Aaron spoke through clenched teeth. "What do you want, Victor?"
Victor grinned, his dark, nearly black, eyes glittering. "Right down to business. That's our dear Aaron, isn't it? Well, all right. What do I want. Well, if you'd been listening a minute ago, you would've heard that I want to become the pocket watch yo-yo-ing champion of the world. Didn't you catch that?"
Aaron didn't respond.
"Well, you were busy practicing your very best brooding scowl. I understand. A brooding scowl displaying just the right level of menace does take time to perfect. But, oh! I'm sorry. Maybe I misunderstood your question a moment ago when you asked me what I want. You meant that less in way of what do I want as far as very personal hopes and dreams, and more in a way of what do I want as it pertains to you, didn't you? How utterly clueless of me. Terribly sorry. Eternally sorry. I must have become momentarily scatterbrained at the recollection of the sensation of twigs, stones, and leaves wedged in near my private area. I tell you, it's just something you have to experience in order to appreciate the feeling. Kind of like being intimately caressed by mother nature herself. But...I'm sorry again. We weren't talking about my new and interesting sexual experiences, we're we? You wanted to know what I want, as it pertains to you. Well, all right. I know better than to keep big, strong Aaron the bear waiting for long. He tends to get very, very angry, doesn't he?"
Aaron sat with his arms across his chest, staring at Victor, and if looks could kill, Victor would have been dead several times over.
"All right, big, strong, angry Aaron the bear. I'll tell you what I want. I still want to be king of these wilds. I still want immortality. Nothing has changed. I still want to be the undisputed king of these wilds for eternity. And this dream caused me to seek out our dear Mr. Alistair Blakely, here. You see, he and I have similar goals. He also wants to live forever. He's agreed to sell me the land for one dollar in exchange for me turning him into an immortal being."
Aaron scoffed. "You don't even have the power to do that."
"Oh, don't I? I'm afraid you're wrong. Although I may be a non-shifter mortal man now, I've still retained many of the sorcery skills I had attained right before you 'killed' me. Although...to my extreme chagrin, no longer being a shifter, I seem to be having a little trouble with that spell I previously used to freeze you all that time two months ago. And believe me, I tried while you were chatting with our dear Mr. Blakely, here. But I now seem unable to do it, for whatever reason. And a hearty dammit on that. That was an awfully fun spell, wasn't it? But regardless of whether I've lost a few old tricks, I seem to be gaining some new ones and additional supernatural powers. And in fact, I was able to kill all my former wolf brothers just by staring at them and reciting a few words of a spell while wishing them all dead shortly after we all climbed out of the ditch. Vaporized them into dust. Couldn't have any of them acquiring any supernatural powers of their own and challenging my rule of the wilds, now, could I? So, yes, actually I do believe I have the power to turn our octogenarian friend, here, into an immortal being, as well as myself. I'll need to be within the immortality boundaries of the wilds in order to do a few spells and accomplish these goals, though. And things might take me a few days or so, and I'll need to be unhindered, of course. So that's why we're forcing you out. And because I'm a kindly, generous man like Mr. Blakely, here, I'm even giving you the chance to walk away peacefully and live the rest of normal human lifespans outside of the wilds. But if you do not agree to go peacefully...." His dark eyes glittering directly at Aaron, Victor leaned forward on the table. "If you do not peacefully remove your family from these wilds within a week, I'll kill you all. And you first."
Aaron snorted, narrowing his eyes. "You're forgetting one important detail, Victor. You're not a shifter anymore. But we still are. And shifters can only be killed from a bite directly to the heart delivered by another shifter. Meaning, you can't kill us."
Victor shrugged. "Mm...yes, actually I can. But exactly how is for me to know and you to find out, I suppose. That is, if you decide to be that stupid."
"You're bluffing. You have no way to kill us. And I won't be intimidated by your empty threats. My family and I will not leave these wilds. We'll buy the land from you, or Alistair, here, or whomever, and you can take the money and do whatever you like with it. But that's it. My family and I are not leaving. You can't intimidate us, and there's no possible way you can kill us."
Victor cocked an eyebrow at Aaron, his mouth twitching with a smile. "Is that a fact?"
Seth suddenly stood, his gaze on Aaron. "We'll do as he says. We'll leave the wilds. And if you don't agree, I'll kill you before you can stand."
CHAPTER SIX
Aaron flew up from his chair, throwing one strong arm in front of me protectively. "Seth, what-"
"I've hypnotized him. He's my shifter killing machine now." Victor grinned. "I did it mentally while we were talking. Tried to hypnotize all of you actually, as the thought just very recently occurred to me that I could perhaps hypnotize you all, and then, once you all were under my control, simply mind-control you to leave the wilds. But nobody else here seems susceptible to mental hypnotization other than our dear Seth, perhaps because he's always had a more supernatural-seeming mind than any of you others, if you follow me. What with him being able to 'hear' us wolves in the past and whatnot. And lucky for me. I now have my own shifter killing machine, able to kill other shifters with a bite directly to the heart at my command. I think I'll also get right to work on a few spells to give Seth increased strength and a good bit of blood lust. Pretty neat, eh?" Victor frowned. "Oh, listen to me, saying 'eh?' all the bloody time. I've spent entirely too much time in Canada over the years."
Aaron's voice came out in a low growl.
"Un-hypnotize him this very second before I rip your throat out."
"Now, now, Aaron. No need to get yourself all worked up into a tizzy. I'm not going to un-hypnotize Seth. Did you seriously think I would? You're lucky I don't sic him on you right now just to punish you for making such an asinine request. And you wouldn't want that, would you? You wouldn't want to have to hurt or maybe even kill your own brother, your own second-in-command, just to defend yourself, would you? No...no, I don't think you would. But I'll tell you what. You now want something that I can grant. You want Seth freed from hypnotization, and you want him to not kill anyone, least of all your beautiful, beloved Kyla. And you want not to have to kill him to defend yourself and those you love. So I'll make a simple deal with you."
Victor rose from his seat and looked from Aaron, who stood glowering at him, one arm still protectively in front of me, to Seth, who stood glaring at Aaron, trembling as if with murderous rage. And then Victor turned his gaze back to Aaron.
"I'll make a simple deal with you, big, strong Aaron. You remove your family from these wilds, and I'll un-hypnotize Seth and send him back to you all in due time, once I've become official king of the wilds and once I've sufficiently built up my supernatural strength to a level so powerful that you could never possibly attack me and I won't need a shifter mercenary to kill other shifters anymore. You leave, and you eventually get Seth back un-hypnotized and same as he was. Nobody gets hurt; nobody dies; I get immortality in the wilds; you get to live wherever the hell else in Michigan you'd like, or wherever the hell else on the planet you'd like. And you can still be bear shifters and all that, not eternally, of course, but for the span of what could be a very fun, footloose, and fancy free human life. Now, how does that all sound? Good deal? I think so, and I hope you do as well, because you don't really have a choice in the matter. If you refuse my deal, I'll send Seth to kill you all, and once I increase his strength with a few spells, he'll probably be able to do it easily. And of course, if he doesn't, you'll have to kill him; you'll have to have the murder of your brother on your hands for the rest of your life. Not very pleasant for a man of lofty morals such as yourself. So take my deal, Aaron. Simply leave the wilds. Of course, I'll give you a little time to think this
all over and come to your senses, but not much time. I'll give you exactly a week before I come to your cabins next Monday morning with Seth and my new friend Alistair Blakely, here. And you'd better be already gone at that time or at least on your way out the door. Because I'll be taking over the wilds at that point. Either that, or commanding Seth to kill you all. So think hard, Aaron. Oh, and while you're doing that, I'll be keeping my new pal Seth with me, of course. My new pal and weapon, that is. We'll be hanging out all week at a mansion Alistair and I have rented a mile or so from here, and we'll be doing some fun new spells and learning a few fun new tricks. I will be anyway; Seth will be a captive audience. Maybe I'll teach him a few pocket watch yo-yo-ing tricks, though, just so he has something to impress you all within a week. Of course, though, you'll probably be sufficiently impressed by other skills he'll have at that time. Skills like the strength and ability to kill multiple shifters with bites directly to the heart in under ten seconds time. Or...." Victor looked at me, smiling slyly, and then back at Aaron. "The ability to kill his brother's beloved girlfriend with just one powerful kick to the throat."
Aaron stepped toward Victor, a low growl rumbling in his throat. Victor actually made a noise similar to a giggle.
Calvin hopped up and began pulling Aaron away. "Let's go. He wants you to do something stupid."
"Oh, I'd love it." Victor grinned. "I'll wait for next week, though." He waved at us. "Goodbye, lovely bear shifter family! Think smart thoughts about making smart decisions! So long! Until next time!"
After a final glare at Victor, Aaron took me by the hand and began leading me out of the conference room. Emily and Calvin followed us. But before we all cleared the doorway, Alexandra sprang up from her chair by the wall. She'd been sitting so quietly I'd almost forgotten she was there.
"Wait! Please...." She looked at Aaron, her expression pleading. "Can I come with you all?"
Mr. Blakely, who still sat at the head of the table, suddenly grabbed his cane and banged it on the ground. "Like hell you will, you goddamned idiot!"
I looked at Seth to see if he was going to let Alexandra be spoken to like that, but he just stared straight ahead, his expression vacant, clearly still hypnotized.
"Please." Alexandra actually tugged Aaron's sleeve. "Please let me go with you all."
Mr. Blakely snorted. "Oh, hell with it. I'm about to become an immortal being in a healthy new body. What the hell do I need a nurse for anyway? Especially one as dumb as this one. So go, you good-for-nothing idiot. Unless...." He shifted his gaze to Victor. "Unless you still have some use for her, Victor."
Victor looked Alexandra up and down and then shrugged. "Eh, I know I said that about making her my personal sex slave the other night, but honestly, though she's got some curve on her, she's still just not as curvy as I like them. So as far as raping and torturing her, I'm afraid my heart just wouldn't be in it completely. Though, who knows. I feel like this might be a situation like with me and potato chips. They're not my absolute favorite, but if they're around and I'm bored, I might grab a handful."
Alexandra tugged on Aaron's sleeve again. "Please. Can I come with you all?"
Aaron nodded once, and he and I and Calvin and Emily began heading out the door again, this time with Alexandra in tow.
Mr. Blakely banged his cane again. "Good riddance. Brainless ninny."
We'd all reached the reception area at the end of the hallway when Victor stuck his head out of the conference room and called out. We all turned, and he cupped his hands around his mouth.
"Hey, Aaron! I prefer more ample, luscious curves like Kyla's. And if you decide to be stupid and not leave the wilds by next week, maybe I'll finally get the chance to sample her curves. Does she by any chance enjoy having her private area sliced with a straight razor after intercourse? Because I'm all out of razors, and I feel like I should buy supplies."
Aaron charged down the hallway, growling, but Calvin caught him immediately and put him in a sort of near-choke hold.
"He wants you to be stupid, Aaron. He's goading you. He wants you to not think clearly. Don't give in to him."
Aaron stood glaring at Victor for a long moment, his breathing heavy, before shaking Calvin off. "Let's go."
No one spoke on the drive back to the wilds, except for Alexandra thanking Aaron for letting her come with us, and Aaron saying you're welcome. Everyone seemed to be lost in their own thoughts. No one spoke on the mile-long walk from my cabin, where we parked my car, to the family cabin settlement, either.
Aaron and Calvin met with the other family members in the meeting cabin to fill everyone in about what all had happened, and Emily and I took Alexandra into Aaron's and my cabin for a cup of tea because we'd noticed her hands shaking. Emily sat her down at the kitchen table while I rummaged around getting mugs out and filling the teakettle, asking if anyone would like a snack or an early lunch with their tea.
Emily nodded. "I think we should all have an early lunch. Lord knows we're all going to need to keep our strength up over the next several days preparing for whatever Aaron decides we're gonna do about everything."
She and I began fixing soup and sandwiches, and Alexandra asked if she could help. I told her to please just sit back down and relax. She looked awfully pale.
I finished slicing a tomato and looked at her. "Alexandra, are you...are you feeling okay? Do you want to lie down or anything? You're white as a sheet."
She shook her head. "Please. Call me Alex. And thank you, but I'm completely fine. I guess I'm just a little...." She swallowed, her gaze going to a plate of cold chicken breast pieces that Emily was piling on slices of French bread. "I guess I'm just a little hungry. I haven't had anything to eat in about three days now."
Emily and I both gasped at the exact same time, and Emily asked her how come.
She shrugged and dropped her gaze to the surface of the table, her big blue eyes suddenly pinking up a little bit. "My grandfather hasn't been letting me; he's been locking up all the food, I guess to punish me for being so...."
Her voice began wavering.
"Stupid." She took a deep breath. "Which he's done before, but never for so long. I think he's been a little stressed about the whole immortality deal with Victor, and when he gets stressed, he gets even meaner than he usually is."
Emily hurriedly finished making the sandwiches, brought a plate of three of them over to Alex, and set it down in front of her, along with a tall glass of milk. "Here. Eat. We'll talk more after."
Needing no further invitation, Alex began wolfing down the sandwiches. Emily and I brought three bowls of soup and three mugs of tea over to the table, and then got our own sandwiches and joined her. We all ate in silence for a while, or near-silence, anyway, with a bit of birdsong coming in through the open cabin windows.
But after finishing her second sandwich, Emily took a long drink of milk, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and spoke. "Thank you both so much. I'm feeling better already. I was just...starving."
I set my soup spoon down, my heart aching for her. "I can imagine, and you're very welcome. What your grandfather has been doing to you is awful. It's inhuman. He seems like a terribly cruel man."
She nodded, her expression full of pain. "He is. Although I'm almost used to it by now. Sad to say, but it doesn't even really register as cruelty on a daily basis anymore. It's just normal life. It's just the way things are. But I guess I become more aware of it when he calls me names in front of other people. All of your faces today...it just kind of jolted me. It's not normal to be called names all the time, is it?"
I shook my head. "Absolutely not."
"And then when your family member, that man named Seth, when he stood up for me, I guess something just clicked."
Emily's blue eyes pinked up again.
"I was a human being worth defending. I can't remember a time when anyone has ever stood up to my grandfather for me. Maybe I'm worth more than being called names, and being hit in the head with a cane, and being starved all the t
ime. At least, that's how I felt when Seth stood up for me."
I reached over and gave Alex's hand a quick squeeze. "You are worth more than all that. Without a doubt."
Emily nodded. "I agree. But, Alex, why have you stayed living with your grandfather so long?"
She winced slightly. "I wish I had some sort of really good answer, but the only one I have is this. My mother died right after I was born, and my father died when I was eleven. He wasn't like my grandfather, his father; he was a good man. He had love for my grandfather, even though my grandfather wasn't exactly nice back in those days, either, although he definitely wasn't as mean as he is now. Right before he died, my father told me that I would be living with my grandfather and to always take care of him and he'd take care of me. Which...he's always given me a place to live, I guess, but I don't think he's taken care of me in the way my father wanted or thought he would. But I've always stayed, and I've helped take care of my grandfather more and more the older he's gotten. Although lately, it's just been unbearable. But I've hung in there, and continued to take care of him, because I thought that's what my father would have wanted, and I loved him with all my heart. I guess I've been hanging in there as a sort of tribute to my father, a way of honoring him. But today when I saw the looks on all of your faces when my grandfather called me names...I realized that maybe things have gotten worse than I've let myself admit. I realized that maybe my father wouldn't see this as a way of honoring him; maybe he'd be sad about everything and he'd want me to leave. Maybe he'd want me to run and never look back."
Her Bear Protector Trilogy Page 17