by K. D. Jones
“You’re a polar bear shifter.”
“Yes. Are you okay with this?”
“I’m just trying to adjust. Do you shift during full moons?”
He laughed. “Not really. For one...that’s a werewolf that shifts at a full moon, not polar bears. Secondly...the full moon has no effect on shifters. It’s a myth made up by scared or confused humans.”
“How did this all come to be? Were you bitten?”
“I was born a shifter. As far as how shifters came to exist, my grandmother would be the best person to explain that to you.”
“You said something about a mate.”
He nodded. “Shifters can choose to mate and have children but there are a few lucky shifters that find their true mate. A true mate is the other half of your soul; the one person that completes you.”
“How do you know if you find your true mate?”
“A combination of things, like scent, taste, and intimacy.”
“You said that I was your mate.”
“You are. The moment I scented you, I wanted you. My bear wanted to claim you right away. I have never reacted so strongly to anyone in my entire life. Then we touched, kissed, and made love; there was no denying that you belong to me as I belong to you.”
She felt that they belonged. She reached up and touched the love bite that he had given her last night. It was a little uncomfortable, but it didn’t hurt.
“I’m sorry if my mark hurts. I tried to be gentle.” He looked sorry.
“You bit me to mark me as yours?”
He nodded and waited for her. “What does this mean? What happens now?”
“I would like for you to stay here in Miracle with me.”
“Stay here? I don’t know. I mean, we barely know each other.” She said it, but she didn’t really mean it. She felt like she had known him her whole life.
“If you will stay, we’ll get to know one another. We have something very precious and I don’t want to lose it.”
“I’m here for my job and will have to go back.”
“It will take you a while to research. Promise you will let me see you.” He moved closer and held her small hand in his. “I’m falling for you, Andy. I want to see where this leads.” He chose his words carefully since she was struggling with their mating status.
“I want to see where this leads, too,” she admitted.
He sighed with relief. “Good.”
“You worked hard to keep your secret.”
“My family and clan have, yes. It’s imperative that we keep attention away from Miracle Lake.”
She looked at him, startled. “Oh, shit!”
“What is it?”
“I...added my findings about Miracle Lake on the notes that Denny took.”
“What findings?”
“On my way back to the cabin I found polar bear tracks. I took a picture and I wrote it down. We need to get those notes back.”
Cosmo looked concern. “Ivan took the group over to Berkin Lake.”
“Take me to the bed and breakfast and I’ll check Denny’s room for the notes. You head to Berkin Lake and see if Denny has the notes on him.”
She watched as Cosmo started the truck. She hoped that they could recover the notes.
*****
Cosmo didn’t like the idea of leaving Andy alone at the bed and breakfast, but they needed to find those notes and destroy them. He tried calling Ivan, but he didn’t answer his phone. His mate felt horrible for possibly jeopardizing his clan. Cosmo reassured her that he was equally at fault. He had been thoroughly distracted by his feelings for Andy.
He pulled up to the lake and got out. He could see his brother with two other humans. Neither of the humans was Vega. He walked up and asked his brother, “Where’s Denny Vega?”
“The blonde, Rhonda, wasn’t feeling good. These two were investigating the old cave and weren’t out yet. So Vega offered to drive her back to the bed and breakfast, then return to get us.”
“Fuck!” He had a bad feeling. Cosmo reached for his cell phone and dialed Andy’s number. It rang and rang.
“What’s going on?” Ivan asked, concerned.
“We need to get back to the bed and breakfast now.” He motioned for the two remaining humans to go to his truck. When they were out of earshot, he explained the issue with Andy having written down stuff about Miracle Lake.
“Let’s go, then.” Ivan rushed toward the truck.
It worried Cosmo that Andy wasn’t answering her phone. Mrs. Fielding wasn’t answering either. What was going on over there?
*****
Mrs. Fielding was one of the few humans in town who knew about shifters. She agreed to help Andy search for the notes. They couldn’t find anything. Denny must have taken the notes with him.
“I’m going to call Cosmo and see if he found them.” She reached for her phone but was startled when the door to Denny’s room banged open. She dropped her phone on the floor.
“What the hell are you doing in my room?”
“I...was going to make an addition to the notes. Where are they?”
He opened his jacket and showed a rolled up stack of paper in the inside pocket of his jacket. “Tell me what you want to add and I will put it there for you.”
She felt really uncomfortable. She started to walk to the door. “Never mind. It wasn’t that important.”
“It wouldn’t happen to have something to do with Miracle Lake, does it?” he asked.
She stopped walking. “What?”
“I saw your notes and was curious so…” He opened the backpack he was wearing and pulled out a laptop. Her laptop.
“You stole my laptop!” she accused as she tried to grab for it. He pulled it out of her reach.
“After I read your notes I went out to the cabin and waited until I saw the two of you leave this morning. I went inside and found that your computer program had finished. It identified the tracks as polar bear. I took it with me and headed back to the bed and breakfast to go out with the others. I hoped the lake we were going to would also had tracks, but it didn’t. I knew I would have to go out to Miracle Lake and investigate on my own, but now you’re here. You’re going to show me exactly where you found those tracks.”
“No. I won’t.” She shook her head.
Denny reached into his book bag again and pulled out a gun. “Yes you will.” He grabbed her arm and shoved her to walk in front of him.
“Denny, this is crazy. Nothing is worth all this.”
“I’m not crazy. I’m going to be rich and famous with this finding. I deserve it after all the years I spent working for a company that didn’t utilize my talents. Maybe I’ll share it with you, Andy. We could be a very powerful couple together.”
“Never!” The thought of being with Denny almost made her puke. They were at the bottom of the stairs in the boarding house. “Help! Call for help!” she yelled, hoping that Mrs. Fielding or Rhonda would hear and send for the sheriff.
Mrs. Fielding came up behind Denny and starting hitting him with her broom. Denny threw his arm back and hit the old lady on the side of her head and she fell, not moving.
Andy shoved him out of the way and knelt on the floor. “Oh God. Mrs. Fielding, can you hear me?” She checked for her pulse, and was relieved to find it steady and strong. She sighed with relief when Mrs. Fielding moaned. “Don’t move, okay? I’ll get help.”
Denny grabbed her arm, pulling her away from Mrs. Fielding. “Come with me now or I’ll shoot her.”
She looked back at Mrs. Fielding and saw that she was moving some. She had to get Denny away from there before he killed someone. She allowed him to maneuver her out the door. They walked toward the SUV that belonged to the Scout and Tour shop. She didn’t know what Denny would do to her, but she wasn’t going with him without a fight. She turned and grabbed the hand holding the gun and tried to knock it out of his hand. The gun went off and she froze.
“Damn it, Andy! You made me shoot the tire!”
Thank God she wasn’t shot. She turned to look at the tire on the SUV. It was deflating fast. Good.
“Come on. Mrs. Fielding leaves the keys to her truck in the glove compartment.” He pulled her with him toward the detached garage and opened the door. Sitting in the driver’s seat of the truck was Rhonda.
“What are you doing?” Denny demanded opening the driver’s door.
“I’m not feeling well and Mrs. Fielding said I could take the truck to the pharmacy to get something. What are you doing, Denny?” She watched as Rhonda looked at how Denny had a gun in one hand and a firm hold on Andy’s arm.
“None of your fucking business,” Denny told her, waving a gun in her direction.
Andy may not have liked Rhonda, but she didn’t want her to get shot either. “Easy, Denny. Rhonda, go inside and check on Mrs. Fielding. She...fell down and needs help.”
Rhonda tried to get out, but Denny shoved the gun in her face. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re going to drive us where I tell you to.” He pulled Andy with him around the side of the truck and shoved her inside the small cab.
Rhonda looked at Denny then at Andy. “Are you okay?”
Andy nodded. “Mrs. Fielding is hurt, though. Just do what he says. I don’t want you hurt too. He’s not thinking straight.”
“I’m thinking just fine, sweetie. Drive, bitch.” He glared at Rhonda.
“Where to?”
“Miracle Lake.”
Chapter 16
Cosmo pulled up to the bed and breakfast and slammed on his brakes. The SUV was still there. He and Ivan got out of the truck and rushed inside. They heard a moan and followed the sound. Mrs. Fielding was lying on the floor. Cosmo was terrified for Andy.
“Ivan, check on Mrs. Fielding. I’m going to look for Andy.” He ran up the stairs. He scented her fear, but only faintly. Even before checking all the rooms, he knew that she would not be there. He headed back downstairs. Ivan was carrying Mrs. Fielding to the couch.
“Andy’s not here and neither is Vega.”
“Mrs. Fielding moaned something.” Ivan looked up at him. “I called the paramedics and they’re on their way. I think Mrs. Fielding said...truck.”
Her truck was usually in the garage. Cosmo ran outside toward the garage but the door was open and there was no truck inside. Vega could have taken Andy anywhere.
*****
Andy was fighting her panic. It wouldn’t do her any good right then. She needed to remain calm. She glanced over at Rhonda and was amazed at how calm the other woman was. She would have assumed Rhonda would be in hysterics. When she turned to look Andy in the eyes, there was something there she had never seen or maybe never noticed before. Sharp intelligence, calculating, and also trying to signal her.
Andy glanced at Denny. He had moved the gun away from her side and had it loosely lying in his lap. She wasn’t sure what Rhonda was trying to tell her. She looked back at Rhonda with confusion. She mouthed, “What?”
Rhonda mouthed back, “Get ready.”
Ready? Ready for what?” Then Andy watched in shock as Rhonda headed straight for the parked police car. She wasn’t slowing down either. Andy didn’t have a seatbelt on, so she placed her hands on the dashboard and tried to brace herself.
“Watch where you’re driving!” Denny yelled, but it was too late. Rhonda drove the truck directly into the front side of the sheriff’s car, making it spin to the side. The truck kept going.
Andy turned to look back and sighed with relief once she saw the sheriff run out of a shop toward his car. He turned to look at them in anger. “Thank God the sheriff wasn’t in the car. How did you know that?” she asked Rhonda, amazed.
Rhonda shrugged. “I didn’t.”
Denny pulled the gun back up and pointed it at Rhonda. “Do something like that again, and I’ll shoot that dumb empty head of yours.”
Andy believed him. He had a crazy look in his eyes and he was desperate. Combine all that with holding a loaded gun and it spelled trouble. There was no stopping this; they were going to Miracle Lake. She hoped that Cosmo stayed away, where he was safe.
*****
Cosmo’s cell phone rang, interrupting his pacing back and forth inside the bed and breakfast. It was Niko. “This isn’t a good time, Niko.”
“Cosmo, some blonde driving Mrs. Fielding’s truck just rammed the side of my car. What the hell is going on?”
Rhonda Lee was involved somehow. “Did you see Andy?”
“Andy who?” Niko asked.
Right, not all of his brothers had met Andy yet. “How many people did you see in the truck?”
“Two women and a man. Why?”
“The man is Denny Vega. I think he is unstable. I’m at Mrs. Fielding’s and someone had knocked her unconscious.”
“Is she okay?”
“The paramedics have arrived and are taking her to the hospital. What direction did they go?”
“North. Toward Miracle Lake.”
“I’ll head there with Ivan.”
“Wait. This is my job as the local law enforcement. I’ll handle this.”
Cosmo hung up without responding. He needed to get to Andy. He walked outside and watched Mrs. Fielding being lifted into the ambulance. Ivan told the two researchers to go with her and keep them updated. He turned to look at Ivan.
“Where did they go?”
“The truck hit Niko’s car on the way to Miracle Lake.”
“Is Niko okay?”
“Yeah, but he’s pissed.”
“Cosmo.”
“What?”
“Mrs. Fielding said something else, too. She said that Vega had a gun.”
Oh, shit. Andy was in real danger. His bear wanted to break free and hunt down whoever was threatening their mate.
“Let’s go.” Ivan and Cosmo went to the truck and got inside. He would protect her. He had to.
“I’m calling the others,” Ivan told him, reaching for his cell phone.
He hoped they weren’t too late.
*****
Denny shoved Rhonda so hard she almost fell to her knees. Andy reached out and helped steady her. “Are you okay?”
Rhonda glared back at Denny. “Just fine.”
“Keep moving. Andy, where were those tracks?”
Andy turned to look at Denny. “Let Rhonda go. She has nothing to do with this.”
“She knows too much now.” Denny waved them to continue walking with his gun.
Rhonda laughed. “That’s the first time any man has said that about me.”
Andy looked between the two of them like they had both lost their minds. Rhonda was making jokes while Denny was pretty much telling them that he wasn’t going to let them go. She felt like she was dropped down the rabbit hole that Alice fell in.
She stopped walking at the spot of the tracks. They were almost frozen in place now. She pointed down and watched as Denny’s eyes widened.
“It’s true. I need to take this back. There may be hair samples embedded there.” He threw his backpack at Rhonda.
“What the hell!”
“Open it up and grab the digging tools.”
Rhonda did what he told her to. “Now what?”
“Give them to Andy. Andy, cut around the track, making sure to keep it intact. We’ll have to find somewhere to keep it cold so it doesn’t lose its integrity. Once I get this analyzed, I’ll make an announcement to all the news stations on my findings. I’ll offer the specimen to the highest bidder. I’ll be rich and this place will be swamped with teams of researchers and fortune hunters. I can see it now.”
Andy could see it too. It would be a disaster. Cosmo and his clan’s well-kept secret would be jeopardized. The clan might have to move from the only home they had known for centuries, and it would all be her fault. She couldn’t let that happen. She had to stop Denny. She knelt down on the ice next to the tracks. Cosmo’s tracks. She would protect him and his people if it was the last thing she did.
*****
Cosmo
was next to Ivan. They were both in human form, but the rest of his brothers had shifted to polar bears. They surrounded the area on the lake where Vega stood with the blonde. Andy was on her knees. He wasn’t sure why, but seeing Vega looming over her made him see red. Mine. The male took my mate, threatened her, and scared her. He would rip his throat out.
“Easy, brother. You’re starting to shift.”
They moved closer. He watched as Andy took some kind of cutting tool and stabbed it into the lake ice, hard. She repeated it over and over. Then Vega started screaming at her, but she didn’t stop until there was a cracking noise. She scooted backward. A piece of the ice started to sink into the frigid water coming up around it.
“No!” Vega yelled as he stalked toward Andy, who was getting to her feet.
“You are a stupid bitch! You’ve ruined everything!”
Cosmo rushed forward. “Stop moving, Vega! You’re surrounded.”
Vega turned toward Cosmo with the gun up. “It’s all your fault!”
*****
Andy feared for Cosmo. It was at that moment with Denny threatening Cosmo that she realized that she had fallen in love with the big shifter. “No!” She didn’t think twice as she ran and threw herself directly between Denny and Cosmo. The gun went off and she felt a sharp pain in her side. She touched her side and felt something wet and lifted her hand. Blood was coating her hand. She heard a roar behind her and slowly fell down to the ice. Funny, she wasn’t really cold; she felt really warm and dizzy. The last thing she saw was Cosmo’s eyes, so black and furious.
“So sorry. I love you,” she whispered to him. Darkness was coming for her and her eyelids were so heavy.
*****
Cosmo roared in fury when Vega shot his mate. Seeing her fall, he leaped toward her to try to keep her head from hitting the ice. “Come on, baby. You can’t die on me.” He looked back to watch as the blonde swung the backpack she was holding at Vega’s head. The male dropped the gun and fell backward. He would have gone after him, but Ivan and Niko were there. He needed to focus on his mate.