My Past Laid Bear

  MY PAST LAID BEAR

  BECCA FANNING

  Copyright © 2017 by Becca Fanning

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Also by Becca Fanning

  CHAPTER 1

  Snow filtered down from the midnight sky, and Norah shivered as she made her way once again to the entrance of the building, listening for any signs of life beyond her own heartbeat and that of her mate and child. But all was miraculously still and silent. She breathed a sigh of relief, her breath fogging around her in the darkness, and stepped inside the room, eyes adjusting until she saw the shapes at the back of the chamber.

  Though she wasn’t shifted, she could smell Abram, smell his familiar scent, as well as the copper scent of his blood from the wound that had yet to heal. And with him, their child. He was awake but silent, and she made her way to her son, taking him from Abram’s arms and pulling him to her breast. Cole made a few gentle cooing noises, and she smiled down at him, adjusting his blankets.

  “There you are little one,” she whispered, speaking as loudly as she dared when she still feared that the others were out there, waiting for them, ready to strike.

  “Did you sense anyone?” asked Abram, moving up into a sitting position. He winced, and Norah crouched down, keeping him from doing too much while he was still injured and weak.

  “There were some tracks, but they were old. I’m not sure,” she said. She shook her head.

  It was impossible to tell, really. The rest of the Iron Fur clan had been following them for days now. They were skilled hunters, and with Abram hurt as he was, it was only a matter of time before they caught up to them. It felt like they were only biding their time before something happened—before everything they had fought for came crashing down and they were forced to give it all up.

  It seemed that Abram was thinking something along those same lines. His dark eyes closed, and he pulled Norah toward him, leaning his head on her shoulder. “My mate, we will figure out a way,” he said. “These years have been difficult, but the two of us have managed so far.”

  “I know, my love,” she said. In her arms, the child that they had made together was stirring. She moved to the ground so that it was easier for Abram to hold her, and together the three of them held on to one other, a unit—a family.

  Yes, things were difficult. But she had to believe that somehow, they would make it through this trial. It was only because she had found Abram that she was the woman that she had become, after all. Before, she had been so quiet. Now, she was stronger than she had ever been. She was his mate. She was the mother to this young boy that she held in her arms.

  And she had the strength to finally stand up to the Iron Fur clan, something that would never have been possible only a few years before. Though it terrified her, and she spent her every waking moment in fear of what could happen, she knew that she had the potential to make a difference. All because of him. All because of the years that she had spent with him.

  “I will have to go hunting again soon,” she said, pulling away slightly. “I hate to leave the two of you alone with your injury, but…”

  “I understand.” But Abram looked troubled. She knew how much it angered him to be the one holed up like this while she was forced to go out and care for their family. Not that he had ever entertained the same ideals the other clan members did, that women should stay back and take care of the family while men did all the work. But she knew that if she was hurt and he was unable to protect her, it would eat him up inside.

  She understood this because she felt the same way. They had always worked together as a unit. It had been this way from the very beginning between the two of them. Reaching out, she touched the side of his face, brushing back a strand of dark hair.

  “I will be safe,” she said. “And you will sense if I am in any danger.”

  Abram nodded, but it did nothing to change the expression on his face. She knew what he was thinking—that if she were in danger, there would be nothing he could do. Leaning forward to kiss him, Norah shifted their son into his arms. Then she stood and moved again, walking across the empty room and to the door to look outside. With the snow that was falling across the landscape, many of the scents around them were obscured. This troubled her.

  No sooner had she moved to the door than she thought she could see a faint movement reflected in the far shadows of the trees. Norah’s instincts took over at that point, moving quicker than her very thoughts. Where before a woman with long brown hair had stood, there was a flash of movement over the snow-covered ground, and a lean brown female bear bounded across the way.

  It was quickly at the borderline of the trees, rising up on its hind legs, nose in the air. The bear-woman, Norah, explored the surrounding area, but she did not have to search long. With a roar, another bear swept its claws toward her.

  Norah dodged quickly, just able to avoid the attack. She wanted to fight, but her only thought was on moving the other bear away from her husband and her child. So, she ran. She ran as quickly as she could away from the abandoned building. The other bear stayed on her tail, teeth bared.

  She was fast, but it was faster.

  Norah just managed to find a clearing when claws found purchase in her shoulder, and she knew that she had no choice. Turning, she came to a stop and readied herself. She knew now that she had no choice.

  She had to fight to defend herself and those she loved.

  I’m sorry, my mate, she thought as she readied herself for the coming battle.

  CHAPTER 2

  F ive Years Earlier

  Abram Young stumbled through the village, all eyes on him. The young man was yet again making a spectacle of himself—something that the shifters of the Iron Fur Clan were not unused to. Now, he was angrily arguing with his older brother about something or other, his voice loud enough that all around could hear him.

  “I can spend my time with whosoever I choose,” he was saying.

  The young man was the image of the older man next to him, with a shock of chin-length black hair and striking black eyes. His brother was glaring down at him though, which gave the two men a markedly different look regardless of how similar they were in appearance.

  “You were spending your time with humans, which is certainly not acceptable,” Kegan spat, sounding disgusted by the very idea. “You’ve known better than that since you were a cub, Abram. A few years ago, when you befriended that human down in the city, I thought that it was just a phase. That was the only reason I let things go as they were then. But now you have a whole pack of human friends. I’ve never even heard of such a thing.” He shook his head.

  “I don’t know what’s so unusual about it,” said Abram. “I find the humans interesting. They have intriguing ideas. About the world. Have you ever learned about human politics? And human television? And human beer?” He laughed, swaying lightly on his feet. “It’s such an amazing world they have. We’re doing ourselves a disservice by cutting ourselves off from it, Kegan.”

  “Don’t say such things, Abram.” He stopped and turned to his younger brother, the scowl on his face deepening. “You have a responsibility to this clan. To our people. Have you forgotten that?”

  Abram stopped too, and turned to his brother as well. He was stil
l swaying lightly on his feet, but the amused look on his face had faded away to be replaced by a more serious expression. The people who had been watching the two brothers up to this point paused and paid attention, anticipating a blowout, which wasn’t uncommon between these two. They were known around the village for their fights, which tended to be particularly explosive in nature.

  “I can care for my people as well as for the humans,” said Abram. “Just because you are my brothers doesn’t mean they can’t be my friends.”

  Kegan laughed hollowly, balling his fists. “Friends with humans?” he said. “Do you not realize how absurd you sound?” he said.

  “I don’t see what’s so absurd about it.” Now Abram was balling his hands into fists too, standing up straight, almost as tall as his older brother. Some of the younger children were drawing close, as close as they were willing to come to the two when a fight was brewing between them.

  And nearby, someone else was watching. A young, quiet woman who had seen Abram often but never spoken to him observed curiously, wondering just why he was so passionate about the humans. She didn’t know much about them. Really, she hadn’t had much opportunity to even think about the humans. But seeing the two men engaged in such a display made her think that there was something important that she should think about where those other people were concerned. And so, she stood at the entrance to her home and kept her eyes on the younger man in particular as he faced off against his brother.

  “I don’t see what the problem is,” said Abram. There was a wild wind swirling up around him, and his dark eyes were blazing. The young, hot-headed bear was obviously on the verge of losing his temper, though nobody could exactly say why he was so passionate about the subject of humans.

  It was common knowledge that the bear shifters and the humans kept their distance from one another. It was just the way things were. Why Abram had such an interest in the humans—why he had always been so keen on building relationships, friendships, with them—was anybody’s guess.

  It was particularly troubling because his brother and father were prominent leaders of the Iron Fur Clan, and he was expected to become a leader in the clan himself when he was older, and to become, well, more responsible. Though with the way he had acted in the last few years, it didn’t seem that he would ever become responsible enough for that to become a possibility.

  “Abram,” said Kegan, who had also begun to exude a powerful aura about him. “Do not test me. Do not test our family with this nonsense. Put aside these games and remember your family. Remember your clan. Humans are dangerous. They hurt the things they don’t understand. They could never accept us. They could never accept you.”

  “They’re my friends,” Abram insisted. Then he reached out, pushing Kegan back, and the fight that had been building up erupted all at once between them.

  Where one moment two men had stood, there were two bears—an enormous black bear with gleaming eyes, and a lean, medium-sized male bear with equally black fur that was holding back the paws of the larger bear as it came down on him with harsh blows. Those who watched did not seem surprised by what had happened, but they did ensure that they were at a good distance back as they watched the spectacle. The children watching seemed to be taking sides, rooting for who they wanted to win, most of them cheering for the larger bear brother.

  The fight was quick and furious, and Abram was quickly pinned to the ground at his neck by the larger bear. He let out an angry growl and swiped at his brother’s arm, but there was nothing he could do to free himself as the pair shifted back into their human forms and, slowly, Kegan let Abram back up to his feet.

  “Watch yourself, little brother,” said Kegan as Abram agitatedly dusted himself off. Then he walked away, leaving the younger of the two to watch, his face a canvas of obvious annoyance and disgust.

  CHAPTER 3

  A bram was the talk of the village after that morning’s outburst, and more and more people began to talk of his sympathy for the humans and his ongoing time spent socializing with the humans in the nearby city.

  Nobody knew for certain what he got up to when he went out to the city, or why he was so entranced with human culture. The Iron Fur Clan had a long history of keeping to itself as a shifter society, and though it had adopted some human habits, such as clothing and naming rules, other parts of human culture were staunchly frowned upon. They kept to themselves and, more importantly, they kept the bloodline pure. Abram’s socializing with the humans was just taking one step toward inviting the humans into their fold, and as far as many of them were concerned, it was something that they just couldn’t abide by.

  At least, that was how many shifters felt. Others were sympathetic toward Abram. They had never really understood why there were such harsh rules against socializing with humans. It was understandable why they needed to keep their abilities to shift secret from them, of course. But was it really so wrong to want to befriend the humans?

  As time went on, people were divided into two camps—those who agreed with Kegan and those who agreed with Abram. The brothers themselves, central to the odd sentiment that was growing up around them, were very aware of the fact that they had caused unrest in the Iron Fur Clan. Kegan blamed his younger brother for the rift between the clan members and continued to pressure him to put an end to his late-night ramblings with his human friends.

  Abram, on the other hand, more frequently visited his human friends. He had always had a rebellious streak, had always been prone to anger and outbursts, and this was yet another way for him to show his brother and the leaders of the Iron Fur Clan that he wouldn’t be controlled by them and their rules and regulations. It didn’t matter how hard they tried to control him, nor how hard they tried to tell him how and what he should be.

  He was just returning from one of these visits in the dead of night, walking through the center of the village, when he heard a voice calling to him from a doorway. It was a young woman he had seen before but had never really spoken to.

  “Hello?” he said. He’d had a little bit to drink and felt a little bit unsteady, not just because he was a little bit tipsy, but because he was sure she was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen. She had long, deep brown hair that fell almost to her waist and the bluest eyes he thought he’d ever seen. They almost seemed to glow in the moonlight.

  “Hi,” she said, blushing shyly when he spoke to her. “Uhm… sorry. Do you have a minute to talk?” she asked.

  “I… guess so?” He stood for a minute, as if he couldn’t figure out exactly what to do or where to go before making his way toward her house and up the stairs to her front door. She opened it for him and stepped back, allowing him into her house.

  “There’s nobody here. Just me,” she said. Her blush deepened as she realized what she’d said might be misinterpreted.

  Abram made his way into the house, and she closed the door behind him, securing it before she turned to him. He noted again just how pretty she was, and wondered how he had never noticed her before, or why he’d never felt as drawn to her as he had in this moment. She was smiling, a faint blush still coloring her cheeks as she began to speak.

  “My name is Norah,” she said, her voice soft and blooming like a summer flower. She held her hands behind her back as if she wasn’t quite sure of herself, though she peered up at him as she spoke. “And I know who you are,” she added quickly. “Abram.”

  “I suppose you would these days,” he said. “But it’s nice to meet you. I’ve seen you around a little but, I don’t think we’ve spoken before.”

  She shook her head. “I came here from another clan a couple of years ago after my mother died. I live here on my own. My uncle and his children are next door.”

  Abram thought back and remembered something of that nature happening, though he couldn’t remember the exact details. He nodded and smiled down at her.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” he said, reaching out and taking her hand. Instantly, he felt something in his chest—h
is heart beating a little harder, a little faster. He wondered if Norah could feel it too.

  “Oh,” she said suddenly, as if catching herself. “I, uhm. I wanted to ask you something… about the humans.” She pulled away and moved across the little house, and Abram followed her through the neat little living room, noticing that it was small but well cared for. She gestured for him to sit down on the sofa, and he took her lead, settling down as she rummaged around on a small shelf until turning. She had a book in her hands.

  Books were uncommon for shifters. They read a little, mostly nonfiction, things that they had to read—mechanical manuals and other tomes deemed necessary. But this was a larger novel, a little tattered at the edges with and gilt with faded gold.

  “My mother gave this to me when I was a girl,” she said. “It’s a human book. I used to read it over and over again. It’s about these human sisters. I know the Iron Fur Clan frowns on us reading these kinds of human things, but I can’t help but be fascinated by it,” she said. She was speaking quickly, and she came toward him, holding it out. Abram took it hesitantly, looking at the title. Little Women.

  “I don’t really know anything about it,” he said, turning it over in his hands. “Sorry.”

  She looked just a little bit disappointed, but shrugged. “I didn’t expect you to. It’s kind of a… well. It’s the sort of thing that a girl would read.” She laughed. “But is it true that there are entire buildings filled with human books? And that they just let you come there and read them? That they’ll even give them to you to take away and read if you’ll just bring them back?”