Loyal To The Bear (Second Chance Shifters 2) by Meredith Clarke Page B

to catch on the locking mechanism. Because the wire was so pliable, it slipped a few times, and Carly let out a frustrated sigh.
    “Come on, you stupid thing,” she said under her breath. Sweat started to form under her brow and she bit her lip in concentration. She would get this stupid lock open. Carly slowly placed the wire back in the lock and moved it slightly to the right. She felt it catch the lock and almost jumped with pure joy. She slowly twisted the lock and suddenly, the cuff clicked open. She moved her hands from around the pipe and picked the lock for the second cuff that was still around her right wrist.
    Once she was free, she quickly listened for any sign of Lee walking back in. When she heard nothing but silence, she jumped up and ran over to where she last saw Marissa.
    “Marissa?” she loudly whispered. “Where the heck are you?”
    “Over here,” Marissa grunted. Carly followed her voice and found her in the corner a couple feet away. Marissa’s hands were in handcuffs and wrapped around another pipe, just like Carly’s were. She quickly got to work, and within a few minutes, she had picked open Marissa’s locks. Carly grabbed Marissa’s hands and pulled her up. Marissa was still weak from the beating Lee had given her a few days ago. Carly threw Marissa’s arm over her shoulder and grabbed her by the waist.
    “Can you walk at all?” Carly asked. Marissa barely nodded. Carly started walking slowly and Marissa leaned some of her weight on her. They reached the door where Lee had always come in from, and Carly tested the handle to see if it was locked. She pulled the door open with ease.
    “Come on,” Carly said. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

15

Henry
    T he police department had blocked off incoming and outgoing traffic in the Warehouse District. Several angry commuters had been honking their horns and being obnoxious about it, but Henry did not care. All he cared about was finding Carly as quickly as he could.
    Andre had shifted and was flying above the area to see if he found anything unusual happening in the district before the rest of the team went in.
    Henry paced along the sidewalk and looked up into the evening sky, waiting for Andre to report back. Finally, after long several minutes, a very large crow landed in front of him. Andre shifted back and Henry threw him some clothing.
    “See anything?” Henry asked.
    “Everything seems very quiet,” Andre said. “Between the towers, there are about six different buildings the call could have come from.”
    “Let’s start with those areas and then we can go from there,” Henry said. He walked over to the wolf pack and handed them various items of Carly’s so that they could get her scent.
    “I’ll scout ahead of you, and warn you if anyone is entering or leaving the warehouses,” Andre said. Henry nodded and removed his clothes to shift.
    Henry dropped to the ground as his body pulsed with power. He had shifted so many times over the years that it didn’t hurt him anymore now that he was older. It was like second nature to him. As his paws touched the pavement, he took off running towards the warehouses between the towers. The wolf pack followed him, with Andre flying above.
    Andre let out a loud caw to let Henry know that they were getting close to the area. Henry quickly put his nose to the ground and tried to isolate Carly’s sweet scent from all the others. He thought about the perfume Carly always wore, which made her smell like fresh lilies. It had always intoxicated him.
    He turned down a block and stopped short. He lifted his snout in the air and took in the smell around him. Carly , he thought. It was definitely her scent, but it was faint. It meant she had been in this spot a few days ago. A few of the wolves behind him yelped, letting him know that they picked it up as well. He let out a growl and took off running as fast as he could down the street.

16

Carly
    T he sun had already set when Carly and