BearyMerryChristmas

by Tianna Xander

  Jamie wondered how long the light had been on, because the battery didn’t seem as though it was in danger of losing power any time soon, the light was as bright as ever.

  Slowly, the three of them rounded the end of the bus and opened the back door. The sight that greeted them was enough to bring every one of them to their knees if they still had them.

  “Witches!” It was Duncan who voiced what they all thought. He’d changed into human form just as they opened the door so as to not frighten the children.

  The children huddled around one another, all of them giving off a warm dark blue glow as they knelt around the other who stayed so still within their circle. Jamie searched for the teacher and wondered if it was her that they all protected.

  * * * *

  Duncan entered the bus. The warmth that emanated from the vehicle drove Jamie and Connor back. As long as they were in bear form, they could overheat easily and they didn’t need that. Jamie leaned down, picked up a mouthful of snow and let it melt in his mouth. Connor did the same. Since he’d changed into human form again, Duncan had no worries.

  He looked at the children, all girls, as they knelt around the woman who lay so still on the side panel of the small bus. The bus was more like a large van really, but there was no time for semantics now.

  The children, the youngest appearing to be around seven, parted as he approached. That was when Duncan got his first good look at the woman who lay so still on the window at her back. She wore no coat as it was wrapped tightly about the newborn babe in her arms.

  The children looked up at him and just as he knelt to see if the woman was still alive, the oldest spoke.

  “She’s alive, but she needs tae be warm.” The girl glanced at the others. “We did our best tae keep her and her baby warm, but we’re cold as well. We cannae continue to make heat when it seeps slowly from our own bodies.” Leaning to the side, she looked around him, her eyes widening as she saw Jamie and Connor waiting at the back of the bus.

  “Are ye here tae kill us then? We’ve heard of the bear people. Ye kill our kind, don’t ye?”

  Reaching up, Duncan took her hand. In the gentlest sounding voice he could muster, he said, “Nay. We dinnae kill your kind, lass. We merely wanted tae survive ourselves. We only killed your kind when they hunted us for our pelts and our organs for spells.”

  The girl wrinkled her nose. “We hae since found that we dinnae need the help of your dirty toenails tae make our magic.” She sniffed. “No witch has even tried tae kill a bear in over three hundred years.”

  The girl turned back to the woman and the babe. “Will ye help us? Our teacher is human. She and her babe will surely die soon after we lose our warmth.”

  Duncan could do no less than save these children as he’d promised to do. Even if the girl lied to him, he couldn’t condemn children, innocent or otherwise, to a cold, lonely death in this overturned vehicle.

  “Aye, lass,” he said with a weary nod. “We’ll help ye. Stop expending energy ye dinnae hae tae spare. I’ll keep the woman and the babe warm. Ye need tae make your way tae the back of the bus and climb up onto the backs of the two bears that await ye. Dinnae worry, they won’t harm ye.”

  He knew the others had heard the conversation. He also knew Jamie was aware of his thoughts on this matter. Connor and I agree, old friend. We cannae allow children tae die, no matter how misguided their parents may be. If we do this thing, perhaps it will bring peace between our people.

  There was that, though it had been the farthest thing from his mind. The most important thing at this moment was to get the woman and her babe on Jamie’s back.

  Connor stepped away from the bus and lowered himself until his belly touched the snow. He was still a huge bear and difficult to mount, but the children managed. All eight of them climbed up on his back and he stood.

  “Hold on carefully, children.”

  “We will, mister. Anastasia has already cast a spell tae keep us from falling off no matter how fast ye travel.” She looked down at Connor, a tiny wrinkle ceasing her brow. “Why is he so warm?”

  “Polar bears overheat easily. While in that form, he must do whatever he can tae stay cool. He must be using every heat-releasing gland in his body tae cool himself off.” He raised a brow. “Or perhaps he’s doing it tae help ye stay warm.

  She smiled at him. It was a beautiful smile for a child and he found himself grinning back. “Then tell him we’re grateful either way.”

  “There’s no need for that, lass.” Duncan chuckled. “He heard ye well enough.”

  Duncan placed the unconscious woman on the thick blanket he’d fashioned and placed on Jamie’s back, took her babe in his arms and settled himself over her. Well, old friend, we’ve done this twice in two days now. I would really rather nae make a habit of it.

  Jamie nodded, his head moving up and down on the polar bear’s long neck. I would hae tae agree with ye there, Duncan. He paused for a minute as Duncan settled himself over the woman. Are ye ready?

  Aye.

  How fast a pace do ye think she can stand?

  Duncan stared down at the side of the woman’s face and sighed. As fast as ye can manage without dumping the little lasses off Connor’s back. I dinnae think this woman will stay alive much longer.

  With a sigh, Jamie began to lope up the hill as Duncan held the babe and teacher in his arms. He only hoped Lara would understand the need for him to share his warmth with the strange woman.

  Chapter Seven

  Lara stood staring through the window, the tip of her thumb between her teeth. It had been hours since the other teams had returned, all of them shaking their heads. No luck, they had said. Was it taking the last three so long because they had found the bus? Were they staying with the group of children until help arrived? With the phones down now, there was no way to even contact the authorities and tell them where the rest of the men have already searched. It could be several more hours or days before the authorities could get to them, depending on how long this storm lasted. She didn’t know much about snow in the highlands, but this storm seemed like something they didn’t normally see. Even the inhabitants of this castle were worried

  The possibility remained that someone could have spotted the three impossibly large bears racing through the woods and shot them or tried to. How many people around here had rifles for hunting? She knew it was a sport here, much as it was in the United States, but their gun-ownership laws were much stricter here. She continued to stare out through the snow, worried over two men she barely knew. Never in her life had she ever cared this much for a man she’d just met, not to mention two.

  The sight of their large forms disappearing into the woods had nearly brought her to her knees, making Lara wonder if the other women felt the same or if her reaction was because she had some strange sort of tie to those two. It was still difficult for her to believe that shapeshifters existed. She had an open mind and she’d often dabbled in the occult with her friends, but she never once entertained the idea of having a relationship with a shifter. Before yesterday, she hadn’t known they existed. Now, she knew a castle and surrounding area filled full of them.

  The question uppermost in her mind was how could they exist here? How could a city full of shapeshifting polar bears exist in Europe with no one being the wiser? She wasn’t sure about others, but she was certain that if she ever saw an almost ten-foot-long polar bear roaming the woods near her city, she would tell someone about it.

  Lara’s eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. Maybe the reason no one ever reported a sighting was because they killed outsiders. Who knew? Perhaps they made a meal of them. She wrinkled her nose at the thought. Somehow, Lara stew didn’t sound very appealing to her. But then again, she was human. They were not. Not wholly human anyway.

  Stop thinking such things, lass. You’re only scaring yourself.

  Duncan! Despite her morbid thoughts, the sound of his voice was reassuring. She strained for a glimpse of them coming through the
heavy snow but couldn’t see anything but white, which wasn’t surprising if she thought about it. Where are you?

  We’re close. We’ve found the children. Their teacher had already given birth by the time we found them. The mother and the babe will both need medical attention when we get there. Tell my mother and the other tae get things ready. We should arrive in about a quarter of an hour.

  Fifteen minutes. She had fifteen minutes to get these people moving and ready. Turning, she saw Duncan’s mother sitting in front of the fireplace wearing a serene expression. As ridiculous as it seemed, it was almost as though the woman knew what was going to happen. Why had he contacted her instead of his mother? Wouldn’t it have been faster to cut out the middleman so to speak and contact her instead?

  “Ma’am,” Lara said softly as she knelt next to the older woman’s chair. “They’re all right. Duncan just contacted me.” She blushed when everyone turned to stare at her. “He said they’ve found them, but the woman had her baby and will need medical attention when they arrive.”

  “He contacted ye instead of me?”

  Lara didn’t know what to say to the woman. “Yes,” she said with a nod, then cleared her throat. “I don’t know why, but he asked me to tell you to have things ready when they arrive. Even though they’re traveling very fast, he said they wouldn’t be here for another fifteen minutes.”

  “Did he now?” His mother asked, suddenly all business as she stood. She held her hand out to Lara, urging her to take it. “Come along, daughter. We have much work tae do afore my son arrives.”

  Daughter? “Ma’am, I—” Lara resisted for a split second before she began to follow the older woman.

  “That’s right, lass. Call me Mam. Tis fitting as I’m your mother as well now.”

  What!

  Jamie’s chuckle in her head did little to relax her. She only means that you’re her daughter now that Duncan has made his choice.

  What choice?

  He paused for a minute, then amended, It’s time we told ye, lass. We come as a pair and we hae chosen tae take ye as our mate if you’ll hae us, lass.

  Lara stopped in her tracks, inadvertently pulling Duncan’s mother to a halt as well.

  “What’s the matter, lass? What troubles ye?”

  Lara glanced the woman’s way before she bit her lip. “Uh…I…I don’t even know them! Not really.”

  Duncan’s mother threw her head back and laughed. “They told ye, did they?” She patted Lara’s hand. “Dinnae worry, lass. Ye ken them better than some of the women ken their intendeds in the old days.” She tugged on Lara’s arm. “Now, let’s get moving afore the men get here and we’re not ready for them.”

  Lara let the other woman lead her toward a room close to the kitchen. The room was so clean and sterile-looking, it couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than what it was. A type of hospital right here in the castle. The large room contained a few beds behind a curtain on one side and huge cupboards filled with implements and medicines in bottles and jars.

  “Dinnae just stand there, lass, come help old Maggie get things ready for the woman tae arrive.”

  “Okay.” Lara looked around the room and bit her lip. A few women bustled around, getting clean cloths and linens while others made themselves busy by wiping down the already clean surface with disinfectant. After a minute, she gave up and turned back to Duncan’s mother. “Okay, I give up. Who’s Maggie?”

  The older woman laughed again and, for a small woman, gave Lara a hug that almost squeezed the air from her lungs. “I’m glad they chose ye, lass. Ye make me laugh.” She put a hand to the center of her chest. “I’m Maggie. I thought ye ken.” She shook her head. “I ken I taught those boys better than that.”

  “I don’t think they even thought about it, Ma’am.”

  “I do like the sound of that, daughter.” Maggie smiled as they readied the room for patients.

  There was no doubt that the teacher would need care, but the children may need it as well. Who, other than the three men who carried them back, would know what condition they were in?

  “We’ll be ready when they get here, Maggie.” An older man stepped into the room. He smiled at Duncan’s mother. It was obvious he was attracted to her, though Maggie seemed not to notice.

  “Thank you, Donnal.” Maggie busied herself in setting out more clean sheets, then placed a dozen blankets in a warmer. No doubt to help bring up the body temperature of the people the three men carried in.

  Lara heard the distant sound of sleigh bells and knew the men were close. She smiled as she thought of the way they looked all soft and cuddly wearing those red ribbons, like some sort of holiday commercial. She moved to the window and looked out.

  The snow fell thick. She couldn’t see very far into the grounds beyond. The sound of the bells grew louder as she peered out into the storm. The large white flakes blew sideways, arcing up as the wind propelled the white powder in spinning spirals.

  Through the storm, Lara thought she saw a flash of red, then another. Suddenly, a giant polar bear loomed up carrying several children of varying ages on its back. She frowned when she noticed a strange dark blue light that surrounded the children. A second bear followed the first with a man on its back. Lara figured that must be Jamie and Duncan carrying the teacher in much the same way as they had carried her the night before.

  Lara followed the rest of the men and women as they hurried to the door to let them in. They opened the double doors wide and the bears trotted in amidst a cold wind and blowing snow, their sleigh bells ringing merrily. The children, sitting from smallest to oldest on the first bear’s back, all slid to the floor after the bear carrying them lowered his massive body to the stone tile. The second bear, she had seen was Jamie. He stood still as death, his shorter from legs bent slightly so the others could remove the unconscious woman from his back. Duncan sat unmoving as he cradled a silent infant in his arms.

  He looked at Maggie. “The children are all witches, Mother.”

  Maggie didn’t even bat an eyelash amidst the collective gasp. “Of course they are and they needed our help.” She gave her people an unreadable look. “We’ve waited lifetimes tae end our feud and this is our chance.”

  “The girls say they no longer need our body parts for spells.”

  The oldest girl stepped forward. “We havnea needed your parts for generations.” She wrinkled her nose. “We dinnae kill things at all anymore,” she paused, then found interest in the floor, “unless ye want tae count plants. We do kill a plant from time tae time.”

  Maggie reached into her pocket and pulled out a cell phone. “Then use this tae call your people as soon as ye get a signal.” She cast her gaze around the large group. “The trust has tae start somewhere.”

  The girl smiled and pulled out her own device. “I planned tae if we got a signal here. We dinnae where the bus turned over.”

  Smiling, Maggie turned to Duncan and slapped him on the arm. “Give the babe over, ye big bear. He needs his mam, even if she is unconscious.”

  Duncan carefully handed the sleeping baby to his mother.

  “I hae a bone tae pick with ye and Jamie, Duncan Robert William Wallace.” Maggie turned to glare at Jamie who was still in his polar bear form, complete with his and Duncan’s large, red ribbons wrapped around his neck. “Why did ye not at least tell the girl my name?” Cuddling the infant, she tapped her foot as she glared at them. “Are ye ashamed of me then?”

  They both hung their heads. It was a sight to see. Maggie couldn’t have been more than five foot two and there she stood, dressing down a man who stood around six and a half feet tall and a polar bear, and the two males looked totally cowed. Lara wanted to laugh.

  “Ye know I would never be ashamed of ye, Mam.” Duncan wrapped his arm around his mother and drew her to his side as he led her to the medical room. “You’re right though. The babe does need his mother. We should take him in tae her. If she’s awake, she may be worried without her babe with her.”<
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  Lara grinned. He was a smooth talker, but she wasn’t sure his mother was going to let him off that easy. However, she would never know.

  Jamie caught her attention. She stared at him for a moment before dragging the large blanket off his back. Lara gasped when it suddenly disappeared from her hands.

  I dinnae mean tae startle ye, lass. I only meant tae relieve ye of your burden. I know the blanket was heavy. I carried it several miles.

  “That’s okay.” She wiped the palms of her hands on her skirt. They weren’t wet or sweaty. She was just nervous.

  Would ye like tae go outside for a few minutes and see the snow from our point of view?

  Lara glanced behind him toward the door. The still-open door showed her a storm so rough, she was certain she would get lost.

  “Uh, no thanks.” She gestured toward the windows. “It’s looking rather scary out there.”

  Jamie moved closer and rubbed his long snout against her leg, then looked up at her. It’s nae scary out there, lass. It’s fun if ye can find the courage tae enjoy yourself. He looked up at her with those beautiful green eyes of his. Will ye go outside and play with me, lass, or has being human limited your ability tae be lighthearted?

  “Well,” she paused to lean close, her breath brushing his ear, proving, at least to him, that the woman was no coward. “What do we do now? It seems that everyone else is quite busy.”

  Jamie swiped her cheek with his tongue and she jumped. It was one thing to talk to him, it was something totally different when he started tasting her. I suppose we could help the others, but I hae found that there is much tae the saying that there are too many cooks in the kitchen. I dinnae want tae get in the way. Perhaps we should find something else tae do instead.

  “What did you have in mind?” she had an idea, but she wasn’t sure how Duncan would feel about being left out while he helped his mother in the hospital room.

  Hop on my back, lass, and I’ll show ye.

  Lara had no idea what he planned until he turned and ran out through the still-open front doors. So taken with Jamie’s other form, she had barely noticed the snow blowing in, the cold wind whipping at her skirts or the puddles forming on the floor. Why had they left the door open, letting all of the precious heat out of the castle? And why wasn’t she cold? She should be, she wasn’t wearing a coat.