by Mia Taylor
“And they weren’t recorded?”
“There was a lot of speculation as to the manner in which they were bred,” Charlie explained quietly and shuddered slightly as if the recollection bothered him. Berlin’s eyes narrowed as she weighed what she’d been told.
“Charlie, are you pulling my leg? Is this something that exists or is it a fairy tale? Could this be true?”
“Of course, Berlin. Because even urban legends have a true story at the core. Fact is most often stranger than fiction, after all.”
She gaped at him, unsure what to believe.
Could this be real? Could Briar be one of the Original Forsaken?
Berlin knew she had to find out.
Chapter Eight
Familial Ties
It didn’t take long for the homesickness to settle in, the rain of Seattle seeping into Briar’s bones like a damp cloud.
He couldn’t be sure if he missed Eugene itself or if it was something else he longed for.
Or someone else.
He had only been in Washington for two weeks, his belongings moved into the eighth-floor condo the company had supplied. It was a modern and chic apartment but one half the size of his main floor unit in Eugene.
Not that I need more space, he reminded himself. It’s only me, after all.
He stood on his covered balcony, staring out into the unfamiliar city, a mug of steaming coffee in his hands, as the rain clung to the buildings for as far as he could see.
The waft of music flittered toward his ears and Briar found himself craning his neck toward his neighbor’s apartment to get a better listen.
Unexpectedly, a shaggy head popped over the partition.
“Hey.”
Briar jumped and laughed nervously.
“Hey. Sorry, I wasn’t being nosy. I was just trying to listen to the music.”
The neighbor arched an eyebrow and nodded his shaggy head of hair approvingly.
“You like alternative?”
“Not especially,” Briar confessed. “But there’s something about this guy’s voice…”
“Cypher Maison. He’s a genius. Everyone loves him.”
A tingle slithered through Briar’s body.
“I’ve never heard of him.”
The hipster eyed him like he’d been living under a rock.
“Really?” he demanded. “He’s huge! He’s amazing!”
He lowered his voice conspiratorially.
“I also have an in with him if you ever want to meet him. A really close in.”
Briar laughed and shook his head.
“I’m not sure I have the time to chase around rock stars but I’ll keep it in mind,” he chuckled, wondering if kids were the same everywhere.
Name dropping never goes out of style, he thought, amused. This kid probably ran into him backstage once and got an autograph. Now he thinks he’s best friends with a rock star.
“I’ll have to check out more of his stuff,” Briar promised. He realized he was grateful to have someone to talk to. It had been a lonely couple of weeks for him. The new staff was still being transferred from Branch Technology in Eugene and from Belladonna’s headquarters but there was no one whom Briar knew.
He’d wanted to call Cory and Vy but he didn’t want to feel like he was rubbing in his good fortune. It had been a long time since Briar had felt so alone.
He turned his attention back to the kid.
“You won’t regret it,” the younger man told him, grinning. “I saw him live last year and he’s even better in person.”
“Isn’t that always the way?” Briar asked, his brow furrowing. It had been ages since he’d been to a concert. The neighbor laughed.
“Nope. With all the mixing and mastering, no singer ever sounds as good live as they do on recording. Except Cypher.”
Again, a jolt of electricity shocked his system.
Cypher. Cypher. Cypher.
The name echoed through his mind as his memory tried to latch onto something elusive but it was gone again before he could capture it.
Maybe I have heard of him before, Briar thought. If he’s as big as this kid is claiming…
“I’m Rhys.”
“Briar.”
Rhys looked at him curiously.
“You just moved in, right?”
“Yeah, couple weeks,” Briar replied. “I’m from Oregon.”
“I’m from San Francisco but I just got transferred here. Me and my girlfriend, Holly.”
He leaned over the divide and Briar wondered how tall he had to be to accomplish such a feat.
“I’m going to propose soon,” Rhys whispered in a stage voice. A pang of regret surged through Briar but he forced himself to smile.
“Congratulations!”
“Don’t congratulate me yet,” Rhys chuckled. “She might say no.”
Briar could see that he didn’t believe that and his stab of sadness faded away slightly as he saw the youthful love in his eyes.
“Well, I wish you well.”
Suddenly, Briar didn’t want to talk anymore. He just wanted to retreat back into the sanctuary of his apartment and melt into the couch as he had since moving states.
“I’ve gotta go,” Briar told him, excusing himself as the melancholy threatened to overwhelm him.
“All right, buddy. See you around!” Rhys called but Briar barely heard him as he closed the glass doors.
He placed the coffee on an iron and glass table, flopping onto the overstuffed sofa. Instantly, he thought of Berlin.
It had not gotten any easier to forget her, despite the time which had passed. Briar had been unable to get her out of his mind.
He had waited around as long as he could for her to return home that day, desperately wanting to talk to her about what she had seen, to somehow explain it away, but when she didn’t arrive back at the house, Briar realized it was a blessing.
What was I going to say to her? That when I have too much to drink, I get really furry? It’s a good thing I didn’t have to face her. She was probably waiting for me to leave before coming home anyway.
Even knowing that, Briar stared at his phone, expecting Berlin to call.
I should never have taken this job. I should have stayed and shown solidarity with Cory and Vy. I should have remained and tried to make things right with Berlin.
Hindsight was always 20/20. It was too late for regrets. His life in Eugene was over and he had to focus on rebuilding himself in Seattle.
Briar flicked on the television and scanned through the channels, his mind on none of them. He wasn’t really in the mood to watch TV but he needed the distraction.
I’ve gotta find myself a hobby, he thought. Maybe one which doesn’t involve night hunts in the form of a bear.
It was half a month from another full moon and the impending date made him nervous. He was in far too rural an area to risk shifting before anyone.
Things that had never occurred to him before were suddenly becoming pressing issues. What would happen if he was caught shifting in Seattle?
His parents had done a fine job of hiding his ability, although when Briar thought back on it, he wondered how they had done it with such ease and grace.
Imagine learning that your adopted son is some kind of freak. It’s a wonder they kept me after they figured out what I was.
Briar sighed and reached for the cordless phone, suddenly overcome with a desire to speak with his parents.
“Hi, honey!” his mom chirped. “How’s Seattle?”
“Rainy,” he replied. “How are you guys doing?”
“Oh, you know. Your father is making me nuts with his retirement. I never thought I’d want him to go back to work yet here I am…”
Briar grinned.
“Get him a membership to the golf course. He’ll leave you in peace,” he suggested. Margaret laughed.
“Not before I get the week trip to the spa he promised me,” she replied. “We’re at a stalemate on that right now.”
&nb
sp; Briar felt a wave of affection for her, followed by a round of guilt.
I should have spent more time with them when I was there, he thought ruefully. I’ll go back next weekend and visit.
His quiet seemed to stir something in Margaret.
“You okay, hon? You sound tired.”
“Just getting settled, Mom.”
Another brief pause ensued.
“Mom?”
“Yes, Briar?”
“Can I talk to you about my past?”
He heard a sharp intake of breath and he instantly regretted asking.
“Never mind,” he said quickly. “Sorry I brought it up.”
“No,” Margaret said firmly. “You can talk to me about anything, Briar, you know that. It’s just… I don’t know what else I can tell you that I haven’t told you before. Your adoption was sealed and whatever investigating your father and I did came up fruitless—”
“No, Mom, I don’t mean that…”
“Oh.”
There was another deep breath.
“Mom, why am I like this?”
“What happened?” The concern in her voice touched his heart.
“Nothing,” he replied quickly. “But God knows how long it will be before someone discovers it and then what?”
“If you’re careful, you won’t need to worry,” Margaret insisted but the stress in her tone escalated. “Your father and I went through painstaking measures to keep your ability hidden from everyone. If we could do it when you were a child, you can do it now. I know you have nothing to worry about.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I don’t know why I’m bringing this up. I think I’m just out of sorts being in a different state.”
“Briar… we just don’t know why. When it began, we took you to a doctor for tests. We didn’t tell anyone, of course. We knew enough to know that you’d be poked and prodded like some lab rat if word ever got out but we did want to know if any abnormalities showed in your bloodwork.”
“And you never found anything,” Briar finished, knowing the story well.
Why are you opening old wounds? This can’t have been easy for them to deal with. Not only did they end up with some damaged kid but I was a damaged kid with weird abilities.
“Why don’t your father and I come visit next weekend?” Margaret suggested suddenly. “I’ll see if Alex and Deb are around too and we’ll make a family vacation of it.”
Briar smiled to himself.
“It’s funny you should say that. I was thinking about coming home next weekend anyway.”
“Oh, that would be wonderful, honey! Even better because I’m sure that Alex would be around for a couple hours. How long has it been since we’ve had a sit-down family dinner?”
As Margaret continued to make plans for the upcoming weekend, Briar began to drift off, thinking about what else a trip home could mean for him.
I’ll spend time with the family but I can also stop by and see Berlin while I’m there.
Briar had no way of knowing if that was a good idea, how Berlin would react to him appearing at her doorstep.
Liam’s words rolled around in his mind, warning Briar to give her space, but it was not in his nature to leave matters unattended.
I don’t run away from issues, he thought firmly. I face them head on.
Especially when the woman he had fallen for was involved.
Chapter Nine
Realizations and Confrontations
The cell rang over and over but Berlin had put it on silent, the flashing of the screen the only indication she had that August was trying to get through.
She again ignored it and strained her eyes forward to study what she’d found on the computer.
Her neck was aching slightly and she felt as if she was coming down with something but she willed it away, determined not to be distracted by her search.
“You’ve been at it a long time, Berlin,” Costa commented from behind her. “You might want to give your eyes a rest.”
She waved her hand dismissively toward the student librarian.
“I can’t. I need this for my thesis,” she lied. Costa leaned over her shoulder and eyed the article onscreen with a snort.
“Are you doing your paper on werewolves?” he taunted.
“Shifters,” she corrected automatically and instantly realized her mistake. She turned her head and smiled at him.
“And no, of course not. There’s no such thing,” she reminded him ironically. “I’m looking into urban legends.”
“Oh,” Costa nodded understandingly and stepped back, leaving her blissfully alone. “Gotcha.”
Before he walked away, he studied her face.
“You don’t look that great, Berlin. You’re really pale.”
She didn’t admit to him that she wasn’t feeling well, either, and hadn’t been for a week. There was no time for illness. If she was on the right path, she would hold the key to unlocking the mystery of the Original Forsaken and maybe giving Briar some answers for himself.
Assuming he doesn’t already know, she corrected. She had wanted to reach out to him and tell Briar what she suspected but after the way they had parted, Berlin wasn’t sure she wanted to approach him unless she was absolutely certain.
You stayed away from him because you didn’t want him to learn your secret. Now that you know his, there’re twice as many reasons not to get involved but…
But how could she stay away, knowing what she knew? Fate had stepped in and pushed them together. How could she possibly deny that all the signs were there, that he was her mate and that they should be together?
Still, she couldn’t deny the dangers which surrounded a future with Briar.
Especially if he is one of the Original Forsaken.
Her eyes darted back toward the screen and her head began to ache as she read. It wasn’t until her eyes rested on a name that she perked up and poked her head forward, ostrich-style.
Berlin blinked, biting her lip as she scanned the article slowly.
On the surface, it seemed to have no relevance to what she sought and Berlin wondered why it had ended up in her tabs to begin with, but as she continued to peruse, her pulse quickened.
The story was almost thirty years old and told about a missing family of five.
Four boys and their mother, she read but that was a sadly common theme in what she had read over the past weeks, searching for any truth to the myth.
Mother of four, Fallon Wexley has disappeared from her Ashbridge home on Saturday night along with her children, ages one through five. She was last seen leaving her property voluntarily with her sons.
The children’s father, Daniel Wexley, is concerned for their well-being and describes Mrs. Wexley as “disturbed” and “untrustworthy.”
Anyone with any information regarding the whereabouts of Fallon Wexley or her children are urged to call your local police department or Mr. Wexley directly at Ambrosia Pharmaceuticals.
A reward is being offered at this time.
Berlin sat back, shaking her head.
Ambrosia Pharmaceuticals. Why do I know that name?
She pushed the question aside for the moment, her head swimming with information overload as she searched for more information on Fallon Wexley.
To her surprise, nothing else came up on the search engine. Berlin was perplexed.
A woman disappears with four boys in the middle of the Bible Belt, the wife of a wealthy man, no less, and all I can find is one two-hundred-word article about it? No update? No anniversary pleas for the kids’ return?
It didn’t sit right with her.
Nothing sits right with me right now, she thought, her stomach flipping dangerously. A wave of nausea flushed through her and Berlin swallowed quickly, bile rising to her throat.
Oh man, not now! she cried silently, pushing her way back from the computer and scanning the library for a garbage can. She knew she wasn’t going to make it to the bathroom on time.
She barely made it to
a trash can, hurling violently into it, and Costa hurried over to check on her.
“Oh, man! Are you okay?” he muttered, wrinkling his nose at the smell as he looked around apologetically. “I told you that you looked pale!”
“Sorry,” Berlin mumbled, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “I’m going home to lie down.”
“Should I call someone for you?” the librarian demanded, and she shook her head.
“No,” she insisted. “I’ll be fine.”
Berlin stumbled back toward the computer and snatched her purse before making her way into the overcast day outside. She gulped in breaths of fresh air, willing away the new bout of sick which was forming in her gut.
Dammit! I can’t afford this!
But the sick gods never planned appropriately. They didn’t care if she had research to conduct or a hunch to follow. All she knew was that she needed to find somewhere to lay her head before the dizziness consumed her entirely.
“Feel better, Berlin!” Costa called after her from the doorway where he had followed her out. As an afterthought, he chuckled.
“You’re not pregnant, are you?”
Berlin whipped her head to cast him a death stare over her shoulder.
“Really? Isn’t saying stuff like that to women a little passé in this day and age?”
Costa blushed as she had intended and she made her way down the street, ignoring the threat of swooning.
You’re fine, she pep-talked herself and soon enough, she realized she was feeling better. As she climbed into her car, she cast the library one last look, her mouth pursing into a moue.
Idiot men. You can’t just have the stomach flu. You have to be pregnant.
She put the keys in the ignition, snorting at the idea.
Me. Pregnant. I haven’t had sex in…
Her mind shifted back to the one and only encounter she’d had with Briar, almost seven weeks earlier.
I’m not late…
She slammed her foot on the brake and sat, half-in and half-out of her parking spot. A car honked at her and drove around her extended hood but Berlin was far too distracted to notice.
No way. It can’t be.
But with a growing sense of dread, she realized that it was very possible. Briar was a bear, after all, something she hadn’t realized at the time.