“Yliana?” Presley tilted her head to the side. Was that Greg’s mother’s name? She was certain it was something along the lines of Irene or Eileen...maybe Nadine.
“Ohhhhh,” Mrs. Bamey eased herself down onto the end of the bed, resting her hands on her lap as she smiled warmly. “Sometimes it slips my mind you were not told these stories as a child, Presley. It’s something every little ursithrope girl learns.....somewhat of a bedtime story, if you will.”
“Okay....” Presley started hesitantly as she shifted on the bed, attempting to face Mrs. Bamey and Louisa at the same time. She smoothed her palm over her baby bump and stared intently at the wiser woman. “So I guess we’re having story time now?”
“You bet your rump we are,” Mrs. Bamey nodded. “I know Lorcan told you the story of how ursithrope warriors came to be, Presley, but did he tell you about how they found their mates?”
Presley shook her head. “I’m presuming they found some pretty she-bears and had them turned into humans?”
Mrs. Bamey released a hearty laugh. “Oh, heavens no,” she rolled her eyes and glanced at Louisa. “Louisa, do you know how female ursithropes came to be?”
“Of course I do,” Louisa wiped at her eyes and cleared her throat. “Yliana.”
Who is this Yliana? Presley wondered as she lifted a lightly colored eyebrow.
“Yliana was a beautiful woman,” Mrs. Bamey smiled. “But she wasn’t a mere human. She was a true daughter of nature and the mother of the most beautiful, graceful creatures the world had to offer.”
“Dolphins?” Presley asked, though she was certain that wasn’t the answer. Dolphins were very beautiful in her opinion. She loved watching them during her time in Florida. Hell, they were probably the only thing she missed besides the warm weather.
“Swans,” Mrs. Bamey corrected as she eyed Presley. “Swans, dear. She was the goddess of swans and Urseth was desperately in love with her.”
“Swans,” Presley echoed, unsure if she was following what the woman was saying. “You mean to tell me that’s how female ursithropes were created? Then wouldn’t that make them like...swan-a-thropes are something?”
“Swan-a-thropes,” Mrs. Bamey was flustered as she rested a palm against her cheek. “Presley, I have always admired you for your sarcasm, Sweetheart.”
Presley had been entirely serious about her observation, but she was wrong. She felt a little flustered too as wave after wave of embarrassment washed over her. She decided it might be best just to listen.
“Yliana had many daughters that enjoyed swimming in the river, and yes-” she nodded excitedly. “I am talking about the very river that runs through Kadenburg. Everything I’m about to tell you happened within our town, Presley. Kadenburg truly does belong to the ursithropes and I think that kills Breslin on the inside. He tries to claim so many places, but this land is not something he can easily obtain. Kadenburg is the very heart of our kind and it was built by Urseth and Yliana.
“Kadenburg was once merely a piece of land that belonged to an old farmer. Can you imagine this place empty and bare? It was. Once the Civil War was over and the United States began to mend, the warriors Urseth created became restless. They had been created for the purpose of fighting and with no battle to partake in they could only observe the human life that surrounded them. Of course they noticed how the men of this world had female counterparts and it wasn’t long before they realized how lonely they were.
“They sent Thomas, their leader of sorts, to speak with Urseth about this issue. Urseth is a very merciful and kind god, Presley. I can only imagine how magnificent it was to see him in your dreams...” Mrs. Presley’s voice softened as she gazed at her. “Anyway, he promised Thomas that he would do whatever he could to ease their loneliness and that is why he approached Yliana.
“Yliana did agree to give the warriors a companion, but only if Urseth agreed to her terms. Do you know what those terms were?”
Presley released her bottom lip, giving it a break from the frequent nibbling her teeth had been doing the entire time. She blinked rapidly and shrugged her shoulders. “I’m assuming this has to do with Urseth’s law and the treatment of female ursithropes.”
“Oh!” Mrs. Bamey’s eyes sparkled as her smile grew wider. “Yes! That’s exactly right, Presley. I always knew you were an intelligent girl. You catch on quickly. Yes, the terms had everything to do with Urseth’s laws. She made him promise his warriors would allow her daughters to choose whom they would marry, and that they would value the lives of their companions above any piece of gold the world had to offer.”
Well, that did make a lot of sense. Presley leaned back on her hands, staring back and forth between Mrs. Bamey and Louisa as a frown made its way onto her lips.
“But...we’re not swans?” She asked. “I mean, I’m just trying to piece this puzzle together. You say that Yliana’s daughters were swans, right? And the warriors were bears....it’s not really adding up for me.”
“Presley, Sweetheart,” Mrs. Bamey heaved a sigh as she reached out to touch her hand gently. “I realize that we live in the real world, dear, but magic flourishes in our veins. We are so much more than skin or fur; we are beings that humans will never understand. Like the lycanthropes, as much as I hate to say this, we are what fairytales are made of. We inspire the feared dragons and happily ever afters that children read about. How did the swans become bears? It’s quite simple when you think about it. Anything is possible when people like us exist, don’t you think?”
Was Mrs. Bamey purposefully talking in riddles now? Presley closed her eyes and allowed her brain a moment or two to process the information. It was one thing to learn she could turn into a bear, but tossing in the fact she descended from a swan goddess was an entirely different ballgame. It seriously changed everything.
“Here,” Mrs. Bamey reached into the collar of her blouse and withdrew a long silver chain. Dangling at the end of it was a very simple yet beautiful charm; wings. They weren’t just any wings, either. It was easy to see they represented a swan and though Presley had never caught sight of the jewelry before, something told her Mrs. Bamey had never taken it off. “This was a gift from Richard when we became mated. Do you know why?”
Presley slowly shook her head.
Mrs. Bamey’s eyes became fixated on the shimmering wings. The dim lighting from the ceiling light hit the tiny diamonds just right, causing them to burst with color and sparkles as her lips quivered slightly.
“When Thomas approached the swan he wished to be his wife, he was very tender and kind. She was somewhat shy you see....for some of her friends were married off to men before and they were very different.”
“How do you mean?” Presley leaned forward, frowning as she glanced at Louisa. “How were they different?”
“Presley, I am not going to sugarcoat this part of the story for you. You need to know the truth and nothing less,” Mrs. Bamey said quietly as she reached out to take Presley’s hand into her own. “You need to understand what kind of monsters we are dealing with when it comes to Breslin Connor. You need to know how nasty werewolves can be.”
“Werewolves?” Presley gasped. “You mean the swan’s friends were married off to werewolves?”
“Oh yes,” Mrs. Bamey bowed her head, shaking it gently. “Tessa was Yliana’s sister and she allowed the werewolves to have some of her daughters. It was the biggest mistake she ever made. The werewolves were not kind to them and they....” She sighed. “They forced them to do many things they did not want to do.”
“What do you mean?” Presley whispered, unsure if she wanted to know the answer to that. “What happened?”
“The werewolves took what they wanted. They were only interested in replenishing their bloodline, Presley. Those poor women were pushed into bed with the wolves and if they refused.....”
Presley’s blood ran cold as she swallowed the ever growing lump in her throat. “They were killed, weren’t they?”
“Yes,” Mrs. Bamey
whispered. “Slowly and painfully so. The lycanthropes can create more of their kind with a simple bite whereas ursithropes must be born. They had no excuse for what they did to those poor girls. Tessa did not take kindly to that and her retaliation is still spoken of today.”
“What did Tessa do?” Presley’s eyes were wide as she moved her hand over her stomach, wondering if somewhere within, her son was capable of hearing this story, too. She was suddenly grateful-now, more than ever-that he would be an ursithrope. The werewolves were becoming more disgusting by the second.
“What did she do?” Mrs. Bamey laughed in a way that sent shivers down Presley’s spine. She’d never heard Mrs. Bamey’s voice take on such a tone before and she had to wonder if it had something to do with the swanliness of their kind. Swanliness. Hey, it would work.
“She melted her crown in a raging fire and produced a weapon that is most deadly to lycans. If it pierces the heart of a wolf, he will die instantly.”
“Silver,” Presley affirmed. “I’ve seen what it can do to them...I saw what it did to Dimitri and...” Her eyes wandered to Louisa’s. “Greg.”
Louisa winced from the mention of his name, but she remained silent as her index finger ran beneath her eye just in time to catch another tear. She was still hurting.
“Oh yes. Dimitri and Greg have experienced the pains of Tessa’s wrath, but it wasn’t always like that. Werewolves were once immortal. They couldn’t be harmed at all.”
“Really?” Presley perked up, a look of puzzlement on her face. “Then how did that change? Did they piss another woman off?”
Mrs. Bamey chuckled and gave a small roll of her shoulders. “Perhaps they did,” she replied thoughtfully. “Or maybe it’s because in the quest to prove his love and loyalty, Urseth approached another and asked for the wolves to become just as vulnerable as those poor swans had been.”
“Who?” Presley asked, completely captivated with the tale. She needed to know. She had to know who took away the werewolves’ ability to live forever.
“The Season Witch.” Mrs. Bamey smiled.
Nine
How could it be? Why would Presley keep such information from her? How did she allow Natalie to suffer from the guilt weighing down on her shoulders for so long? Why would she do that?
Arnold agreed to tell her what information had been left out of the story as long as she promised to take him straight home and quit playing babysitter. She complied, though the fact that she’d crossed her fingers behind her back would remain irrelevant to the situation.
Now she was regretting it. She felt sick and dizzy as she slumped back on the couch and dropped her gaze to the floor. Why would Presley keep that from her?
“I’m sure she didn’t want you to get angry with her,” Arnold said softly as he took another drink from the thick glass between his fingers. “She’s been through hell for the last couple of months, Natalie. I don’t think she knew how to talk to you about it.”
“I’d say not,” she whispered hoarsely as she blinked back tears. “I can’t believe Urseth stole my memories like that. I...I agreed to do it?” She turned her head to stare at Arnold, frowning. “I agreed to let my brother die and to willingly go with Breslin as a distraction? I feel so...so...”
“Used?” Arnold offered as he held his glass out for her to take. “You need a drink.”
“I do need a drink,” she agreed, taking the glass and tilting it backwards. She gulped loudly, letting the liquid fire attack her throat and stomach as her entire body erupted in goose bumps. She gasped, wiping at her mouth with the sleeve of her shirt before she spoke again. “All this time I have thought of myself as a traitor. This entire time...you’ve thought of me as a traitor, Arnold. And you knew otherwise-she told you!”
Arnold grunted, pushing himself forward as he grabbed for the bottle of whiskey on the coffee table. He shook his head slowly as he unscrewed the cap and held it out for her to take.
“I’m a dick, Natalie. What do you want me to say? It ain’t easy to just stop holding a grudge on somebody like that.”
“But I was innocent!” She snatched the bottle from his hand, gulping down another four mouthfuls before she even considered letting him have it back. “You have known I was innocent for over a month and yet you’ve let me wallow in self-hate....you are the biggest jackass this side of Knoxville!”
“I know, I know,” he mumbled as he took another swig and slammed the bottle down on the tabletop. “Damn it, Natty, I know and I’m sorry. I can’t take it back, okay? I can only try to make it better and look,” he motioned around them with his hands circling in the air. “I’m trying to make it better right now.”
Nothing was going to make it better. For years it had often crossed her mind why it had been so easy to betray her kind. Yes, she was beyond upset with Arnold for choosing a human when she’d in fact chosen him over a number of other male ursithropes....but it didn’t justify her reasons of teaming up with Breslin Connor. How many ursithropes had she seen die since then? Too many. How many did she help to escape such a terrible fate? Only two. Her stomach churned as she buried her face into her hands.
“I feel so sick,” she whispered. “I think I may throw up.”
“I wouldn’t blame you if you did.” Arnold replied as his large hand rested against the small of her back. Shivers ran through her as she bit her bottom lip, letting her hands fall against her knees as her head turned slowly to gaze at him. The expression on his face made her curious as to what he was thinking about.
“You broke my heart back then. I was so angry at you...and at everything we stood for, Arnold, but I never would’ve left our town to help the likes of Breslin Connor. I drugged my niece...” Her bottom lip quivered. “Greg Kress is something he shouldn’t be because of me. I stood by and allowed him to get hurt. Jon Xiong and his clan are dead....because of me....”
“You can’t blame yourself for someone else’s hate, Natalie. You couldn’t have stopped him even if you wanted to. There’s something more to this story. There’s something bigger happening than just a crazy werewolf trying to drive us into extinction. I can feel it-can’t you?”
Yes. Yes, she could feel it. It was a sickening feeling, too. Whatever was brewing on the outskirts of their tiny town was only going to grow stronger and more dangerous until something gave. Something was going to happen and it would set them on an entirely new path. Urseth was aware of it, wasn’t he? He knew about it or else he never would’ve erased her memories. Pierce wouldn’t have sacrificed his life without a good reason; though Presley was a wonderful reason, wasn’t she?
“I’m not mad at her,” Natalie whispered, running her fingers through her hair and sighing. “She’s still so new to all of this, Arnold. I’m sure she would’ve told me eventually....it just would’ve been convenient to know I’m not the terrible person I’ve allowed myself to believe for so long.”
Arnold was silent as the moments passed by. The sound of distant singing reached their sensitive ears and Natalie remembered tonight was the annual Kadenburg caroling event. As a child, she’d enjoyed joining in, but she wasn’t really in the mood for such festivities right now. Maybe she never would be again.
“I’m sure it didn’t help with the way I treated you.” Arnold said, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen around them. His voice pulled Natalie from her thoughts and she wondered how much time had passed. She lifted her eyes to peer out the window, noting that the sun had gone down and they were almost another day closer to Christmas morning. How was she supposed to enjoy it with everything she felt right now?
“Natty.” Arnold said in a lower voice. The tone he used caused her to stare at him as shivers ran through the length of her body. When he spoke in a voice like that....Oh, Urseth. He was trying to gaze at her with those once beautiful green eyes, now damaged beyond repair, and warmth bubbled in her stomach. Her body reacted just as it did when she was younger, and she knew it would always respond to him.
“Would you
accept an apology?” He wondered aloud. “If I told you how sorry I am for being cruel to you....would you accept it? Would it be enough?”
Oh, Urseth. How long had she waited to hear such words leave his lips? How many times had she envisioned being in his presence and hearing him admit his wrongdoings against her? Until this very moment those hopes had been wishful thinking, but now it was really happening. She hadn’t misunderstood.
“Natty,” Arnold repeated as his long fingers touched her chin. Bolts of delicious energy crawled through her face and neck before expanding into her heart. She could feel the emotions grasping at her heart as her eyes widened. He was so close now....so close. His eyes somehow settled on her face, almost as if he could see her, and his thumb slowly swiped over her bottom lip. “I’m sorry. Do you hear me? I’m sorry for everything I ever put you through. I’m sorry for everything I’ve ever said to you.....and I’m begging for your forgiveness for hurting you. I never should’ve done that.”
Oh, Urseth. Oh! She couldn’t breathe. Her body suddenly couldn’t remember how to take in a much needed breath and her mind was shutting down. This had to be a dream, right? Or no....it was because of her impending cycle. He was only saying this because she was so close to fertility and his bear would do damn near anything to gain her trust for mating. Shit.....
“You loved Meredith,” she whispered. “She was the mate you wanted-not me.”
Arnold seemed surprised when she pulled away from him-and God, it took everything in her to do just that. Her bear immediately growled in protest as she pushed herself up from the couch and stumbled as far away from him as possible. This couldn’t happen, not now or ever. She would not allow her guard to go down only to be hurt again.
Sometimes it really sucked to have such power over a man. There was no real way to know if his intentions were honest or not; for all she knew, he would say anything at this point to get her into bed and that wasn’t a chance she was willing to take.
Kadenburg Revealed (The Kadenburg Shifters Series, Book 4) Page 7