wanted you to trust me. Even if you didn’t know about it, we were great friends.”
“Why didn’t he ever tell me about you, then?”
“It’s…complicated, Harper. But please, you have to understand that he wanted nothing more than to protect you.”
“I can protect myself, thank you very much.”
“Listen...do you want to find out the truth, or not? You can stay here if you wish, I won’t make you come along. But know that you made that choice.”
Harper gulped. If this man was actually right…this could change so much. I could finally see the other side of my father that I’d never been able to figure out. I could finally see what all of this…hunting…was actually about. Taking a deep breath, she gazed up at him again. “All right, then. Let’s go.”
“Good choice,” said the men, smiling broadly. “And by the way, you can call me Bran.”
“Bran,” Harper repeated, tasting the way his name fluttered across her tongue. And with that, he took her hand, and they were off.
The area Harper found herself was about as un-house-like as she could have imagined. She’d gone from a cozy hunting cabin in the woods to a full-on cave, neatly tucked away behind a rushing waterfall. She’d marveled at the greenness of the trees, stood staring at the shimmering rainbow refraction of the water in the moonlight, and gaped at the way the area seemed so alive in a way she’d never noticed before. But all along, an old fear tumbled around in her head: what if they just brought you out all this way to kill you, rape you, or worse? What if they only delved this far into the forest so no one would hear your screams?
Swallowing the scream in her throat, she pressed on. As they neared the cave, the bears disappeared, sulking off into the woods out of sight. In their place came two men, at a timing too coincidental to be chance. Did they really just…? Harper pushed back the thoughts for now. She had to focus on staying alive.
The cave had a strange, homey feel to it, which was something she was not used to feeling about caves. Sure, it was a bit cool and sounds of nature and the roaring waterfall echoed outside, but a fire crackled merrily and Harper could make out the outlines of stars through a chimney in the ceiling. Putting aside that she’d run off with not one but three handsome men that may or may not be able to turn into bears, it was a welcome respite from the recent chaos.
She sat on the dirt-packed ground near the fire and leaned back, taking in the scene around her. It was beautiful, in its own way. As her thoughts drifted back to her father, the man that had approached her at the cabin spoke.
“It’s time you learned the truth about your heritage, Harper.”
“My…heritage?” She started, still not paying much attention. The flickering of the flames and the cool silence of the night sky above had lured her into an almost hypnotic sense of safety and calm, even in the presence of three bear-men.
“Your father, Evan Stone, was one of us once. He was a great leader to us all. He was, Harper…a werebear.”
Harper’s eyes widened as the pieces clicked together in her head. All the strange behaviors she’d seen in him throughout the years…the disappearances…the “hunting trips”…they hadn’t been hunting trips at all. He’d lived a secret double life, right under her nose, and she’d never even known it. Part of her riled in anger, wondering why he’d never shared that part of himself with her, his own daughter.
“He wanted to tell you, you know.” Bran came nearer, putting a large hand on her shoulder and sending shivers up her spine. She was sitting right next to the fire, but she suddenly felt tingly to his touch, and if the clenching between her thighs was any indication, she wanted more than just a comforting hand.
“People don’t readily accept…people like us,” Bran continued, kneeling down