“The witch?”
"Yes, the witch."
"I don't think she would have anything to do with werebear matters, sir."
"I believe if it's a concern for Lily it should be looked into."
"Should I send my men to her house?"
“Yes, Lily would you like dinner in your room or supervised in the dining room?”
“I’m not hungry,” she said and stormed off to her room. She was furious he’d lied about Jeremy and angry he was trusting Clinton.
She didn't make it to her room before she heard a low chuckle behind her. "Why that man continues to entertain your ridiculous lies, I'll never know," Clinton said.
"So your whole not hating humans speech was just for Stefan’s benefit, was it?" Lily hated the sound of his voice.
“I can't have the new alpha thinking that I can't be trusted now can I? Especially since he's so taken by you even though you are the one that shouldn't be trusted.” Clinton took a step closer.
“I knew it!” Lily was prepared to stand up to him. Clinton had never actually expressed his true feelings for her, and she was justified in knowing she had been right all along. There was no reason for her to tiptoe around him anymore. "I'm not guilty of this and Stefan believes me because he is smart enough to know when someone is telling the truth. He will figure out who you really are eventually. I don't understand how you're responsible for Harold, but I know you are."
“Silly girl. Don't waste your breath.” Clinton grabbed her arm, shoving her against the wall. He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "You'll never prove a thing."
She slung him off of her and went quickly to her room locking the door behind her. She found the urge to cry she’d been fighting all day and finally lost control of her emotions. She lay on her bed and cried until she fell asleep.
Chapter Six – The Plot Thickens
Lily felt sorry for herself and then reprimanded herself for giving in to such ridiculous notions. He could have put her in jail, but he didn't. She needed to be happy for the little things. Her room, which had been her sanctuary before, now felt like a prison. Stefan had allowed her a bath, but there had been a guard outside, so she constantly felt uneasy instead of being able to unwind in the hot water.
There was no plan now. Lily wasn't going to marry Stefan. Her father's debt was clear. There was no reason to remain a part of this clan simply so Stefan could save face with the community. They took their laws and rules very seriously. She was really starting to resent these people.
Her thoughts turned to Jeremy. She found that she missed him.
It was possible he eluded the guards and simply got away. She hoped so. It was late, and she was tired, but her mind was running so fast she doubted she could sleep. She thought she heard something outside her window, but then remembered there was a guard out there too. She looked out and saw the bear pacing back and forth. Something else caught her eye moving across the lawn, and she saw it was another guard. He was looking around like he didn’t want someone to follow him.
As he got closer, she recognized him. It was the man she’d seen with the witch! He must be sneaking away to meet with someone, she thought, possibly the witch again. Despite not really wanted to feel the shock of the witches’ spells again, she knew it was important to follow him. The bear outside her window would never let her go that way and the two guards outside would keep her from just walking out the door. If she could get to the attic, she could get outside without them seeing her.
“I have to use the lady’s room.” She called at the door and waited.
One of the guards opened the door and poked his head in. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure, what kind of a question is that?”
“Okay, come on then.”
Lily made her way out and towards the bathroom closest to her room. It was to the left down the hall, and the attic was right beside the doorway. She had to get rid of the guard though.
“You don’t have to come with me. There aren’t any doors to the outside and the window in the bathroom is too high, I couldn’t possibly reach it.”
“Ma’am, the alpha said not to let you out of my sight for even a moment.” The guard was young. Lily had only seen him once before, so she assumed he was new.
“I won’t tell him. I promise.” She smiled, “I don’t want you listening to me in there. It’s not proper.” Winking she hoped he was buying it.
“Okay miss, please hurry though.”
Smiling she turned away from him and tried not to walk too fast down the hall. She didn’t want to seem too eager to get away from him. The attic was somewhere she’d only been once, but she knew there was a window that led out onto the roof. She’d just have to shimmy down that same tree. This time at least she was wearing a pair of sweatpants she’d changed into.
Lowering the attic door scared her a bit because it creaked so loudly. There was another loud creak as she brought the ladder down and she cringed, hoping no one would hear her. For all the updates the house had, the attic was still the oldest thing in it. She waited a few minutes to make sure she hadn’t been heard and then climbed up. The loud creaking happened again as she pulled the ladder up and closed the door. There was no way they hadn’t heard it close. Hopefully, nothing out of the ordinary would lead them to think she was still in the middle of using the toilet.
The trickiest part to follow was navigating the boards. If she stepped in between them, she’d fall through the roof. It was dark, and she operated on feel more than anything. Somehow, she made it across the attic to the window. It was stuck. Cursing she put all her weight on it and almost fell off the beam she was balancing on. Finally, with a crack, it opened, and she shimmied out the small opening on the roof. She was on the opposite side from her room now and could see the bear’s nose each time he paced back towards her.
She had only seen the direction the guard had gone in, but there were some barns and storage units towards the back of the property, so she assumed that was where he went. Inching out onto the roof she made her way towards the tree.
Taking a deep breath, she jumped and landed on the tree, shimmying down quickly and then crouching at the bottom. No one seemed to be after her. More than likely they still thought she was in the bathroom and would be for at least a few more minutes.
Trying to move quietly, she made her way over the lawn in the direction the guard had taken. There was an open stretch she had to run across, and she was certain someone had seen her. When she reached one of the storage sheds she could hear voices from behind its doors. Sliding along the side of the building she reached the edge and peered around the side.
The guard’s back was to her, and he was speaking to Clinton.
“I know she’s back here, but I think the fighting will still commence once Jeremy is in custody.”
She leaned over and couldn’t see the third man talking to them, but she could hear him.
“If this doesn’t incite the war then we’ll kill the girl or kill Stefan. We will get it done gentlemen.”
Lily leaned further over so she could see who was talking to them and almost fell over.
There was no surprise Clinton was in on it, but the shock came from the man who stood to his left. Donovan. She couldn’t believe Donovan was a part of all this. Her shock made her sloppy, causing her to trip forward, and Clinton spotted her.
“Seize her at once, she can’t get back to Stefan.”
Donovan’s eyes widened, and he immediately ran towards her. She took off not sure what the best direction to go in was and found herself in the woods again. Her ankle injury had been reduced to a dull pain although she thought maybe she’d just gotten used to it.
She was looking over her shoulder as she ran. When she hit the wall, she wasn’t sure what it was. Rattled she sat up from the ground she’d bounced into and saw a large brown bear looking down at her.
“Jeremy? What the hell are you doing here?”
He shifted back to himself and grinned. �
�I was coming to rescue you from the jail, but I see you’ve already escaped.”
Lily wanted to tell him she’d not been placed in a cell. She wanted to tell him she was running from Clinton. There was a lot she wanted to say, but all she could think about was how happy she was to see him again.
She flung herself into his arms and pressed her lips against his. His body tensed and she wrapped her arms around his neck. At first, she felt like he would push her away, but finally, she felt his arms wrap around her waist, and he returned the kiss parting her lips with his tongue. Her whole body came alive, and she pressed herself to him.
It was over too fast but, they were in danger and needed to go.
“I’m being chased Jeremy, we have to go.”
Secretly she was happy he was awestruck and seemed to be stuck in place, but she could hear the guards shouting and knew they needed to get going. Pulling him caused him to finally snap out of it, and together they raced back to Blue Falls.
Chapter Seven – A Cabin in the Woods
Jeremy held Lily’s hand tightly as they moved through the thick woods. She felt like there were people right behind them and at any moment someone was going to grab her. Clinton hadn’t seen Jeremy, but if they heard they were running together, the whole guard team would be out looking for them.
“Are you sure it was Donovan?” He asked for the third time.
“Yes, he was there. He was chasing me. I promise it was him.”
“I just can’t believe he would help them frame me. You know Donovan, you’ve met him.”
“Well, I don’t know what to say about it, he’s clearly with them.” Lily wished he wasn’t. She hated upsetting Jeremy. He put a hand up to get her to stop abruptly.
Once again Jeremy’s skin shimmered, and his features changed. He said, “We’re almost at the river, I can smell the water. I know where we can lose them, just hold on.” With a grin and those words, he became a bear and Lily was faced with having to ride him through the woods again.
Lily kept getting whipped in the arms and legs by branches as they went through the forest and there were little welts beginning to rise up all over her skin. She felt the itchy pain of them beginning. Suddenly, Jeremy stopped and shifted back effortlessly.
“Come on, this way. We’ll go through the cave.”
“Cave. What cave?”
Lily pictured some sort of insect infested underground nightmare he was going to try dragging her through. She wasn’t familiar with the woods they were in now and her mind went back to childhood stories about strange creatures that lived in caves. Long before she knew Werebears, and the supernatural were real, her dad had been telling her stories.
Just as they entered a clearing, Jeremy hoisted Lily over his shoulder. She was getting tired of being manhandled today.
“Hold your breath!”
Lily didn’t have much time before Jeremy raced into the river. All she saw was the black and brown edges of the water against the land from where they departed. He kept going deeper and Lily was worried she might not have enough air to get where they were going.
A dark opening close to the bottom of the river led to an air pocket. It was just in time too; Lily’s lungs were about to burst. Jeremy pushed her up out of the water so she could get her breath.
“Follow me.”
They paddled through the chasm, and she realized they were in an underwater cave. Now that she could breathe, relief washed over her. Jeremy jumped out of the water and pulled Lily up effortlessly.
“Are we under the waterfall?”
“Yes, the secret of Blue Falls is there are underground caves for us to hide in. Don’t tell your great alpha.”
She knew he was mocking her by his tone and the way he said the words.
“Stefan is a good man, he just keeps questionable company.”
Jeremy didn’t respond to that he just smirked at her. “Come on. We have further to go, but not much. It will take the witch a while to find us here.”
Some more maneuvering through the forest and they popped out in front of a small cabin.
“There it is. Casa da Jeremy.”
She laughed at his phony French accent. The tiny cabin sat amidst some giant oak and dogwood trees. A fire pit was off to the side and stones of different cuts and colors lay splayed about creating an intricate little path.
“What is this place?”
“It’s my den. All bears have a den. Mine is just an extra cabin.”
“Do you think she’ll find us?” Lily was scared of the witch enough to not want to ever deal with her again.
“She might, but that will take some time. This part of the forest is enchanted. The Were beasts that live among the woods have special powers that keep humans and other unwanted beings out of range. We can breathe easy for now, but we also need food. I’ll be back. Stay inside.”
The cabin was small but well-built with a heavy door. It felt safe for Lily and see sat down on a large black couch not realizing how tired she was. Before she knew it, she was asleep. When she woke up again, she smelled something delicious.
“Welcome back to the world, I gathered our food and made fire.” He slammed a fist into his chest and stomped around like a caveman for Lily’s enjoyment. She laughed and waved him away.
“Stop it, I’m too tired to deal with your shenanigans right now. Thank you for getting us food.” He’d caught rabbits to eat which Lily decided if she didn’t look at, she wouldn’t let her feelings for the little furry creatures get in the way of nutrition.
Jeremy retrieved fresh water from the well out back and brought it in to drink with their dinner.
“Come to the table.”
Lily walked over to the small dining table. Two plates were in place and on them he put some of the meat with fresh bread and cheese from a storage room somewhere she couldn’t see.
“How the heck does you keep bread out here?” Lily asked.
“I went to the grocery store this morning. Duh.”
“Do you like making me feel dumb?” Lily asked.
“Do you like making me feel like a pure animal all the time?”
“No,” she said a little loudly, “I just didn’t know there was a store close by. Remember I don’t know where we are.”
“I think we should get some sleep and try to come up with a plan in the morning,” Jeremy said, cleaning up the table quickly. The moon was high in the sky now, and it didn’t seem possible the whole day had been spent being apprehended and then running from the guards.
He watched Lily looking at the moon. “It doesn’t work that way. Yes, I can tell what you’re thinking.”
“Oh, sorry.” She had been wondering if he would change and run in the full moonlight like a wolf. It wasn’t quite full though, was it?
“No, it’s ok. Sister moon does not have control over me. She is just another celestial body.”
“I see.” Lily sat down on the couch and eyed a cozy looking blanket. For just a little bit she could pass out all over again. “I’ll sleep here.”
“No, you can have the bed. We need to talk about that kiss though.” Jeremy said his eyes lighting up with mischief as he sat down next to her.
“I was just excited to see you,” Lily said.
“Were you,” he slid closer to her and put an arm around her leaning in. She wasn’t expecting it to happen again, but then it did. He put his hands in her hair as he pulled her to him and kissed her with much more urgency than there had been in the woods. She allowed it and her body started to heat up again.
Once the kiss deepened, Lily could hardly control how quickly she eased onto her back and made room for him. His kisses were gentle and soft on her lips, neck, and shoulders. She was so caught up in the moment she hardly noticed how far things had gotten.
He’d kissed her into a melted puddle before he stood and slowly undressed her. She watched as he pulled off each article of clothing and admired what he’d exposed. She gasped once she was down to her underwear, and he
lifted her to carry her to the bedroom. When he lay her down, he crawled up her body slowly allowing her to feel how hard he was for her. Pinning her hands above her head, he nibbled her ear.
“You’re exquisite Lily, for a cold-blooded husband killer.” He whispered the words, but she could feel the humor in them.
She started to reply, but he claimed her mouth again as he worked his pants down his legs. Her hips rose to meet his hardening length, and he pressed it into her with a groan. Taking control, she pushed the boxers down his legs and shoved them past his strong calves with her foot. Once her foot grazed him, he lost all self-control and ripped her panties off with a growl.
“I can’t wait any longer to be inside you. Are you ready?”
Lily nodded and gasped as he pushed his way inside and settled there before he started moving. She met his rhythm, allowing her nails to scratch down his back. Wrapping her legs around him she pulled him deeper inside and cried out as he bit into her shoulder. His pace quickened, and she felt herself climbing towards release. He reached between them and touched her most sensitive spot with a mischievous grin. Lily’s body trembled, and she grasped onto his shoulders pushing herself up against him.
“Come for me Lily, I want to feel it.” His voice was low, and it struck a chord that went straight to her core. She felt her release teetering on the brink and then saw stars as it spilled over, pleasure coursing through her. He shouted through his own release and continued moving inside of her until his breathing was back to normal.
Lying in his bed looking at the ceiling she was happy for the first time in a long time. She hadn’t realized how much she needed closeness with another person and at first, she’d thought Jeremy was annoying, but over time something had changed.
“Well, that was unexpected.”
“That’s all you have to say?” Lily propped herself up and looked at him.
“It was also wonderful, amazing, mind blowing, and enchanting.”
Love Beyond the wall (A Rizer Pack Shifter Series Book 1) Page 37