Between a Bear and a Hard Place(31)

“I think... the noise, or the gunfire... something terrified her.” King was holding his shoulder as Rogue prepared a bandage of shredded cloth from one of the strange things lying on the ground. “She’s unharmed, but...”

“What did you do to her?” The newcomer snarled, backing away. “Who are you, anyway? Are you with them?”

“Did you see any of those turn into bears, by chance?” Rogue shot back. When he finished dressing the gaping hole in King’s shoulder, he turned his attention back to the new bears. “We were looking for you, which probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise.”

“You,” the charred-gray fur receded completely as the heretofore silent bear approached. “You’re... not like them.”

Rogue scoffed. “For one thing, I don’t bleed motor oil, or whatever is in my mouth. For a second, I’ve got a question. Does the name Draven ring any bells?”

An immediate look of either awe, or indigestion, came over both of the men. Both of them were also completely naked, which would give away that something wasn’t quite right, even if somehow, nothing else did.

“No,” the grim-faced bear holding the woman said. “Means nothing.” He shot a warning glare at the other, who was obviously looser with his tongue, as he’d already started to say yes. “We know nothing.”

Rogue rolled his eyes. “Looks like you’ve just met your spiritual ancestor, King,” Rogue said with one of his semi-obnoxious smirks.

For a long moment, the four bears regarded one another. The two new ones were clearly younger than Rogue and King, but from the looks on their faces, not by very much. At the least, their experiences had aged them; these were not men who had lived easy lives.

“Taken?” King said simply. “Hm, come closer.”

As though the two knew what they’d encountered, the man holding the limp woman – Claire – took a step forward. “Let me see your eyes.”

At first, the younger man narrowed his eyes, but then when King didn’t break the gaze, he relented. Something obviously crossed King’s mind, though he stayed silent. Rogue would know the look on his face anywhere. He’d noticed something. And if it had to do with the eyes...

Thinking quickly, and wanting to avoid any further trouble until they’d had a chance to get everyone patched up, Rogue threw a bundle to each of the new men, who caught them. “What’s this?” the slighter of the two asked. “Sleeping bag?”

Claire stirred in the man’s arms, blinking furiously and then wiping at her eyes. She looked from King to Rogue and then back to the man holding her, who gave her a surprisingly gentle look.

“Clothes. You’re going to need them unless you want people thinking you’re on some kind of weird naturist trip. Wait, you’re not, are you?”

“Naturist?” the serious one asked.

“Nature...” it was the first time Claire spoke. She was sucking wind, but the inhaler she puffed was starting to work. “Naturist, like a nudist. He’s making a joke. And holy shit there are four bear men. And a bunch of guns, and...”

That was about all Claire was willing to process just then, as she slumped back into his arms.

Rogue chuckled. “Guess that was a little bit of a shock. How did she—?”

“Long story,” the one holding her said, as he climbed from his knees to his feet. He placed her gently on the ground and took up the bundle, nodding to Rogue as he dressed. “I’ll tell it later. I’m Stone.”

“You don’t say,” Rogue quipped. King glared at him. “Sorry. And you?”

“Fury,” the other one said, buttoning the plaid, flannel shirt. There was ample room in the chest, which apparently fascinated him. “How did you know? Even the hospital gowns barely fit when they’d tie them.”

“Our mate is used to buying clothes for us,” King said in his deadpan that would impress Bob Newhart. “Big and Tall stores. Really good for bears.”

For a second, thick, almost impenetrable silence hung in the air. Then Fury laughed, followed by Rogue, and King. Stone tried it out, but it seemed as foreign to him as it was to King way back when.

“Follow us,” Rogue said, helping King to his feet. “We’ve arranged for a pick up. Or, not a pick-up, that wouldn’t make much sense. We’ve got someone coming to get us. We’ve got about four hours to make it a few miles. Even with gimpy here, we should be fine.” Rogue nodded to King.

Fury gave Rogue a clap on the shoulder.

This one. I can tell I like this one already.

And he was close enough to see the color of his eyes. Suddenly it struck Rogue what King had seen. One green, one gold. Could it really be possible? No... right? The mark of a Broken Pine alpha – multicolored eyes – could it possibly have been that these two recent escapees were alphas?