by S. A. Ravel
Lia whimpered then screamed as another wave ripped through her. Parker sank his teeth into her shoulder, clamping down. The pain ramped up the pleasure, twisting and heightening it to levels Lia never thought possible. Every cell in her body felt like it was exploding in a firework of throbbing ecstasy. The warm rush of Parker's seed and the jerking of his muscles were the only sign of his climax; his moans were lost against her shoulder.
When their bodies finally relaxed, they lay on the alter in each other's arms.
"Now, I can yell at you," she said between gasping breaths. "What took you so long?"
Parker laughed. "Fucker didn't make you easy to find. Nora tried for half an hour to scry for you. In the end Cora had to do it."
Lia nodded toward the mouth of the cave. "Who were your friends?"
"They big one was my father, Ethan. The other was Branden."
Lia's brow furrowed. "Why did Branden come?"
"I called him and told him you needed his help."
Lia looked to the entrance of the cave again. Branden had been right there and she hadn't even realized it.
"Will you thank him for me?" she asked.
Parker pressed a kiss to her lips and slid down off the altar. "You can thank him yourself. He'll go back to your place after he and Dad take that asshole to Glen for lock up. Then you and I have to face the music."
She reached for her shoulder, her fingers running over the skin below Parker's bite. "Do you think they know already?"
He grinned. "Why do you think they left us alone?"
14
It had only been five days since he came back to the Lost Coast. Only five days since he found his mate in a dead woman's living room. They couldn't have been farther away from happiness back then, now they sat in the same living room curled up on the couch while the powers-that-be of the Lost Coast decided their fate.
Sheriff Ward and Cora Parris represented Belmont Cove's interest in the conversation. Ethan and Branden represented Blackthorn's. As an outsider and a witch technically in violation of the law, Parker and Lia had little input on the negotiations.
That fact pissed Parker and his bear off to no end. He was in the room where the decision was being made, yet powerless to affect its outcome.
Whether they were officially mated wasn't a matter of discussion. The bite on Lia's shoulder marked her as his as much as the way she clung to his hand. No, their mating was real and it couldn't be taken back or pushed aside. It couldn't be ignored for political convenience or delayed for personal gain. Months of negotiation had gone into prepping the communities of the Lost Cost for the union of Melora and Branden. They had fewer than twelve hours to prep for the union of Lia and Parker.
"What happens to the asshole who killed my mate?" Branden said, venom dripping from every word.
"He can go into the regular criminal justice system," Ward offered. "We've got him on kidnapping, attempted murder, murder--"
"Most of which we can't prove without exposure," Parker said.
"If that son of a bitch has to face the music, I mean to be the one playing the tune." Branden's grizzly was just beneath the surface, coming out in a deep growl in his voice.
Ethan placed a firm hand on Branden's shoulder, but it did little to visibly calm him.
"What my son means is we have our own laws about this kind of thing." Ethan said, his voice measured.
Parker knew the Blackthorn Alpha well enough to know he felt the same rage as Branden. They all did. To steal one bear's mate and snuff out her life was unthinkable. To try it twice, both times to the sons of an Alpha, was catastrophic. The clan's honor demanded that they exact punishment. The fragile treaty being forged in Lia's living room demanded they negotiate.
"So do we," Cora said. "Mel and Lia are your clan by marriage, but they're our sister witches by blood. The Blackthorns aren't the only ones Preston betrayed."
Cora's eyes darted around the room, stopping briefly to focus on the shifters’ faces before zipping to the next object in the room.
"How is that fair?" Branden roared.
Cora jumped. Even Lia startled, but she calmed as she pressed her body against Parker's.
A look of shame spread over Branden's face as he realized his mistake. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.
"If you want fair, turn him over to Arcane Affairs." Parker said.
Lia sat up, mild panic flickering across her face. "Won't that get you in even more trouble?"
He swallowed hard and nodded. Trouble was a nice word for how deep he'd stepped in the shit this time. At a minimum, his supervisor would bury him behind a desk under a mountain of files. Staying to enjoy his new mate's embrace would only delay the inevitable. Eventually, he would have to go back to HQ and turn in his report. Even so, he caressed his mate's arm to reassure her.
"I'm already in pretty deep, what's a little more?" he said.
Lia's eyes flashed with defiance. Parker knew that look. It meant that, whatever was being planned around her, she wasn't going along with it.
Parker pressed a kiss to her lips. "I'll drive Malloy down to San Francisco tomorrow. Lia, I promise you, I will come back to you."
"I'm...not sure how comfortable I am with that, Agent Kane." Cora said.
Ward shook his head. "Me neither."
"I'm sure as shit not," Ethan grunted.
Parker looked between them, still holding Lia to his side. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I took an oath and I violated it. The reasons why I did it don't matter. It won't matter to my boss."
The three elders looked at one another as if they were having a conversation that Parker wasn't privy to.
Ward spoke first. "HQ wouldn't happen to be in California, would it?"
"You know I can't tell you that," Parker said.
"Which means no." Ward folded his hands behind his back. "So it seems to me like what you’re suggesting is extradition. 'Fraid I can't agree to that. The people of this county are the ones who Preston Malloy hurt and we're the ones that need to be made whole."
Cora spoke next, a smile flashing briefly on her lips before she covered it with a serious face. "By Council law and Arcane Affairs policy, local matters are to remain local unless they involve humans. The Harper Coven is the victim here, and the Council can't allow our sister witches to go unavenged. The Council won't consent to extradition."
The Alpha looked down at Branden and jerked his head down in a curt nod. Branden stood, looking down at his younger brother.
"Melora Harper was my mate. Preston Malloy stole that future from me, from her, and from our clan. If Arcane Affairs wants him, fine, but we get him first. No extradition."
Parker rubbed his forehead. "That takes care of that problem, but I still have to go back."
"Well now, I'm afraid I can't allow that either," Ward said. "You're a material witness in two pending trials."
"You're also a member of my coven," Lia said as she sat up to look at him. "As Supreme, I have input on where my members go. Your ass is staying here."
Parker raised an eyebrow, but the surge of pride he felt at his mate's strength showed in a smile. "Since when is that a rule?"
"Since thirty seconds ago." Lia pointed to herself. "The Supreme makes the rules."
Ethan crossed the room and clapped a hand on Parker's shoulder.
"You're first oath is to me and your clan, boy," Ethan said. "That came before Arcane Affairs. As far as I'm concerned, it still holds. "
And that was that. The community that he'd left behind as a boy wrapped its arms around him, determined to insulate him even from Arcane Affairs. Technically, the Agency could still punish him, but they wouldn't risk war with two paranormal communities. Not over him.
As dawn approached, everyone took their leave. Ward and Cora left first, half whispering about what wards and charms the needed to put in place to secure Preston in prison. Ethan and Branden left next, although they had farther to drive.
Branden stopped in front of Lia on his way to the door and hug
ged her, lifting her into the air. She laughed as he set her back down. When she'd arrived back at the house, the first thing she did was find Branden. He tried to extend a hand to her, but she pushed it aside and pulled him into a hug. Parker could see his brother was charmed on the spot.
"Don't be a stranger, okay?" she said.
Branden shook his head. "Never. We're family." He tried to smile, but Parker saw the tears in his eyes. Branden might never fully recover from the loss of his mate, and watching his brother have the happiness stolen from him wouldn't be easy.
Ethan Kane was not a hugger. In fact, he was more likely to smack his sons on the back of the head than embrace them. But he held Lia's hands and squeezed them gently.
"Your part of our clan now, too," he said. "We need to start planning the celebration feast for your mating. No more hiding in the shadows."
Parker blinked. "Dad, we need to sleep!"
The Alpha rolled his eyes and turned to go through the doorway. "Boy, you just claimed your mate. Like hell you're sleepin'!"
He was right. As soon as Parker heard the truck rumble toward the highway he had Lia half naked against the wall. They made love right there on the hallway carpet just as the first rays of light brightened the sky. And again, in her bed. And again, in the kitchen when hunger finally drove them to get food. By midday they still hadn't closed their eyes. They couldn't get enough of each other. Thankfully, they had the rest of their lives to spend together.
15
One year later.
The Lost Coast didn't get much in the way of seasons. When Lia first moved to Belmont, Melora told her the weather had two modes: Spring and Fall. The month on the calendar didn't matter. But true fall had a different smell to it, an energy that hovered over everything and infused it with an air of transition.
Lia sat on her porch, watching the fading light of the sun bounce off the leaves. It was the morning before the Hunter's Moon, her and Parker's anniversary, which he was spending on the Mountain. But he was almost home. She could feel him getting closer.
In the months after he resigned from Arcane Affairs, Parker got more involved in the workings of Clan Blackthorn. It started simply enough, Glen Ward would stop by and ask Parker to look into a call he'd gotten. Most of the shifters were preferred to deal with one of their own when it came to law enforcement. Though his discharge from Arcane Affairs meant he couldn't join the Sheriff's Department officially.
"Dad says he's on his way," Branden said, shifting the box tucked underneath his arm. "I better get going."
The Blackthorns weren't the only Clan on the mountain, but they were the most powerful and often spoke for the people of the Mountain. By midsummer, Parker was serving as the official liaison between the shifters and the witches. Suddenly, he had the clout to get both communities to let the family travel freely as long as they were visiting each other.
As often as not, Branden came down to the Coven house for lunch or dinner. At first he stayed in Melora's room, grieving her loss while surrounded by her smell. But as the weeks passed, he and Lia became close. Now he spent more time with Lia than he did among his lost mate's possessions.
"Don't you wanna stay and say hello?" she asked.
Branden laughed. "Hell no! I know what happens to the fool who comes between a bear and his mate."
So did Preston Malloy. Once upon a time, he would have been burned or hanged for killing a sister witch, but being born in more civilized times had spared his life. The Council dragged its feet on Preston's trial long enough for Parker to resign. Once he wasn't in danger of punishment anymore, Sheriff Ward handed him over to Parker's replacement. The Council demanded he be imprisoned there, far away from the people he'd hurt. The town held ownership of his Coven house, and would until one of his relatives could be found.
"You talk like he's gonna rip my clothes off as soon as he's out of the car." Lia said. Of course, she knew there was a real possibility of that. In fact, it had happened more than once.
"Uh-huh." Branden didn't look convinced. "Just remember the look on his face when you tell him. I wanna know what that ass looks like when he's surprised."
Branden loaded the box into his truck and climbed into the cabin. Parker pulled up just as Branden was pulling out.
He parked and ran to the porch, a roll of paper in his hands and a wide grin on his lips. "Hey good lookin!" He pulled Lia off the porch swing and into his arms, planting a kiss on her lips.
"Please tell me you don't have to go back up there tonight." Parker's fingers were already sliding across the buttons of her dress, popping them open as he went.
"Tonight I have a surprise to share and a wife to spoil," he whispered.
"Ooh, good answer." Lia threw her arms around his neck and stole another kiss. "I've got a surprise too."
Parker raised an eyebrow and lowered his hands, cupping the curve of her ass. "Who gets to go first?"
Lia swallowed. "You do."
"Hoped you'd say that." Parker kissed her again and unfurled the paper.
It was a series of drawings, each depicting the same two story house. Whoever designed the building had taken care to incorporate elements from Belmont and Blackthorn. A garden for growing herbs. A permanent altar in the backyard clearing for rituals. A path large enough for a full-grown bear to fit through that led to the forest that surrounded the building. Even the wood trim was stained red like the towering trees on the mountain.
"It's beautiful," she whispered.
"It's ours," he said. "Or it will be once it's built."
Lia blinked in shock. "You're building me a house?"
"Technically, Ethan and Branden are building us both a house."
She laughed. "Do they know they're doing it?"
"Damndest thing. The old man came to me a couple of months ago and it turns out I'm entitled to some money from the logging operation. He just happened to know a nice plot of land closer to the Mountain."
Lia raised an eyebrow. "Does Branden know about this?"
"He did yesterday. Why?"
"Ugh, that little asshole spent all day helping me with my surprise knowing we're not gonna be here to use it."
It was Parker's turn to raise an eyebrow. "We...aren't?"
Lia laughed and took him by the arm. She led him to the bedroom closest to theirs, Melora's bedroom. She'd taken the talismans down after Preston was arrested, but unless Branden was visiting she left the door closed. As time wore on and the healing started, Branden asked her to open the door less and less.
This time, when Lia pushed the door to Melora's room open, it was empty except for a redwood crib in the middle of the room.
Parker's mouth fell open as he stared at the crib. "You..."
"I gave Mel's things to Branden. I think at first he wanted to leave them here, but he changed his mind when he found out his niece or nephew needed the spa--" The words ended in a squeal as Parker lifted her off her feet and spun her around.
He set her back down and kneeled in front of her pressing his lips to her abdomen through her dress.
"How long?" he asked.
"Six weeks, but Maria said she's positive." Lia ran her fingers through his hair as he pulled her closer.
"So am I," he whispered.
That night, they made love on blankets under the stars, Parker's body heat and their passion were all they needed to keep them warm. They climaxed in each other's arms beneath the Hunter's Moon. It was their ritual. Their love. Their Coven. Their Clan. No matter the trial, no matter the triumph, it would always be theirs.
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