her with them into the forest.

“Skylar!” she shouted, struggling to get free. “Skylar!’

Deke’s fist connected with her jaw, and Amelia knew no more.

*****

Her eyes opened, and she found herself lying on a hard mattress with no pillows or blankets to add any sort of comfort. Judy Bench was also there, staring up at the ceiling until she noticed that Amelia had opened her eyes.

“Thanks a lot, Amelia,” she complained. “Why’d you go and tell Deke about me and Seth? Now I’m probably going to have to do all three brothers, and I can’t stand the other two.”

“What the heck are you talking about?” Amelia asked tiredly. “Why do I feel like I’ve been drugged?”

“Probably because you were,” she smirked. “You’ve been lying there almost two days now.”

“Oh no!” she groaned. “What did these guys do to Skylar?”

“I don’t know, really, except I think he must have gotten away,” she said. “I overheard Mr. Harper bragging about ‘running that damned bear off’.”

“So he just went home and left me here?” Amelia sighed. “I find that difficult to believe.”

“If you ask me, I would never have let my enemy leave so he could regroup with the other half of his team, but heck, who ever said coyotes were smart?”

“Hold the phone–you knew about this?” Amelia asked. “You knew about the Harpers being able to shift into coyotes?”

“And Skylar and Joe become bears, yes,” she said, assuming Amelia must know by now. “But there may be something you’re unaware of, though. They can only transform us into shifters on a blue moon, and that is coming up tonight. So if you don’t want to become something other than a bear, I suggest we find a way to get you out of here.”

“What about you, though?” asked Amelia, still reeling from the information she had just learned but trying not to show it. This must have been the thing that Joe had wanted to tell her, but she had asked him not to. In hindsight, it might have been good to know.

“Me?” she scoffed. “I’ve already made my decision.”

“You mean, you’re a coyote already?” Amelia asked, confused.

“No, not yet, but I intend to be,” she explained. “Seth and I are going to run away from here, start our own clan somewhere else.”

“So, you can do that?” Amelia asked absently. “Go figure. So, this must all be a dream then? This whole thing–it’s all too crazy to be real.”

“Oh, no, Amelia, it’s very real,” she explained. “But that’s not all. I also heard Harper say that if you refuse to become his bride, he’ll simply bury you with the next waste delivery. I’m not really sure what he’s talking about, but–”