Once we were in the SUV, I took up my favorite place in the third row with Mason and Blake in the middle, while Spencer drove, and Jaxon navigated. As usual, Mason opened a portal and we appeared outside of Manhattan, still needing to drive another thirty minutes to the last sighting of the bear.
“His name is Gene. He was beta in his pack, but when the alpha died, he was challenged and lost. Gene not only lost his place in the pack, but he also lost his chosen mate, the alpha’s daughter,” Jaxon read from the file.
Damn, no wonder he went psycho. It didn’t justify him killing someone, but it at least explained the erratic behavior.
“Rumor has it, Gene wasn’t known for his compassion, and there are theories the alpha was poisoned. After fleeing his pack, the rogue killed a man in Central Park who was apparently in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nobody saw it happen, but there was a witch who reported that she saw Gene running away with blood on his face.”
“Where is he now?” Spencer asked as we entered lower Manhattan.
“Last sighting was around Canal Station, lurking near the subway,” Jaxon answered.
I leaned forward and poked my head between Mason and Blake. “He’s probably going to try and escape through the tunnels. Unless he thinks he can blend in with the people on the streets.”
“We’ll check the tunnels first,” Spencer said.
When we found a parking garage, we all got out and I woke up Nixie. “Time for action, sleepy head. We have a bear shifter to find.”
“Seriously? Just leave me in the car,” she groaned.
“Not going to happen. You can’t leave me alone with these four. You know that,” I joked.
She sighed. “Whatever. Just leave me in your sweatshirt, at least.”
I laughed but complied as I tucked her into my pocket and followed the guys to the street level. We were still two blocks from the station, but we were all on guard. If the shifter had murdered a human, I doubted he’d have any problems killing a supernatural.
As tired as I was, I was equally glad Nixie had kicked my ass earlier by practicing my magic. At least I was confident in my defensive abilities before we faced a rabid bear.
“We can’t make a scene, so this needs to be done quietly and efficiently. Here’s his picture.” Jaxon handed the image around.
The shifter reminded me of Ethan, but there was something in his eyes that told me they were nothing alike. Ethan might have made mistakes that landed him in prison, but he still had his humanity. Gene’s eyes held no emotion, and that was scarier than anything else. People who didn’t feel did stupid shit.
“What do we do if he shifts?” I asked, since all of the others we’d brought in were easy to pass off as humans. Gene wouldn’t be so simple if he was in bear form with all of the people around the subway.
“Don’t let him shift. I saw what you did today with Spencer and Nixie. Gunner will open a portal, but we’ll need you to subdue him however you feel comfortable,” Jaxon answered.
Holy shit, this was another moment going on the calendar. Even though I wasn’t ready to say it out loud to Jaxon, I appreciated that he trusted me enough to make me an essential part of the plan. I also wasn’t ready to admit I had lingering doubts I’d be able to duplicate what I’d done earlier in a controlled setting. There was a lot that could go wrong if I screwed up.
Blake wrapped an arm around me. “You can do this, Siren.”
Annoying empath. “Thanks,” I mumbled.
We arrived at Canal Station, and it was bustling with an evening rush even though it was nearing ten—New York never slept.
As soon as we descended the stairs to search the tracks, a scream sounded from much too far away for us to have a chance of getting there in time.
Of course, the bastard couldn’t have been a rabbit shifter or something cute that didn’t entice fear just with his presence.
Taking off at a full sprint, all we could do was hope we weren’t too late to prevent another death.
Chapter 4
Chaos was everywhere inside the station. People were obviously running away from the shifter, who we could hear roaring even though he was out of sight. While we were trying to sprint toward the noise, the crowds were making it harder than it needed to be by pushing their way toward the nearest exit and not caring who was in their path.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, we spotted the giant grizzly. He was standing on his hind legs in front of a woman whose pale face said she was moments from passing out.
Mason stepped up on a bench, waving around his wallet too fast for people to realize there wasn’t actually a badge within it. “You need to leave the area calmly. We’re with the zoo, and this one has rabies, but don’t worry, we’re going to safely get him out of here through the tunnels, so you won’t even see him leave.”
The few people who remained out of idiotic curiosity finally scampered off, but the woman was still stuck and shaking like crazy.
“Come on, Gene. You don’t want to hurt anyone. Let the lady go,” Blake said, likely sending out waves of calm emotions.
The bear roared and swiped out at us. Apparently, he wasn’t easily swayed by the empath’s powers.
His brown coat was matted with dirt and blood, and there were plenty of visible injuries. Whatever this bear had been through was not good.
“Flower, quit gawking and help,” Jaxon snarled, and I wanted to punch him in the face, but he was partially right. I was feeling sympathy for the murderer, and I really needed to avoid that.
When we’d been training, I’d made contact with Spencer every time in order to use my magic. I wasn’t so sure throwing an orb full of the same stuff was going to work, but I was determined to give it my best shot, because there was no way in hell the shifter was leaving our sight.
Nixie crawled up my arm and stood on my shoulder. “Shut that damn thing up.”
“Nice of you to join us,” I mumbled as I began to build magic within my hands and compress it together.
“Yeah, well, I had to see what all the fuss was about. That damn bear sounds like a tortured animal. What did you do to it?”
“We didn’t do anything to him. He went rogue. You’d know that if you didn’t insist on sleeping. Now, shut it while I help the guys,” I snapped.
Nixie did just that, and when I felt like I was going to burst with energy, I finally flung a wave of magic at the bear who had been kept distracted by Blake and Spencer.
The woman caught sight of what I’d done and finally fainted, which wasn’t a bad thing as long as Gene didn’t turn around to attack. Nixie fluttered toward the ground, but I lost sight of her before she landed and hoped she stayed out of the way.
The bear was stunned by the impact of my power, but I’d intended for him to go numb and that didn’t exactly work. He was still flailing around, claws out and extremely dangerous.
“Gunner, restrain him,” Jaxon yelled, taking up position toward the back.
“In public?” Mason replied.
“We’ll deal with it. Flower already used magic.”
Jaxon’s words insinuated I’d done something wrong, but he had been the one to tell me to help. How else was I supposed to have done so?