Storm Bear

by Bianca D’Arc

  To Ace’s admittedly spotty knowledge of history, nothing like this town had ever been attempted before. Concentrating so much magic here—so many bears, and now, mer and mages—well, it made the place a juicy target for their enemies, but it also really concentrated the power in one place. And the knowledge. Maybe they invited attack here, but they were also better able to defend from this position of strength in numbers than any smaller group would be alone.

  The town had also been designed by warriors. They’d taken every advantage of terrain, elevation and landscape into account. The town itself was surrounded by homesteads, which were placed strategically for defense from outside. He’d bet his bottom dollar that the outer perimeter of every property was patrolled and marked. Probably also under high-tech surveillance, at all times. These military bears knew what they were doing, after all. They’d been highly-trained and vastly experienced Special Operatives for too many years to go soft in civilian life.

  Then, there were the witches. And the mer.

  So much magic here.

  Just as Ace had that thought, he saw Sabrina make a gesture, and the now-familiar power of hers reached outside the circle and blew strong toward the ocean. Whitecaps appeared suddenly, in a straight line headed straight for the sea monsters he could just make out by their disturbance in the ocean far, far out. Sabrina’s winds were pushing the creatures even farther away.

  Ace stood to watch. He hadn’t expected them to unleash her winds on anything, but it was truly a sight to behold. And, he noted with pride, it was much more controlled than anything he’d seen from her before. Maybe they were making progress here. In just a few hours, it sure looked like they’d been able to help her channel her energies in just the one direction, in a controlled burst, unlike the more chaotic release on the highway but still quite impressive.

  When the winds died down, Ace’s attention focused on Sabrina. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected. After the highway incident, she’d pretty much collapsed from the power drain. Would she be as drained, now? He was almost afraid to check her condition, but she looked okay. She was standing on her own two feet without support from anyone, and she was smiling. Beaming, actually. She looked really happy and proud of herself.

  Ace felt happy for her, as well. She’d controlled that power, and she’d withstood the release of it without draining herself too much. He wanted to pick her up and twirl her around. She’d done so well!

  Ace looked back at the ocean and tried to gauge how far the leviathan had been pushed by Sabrina’s power. The creature certainly looked a lot smaller and farther away now, but it was hard to gauge exact distances from this angle. He wondered if the mages or the bears would have some way to quantify it, and what they would glean about Sabrina’s power from it.

  It sure looked like they’d been able to help her gain a bit of control over her whirlwinds, which he counted as a step in the right direction. Apart from the fact that he’d wanted to visit Ezra and Thea, and see Grizzly Cove for himself, he was really glad they’d come here because there really were people here who could help Sabrina figure out her new powers. And she could direct her energy at something that really needed fixing here. The leviathan was a real threat, and Ace knew Sabrina well enough by now to know that she enjoyed helping people. Using her talent in this way probably gave her a great sense of satisfaction, which would go a long way toward rebuilding her confidence.

  The wolves up north had knocked her down. They hadn’t supported her in her time of crisis, and their lack of faith had badly interfered with her own sense of self. It would take time, and good work like she’d done here today, to bring back her faith in her own abilities. And, judging by the smiles on the faces of the people inside the circle with Sabrina, these magic users were encouraging and supportive. They would be able to help her both magically, and in regaining her self-esteem.

  It looked to Ace like they were wrapping up for the day, so he waited for the group to exit the stone circle. He did not want to mess with whatever residual magic might be hanging around inside the ring. Magic that powerful would not have dissipated so quickly. Any bear worth the name knew that.

  Sabrina caught sight of him, and her whole face lit up in a smile. He found himself answering with what was probably an equally goofy grin, but he didn’t care. She made a beeline for him the moment she stepped outside the circle, and he opened his arms and gave her a hug of welcome. If anyone raised their eyebrows, he didn’t really care. Bears were known huggers. Let them think he was just allowing his inner fur ball to dictate his actions.

  Unless, of course, Sabrina didn’t mind. He hadn’t really talked to her about their relationship, and how public or private she wanted to keep it. He’d abide by whatever she decided, but they had to have a conversation about it, first.

  He wasn’t a guy who exactly liked talking about his feelings, but his inner bear was pushing him to figure out a few things about his relationship with Sabrina. The bear wanted answers, and the man was starting to crave them, too. Both sides of his being wanted to know exactly where he stood with her and how far they could take this. He might’ve only known her a couple of days, but she felt…important. Like someone he wanted to be with…possibly…forever.

  It hit him while he held her in his arms, hugging her close. She could very well be his mate.

  Stunned, he opened his eyes to find two very old ladies looking at him with knowing, indulgent smiles. They grasped each other’s arms and giggled like schoolgirls, despite their advanced ages, then walked off, arm in arm, probably planning some sort of conspiracy of grannies. Ace found the whole thing amusing. Hell, everything was butterflies and unicorns when he had Sabrina in his arms.

  Where she belonged.

  Sabrina felt triumphant after her morning within the magic circle. She’d learned a lot about control and centering herself and her power. These were the things mages were taught by their mentors, but Sabrina had never had a mentor. No one had been interested in teaching someone with only a little weather magic to call her own, before now.

  Ace took her to the bakery for lunch. She was really hungry, as the others had warned her might happen. Apparently, the expenditure of magical energy took something out of the mage that had to be replaced with both rest and calories. She wasn’t so fried that she needed to go to sleep immediately, but she was definitely hungry, and the giant sandwich Ace brought over from the counter to their small table was a welcome sight.

  They ate while she told him about her discoveries and how nice the other magic users were. She told him about the bear shifter granny from Russia and the Italian granny who was Urse and Mellie’s relation. She also told him what she’d observed about Gus, but the male bear was a bit of a mystery to her. A shaman, he’d said, though she wasn’t exactly sure what that meant in the context of shifters.

  Ace told her a little about his meeting with the town council, and she wondered if they would allow him to stay in town on a more permanent basis, if that’s what he wanted. Everything she’d seen of the town so far made her want to stay, and she wasn’t even a bear.

  “Whoa, you hear that?” Ace’s head was cocked toward the glass window they were sitting near. “Sorry. Give me a couple of minutes. I think someone’s going to need a hand.”

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, puzzled.

  “Sorry,” Ace looked sheepish, even as he stood up. “I keep forgetting you don’t have shifter hearing.” She wasn’t sure whether to be delighted or insulted. “The vehicle that just pulled up isn’t going to start, again. Not with that rattle coming from the engine. I’m going to see if I can prevent further damage.”

  Sabrina looked out the window to see a Sheriff’s Department SUV parked at the curb. She saw Ace walk over to the man who was just getting out of the vehicle. They shook hands and exchanged a few words, then they went around to the hood of the big car and opened it. Ace leaned in and did something, then straightened. Both men went around to the back of the large vehicle, and the driver opened t
he back door.

  When Ace reappeared, he had a few tools in his hands. He and the other man then spent a few minutes working on the engine. It looked like Ace did the work while the other man handed him tools and asked questions. Sabrina kept eating her sandwich while she watched the show. The man in the SUV was wearing a uniform, so he had to be a deputy or maybe even the actual sheriff, and from the way they were talking, it sure looked like Ace knew the man already.

  When Ace finished, the uniformed man went to the driver’s door and cranked the starter at Ace’s urging, and then, Ace cocked his head and listened to the engine for a moment. His smile was clear to read. Whatever had bothered him about the way the engine had sounded before had been fixed.

  The officer shut off the engine, again, and got out of the vehicle. He and Ace shook hands after Ace shut the hood, and then, they walked into the bakery together. Since their table was near the door, Ace brought the other man over and introduced him.

  “Sabrina, this is Sheriff Brody. Nell is his mate,” Ace said, indicating the woman behind the counter who had taken their order and prepared their food.

  Sabrina said hello to the man, smiling. “Nell is a doll,” she said, truthfully. “It’s nice to meet you.” She gestured toward the window and the vehicle beyond. “Car trouble?”

  “Not anymore, thanks to Ace,” Brody said, slapping Ace on the back. “We’ve been talking a bit about how there’s no real mechanical expertise in town, yet, and Ace would certainly fit the bill, judging by what I just witnessed.” Brody grinned. “I mean, all of us like to think we can take anything apart and put it back together, but most of us are better with weapons systems than with motor vehicles. A couple of the guys tried to figure out what’s been making that whirring sound in the old wagon, but none of us could find it. Give Ace five minutes and a couple of basic tools, and it’s fixed.”

  Sabrina could tell the sheriff was pleased. It was like he’d just administered a test, and his star pupil had come through with flying colors. Come to think of it, this probably had been a set up—a test—all along. Shifters were crafty, that way.

  “He’s a wonder, that’s for sure,” she said, giving Ace her vote of confidence. “He knows motorcycles really well, too. He did all the negotiating and picking out when it came time to buy my bike, and he got me a really good one.” He’d paid for it, too, which was something she’d have to talk to him about if she wanted to keep the bike—which she did. But that was a topic for another time.

  Nell came over with a platter of cookies and handed them to Ace before snuggling under the outstretched arm of her bear shifter mate. “Thanks for looking at old Bessie,” she said to Ace. “I know some noise she’s been making lately has been driving Brody nuts, but of course, I can’t hear it.”

  “Noise is gone,” Brody reported, kissing his mate on the temple.

  “Really?” Nell looked impressed. “Then, the cookies are on the house,” she said, grinning at Ace.

  “Thanks, ma’am,” Ace told her, looking a bit embarrassed. “It wasn’t that big a deal.”

  “Maybe not to you,” she said, “but it is to me. Now, I don’t have to humor him by trying to listen for something that’s completely out of the range of my hearing.” She laughed, patting her mate’s chest as she reached up to kiss him quickly, then ducked away to go back to work.

  “I’d be happy to assist with any repairs you all may need while I’m in town, if it’s really something you need help with,” Ace offered.

  Brody reached out to shake on Ace’s offer, seeming truly glad. “That’s kind of you, and we’ll definitely take you up on that. Drop by the sheriff’s office anytime, and I’ll show you around to the motors that need expert attention. I’m sorry to say, there are more than a few in town at the moment.”

  Brody took his leave then went over to the counter where his mate waited with a large shopping bag she’d filled with food. They talked for a while, exchanging a few steamy kisses Sabrina pretended not to see, and then, he left, taking the large bag with him. He flashed Ace a thumbs up through the window when the engine turned over—apparently without the annoying sound it had sported before. He drove away while Ace and Sabrina lingered over the remains of their meal and the bonus cookies Nell had given them.

  “So, are you thinking of staying in Grizzly Cove?” Sabrina asked, breaking into his thoughts as Ace munched on a cookie and mused over what had just happened with the sheriff.

  “Maybe, though I’d have to be invited. The core group controls who they allow to settle here,” he told her.

  “Well, it looked like the sheriff was giving you an audition as a mechanic. Maybe they’ll like your skill set enough to offer the invite,” she said, shrugging as if her observations were nothing special.

  Ace looked at her speculatively. Few other people would have picked up on the audition, as she called it, so easily. She was not only powerful, but perceptive. The more he got to know Sabrina, the more she fascinated him.

  He especially liked the way she had seemed to blossom under the care of those people in the circle this morning. They had treated her well. As an equal, judging by her positive response to them. They had taught her and helped her, unlike the werewolves up in Canada. The Lords would be getting the full report about Tobias and the way he ran his group, that was for sure.

  Sabrina had been very enthusiastic in her response to both the strega sisters, Urse and Mellie, as she now called them, and the two grannies, Nonna and Babushka. As far as Ace knew, those were just two foreign words that meant the same thing—grandmother. The two old ladies had really made an impression on Sabrina. She said less about the male, which was probably good for Ace’s sanity. His inner grizzly had been getting too easily riled when Sabrina was around single males.

  The mated men were okay, but the bachelors had better mind their manners, or Ace might just take a swipe at one and start a minor war. The last thing he really wanted was to fight any of the bears in Grizzly Cove, but he was becoming increasingly irrational when it came to Sabrina. He knew that had to mean something, but he didn’t want to think about it, just then. No, he’d rather look into her pretty blue eyes and ponder the ways he’d make her scream his name in pleasure later…when they were alone.

  “But, if they do invite you to stay, what about your brothers?” she asked as she snagged another cookie off the plate. “I thought you said it was rare that you three were traveling separately. Do you think they’d like to join you here, if you stay? And would they be welcome?”

  Ace sat back in his chair and stretched a little. “All good questions, to which I have few answers. I can’t imagine settling down anywhere without my brothers. If that was a condition of staying, that would make it really hard to say yes. But, I do have to say, my bear feels a lot more stable here than I expected. It’s like we’re all one big Clan, not a bunch of solo bears competing for territory. It’s a lot different than what I’m used to, and that’s all down to the core group that founded the place. They’re a true family, even if they’re not all related by blood.”

  “I have to say, these people are night and day different from the werewolves I knew up north,” she agreed.

  “Bears rule. Wolves drool,” he replied, grinning as he smoothed down his shirt. She laughed, and he tried to capture the joyful sound in his memory to take out on rainy days and bring a bit of sunshine to his heart. “The climate would take some adjusting to, though,” he observed as clouds moved in over the cove. “It’s very different than Phoenix.”

  “You live in Phoenix?” She sounded surprised, and he realized again that they hadn’t really known each other that long, even if it seemed like his soul recognized her on a much deeper level than most folks he knew.

  “We do—or, maybe at this point, I should say, we did. Until Ezra called for help, we worked for a very exclusive custom shop, but then, Ezra needed some backup, so we went to Sturgis for the motorcycle rally and gave him a hand,” Ace revealed. He wanted her to know about him and his
brothers. He didn’t want to be a mystery to her. He wanted her to know it all and like him, anyway. “We originally planned to go back to Phoenix after, but all three of us felt pulled in different directions, so we sat down and talked it over. We decided to do a little solo adventuring, which is something we’ve done in the past, on occasion. We always get back together after our walkabouts, but I’m not sure what will happen, this time. Things have gotten more complicated than I expected.”

  “Because of me?” She suddenly smelled both nervous and sad.

  He reached across the small table and placed his hand over hers. “Not like you think,” he was quick to tell her. “It started when I tried to visit my old friend, Rocky, and got sent straight to the Lords. I didn’t expect that—or anything that came after—but I don’t regret a moment of it. I’m glad I got to be the one to help you. No, scratch that. I’m thrilled I got to be the one to help you, and I’m hoping we can do a lot more to help resolve your situation.” He pitched his voice lower, using a more intimate tone. “I don’t want our relationship to end anytime soon. I’m in no hurry to leave.” He met her gaze and tried to see into her mind to get at what she was thinking. “I hope that’s okay with you.”

  Her smile was his answer. It lit the dim places in his soul. “It’s more than okay,” she told him. “I’ve kind of gotten used to having you around.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Sabrina’s heart was fluttering madly at the near-declaration. Too bad they were in a public place, or she’d jump his bones and nail down just how long he wanted their relationship—and she was thrilled to hear him use that word in reference to them—to last. She was starting to dream about what it would be like to live here, in this idyllic place with these amazing, accepting people…and Ace, of course. He was the main draw.

  Grizzly Cove had its attractions, but she really couldn’t imagine making a life here without Ace. He was the one that made it all possible. He’d become so important to her over the past few days, it hardly seemed real, at times. Yet, there it was. She was finding it hard to contemplate her future without him in it.