Page 1 of Marcus

chapter

one

Marcus

My bear is restless.

That’s the only way to describe the burning behind my sternum. The way my insides feel as if things are moving around. Something is different. I can feel it. Smell it. Something is coming.

At least that’s what my bear thinks.

He just needs a good run. A moonless night where I can let him out and let him just move. For now though, it feels like my skin is crawling.

Of course, it could also just be this mind-numbing meeting I’m sitting in. I hate these fucking things.

There’s no discernible reason why the security team needs to be here. We work the property; we don’t know shit about whatever scientific voodoo they’re doing in those labs.

My best friend and second in command, Ranger, glances over at me and then crosses his eyes.

Juvenile? Yes, but it makes me chuckle.

My phone buzzes in my jeans pocket and I pull it out.

Ranger must have gotten the same message. But his phone must hit a frequency I can’t hear, though the men sitting around the table clearly can. They wince, grab at their ears, shake their heads, and one makes a short, growly noise.

“Mr. Guardian, if you can’t keep your staff under better control, we will be forced to use a different security company.”

I want to remind him that he’s the one insisting that me and my second attend these fucking meetings that we absolutely do not need to sit through. An email or short text could cover everything said that’s pertinent to security. But I nod to the chairman standing at the head of the table, then shoot Ranger a glare.

“Apologies,” Ranger murmurs.

But he’s a fucking liar. He’s a dick and likes to play with the wolves, setting his phone to shrill noises only they can hear. That’s right, we’re a security group of bear shifters working for a research company run by wolf shifters.

Sounds pretty fucking weird, and I’m not gonna lie; even within the circles that know there are shifters roaming around, it’s not common for shifters to mix. For the most part, we keep to our own.

The wolves wear suits and lab coats and do whatever the fuck it is they do, alongside a handful of humans who have no clue what’s actually going on around them.

My brothers all run other branches of Grizzly Guardians.

Us bears are just big motherfuckers, which makes us ideal to be the muscle. We’re not dumb, though we might pretend otherwise when it suits us.

I glance down at the text.

SELENE: My bestie from college has finally moved here. I want y’all to meet her. Come to Jax’s tonight at 6:00

Ranger’s reading the same text.

I glance up at the top of the message and see it’s our friend group chat. It’s made up mostly of bears, but Selene, who is half-wolf/half-human, and her brother, Logan, hang out with us.

Obviously, because bears are infinitely cooler than wolves, who tend to be uptight and boring.

ME: Can’t. I have plans.

Ranger shoots a questioning glance at me, but I ignore him.

SELENE: Plans? You lie. You just hate to socialize.

She’s not completely wrong. I mean who doesn’t enjoy grabbing a beer with buddies and just hanging out? But I’m also a homebody.