The Misfit and the Bear

  The Misfit and the Bear

  The Shifter Games, Book 1

  By Sloane Meyers

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Similarities to actual people or events are entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 by Sloane Meyers. All rights reserved.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Thank You For Reading!

  More Books by Sloane Meyers

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Oskar Warden crept through the dense pine trees, making surprisingly little noise for someone who had taken on the form of a bear weighing several hundred pounds. But Oskar had mastered the art of stealth, and, even as a giant grizzly, he could slip through the forest unnoticed by the animals that lived there.

  Oskar hadn’t always been this good at hunting. He’d learned over the course of several years, one painstaking hunt at a time. He’d often gone hungry, as had his sister Whisper, when his failures had outweighed his successes. But Oskar had been determined to take care of himself, and his sister. He would learn to hunt or die trying. The only other option he had was to go work for the horrible people in Gilt Hollow, and Oskar had sworn he would never do that. Death was a better option than living for the whims of those bastards.

  These days, Oskar didn’t worry too much about the full humans across the river. He hated them with every fiber of his being, but as long as he stayed on the Bear Hollow side of Golden Claw River, he didn’t have to interact with them much. Some of the shifters in Bear Hollow saw the Gilt Hollow citizens every day, when they trudged across the rickety shifter bridge for jobs in the city. Other shifters actually lived in Gilt Hollow—those who had taken jobs as guards for the humans, or those who had volunteered for the Shifter Games.

  Oskar shuddered at the thought of the Games. He didn’t understand how any self-respecting shifter could volunteer for the Games. Sure, the money was insane. Your family would never want for anything after you’d performed a few rounds in the Arena. But the Games topped the long, long list of things the Gilt Hollow citizens did to degrade the shifters. Oskar would lose his life before he lost his dignity like that.

  And he was about to lose his chance at dinner, if he didn’t stop fuming about the Games and pay attention to the task at hand. The deer he’d been trailing for hours was right in front of him now, lazily eating grass in a small meadow. Oskar had made it to the very edge of the forest without the deer noticing that he was there, but he couldn’t go any closer until he was ready to run. He had to wait for the perfect moment, when the deer was most distracted by the grass beneath it. Oskar would have one shot and one shot only at catching this deer. If the deer realized before Oskar got close enough that a giant bear was chasing him, Oskar’s long day of hunting would have been for nothing. His bear form might be powerful, and reasonably fast considering how much he weighed. But a bear could never hope to catch a fleeing deer. He had to rely on the element of surprise to get close enough to strike before the deer even had time to panic.

  Taking a deep breath, Oskar waited. No one in Bear Hollow could hunt better than him, because Oskar had perfected his ability to strike at just the right moment. When the deer bent its head down again, Oskar charged.

  He knew within seconds that he was going to catch the deer. It took too long for the deer to look up, startled. The deer froze in place for another few seconds, a shell-shocked look on its face as it watched the giant grizzly heading toward it. By the time it turned to run, Oskar had already stretched out one of his giant paws to take down its legs.

  The rest happened quickly. Oskar closed his jaws over the deer’s throat, making quick work of putting the deer out of its misery. Oskar hated to see any animal suffer, and he’d worked hard to make sure he could kill any animal he caught within seconds. When the deer had stopped struggling and lay still, Oskar took a step back and began to shift back into human form.

  His giant grizzly shape slowly gave way to the shape of a man, but Oskar’s human form could inspire just as much awe as his bear form. Tall, with muscles that rippled and strained against his tanned skin, Oskar was the most eligible bachelor in Bear Hollow. He kept his dark brown hair cropped close to his face, and during the hot summer months, he kept his face clean shaven. When the weather began to turn cold, as it was now, he started to grow out his thick beard. Many of the shifters in Bear Hollow joked that you could tell what month it was by looking at Oskar’s beard. Right now, the calendar had just turned from October to November, and his beard was just starting to thicken. The worst of the winter still lay ahead of them.

  Oskar’s dark brown eyes turned darker at the thought of winter. Most years, he had a surplus of meat frozen and stored away for the lean winter months. This year, a forest fire had driven most of the animals far from the forests near Bear Hollow, and game had been sparse. The fire hadn’t actually come close enough to Bear Hollow to destroy any homes, or any of the nearby forests. But the smoke had been so thick that most of the forest animals had fled in search of cooler, fresher air.

  Oskar eyed the deer he’d just killed. It was a large one, much larger than any of the others he’d seen roaming around the forest this year. He’d needed a solid kill like this one, both to boost his own confidence and to put his sister’s mind at ease. Whisper never said anything negative, but Oskar could always see in her eyes when she was starting to worry. And she was definitely worried about the long winter ahead. They had some stores of vegetables from their summer garden—mostly potatoes. But shifters didn’t do well for months at a time with no meat. They needed protein.

  Oskar reached down to pick up the deer and throw it over his shoulders. Blood from the dead animal trickled down Oskar’s bare back, but he didn’t care. A quick dip in Golden Claw River would wash off his skin before he got dressed again. Oskar’s plan was to carry the deer back to the spot at the edge of the forest where he’d left his field bag, and then field dress the thing. He’d rinse off and then pull some clothes from his bag so that he could get dressed before walking back into town. Walking through a shifter town naked wasn’t all that unusual, but Oskar hated doing it because of all the hopeful shifter girls who liked to stare at his naked body. He felt like some sort of trophy on display—a trophy every single girl in town was trying to win.

  He’d settle down eventually. But right now, he had enough to worry about just trying to take care of himself and Whisper. Ever since their parents died in a raid by Gilt Hollow full humans ten years ago, Oskar had felt responsible for both his and his sister’s survival. Some years, survival was easier than others. This had been one of those “other” years.

  In this moment, though, Oskar felt happy. He had some meat, and he felt accomplished. Whisper had been working as a bartender—a job Oskar’s best friend Axel had given her, which Oskar owed him for big time. Jobs in Bear Hollow were rare, which was why so many shifters ended up working in Gilt Hollow. Whisper’s bartending job had enabled them many times to buy just enough food to tide them over. Surviving had been a challenge, but at least Oskar and Whisper were free. They didn’t have to answer to
the humans of Gilt Hollow for anything. Well, not for anything except their annual taxes, which were always a struggle to pay. But so far, Oskar and Whisper had always managed.

  Oskar whistled as he walked, thankful for the weight of the deer on his shoulders, even though it slowed his gait. That weight meant lots of meat, and lots of meat meant survival. He’d cut up venison steaks for freezing tonight, and, with any luck, he’d catch another deer or two before the cold winter really set in.

  Oskar didn’t realize until too late that he wasn’t alone. He had almost reached Golden Claw River when the hair on the back of his neck stood up suddenly, and all his senses instantly became alert. He smelled people—full humans, not shifters—and he tried to duck off the well-worn forest path deep into the trees to avoid detection. But they had already spotted him. In fact, they almost seemed to be waiting for him.

  A chill ran down his spine as he surveyed the scene. There were four of them, all Gilt Hollow soldiers by the looks of it. There were four horses with them, all saddled with expensive leather saddles that no one in Bear Hollow could ever hope to afford. Heck, most people in Bear Hollow couldn’t even afford a horse, let alone a fancy saddle to put on a horse. The men wore the purple and gold military uniforms of Gilt Hollow, complete with those ridiculous golden boots all the soldiers wore. Oskar would never claim to be a military expert, but he was pretty sure that shiny golden boots weren’t exactly practical for battle.

  “You there!” one of the soldiers exclaimed. “Come out and show yourself or we’ll shoot.”

  Oskar rolled his eyes. Almost every other sentence a Gilt Hollow soldier spoke threatened to shoot. They felt like their guns made them powerful, and they liked to wave them around to add to the dramatic effect of their threats.

  Unfortunately, they were known for actually carrying out those threats. So Oskar opted to obey, stepping out of the woods and back onto the main path. The soldiers gawked at him for a moment. What a sight he must have made: dirty and naked, with scratches everywhere from the prickly branches and shrubs he’d encountered in the forest. The blood trails from the giant deer on his shoulders now made their way down to his ankles, mixing with the mud and dust of the day to create strange, brown-red rivers across his body.

  “Can I help you?” Oskar asked, doing his best to sound respectful. He hadn’t seen anyone from Gilt Hollow in the forest for years. He had no idea why they were here, but he knew they’d be happy to accuse him of insolence and fine him if he gave them the slightest excuse for doing so.

  “You left your bag sitting here all alone,” said the same soldier that had spoken the first time. “We were guarding it for you, so no one would steal it.”

  Oskar had to work hard to resist the urge to roll his eyes again. No one in Bear Hollow would steal his stuff. The Shifters might be poor, but they were all honest. They did what they could to help each other out. Survival was a game they all played together. When one of the shifters lost that game, no one felt like a winner. But Oskar reminded himself that the soldiers could see his face, and forced a small smile. “I appreciate your help. Although I leave that bag there all the time and no one’s messed with it yet. I reckon it’s fine.”

  “You reckon wrong. It’s dangerous to leave stuff unguarded. But we were happy to help. We’ll just take a small fee from you for our services.”

  Oskar’s heart sank. He should have known. The Gilt Hollow soldiers loved to play this game. They’d come up with some “service” they performed for you, and then force you to pay them for it. How much would they ask for this time? Oskar had just spent the last of his cash reserves to get Whisper a new pair of shoes. She’d protested that he was wasting money, but she’d needed the shoes. She was on her feet for hours at a time when she worked at Axel’s bar.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t have much cash,” Oskar said, hoping against hope that these guys would let him off with a fine of only a few coins. Mentally, he started counting up how money much he had in the little wooden box he kept under his bed. Not much. He hoped they didn’t ask for more. Oskar knew his friends would spot him some cash, but he hated to borrow.

  “It’s not money we want. It’s the deer.”

  It took Oskar a few moments to process what the soldier had said, and when he did his heart sank

  “No, not the deer. This is all the meat my sister and I have for the winter.” Oskar could already see his long day’s work going up in smoke. His dreams of rushing home to tell Whisper that he’d landed the biggest deer he’d ever seen evaporated as the four soldiers all laughed at him.

  “I’m sure you can handle being a vegetarian for a while. Hand over the deer, or we’ll have to take you to court for insolence. And you wouldn’t want that now, would you?”

  Oskar did his best to swallow back his anger. For a moment, he fantasized about killing all four of them right then and there. He could shift back to bear form and tear them all to pieces before they knew what hit them.

  But if he did that, he was as good as dead. They’d figure out who killed the men. All the Gilt Hollow citizens had to do was offer a reward and soon shifters would be caving right and left, desperate for the money that would buy them provisions to make it through the winter.

  Going to court for insolence wasn’t a good option, either. The courts always found the shifters guilty, and levied heavy fines against them. Oskar had no money, so he’d probably lose his house if he went to court. Then Whisper and he would freeze this winter.

  With no option, he let the deer slide off his shoulders. He was tempted to throw the bloody carcass in the soldiers’ faces, but then they would just take the deer and still take him to court on top. So he set it down in front of their horses, grabbed his bag, and stormed off without another word.

  Anger burned in him like hot lava, threatening to erupt to the surface at any moment. He hadn’t even bothered to put his clothes on yet, but he wasn’t cold. His rage kept him warm. He could hear them behind him, laughing at how they had beaten him.

  One day, the shifters will beat you. One day, you won’t get away with this anymore.

  Oskar wasn’t sure how that would happen. All he knew was he had to believe it, or he would go crazy. As soon as he was sure he was out of sight and out of earshot of the soldiers, he threw back his head and let out a long, loud roar.

  As if to remind him that the depths of winter were just around the corner, even though he had no meat frozen and ready, snowflakes started drifting down from the dark clouds above him. The first snow of the season was here, and Oskar felt like the sky was mocking him.

  It was going to be a long winter.

  Chapter Two

  “Those bastards!” Axel said, pushing another pint of beer over to Oskar. Oskar had just finished telling Axel and Whisper about his run-in with the Gilt Hollow soldiers, and their faces had turned purple with anger. But what did it matter? They could be as angry as they wanted, but it wouldn’t change the fact that the Gilt Hollow citizens oppressed the shifters whenever and wherever they wanted.

  “Naw, man, I shouldn’t have another,” Oskar said pushing the beer back toward Axel. “I’m running dangerously low on funds, and winter is just beginning.”

  Axel pushed the beer back. “On the house, and don’t you dare try to refuse. You’ve done enough for me that I owe you ten thousand free beers. I’d give you that many, too, if you’d lose your damn pride and stop insisting on paying me for every little drink you have in here.”

  Oskar rolled his eyes, but took the beer with a sincere “Thank you.” He hated taking free drinks from Axel, especially since the drinks weren’t “little drinks,” as Axel had just called them. The mugs at Bear Hollow Brews were huge, allowing for generous pours, and Oskar didn’t want to admit how much he needed that generous pour right now. The beer warmed him and filled his empty stomach, which was only going to grow emptier as time went on.

  “We’ll be fine,” Whisper said, reaching over to squeeze his right forearm. “We had a great crop of potatoes
this year. It won’t be a pretty winter, but we’ll survive. We always do.”

  Oskar sighed. “I’m so tired of just surviving. I want to live.”

  Axel and Whisper said nothing to that. What was there to say? Nearly every shifter in Bear Hollow felt that way. The only ones who had risen above the level of survival were the families who’d had a shifter sell out and volunteer for the Games. Oskar, along with most of the Bear Hollow shifters, shunned those families. Then again, Axel’s dad had gone to the Games. That’s how Axel had had enough money to start this bar in the first place. But it’s not like Axel had wanted his dad to go. He’d protested long and loud, but his dad had insisted on giving his family a better life by volunteering for the Arena.

  Axel’s dad had been killed in a death match, and Axel didn’t talk about him much anymore. Oskar knew that Axel felt guilty for having so much money, knowing where the money came from. Axel wasn’t rich. No one in Bear Hollow was. But Axel had enough to know he wouldn’t starve, and that was more than most here. And even though Axel’s father had been a disgrace, no one could find fault with Axel. Axel was notoriously generous, giving away free beer to anyone who couldn’t afford to pay. Sometimes, during the winter, that was everyone. But Axel never cared. He never turned away a thirsty shifter.

  The bar was filling up now. Shifters of all types—mostly bears, wolves, and panthers—filed in after a day of disappointing hunting. A few had caught rabbits, and one had managed to snag a duck. But the overall report was the same: precious little game remained in the forest. Oskar looked down at his beer and stayed out of the conversation. He didn’t want to relive the story of his lost deer once again. He would chalk it up to a simple loss and move on. Every hunter won some and lost some, and hunting was a way of life here in Bear Hollow. Most years, the forest treated the shifters well. In the summer, berries and honey could be found in abundance, and a day of hunting almost always meant fresh meat for dinner. This year had been lean, but the shifters would band together and survive. They always did. Oskar tried not to think about the Gilt Hollow citizens across the river, who would all be eating large dinners right about now, not worrying about the winter or where their next meal would come from.