Gerald Winter came from a long line of lawyers. Winter and Sons, the legal practice serving the small, unique town of Cougar Falls, Montana, catered to all kinds of law. From criminal to corporate, he and his family had been helping shapeshifters for one hundred and fifty years.
But he didn’t think he’d ever come across a case like this.
He glanced at the pretty deputy standing in the corner of the interrogation room in the town’s police department. She rolled her eyes, and he did his best to keep a straight face.
Apparently, the youthful miscreant hadn’t impressed Laura with his daring.
Gerald turned back to his potential client. “I’m sorry, but until you shift back and tell me, face to face, what you thought you were doing by trying to eat your best friend, I can’t help you.”
The teenage bear glared at him, then at Laura.
She shrugged. “You heard him. I don’t care if you’re a bear, a cat, or a wolf. You break the law, you pay.”
The teen growled, showing large, sharp teeth, incisors that would make a fox—like Gerald—nervous. A fox’s natural instinct was to run and hide, as the species was good at surviving. But Gerald was more than a shapeshifter. He was also a man used to confrontations with unruly beasts.
Besides, with Laura in the room, they could surely put one unruly juvenile on his ass.
Gerald cleared his throat. “We’re waiting, Kyle.”
The bear grumbled a bit more before shifting back into the form of a sixteen-year-old boy. Laura tossed a set of sweats to him, and the kid hurriedly dressed while not looking at them. Then he returned to his seat and blurted, “I didn’t want to kill him. Or eat him—which is just gross. I just wanted to maim him.”
Laura sighed.
Gerald rubbed his temples. “Are you under control right now, Kyle?”
The boy flushed and muttered, “Yeah.”
Gerald turned to Laura. “I need some time with my client.”
“You’re seriously going to represent him?” Laura blinked, her pretty brown eyes smooth and deep, reminding him of the soft, rich loam he’d overturned in the forest just last night beyond the patches of snow. “You’ll be going up against the raptors. And they’re out for blood lately. You know they’re trying to reabsorb the eagle clan.”
Life in Cougar Falls was relatively simple. Long ago, a people calling themselves the Ac-taw settled near the native Salish tribe. The Ac-taw could transform their human shapes at will into the animal spirits with which they’d been born. Years later, they’d adapted and blended, mixing with humans enough to carve out a special place that only those with Ac-taw ties (through mating or blood) could find.
Though the town looked normal enough, everyone followed certain rules. All Cougar Falls residents—shifter or not—lived according to a hierarchy. The foxes, bears, and raptors all lived in their own clans among their own kind, in addition to a few human mates. The catamounts had started as a pride of cats but now included a bear and his human, some foxes, and a few wolves. The wolf order kept mostly to themselves, living just outside the city proper. No one knew much about what they got up to.
Alphas ruled their clans, who in turn submitted to the town council and elected law enforcement.
Lately, the raptor clan, known for their petty fights and rumor-mongering, was having problems. The golden eagles had grown in number. Sick of all the infighting, they’d formed their own clan apart from the other birds of prey.
Now the eagles were thriving. And the raptors… were not.
Gerald knew all this, but it didn’t matter. He had a job to do. “I know the raptors are a mess. But if I don’t help Kyle, he’ll end up stuck with someone else for a lawyer. Likely a bear, knowing your alpha. No offense, but bears aren’t known for the intricacies of courtroom law.”
“I know.” Laura cringed. “My alpha’s cousin once repped a friend of mine. It didn’t go well in court, especially after the lawyer, a black bear, bit the bailiff. Needless to say, my friend lost.”
Gerald continued, “Don’t get me started on the wolf firm in town.” He turned to the boy. “Your leader wants me to represent you. But if you’d rather, I can go and you can choose someone else.”
“No.” Kyle paled. “My family can’t afford the big fines I’ll have to pay if I lose.” He whispered, “And Earl’s dad said he planned to put me in jail for attempted murder.”
“Oh for God’s sake.” Laura grimaced. “I’ll go deal with them. You—” she pointed to Gerald “—talk to your client.” She left the room, slamming the door behind her.
Gerald shook his head. “Now your cousin is angry. Maybe next time you think before you bite into a hawk.”
Kyle leaned across the table. “But Mr. Winter, it’s not my fault. Earl was pecking at Christine—an eagle. She’s actually going out with Earl’s brother, who’s my friend. But Troy, that’s Earl’s brother…”
The boy continued, not telling Gerald anything he didn’t already know. Their community wasn’t so big that individuals got lost, but not all the younger shifters knew everyone outside their clan. So Kyle went into more detail than Gerald actually needed. Yet as the boy continued, Gerald had a feeling this small fight would lead to a much larger skirmish between adults who knew better.
This will not go down well between the eagle and raptor clans. I’m so glad I don’t have feathers. “To sum up, you stood between bullies and your friend trying to help an injured hawk get to safety?”
Kyle nodded.
“Good for you.”
Kyle beamed. Then his face fell. “I didn’t mean to do all that damage. Not until Earl and his buddies ganged up on me, then I bit back. One of them clawed up my ribs.” Kyle turned and lifted his shirt, showing off a deep gash already healing.
Gerald hadn’t realized the blood he’d smelled earlier had belonged to more than just Earl and his friends. “Did you mention this to Laura?”
“No.” The teen glanced down. “I’m already in trouble for fighting. I don’t want to get into more trouble for losing.”
Gerald blinked. “What?”
Kyle made eye contact once more. “We’re bears, Mr. Winter. We might act like we’re laid-back, but we don’t like to lose. At anything. My aunt is not going to be happy if she learns I got hacked.”
“By one raptor, no. But by multiple threats? You took on birds of prey and won, Kyle.”
Kyle paused. “Well, that might give me a little street cred.” The boy smiled. “Huh. Yeah. I have a battle wound.”
Way to wind the kid back up, Gerald. “Okay, hold on. What happened was not good for you or this town. We need to calm things down, keep you safely away from jail, and make sure your aunt and parents don’t string you up for any of this.” Good, the kid looked a lot less proud at the moment. “Now, again, tell me exactly where the other boys were when all this happened. Don’t leave anything out. We need to make your case airtight so the raptors have no room to make more trouble.”
“What?”
“Talk, boy.”
Kyle did and didn’t stop until he’d turned hoarse. “Can I get some water?”
“Sure thing.” Gerald turned, looking for Laura. But she hadn’t returned.
Typical. The sexy deputy had a way of putting his fur up. No matter how professional and put-together he felt, she always made him feel off kilter, something he rarely felt around women. Gerald had been born with the ability to charm a snake out of its own skin. He was quite the catch, and he knew it. But Laura didn’t seem to like him much.
He frowned. She’d never been mean, but she’d never been all that nice either. Bossy and dismissive. But hell, he’d been dealing with that all his life. Most of the larger predators in town respected size and strength instead of cunning. As if being a fox made him lesser, somehow. But it wasn’t like he didn’t possess a powerful build as a man. One that could more than handle Laura’s sweet curves.
“Um, could I have some water?” Kyle asked.
Gerald blinked, annoyed at himself. “Sure thing. I’ll be right back.”
He donned a familiar polite yet detached smile, shielded behind an icy front, and left to fetch the boy some water. He didn’t feel the Christmas spirit much as he passed a small, drooping evergreen on his way to the water-cooler and muttered a “bah humbug” under his breath when a few bristles dropped.