Midnight Wolf (Shifters Unbound #11)(51)

Angus stayed to the deeper darkness, trying to look nonchalant, as though he belonged, worked there. Plenty of other shadowy men were carrying things to trailers and trucks, locking doors, shutting down rides. The last human visitors were being herded out the gates.

A decent place to hide, he’d decided, both from Haider and from Dylan. Dylan expected Angus to pry knowledge about Gavan from Tamsin, but Dylan could suck on it. Angus didn’t give a crap about what Tamsin knew about Gavan—which was probably little.

Angus had known Gavan better than anyone—he might have boasted about something, but he’d been all talk and no substance. All hat and no cattle was a saying among ranchers. Gavan and his followers had been found and killed because they were stupid, and Angus wanted to forget him. Whatever Tamsin knew—if she knew anything—could stay in her head. Dylan would have to find out the information another way.

Angus heard a step behind him. His first thought was Tamsin—What the hell? But it wasn’t Tamsin.

He heard a growl, scented the sudden whiff of predator. Angus spun in place, going into a crouch. Red eyes that glowed with rage and possessiveness blazed out at him from the gloom.

The eyes belonged to a solidly muscled bear, its mouth pulled back to reveal teeth gleaming in a savage snarl. No Collar glinted around the bear’s neck, but Angus knew bloody well what he faced. Shifter.





CHAPTER FIFTEEN


The bear attacked. Angus sidestepped and spun, tossing off his jacket at the same time.

He dodged the bear’s swiping claws—brown bear, he thought distractedly. Not grizzly. He didn’t want to shift, but his wolf started to push its way through. Angus tamped down on the urge with effort.

“Enough!” he said in the voice that could make even Ciaran freeze and fall silent.

The bear paused a step but his snarls didn’t lessen.

“I’m passing through.” Angus held up his hands to show he’d not sprouted claws. “Need a place to rest.” He gestured— carefully—at the bear’s neck. “You don’t have a Collar. That’s cool with me. I’m not a tracker for Shifter Bureau. For anyone.”

The bear’s snarls cut off with a wheezing huff as it began to shift. This bear had to do it slowly, as many Shifters did, his limbs changing and reforming in a painful, lengthy process.

The man at last stood up on human legs. He was lankier than most bear Shifters, who tended to be all bulk, but he had the height. His hair was red-brown and unruly, and his eyes were a rich brown, at the moment tinged with anger. He had a longish face, blunt chin, and large limbs. His chest was furred, as most bears’ were, the same color as his bear’s coat.

“Who the hell are you, and what do you want?” the man demanded, his voice the bass rumble that characterized bears.

“I told you. Passing through. Looking for a place to sleep.” Angus clamped his mouth shut without mentioning Ciaran. A wise Shifter didn’t reveal his vulnerable mate and cub to a stranger until he knew the lay of the land.

“How’d you get in here?”

“Drove. Parked over there.” Angus nodded to the crowded truck lot. The bear would scent which vehicle belonged to a Shifter sooner or later, so no sense in trying to hide it.

The bear watched him. Sniffed—testing for lies. He put his hands on his hips, a less defensive stance, but his scowl didn’t show trust.

“Name?”

“Angus Murray. You passing through too, or do you work here?”

“Angus Murray, from . . . ? What clan?”

He spoke as one who’d never been to a Shiftertown. Shifters these days asked each other what Shiftertown they came from, who the leader there was.

“My clan is scattered,” Angus answered. “I was sent to New Orleans.”

The bear’s eyes narrowed. “New Orleans? I guess if you let yourself be shut in a Shiftertown, one in New Orleans might not be so bad.”

“It’s not in the city; it’s an hour away.”

“Huh.” The noise was reminiscent of a bear’s growl. “What the hell are you doing in the middle of Texas?”

“Told you. Looking for a place to sleep.”

“Are people hunting you? They must be. Why else would a Collared Shifter be sneaking around my carnival in the middle of the night? I hear you poor slobs aren’t allowed to leave the state where you live without permission and a ton of paperwork.”

Angus didn’t move. “I’ll sleep; I’ll go.”

“Last thing I need is a shitload of heat. How far behind you are they?”

“Not sure. Haven’t seen them since New Orleans.” Angus decided not to mention Dylan, who was a better tracker than Haider could ever hope to be.

“I admit, this is a good place to hide,” the bear said. “Been hiding here twenty-two years myself.”

Though his stance was less hostile, Angus didn’t relax. “You said my carnival. You run it?”

“I own it.” The bear folded his arms, muscles moving in the dark. “Bought it before Shifters were rounded up. Carnival people are tight—no one betrayed me.”

“They know you’re Shifter, then?”

“Most do. New ones don’t always. I keep a low profile.”

“Like attacking strangers in the dark, as a bear?”