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  Alpha Daddy Bear

  Bridge Hollow Shifters 1

  Samantha Leal

  Copyright ©2019 by Samantha Leal All rights reserved.

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  Table of Contents

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  5.

  6.

  7.

  8.

  9.

  10.

  11.

  12.

  13.

  14.

  15.

  Preview of Her Keeper Bear

  1.

  Bridge Hollow – Present Day

  The woods were dark as the two men made their way across the bubbling stream. The rocks were slippery underfoot, the water flowing fast, and they steadied themselves against each other as to not to lose their footing.

  “It’s cold out here,” David said as he stopped and exhaled. He couldn’t fully tell with there being so little light, but he thought he may have seen a wisp of icy air clinging to his breath as he spoke, and it sent a chill right down his spine.

  “I’ve never seen it like this,” his companion, Ben, said as he stopped and hitched his gun up onto his broad shoulder. “Maybe that’s why we’re not getting much luck…” he clicked his teeth and sighed as he looked back down the stream, towards the folds of trees that were bending and dipping across them from overhead. The branches were thick and full of green, but even with that considered, these two hunters were used to this forest. They knew it like the back of their hands, and both could tell that there was something strange happening there around them.

  This day, something was very, very different indeed.

  “It’s the middle of summer,” David said. “This place should be crawling with deer.”

  Ben shrugged and reached into his back pocket for a pack of smokes. He clamped one between his teeth and reached for a lighter.

  “Oh, that’s a great idea,” David snorted with a wry smile. “That’ll really attract the animals.”

  Ben rolled his eyes and lit up anyway. He sucked in deeply and exhaled before he turned and climbed up and over the rocks, onto the muddy side of the embankment and out of the chill of the water.

  “Thing’s ain’t been right round here for a while,’ he said as he crouched down and ran his fingertips into the ground. The earth was threateningly cold, with a force he had never known before. It wasn’t just the cool soil in the shadows, this was something deep from within. Something menacing and raw.

  “This fucking town,” he whispered. “If it’s not crazed tourists flooding the streets looking for Bigfoot or whatever the hell they believe, it’s the locals slowly going insane with the rumors and legends.”

  “Well maybe it’s high time we stopped coming here then,” David said goadingly. “But I think we all know what brings you to these parts. You can mock the tourists all you want, but what you’re looking for is your own juicy piece of the pie.”

  The men looked at each other knowingly and Ben took one last drag before he stubbed out his cigarette on the base of his boot, threw the butt into the gush and pull of the stream and started to laugh.

  “May as well,” he winked as he let his rifle drop to the floor beside his feet and then he sat with his legs dangling over the ridge.

  David climbed up beside him and the pair sat together looking around. For a summer’s day the forest was bleak and freezing. It was not long past noon, and they were right to be wary. It was clear to them both, as seasoned hunters, that something was amiss out there.

  “Do you think it’s Bigfoot coming to get us?” David joked as he reached for his water bottle and took a long, deep sip.

  “Don’t be foolish,” Ben replied. “It is something though, alright.”

  The sun was nowhere to be seen, but there didn’t appear to be a cloud in the sky. The break in the trees above showed blue, but there was something strange about it. Something other-worldly. The air was still and chilly, like a veil had descended and trapped them there in their own little bubble.

  “Come on,” David got to his feet and stretched before he reached down and scooped up his rifle and slung it back over his shoulder. “We may as well get out of here. It’s a lost cause. If we go fast we’ll get the best part of the afternoon over in the bar instead, the wives don’t need to know a thing.”

  Ben laughed and nodded. David helped him up and they began to walk further into the forest.

  The men crunched over the earth and when Ben looked down he was sure he saw a frost forming. As they got further into the trees and closer to the center which would allow them to cross back over to where they had parked on the outskirts, the woods got darker still and the air became prickly and vengeful.

  Ben looked towards David and he could see his face darkening too. Neither of them spoke a word, but with each step forward they took, they were getting further and further away from the light, and further from the world they knew. They were descending into something unknown. Something dark and powerful. As they stepped through a thick section of trees and emerged into a clearing, Ben’s breath caught in his throat and his whole body was shocked with cold. It pierced him deep within his heart and kept him there, paralysed with fear.

  David stopped too, and Ben was aware of the rifle falling again. Down to the ground, crunching onto the frost under their feet and turning icy and white as it connected with the earth.

  “My God,” Ben gasped. His eyes widened as he took in the scene in front of him.

  For a moment, he was sure that he must be dreaming. None of this could be real. He blinked and lifted his shaking hands towards his eyes where he tried to rub them, but the cold wouldn’t allow his fingers to move. They were frozen in place, quickly turning red and frost bite taking hold.

  “Dav…id…” his voice cracked. The cold travelled through his mouth and right down to the pit of his stomach. It gripped him like nothing he had ever known before and within a second it was as if he were turning to stone.

  Before them both, as they stood there freezing, the last things their eyes saw was the scene in the forest.

  The trees above them were turned brown and black, their trunks and roots poisoned from the ground up. A fog was heavy in the air, something dank and sweet, trails of energy whisping up from the cracks in the e
arth below. The circle in the center of the clearing. The darkness and the death. Heaps and heaps of bodies. Animals of the woods that had gathered there, in that very spot and met their end, just like Ben and David themselves. The circle of bears, wolves, deer, rabbits, racoons and birds were all piled together, in a swirling pattern, all facing the central point of the clearing.

  It was like something out of a horror movie. Something unnatural, dark and magical. But not the good kind of magical. Something utterly terrifying. Whatever had come to the woods of Bridge Hollow had managed to kill off at least a hundred animals. Either they had been led to their death, or they had been called.

  Now Ben and David were a part of them. They would never make it to the bar on Main Street, and they would never get to tell their wives what they had seen that day. They would certainly never hunt again.

  Some would have said that was a good thing.

  Some would think it terrible luck.

  But for the animals of Bridge Hollow, it was only just the beginning. They may not have had Bigfoot lurking around them, but they sure as hell had something. And now it was coming out to play in full force.

  The cold slowly began to lift, and the animals sank into the ground like it was quicksand, taking David and Ben along with them. Like the saying often went, the ground opened and swallowed them whole. Slowly and silently, one by one. Any evidence of what had occurred there was completely destroyed, taken away as if it had never happened at all.

  The darkness lifted, but the chill remained.

  The sun broke through the trees and lit up the clearing, the fog cleared, but the energy there would be forever changed. There was something magical about this place. Something deep and meaningful. Something that the locals were either going to have to embrace or fight.

  Bridge Hollow was never going to be the same again.

  2.

  Amanda looked out of the window and watched the world go by. She cradled the steaming hot cup of coffee between her hands and blew lightly on the top, cooling it down and praying for a miracle.

  “Come on,” she whispered to herself. “Give me a flash of inspiration.”

  The summer had started, and she was free for six weeks, but it still felt to her like she was trapped like a rat in a cage. She had walked out of school the previous Friday with a grin as wide as the moon, but when she had gotten home and she had flopped down on her couch and thought about the time stretching out ahead, she had already begun to wonder what she was going to do with herself in the weeks ahead.

  Being a teacher at the school meant that Amanda had the best of both worlds. She got to help kids learn, spend time and enjoy their company, but then she also got to go home at the end of the day and just be herself. She got to be a girl in her mid-twenties, finding her own way in the world, without the need for a man or a relationship. She wasn’t tied down to anyone or anything and she knew that she could up and leave in a heartbeat should the fancy take her.

  Not that she ever would.

  She had lived in this small industrial town for so long now she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. She had grown up there, studied there, started her career there, and everything and everyone she had ever known were right around the corner.

  And yet she still felt so alone.

  After a rough year at school, she had been assigned to teach another grade, and she was dreading going back. Not only had she lost the stability of the job she loved, but she had a whole summer to think about it and feel the sense of doom. She would be going back to a class full of entitlement, where everyone would be promised an A+ so they weren’t triggered in any way. It was political correctness gone mad and she had put up with it for long enough. Now the daily routine of work was on hold for the summer, it was as if she was lost.

  She sighed and took a sip of her coffee. Outside the world was moving on without her and she was holed up at home feeling useless and out on a limb. It was only Monday, her first full day not being at school, not spending time with the kids and helping them discover everything this wonderful world had to offer. But Amanda was starting to wonder when she would listen to what she was telling them and go and explore for herself.

  She set the cup down on the kitchen table and turned to walk back into the living area of her apartment. She sighed down onto the armchair and curled her legs up next to her. Her cellphone was lying face down on the coffee table, and she had been resisting the urge to check it. If she picked it up once, she knew she would sit on it all day, mindlessly browsing the internet and buying clothes that she couldn’t afford.

  When she pressed the home screen she smiled as she saw there was a message from Gwen. She unlocked it with a swipe and opened the message.

  G: Hey missy! How’s the first day of freedom treating you? I’m off on my lunch in an hour, fancy meeting for a catch up?

  Amanda smiled and looked up to the clock on the wall. It was only eleven am. She had a whole day to kill and no idea how she was going to fill in her time now that she was suddenly out of her usual routine.

  A: Hell yes, that would be great. It feels like forever since I’ve seen you!

  G: Fabulous, I’ll meet you at the diner just after noon. Ciao!

  Amanda jumped to her feet and internally praised her friend for being in touch, it was as if she had read her mind. She and Gwen had been besties since they were teenagers, and it occurred to Amanda that of course Gwen would be wondering how she was feeling now she had the whole summer out ahead of her.

  She made her way to her bedroom, ran a comb through her hair and slicked on some lip gloss. She grabbed her purse and spritzed on a little bit of perfume before she buzzed around her apartment, tidying away all the cups and plates she had left scattered around the night before. She opened the window to let in the fresh air, shook out the curtains and felt the sunlight on her skin. She breathed in deep and felt warm inside.

  What was she so afraid of?

  Most people would love to be as lucky as her and have a long summer vacation. She was going to have to snap herself out of it and enjoy the peace and quiet. The world was quite literally her oyster, and she could come and go as she pleased. She had six weeks off work. She may have loved her time at school with the kids, but she also loved just being her and doing her own thing.

  “Come on then Amanda,” she coached herself as the clock edged closer and closer to noon. “Let’s get this summer started.”

  She grabbed her canvas shopper, her keys, and then she headed out into the corridor and down onto the street. As she made her way towards the diner, she felt a newfound sense of optimism, and she was grateful for all that she had, and all that could potentially come her way.

  “Oh my God,” Gwen beamed when Amanda pushed open the door to the diner and the bell tinged high above her head. “How have I not seen you since Joe’s party? It feels like decades.”

  Gwen pulled her into a hug before the door had even closed behind them. Amanda hugged her back and then they both sank down into the booth, sitting opposite each other and gripping hands across the table.

  “I know right,” Amanda grinned. “I just realized it’s been at least three weeks. How time flies.”

  “Yeah when you’re working and responsible,” Gwen said quietly. She was about to continue when the waitress approached the table and set down two menus and a jug of iced water.

  Gwen thanked her, and then flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder and lowered her head. Amanda watched her with a wry smile, knowing that something big was coming, but she couldn’t tell from the expression on Gwen’s face whether it was going to be good or bad.

  “Okay,” Amanda smirked. “Hit me with it. I can tell there’s something going on.”

  Gwen cringed and gritted her teeth. “I’ve messed up,” she said as she bit her lip and crinkled her eyes together.

  Amanda felt her stomach drop, for a moment a flash of concern rolled over her, but when she saw the amusement in Gwen’s eyes she quickly began to relax.

 
“In what way?” Amanda leaned in, her ears wide open.

  “It’s just typical me,” Gwen said with an eyeroll. “I find a job I really like and then I go and screw it up. I’m such an idiot.” She grabbed the jug and poured them both a glass of water before she slid one across the table to Amanda and took a sip of her own.

  “Wait, the new job? You’ve only been there a couple of months haven’t you…?” Amanda’s jaw sagged and she could see the concern etched on Gwen’s face.

  “Yep,” she sighed. “I managed two whole months in this one, and then I went and kissed my manager and the next thing I know I’m getting fired. I mean I’m pretty sure that’s illegal, but what can I do? It’s not like I’m going to go and hire a lawyer or anything is it.”

  “Oh man,” Amanda buried her face in her hands and tried not to laugh. “How the hell did this happen?”

  “It was all him too,” Gwen sighed, but she was trying not to laugh as well. “We were working late in the bar, sampling some new whisky he wants to sell, and then the next thing I knew he just pounced on me. I mean we’d been flirting for weeks but that isn’t the point. And then I text him a couple of times, he didn’t reply, so I didn’t show up for work and blah blah blah you know the rest.”

  Amanda smirked.

  “So it was less to do with the kiss and more to do with the fact you didn’t show up to yours shifts?”

  “Minor details,” Gwen grinned. “The fact is he’s a kiss and run prick and I’m the casualty.”

  Amanda laughed, this was classic Gwen and exactly the reason she loved her so much.

  “Well, I’m sorry you’ve lost your job,” she said sincerely. “I know how much you were enjoying it.”

  “You win some, you lose some,” Gwen shrugged. “So, I’ve been laying low after that major loss, working in one of the warehouses on the other side of town. My new boss is a complete jerk and I really don’t think they are paying me enough. This is only my second week and I absolutely hate it, so I have no intention of going back after this lunch break,” she paused just long enough to take a breath before she jumped in again with - “Which leads me to an epic idea!”