Bear my Fate (Hero Mine Book 1)

by Harmony Raines

  “Why would I?” she asked. “I came here for my mom. I’m not leaving without her.”

  The guy smiled. “Good. Let’s get on with it. The sooner you hand over that stone, the sooner you and your mom can be together.”

  Eva got out of the car, and took a look around. They were in some nondescript industrial yard. It could be one of a thousand, anywhere in the country. However, she had seen the sign as they drove in: Wilmot Industrial Center.

  “Move,” he said, and she followed close behind him to a small door on the side of the warehouse that led to what would be an office if the place wasn’t being used for kidnapping. What else Crosshead did here didn’t bear thinking about. There was no way they would rent something this big for holding one woman captive.

  They went inside, the guy leading her across the empty office and out through another door, into a large, open section of the warehouse. To the rear there were partition walls, with one door leading into it. To the front, it looked like the main shell of the building, corrugated metal, bolted together. In the furthest corner were two large trucks.

  Eva let her senses roam, but they weren’t strong enough to pick up any noise, or scents. She wished she was a bear shifter like Jack; there were advantages to having strong senses.

  What she did have was her sixth sense. Eva tried to tap into it. She had figured out how to shut it down, and it would be useful to know how to ignite it whenever she needed it. However, the approach of Crosshead broke her concentration.

  “There she is. You know, part of me thought you wouldn’t return.” He sauntered toward her, looking immensely pleased with himself. They really thought they had won. Eva hoped she would get to see his expression when the squad attacked. She cast her eyes around the warehouse; there were only two of them, Crosshead and the man who had brought her here.

  “Let’s get this over with. Then you are going to let my mom and me go.” She knew what the other guy had said, but she wanted the admission from Crosshead that he wasn’t going to uphold his end of the bargain.

  “You can go. Yes, but not home. We need a little bit more information.” He smiled indulgently. “But I’ve made arrangements for you to move somewhere more comfortable. Someone will be here soon, and at least you and your mom can catch up. I do like it when I bring people together.” He clasped his hands together to emphasize his words.

  “What people?” she asked. Should she be stalling for time, or trying to get to her mom as quickly as possible? When Jack and the squad arrived, she wanted to be with her mom and lead her to safety. But first she wanted to find out how many more people might be arriving, how many more people the squad might have to fight.

  “My people,” Crosshead said, shaking his head. “Don’t play dumb. I know you have that voice in your head. Say hello to daddy dearest, won’t you. We go back a long way. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you about me.”

  “He’s not in my head,” Eva said. Damn it, why hadn’t her father broken free and told her what she needed to know? Because she’d kept the voices shut down, blanked them all off.

  “They’re keeping his traitorous voice from her.” Wrinkly guy grinned. “Your ancestors must have come down on him hard. I wonder how much pain they can inflict, even in the afterlife.”

  Eva looked inside herself, trying to find her father, trying to push the other voice to one side, and look deeper. She needed him. She needed her father to help make sense of all this.

  “Interesting. That is something we can explore, later. Right now, you are going to hand over the Dragon’s Tear. The real Dragon’s Tear. And I will only say this once. If it is a fake, you will be an orphan for good.”

  “I want to see my mom first,” Eva said.

  Crosshead sighed. “So untrusting. So predictable.” He held his arm out and ushered her forward. “Come, I’ll show you to her, and then you can give me the Dragon’s Tear. You can have a short reunion before you leave.”

  They went to the back of the warehouse, and Crosshead opened the door. Inside were what could be described as cells, but they were made up to look like rooms, with a bed, and a small table. In the corner, there was a cubicle; Eva presumed that functioned as a bathroom. The whole place made her shudder.

  Crosshead walked along the narrow corridor that ran along the width of the warehouse. Eva counted five doors, three of which were wide open all the rooms were the same, carbon copies, bed, chair, table, bathroom. When they reached the end of the corridor, the last two doors were shut. Crosshead stopped outside the second to the last door.

  “She is in here,” he said. As he spoke, there was a tremendous crash in the room next to it.

  “I’m coming for you, you sick bastard,” a voice called.

  Eva jumped, but Crosshead completely ignored it, as if nothing had happened. She wanted to call out, and tell the voice it was OK, help was coming, but she couldn’t.

  “Open it, I want to see her properly,” Eva said firmly. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as someone threw themselves against the door again.

  “Open it,” Crosshead said to Wrinkles. Wrinkles stepped forward and unlocked the door. As the door swung open, Eva half expected the room to be empty, but it wasn’t. There, sitting on the bed, looking pale and tired, was the woman she wanted to call mom.

  “The Dragon’s Tear, please,” Crosshead said, and she handed it over. “Thank you. Now, I suggest you say your glad hellos and sad goodbyes quickly.”

  She went in and the door shut behind her. The woman on the bed looked at her, her eyes wide, full of hope, and tears, which she quickly wiped away. Then she got up, and came toward Eva, who stood still, unable to move.

  “Evaine?” the woman asked.

  “Yes.” Eva wiped her hand over her eyes, refusing to cry. “Are you my mom?”

  “Yes. I am.” She reached out and took hold of Elaine’s hand. “I always wondered what you looked like.” She lifted her hand and touched Eva’s cheek. “You have your father’s eyes.”

  Eva pulled away and stepped back. “I can’t just play happy family. You left me outside a hospital. Abandoned me.”

  “Yes.” Tears flowed down her mom’s face. “I thought I was setting you free.”

  “No,” Eva shook her head. “I’ve never been free, I’ve always been the child nobody wanted.”

  “Oh, Eva. I thought you would find a family. I thought you would grow up and live a normal life.”

  Eva took a deep, shuddering breath and turned away from her mom. “This isn’t the time for recriminations. Crosshead said he’s passing us both on to other people. People who want information.”

  Her mom gasped. “I thought he was letting us go?”

  “No. We cannot be here when they arrive. They can’t have me, or you, or the Dragon’s Tear.”

  “We can’t escape, I’ve tried but there is no way.” Her mom went to the door and tried the handle, turning it slowly, careful that it made no sound. “We’re locked in.”

  “Someone is coming to help us,” Eva dared. She had to trust her mom, surely she wanted to get out of here too. “We have to be ready.”

  “Who? Evaine, these men will kill on sight to protect themselves and their plans.”

  “To resurrect someone. I know.”

  “To resurrect the last dragon’s mate.” Her face turned white, like fresh-fallen snow, against her dark hair, which was the same dark shade as Eva’s.

  “Why?” Eva asked. “What good would it do them?” She shook her head and walked around in a small circle. “This is madness. Only two days ago I was a bored bank clerk, now I’m talking about dragons as if they are real, and I’m the mate of a shifter.”

  “You are a what?” Her mom asked, more shocked about that news than Eva was about the dragon.

  “I am the mate of a shifter.”

  “And the daughter of a Night Hunter.”

  “Yeah, doubly cursed.”

  “No, doubly blessed.”

  “I thought Night Hunters were against shifter
s?”

  “I’m not a Night Hunter, Evaine. I was just lucky enough to be married to one of the bravest, most loyal Night Hunters the world has ever seen.” She came to Eva and took her hand once more, looking into Eva’s eyes as if willing her to believe her words. “He forged a peace between the Others and the Night Hunters. He saw how much we needed to work together.”

  “Against what?” Eva asked.

  “Against them.”

  “Them?” Eva pointed at the door, her voice hushed.

  “Yes. They want to start a war between humans and the Others.”

  “The Others, is that what you call shifters?”

  “Shifters, all of those who possess magic. The humans think it’s not real, it’s a trick. And when they find out, they will react. One small push and there will be so many dead. Both humans and Others. Your father learned their plans, so he hid the Dragon’s Tear. But before he could persuade his people to make peace with the Others, the Knights Templar killed him.”

  “Knights Templar?” Eva asked.

  “That is what they were once.”

  “And now?” Eva asked. Before her mom could answer, her world tilted on its axis and she sensed a rush of power sweeping through the building. Jack. “They are here to rescue us.” She took her mom’s hand and led her to the door, ready for when the squad overran the building. “There are only two, three people here. Right? Crosshead and two others.”

  Her mom shook her head. “Three people, but then there are the Enslaved.”

  “The Enslaved?” Wow, that was a word she didn’t like the sound of.

  “Yes.”

  Eva didn’t want to know what the Enslaved were. She wanted to go back to her life, where no monsters existed. A thought that was compounded when she heard the first eerie howl echo through the warehouse.

  “We have to get out. We have to warn Jack.”

  But her mom had retreated into the corner, her hands over her head as if trying to shield herself from the horrors outside the door.

  “No,” she yelled, banging the door. “No! Jack. Here. We’re here. Let me out. Let me fight.” Her fists pounded, and her voice called, but there was no answer above the howls of enslaved, and the growls of bears, interspersed by loud bangs. Some were distant, but some sounded as if they were in the room next to them.

  Save your strength. The voice in her head woke, only this time it was different; it told her what to do. And she listened.

  Dad?

  “Mom,” she said, turning to the woman crouched on the floor. “Dad says you have to get up. We have to be ready to fight.”

  Her mom peeled her arms away, her eyes large, as she pushed herself out of the corner and stood on her feet. “Your father?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’s there with you?” She looked at her daughter, hope in her eyes, and she got up, and went to Eva.

  “We have to try to get through the door,” Eva said, looking around the room and made a grab for the chair. It didn’t move; it was stuck to the floor. “Can we take the bed apart?”

  “It’s a metal frame. I doubt it, but we can try.” They flipped the bed over, the mattress and covers spilling on the floor. Eva lifted her leg, and began to kick at the frame, trying to fracture the metal and break off a bed leg.

  “What was that?” Eva stopped, looking at the dividing wall that separated their room from the one next to it. Whatever was in the next room was trying to get out. Or trying to get in. Another tremendous crash sounded, and the wall buckled. “It’s only a partition wall. It won’t stand much more of that.”

  “Hurry. If it’s an Enslaved, we are doomed.” They took turns to kick the bed, until the metal sheared off and the leg spun across the room. “Here, stay behind me.”

  “No, Mom, I’ll take it. You have been shut in here for how long?” She ran and picked the metal leg up.

  “But I’m supposed to protect you. I’m the parent.” Her mom looked upset. “Please. Let me do this.”

  “No. It’s OK.” The banging against the wall grew louder and bits of plaster flew across the room under the force. Eva shielded her eyes, and got ready to attack. Wooden slats showed, more plaster fell to the ground, and then she saw it, claws, ripping the wall to shreds, gray fur, and fangs, a red mouth. Eva felt physically sick.

  This was what a Night Hunter did. They fought creatures. She could do this.

  “Come get some,” she yelled, holding the metal leg like a baseball bat, ready to swing at its head. The creature leaped into the room, and she knew she was about to fight for her life.

  Chapter Eighteen – Jack

  Their plan was simple—watch each other’s backs, find Eva, retrieve the Dragon’s Tear. Jack’s experience told him that executing that plan was never going to be easy. They were going in blind. No idea what, or how many people, they were facing.

  And there was the first hiccup. They weren’t facing humans.

  Their arrival must have triggered an intruder alarm. No sooner had Lucas and Helena blown the first door, when there was a howling, whooping kind of a noise, that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. The noise was unnatural, which, coming from a man who had dealt with creatures from the Underworld, was saying something.

  “What the hell is that?” Lucas asked. The druid had fear in his eyes. The kid wasn’t as confident in his own powers as he would have everyone believe.

  Great, Jack thought. He’d better not fall apart on us. Time for a rousing speech. “Whatever it is, we stick together. Lads, I think we might be better fighting tooth and claw.”

  “Agreed,” Liam said, and the three brothers shifted simultaneously.

  Jack cursed. They should have brought Roman with them. His extra claws would be welcome against the creatures that were spilling out of the back of a truck, which was parked in the corner of the warehouse.

  “What the hell are those?” Lucas asked, backing behind the bears. Hell, he was backing behind Helena too, so much for chivalry. What did Jack expect from a druid?

  “Monsters,” Helena said, her hand going to her forehead. “I can hear them. Their voices are all jumbled up, as if they don’t know who they are, or what they are.” She stumbled backwards. “They want to die.”

  “What?” Jack asked.

  “They want to die, to end what they are. But they are slaves to a master who wants them to kill.”

  Helena looked bad, as if she had the world’s worst migraine, but she sucked it up and raised her hands, gathering her magic, ready to fight. The grim determination on her face gave Jack confidence: she planned to put these mutts out of their misery.

  The monsters, walking on two legs, but clothed in fur, with claws on the end of fingers, drew closer, trying to surround the squad. Then, just as they were about to attack, the howling began. It was full of pain and dread, full of death. And then Jack heard something worse—above all the howling, the sound of his mate calling his name.

  Let’s end this, he said to his bear, and then they lunged forward, their teeth sinking into the flesh of one of the monsters. Wolves. There was no doubt that was what they were as he tasted their flesh. These creatures were some kind of hybrid wolf. But on two legs! Who would dare breed such creatures?

  Jack could only guess at what the Dragon’s Tear was to be used for. If someone could create a wolven army, just think if they could create a dragonian army.

  The wolf he was fighting slashed at him with its claws, and was rewarded with a firebomb from Helena. Jack used the slight reprieve as a chance to look around. The bears were holding their own, with the help of Helena. And Lucas?

  No sign. What the hell!

  He turned to take on the wolf creatures once more, and this time got lucky. A slash with his claws across the wolf’s throat sent blood spurting out, and Jack moved in for the kill. As the light went out of the creature’s eyes, he saw the human within. Wolves crossed with men. Not shifters, more like the werewolves of myths and fables.

  Abominations. Now he sou
nded like the Night Hunters.

  Checking that the others had things under control, he followed his sense to where he knew his mate was. There was a door, toward the back of the warehouse. This was where she was. He knew it with every ounce of his being.

  Jack shouldered the door open; it was no match for his bear. Inside he expected to find a guard, but the corridor was empty. He stood for a second, four paws planted on the bare concrete floor, trying to work out where she was. That was when he heard something shatter, and a scream came to him from the end of the corridor.

  Not Eva. That was all he had time to think before his bear propelled himself forward, his claws scraping the ground. For a second, he hovered, the smooth concrete giving him no grip, then he was racing toward his mate. He would rescue her. He had to.

  Skidding to a halt, he smelled the wolf. Its scent mingled with that of his mate and he was scared, terrified these Templars had experimented on Eva. How would he live if she had turned into one of those abominations?

  “It’s all right, Mom.” He heard her voice and he sagged, brought down to his knees with relief. Jack soon recovered. There was no time to waste, he had to get Eva, had to get her away from the wolf.

  Jack’s bear backed up, and then he charged the door, his shoulder hitting it, and the wood splintered. Backing up, he charged again, bursting through, to find Eva, and her mom—and a man.

  Jack approached carefully, his hackles up, a low growl emanating from his throat.

  “Wait, Jack. He isn’t here to hurt us. He is a prisoner too,” Eva said, approaching him with her hands out, soothing him with her voice.

  Jack stalked up to the man, head down, jaws snapping. A wolf. Jack sniffed him, needing to know he did not have the ability to turn into one of those creatures. Lifting his head, he looked at the man and saw the sorrow in his eyes. What his pained expression hid, Jack didn’t want to know.

  Swiftly, Jack shifted into his human form. In two strides he was by Eva’s side, and he gathered her into his arms, checking that she was OK.

  “Jack,” she said, her voice insistent. “We have to go. Crosshead said there are more Templars coming.”