And then she really did leave, as I sat there, too stunned to even cry. It seemed that Dom had had me fooled right from the start. I’d believed him when he told me he loved me.
Can you really believe everything Jen said? a little voice inside my mind questioned. After all, she wasn’t stupid. It was understandable that she’d want to make sure that my relationship with Dom was over now that she was going to build a family with him. Hurting me was a good way to make sure that I’d keep my distance.
“Aargh!” I let out a wail of frustration, letting my head flop down onto my desk, my arms folded around it as if to shield me from everything that had happened.
“Is everything all right, boss?”
I didn’t look up as I heard Sam’s voice.
“Fine,” I told him through gritted teeth. “I just need a few moments to myself, that’s all.”
“Okay. We’ve shut the doors to customers and we’re cleaning up now. Do you want me to bring the takings through to you so you can deal with them?”
I sighed, sitting up again. “No, it’s all right,” I told him. “I’ll be out myself in a minute. Why don’t you and Kate leave and I’ll finish tidying up.”
“Kate’s already gone,” Sam told me. “Said she had an urgent errand to run.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t said anything to me about going home early, but after she’d supported me through my breakup, I wasn’t going to call her out over a few minutes’ off work. “Well you can follow her. I’ll sort everything out here.”
“If you’re sure?”
I nodded.
“Thanks, Steph.” Sam paused for a moment. “And for what it’s worth, I think Dom’s a jerk. You deserve better.”
I smiled thinly as Sam left. When I heard the sound of the door shutting, I slowly pulled myself up and went out to the storefront to finish wiping down the tables and sweeping up before collecting the day’s takings to put in the safe. Once it was safely under lock and key, I went to fetch my purse, hearing the familiar beep of a text as I picked it up.
Checking my cell, I saw that Kate was trying to get in touch with me.
You need to meet me at the Anomaly. NOW!
“A drink?” I muttered to myself when I saw her inviting me to come to a popular local bar. Kate’s emergency was a cocktail?! I might feel like I owed her, but she was pushing her luck even so.
I tapped out a terse reply. I’m not in the mood for drinks.
I’m not drinking. Somebody else is. You need to see this. Trust me. Come and meet me before I march you over here.
I was in no mood for games. Kate had probably seen someone she thought was famous and thought it would cheer me up to go celeb spotting. It was sweet of her to think of me, but all I needed was to get home and attempt to forget the day I’d had.
My cell beeped again. I was tempted to ignore it, but when the text alert sounded again, I checked my messages.
What I saw sent a wave of emotion rushing through me. Kate was right. I did need to meet her. I raced out of Perk, not wanting to waste another second.
o0o
“There you are,” greeted Kate as I joined her on the sidewalk opposite the Anomaly. “I was beginning to think I was going to have to send out a search party.”
“Where is she?” I asked.
“Right there.” Kate pointed at the bar window. Jen was sitting at the end of the counter – and she wasn’t alone. Just as in the photos Kate had sent me to get me to join her, Jen was with a man I’d never seen before, her hand on his thigh as she laughed at something he said. As we watched, I saw the bartender turn from filling her glass with vodka to serve it to her. She accepted the drink, toasting the man she was with before he leaned over to kiss her.
“That bitch,” muttered Kate, echoing my thoughts. “That’s the third drink she’s had since I’ve been watching her.”
“I don’t understand.” My mind was in a whirl. “How did you know she was here?”
“After she left Perk, I decided that I was going to follow her,” Kate told me. “I wanted to tell her exactly what I thought of her. Nobody treats my best friend the way she has and gets away with it. However, when I saw which direction she was walking, I decided to wait and see where she was going first and when she went into the Anomaly to meet that guy, I knew that something was up. I just wish that I’d filmed their first kiss. I wanted to go in and tell them to get a room. It was totally gross!”
“So he’s not some random pickup?”
“I don’t think so.” Kate shook her head. “They certainly looked as though they knew each other and had arranged to meet. Our black widow friend has been cheating on Dom and not only that, she’s lied about being pregnant.”
“Are you sure?”
Kate raised an eyebrow. “Oh puh-lease. You need to stop being so nice. Nobody knocks back drinks the way she is if they’re having a baby. I’m going to go over there and tell her exactly what I think of her.”
“Don’t.” I grabbed at Kate as she made to go in the bar.
“Why? Come on, Steph. You’re letting her walk all over you. It’s about time she got a taste of her own medicine. She’s hurt you and Dom – and she claims to love him. You can’t let her get away with it.”
“It’s not about letting her get away with it. But from everything I’ve seen of her, if I confront her now, she’ll just find a way to turn it back on me. No, I need to find exactly the right way to use this information for maximum impact and I think I know just what I need to do.”
I took out my cell and snapped a few more photos of Jen kissing the mystery man, making sure that I had plenty of ammunition. From the way they were practically devouring each other, there would be no arguing that he was just a friend.
“Uh-oh,” said Kate as I checked that the photos had come out clearly before putting my cell away.
“What?”
“We’ve been spotted.” She nudged me and pointed to where Jen was storming out of Anomaly and coming towards us.
“Well, well, well.” Jen folded her arms, shaking her head in disbelief. “I knew that you were pathetic but I didn’t realize you’d stoop this low. Do you want to explain why you’re stalking me?”
“It’s not me who needs to do any explaining,” I countered. “You’ve been lying about everything. When Dom finds out, he’ll-”
“He’ll what? Believe you over me? Don’t make me laugh.” Jen tutted. “You’re just a silly little girl, kidding yourself that you can play with the grownups. Whatever it is you think you saw, you’re mistaken and even if you’re not, you forget. I’m a shifter and you’re just human. Your relationship with Dom is doomed to failure. Sure, you can run to him telling tales, but it won’t win him back. It’ll just needlessly hurt him. If you really care about him, you’ll keep your mouth shut.”
She stalked off, leaving Kate and I to think about what she just said.
“You can’t seriously be thinking about keeping quiet can you?” Kate asked.
“Why not?” I moped. “She has a point. Maybe I should let it go. Dom and I can’t be together for the long haul.”
“Who told you that? Jen?”
I opened my mouth to disagree, but then I thought about it. Kate had a point. The only person who’d told me that I couldn’t be Dom’s mate was Jen and she’d done nothing but lie from the moment I’d met her. Was this just another one of her lies?
“At the risk of sounding like a broken record, you need to talk to Dom,” Kate advised.
“I really do,” I agreed.
Chapter Eight
“Pick up, Dom, pick up,” I urged as his cell went to voicemail yet again. Now that I knew the truth about Jen, I desperately wanted to speak to him about her and warn him about what was going on, but he wasn’t answering his phone and he didn’t seem to have read the text I sent asking him to call.
Sighing, I glanced up at the sky, just as the clouds moved to reveal the full moon. Of course! That’s why he wasn’t answering. He always went out to
meet with the Loves at full moon.
This couldn’t wait. I had to talk to him now before Jen got her claws into him even deeper. I was going to have to interrupt the werebear gathering and hope that they’d forgive me. My stomach clenched with fear at the thought, but nothing was going to keep me away from Dom. I couldn’t leave it any longer. What if Jen got to him first and persuaded him to go back home with her? What if she made up yet another lie and convinced him to change his cell number so that I couldn’t contact him?
I was going to have to risk the wrath of the Loves and go after Dom. The only problem was that I didn’t know exactly where their estate was. All I knew was that it was on the way to Muir Woods and the entrance was hard to find.
I didn’t care. If I had to drive up and down the freeway all night, I was going to do it. I had to get to Dom before Jen did.
The fat, full moon was almost as bright as the sun, lighting up the road and casting eerie shadows from the trees as I pushed the speed limit as far as I dared.
“Where are you, Dom?” I muttered, looking up and down the sides of the road for any sign of a hidden estate. Call it dumb, but I had a feeling that I’d instinctively know where Dom was if I could only get close enough to him.
The turn off was so small that I almost missed it, with no sign post to indicate where it might lead. I prayed that I wasn’t trespassing on some random person’s land as I drove down a dirt road so narrow that there was no room for cars to pass if they met each other. Overhanging branches scratched at the roof of my car as I drove, the sound almost like a warning to get out, but I kept my foot down, hoping that the trail would lead to where I needed to go.
Eventually it opened out to a large clearing that served as a parking lot, numerous vehicles left there. I managed to find a space for my car and when I got out, I could hear the sound of voices and the odd roar drifting towards me across the night air.
I’d found the Love estate. I’d actually found it!
Locking my car, I hurried towards the noise, hoping that I was right and Dom was at the meeting. If not, I was going to have some explaining to do…
Following a trail that led down the side of a cabin, I pushed through trees, stepped over fallen logs and tried not to fall in the mud until I saw lights up ahead. The voices grew louder the closer got, as I slowed down, wanting to see if I could maybe creep up to find Dom and get his attention without anyone else seeing me.
“Got you!”
I screamed as someone grabbed me from behind, frogmarching me into the clearing. I struggled to break free, but whoever they were, they were strong and I was helpless to resist as they pushed me to my hands and knees in the middle of the gathered bears.
“Steph! What are you doing here?”
I pulled myself up and ran over to Dom, desperately wanting to throw myself into his arms so that he could protect me. However, I pulled up short when I saw Jen draping herself over him, looking for all the world like the cat who ate the canary.
“Yes, what are you doing here, young lady?”
I turned to see an older man sitting on what looked like a throne carved out of wood.
“I’m sorry,” I babbled. “It’s just that I had to see Dom. It was an emergency. I know that this is a private meeting and I shouldn’t be here-”
“No, you shouldn’t,” the man told me, but there was no anger in his words, only curiosity. “This land is hidden from everyone but shifters and their mates. There’s simply no way you should be here.”
Shifters? And their mates?
“I’m not anybody’s mate,” I told him. “I mean, I was dating Dom, but we broke up when Jen came back. Maybe that’s why I could find this place?”
“This place is special,” the werebear’s leader said. “Dating someone isn’t enough. Only shifter’s mates can come here.”
“Stephanie isn’t my mate, Frank,” Dom told him. “I mean, I thought she was, but then Jen told me she was pregnant-”
“That’s just it, though,” I said, just as Jen cried out.
“Don’t say another word!”
Jen strode forward, stopping to stand so close to me our noses were almost touching. “I’m warning you. If you say anything else, you’ll regret it.”
She growled, her features twisting and elongating so that her face was half human, half bear. There was a time when this would have terrified me, but although I had no idea why, I wasn’t afraid. Jen had no power over me, not anymore.
“Let her speak, Jen,” Frank ordered. “We need to understand how it is a human was able to come onto our land. If there’s a problem with the wards, we need to know what it is so that we can fix it. We’ll all be in danger otherwise. Go on, young lady. Say what you came to tell us.”
I took a deep breath, stepping back from Jen to address the gathered throng. I gazed around at the countless shifters standing around before finally locking eyes with Dom.
“Jen’s a liar and I have the proof,” I announced, ignoring the snarl that Jen let out.
“Hold Jen back,” Frank commanded. “She is not to interrupt again.”
Two werebears came and stood either side of Jen, firmly holding onto her arms so that I was safe and free to speak.
“Jen claimed to be pregnant and that she wanted to be with Dom for the sake of the baby, yet she’s been seeing other men and drinking.”
I pulled out my cell and swiped through the photos I’d taken earlier that evening, passing my phone to Dom who gazed at the photos without saying anything before passing it to Frank to check for himself.
“Is it true, Jen?” asked Dom, unable to mask the anger in his voice. “Did you lie to me again?”
“It’s not my fault!” Jen protested. “I heard that you were on the verge of mating with a human and I couldn’t let it happen. A baby was the only thing I could think of that would get you back with me. I might not have been pregnant, but I soon would have been and we would have been happy. You know that we were always meant to be together. I couldn’t let someone come between us.”
“There is no us.” Dom shook his head. “We were over before I got together with Steph. You had no right to interfere in my relationship.”
“That’s not true,” countered Jen. “You know how I feel about shifters and humans getting together. I couldn’t bear to see our alpha wasting himself on someone like her. Mom was right. Our clan needs the strength of a shifter to rule it.”
“Luckily for me, I don’t care how you feel,” said Dom coldly. “Your mother’s outdated views on mating have absolutely no bearing on how I live my life.” He turned to me, taking my hands in his. “I am so sorry, Steph, for everything. I can’t believe that I walked away from us. I should have known that it was another one of Jen’s lies.”
“It’s all right,” I told him. “You wouldn’t be the man I love if you hadn’t tried to do the right thing. I’m just glad that you found out about Jen before it was too late.”
The watching bears whooped and hollered as Dom gathered me into his arms and kissed me deeply. For a moment, nothing else existed but me and him, an illusion that was shattered by three little words.
“I challenge her.”
Chapter Nine
“No!” Dom’s shocked howl ripped through the clearing. “You can’t!”
“I can and I do,” smirked Jen. “Right here, right now, as is my right.”
“Dom? What is it? What’s she talking about? What does she mean by challenge?” I looked from Dom to Jen, bewildered.
“She can’t challenge a human, can she?” Dom asked Frank, ignoring me for the moment.
“I’m sorry, Dom,” replied Frank sadly. “Under clan lore, if a challenge is issued in this clearing, it must be answered. The only people who can be here are clan members and those invited because they have a connection to our clan. If Steph was able to find her way here by herself, it means that the magic protecting this place recognizes her as your mate, even if you haven’t formally sealed the union. Therefore, as an alpha f
emale, Jen is well within her rights to challenge her for your hand.”
“But she’ll kill Steph,” Dom protested.
“Don’t worry. I’ll try to make it quick and mainly painless,” Jen reassured him. “Call it a farewell gift from me.”
“What’s going on, Dom?” I tugged at his sleeve to get his attention and at last he turned to me, a worried frown furrowing his brow.
“Most of the time, mating is a matter of destiny,” he told me. “When a couple is drawn together, they dream about each other, as you and I did, and it’s only a matter of time before they agree to be mates. However, when an alpha or other clan official such as a healer, is involved, if more than one person believes that they have a claim to be their mate, then they can settle it with a challenge. It’s very rare that it comes to this, especially when a human is involved. The only reason Jen’s doing this is to hurt me.”
“And Steph,” put in Jen, who was close enough to hear what he was saying. “I’m really looking forward to beating the crap out of her.”
Dom pulled me away from Jen so we could talk in privacy. “You don’t have to do this,” he told me. “I can’t watch you get hurt.”
“What happens if I don’t fight her?” I asked.
Dom looked away. “Jen wins the right to claim me as mate,” he finally admitted.
“You’re kidding, right?” I bit back a laugh. “What are we, cavemen?”
“No, we’re shifters,” Dom said. “Just because we look like you most of the time doesn’t mean that we’re the same. Leading a clan needs strength from both the alpha and their mate. That’s why Jen can challenge you to prove that you’re strong enough to stand by my side. Challenges are rare. Most of the time we trust people to follow their heart. But only recently there was a battle to see who would mate with the Love’s healer and that should have been the last challenge here for years. Trust Jen to turn that upside down.”
Caring Bear: A Paranormal BBW Shifter Pregnancy Romance (Love Laid Bear Book 5) Page 5