"I'm Spike," he said. "Nice to meet you."
Spike. The "hot" guy Mabel said had tatts all over him. He was certainly well inked, his muscle shirt showing art that interlocked and wove up and down his arms like living paintings. His own skin showed only in his face and hands. Like all Shifters, he was tightly muscled and had that edge of animal about him. Elizabeth wondered what he turned into.
Ronan shoved the phone from Spike's side of the counter to Elizabeth's. "You're on perimeter," Ronan growled at him.
Spike shot Ronan a glance, and his evil smile widened. "You're the boss." He walked out of the store without saying good-bye, the small bells on the door tinkling.
"Felines," Ronan said. He might as well have said, Shitheads.
"Liam's a Feline," Elizabeth said, tucking her phone into her pocket. "Right?"
"The whole Morrissey clan are Felines. That's why Liam is so full of himself. Like a cat with cream."
"And Spike's a Feline like him?"
"Different clan. Spike's wildcat is bred from jaguars, but the Morrisseys have more lion in them. Spike came up here from Mexico, the Morrisseys from Ireland."
"What do you mean by more lion? Aren't they all were-lions or were-jaguars or whatever?"
Ronan shook his head. "We're all Fae-beasts, technically. Feline and Lupine clans tend to lean more toward one cat or wolf type than others, but none of them breed true. Only bears do."
"Of course."
"Bear Shifters were the last ones created. With us, the Fae finally got it right."
"You're saying Bears are the best," Elizabeth said, straight-faced.
"Damn straight."
"And the most modest, obviously."
"Damn straight." He looked so serious when he was full of shit.
"And you're a Kodiak bear, right?" Elizabeth went on. "And Rebecca is too?"
"She's from my clan--a long way removed, but still my clan. It means I can't mate with her, which is fine with me. She's a neat-nik. Drives me frigging insane."
"Then why do you live with her?"
"Not a lot of choice. The humans put me in with Rebecca when I was brought to this Shiftertown. There aren't enough houses to go around, so any family connection means you share. You share even if there's not a family connection, but at least they don't force different species into the same house if they don't want to be there. That would be a blood bath."
No customers had entered the store yet, so Elizabeth allowed herself to lean on her elbows on the counter and keep asking questions.
"And the other three? Mabel said you're basically running a foster home for bears."
"I guess you can put it like that. Cherie came first. She'd been kept in a pen for about ten years, a pen only about five feet square. Some humans up north had caught her as a cub and kept her as a pet. Someone found out, realized what she was, and called the police. The Shifter Division took her, but didn't know what to do with her. I heard about her through Ursines in Wisconsin--their Shiftertown didn't have room for her, so they were asking around. I told Dylan--Liam's dad--about her, and Dylan said we'd bring her down. Poor kid. It took her a long time to adjust to living like a normal Shifter. She still hasn't adjusted, in some ways."
"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said, stunned. Her own childhood had been rough, but nothing like that. "Scott and Olaf have similar stories?"
"Scott came to us because the Shiftertown he was in couldn't handle him. There weren't any other Bears there, only Lupines and Felines. It's hard enough for species to get along, and he went a little crazy being the only Ursine there. So I offered to take him. Scott's not bad, just a pain in the ass. He'll be fine once he finishes his Transition."
"No parents?"
"Father died right before he was born, and his mother died of bringing him in. He's been alone since."
"And Olaf?" Elizabeth bit her lip.
"Saw his mom and dad shot and killed in front of him, but thank the Goddess, he doesn't clearly remember it. Hunters, somewhere up in the Arctic, near Russia. They said they didn't realize the bears were Shifter. Sure. Olaf is cute, so they didn't kill him, but they did try to make a pet of him, like Cherie. Except Olaf nearly killed one of them, so the Russian Shifter Division got him and locked him up for a long time. Again, I got word and said I'd take him. That was a year ago."
Ronan related the tragic tales without changing expression, as though these things were commonplace, which made them all the worse.
"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said again. "That's so wrong."
"At least I have a good Shiftertown leader who lets me help. Some leaders can be real shitheads. I just hope I can help the kids out."
"You already have," Elizabeth said. "I grew up in foster homes, Ronan. I see your house, and it's like paradise. Cherie, Scott, and Olaf are happy there. They can be normal. That doesn't always happen."
Ronan nodded without conceit. "It's funny, when I lived in the wild, I was by myself most of the time. I preferred it. I had miles to roam, didn't have to see anyone if I didn't want to. I never thought I'd be holed up in a house with a prickly she-bear and three cubs, trying to be a substitute dad. But what the hell?"
"From what I can see, you're doing an amazing job."
Ronan pushed himself up from where he'd been leaning on the counter. "Stop flattering me, woman. You're making me blush."
"Fine. But if you're going to hang out here, I have a crate of new stuff that needs to be shelved." She sent him a sweet look. "Since Mabel's not here, you're recruited."
*** *** ***
Pablo Marquez looked across his desk at his little brother Julio, who lounged on the old sofa by the soda machine. Julio's face was bruised and cut from his wrestling match with the bear, and the back of his head still sported bandages.
Pablo had heard that the Bear Shifter had been let go, somehow convincing the judge he'd only been trying to take the gun away from Julio. The problem was, Pablo believed him. If the Shifter had wanted Julio dead, Julio wouldn't be sitting here with only a few shallow cuts as souvenirs.
Julio had been quiet and angry since Pablo had paid his bail and brought him home. He'd had to call in a favor to get Julio out of the hospital and to a bail hearing so quickly.
Now he had a problem. Pablo ran a body shop, a great way to do legitimate business and keep the other businesses under the radar. He was new here in Austin and wanted to keep under the radar from many people for a while. Tough to do that when his little brother decided to go out and do something dumb-ass like try to rob a little novelty shop.