Free Black Bear Fall: A BWWM Paranormal Romance (Black Bear Saga Book 2) by Tia Wilson Page A

safety of the woods. It was the longest thirty seconds of my life trying to escape the missiles being thrown at me. I had gone from peacefully sleeping beside my makeshift family to now fleeing from them in terror in less then ten minutes,” Clarence said and paused.
    “That’s how the humans are, how they have always been. They are a fear based animal and difference is their weak spot. Look how they treat each other over different shades of skin colour. If only they knew the kinds of things that are really out there stalking the earth. Their petty concerns would quickly be forgotten,” Nasak said stretching out on the bed. He closed his eyes as he listened to Clarence speak. He had heard his story countless times before, sharing each others pain was a time honoured mongrel tradition. No one in the group kept secrets from each other and only by sharing their weakest moments did the group grow stronger. Nasak would fight to the death for each and every one of his mongrel tribe and he knew he could count of the rest to do the same for him.
    “The first few days where some of the lowest of my life. Everything I had was ripped away from me. I wandered through the forest in a fog of pain and heartbreak. I’d started to notice that boney stubs on my back seemed to have a life of their own. They would begin to retract into my spine as the sun went down, only to reappear the next morning. I was in a constant cycle of agony, stealing food from the summer cabins near the lake. Sleeping in derelict buildings at the edge of town. It was on one of my night raids to a dumpster at the back of a diner that I saw my first glimpse of the Fenton travelling show. You know the picture, we’ve all seen it. A man bare chested and howling at the moon, a deformed mix of human and bear brought to life in lurid colours. Something in my gut told me right away that the man on the poster was the same as me. It wasn’t a gimmick or a trick, I just knew that he was like me. The poster advertised that the travelling Fenton show would be in town in three days. It was billed as the ultimate spectacle of freaks, monsters and deformities. The last of a dying breed. I had to go to the show and talk to the man on the poster. Since I was banished from the white bear clan I hadn’t seen another of my kind. I had started to believe that I could integrate with the humans, be accepted as one of them. After my true self started to manifest, I knew all chances of a normal life where over. I wanted to be back with people of my own kind. It became my only chance at salvation and I thought maybe even something resembling a real life,” Clarence said and cracked his knuckles loudly.
    “So many of our kind have imagined a life where they can blend in with the humans, finally belong to a group. The harsh reality is the humans would fear us even more than our old clan would. The humans would want to destroy us. The clan sees us as a disappointment and aberration that should be hidden away from sight. They think freaks like you and I would take away from the majesty of the clan. You cant have misshapen deformed creatures living amongst the regal and powerful white bears,” Nasak said spitting out the last few words in disgust.
    “Then why come back to them and offer up this woman?” Clarence asked.
    “It’s time for change. No more sneaking around in the shadows as if we are some kind of monster. You and I have as much right to be part of the white bear clan as any of those shifters out there. If they don't take us in we always have a more radical approach to reintegration.” Nasak said.
    “You know it would be impossible for us to take over the clan. Our numbers are too small and only a few of us are trained for any kind of real combat. We wouldn’t stand a chance against them,” Clarence said.
    “We have one advantage my friend. The clan see us as nothing more than freaks. They have always and they will always continue to underestimate us and our abilities.