ANGEL AND THE BEAR
1409 Words
The handsome giant of a man bent down at the cage, peering in at her.
"So Carlos, this is your little killer?" the man growled, then, throwing his head back, a huge rumbling laughter straight from the belly spilled into the room. Sniffing the air, he remarked, "She doesn't even have the scent of a dog yet. Hell, this pup still belongs with her parents. I'm a warrior, not a babysitter!"
Angel felt so confused and scared. She could tell these men were dangerous. She was just unsure if they wanted to hurt her. Looking towards Sam and Lillyanne, she knew they couldn't help. She wasn't one to cry, but could feel hot tears threatening to erupt; she blinked furiously, no way she would give these two bastards that satisfaction.
"Steel, I saw her shift with my own eyes, and I saw the damage she caused. This is no ordinary pack wolf, I can assure you of that! I am old and I know this girl is different. Stay here, help me train her?" the man named Carlos almost begged.
The giant, who Angel guessed must have been Steel, turned to Carlos and smirked. "Well, the full moon is two nights away and there is lots of lovely wilderness to explore here, and I'm sure some wild woman is about to keep me entertained."
Opening the cell door, Steel stooped low to enter and stepped into the cage, towering above her. "What's your name, little one?"
Angel had never felt so fearful in all her life.... and yet still confused. "Please, I don't know why I'm here or what's happening, don't hurt me, just let me go, I won't cause any trouble." she managed.
Steel's booming laugh again.
"No, little killer, I would never hurt a child. Now tell me your name!"
"Angel," she whispered.
"Little Angel, pleased to meet you, my name is Steel. It look’s like you have caused plenty of trouble for Riverhead, and the bears in the area.” He gave Carlos a disproving look. “Lucky for you, I can stay for the full moon. You will have to trust me, do you think you can do that?"
Angel gulped; she didn't have a lot of choice.
"Yes", she whispered.
"Good, now let's get you out of this cell, Carlos, you get to bed before that ball of fire finally catches you, old man.”
Angel was confused as to why Steel would call Carlos an old man. For all the danger radiating off him, he looked like he just stepped off a model runway. He looked young.
“Sam, Lillyanne,” Steel bellowed, “let's get some food in before I start training this whelp."
Out of the cell, he marched, and Lillyanne came and led Angel up the stairs, while Carlos descended to the underground caves.
From the basement dungeon, which was one level underground, there were another three stories to this place. The compound they called it. The ground level was mainly a garage, the second level a maze of different rooms. A lift went from the ground to the top level. Angel soon found herself in a huge open-plan room. Full-length windows that took you onto the balcony, surrounded by beautiful forest. The full chef's kitchen seemed to be Lillyanne's domain, and a huge wooden table took pride of place in the room. Angel sat at the table as Lillyanne brought piles of food, mostly to Steel, who quite frankly consumed a lot.
He pressed Angel for details of her life so far, her parents, and how she got here. There wasn't much to tell, she couldn't remember all the details, so she told the brief history that she knew of being abandoned outside the church, then the short sunshine period of Pete and Jane, unhappiness, the orphanage, a short time as a street child with her protector Bam who eventually abandoned her, then the foster homes all tinged with a fogginess that hadn't quite lifted yet.
Steel also told her a brief history, explaining how he had mostly lived a rogue life and loved it. In the Shadowlands, he would often spend time with the giants or the beautiful nymphs who could make a man believe he had entered heaven. Here in the human world, he would involve himself with the underworld, the bikers, enforcing if needed. He never stayed anywhere long; he always moved on. He liked it that way.
Angel, being a teenager and feeling a little bold, asked him if he had ever been in love or found a wife.
"Once, he grunted, or so I thought, just the love, no marriage or cubs."
Changing the subject quickly, he continued, "Never mind that little angel of death, you have slept a long time. Let's train. You and I are gonna go for a lil run."
"I don't mind that, I love running", Angel said.
"So you should, replied Steel, It's a shifter thing, it's in our blood, let's go now!" he ordered.
The house they were in was three-quarters up a mountain, hidden and nestled between six other smaller mountains. The seven brothers, the mountains were called, and they presided over Riverhead.
"Okay, we are going to run, Angel. How long do you think you can last?"
"Longer than an old man like you", she replied cockily, forgetting the fear she had felt not that long ago," it's only morning, I've got all day."
Steel's raucous laugh once again echoed out through the mountains.
"We'll see about that, you scrawny whelp, he laughed, so let's go, keep up."
They set off running together. She could see him heading for the top of the mountain, and she kept pace with him until they reached the top. This was easy for her, pausing to take in the view. Not just of the mountain scenery, but of Steel himself. His body was a work of art, a mountain of pure muscle. Steel hurried her along good-naturedly. "Come on, lil Angel of death, let's keep going."
Steel started heading down the mountain, zigzagging between the trees and heading for the next mountain. They ran and ran, Angel kept pace for what must have been a good two and a half hours, when suddenly she lost sight of Steel; he had disappeared ahead of her in the trees.
Faltering and looking around, a deep growling sounded as a great bear came thundering straight towards her. Angel froze, terrified. Just as she was sure her time was up, the bear playfully tapped her leg, then ran back, turning to see if she would follow.
Steel? she wondered to herself.
The bear stopped running and turned to look at her, growling, as if to say Come on, we have to go, we have running to do. And run they did, not stopping for another hour and a half. A bear and a small whelp of a girl training together. They stopped at the same grove of trees on the way back. Just as before, the bear disappeared and Steel took his place. They kept on running, running home. No words spoken, just an exhilarating feeling of being alive.
"How did you do that?" asked Angel once they arrived back at the house.
"Do what?"
"Get that bear to follow me on our run."
"You can do better than that, Angel, I don't have time to answer stupid questions. Let's just test your sword skills now."
"What sword skills?"
Steel rolled his eyes, "...and Carlos has been telling me you are some great, powerful wolf, the girl can't even swordplay. Come on you whelp it's time for more training then, but first let's eat, I'm sure those halflings will have us some grub ready! Fine, let's see what type of swords that old snake Carlos has in his collection."
Angel followed him back toward the house. The sun caught him just right, lighting the edges of him in gold. For a moment, he seemed almost… mythical.
A ribbon of golden light flicked toward her, brushing her skin warm as breath.
She blinked, and it was gone.
She followed him inside.
Steel was terrifying. Beautiful. Deadly. Built like a god.
Carlos was deadly, beautiful, a nightmare.
They were the killers.
Not her.
And yet… she felt safer with them than she ever had in her life.
The strange beginning of something like belonging settled quietly in her chest as she stepped deeper into their world.
- Writer
