"I'm sorry. I know what that's like. My mother… she hated the fact that I was a shifter. She and my dad never meant to get together but she got pregnant and they decided they had to get married. My life would have been much better in those early years if they'd just gotten divorced." Isaias sat down. "Like the pancakes?"
"Oh!" She hurried to take a bite. "They're great.
"Good."
"Why do you think those bears were coming after me? They don't want to kill me or I'd be dead already. Do you think maybe they just wanted me to know you were a shifter?"
If that was the case, they'd have no reason to come after her again.
Isaias picked up Luci. "I doubt it. More likely they were trying to kidnap you or something. Trying to get a ransom."
Becky shuddered. "But now that they've been thwarted twice they'll give up, right?"
"Probably." He added a generous amount of syrup to his pancakes. "They were after you before we announced our fake engagement, so I'm guessing that was their original attempt. There might be more to it now, but I doubt it. If they're acting like this they're probably not part of the clan."
"Probably not? Why would the clan want to kidnap me?"
He leaned his elbows on the table. "Remember when I said I didn't like the way women were throwing themselves at me? In bear society we're highly matriarchal. Everything is decided by having mates and with my money, being married, even if I'm not married to another bear, would increase my prestige immensely. Some of the other men might feel threatened by our marriage. And some of the women might still be hoping to woo me. I don't know."
"I never knew that about bears. Are you all matriarchically led or just your clan?"
"Most of us are."
She slumped back, dismayed. "All my books are wrong. I've talked with shifters to get my characters as realistic as possible but I always just assumed… Obviously, I never did enough research." Her eyes lit up as Isaias stuffed a whole pancake in his mouth. "I've got you now, though. You can help me write this book, so that I get the details right."
Isaias' brows rose. "You want me to consult?"
"Yeah. I want to get it right. I want to change the way people see things with my writing. I want to speak to people who can't find themselves in most mainstream media. Please?" She clasped her hands and widened her eyes. "I know I've received praise for my shifter characters but shifter groups have criticized them, too. You can read my book before I send it to my publisher and then we can work together to make it better. Pleeease."
Isaias half-smiled at her. "You know what? Yeah. I can do that."
"Thanks." Becky beamed at him.
Luci dumped her strawberries on the floor and laughed. Becky sighed as she bent to pick them up.
Chapter Eight
Isaias smiled as he pulled into the parking lot of his office building. Despite the happenings of the past few days, he had never been happier. He had been afraid that Becky would end up being one of those people who talked the talk but couldn't walk the walk when it came to shifters, but she had turned out to be far more than what he expected. She was so sincere and genuine in what she did, it made his heart swell.
Since the attack on the mansion, they'd been staying in the hotel. Isaias had hired bodyguards for both Adela and Becky, and had reached out into the clan to let them know about Marcus' involvement in the attack. So far, the other bear had been on the lam. Isaias could only hope that this meant he was long gone and would never be back in their lives.
His hopes were dashed when he got to his office. Marcus lounged in his chair, feet on his desk. A snarl ripped from Isaias' throat and he slammed the door behind him.
"You have a lot of nerve coming here."
"And you have a lot of nerve telling people that I attacked you in your house." Marcus smirked. "Is this because I went to talk to Adela the other day? Because your pettiness is getting very annoying."
"You stay away from her!" Isaias charged for the other bear but Marcus stayed where he was, not showing any signs of flinching or fighting back. Isaias was forced to stop. He couldn't attack an opponent who wasn't going to fight back. "What are you doing here? Trying to kidnap Becky again?"
Marcus rolled his eyes. "If I wanted to kidnap her, why would I do it in the dead of night breaking into your house while you're sleeping right beside her? That'd be stupid. Like I was trying to not kidnap her."
What the hell did that mean?
"Whatever you think you're doing, it's not going to work," Isaias spat at him. "No amount of bullying is going to make Adela take you back."
Marcus snorted. "Take me back? I think you've got that backwards. She is the one who begged me to take her back. She cheated on me and had her illicit lover's baby. I don't want her back. And no amount of begging on her part is going to make me change my mind."
Isaias was tempted to forgo the whole 'can't attack enemy who won't fight back' thing and just lay into him. Unfortunately, he had more honor than that. Though his bear growled and beat against his chest, trying to get out and mess up Marcus, he held it back.
"Why are you even here?"
"And finally we hit on the right question! A glimmer of light in that dull brain." Marcus laughed. "I'm not here because of our oh-so stimulating conversations. I was sent. The matriarch has heard some very disturbing rumors. Very disturbing."
Isaias folded his arms and waited for him to continue. He was done being goaded.
"Some people think that your relationship with Miss Lake is… how shall I say this? Fake."
Crap.
"Not me, of course," Marcus continued. "I know you better to know that it's perfectly normal for you to jump into bed with someone you've only known for what, five months?"
Don't react. Don't rise to his bait. He could feel his hairs standing on end as the desire to attack grew stronger. What was up with this guy? Why couldn't he just go back to his sad, lonely existence and leave them alone?
"You can understand why the matriarch is upset by these rumors," Marcus continued. "So, she sent me to tell you that she wants to see you and Becky ASAP… for your wedding."
"What?"
Marcus grinned. "She wants you to get married in a nice, private traditional bear ceremony soon… like tonight soon."
Isaias laughed out loud. That was ridiculous. Completely preposterous. "You're lying to cause trouble."
"In that case why don't you phone her up and ask her yourself?"
"Don't think I won't. Now get out of my office before I have you arrested."
Marcus stood and lazily stretched. He sauntered towards the door, then stopped and turned back to him. "You really should have just married Adela when you got her pregnant, mate. Then maybe you wouldn't be forced to marry someone you don't care all that much about. But I'm sure that you and Becky will have a long, happy life together."
Isaias remained rooted to the spot. If he moved, he'd attack and that would be bad for all of them. He waited until Marcus was gone before pulling out his private cellphone and calling the matriarch directly.
Why would she send Marcus to deliver such news? Everybody knew the history between them. When Adela told him she was pregnant, Marcus had assumed the baby was Isaias', despite there being nothing between the two of them.
He hadn't cared about Adela one iota, and for that Isaias wanted to mess him up.
Isaias didn't get ahold of the matriarch, but he was able to talk with her daughter, who spoke with the same authority.
"Yes, we've heard that you might be faking your relationship," she said coolly. "And so we want proof that you're genuine. Marry the non-shifter or be expelled from the clan. You can have your big white wedding at another time."
"But—"
"You've been ducking your responsibilities long enough. You want to stay in the clan? Then get married. Don't call again until you're ready for the ceremony."
***
"Are you kidding me?" Becky stared at him with a slack jaw. "They want us to get married–tonight?
"
Isaias nodded grimly. "If we don't, then I am going to be expelled from the clan. I can't have that. I'm sorry. I really am. It wasn't supposed to be like this."
"You're telling me." Becky swallowed hard, sinking down to sit on the couch. "This was only supposed to be fake. We weren't supposed to end up with ultimatums like this. Why would they kick you out for having a fake fiancé? It doesn't make any sense!"
"I don't know why that's what the matriarch decided, but it is what she decided. I can't change her mind." He took a deep breath. "I am having a prenuptial agreement drawn up. You'll get plenty once we're divorced—"
"I don't want a prenuptial agreement and I don't want a divorce!" Becky pressed her fingers to her temples. "Can't you just call her up and say that I'm not comfortable with the deadline and that she's being ridiculous?"
Isaias sighed. "I wish I could. This was only supposed to go on long enough for me to get some breathing space. We were supposed to show everybody how happy we were and then have a mysterious falling out that would give me a year where I could be in peace. Traditional marriages with bears… you should know that there is no divorce for that. Couples can and do split up, but we wouldn't be able to divorce after this marriage."
"But you just said—"
"The divorce would be for our non-shifter marriage." He slumped. If they were going to be married in the traditional bear ceremony, they might as well marry as non-shifters, otherwise it would be painfully obvious that it was a ruse. "I figure we can stay married for a year and then we divorce in non-shifter courts and we simply go our separate ways with the bears."
She shook her head. "I never agreed to marry you for real. Would we sleep together? What if I got pregnant?"
"We wouldn't do anything either of us didn't want to do."
"This can't be happening." She pressed her face into her hands. "If I say yes, we go through this sham of a marriage for a year and then the media will be crapping all over me for divorcing you. We don't go through this and you're kicked out of your clan."
Isaias put an arm around her hesitantly. "If you're worried about the media, we can say I cheated on you and that's why you're divorcing me. It'll be enough for them."
"It's not that. It's the whole idea of this." Tears glimmered in her eyes and she angrily brushed them away. "I am not going to start crying over something so stupid."
Isaias smiled wryly. He didn't think that the situation was stupid… more like desperate and stressful. Becky had to process her emotions whatever way she could, though, so he only put an arm around her and tried to be comforting. It sucked. No matter which way they looked at it, it sucked. He wished he didn’t have to put her in this situation.
For a long moment, Becky sat there, sniffing and wiping her eyes. Eventually, she leaned against him, resting her head against his shoulder. He ran his fingers through her hair, liking the way the curls twisted around them.
"This isn't what I wanted," she whispered eventually. "I never thought I'd end up in this sort of situation. At times I thought I was so desperate I'd probably have said yes to any guy who asked me. I've wanted to be in a romantic relationship for so long. I've never even had a boyfriend."
"Never?"
"Never."
Isaias repressed a growl. "The men in your life have been blind."
Becky giggled, but sobered quickly enough. "Maybe so, but the fact remains that I've been on a total of five dates. Each time I asked the guy and he only said yes to be polite. That destroys a girl's self-confidence. And of course there were the fake confessions of love. Being called up by the guys in high school and have them tell me that they love me and then learn that they only did it on a dare and the whole school was laughing at me…"
Isaias' arms tightened. What sort of insensitive idiots would do that? She was so beautiful, with such a sparkling personality. He hadn't understood how she could have such low self-esteem but the more he learned about her past, the clearer it became.
"And despite what I said when I was drunk… I don't know if I want or even can give my virginity to someone who can't give me their forever." She chewed her lip. "I mean… I don’t know what I mean."
"We don't have to have sex just because we get married." He kissed her temple, wanting to tell her that he would love to have her every way he could but given the situation it wasn't appropriate. "It's your choice."
She snorted, a sound that quickly became a sob. "Well, I'm not going to get you kicked out of your clan. We'll get married. After that… well, we'll just see what happens. But you haven't even met my parents yet!"
"Do you want them to—"
"No." She shook her head decisively. "I don't want them there and I don't want to tell them. I don’t have the strength to fight with them over what I'm doing in my own life right now. So how do bear weddings work? Do we need to write vows or anything?"
"No. There's the ceremony, which is performed by the matriarch, and then we're taken to a sacred grove where we… That's not to say that we have to. It's traditionally done that way but we can skip that part. I'll tell the matriarch that you're uncomfortable to be in the open like that. She'll be reasonable. I'm sure she will."
Chapter Nine
Her choice.
No.
Their choice.
Becky dug her fingers into the arms of the chair while Adela fixed a sparkling tiara on her perfectly formed curls. It had been a whirlwind day since Isaias had told her about the matriarch's demands. She and Adela had gone dress shopping, finding a deep sea-green cocktail dress that she had decided to wear for this wedding. Apparently green was a traditional bear wedding color. The jewelry was all things that Isaias had in his personal store, which had been owned by previous generations. And before she knew it, night was falling and it was time for her to get married.
She thought she might throw up when she glanced at herself in the mirror. The stress of this wedding weighed heavy on her.
Or rather, the wedding night.
Because she wanted it. And Isaias had made no indication that he didn't want to have a wedding night. But he didn't say he wanted it, either. It was just so confusing…
"I never asked you if you're a bear, too," she blurted, wanting anything to distract herself.
Adela shook her head, pressing her fingers into her plump cheeks as she inspected her work. "No. Luci is, though. Or at least, I think she will be. We won't know until she starts shifting, but even after several generations, children with only one shifter parent tend to be a shifter themselves. They have very dominant genes."
"So Luci's father is a shifter." She thought about the man who had come to the house that ended up in an argument with Isaias. Marcus. Was that Luci's father? Or was it someone else that Becky had never met?
Adela grasped Becky's hand. It was freezing. "If you're worried about Isaias and me, don't be. He's practically my brother and the thought of anything like that with him is sick."
"I wasn't." Becky shook her head and sucked in a deep breath. "I'm worried about the… after the wedding. Isaias told me that it's my choice but I just don't know how he feels. If he doesn't want to but it's expected because of the wedding then—"
"Honey." Adela shook her head. "If Isaias didn't want to sleep with you, it wouldn't be an option. I've never seen him get so close to somebody so quickly. He keeps the world at arm's length and that includes potential sexual partners. But you drew him in so quickly. I'd say it's a fairy tale, only you don't have a fairy godmother."
The knot in her chest eased. Becky's tense shoulders relaxed and she even managed a smile. Well, that answered one question. Whether it was enough remained to be seen, but for now it bolstered Becky enough to get out of her chair and allow Adela to lead her out of the rustic-looking log cabin outside, where the bears were waiting.
Isaias stood under the umbrella branches of a weeping willow. He wore a green kilt and nothing else. Not even shoes. Becky toed off her slippers and joined him, holding his hands as the matriarch sprink
led ashes over their heads. Her heart slammed into her ribs but as long as she kept her eyes on Isaias, everything else seemed to fade away. His warm brown eyes remained on hers, his easy smile flashing his dimples at her.
It was almost easy to forget that they weren't here of their own free will.
The matriarch, a white-haired woman with stern eyes, turned to her. "Rebecca Lake. Are you here free of will to bind your soul forever to Isaias Durant?"
"Yes." There wasn't even a trace of hesitation in her voice.
"Isaias Durant, are you here free of will to bind your soul forever to Rebecca Lake?"
His smile deepened. "Yes."
If she didn't know better, she would have thought that it was for real. Her hands tightened around his hands and he tugged her a little closer. The matriarch dipped a ladle into a bucket of water and poured it over their joined hands, then let some trickle over each of their heads. The cold water made Becky shiver and she glanced nervously at what was next. A red-hot knife. Isaias tightened his grip on her but the matriarch only used the knife to cut a bit of his hair and a bit of hers to sprinkle over their joined hands.
"You are bound."
The small group crowded forward. Becky yelped as she was picked up but Isaias smiled reassuringly at her and she relaxed. He was also picked up and the two of them were carried to a large grove of trees. She wasn't sure what type they were but the trunks were wide, the branches long. Combined with the bushes that grew in the circle, it was fairly private. A blanket was already laid out over the ground.
Once they were put down, Isaias moved to her side again. He drew her protectively to his side. "I thought we were going to do this somewhere else. I told you my mate didn't feel comfortable in the open.
The matriarch shrugged. "You will not be properly joined if you do not come together in this sacred spot. I'm sure your mate will understand."
The Bear Shifter's Virgin Page 5