Captivating the Bear

by Jane Godman

  Do something.

  He was the guy who rescued shifters from danger. Since Alyona’s death and his exile from Callistoya, it had been his way of giving something back. His personal mission. For Alyona and for his missing brother, Andrei. During the years of his exile, Ged had built up a worldwide network of contacts, shifter and human.

  Focused now, he moved with increased purpose. If anyone could find Lidi, he could. All he had to do was get to her in time.

  * * *

  The prospect of retracing her steps across thousands of miles made Lidi’s heart sink, but she had no choice. At least she was able to slip out of the hotel without anyone noticing her. Although the lobby was swarming with police officers, they were too busy concentrating on the ruined furnishings and the traumatized employees to pay attention to anything else. The scene was chaotic and, even though Lidi couldn’t understand exactly what was being said, there was clearly some confusion around exactly what had taken place.

  Once she stepped outside, she could barely move for the hordes of people. The elegant promenade had become a battleground as reporters and photographers vied for the best story and camera shot. Keeping her head down, Lidi pushed her way through, emerging close to the beach. Feeling slightly disoriented, she followed a route that led her away from the town toward the harbor. Anything to get past the crowds.

  Cannes harbor was huge, with a range of vessels moored within its confining walls. Lidi guessed some of the larger, gleaming yachts must belong to the celebrities who were staying in the same hotel as Beast. With their helicopters and satellite systems, they resembled floating palaces. Nearby, the tiny, colorful fishing craft were dwarfed by them. She followed the line of the water’s edge before sitting on the harbor wall, planning her next move.

  After a while, one boat drew her attention away from her thoughts. Long, low and colorful with loud pop music blaring from its decks, it didn’t fit in with either the billionaires’ yachts or the working vessels. Intrigued, Lidi got to her feet and moved closer so she could read the painted sign on its side. Although it was rough and ready, it had been translated into several languages, including English.

  Party Boat! Cruise with Us from Cannes to Genoa.

  The Mediterranean climate was mild, but the middle of winter seemed a strange time to offer cruise parties. Then again, what did she know about such things? If there was a cruise happening, it interested her for one important reason. The Italian port of Genoa was a long way from home, but if she could get there, she would be heading in the right direction.

  Lidi studied the boat, considering her options for how to get on board and remain hidden for the duration of the journey. As she did, a man sprang down from the deck. Landing neatly on the quayside next to her, he gestured to the vessel with a grin.

  “N’est-elle pas belle?”

  Although she didn’t speak French, Lidi understood enough to know that he was inviting her to admire the boat.

  “Beautiful,” she agreed, speaking English. It wasn’t necessarily the first word that occurred to her as she looked at the garish craft, but politeness prevented her from telling the truth.

  “Ah, you are English? American?” He switched languages easily.

  “Russian.” It was the language that was closest to her mother tongue and it was easier than trying to explain where she actually came from.

  Since she was trying to figure out a way to stow away on the boat, she didn’t really want to get into a conversation. But it seemed the man had other ideas. It was impossible to judge his age. With skin that was tanned almost mahogany and dreadlocks tied back in a ponytail, he was dressed in jeans and a sweater that were both faded almost to the point of extinction.

  “Ah. So, you say ‘preevyet.’ Yes?”

  “Preevyet.” Lidi returned the greeting with a smile. Despite the urgency of her predicament, it was impossible not to like him. And by talking to him, she might be able to find out more about his journey. “Are you going to Genoa today?”

  “Tonight. This is not usually the season, but it’s a private party.”

  Having spoken to him, she felt bad about her plans to trick her way on board. Not bad enough to abandon the scheme, of course. Getting to Genoa would take a big chunk out of her journey. She decided on a risky strategy.

  “I could use a lift to Genoa, but I don’t have any money.” She mimed turning out her pockets.

  He studied her thoughtfully. “Can you tend bar?” When Lidi looked confused, he elaborated. “Take orders? Serve drinks?”

  “Oh.” She shook her head. Her life of privilege had never included anything so menial. “No.”

  He started to laugh. “When someone is offering you a job, the correct answer is always yes. And on a party cruise, the most important qualification for tending bar is good looks, so you pass the first test.” He held out a hand. “I am Julien, captain of La Fantaisie.”

  “Lidi.” Feeling as though she was being swept along by events beyond her control, she returned his handshake. “I don’t want a permanent job. I only want to go as far as Genoa.”

  “Then we’d better begin your training right now.” With a slight bow, Julien gestured toward the plank that led onto the boat.

  Lidi paused. Looking back, she could just see the white facade of the Palais Hôtel. A sharp pang of regret hit her in the center of her chest. Had Ged noticed her absence yet? Maybe he’d be glad she’d taken the decision making away from him by leaving. She hunched a shoulder. Getting away might be the right thing to do, but it still hurt.

  Aware that Julien was waiting for her to accompany him onto the boat, she took a breath. Although her heart was prompting her to stay with Ged, that wasn’t an option. Pinning a smile to her face, she stepped onto the gangplank.

  “Let’s go.”

  * * *

  Three hours later, Lidi was ready to tear out her hair before throwing herself overboard. How did anyone remember all these drinks? Then there were the prices and mixes, and Julien had explained that people would fire multiple orders at her and expect her to remember them.

  “There will be three other people working with you.”

  “Are you sure?” Lidi studied the tiny bar in disbelief. She wasn’t sure two people could fit behind the wooden structure, let alone four.

  Julien laughed. “There will always be one person collecting glasses. And the others are used to working in a confined space. Trust me.”

  Did she trust him? She wasn’t sure. But it wasn’t important. Julien was her ticket to Genoa. If he proved to be untrustworthy, she had nothing to be afraid of. He was human and she was a shifter. She could overpower him using only half her strength, probably with a tray of drinks in one hand.

  Even so, she had an uncomfortable feeling. This whole thing had been too easy. Lidi had walked out of the hotel needing to travel north, and the first person she had encountered had offered her the means to do so. What were the chances of that happening? She was going with slim to nonexistent.

  The first of the guests were arriving along with her fellow bartenders, and, swept up in the chaotic atmosphere, she didn’t have much time to think of anything except work. Her colleagues, a guy named Franz and two women, Eloise and Heidi, were all frighteningly efficient. Lidi felt like a baby elephant lumbering around in their wake.

  Eloise, shimmying past her in the confined space, appeared bemused by a new presence behind the bar. “Julien never mentioned he was going to employ someone else.”

  “Maybe it’s because this party was planned at the last minute. The host is English, so maybe he needed someone who spoke the language?” Franz suggested.

  “You all speak English,” Lidi pointed out.

  “Ah, but the accent. We can’t disguise that we are French, but you look and sound like a member of the British royal family.” Heidi laughed. “Julien must be planning to go upmarket.”

>   The comment re-ignited Lidi’s suspicions. As La Fantaisie set sail and the cruise got under way, it became increasingly clear that she wasn’t needed. The other bartenders worked as a tight-knit team, and although she tried to make herself useful, she often ended up getting in their way.

  Although her disquiet remained, she couldn’t find a focus for her suspicions. Her shifter senses were on high alert, but Julien, her colleagues and the party guests were all human. Unless Vasily had started recruiting mortals, none of his men were on board this boat. Vasily, like most of Lidi’s country-folk, had never ventured beyond the borders of Callistoya or interacted with anyone other than werebears. She doubted he’d suddenly struck up a rapport with humans.

  When he’d offered her the job, Julien had mentioned her looks. Lidi might not know much about the world, but she speculated briefly about whether he might have an ulterior motive. To be fair, he hadn’t given any signs that he intended to try to seduce her. Quite the opposite. Now the voyage was in progress, he was interacting with his guests and had barely glanced her way.

  She was being overly suspicious. Jumping at shadows where none existed. It was a new trait and one she needed to overcome. They would be in Genoa the next morning and she would need all her wits about her for the next stage of her journey.

  Smiling, she turned to one of the party guests who was holding out his empty glass. As she served his drinks, her attention was caught by a woman on the small dance floor. With her silvery hair and pale coloring, she was unmistakable. It was Allie, who Lidi had met in the crowd outside the movie theater on the previous day. Then, clad in a Beast sweatshirt and jeans with her hair in waist-length plaits, she had blended with the rest of the excited fans. Now, wearing a designer dress, heels and makeup, she looked like a catwalk model.

  As Lidi moved out from behind the bar and headed toward the dance floor to speak to Allie, the boat was rocked by a resounding crash. Lidi lurched and managed to stay on her feet. Behind the bar, bottles and glasses came raining down. Luckily she was several feet away and was able to escape the shards of flying glass.

  There were screams and shouts as the boat tilted to one side and people dashed about in helpless panic. Pushing past them, Lidi made her way in the direction of the deck. All around her, she could hear speculation about what was going on.

  “We’ve been rammed by another boat,” a man said. “It appears to be a deliberate attack.”

  “Pirates?” A woman’s high-pitched screech answered him. “In the Mediterranean?”

  Lidi didn’t need to join the discussion. She already knew what had happened. This was what the crawling feeling at the back of her neck had been about. This was what she’d been waiting for. It wasn’t a pirate attack. Vasily’s men had made their move.

  Before she could mount the short ladder that would take her onto the deck, a hand closed over her wrist. Looking up, she met Julien’s gaze. “I can’t let you go up there.”

  Anger flooded Lidi’s whole body. Why hadn’t she trusted her instincts? She had known something was wrong, had sensed all along she shouldn’t trust him. As she raised her fist to strike him, she detected a presence behind her. Rough hands grabbed her around the waist. Reluctant to shift in a confined space when so many people were already afraid, Lidi remained in human form but began to struggle.

  She elbowed her assailant hard in the ribs. The move was met with a muttered curse and a blow to the back of her head that brought her to her knees. Pain ricocheted through her skull and her vision blurred.

  Only partly conscious, Lidi heard Julien’s voice as though from a long way off. He was issuing orders. A fight was going on around her—about her?—and she was hauled into a pair of strong arms. Drifting in and out of consciousness, she tried to keep track of her surroundings as she was carried from the party room, along a corridor and into a cabin. When she was dumped on a bed, she tried to cry out in protest, but the only sound that left her lips was a weak croak. Although she attempted to leap up, her limbs refused to move.

  As the dark spots behind her eyelids finally merged together, she heard the sound of the door closing and a key turning in the lock.

  Chapter 6

  Lidi became aware of two things at once. The first was the pain in her head. It felt like an ice pick was being repeatedly jabbed into the back of her skull. The second was how still and quiet the boat had become.

  When she’d been placed in this cabin, there had been a party going on and the boat had just been rammed. Those things were out of place with the current silence and lack of movement. And the light...that was different too. It had been dark when she was overpowered. Now weak sunlight filtered throughout the confined space. Sensing that night had become day and that the boat was no longer moving, she turned her head toward the porthole.

  It was a mistake. The pain intensified and the world swam out of focus. Covering her eyes, she uttered a groan. A movement close by drew her attention and she forced herself to focus. Pain or no pain, nausea or no nausea, there was someone in the room with her.

  From her position on her side, she could only see a pair of long, denim-clad legs. Carefully, she tilted her head back until the rest of the body came into view. When she reached the face, she decided she was hallucinating and closed her eyes again.

  “It really is me.” The bed dipped as Ged sat next to her.

  “Water?” She couldn’t cope with explanations and a dry throat.

  “I can do better than that.” He held out a bottle of water and eased her into a half-seated position. Cradling her against the strong muscles of his chest, he held her as she gulped a mouthful of the refreshing liquid. “Now these.” He opened his palm to reveal two white tablets.

  Lidi regarded them warily. This had turned out to be the cruise from hell and she was no longer sure who she could trust. “I’m okay.” Her voice rasped slightly and she took another drink.

  Ged reached to one side of the bed for the bottle, holding it up so she could see it. “Just everyday painkillers.” When she didn’t reply, he frowned. “Why would I try to harm you, Lidi?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore.” She eased away from him slightly. “Such as why you’re here. On this boat. So soon after I was attacked.”

  He ran a hand through his hair, the action drawing her attention to bloodstains and scratches on the back of his hand. “Look, take the damn tablets. Then we can talk.”

  Carefully, she moved into a sitting position. Although she felt slightly disoriented, the nausea was receding. Resting her back against the scarred panels of the cabin wall, she took the tablets from him and swallowed them with another swig of water. She might not know what was going on, but she did trust Ged. She supposed it was part of the whole mates-for-life thing. Even if they didn’t want it, they were bound together.

  “Where are we?”

  “Genoa.”

  Lidi blinked so hard it hurt. “But the boat was rammed. There were attackers. I thought it was Vasily’s men—” She raised a hand to touch the back of her head, wincing as she felt the lump at the base of her skull.

  “It was Vasily’s men.” Ged’s expression was tight with anger. “And I will never forgive myself for exposing you to danger. But I thought you’d be safe in the middle of the ocean.”

  Lidi’s head was spinning, but this time her dizziness had nothing to do with the blow it had suffered. “Wait...you knew I was on this boat?”

  Ged moved so he could sit next to her. Since the bed was narrow and he was big, she was pressed up tight against him. The effect was far from unpleasant, but Lidi was in no mood to relax and enjoy the sensation.

  “Answer me, Ged.”

  He turned toward her, and the full-on impact of his face just inches from hers took her breath away. Kissing close. The thought almost destroyed her self-control. Then Ged was talking, and her concentration was restored.

&nb
sp; “Julien is a friend of mine. Maybe I should say was a friend of mine, since he let you get hit over the head.”

  “Ah.” That explained a lot, but by no means all, of what had happened the previous night. Although frowning hurt her head, she couldn’t stop herself. “But I’d only just left the hotel when I met him. And how could you have known I would go in the direction of the harbor?”

  He raised his knees, clasping his hands loosely between them. For a few moments, he stared down at his entwined fingers. “I have a network of people I can turn to whenever a shifter is in trouble.”

  Lidi took a few moments to process that information. “So the rumors are true? You rescue shifters who are in danger?”

  A corner of his mouth lifted. “They must be some powerful rumors if they’ve managed to penetrate as far as Callistoya.”

  “I told you. Vasily is scared of you. He tries to keep track of what you are doing. So do others. There are many who want you back on the throne.” She studied his face. “It didn’t matter which direction I went in? There would have been someone there to help me?”

  He looked sheepish. “I contacted everyone I knew in the Cannes area. They were all on the lookout for you.”

  Lidi was quiet, unsure how to feel about that. Part of her was uncomfortable at the thought that she hadn’t been free of Ged’s watchful presence. Another part was glad of his protection. Her conflicting emotions only reinforced how much her life had changed since she met him. “You must know a lot of people.”

  “Like I said, over the years I’ve managed to make a lot of contacts. Julien was possibly the most colorful...” He gave it some thought. “But maybe not.”

  “Why do you do it?” she asked. “Rock band manager and shifter rescuer...the two halves of your life don’t fit together.”

  He sighed. “Where do I start? But I suppose the first reason is the most obvious.” When she looked puzzled, he explained. “Andrei.”