by JL Madore
“How are you so sure we’ll get the gate open?”
He chuckles. “I’ve been at your side long enough to know that when you’re set on a course, nothing stops you. With the others in the mix, I have no doubt.”
I open the can of Coke and take a sip. “What do you think waits for us on the other side?”
He leans against the frame of the doorway and sighs. “Well, the prophecy was set not to trigger a phoenix until it was time to reunite the realms. I guess StoneHaven survived the civil wars and stabilized.”
“That’s hopeful.”
“Maybe. You know me, sunshine and strawberries.”
I snort and finish the turkey sandwich and start on the beef. “The two teens that died. I want their bodies exhumed and prepared in the traditions of their species, whatever they are. They’ll get a proper send-off.”
“Do you want their families unlocked too?”
I swallow past the lump in my throat. “It seems cruel to give people back the memories of children to simply tell them they were murdered.”
“Agreed.”
I dip the roast beef in the au jus and chew. “We’ll honor them. We’ll ensure they aren’t forgotten.”
“Prepare for landing,” the captain says over the speaker.
I hand Lukas the tray and pull out my phone. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll need a few minutes.”
Brant
“Come on, Bear. Wake up.”
I register the alpha timbre vibrating in my cells and follow Hawk’s voice along the mating bond. Someone is stroking my ears and it feels so good. My bear lets off a rumble and I fight the pull of slumber. When I finally force my eyes open, I’m groggy and starving and confused about my surroundings.
The last thing I remember is taking on the Forest Lord and being attacked by his hounds. “You forced me to hibernate.”
Hawk smiles, his hand still on the side of my face from scratching my ears. “And look at that. Despite popular belief, you can listen and do what you’re told.”
I blink and take in my mates all in the bed around me. “Tell me I didn’t miss our first five-way. If there’s going to be a mating orgy a man should at least be conscious.”
Calli tightens her hold where she’s draped over my chest. When she looks up, her eyes are red-rimmed and swollen. Score another one to the healing magic of our mate. “We’d never start without you, Bear. Who’d provide the sexy quips.”
Jaxx clasps my hand and kisses my knuckles. “Glad to see your face, Bear.”
“Glad to be seen.”
Kotah is locked in against my left side and props himself up on his elbow. “We love you.”
“I love you guys too,” I say a bit overwhelmed. “Was it that close? I didn’t think I was that bad off.”
Hawk chuffs. “You took on a Forest Lord and his hounds. Yeah, it was that close. It was also reckless, unbelievably heroic, and slightly offensive because you did it to keep me from being attacked. We were supposed to be a team, Bear. You’ve got to trust us to take care of ourselves in a battle or you’re going to get yourself killed.”
“Case in point,” Jaxx says pointing at me lying here.
“I’ll work on it,” I say. “I tend to be a little overprotective.”
Calli wriggles on top of me and three sources of major discomfort become very immediate. I groan and ease her off to the side. “Are you okay, Bear?”
“Fine, beautiful,” I say, kicking my leg over her and rolling off the bed. “Just naked and starving and have to piss like a racehorse. Your nearness to my cock wasn’t doing me any favors on any front.”
I head straight into the ensuite and close the door all but a crack. “Why are we at Northwood Hall? What did I miss?”
“We’re not,” Jaxx says. “We’re at the palace. Kotah gave our Timber Trail suite a makeover.”
“Nice. A home away from home.”
“That’s the idea,” Kotah says.
I wash up, flash some clothes on, and when I go back out and see the worried glances, I rub the warm spot in my chest. “I’m good, guys. Better than good. Things are finally settling into place for me. I realized something in those woods.”
Hawk looks up. “Oh? Something more than stay away from the pointy end of the Antler Man?”
“Yeah, more than that.” I meet the caring gazes of my mates and pause to soak it in. “I didn’t belong there. I wanted to be here, with you guys. All of you. That’s not lip service, avian,” I say, making sure he sees my sincerity. “I want you to believe me—to know that I’m all in.”
Hawk dips his chin and meets me for a hug. “I’m glad to hear it, but you sorta already told me.”
“I did?”
He eases back and pulls something from his pocket. “After the Forest Lord portaled out and you fell to the ground, you had this clenched in your hand.”
My chest warms as the mating crystal in his hand starts to glow. Jaxx’s and Kotah’s must resonate at the same frequency because theirs start to glow too.
The pie-shaped gemstone rises from the palm of Hawk’s hand and hovers between us, catching the sunlight from the window and casting prisms of greens and browns in every direction. Jaxx’s crystal swirls like water, Kotah’s is the essence of spirit, and mine is earth.
I raise my palm to accept it, my throat growing thick with emotion. “This is real, isn’t it?”
“It’s real,” Jaxx says, bringing Calli and Kotah around Hawk to watch.
“Not the crystal… but us, this…” I say, blinking against the sting in my eyes as I gesture between the five of us.
“We’re real,” Calli says. “It’s time you trust in a future with people who love you.”
“We are the only true thing in my life,” Kotah says, his voice filled with the unending serenity that is our wolf prince. “And this is only the beginning. I feel it to the full depth of my soul. There is greatness to come and your acceptance brings us one step closer.”
He must be right because the beautiful crystal settles into my hand and my body glows with the same golden aura Jaxx and Kotah’s did when they first held their soul shards.
Golden rays radiate from me like a pulsing wave of energy. My mates are ready for it and they grab hold of one another and then me. The connection of the five of us busts something open inside me. It’s like a locked box of doubt and resistance inside me is obliterated and my lungs can expand to twice their volume. I can breathe again. Truly. Deeply. Breathe.
They are staring and I swipe at my eyes. “Sorry. I seem to have sprung a leak.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Jaxx says, moving in for the group hug. “We’ve got you.”
When his arms come around me and the others join in, my bond with the quint locks tighter into position. And I’m glowing like a pub sign. “Well, this is cool.”
“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” Jaxx says.
An hour later, with my stomach full, and the grand tour complete, we retire to the office to get everyone updated on where we are in our battles.
Jaxx and Calli start us off by telling us about Kotah’s mentor visiting and bringing Raven into the spotlight. The cookies weren’t drugged according to the lab tests, but Jaxx and Doc think there could still be reasons for a negative result. Or, maybe she was testing the waters and didn’t want to tip her hand from the start.
The jury is still out on Raven.
I tell them what the Forest Lord said in my mind. “I wanted none of this Guardian. This is not my choice.”
“You see,” Hawk says, “this makes more sense to me. A creature as old and powerful as a Forest Lord has no reason to be involved in power struggles and plots for political gain. I believe someone is forcing his hand somehow.”
Jaxx runs his fingers through his hair and the stuff falls perfectly back into place like it’s been trained to do so. “How do we figure out who’s doing it and how they’ve got him leashed?”
“I have a few ideas. Leave that with me.”
I sigh
, rubbing the top of Calli’s thigh while she sits in my lap. No complaints here about there not being enough chairs in the office. “It would be great to not have to worry about him against us in the future.”
“True story,” Calli says. “He sounds terrifying.”
“Brant,” Hawk says. “You had a friend in billing at FCO that you trusted to look into me. Do you think she’d help us? After what happened to Jaxx’s dad after he snooped into things, I hate to ask, but maybe she could come here and we could keep an eye on her.”
“I can ask her. I’ll call her tomorrow.”
“Thanks. And Kotah, can we get access to Raven’s incoming and outgoing calls? And maybe all calls related to the Bastion and the Fae Council? Oh, and did we ever find out when the plane was booked to come to Oregon and by who?”
“We can get anything you need, but that’s going to be a lot of records to go through.”
He nods. “Understood.”
The ring of an incoming Zoom call has Jaxx leaning over to read the screen. “Hawk, it’s Lukas.”
He nods. “Brant, this one’s for you, my man. Turn the monitor and open it up, Jaxx.”
Jaxx opens the call and I’ve got three smiling faces staring at me. It’s my kids… the three I made promises to before this all began. My heart expands and I have to take a few deep breaths or risk bawling like a baby again. “Hey, guys. It’s good to see you safe.”
Calli
I slide off Brant’s lap and give him his moment. I could use one myself. These boys are my greatest strength and my greatest weakness all rolled up in one chaotic bundle. They trigger my emotions and if I succumb to the highs and lows, I’d be an emotional wreck most of the time.
Excusing myself, I step out onto the upstairs landing and head downstairs.
“You okay, kitten?” Jaxx says following me out.
“Mostly. I just need a minute. I’m going to go sit in the library and meditate for a bit.”
“You want company?”
“I’m good, thanks. It’s a lot sometimes, you know?”
Jaxx leans his elbows on the railing above and smiles. “I know. You do you, kitten. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
The library is a twenty-by-twenty-foot room with no windows, floor to ceiling bookshelves, and three rows of back to back bookshelves running down the center. In the corner farthest from the door, there’s a leather chair and ottoman next to a reading lamp for those moments when one of us might want to escape.
Like now.
I leave the overhead light off and close the door, making my way to the reading nook. A month ago, I wouldn’t have been able to maneuver the space without my hands out in front of my face.
Now, my phoenix senses get stronger by the day. My heightened vision, hearing, and sense of smell aren’t as strong as the guys yet, but the sensory bombardment on top of the emotional turmoil is enough to shake my foundation some days. I find the chair, pull my knees up to my chest, and try to hold myself together.
Brant almost died last night. Hawk almost died last week. I was kidnapped the same night when Kotah was attacked by members of his own staff. And Jaxx, sweet Jaxx, almost died because of me. It’s a lot.
You can do this, girlfriend.
I smile as Riley’s pep talk comes right when I need it most. Figures. She always did know when I needed her. “I miss you, RiRi.”
I’m here for you.
“Yeah, but you’re not. I got Sonny for you. You didn’t die for nothing.”
I didn’t die, Cals. That was a body, a shell. We’ll be together again soon.
It’s honestly too much to hope for. My mind’s burping up what I need to hear when I need to hear it. “Why do I hear you so much clearer here?”
I don’t know where here is, but you’re coming in loud and clear. I can’t talk long though or they’ll find me. Just know I’m fighting for you on this side.
“What does that mean?”
I’ve got your back. Always and forever. Heart you, huge.
“Heart you more.” As the presence in my mind drifts away, I close my eyes and sit in the silence that follows. Maybe Jaxx is right. If hearing pearls of encouragement from Riley makes things a little easier in the worst moments, what does it matter if it’s real or not?
Riley is my anchor to the survivor I’ve always been.
I need to keep that part of me to become what the realms need in their phoenix. Some days it feels like too much and I want to curl up in a ball. Other days, when my mates are at my side and the universe seems to be rooting for us…
I think we just might get ’er done.
~ THE END ~
I hope you loved Bear’s Strength and getting to know Calli, Jaxx, Kotah, Brant, and Hawk better. If you want to help a girl out, leave a quick review or star rating on Amazon.
If you love these guys and want to make sure not to miss the fourth book, Hawk’s Heart, you can find that on Amazon too.
Author Notes
Written on 07/31/2020
Bear’s Strength was a fun ride. The series has been so well received, it’s gratifying to know readers are loving Calli and the fun and sexy men who make up her quint. Because of so many fans wanting more, I decided to write a fifth book in the series to give you all a little more time with Jaxx, Kotah, Brant, and Hawk. Next up is Hawk’s Heart, as planned. And following that will be… wait for it… Jaguar’s Passion. I hope you love them all.
Find Me
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Web page – www.jlmadore.com
Email – [email protected]
Newsletter – JL Series Updates
Guardians of the Fae Realms (Shifter Reverse Harem)
Book 1 – Rise of the Phoenix
Book 2 – Wolf’s Soul
Book 3 – Bear’s Strength
Book 4 – Hawk’s Heart
Book 5 – Jaguar’s Passion
The Watchers of the Gray Series (Paranormal)
Book 1 – Watcher Untethered (Zander)
Book 2 – Watcher Redeemed (Kyrian)
Book 3 – Watcher Reborn (Danel)
Book 4 – Watcher Divided (Phoenix)
Book 5 – Watcher United (Seth)
Book 6 – Watcher Compelled (Bo)
Book 7 – Watcher Unfeigned (Brennus)
Book 8 – Watcher Exposed (Hark)
The Scourge Survivor Series (Fantasy)
Book 1 – Blaze Ignites
Book 2 – Ursa Unearthed
Book 3 – Torrent of Tears
Book 4 – Blind Spirit
Book 5 – Fate’s Journey
Book 6 – Savage Love
Aliens of Atlantis Series (Sci-Fi)
Book 1 – Taryn’s Tiderider
Book 2 – Kai’s Captive
Book 3 – Alyandra’s Shadow
In the Shadow of Vesuvius (Roman Time-Slip)
In The Shadow of Vesuvius
Auburn Tempest
Pen Name for Fantasy Action Adventure (Not Romance)
Misty’s Magick and Mayhem Series
Book 1 – School for Reluctant Witches
Book 2 – School for Saucy Sorceresses
Book 3 – School for Unwitting Wiccans
Book 4 – Nine St. Gillian Street
Book 5 – The Ghost of Pirate’s Alley
Book 6 – Jinxing Jackson Square
Book 7 – Flame
Book 8 – Frost
Book 9 – Nocturne
Book 10 – Luna
Book 11 – Swamp Magic
Exemplar Hall
Prequel – Death of a Magi Knight
Book 1 – Drafted by the Magi
Book 2 – Jesse and the Magi Vault
Book 3 – The Makings of a Magi
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY