Bran looked perturbed. He walked to a window and looked out the street. Once LoHawk and his men were out of sight, he rushed over to Elizabeth. "I'm really sorry, but we're going to have to get you back to the apartment. I don't think it's safe here, not now."
"Do you really think he'd do something to me?" Elizabeth said anxiously.
"Knowing LoHawk he'd get one of his men to do his dirty work, but yeah, I think he might. I wasn't sure until now, but when he said 'not here', that sounds like he doesn't want to confront you in the open, but wouldn't mind doing it if he gets the chance."
Elizabeth looked at Bran, and in his eyes saw his sincerity. She was also touched, he seemed to be concerned about her, and for the first time she began to have thoughts about a shifter which were about more than just research.
The restaurant was closing up, and so Bran was forced to make his move. They left the lit safety of the place, and then walked out into the night.
"Couldn't we just have stayed in the restaurant?" Elizabeth asked quietly as they walked along the street.
"No," said Bran. "I'm not sure who we can trust, LoHawk has enough allies in this town when it comes to keeping outsiders separate. I think we'll be safest at your office."
As they walked, Elizabeth smiled to herself thinking that under any other circumstance it would have been a romantic walk, surrounded by the mountains and woods, a small sleepy town and the stars above. But instead, the empty main street took on an ominous form.
Elizabeth would have focussed on this, and the fact that shifters can see well in the dark while she couldn't; but her fears were quickly replaced with concern. Bran's arm was around Elizabeth. It felt good and warm, safe. But she noticed in what little light there was that his eyes were glistening. If she'd known any better, she would have said that Bran was trying to hold back tears.
"Are you okay?"
Bran let out a sigh. "I think a friend of mine might just have died."
"Lorne? The one LoHawk was talking about?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes. I've known him since I was a kid. A lovely big guy. Heart of gold. Loved wandering in the woods…" Bran's voice trailed off.
"How did he die?"
And in that moment, Bran did something unthinkable. He broke a vow. A promise to never mention the Tournament to anyone outside of the clan. But the emotion of knowing Lorne was gone, pushed the words out into the night, where he could not control them.
"He was killed. Just like my father. In a tournament which we're forced to fight in…" Bran realized his mistake and quickly tried to change the subject. "We need to just focus on getting you to the apartment, Elizabeth. Okay?"
She looked into his eyes and could see his pain. His conflict. She did not want to press the matter, and so Elizabeth dropped it, for now.
They crossed the street in silence, just a few minutes from safety. Suddenly, Bran stopped.
"Get behind me, Elizabeth." Bran puffed his chest out and looked into the darkness.
Elizabeth couldn't see what was there, but she could hear it. She could hear them. It was a deep sounding breath, that of an animal.
"Whoever you are, know that I'll defend this pure blood with my life."
And there it was. Bran's declaration. Elizabeth almost swooned at it, but the imminent danger supplanted that emotion. She truly realized now that Bran was more than a young shifter full of life, he was also noble, kind, and brave to a fault. He was, as the Elder had put it, one of clan's finest.
A deep growl seeped out from the darkness. Bran turned to Elizabeth. "Do not be afraid of me."
Elizabeth didn't know why he'd said that at first, but quickly she realized. She was watching him shift into his bear form. His strong muscular physique pulsated for a second, his clothes tore into pieces, and suddenly there in front of her was a large bear with blond fur. All that remained were the eyes, she could see the bravery of Bran inside them.
Two large bears with black fur then appeared from the shadows. It was clear what their intent was. They bore their teeth at Elizabeth, and she was terrified at the sight. Not only was Bran outnumbered, but both bears were larger than he was.
"Give us the foul blood, and we'll let you live. We don't want to spill fellow Swiftclaw blood." One of the bears said aggressively.
"Blood is blood, whether Swiftclaw or pure. I'd rather not spill any of it, but if I must, I'll gladly spill yours."
"So be it, foul lover."
One of the bears galloped forward, towards them, shoulder barging at Bran. He pushed Elizabeth to the side out of the way, but she tripped up under the force and landed on the cold tarmac.
Bran leaped up into the air and spun around striking his attacker with a spinning back claw - a move the Elder had taught him. The first bear fell back, its face cut open, but then the second joined the fray, knocking Bran to the ground, winding him.
Bran realized that he could not win and protect Elizabeth at the same time, he had to get her to the safety of her office.
One of the bears was ready to attack Elizabeth, but Bran jumped to his feet, shifting into his human form. With the agility of a gymnast, he ran up its back somersaulting, landing on his feet between Elizabeth and the bear.
"Get to the office, Elizabeth!" Bran screamed.
She did not have to be told twice.
Bran shifted again, striking the first bear twice, but as he did so, the second attacker gave chase, trying to catch Elizabeth before she got to the relative safety of the office.
Again, Bran turned his attentions to the bear closest to Elizabeth. The other bears may have been bigger, but Bran was athletic, fast, dextrous. He leaped again, turning into his human form, grabbing hold of the chasing bear's tail and pulling as hard as he could. The bear let out an almighty roar of pain.
In that moment, Bran had given Elizabeth the time she needed. She fumbled for her keys, unlocked the door and then ran inside.
Now both bears turned their attention to Bran. They snarled, clawed, bit, but while Bran was fast, he had difficulty dealing with two attackers at once. Suddenly Bran yelped while in bear form, one of the attackers slashed at his leg. He then stumbled backwards towards the door of the office, but just as LoHawk's bears were about to attack once more, Elizabeth appeared from the doorway, brandishing what looked like a gun.
She squeezed the trigger, and in a puff of smoke one of the bears cried out. It backed away, staggering. Bran then slid underneath the second bear and slashed with his claws, cutting its side.
Then, there was silence. Bran and Elizabeth had seen them off.
Bran shifted back to human form. "You have a gun and you didn't take it with you?"
"Hardly, it's a bear tranquilizer. Thought it might come in handy."
They both laughed together, relieved, as Elizabeth helped Bran, now limping, into the office.
* * *
It was a difficult week for everyone. The Elder returned with the body of Lorne, and there was much grief throughout Swiftclaw. There was anger too. The Cabal was always supposed to evaluate and pick the best fighters. That was intended to keep the Tournament exciting and those placing bets happy that a fair competition was always taking place.
And yet they'd chosen poor Lorne. A shifter who was more at home in the serene countryside than in the sweat, blood filled halls of the Tournament.
Why had he been chosen? One who was almost guaranteed to lose? The Elder feared the answer to that question, and what it would mean for his people.
Bran had been devastated by Lorne's death, but Elizabeth had been a shining light in that dark time. Of course, Bran was only following orders by being with her, but in the weeks, and then months which passed, they grew increasingly close. All the while, never crossing that line from friends to lovers. No matter how much both of them wanted to.
Elizabeth was conflicted. How she yearned to feel Bran close to her. Ever since the night Bran protected her from those two attacking shifters, Elizabeth had dreamed about him. Thought about him. It was difficult not to when he was her chaperon, always watching, always guardin. She'd never spent so much time with one person before, and not once had she grown tired of him, or he of her.
While Elizabeth had been in a few relationships, there was always one thing missing. It wasn't until her time in Swiftclaw that she realized what it had been all along. She'd always been with men she was attracted to, but never one with which she had a deep connection of friendship. Now, there she was, practically chained to a noble, fun, charismatic shifter. Friendship was bound to blossom, as were other things.
One night, Bran and Elizabeth were playing cards. The summer was sweltering outside, as well as inside, and so they sat downstairs in the office, fan blowing, and the door wide open to cool them down.
"You're such a cheat, Bran!" Elizabeth said.
"I am not. The cards are what the cards are." Bran leaned back in his chair, putting his arms behind his head playing it a little too cool.
"You should keep this door locked, young one." The Elder's voice boomed through the open doorway.
"Sorry, Elder. I… We haven't had any bother from LoHawk's men since that night, I thought we'd be safe," said Bran.
The Elder closed the door behind him. He looked gravely serious, and once again Bran noticed a frailty to him which seemed to be now encroaching regularly on his otherwise strong persona.
He sat at the table, rubbing his white beard for a moment in thought. "Well, aren't you going to deal me in?"
Elizabeth and Bran were happy to have the Elder there. It broke some of the sexual tension between them, which was almost as affecting as the heat. Having a third player would distract them from each other.
Bran dealt the cards. "You look serious, Elder. What's wrong?"
"Elizabeth, have you ever heard of the Tournament?" the Elder asked.
Bran was shocked. He'd slipped up mentioning it to Elizabeth, but of all people he never believed the Elder would openly discuss it with outsiders. That was forbidden by the Cabal.
"Don't be so shocked, young one. If our clan comes undone, I want Elizabeth to let the outside world know about the Cabal and their deceiving ways. Their insidious practices affect non-shifters and shifters alike."
The Elder then explained the Tournament to Elizabeth. "Long ago, the shifter clans of the world warred, much like your modern day nations. Much blood was spilled, and before long the shifters were on the verge of wiping themselves off the face of the Earth."
"I've never heard of this before?" Elizabeth said, surprised.
"There is much which has been kept from both shifter and pure blood," observed the Elder before continuing. "Just like the Olympics in Greece, which were created to stop war among the states in that part of the world, the shifters were given a proposition. A shadowy group called the Cabal offered to run an impartial tournament where each clan would present a champion to fight. Through these fights disputes would be settled, and war among the clans was outlawed.
"To keep this arrangement unbroken, the Cabal came into possession of an ancient relic - the beast stone. This relic is capable of forcing a shifter into either human or animal form forever, unable to change back. They have used this power to keep us fighting each other for their own pleasure. And if we disobey…" the Elder trailed off.
Bran interjected. "If we disobey, then the Cabal wipes out the offending clan completely. Man, woman, and child. Nothing remains."
"Exactly," the Elder agreed.