Ursa Unearthed

Mika’s life has never been normal, but it’s hers.
Told by the Great Spirit that her destiny is to save the great species from extinction, she buries herself in an investigative journalism career hunting down poachers and exposing illegal trade in wildlife exotics. A survivor by nature, she would rather fight injustice than maneuver the hassles and heartache of relationships anyway.

But when danger suddenly finds her unprepared, Mika is hurled into a realm of magic and murder she doesn't understand. Committing to saving the great species may be her destiny but it will draw her deeper into a reality more terrifying than anything she’s faced before--Trusting in love.

“Ah hell Paige, you’re killing me.” I shook my head
and sighed as my boss steadied her boots on the bench beside me and
straightened. Swaying full hips to the bass line of the Goth-rock blaring at us
from all sides, she clinked her glass with a spoon and waited until my
friends raised their glasses.

I glanced across the pitted, wooden table and over the
sea of eclectic patrons. Were the exploits of my intimate office soirée
registering with the crowd in the anything-goes pub? Nope. High-backed leather
booths lined three sides of the dance floor, secluding those of us who were
seated in our own little rectangular worlds. Besides, the hedonistic hypnotism
of the crowd held everyone’s attention locked down tight.

Annnd that is the beauty of Spankz.

“Here’s to Mika,” Paige said, her mocha cheeks flushed
from celebration. “The Nimithic Group may have thought themselves untouchable,
but were they?”

“Nooo,” my girls chimed in.

“That’s right. Thirty-four counts of trading in
illegal exotics, five warrants for arrest, three properties searched, and the
largest seizure of black-market animal products in Canadian history taught them
different.”

“Fucking A!” Meg placed two fingertips in her
mouth and nearly popped my eardrums with the shriek of her whistle.

“Now ladies,” Paige continued, “let’s down a hearty
drink in honor of the most decorated investigative journalist Canada’s wildlife
has ever seen. A woman who takes warm and fuzzy to a new level, who, quite
honestly, could spend a little less time with her pets and a lot more time
getting petted, our very own . . . Mika “The Bandit” Silverbrook.”

“Wooo Mika!”

Focused on the glowing red beacon of the Exit
sign across the dance floor, I considered my odds of escape. Not good. They’d
just drag me back by my hair. “Thanks guys. Oh, for god’s sake Paige, get down
before you fall.” I tugged at her skin-tight jeans until we were all seated
around our table. “Really, thank you, but can we get back to the drinking and
dancing and stop with the dinner theatre?”

Paige snorted. “Whatever you say, honey. It’s your—”

I held up one finger as the vibration changed in the
air around us. Fishing into the front pocket of my jeans I grabbed my phone and
waited. When my ring tone sounded and the Heartbeat Drum Song started, I
answered it. “Grandfather? Everything all right?”

“My question to you, Rabbit,” Grandfather said,
his graveled voice unusually thin. “You were mentioned on the news tonight. Are
you safe and well?”

Damn. If I’d been at home tonight, I would have remembered to call him before
he saw the eleven o’clock news. I touched my cheek as it tingled beneath his
mystical caress and I breathed deep. “I’m fine. I’m sorry. I should have
called.”

The pause on the other end of the phone tightened my
gut. “The destination is not as important as the path, child. The power is in
the path.”

Grandfather didn’t like my path, even so, he supported
me. The only thing he asked was that I kept him involved while I worked in the
city, so he wouldn’t worry. “I’m coming to the reserve next weekend. We have a
date with your telescope and a comet, don’t we?”

“We do.” The rhythmic tap of his cane in the
background spoke volumes about his mood. I could picture him sitting in the
willow chair at the base of his stairs, his silver braids hanging forward as he
leaned over the old walnut phone table. This late, he’d have his threadbare
Thunderbird blanket wrapped over his curled shoulders.

“I’m sorry I worried you, Grandfather. It won’t happen
again.”

The tapping stopped and the tightness in my gut eased.

“You make an old man proud, Rabbit. A true guardian of
the Earth Mother. Now go back to your evening with your friends. I look forward
to seeing you.”

After saying goodnight, I flipped my phone shut, then
refocused on the scene in front of me. “Sorry. What did I miss?”

Paige wagged her finger toward my phone, her eyes
narrowed. “One day you’ll tell me how you do that phone trick. I swear you’re
psychic or something.”

Or something.

Paige sputtered mid-swig and lowered her Cosmo,
coughing. From our table, near the back hall, we had a clear view of the club’s
landscape. She cleared her throat and pointed, not-too-discretely toward the
front of the pub. “Major stud alert, four o’clock.”

Cue the peanut gallery: “Oh, I need me one of those.”
“Yep. Click, add to cart.” “Call my travel agent. I’m eloping.”

I laughed, but they weren’t wrong. The half-naked sea
of dancers parted for two men. Shoulder to shoulder they stood looking like
cover models—if GQ ever printed a tall dark and lethal edition. One was about
six-foot-four, had ink-black hair, a goatee, guy-liner, and a half dozen
platinum piercings. He looked like a Goth hit man, all tone, no fat. His body
language said he’d take you down and enjoy the carnage—whether fucking or
fighting.

The other stood a little shorter and balanced a
perfect blend of bad-boy meets muscle builder. Collar length, medium brown hair
fell messy around a chiseled face while shaggy bangs hid his eyes. His worn
leather vest covered a crisp white, button-down shirt hanging untucked over
blue jeans. Good gosh, Hugo Boss. Designer denim hugged thick, muscular
thighs. Casual classy was something we didn’t see a lot of in this club. The
charge in the air shifted, and the hair on my arms stood on end.

“Those hard bodies are making promises for a wild,
night.” Em breathed.

“And every woman in here knows it.” Meg nodded.

I giggled at the estrogen surge in my posse. “Okay,
I’m off to the bar. You ladies close your mouths before someone offers to fill
them for you.” With the next-round list in my head I skirted the dance floor
and made my way to the main bar.