A Promise on White Wings (Wiccan-Were-Bear)

by Butler, R. E.

  Nodding, Jes said, “Yes. Our mate shifted last night, but only partially, into something like a hybrid of falcon and lion. The blackberries were needed and appreciated.”

  Ley blushed scarlet and busied himself cleaning off the counter that was already spotless. He didn’t like to be praised for doing what he believed was his calling in life. Taking care of the leader of the Bishop Nest was all that Ley wanted to do, and he was the very best.

  Jes turned from the kitchen to go to his office and stopped, saying, “Do you know where my brothers are?”

  Ley looked over his shoulder. “I saw them head to their rooms not too long ago. I set up rooms for the pride in the East wing, the King is still up in the War Room.”

  Jes wasn’t surprised that Jantha was still up. Like Jes, Jantha cared about his people and would want to watch over things personally. Jes didn’t feel guilty for spending the night taking care of his mate. He trusted his brothers and the males who were trained in their military to handle things in his absence. If there had been a serious issue, he knew that no matter what was going on behind the closed doors, his brothers would have interrupted him if they needed him.

  The War Room was a large conference room on the first floor. The table was twenty-feet long, carved by hand from a single piece of solid oak. His grandfather, who had been a master craftsman, created it. Scenes of famous falcon battles were carved in the center of the table, and Jes had spent many hours as a child staring at the images of the warriors with their broad wings and long swords. In times past, the War Room was named so because every nest leader had a place where he would meet with his most trusted advisors during times of war. Now, the War Room was where he met with his highly ranked males to discuss nest affairs. It was more Board Room than War Room, but the traditional name was kept.

  Two guards opened the elaborately carved double doors of the War Room as Jes approached, ducking their heads in deference. He found Jantha sitting not at the long table, but at the bank of monitors displaying the security camera images.

  Two of his computer techs – twin falcons Frost and Glacier – were manning the cameras and reporting anything and everything to the males who walked along the stone wall.

  Jantha turned slowly in the desk chair and cracked his neck. “You’ve got a very good team of males in the nest, Jes. I’m impressed.”

  Jes smiled and leaned against the table, crossing his arms. “Our people’s safety is important to everyone in the nest, especially those who can’t protect themselves like our fledglings.”

  Jantha gestured to the bank of monitors. “It’s been quiet all night. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I tried to contact Adriel to find out what was going on with the other den, but his phone went straight to voicemail, and I didn’t want to involve any other were-houses in your business.”

  “I’ll try Adriel in a little while.”

  Jantha yawned and stood, stretching. “I’m going to find the room your man Ley told me about and take a nap.”

  Jes nodded.

  Before Jantha left the room he said, “We should talk. Later.”

  “Of course.”

  Jes knew that it would be about the prophecy and the fact that overnight he had basically invited a new were-group to move into the nest.

  When the doors shut behind Jantha, Jes said, “Frost, would you put out a blast message to the nest and tell them that I expect every member of the nest aged eighteen and older to report to the garden at eight a.m. today. Attendance is mandatory.”

  “Right away, Sire,” Frost said.

  Glacier turned in the chair and looked at Jes with his icy blue eyes. White stripes wove through his long, black hair, the same as Frost’s. “There will be some who will protest, Sire.”

  “I’m aware of that, Glacier.” He softened his tone. “Things in the nest changed overnight. They can protest all they like, but it doesn’t change what’s happened.”

  Frost, who kept his striped hair short, looked over his shoulder and smiled. “I’m glad you found your mate, Sire. You deserve happiness.”

  Jes left his best techs to their work and headed up to his office. Even though his dad liked to tease him about being an early riser, he was one as well, so Jes Skyped him, taking a drink of coffee while he waited for his dad to answer.

  “Good morning, Son,” his dad said, raising his mug in greeting when his image appeared on the screen.

  “Good morning, Dad.”

  His dad hummed. “I can tell by the look on your face that you’re not calling to ask me my opinion on rankings or where to buy the best steel for swords.”

  Shaking his head, Jes said, “I found my mate last night, Dad.”

  His eyes widened in surprise. He put down his mug and said, “That’s wonderful news!” Jes paused long enough that his dad asked, “Perhaps it’s not?”

  “No, it’s great news of course, but there are some issues with the mating, and I wanted to talk to you about it.”

  “I’m all ears, Son, you know that.”

  Sitting back in his chair, Jes’ dad picked up his coffee mug and waited for Jes to explain what was going on. When he finished the tale, his dad said, “The meeting is a good start. Some of the older falcons will take issue with making a non-falcon their Queen, and then there’s the issue of the tri-mating. Even if they were both falcons, there are those who would take issue with a polyandrous relationship. The important thing, Jes, is that you don’t bow down to pressure. If someone wants to challenge you for the right to lead your nest, then he may feel free to do so, but he’ll have to fight his way up the chain of hierarchy, and only the most determined could do that and none would get past your brothers.

  “If they want to secede from the nest, then they’ll do so without honor and no nest will take them.”

  Jes frowned. He hadn’t considered that anyone would leave the nest because of it. He expected some complaints, especially from the members who wanted Jes to mate with a female falcon. But for some to actually leave over it made his heart twinge. He didn’t want to lose any of his people. He’d fought hard to be a good and fair leader.

  His dad tapped his finger on his desk and brought Jes’ attention back to him. “If they leave over your choice of truemate and a prophecy, then you don’t need them in the nest anyway.”

  He always appreciated his dad’s straight forwardness. They talked for a little while longer about the lions and the bear den and the potential issues with combining two were-groups. When they’d finished discussing business, his mother appeared on the screen, elbowing his dad over so she could see.

  “We want to come up and meet your mate, Jesuit, and her other mate.”

  He smiled. His mother was very pushy when it came to her family, but she was one of the most loving women he’d ever known.

  “After things are settled with her den, Mom.”

  “You won’t marry her legally until we’re there, will you? It’s tradition for the females in the nest to wear their future mother-in-law’s gown.”

  “I promise we won’t, Mom.” Behind his mom, his dad rolled his eyes and made faces, causing Jes to have a difficult time keeping a straight face.

  She said irritatedly, “I can see your reflection in the computer screen, Brannif.”

  “Uh-oh, Dad,” Jes laughed.

  His mom cleared her throat. “Feel free to start working on a grandchild for me, though,” she said as she winked, blew him a kiss, and walked away.

  Jes said goodbye to his dad and closed out the program, leaning back in his chair and swiveling it side to side with his foot. He hoped that he and Danika would share a love like his parents had someday.

  His cell beeped and he answered it. Adriel said, “I hope you are well, Jes.”

  “I am, thank you.”

  “And your mate?”

  “She’s fine, too. Thank you for checking on us. I was just about to give you a call.”

  “The den wants to challenge you for Danika. Elizabeth spoke to
the King at length about the prophecy, but Kajika is a very honorable old bear, and it’s a blast to his pride that you were able to escape with the girl. Prophecy or not, he wants his son, Mato, to have an opportunity to fight for her.”

  “I expected as much,” Jes said, although he would have preferred if the bears had just headed back home without causing a problem.

  “You may use our property for the fight. It will be in human form of course, with no weapons. When would you like me to set it up?”

  Jes exhaled sharply and said, “Tomorrow night.”

  Adriel paused and then said, “I intervened as much as I could, but they are an alliance within our people, and I could only push so much before he threatened the alliance.”

  “Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  As he hung up, he found Chance standing in the doorway. “Are you ready to talk?”

  Jes nodded and gestured to two leather overstuffed chairs against the wall. He took one chair and Chance took the other.

  “She still asleep?”

  “Yeah. Ley is hanging around outside the door and said he would call for us if he heard her wake up. I thought it was as good a time as any to talk.”

  “I agree.”

  During the hour before the nest meeting, Jes and Chance talked about sharing Danika and what their new family was going to be like. Jes found Chance easy going, but with a subtle savagery that told him that Chance could turn feral in a heartbeat if someone he loved was in trouble.

  Running the nest was difficult and time consuming. Knowing that Danika was going to be well protected with Chance set some of his worries at ease. And if something were to happen to him when Mato challenged him for Danika, then he knew that Chance would keep her safe.

  He’d never considered dying before, not really. There was the time when he was first learning to fly and his wings wouldn’t expand. He almost crashed into a house. His short life had flashed before his eyes, and he’d been sure he was going to die a horribly painful death. But this was different. This was him standing up and saying that Danika was worth fighting for and possibly dying for. She was still a stranger to him at the moment, but something deep inside gripped his soul when it came to her, and there wasn’t anything on earth that he wouldn’t do to keep her safe and out of the hands of the den. No matter what, Jes would fight ferociously for Danika. She was worth his best, because she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

  Chapter 8

  Chance stood with his pride in a large flower garden behind the house. Jes was standing on a square hunk of marble that looked like an altar of some kind. The nest had gathered – minus the children that they called fledglings – and waited to hear his announcement. Chance and his pride were standing just to Jes’ left and Danika was next to Chance, gripping his arm.

  “Don’t be nervous, katja,” Chance murmured into her ear.

  “Can’t help it. Some of them look pissed already.”

  True. “Doesn’t matter. Jes is their leader, and you’ll be their Queen when you mate him.”

  “What about you?”

  He nipped her ear with his teeth, and she shivered. “I’ll just spend all my days pleasuring the Queen.”

  Ley cleared his throat loudly and gave Chance and Danika a stern look, and Chance bit back a laugh. The old buzzard was a softy and was thrilled with the prospect of royal babies crawling all over the house. And he adored Danika, who seemed to be charming everyone she met. Chance could definitely understand that, because he was thoroughly charmed himself.

  Jes clapped his hands together once, and the crowd quieted, looking at him expectantly. He spoke with a loud, clear voice and told his people that he had mated a woman who he was going to share with Chance, and then he turned and gestured to the two of them. Chance lifted Danika up on the altar and joined them, so the nest could see them.

  “Danika is the mate of my prophecy, my salvation on white wings. Through her, I am joining the nest with the white lion pride in a new alliance that will be mutually beneficial to both groups. For now, the lions will be staying in my home until permanent housing can be arranged within our community.”

  An unhappy murmur wove through the crowd, but Chance didn’t think it was more than a few of the more than one hundred falcons. Jes put up his hand.

  “Before we go any further, I need you to know this. I am your Prince. There are no laws for our people that say that I must mate with a falcon. If any of you take issue with my choice of mate or our alliance, then you may leave the nest or challenge me for leadership of this nest tonight. But I will remind all of you that challenges of leadership can – and often do – end in the death of the challenger.”

  Chance thought that was a polite way of saying, Come against me and I’ll kill you, without actually saying it out loud. Chance was bigger than Jes – taller and more muscular – but Jes had an inner strength that most likely came from his royal bloodline and made him a male Chance wouldn’t want to tangle with in a to-the-death sort of way.

  “Who would challenge me this night?” Jes said. The few murmurs quieted. “Speak freely now or hold your peace for the remainder of your days.”

  Then he asked who would secede from the nest. Although Chance was certain that there were some who were not pleased that Jes had taken a non-falcon to mate, no one chose to leave. Perhaps they trusted him as their leader. Or perhaps they knew that within the community walls they were safe and they would be foolish to leave.

  When several quiet minutes had passed, Jes’ brother Revere, his wings stretched behind his back, lifted his voice in a battle cry, and the entire nest fell to their knees. Chance knew then that no one would leave as the nest proclaimed its allegiance to Jes. Revere and Tonik turned and went to one knee, pressing their fists to their chests. “Long live the Princes and Princess!” they shouted and the nest cheered, remaining on their knees but adding their voices to the proclamation.

  Danika smiled and blinked tear-filled eyes at him. He hadn’t expected the falcons to accept them, but Jes was clearly a leader who was respected. He was humbled.

  When the noise settled, Jes spoke about the potential danger from Danika’s former den and the need for vigilance. Then he dismissed the crowd, and Chance leapt down from the altar and held out his arms for Danika. She stepped off the altar and into his arms with a small laugh, hugging her arms around his neck.

  As Danika slid down his body until her feet were on the ground, Jes came to stand next to them. Danika took both of their hands in hers. “Did that go as you expected?” she asked.

  Jes smiled down at her. “I thought that some might secede from the nest, but that none did means that they are willing to accept our mating and the addition of the lions. It may not be an easy road ahead of us as we join the groups together, but as long as we’re together, we can accomplish anything.”

  “Did you think you might lose some?” Chance asked.

  “I wasn’t really sure what to expect. There are some older falcons who were not happy to have a Queen who is not a true falcon, so I thought some of them might leave. I wasn’t sure about challengers, either. Some of the younger ones would rather live in a nest that is democratically run rather than ruled by a royal couple, so I had thought one or two might challenge me and try to change the way the nest is led.”

  Chance’s dad snorted as he, and the pride, came to stand near them. “No shifter groups are run democratically. That’s insane.”

  “It’s progress,” Jes said, watching as the remaining members of the nest left the garden. “A hundred years ago when our people were very closed-off to the humans, everyone felt safer in the nest, behind the walls. Now, the fledglings sprout wings, and they want to turn the nest into a human city with no one in charge and everyone doing whatever they want.”

  Danika frowned. “When it comes to shifters, that’s a good way to get people killed.”

  Which was very true. If there were no laws, then shifters would hunt where they pleased instead of stayi
ng within safe boundaries. Hunters would find them and kill or capture them. That alone was enough to send a chill down Chance’s spine. There was no place within shifter society for a democracy. The best of each group was the leader, and the leaders did what was best for their people.

  Tonik and Revere strode up to Jes and reported that a few falcons were complaining about joining with cats and some were questioning whether mating with a woman who was not a falcon was going to be the end of their people. None of those people, though, wanted to leave the nest or wanted to give up Jes being the leader, so they were simply being vocal about their concerns.

  Tonik looked past Chance to where his brother and friend were standing and said, “You two wanna go grab breakfast?”

  Chance could hear the delight in Gamble’s voice. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”

  Pyre slugged Gam in the shoulder. “Watch your damn mouth.”

  Danika laughed and shook her head at them. “I’m starving. Can you eat or are you still working?” She looked up at Jes.

  “I can eat.”

  Chance’s dad said, “I’m going back to bed. I told the tech-twins that I’d be back in the afternoon,” he said as he looked at Jes, “because I wanted to run safety drills. If you don’t mind.”

  Jes seemed relieved. “Whatever you need is at your disposal.”

  His dad said goodbye and the rest of the pride left, heading into the house through a different path. Chance, Jes, and Danika began to walk back to the house. Danika said, “I like this garden. Do you always hold meetings out here?”

  The garden was at least the size of a football field. In the center was the marble altar with a clearing that was big enough for the falcons to stand. Around the clearing were beds of flowers and shrubs, small trees, and statuary. There were vibrant flowers colored orange, dark red, and gold, and their delicate scents filled the air.