Southern Shifters: Bear Sentry (Kindle Worlds Novella) (The Enforcers Book 2) by Ruby Shae Page A

for the first time in his life he felt worthless.
    He didn’t know what to do with the empty feeling that consumed him, but he knew he could never go back. That life, the life he’d worked so hard to build, was over.
     
    Great! Going swimming. Talk later.
     
    He typed back a quick message and turned off the device. There was no reason to elaborate on the truth. His Lead didn’t want the truth, the man just wanted to know whether or not he was alive.
    He double checked the area, and then called his bear to the surface. The magic allowed the animal to transform in an instant, replacing the human with its form. Somewhere in the distance he could hear a babbling brook, and the bear ran toward the sound.
    The cool water felt like heaven on his paws, and squatted low and rolled on his back in the tiny bed created from the stream. The water washed over and around his fur while he closed his eyes and soaked up the warmth of the sun. The forest called to him, and he longed to go deeper into the trees and disappear, but his animal nudged him back. Like Logan and his friends, the bear wouldn’t let him forget reality.
    He’d been sleeping under the stars and using campground facilities for nearly two weeks, but he longed for a comfortable bed and a long, untimed shower.
    After about an hour of relaxing in his bear body, he walked back to his bike, surveyed the area, and shifted back into his human form. He slowly maneuvered his bike out of the woods, and then took off again in the same direction he’d been going before.
    Thirty minutes later, he finally saw a sign for food and lodging.
    Deals Gap, North Carolina.
    The name held no special meaning, but he felt compelled to stop in the tiny, unknown town. He shook his head and let out a humorless laugh. It was clear his senses couldn’t be trusted.
    All he knew for certain was he wanted a hot meal, a hot shower, and a place to call home for a few nights. If he found those things in Deals Gap, he’d be a happy man. If not, he’d move on. The location where he stopped wasn’t important. Food, shelter, and the ability to keep his bear hidden were all that mattered, and he could literally find those things anywhere else and be just as content.
    Maybe after a few nights on a comfy bed, it would be easier to figure out what to do with the rest of his life.
     
    ***
     
    Violet Black finished drying off the small round table she hovered over and looked outside in time to see an attractive couple walking across the street with their fingers laced together. The sight made one half of her mouth rise in a sad smile, and she envied the way they seemed to fit together perfectly.
    She withheld a sigh and looked around the small, packed, coffee shop where she worked. Hybrids, or so she assumed, occupied every corner of the room, including the table she’d just cleaned off. As soon as one vacated a seat, another one walked in and snagged it.
    The coffee shop had always been busy, and she was proud of her childhood friend, Monica. The woman had been right when she’d taken a chance and opened the store in their small, underdeveloped hometown. It seemed the only thing shifters loved more than sweets was coffee.
    One of Sienna’s donuts sounded like a great way to end her workday, but then she looked down at her soft, curvy body and stifled a curse. Most shifters, whether full or hybrid, had incredible metabolisms and thin, sleek, muscular bodies. They could eat whatever they wanted and never gain a pound, but she was the complete opposite.
    She was the only shifter she’d ever known that had to worry about her weight.
    Her parents, brother and small group of friends lovingly called her an anomaly, but almost everyone else called her a freak. The only exceptions were the leaders of the hybrids, Bhric and his team; they didn’t go around pointing out weaknesses in others.
    Deals Gap, also known as the neutral zone, sat smack dab in the middle of wolf and cougar country. Half-breeds, or