by R. E. Butler
"How did you get money?"
"When I got here, I went into something called the post office, and a very nice older woman told me I could sell my gems at the jewelry store and use the money to buy clothes. The jewelry store owner gave me money and also took a few of the gems in exchange for letting me use her husband's hunting cabin. It was just sitting empty since he passed away. She also gave me this car to use. She's been very helpful since I've been here on my own."
He frowned slightly. "You've just been here by yourself all this time?"
"I didn't know what to do with myself. I watch TV and read. There's a very nice library in town and the librarian is friendly. But when the weather got cold, I didn't like to be out in it so much, so although I hunt sometimes, mostly I have been by myself. Is that...is that bad?"
He reached for my hand and kissed the top of it. Setting it on his lap, he held it firmly and cast a smile at me. "No, lilenta, of course not. I'm just sorry you were alone for so long."
"It wasn't so bad." I assured him.
"Well, the den is anything but quiet and lonely. This is the first time that I can remember that I woke up on my own without someone's noises outside in the den waking me up first. Of course, I was also really, really worn out."
"Well, you almost died."
He chuckled, "That's not why I was worn out."
"Oh." Oh. I blushed and he laughed a little harder, squeezing my smaller hand in his large one.
As we drove, he told me about his life in the den. Some bears didn't like the den-life, like his brothers Ash and Axe. They had a tent they shared with their wife Elizabeth in the den, but their main home was outside on the property owned by the den. He and his brother Tavian were the last two children living with their parents. Their brother Griegs had disappeared after not being chosen by Elizabeth's powerful spell to bind herself to a bear as a guardian. They had not heard from him since that day, almost two years ago. Their youngest sister Daeton had been the object of an evil wizard's plan, and Elizabeth had saved her life by finding the mole in the den and then taking her to guards who would protect her. They'd not heard from her, either.
"It must be hard, for your parents, and you guys, too, not knowing where your family is." I said, rubbing my thumb along the top of his hand. I leaned over and put my head on his shoulder, taking a deep breath of the scent of him.
"It is. We know that Daeton is safe with her guards, but it would be nice to hear from her, though. But as far as Griegs goes, I just don't know what possessed him to take off the way he did. It really hurt my mom."
"But you and Tavian are happy in the den?" His brother sounded like a nice man, but they sounded like opposites. Lynk had taken the place of his brother Griegs as the den's prime warrior. It was a job of great status, reserved for only the most powerful male in the den. It was his job to defend his father, the king bear, and to lead the warriors if there was a battle. He was also a weapons' maker, fashioning swords, knives, bows, and anything else others might need.
My eyes widened. "How many battles have there been?"
He laughed. "None since Griegs left. Our den is peaceful. We have alliances with the other were-animals in the area and bear dens don't fight each other for territory like wolf packs do. We actually commune with other dens on full moons sometimes."
"Sounds nice."
"It is nice, sweetheart. Tavian and I are both happy in the den. It's all we've ever known and I don't know that I'd be happy away from them. More than my duties as prime warrior, my heart is there. Do you know what I mean?"
I did, actually. But I also knew from experience that a home could be made anywhere, and heart-wounds that went deep could heal. Like mine were healing just now. As Lynk talked animatedly about his family, I found myself growing more and more fond of him. It felt almost like love, as if I was standing on the edge of true love and he was waiting to catch me when I fell. In my old realm, I'd dated but I'd never had any very long relationships or anything that turned from casual to serious. I was actually glad for that at this moment, as I thought that Lynk might be the man that would be my first - and last - real relationship.
His brother Tavian was a den caretaker. He cooked meals for the den and also was a great hunter. "But you tracked me in the snow when I was almost dead, lilenta. I think you could give him a run for his money." Lynk’s lips split into an easy smile, showing a hidden dimple in his cheek.
He shared more with me about his family and his life in the den. It sounded incredible and like nothing I'd ever heard about before. Unlike the cold fairy world I'd grown up in, where the wrong outfit could get you exiled from someone's home as if you'd stabbed them with a knife, the bear den was full of love and acceptance. It sounded more magical than anything I'd ever been privy too.
“Why are we stopping here?” I asked as he parked in front of a large, red barn in the middle of a snowy field. In the distance, I could see woods but the only house I'd seen was behind us.
“This is the entrance to our den.” He got out of the car, came around to my side, and opened the door for me. I peered around him as I took his outstretched hand and let him pull me from the car.
“I thought that we would be stopping at the house back there.” I said as we started walking towards the barn. We'd passed a large white farmhouse a few hundred yards back.
“That house belongs to my brothers Ash and Axe and their wife Elizabeth. Remember I told you they don't live underground in the den. They have twin sons who will be one this coming summer.”
I said what I'd been thinking when he mentioned the trio the first time. “Your brothers share a wife?”
He looked down at me with a smile. “It happens with our kind at times, but it’s not all that common. Sometimes two males will both feel the mate-call to the same female, and if they are all willing, then they will share her together, two husbands and one wife."
"What if they're not willing?"
"Well, it depends. If the female wants only one male, then the other would most likely step down completely. If the males aren't interested in sharing her and she would be pleased with either as a mate, they would most likely fight for her hand. The winner would become her husband and the loser would probably leave their den to save face."
”But it's not normal?"
He chuckled. "Not really. But it happens. There are significantly fewer females born than males of our kind. Because of that, our kind occasionally mates with others outside of our were-bear species and they're brought into the den as a treasured member. My brothers' wife is a witch." I couldn't help but smile, thinking he told me that bit of trivia for my own benefit. After all we'd shared since he woke up, I had no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be with Lynk and that he wanted to be with me. The thoughts I'd had of the danger in my previous life were all but forgotten in his strong arms.
He pulled open the large door enough for us to go inside and I was greeted with the inside of the barn and an opening in the floor with stairs that led underground. With his hand firmly in mine after he shut the door behind us, we walked together down a few dozen stairs until we stopped at the bottom and I was instantly in awe.
The underground den seemed to stretch for miles. Traditional Native American style teepees were clustered in groups of three or four around a central stone-encircled fire pit. The clusters of tents circled a large open area in the center of the underground city where booths stood laden with goods and food. People were working or milling around. Behind the circle of teepees were animal pens and crops with growing lights strung over them.
“This is incredible, Lynk.” I finally tore my gaze away from the sights.
“I’m glad you like it, lilenta. Let me show you around.”
We walked past the tents and into the center of the city which he said they called the market.
He pointed to two men and a woman who were talking seriously in front of a small table that was laden with what looked like bundles of herbs and one very old book. "Those three are my two
brothers, Ash and Axe, and their wife Elizabeth. They're working on a spell for the den, so I don't want to disturb them right now, but they'll be happy to meet you later."
I nodded and he turned me towards a group of young men. He greeted them and introduced me as his woman. I didn’t say anything in front of his friends until we were away from them.
“Your woman?” I tugged on his hand.
He stopped and looked down at me. “I’m sorry; I should have said something to you in the car. I feel really connected to you, Shaylee. I know we just met and I don’t want to freak you out, but I'm certain you’re my mate. And we’re not bonded yet, so you’re technically single in the eyes of the den. I was just making sure that the single males we talked to knew that you were mine. I...damn it.” He dropped my hand and closed his eyes with a groan. “I did not handle this right at all.”
Warmth skated through me at his admission. He did like me! I put my hands on his cheeks and he opened his dark eyes to me. “I was just teasing you. I liked it, being called your woman. I haven’t had anyone care about me since my mom died. And I was thinking that the reason that I found you in the first place was that I was meant to. Because we were supposed to find each other.”
His eyes widened in awe and he pulled me into his arms and lifted me off the ground as he kissed me. “I’m going to find my family. You can stay here. You’re perfectly safe.”
“Okay. Don’t be too long.”
“I won’t, lilenta.”
He kissed me once more and then moved away. I began a slow tour of the market area again, just moving around and returning smiles and greetings to the people that I saw. The fairy city I had grown up in was very modern, but also had a medieval feel to it. Like someone had dropped Henry the VIIIs castle in the middle of New York City. The bear den had a pleasant mixture of modern technology and old-world feel.
I turned in a slow circle, looking up at the high ceiling with the vents to let out the smoke from the multiple fires. I took a deep breath as I let my eyes drift shut, inhaling the scents around me - deep earth, roasting meat, smoke - and then I smelled Lynk. Opening my eyes, I saw him kneeling in front of a cooking fire and turning a long handled spit with a hunk of meat on it. I smiled and walked quickly to him, the scent of him like a siren call to my heart and my body. He wasn't wearing a shirt for some reason, but I enjoyed the view of his broad back and beautiful coppery skin. I laid my hands on his shoulders as I knelt behind him and dropped my forehead to the center of his back. He went very still.
I slid his thick hair across to his opposite shoulder as I placed a kiss on his back, and then another, moving up the expanse of smooth, warm skin. I finished my path with a single kiss to the crux of his neck. He was tall enough that I had to stand now and lean over, but I didn't mind, sliding one hand around his back and the other across his bare chest. I took a deep breath and said, "You smell so good to me, I can't even describe it. It's like you were made for me." A rumbling growl sounded low in his chest and I smiled. I loved it when his bear responded to me. "Kiss me now or show me your tent," I demanded with a lusty tone. He turned his face to mine as soon as I finished talking, thrusting his tongue into my mouth. My hand fisted in his hair as I leaned over further and his hands gripped my arm across his chest as if I were a life preserver and he was adrift at sea.
Wait.
Something didn't feel quite the same as it had when I kissed Lynk earlier. It felt good. Just different. Almost like it wasn't Lynk at all.
"What the hell are you doing to my woman, Tavian?" The mouth plundering mine was ripped away with a savage growl and I fell to my knees with a startled gasp. Lynk was growling loudly, fury etched across his face. Lynk was also fully clothed and the man I'd been kissing was shirtless. And definitely not Lynk. Embarrassment colored my face and I wanted to sink into the ground. I stood up slowly, looking at the two men. They could almost be twins; their resemblance was so similar. But the half naked Tavian had a slightly leaner build and was just barely taller.
"Lynk, I'm sorry," I started and he swung his head to me slowly, gazing at me with dark eyes and fangs peeking from his mouth. I stopped speaking and took a step back.
"You're freaking her out, Lynk." Tavian said, moving between us. That seemed to piss him off more because his growl turned into a roar. Suddenly we weren't alone anymore as others rushed around us, and Tavian backed into me and pushed me away from the growling, furious Lynk.
"What is going on here?" A man demanded. He looked like Lynk and Tavian, and I figured him for their father by the way he looked at them like wayward children.
Lynk's voice was edged with rage and dripping with accusation. "Tavian was kissing my woman."
I tried to sidestep around Tavian, but he put his arm out to catch me. Trapped, I said, "It was all my fault, Lynk, I'm sorry. I thought he was you. His scent...it just called to me the way that yours did. I'm so sorry." Tears filled my eyes as betrayal scattered across his features.
"Wait. Did you say that you felt called to Tavian also?" The man standing next to Lynk asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
I nodded and wiped at the tears that had caught on my cheek. Lynk stiffened and his fangs receded and his eyes returned to their normal dark brown. He folded his arms and said, "It's irrelevant. I found her first, she is mine."
A growl rumbled angrily in Tavian's chest. I clenched my teeth against my smart retort that I was my own person. I didn't think my snarky comment would help this situation at all.
"There is nothing irrelevant about the mate-call, son." The man said. Shaking his head, he called for a woman named Filene and said, "Please take the young Shaylee to our tent and get her something to drink, my love."
She was tall and lovely, with her black hair caught in a ponytail at her neck. She wore faded jeans and a button down shirt. "Come, Shaylee. My husband Adriel needs to speak with our sons."
I nodded to her and took her offered hand, casting a glance back at Lynk and Tavian. I was just too humiliated for words.
We reached a large tent and she held the flap open for me and I ducked inside. In one corner was a couch and television, in another was a kitchen area and at the back was a large bed and a draped area that I assumed was a bathroom. I sat down when she motioned for me to, and she busied herself in the kitchen and brought me a plate of cookies and a mug of coffee.
"My name is Filene. I'm Adriel's mate, queen of the den. Lynk and Tavian are my sons."
Humiliation bloomed fresh on my cheeks again and she tsked. "Now, now. There's no need to be embarrassed by following your feelings. Why don't you tell me everything that happened."
I shared the story with her, of feeling like I was being called to Lynk, how I found him nearly dead and healed him.
“Thank you for saving my son,” she said, hugging me. Pulling away, she said, "For our kind, Shaylee, scent is one of the most powerful motivators to finding a mate. Often, a male and female will meet by chance, but they'll know instantly that the connection is sincere because of the scent call. Lynk could pick you out of a crowd a mile away. And clearly, for fairies, there is something in his scent that called to you, too."
"But if I really am supposed to be with Lynk, then why would I have mistaken his brother for him?"
She frowned in thought. "Did he smell the same to you?"
"Yes. But after kissing him I knew it wasn't Lynk."
"How did it feel?" She gazed at me surreptitiously.
I blushed harder. "The way that I felt when I was with Lynk. Kissing Tavian felt right, but it was also different. It made me pause, but before I could pull away and see what was wrong, Lynk showed up. I didn't mean to hurt him."
"Of course you didn't. You didn't do anything wrong, I promise. My husband will get to the bottom of things and then we'll see where we are, okay?"
I nodded numbly, sipping at the hot brew and trying to calm my racing mind. I only knew a few things for certain: I liked Lynk and wanted to be part of his life. He liked me and believed we w
ere meant to be together. Lynk and Tavian smelled the same to me, and scent was an important factor in bears finding their mates. My stomach tightened. What if they wanted to fight over me? I shuddered at the thought. I didn't want Lynk or his brother to get hurt over me, and I didn't want one of them to leave their family in disgrace.
But the sharing? Lynk sure didn't look like he thought the idea of Tavian and I together was appealing, and although I found Tavian to be as equally handsome as Lynk, I didn't know him well enough to say whether I could come to care for him the same as I did for Lynk already. The way I felt about Lynk had come on so fast and strong, and it was easy to be with him in the little bubble of the cabin with no one else around. But here in the den? What would others think of all that had happened?
I pushed away the little shiver of excitement that being with two men gave me, knowing that it was probably foolish to even entertain that idea when they were most likely going to try to beat each other silly over me. No, I didn't want that. I didn't want something as painful as losing a family member hanging over the relationship. Because if Lynk won, Tavian would leave. And if Tavian won, then I'd be with someone I didn't know and Lynk would be gone. Neither of those scenarios sounded very promising at the moment. All I could do was wait, and send a silent prayer to whoever was in charge of were-bear love that I might be able to catch a break with this one. But that wasn't really my kind of luck.
Chapter 4
"Shaylee, this is my husband Adriel." Filene returned after a while, with Lynk's father. He shook my hand and sat on the couch next to me.
"How are you doing?" He asked.
"I'm still a little freaked out. Are, um, are Lynk and Tavian okay?"
He sighed and attempted a smile. "Lynk is confused and worried, and Tavian is anxious to meet you formally."
Oh hell. "Why is Lynk worried?"