Free Bait This! (A 300 Moons Book) by Tasha Black Page B

oaks.
    Frightened, he ran in one direction. No Christmas trees.
    Then he ran in another direction. No Christmas trees.
    His heart pounded and he fought back tears. It was getting dark now.
    He felt the bear inside him nose at the air, and he screamed and wrapped his fingers around his nose to stop it.
    The tears flew from his eyes and he sobbed uncontrollably.
    The thing inside him stirred again, trying to overpower him and take over. It knew he was weak. It would probably turn him into a bear and run into the woods forever with Derek as its prisoner. He would never see Mom again or Johnny or Chance or Darcy or the others.
    “No, no, no,” he moaned, throwing himself on the ground and wrapping his arms around a tree trunk to stop himself from running away.
    Just then, there was a sound in the trees.
    “Derek?” Darcy’s voice was breathless.
    He couldn’t answer, but he was pretty sure she could hear him crying. He wanted to be embarrassed, but he was too glad to hear her voice.
    His heart still pounded mercilessly though, and the creature in his chest clawed to get out.
    “Hey, Derek,” Darcy said in her clear, high voice, “We thought you were lost.”
    He couldn’t even nod.
    “Is your bear trying to come out?” she asked.
    He made a sound of agreement.
    “Why didn’t you let him talk to you?” she asked, like it was the simplest thing in the world. “He would know just how to get home. He would use his nose. That’s what my wolf does. That’s how we found you.”
    Easy enough for Darcy to say. For some reason, five year old Darcy was in touch with her wolf like none of the others, and she loved it even. While the rest of the kids were sobered by their status as unwanted early shifters, Darcy refused to push back her wolf. She used her heightened senses all the time, hiding them only from Mom, the one person she did want to please.
    Seeing that he was still curled up around a tree, Darcy wrapped her chubby little arm around his shoulder and snuggled into him like she always did.
    “ Just breathe ,” she whispered to him in her sing-song voice.
    The solid feel of her body against his and the soothing sound of her small voice warmed him from the inside out, as if he had taken a big sip of hot chocolate.
    Instantly, the fear was gone and the bear relaxed inside of him, no longer trying to get out.
    No sooner had he calmed when there was another sound in the trees.
    “Who’s there?” a pinched, female voice demanded.
    Definitely not Mom.
    “Oh, brother,” Darcy muttered.
    “Hello?” the voice shouted.
    “It’s okay, Mrs. Hopkins,” Darcy shouted back, her clear voice bouncing off the trees. “It’s just me and my brother.”
    “Is that one of those Harkness kids?” The voice was closer now.
    There was a tromping of boots, and then a woman appeared before them. Mrs. Hopkins, the neighbor. She owned the woods behind Harkness Farms.
    “I knew this would happen one day, I knew it. We’re going to see Kate. Now March ,” she ordered, taking a step toward Derek.
    A low growl issued from deep in Darcy’s throat. Mrs. Hopkins either didn’t hear it, or pretended not to notice.
    Derek picked himself up and they all began to walk through the trees. At last, they reached the grove of Christmas trees Derek had misplaced.
    But Mrs. Hopkins didn’t leave them there.
    In silence, they marched through the gate in the cow pasture, past the enclosures, the rear parking, the silo, and right up to the door of the farmhouse. Some of the tourists stopped long enough to stare at the oddly purposeful parade.
    Although the front door was never locked, and the kids poured in and out all day, Mrs. Hopkins knocked soundly on it.
    Johnny and Chance, who had been playing with cars at the front door, perked up and started paying attention.
    “Agnes, come on in,” Mom said when she opened the door. She seemed to be happy to see the lady but Derek’s bear whispered that she was only pretending.
    “No, thank you,”