I walked up to him and smiled.
“Cousin Edi,” he asked, and I nodded. He dropped the large sign and picked me up in a tight bear hug. “It’s so good to meet you.”
I grunted. “It’s nice to meet you too, George. I wish it were under better circumstances.”
“You’re here now, that’s all that matters. Don’t worry, my Alpha will get whatever is going on sorted out.”
“You sound awfully confident in him.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” George stuck the sign under his arm and then grabbed the handle of my rolling suitcase. He nodded his head at the large glass exit doors, “You ready to get out here?”
I took a deep breath and nodded, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
We made it outside and were waiting at the crosswalk for a shuttle to pass when he asked, “How was your flight?”
“Very long and the seats were too small for me.”
George laughed heartily, “I bet.”
I raised my eyebrows at him, and he instantly reacted, “I meant, the flight was long, and those seats are small for everyone.”
“So that was a crack about my weight?”
He seemed horrified. “What? Why? Uh no. Um—”
I giggled, “Teasing. Honestly I don’t care. I love me, and that’s all that matters.” That was true, but it hasn’t always been that way. I was self-conscious for a long time being a bit plumper than the other girls. Shifters, in general, have a higher metabolism and are generally quite fit in their human form, but not so much for me. I was healthy, but I carried a little bit of extra cushion.
“Why would anyone care?” George asked honestly.
“Isn’t everyone obsessed with weight and looks nowadays?”
“I’m not, we’re not. There’s some cattiness for sure, but honestly, I stay far away from it. You’re perfect to me, and anyone that says otherwise is an idiot.”
“Thanks for that.”
“It’s true.” He smiled at me, “I was expecting you to have a stronger accent.”
I shrugged, “I didn’t socialize much.”
“If you didn’t socialize much, how could you have gotten yourself into trouble?”
“Trouble seems to find me, and his name is Reef.”
George stopped. “Isn’t that the name of your Alpha?”
“One in the same.”
George sounded confused when he asked, “Your Alpha is who you are running from?”
“Yes.”
“No wonder my faith in mine confused you.”
I shrugged but didn’t say anything. George stared at me for another second before nodding with a smile and continued to where he was parked not very far from where we were. George drove a giant raised black beat up Ford, he put my luggage in the back and then opened my door for me and gave me a hand getting in.
He walked around the back of the truck and then climbed in himself, “I was stunned to hear from your mother several months back.”
“My mom called you several months ago?”
“Not me, my great-grandpa in Anchorage. I didn’t know you existed before then.”
“Really?”
“Our families are related but very distantly. My great-great-great-grandfather was your great grandfather’s nephew, and he was pretty young when your mom left.”
“So, she was erased from the den’s collective memory?”
“Kind of, your mom’s family never spoke of her after she broke the Good of the Clan law and ran off with a dinosaur.”
My mouth dropped open. Holy fuck! My mom broke the Good of the Clan law; she never told me that.
“Are you okay?” George asked.
“How did she break the Good of the Clan Law?”
“Oh, from what my dad told me, she was the last potential Alpha of the Polar Arctodus. She was also the last unmated bear in your family, and no one else had had any children. For the good of the clan, her mate was going to be chosen for her to ensure the survival of your family line.”
“So, what happened?”
“All of the Alphas met and decided amongst themselves who her mate would be. They were going to make the announcement at the bi-annual games.”
“That’s where she met my dad.”
George nodded, “The day of the announcement they met that morning.”
“At least that part of the story they told me was true.”
“I think one of the benefits of being a shifter is when we meet the one we know.” George gave me a smile, “That’s what happened, your mom and dad ran off within an hour of meeting each other without telling anyone. No one found out until the assembly when your mom didn’t walk to the stage when she was called to it. It was such an embarrassment at the time for your family and all the Alphas that made the decision for her.”
“That’s the new part.” I sighed, “And it would seem the most important one. So, what happened next? Did they magically make everyone forget my mom existed?”
George shrugged, “Those were different times, most shifters still believed the Good of the Clan law would save us. They couldn’t see the error of their ways, they had no idea what the consequences of the law would be yet. Most of the alphas involved forbid anyone to speak of the incident, your mother, or your father’s pod ever again. Then I think enough time passed for shifters to forget them since they weren’t talking about it or passing the story down.
“But your great-grandfather remembered.”
“What can I say, the Nanooks are rebels.” I chuckled but stopped when his expression changed. “I guess your mom called almost every shifter household in Anchorage before she found someone that had any idea who she was. Who her family was.”
“Was?”
George sighed, “I’m so sorry to be the one that has to tell you. But you’re the last of your bloodline.” He cleared his throat, the last of the polar Arctodus’.”
Shocked, I could barely whisper, “My mother’s breed of shifter went extinct?”
“Yes.”
“Because of what she and my father did?”
“I don’t believe that and you shouldn’t either. The Arctodus were having reproductive problems for generations before the Good of the Clan Law came to be. Your mother and father are not to blame. Besides, what would the consequences have been if they hadn’t run off? Our mates are chosen by the Fates, our clan could be irrecoverably damaged from not following their will because of the law. The polar Arctodus wasn’t the first species of shifter to go extinct or the last. Now that the law is abolished, it could be generations before we fix the damage. If we can fix it at all.”
“I know my pod is out of the loop, but that sounds more ominous than I thought.”
“Our former Beta, Abe Lupinski did the math, we would all be extinct in the next two-hundred years if something didn’t change. There have been so few births, even between fated mates since we started banning certain unions. It’s like we were all punished.”
“Hopefully it’s not too late.”
“Only time will tell.”
We were silent for a while. I was letting everything I had learned sink in. I somewhat understood why my mom and dad didn’t give me all the dirty details. Knowing that their decision may have contributed to her family’s demise and the extinction of her breed would be a massive burden to bear. But with everything going on in my situation, she should have told me, at least so I had someone to connect with on the issue.
I felt betrayed, and the thoughts in my head spilled out of my mouth, “Grrr. I can’t believe my mom and dad broke the Good of the Clan law and never told me. Not even with my current situation she never said anything to me. How could she do that?”
“What is your situation?”
“It’s a long and complicated story.”
“There’s plenty of time before we make it to Walt’s bar.”
“That’s your Alpha, isn’t it?” I asked, and George nodded. “He owns a bar?”
“Why do you sound so surprised?”
“Of course, he works.”
“He doesn’t collect his fees and taxes and lives in luxury while his shifters live in squalor?”
“His fees and taxes? What fees and taxes? I mean, we all contribute something to the general fund, but most of that goes to college scholarships, or families facing an unforeseen hardship. Ja’Lyn, our Beta, and Jeff, our Omega will babysit for a mom and send them for an all-expenses-paid day at the spa when they need one, that kind of thing comes out of the fund. We also donate to non-shifter charities, food banks and anything that has to do with kids.”
“What about your protection fee? Or taxes on your property, income, or produce?”
“We pay taxes to the US government—”
“They have a shifter tax!”
“That’s ridiculous, of course not.” He paused took a beat and then said, “What the fuck is a shifter tax?”
“Basically, you’ve got to pay to stay alive I think.”
“Your Alpha makes you pay a protection fee? Protecting his shifters is his fucking job!”
“He considers it a service.”
“A service!?! How does your Alpha act that way? He’s going against nature? Protecting each other is written in our genetic code and especially for an Alpha.”
“He’s not a real Alpha, he won it by combat.”
“He would have gained some of the power even if he won the position by combat.”
“I know he got some, but it wasn’t much. He can exert his power over most of us with a lot of effort, but he prefers to rule by intimidation and fear.”
“Sounds like a real douchebag.”
“He’s a sadist and sociopath who has enjoyed bullying me since I was six years old.”
“Did he pick on you in school?”
“No, he’s seven or eight hundred years older than me. It was just after what happened to my father—
“What happened with your father?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What?”
“You don’t know he suffered a fate worse than death?”
“What! No shifter has ever—”
“I was six and witnessed everything. I assure you, a shifter has suffered the punishment, but ours extended to the ones closest to them as well.”
George glanced at me, “I’m so sorry Edi. If you don’t mind my asking, what were the charges.”
“His picture was taken and was on the front page of the paper giving humans proof that we existed. I’m sure you’ve seen the infamous Loch Ness monster picture.”
George grimaced, “I uh, had a poster of it hanging on my wall as a kid. But I thought it was proven fake.”
I shook my head no, “That was my dad.”
“Wow. And this Reef has been picking on you since then?”
“He didn’t need to torture me when I was still little, I was torturing myself enough. But he always showed up where my mom and I were, watching us. He loved watching my pain.”
“He’s a creep. Did he threaten you?”
“In a way. He announced six months ago to the pod that he had chosen his new mate for the good of the clan and that was me.”
“But Walt abolished the Good of the Clan law.”
“Reef made the announcement before that.”
“But with it gone you don’t need to uphold it. That was part of the abolishment.”
“He claimed I am his true fated mate.”
“You can’t just claim somebody is your mate; either you are, or you aren’t.”
“He used my situation to say I wouldn’t know whether or not he was my mate.”
George sighed, “What other situation could you possibly have?”
“My best friend, Jenn is a jinn. She granted me a wish not to let my memories affect my future.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad, considering everything you’ve been through.”
I laughed, “Ever hear the saying be careful what you wish for? It’s because of the Jinn, and Jenn has the worst luck of all when it comes to wishes. I knew better but was desperate after so many years of waking up nightly with nightmares, of being afraid of everyone and everything in my waking state, I was going to lose my mind. Who knows, maybe that was part of the fate worse than death punishment. Forever tortured.”
“The wish should be a good thing then; to not let your memories affect your future.”
“Unfortunately, memories are linked to feelings. I don’t really have those anymore.”
“You don’t have feelings?” I shook my head no and shrugged at the same time. “So… you’re a psychopath.”
I laughed, “No, I am not a psychopath. I just don’t feel things like other shifters do anymore. Reef seized on that saying that because my feelings are dulled and corrupted, I wouldn’t know whether or not he was my mate.”
“Maybe you are.”
“There’s no fucking way on this earth that Reef is my mate. He disgusts me as much today as he did all those years ago when he helped kill my father and forced me to watch. I don’t remember a time when he wasn’t present and creeping me out in my life. I think he has an ulterior motive as well. I’m stronger than him, not in physical strength, he’s twice my size but in Alpha Power. Granted, I never tested the theory.”
“You’re an Alpha?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“I resist his commands with very little effort. Little is the wrong word, no, yeah no effort whatsoever.”
“Then you must have some Alpha in you.”
“According to you, my mother was a potential Alpha, so perhaps that’s true to some extent. As far as I can tell with my dulled emotions and feelings, I’m not anything special to my pod or the Lupinski Clan as a whole.”
“That’s bullshit, we are all special in our own way.”
“You sound like a cheesy made-for-TV-movie on the Hallmark channel.”
“It’s not cheesy, it’s true. Not all of us are meant to work within the clan in some capacity, but all of us have something to offer to the whole.”
I shook my head in disbelief, Reef had thrown a couple plesios out of our pod for not contributing to his gluttony and greed.
“So, what are his ulterior motives?”
“Remember this is a theory because like I said, I don’t think I am anything special regardless of the fact that my mom had potential. But, I think that he thinks by mating with me, he’ll gain Alpha power. He’s always ruled us with the iron fist, but he’s getting tired and bored. I’m the only one who isn’t affected by his orders and power, but it takes him a lot of energy to exert it over the others.”
“I guess that makes sense. But Reef would only get a little boost if you had Alpha in you.”
“Our pod is old school—”
“I hadn’t gotten that impression at all,” George chuckled.
“As his wife, he thinks that I would be obligated to obey him. That includes popping out as many children as possible for their power as well.” The power an alpha has is from the connected energy of all in their care, more shifters equal more power, but when an Alpha’s Mate has a child, the Mate gets a small boost of power perhaps because they need it to take care of alpha children. A mated couple can draw from each other’s strength so if I was more powerful, so would Reef. “If I am forced to mate with him and didn’t obey, he won't hesitate to use force. His right as a mate and an Alpha.”
“That’s horrifying and disgusting. It’s the 21st century, we don’t live that way anymore.”
“You might not, but we still do.” I shrugged, “Just the way things work that’s what most everyone says.”
George’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, “Just the way things work? How could anyone think that way.”
“I don’t think they do believe that. But, with no way out of the situation, justifications and excuses were made so they weren’t consumed by guilt and could somewhat live decent lives. Reef contr
ols everything; he wasn’t above withholding food, supplies, or kicking someone out for publicly disagreeing with him.”
“But still, that’s so wrong on so many levels. None of you should have to live like that. You’re here now, and I promise that Walt will be able to help you.”
“You shouldn’t make promises for your Alpha.”
“I’ve got nothing but faith in my him and the rest of the Lupinskis including the four new human Lupinski Mates who kick ass, you might want to hold off on telling them all of this, by the way, because nothing would stop them from going across the pond to make things right.”
“That can’t happen, Reef has killed humans for the sport of it.”
“How the hell did he get away with that?”
“I don’t know, but he has—” A shiver ran through me as the faces of each human in their death mask flashed across my mind. “Several times.”
“He wouldn’t dare hurt our Alpha’s Mate.”
“I wouldn’t put anything past him.”
“He’d start a war.”
“That’s only if you could find our pod. We can’t even find our pod when we leave. There has to be one of the fey inmates on duty to lower the magic to let us back in.”
“Fey inmates?”
“Reef used bullshit charges to condemn them to lives of servitude. I’m sure he threatened all of their loved ones if they didn’t comply; that’s his MO.”
George shook his head in disbelief, “I am so sorry cousin; I wish I could’ve helped.”
“You didn’t even know I existed six months ago, don’t worry about it.”
“I can’t help it you’re my kin. I promise—”
“Again, be careful what you promise.”
“I’m not taking back my promise that I will not let Reef hurt you or anyone else in any way ever again.”
“I do appreciate that. I’m glad I get to know my family and have you on my side.”
“Not only family and me, our entire clan is in your court.” George hit his signal and turned onto a narrow road leading up a mountain. “Almost there.”
It wasn’t very long before I yelped because George turned left into a bunch of trees, but after we completed the turn, we were on a tiny dirt road. “Whoa! Was that fey magic we went through?”
Covet the Curves: a Romance Collections Anthology Page 3