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immediately, and I searched the north wall of the cave looking for another entrance. Several minutes later I found the loose rocks and started digging. Satisfied I had enough space, I squeezed myself through the narrow opening I’d created. One benefit of being a smaller bear was that I could fit through a space like that. Finn had been right. The passage was treacherous and steep. It was much easier to manage while in bear form.
    Once inside the cave, I took things slow. I knew the cave well, but not this part. I wasn’t sure where it would open up to. I smelled Finn, but no one else. That was a good sign. Hopefully Finn was really the only one who even knew these back tunnels existed. He was definitely the most curious of the bunch. I hadn’t even considered it. I’m not sure what that said about me.
    I sniffed around, wondering if the others were still up. I was banking on them falling asleep after eating. Like many human men, a full belly was all they needed to pass out for the night.
    I froze when I heard a voice.
    “Did you sleep well?” A female spoke.
    “It’s morning already?” A somewhat familiar male voice answered. It was Jared.
    Who was in there with him? I couldn’t place the voice at all.
    “Are you in the mood for some breakfast?”
    A scraping sound caught my attention. What was that? Chains? “Like I’m going to eat anything you give me?”
    “Would you rather starve to death? These bears are just dumb enough they’d probably eat you for breakfast.”
    Who the hell was this bitch?
    “Or you could let me go.”
    The female laughed. “That’s not going to happen yet, although once things are done I might. You’re starting to grow on me.”
    “Great. Maybe we can just speed up the process then.” Jared was trying to play things off like he was in control, but he obviously wasn’t. Was he the kind of guy who could never admit defeat?
    “If you don’t want breakfast, I’ll leave then. Maybe you’ll change your mind at lunch.”
    “That’s doubtful.”
    “You will.”
    I crouched down low as I waited for the woman to pass. I watched eagerly to see who it was. I took in a sharp breath as a robed figure walked down the passage carrying a candle. Those robes belonged to the boss. The boss was female? And what was she doing with Jared?
    I waited until I couldn’t hear or smell her anymore before sniffing my way around to find the entrance to the room where Jared was.
    “I know you’re in here. Who is it this time?” Jared yelled out.
    Damn it. He was going to blow my cover. It was pitch black, so I followed his voice.
    “Who is it? Speak!”
    I had no choice, if he kept yelling we’d both be dead. I shifted back to my human form. “Shut up, idiot.”
    “Vera?” He said my name with a familiarity he shouldn’t have had considering we’d barely spent any time together. I couldn’t believe he knew my voice so quickly. Then again I’d recognized his.
    “Yes, now stop talking so I can get you out of here.”
    I reached around for the chains but ended up grabbing something else. Something that should have been covered up by clothes. “Are you naked?”
    “Uh, yeah. Not by choice.”
    “Great.” I carefully avoided his lower region as I found the chains. “You really couldn’t break these yourself?”
    “No.” He moved, making more noise with the chains. What was wrong with him? Did he want to get caught? “She did something to me. Some sort of crazy magic.”
    There was my answer. The boss was a witch. I’d suspected magic, but I hadn’t been allowed close enough to the boss to find out for sure. Did Murphy realize that’s who he was working for? He looked down on witches, and any other paranormals out there. “It’s got to be strong magic to work on you.”
    “Tell me about it.”
    “I need to shift back to break these.”
    “Okay.” He moved his arm, brushing his hand against my chest. “And you’re naked?”
    “Nice one, Captain Obvious.” I tried to ignore