Council Bear

By Severine Wolfe

When tragedy brings something wonderful.

John Patterson, Council Bear, had had to kill more of his own kind than any other species leader on the Shifter Council. He was sick of it, sick of death and sick of grown men, because it was always men, who thought they knew more than thousands of years of secrecy had given them. The last Bear he’d killed had had a secret that John had to suss out to bring peace to all Bear Shifters.

Sorrell MacGyver had been alone for so long. Her brother had hidden her away. In a bid to keep from starving to death she left the safety of the cabin he’d left her at and run into Fate.

How can she forgive the man who killed her brother, her only protector? He says he’s her mate, but those are just a myth. A lie Shifters tell little girls who want more than beatings and abject slavery.
How can he convince her he’s the only man who will ever love her like he does?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Severine Wolfe
• Release date: Aug 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005083557

Severine Wolfe

Severine Wolfe is a pen name. It's also a name I've used across the gaming world for nearly 20 years. I answer to, "Hey, Sev!" just as easily as my birth name.I am married and have four grown children and three grandchildren. I love to read and I read everything from treatises on philosophy to theories on the speed of light to the most bawdy of bodice rippers. My interests are varied but reading, knitting and gardening are my top three. Extreme knitting, not for the faint of heart.I've had stories running around my head for years and I'm just now letting them out to put themselves on the virtual page. I hope you enjoy the characters as much as I have over the years. You can contact me at [e-mail].

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Council Bear

Bear Shifters Book 2

By Severine Wolfe

Council Bear

Copyright © 2020 by Severine Wolfe

First E-Book Published August 2020

Cover design by Melody Simmons

Proofread by Stephanie Taylor Flores

ISBN:

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission from the author.

All characters, places, and events in this book are fictitious or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is strictly coincidental.

License Statement

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

When tragedy brings something wonderful.

John Patterson, Council Bear, had had to kill more of his own kind than any other species leader on the Shifter Council. He was sick of it, sick of death and sick of grown men, because it was always men, who thought they knew more than thousands of years of secrecy had given them. The last Bear he’d killed had had a secret that John had to suss out to bring peace to all Bear Shifters.

Sorrell MacGyver had been alone for so long. Her brother had hidden her away. In a bid to keep from starving to death she left the safety of the cabin he’d left her at and run into Fate.

How can she forgive the man who killed her brother, her only protector? He says he’s her mate, but those are just a myth. A lie Shifters tell little girls who want more than beatings and abject slavery.

How can he convince her he’s the only man who will ever love her like he does?

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my faithful readers who inspire me, daily.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks go to the people of the American Forestry Service who helped me understand Bear Habitat maps and answered my voluminous questions concerning which Bears live where.

ONE

He was sick of snow. It was normal. He always felt this way at the end of the interminable Alaskan winter, that he'd actually spent in the Yukon because some Bears thought they knew better than the rest of history.

He had one last task to perform, and John Patterson, Kodiak Island Sleuth Leader, Alaskan Bear, American Bear, Council Bear Representative, always did his duty. God knows it had been a full-time job since he'd taken over when his predecessor had proved to be a sick bastard who had tried to steal a Bear from her mate. She'd made him pay for that act of idiocy with the ultimate in stupid taxes.

There were better things for a Kodiak Bear to do in the middle of Spring than hunt down someone's girlfriend and make sure she wasn't trying to foment rebellion within Shifter society.

He was sick of the killing, sick of the threats, and wanted nothing more than to be sitting in his favorite, ratty old recliner in front of his huge, raging fireplace, reading the news from the outer world on his tablet. Was that too much for a Bear to ask?

Evidently, it was.

Sorrell MacGyver.

Yeah, she sounded like a regular Flora MacDonald to him. Yes! History major coming to the fore for him. He wondered if she held any Jacobite tendencies.

He shrugged. If she did, he'd end her and let Darren know the Bear Revolt had been put down. God, he hoped the Sumatrans revolted next so he could sleep in his own damned bed for more than a night.

Looking out at the small cabin in a secluded meadow deep in the Montana Rockies, John wondered about Miss Sorrell MacGyver, the supposed girlfriend of a Bear who had died ugly trying to challenge John when he discovered they were trying to plan some sort of retarded revolt against the Shifter Council's rules concerning keeping them secret from humans not already mated or born into established groups. You know… everyone.

No one could tell him what kind of Bear she was. Montana had Black, Brown, and Grizzlies. He couldn't smell Bears of any type around her meadow. It was odd, but he hadn't gone too far into the field, just around it as he didn't wish to be seen as human or Bear. However, he had scented a dog, who didn’t wander far from the house when he was let out.

He already knew she wasn't Kodiak, they all lived in Alaska, except for one who had mated into a Tiger Streak in Siberia. She had come from his own Sleuth and he admired the hell out of Kada Chernavin. She had overcome much and deserved all happiness as could be delivered to her.

John smiled thinking that Kada was expecting her first child. Having lost her first pregnancy, she and her mate had been too scared to try again. She had sent him a picture of herself pregnant and glowing. She complained her mate would let her do nothing and waited on her hand and foot. She claimed the moment she could shift again she was taking his Tiger ass to school. He'd had to laugh. She'd do it, too. On the short bus.

Sorrell MacGyver. Perhaps she'd live up to her surname and he'd have a good fight on his hands. He'd just have to make sure she had no paper clips or gum wrappers around.

He'd had doubts, the first day, that she was even at the cabin where he’d finally tracked her down. But smoke came out of the chimney on a cold evening, so he'd settled in to observe. She hadn't come outside, not even to get wood for the fire. He saw the dog go in and out a couple of times a day, but never Miss MacGyver herself. The dog never alerted awareness of a Shifter.

Well, there was no cell signal out there and his satellite phone was turned off… and back in his truck. Miss MacGyver lived just a little off the beaten path. As in no one had come this way in months according to his nose. Unfortunately, neither had she. He had to wonder as the snow had already begun to melt, running its way down the mountains to lakes and streams, then into rivers on its way to the oceans of the world. This side of the Rockies it was most likely the Mississippi eventually and then the Gulf of Mexico.

He sighed and thought of the Gulf and some islands he and his friend Hank had visited that had hot and cold running cocktail waitresses wearing bikinis all the time.

Lord, he'd been too long without a woman. He was honest enough, at least with himself, that the desire wasn't even really there. Not anymore. Too much responsibility thrust at him too fast had him too tired to pursue, much less pounce and catch.

He just kept watching the cabin. What else was he going to do, barge in there, demand answers? He had no problem taking a Grizzly down. He was a fucking Kodiak. No Grizzly was going to get the best of him.

The hours passed quietly with the sound of bird song in the forest around him. The smell of conifers comforted him.

The sound of the door opening was like a gunshot in the meadow. John's head whipped around to the front of the house. The birds went quiet and then began to sing again. He watched the doorway with rapt attention.

No one had known which Sleuth she belonged to. This part of the American Continent? It could have been any one of three. He'd asked the leaders of those Sleuths and no one had ever heard of her. No one in Canada had known her either. Perhaps she wasn't even a shifter, he'd thought more than once, as he'd not smelled Bear anywhere near the meadow. However, other Shifters would have known if she were pure Vanilla… unless she was a latent, where she would have the scent, and better senses, but no ability to shift. He'd thought about that and wouldn't know until he met her. If she ever came out of her damned cabin.

Finally, he saw one very white leg step out and then the other, then the dog. She was turned around, reaching inside for something and then she closed the door and turned around, her face raised to the sun, her eyes closed. A breeze wafted across the meadow to the tree he sat against.

John inhaled, wanting to catch her scent so he could track her. He'd been too afraid to get too close to her house and she'd scent him. He sat up straight and stared at her across the meadow.

Well… god damn.

*****

Bingo, come ON! Sorrell growled as her dog stood in the doorway, refusing to budge. Stupid mutt, if I could live without you, I'd send you to the Pound.

Sorrell would never, ever do that, but it was a good verbal threat that she was sure her closest friend and companion never took seriously.

Come, Bingo, she finally said with the full authority of his mistress in her tone. We have got to get out of here. We're out of firewood, food and everything else.

It was scary to Sorrell, heading out into the world on her own, but Johnny hadn't come back, and he was now three weeks overdue. Bingo couldn't even leave her to hunt for his own food, much less hers. She had fed him the last of their food last night. If he couldn't get them out to some road and civilization they were done. Sorrell couldn't see the hand in front of her face, much less get out of the forest her brother had hidden her in. Damned Scarlet Fever. It had stolen her eyesight when she'd been three years old.

Bingo, please, we have to find our way out of here or we're going to die, she finally cried out her greatest fear.

Her Guide Dog stiffened to such a degree she could feel it through the harness, so attuned were they to one another. She heard footsteps coming across the meadow she knew was outside the cabin where Johnny had hidden her. She froze as she felt Bingo step out and in front of her, beginning to bark and growl threateningly.

Sorrell's body stiffened and terror filled her. God, why had she ever thought she could take care of herself? Johnny had been so damned right. Why had he left her here in the woods somewhere with no one to look in on her? Now she was about to be killed by some mountain man who smelled like a… Bear?

Shit! She raged inside her own head. She heard the footsteps stop about ten yards away, she'd guess.

I'm not here to hurt you, Little Wolf, came a voice that was like honey on a sore throat. She wanted to lick it up.

Who are you? She demanded hoping her voice didn't sound as frightened to the man as it did to her.

John Patterson, came the voice.

I don't know any John Patterson, she said back, no give in her tone. Thank God for the years with Guide Dogs. Beside her Bingo stepped to her side and sat at his ready for work posture.

I don't know you, Sorrell MacGyver, either, but here I am, he said, and she could hear the grin in his voice. Fucker.

How do you know my name? Absolute terror was racing through her entire body. She wished she could run, hide, protect herself. She was nearly in tears at just how impotent she was in the face of real danger. She'd been so intent on getting Bingo out of the cabin for more than a pee break that she'd forgotten to grab her cane she used for walking around unfamiliar places.

Do you know Johnny Gilbert? The voice asked quietly, not answering her damned question… or maybe he was.

He's my brother… half-brother.

A step towards her. She backed up towards her cabin door.

He told me to save you as he lay dying, John Patterson told her.

Inside her soul, Sorrell completely crumbled and then her entire body fell to the small porch of the cabin as she lay sobbing, a whining Bingo standing over her, licking her face in between growls at the Bear standing too close to her only refuge now.

Johnny was dead. He was her only living family, her only friend in a world that was so frightening to her since she'd come of age and he'd taken her from the Wolf pack in Tennessee where her mother had been sold to a wolf as a mate. God, Johnny just wanted to make the world safe for her. He'd been inside a Bear Sleuth that was very dedicated to overturning the Council and he was feeding information to some Enforcer, he'd told her.

She screamed out her grief, her fear, her absolute belief that this Bear had been sent to kill her, too. He didn't smell like the other Bears her brother hung around, tainted. As soon as she'd told Johnny about what she'd scented, he'd hidden her away, and kept moving her around, telling her that he couldn't afford for them to ever find her, because they would use her against him and her life would be the hell their mother had known in Tennessee.

Her life sucked so hard she was surprised she wasn't pulling in everything around her.

*****

John had made a move towards Sorrell when she'd collapsed on the rickety porch. Her guide dog had growled at him in a tone that clearly showed he was ready to attack anyone trying to hurt her. Household pets tended not to like Shifters. The scents confused them, human and wild animal was too much for their nervous systems. However, Guide Dogs were made of sterner stuff. They still felt it, but they were trained to sublimate the sensation and accept what was best for their handler.

This was a better trained animal than the so-called Therapy Animals he'd seen on flights in the past two years. Really, who had a Therapy Guinea Pig? The poor thing had died in the girl's purse just scenting him sitting two rows behind her, frightened, literally, to death.

He squatted down, lowering his body in a submissive posture to the dog. They weren't that far removed from wolves, right?

I'm not going to hurt her, Bingo, He'd heard Sorrell calling the dog by that ridiculous name. His mouth quirked up at the side, amusement filling him. She had a sense of humor. I need to get her out of here.

The dog just stood, stock still, over her body as she grieved the loss of her brother, asshole that he was. He didn't know if she was aware of his activities, but she needed to know.

He had stood, eyes closed as she spoke to him, her voice had been like a cold drink on a hot day to his senses. She had a thick, Southern drawl that seemed perfect for her. Even crying her eyes out on the ground, it was music to him. Okay, that was a slide into sick fuck territory he didn't want to make. So, he watched her as she sobbed.

The sun shining on her dark auburn hair set it on fire. Even in her abject grief she looked like a Fire Goddess. Her skin was so pale it was clear she rarely spent time outside. Except, he'd taken note of the sprinkling of freckles across her cheeks and nose. Her arms also showed the small, brown Angel Kisses, as his mother had called them, on her skin.

He paid attention as she seemed to wind down her crying, still laying on the ground, hiccupping breaths.

Did you kill him? She finally asked him, not even turning her head towards him, her voice soaked in misery.

He wasn't going to lie to her. Yes, but only because he was trying to kill me. She didn't move, didn't acknowledge she'd heard him. He begged me to find you, gave me your name and the state you were in.

Where? Was the only word she spit out.

Up in a Canadian Bear Sleuth that had gone bad.

She moved then, pushing her upper body up with her thin arms as she sat up and hugged her dog to her. She looked out towards the meadow.

He told me he was working for a Council Enforcer as an informant, she said quietly.

John closed his eyes and sucked in a breath. He knew that wasn't the truth as he had set no Council Enforcers to help with cleaning up the Bears who thought they could take what they wanted.

Do you know the name of the enforcer he was working with?

What do you care? She shouted at him;