“God, I love you, Gretchen. You walk in and see me in this state and don’t give me a hard time. Bless you.”
Gretchen wrapped her arms around her daughter-in-law and held her close without squeezing too hard. Veronica sank into the comfort and love she felt there.
“Darlin’, you’ve dealt with more than any woman should. You’re allowed to cut loose now and again.”
The ringing phone drew a pained groan from Veronica and, before she could move to answer it, Sam pulled the receiver from the cradle. “Hewwo, Mewer wesidence.”
Gretchen gave her a gentle squeeze and released her. They both were smiling like idiots at how absolutely adorable her cubs were.
“Momma!” he hollered. “It’s f’you!”
“So much for his impeccable manners,” she mumbled, her mother-in-law chuckling behind a hand.
“Hello?” She couldn’t help smiling as the boys ran circles in the living room, climbing all over the sofa like it was a fallen log. The smile slid away when she heard the caller’s voice.
“Oh, hello, Elder Watkins. To what do I owe the pleasure— Um, yes. Uh huh.” She nodded, not daring to look at Gretchen. “Of course. I’ll be there. Thank you.”
It seemed like her hand moved for an eternity before setting the phone back in its cradle. Her mind was whirling. Why did Elder Watkins want to see her and why did it have to be right now? Had he heard about Jess already? Was she going to be banished? What about her boys?
Of course it could be nothing. Don’t count on it, babe, Keith’s voice rang through her head. The head elder of the Kodiak clan doesn’t call you to his office for coffee and crumpets.
Summoning every ounce of courage she had, she dared to meet her mother-in-law’s eyes but she was running after the boys, trying to get them to pack an overnight bag. The headache that had been threatening her sanity moments before was replaced by the same dreadful fear she’d experienced when she opened her front door one late night to find the sheriff on her front step, his hat in his hands and a mournful look on his face.
She had no idea what was coming but she braced herself for anything.
~ * ~ * ~
Veronica shook the nerves from her hand before knocking gently on Elder Watkins’ office door. She sucked in a couple of deep breaths while she waited for a response, but they did little to calm her. Acid churned in her empty stomach and her skin was flush. Her bear was all kinds of antsy, which didn’t help matters at all.
The door whooshed open. “Mrs. Muir! Please come in.” The elder ushered her into the small room with a wide grin.
The two of them in the room would have been cozy but the other three people crowded around a card table made it positively cramped. The two men stood when she entered, but the woman stayed seated with her back to Veronica. Her gut clenched when she recognized Max.
“Please, let me make introductions,” said Elder Watkins. “Veronica Muir, this is Max Pearce. Brother Max consults for clans all over the world, and he’s here to help ours stay strong.”
It was possible the elder didn’t know about her connection to Max, but her bear’s hackles were raised. No, he knew, and that little comment about the clan was a dig at her for even thinking about straying outside their species.
“And this, as I’m sure you’re well aware, is Yoren Brand, one of our community’s most prominent businessmen…and most eligible bachelor.”
Pride nearly dripped from Watkins’ beaming round face. He held his hands behind his back and was bouncing back and forth on his toes, clearly pleased with himself for some reason.
“And I believe you’re quite close with our last guest…”
The woman swiveled in her seat and glanced sheepishly up at Veronica. Grace!
“Ms. Harnig has joined us to help you see the wisdom of the council’s decision.”
Watkins’ words were nearly lost from the buzzing in Veronica’s brain. Not only was she still suffering from the after-effects of Grace’s disgusting cocktails, but things were happening much to fast for her to process them. But his last two words finally sank in.
“Decision? What decision?”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? Here, have a seat.” He pointed to an empty plastic lawn chair — one that had most definitely seen better days — and moved around the card table to his own seat, an old oak office chair that would have probably fetched a pretty penny at an antique store, if it wasn’t so beat up.
Grace’s refusal to meet her pointed stare ramped up Veronica’s unease at this whole situation. Max was paler than she’d ever seen him. He looked extremely stressed out. Yoren just looked bored.
She’d seen him around town but they didn’t run in the same circles so they’d never met. All the females of her clan lusted after him, even the happily mated ones, but he’d never done much for her. Sure, he was a fine specimen — tall, rugged, bulky from working out and eating the finest foods, and he did have those unusual blue eyes — but the arrogant air he carried around always put her off. She never understood why Grace was always trying to match them up…
No! She whipped her head around to Grace, who was on the other side of Yoren, still refusing to look at her. This is a set-up!
It all added up. Max was hired by the Kodiak Clan council to find a mate for Yoren. Grace had suggested a number of times that she date Yoren. Yoren was sitting here, smug as ever. And the council had gotten wind of her relationship with Jess.
Fury built inside Veronica but she kept it in check. How dare they dictate who she should be with? How dare they push her to mate with Yoren? Who the hell did they think the were?!
They’re the clan’s leaders, that’s who. Keith’s voice was sympathetic but firm. Besides, weren’t you the one who thought that mating without love was a good idea?
Who’s side are you on, anyway?
Yours, sweetheart. I’m always on your side, but don’t act surprised that the clan isn’t keen on you falling in love with a human. You knew what was at stake and you gave it your all. I’m proud of you for that. But Jess has made his decision, and now you have consequences to deal with.
What should I do? Tell me! She hated how whiny she sounded, even though the conversation was in her own head.
Why don’t we find out what they want first?
Smartass.
Love you forever!
A tingle at the bridge of her nose warned her tears were on the verge of falling. She missed Keith fiercely, and now her heart was breaking all over again from losing Jess. She tried to bring her bear forward to give her some strength, but she was off whimpering in a corner. Big baby!
Maybe Grace was right. Maybe she should forget about love altogether when choosing her mate. Mating with a were like Yoren would make her life so much easier. Not only would the boys never want for anything, but her heart could never be broken because she doubted she could ever love someone like him.
Most weres developed a deep and unbreakable bond after mating, but she knew of several ‘matings of convenience’ — where the couple didn’t have that bond — in her clan alone. They seemed happy enough. And it was always possible that some kind of affection might develop over time. Weirder things had happened.
Swallowing her anger and fear, Veronica took a deep breath.
“Let’s do this thing.”
~ * ~ * ~
“Dammit, why is there no cell coverage in this damn town!” Max nearly threw his all-but-useless phone against the wall, the only thing staying his hand was the small hope that it would ring and Bethany would be on the other end.
It had taken surprisingly little effort on his part to convince Veronica to go on a brunch date with Yoren the next morning — in fact, she’d brought it up — but a deal was a deal and he’d expected the Brotherhood to release Bethany by now. Or at least send him some word.
Elder Watkins had slyly ushered him out of his tiny office ahead of everyone else, once the details of the big date had been settled, and closed the door before Max c
ould ask him when he’d get Bethany back. No doubt he didn’t want the others overhearing, since kidnapping a were’s mate — human or not — would cause other clans to come down hard on Kodiak.
Max had considered contacting other clans for support but thought better of it. If the Brotherhood felt the slightest amount of outside pressure, they might do something drastic just to prove a point. He couldn’t risk it…yet.
By mid-morning, Max’s patience ran out. He hadn’t slept since the night before and the thought of eating had long abandoned him. He should have heard something from them by now.
Now they were going to hear from him.
~ * ~ * ~
“Max!” Bethany’s scream ricocheted in her own head like a ping pong ball on meth. The pain scorched every nerve ending in her body, coursing through her like a wildfire. She’d never known the human body could withstand this much abuse.
Where was Max? Hadn’t they contacted him? If he didn’t get there soon, it would be all over — she couldn’t take much more of this torture.
Through a red haze of anguish, Bethany saw a man enter the room. He wasn’t very tall and he was backlit so she couldn’t see his face, but she could tell instantly that he was a were.
Oh, fan-freakin-tastic, she thought in a rare lucid moment. Max will be so proud that I can finally spot a were. Tears slipped unheeded past eyelids swollen from hours of crying.
“Leave her to me.” She barely heard his words above the roar of blood rushing through her veins.
As he drew closer, an eerie calmness washed over her. It would all be over soon. All this pain, all this fear would vanish. When he leaned his face close into hers, Bethany’s eyes widened. She knew those gray eyes. But how?
Red agony consumed her, blocking out all thought. When the blackness of oblivion approached, she welcomed it with a shriek.
Veronica expected to be nervous while she was getting ready for her brunch date with Yoren, but she couldn’t muster enough energy to care. She felt numb, almost dead inside. Regardless of how she was feeling, though, she didn’t neglect her appearance, choosing a casual floral print summer dress that accentuated her curves and tucking her auburn hair up into a loose knot. Zapping a few tendrils with the curling iron Bethany had left there softened her features and a touch of lip gloss gave her full lips a pouty look.
She thought about adding the sweet copper belt she’d worn for her date with Jess but the tickle in her nose and lump in her throat changed her mind. What she didn’t need was any reminder of Jess during her date with Yoren.
She tidied up around the house, but there wasn’t much she could do to make her place meet Yoren’s undoubtedly high standards. It was old and kind of dumpy, especially compared to the new house he’d just had built last summer.
Rumor had it that the place was stuffed to the gills with all the latest luxuries. Someone whispered in her ear that it even had a movie theater — not just a TV room, but a big movie-viewing room with a screen that took up one entire wall, plush chairs and a full-size popcorn machine. She’d never get the boys out of there, if things worked out.
Yoren seemed polite enough in Elder Watkins’ office but she’d heard enough gossip to know he’d broken the hearts of nearly every eligible female were in the area. Only pressure from the council could induce him to take a mate for life, and even then it would be safe to assume he wouldn’t be faithful.
Strangely, the thought of being with an unfaithful mate didn’t bother Veronica as much as she would have thought. Since she didn’t love him, his fidelity didn’t matter to her. This would simply be a business relationship.
She had no intention of asking for a thing for herself, since she still had a little of Keith’s life insurance money left. Once the boys were a little older, she’d get a full-time job and pay her own way. As long as he provided for the boys, she’d pretend to be his doting and dutiful mate.
Hopefully he can at least be discreet, she thought as she brought order to the chaos of the boys’ room.
Is this what you really want, babe?
She breathed a sigh of exasperation. Keith, why are you haunting me? I asked you for advice last night and you didn’t give it to me. Now you’re second-guessing me? Sorry to call out a dead man, but what the hell?
She could hear him chuckling inside her skull. You deserve better than to simply exist in a relationship, Ronnie. You deserve to thrive.
Whatever. Stick a fork in me, I’m done. Done with love, done with relationships, done with males. Yoren can provide for our sons and I’ll provide the illusion he’s settled down so the council will get off his back. Win-win.
Sweetheart…
“Just shut up already and get out of my head!” Veronica was startled by her own shouting. She loved that her subconscious spoke to her in her dead husband’s voice, but enough was enough. It was time for it to stop.
“And don’t come back…” she whispered, her voice cracking, a single tear rolling down her flushed cheek. Her words were met with silence. He was gone for good this time, her heart knew it.
Before she could think about grieving the loss of his voice inside her head, the doorbell bing-bonged. A flutter tickled her tummy — nerves! Weird, she thought as she smoothed invisible wrinkles from her dress and opened the door.
Yoren was as handsome as ever, dressed in what had to be a custom-made suit and flashy pointy-tipped shoes. She’d seen some actor on TV wearing ones just like them at an awards show, but never would have guessed someone in rough-and-tumble Kodiak would actually own a pair, much less wear them. Not only were dirt and mud a way of life this time of year — forget about winter — but where in town would they be appropriate? The fish plant? The Caribou Cafe? The pawn shop?
But she had to admit, he did look quite dapper. And his long, slow up-and-down of her figure didn’t go unnoticed either. After Jess’ rejection, this little show of attention boosted her bruised ego. It might not mend her twice-broken heart, but she would take what she could get at this point.
“Hi, Yoren. C’mon in.”
He stepped through the door and stopped in his tracks, sniffing the air. Veronica was suddenly aware of the slightly feral scent in her home. It came with the territory when you were raising two young cubs, but she’d grown so used to it, she didn’t notice it. Now she was embarrassed that he might think she was a terrible housekeeper.
“Ah, the smell of cubs,” he said, smiling at her. “Where are the little rascals?”
Her worry eased a notch. “They’re at their grandmother’s house, but they’ll be home in a bit.”
“Cool. Kids love me.”
Relief flooded her. The boys were the big issue here. After everything that had happened, she wasn’t worried about her love life as much as her cubs’ happiness. For this situation with Yoren to play out, he had to like her boys, no way around it.
“That’s a relief,” she gushed. “Are you hungry?”
He smirked and gave her a salacious glance. “Always.”
Blushing at his attention, Veronica hurried into the kitchen and got busy serving up the salmon and cheddar quiche she’d whipped up. Judging from his clothing, he’d probably have preferred prosciutto and goat cheese but options were limited in Kodiak. The gourmet stuff had to be special-ordered, and then a hefty ‘handling charge’ was tacked on, when it finally arrived by boat or plane. He’d just have to make do.
Despite her assumptions, Yoren tucked into the quiche like he hadn’t eaten in days. He barely came up for air. Her nose wrinkled at his manners, but she’d seen worse. It also made her smile a little that, for all his airs, he was still a rough Kodiak werebear.
“More,” he demanded through a mouthful of egg and cheese. She’d barely touched her piece yet and he was already done. Okaaay…
“Sure.” She served him another, much larger piece from the pie plate that was between them. Keith would have just served himself, but Yoren seemed to expect to be waited on. She could handle that. It was a small price to pay to h
ave Sam and Jason’s futures secured.
“Gotta love a were with a big appetite,” she said as she handed the plate back.
He just grunted and mumbled, “Late night.”
The silence between them was awkward. Did he think she’d be bothered by him gallivanting the previous night, after setting a morning date with her? If he did, he was wrong.
About halfway through his second piece of quiche, he looked up at her and asked, once again with a full mouth, “So what do you do, anyway?”
“I’m a stay-at-home mom, for the most part,” she said. “I was blessed that my husband took out a life insurance policy that allowed me to stay home after he died. We have to be very frugal, and I sometimes fill in down at my in-laws’ coffee shop, but…” She shrugged to finish the sentence.
Another grunt. “Bleeding the beast. Gotta love it.”
Her brow furrowed. “Bleeding…what?”
He smirked at her. “Bleeding the beast. Taking advantage of the human world to benefit weres. Right on.”
She blinked in confusion. “I…I don’t think we took advantage. We live in a primarily human community, pay taxes, put into the system. I mean, we paid those premiums, just like any human would.”
Why was she so defensive?
“Yeah, no, I get it,” he replied with a wink. “Like I said, right on.”
And now she’d lost her appetite. Great. She took her plate to the sink and dumped the rest of her slice of quiche down the garbage disposal. She flipped the switch just as Yoren managed to say something without food in his mouth.
Turning it off again, she said, “Sorry, what?”
“How come we’ve never met?”
Veronica saw a perfect opportunity to mess with him a little. She turned slowly and leaned against the counter, thrusting a hip out and crossing her arms under her abundant breasts, pushing them up and out. A pout completed the picture of an insulted woman.
Laid Bear 2: The Kodiak Clan Page 12