The sound of giggling caught Ursula’s attention, and she picked up her feet and walked calmly in the direction of the soothing sound. Ursula glanced up at the sky and found it a piercing blue with not a single cloud in the sky. She smiled, happiness and comfort washing over her in a way that she had never experienced.
Coming to a meadow, Ursula stopped and discovered that she was no longer alone. Ahead of her, on the other side of the field, sat a small boy who appeared to be from her mate’s tribe.
The boy was small, maybe no older than five. His dark hair was shaggy around his face as he played with a small bear figurine. Ursula smiled at the scene, she tried placing the boy, but couldn’t.
Being the mate of the future chief of a tribe entitled many expectations, some Ursula knew she might never be able to fulfill on her own or as a human. But at least she tried, and if no one else was satisfied with that, then that was their problem.
Ursula tried to take the time to get to know everyone, especially the children. But as she watched the boy play for a few minutes, she realized that she had never seen this child before.
As though sensing someone watching him, the boy looked up at Ursula with wide eyes. “Mama?” The boy’s voice was high and unsure, and he tilted his head at her in the same confused manner that she often saw Walter do towards her. Ursula heard herself gasp again, and she took a step towards the boy.
The little boy got up, showing that the only article of clothing he wore were shorts.
She walked towards the boy, wishing she had something to call him. She reached her hand out to him and took another step as the earth began to shake. Ursula struggled with keeping her balance, and the little boy screamed in fear.
Ursula didn’t think, she just ran blindly towards the boy as the world around them seemed to fall apart. The shaking was violent, and the trees and bushes seemed to tremble and crack.
Just as Ursula came close enough to the boy so their fingers could touch, the ground beneath her crumbled, and Ursula found herself falling into a dark abyss. Above her, the once blue sky now seemed red, and the boy looked down at her with wide, terrified eyes, not aware that a tall figure now stood behind him. Ursula opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out.
***
Ursula jerked awake with a whimper, her body drenched in sweat. She sat up and tore the blanket away from her to expose her still-pregnant belly. Ursula sighed and lay back down, turning over to where her mate would be. But she found his side empty.
Ursula sat up, her tired mind slowly coming to life. Something about a meeting shook her thoughts, and she nodded, remembering a speech that Walter had to deliver for whatever reason.
She flopped back down on the bed, and then flinched, wishing she hadn’t done that. The baby was due in a week, and any sudden movement could send her into labor. She was both excited and nervous about becoming a mother. Would she be the mom that she had hoped she’d be her whole life?
Ursula slid out of bed a few moments later, pulled on a dress and slowly got herself ready for the long day ahead of her. She hummed, brushing her hair, and gazed in the mirror at her reflection.
Her eyes wandered to her stomach, and the dream suddenly came back to her. Ursula stopped brushing her hair and frowned, wondering what it could have meant. She had had many strange dreams, and thoughts, along with cravings during her pregnancy, but nothing quite like that.
Ursula gently placed her hands on her belly, and felt the baby kick back in response. “That’s right, little one. Momma’s here,” she whispered, giving her belly a gentle rub.
The dream frightened her, even though Ursula knew rationally that it was just that; a dream. Though no matter how much she tried to shake it, the boy’s eyes from her nightmare continue to haunt her in her waking life.
Ursula turned from the mirror and left the bedroom behind. Outside, Ursula could see the blue skies battle with grey clouds. It was hard to believe that autumn was here already. The leaves on the trees had started to brown, but not enough to fall to the ground just yet. But it was only a matter of time.
Grabbing an apple as she left, Ursula took a bite and felt the juice run down her chin. She opened the front door and welcomed the now slightly chilled air into her home. Soon, the grass would be covered in snow, and the idea of sharing winter with her child excited her to no end.
Ursula took a step out, closing and locking the door behind her. She breathed in the minty air, fresh with the tinge of cold and a mix of pine and juniper. It was a beautiful aroma that Ursula loved to wake up to every day, and she knew that the smell of fall would only intensify once the leaves littered the ground and snow took its place. She was looking forward to it.
***
Walter Schumacher talked with a sense of ease that only came with a natural born leader. It was funny to think that at one point, he didn’t want to lead anyone but himself. But now, here he was leading a group of an ancient Indian tribes people as their soon to be chief.
Ursula placed her hands on her plump stomach, hoping to feel a kick or any kind of movement that would remind her that she was soon to be a mother. Nothing manifested, and she dropped her hands. She tried to listen to Walter’s words, but she was too distracted to fully comprehend the meaning behind them.
Recently, she had felt sick. Sicker than usual. Ursula had blamed the bipolar weather, but in reality she wasn’t sure if it was the baby or a cold. Either way, she could barely eat without feeling the need to rush off somewhere to puke.
Just then, something shook her. It started off as a trembling, and soon it was so violent it made her legs go weak. She held her stomach, and realized that the pain was coming from within, and then she felt her water break.
Ursula looked around, surprised that no one seemed to notice her pain. She edged her way to Walter, and he looked over at her in both annoyance and concern. His nose twitched, and Ursula wondered if he could smell the change on her.
“Walter... it’s time,” she whispered, even though she knew that all the shifters had the sharpest sense of hearing and mumbling would do nothing.
“Time... time...? Time!” Walter connected what she meant and nearly dropped the paper he was holding. He looked around, his calm demeanor now replaced with uncertainty and shock.
“I’m sorry, everyone, but I need to rush my mate to the midwife. I’m sorry to end this so suddenly, but we can pick it up in a week. Now if you excuse me...”
Walter grabbed Ursula’s wrist and yanked her through the crowd, and out the door, into the cold night air. Ursula tried to keep up, her breathing becoming more rigorous, and she knew the baby was not going to be patient with her. She tightened her grip in Walter’s hand, and he sensed what she was trying to tell him.
Soon, Isabella Saunders' cabin came into view, a light glowing through the windows in a welcoming warmth. Walter slammed the door open, and Isabella turned around to stare at him, two jars in her hands as though she were in the middle of creating medicine.
The woman’s dark, doll-like eyes fell onto Ursula, and she nearly dropped both glasses. “Hurry, come in! Shut the door and set her down on the mat over there.” She pointed to a mat made of numerous blankets and pillows in the corner of the room.
Walter guided Ursula gently to the bed, and she lay down, pain overwhelming her. It crushed her bones and made the blood flow to her head. She never imagined the pain being this bad; she had always thought that T.V shows and movies exaggerated that part.
Isabella raced around the room, grabbing the supplies she needed. The candles that lit the room gently trembled as she rushed from one spot to the next.
Ursula let out a scream. Isabella came over with water and towels, pushed Ursula’s dress up and slipped of the underwear she wore.
Ursula let out another, more muffled scream, and she reached out for something to grasp. Walter slipped his hand in hers, and Ursula held it tightly. The room felt as though it were spinning, and Ursula couldn’t hold back anymore; the baby had to be born. Wit
hout thinking, she began to push, and Isabella was between her legs. Ursula could see Walter moving his lips, but she couldn’t comprehend what he was trying to say. Everything was happening too fast.
In the chaos of her screams, pain, and confusion, another cry broke through the ringing noise that pierced her ears. The pain had ceased, though her body trembled with weakness.
It took Ursula a minute to realize that the crying was far too small and too high-pitched for it to be coming from her. She blinked, the confusion drifting away as she realized that the screams were coming from a healthy baby boy.
The infant rested in Isabella’s arms, the midwife humming to the child as she cleaned the newborn gook from its skin. From where Ursula rested, she could see that the boy’s skin was dark like hers, but lighter than Walter’s.
His head had some black hair poofed up, his eyes had yet to open to show the world his eager eyes. He was beautiful, everything Ursula had expected. He was everything she had always wanted and dreamt of since the moment she knew she wanted to be a mother.
Walter’s hand slid into hers, and she looked up at him. He brushed away some tears that escaped her eyes that she hadn’t noticed before. This was it. It really was a start. Ursula wanted to take her new baby from Isabella and take the time to hold him herself. But she’d have to be patient; she had the rest of her life to be a mother. This was just the beginning of something absolutely beautiful.
*
It was hard to believe that a month had gone by. After her son was placed into her arms, Ursula could have sworn that the days blended together, and the hands on the clock of life suddenly sped up before she could even register where her life was going.
It wasn’t a bad feeling, though she wanted to enjoy the days she now had as both a wife and a mother. She wanted to treasure the days. Ursula didn’t want to blink and miss a thing. It was funny, she thought, how you learn to appreciate time more when you’re watching someone you love grow.
Ursula opened her eyes, feeling Walter’s warm breath tickle her face. Their naked bodies pressed against each other, tangled after the first sex they had since the child was born.
His toned arms held her waist close to his. Everything about the way he rested against her voiced how protective he was of her, and she couldn’t love him more. Ursula let her eyes flutter shut to doze back off to slumber when the sound of faint crying snapped her awake.
Ursula sighed, slid out of Walter’s warm embrace, tugged her robe on and headed for the baby’s room. She yawned and rubbed at her eyes, hoping that the baby would grow out of the ‘I’m hungry, feed me even though it’s two in the morning’ phase soon.
Overall, their son was good about that sort of thing. He didn’t fuss very much, and he was very vocal when he needed them. Ursula frowned. She wished she could call her son something other than ‘son’ and ‘boy’. But that was how the tribe worked; you didn’t name the child until after it was a few months old.
Ursula couldn’t fully remember the reason why, but it had to do with it being bad luck for both the family and the baby. Many of the tribes-people were highly superstitious when it came to future children. Once, when Ursula had asked another woman about the baby before he had been born, the woman slapped Ursula for even briefly bringing up ideas for names.
Ursula respected the tribe and the people’s wishes, even though she would much prefer just giving her son a name right off the bat. She never talked to Walter about it; he just told her that the name would come to their child with time.
The crying grew louder as she walked closer to the room. As she did, Ursula mentally started listing boy names she liked. ‘Christopher, William, Bentley...’ There was a strange satisfaction being able to at least talk to herself about it. Sometimes she would call the baby by a name to see how it would react, but not when Walter or anyone else was around.
Halfway to the room, the crying ceased. Ursula frowned and shrugged her tired shoulders. Guess he wasn’t hungry after all. Ursula turned to walk back to her and Walter’s room, but something nagged at her that she couldn’t quite explain.
Ursula spun around and continued to her son’s room anyway; it wouldn’t hurt to just check. She came to the room, but as she did, she stopped.
She and Walter never closed the door for fear of them not hearing when their son needed them. But as she stood in front of the entrance to her son’s room, she couldn’t help but stare at the shut door before her.
Walter must have closed it without thinking, it was a simple mistake. Ursula placed her hand on the doorknob, but she still couldn’t shake the sense of fear growing inside her.
The door swung open, and she was met with her son’s moonlit room. The cradle was pushed against the wall in the corner beside the window.
Ursula inhaled air and held it, not exactly knowing what she was expecting. She glanced around the room, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There was no real place for anyone to hide. Perhaps she really was just paranoid.
Ursula slowly walked to the crib, knowing that seeing her son would bring the comfort that she needed. But as she came to the crib and peered in, the only thing that filled the silence was Ursula’s loud and desperate screams. The baby was gone.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Angry, muffled voices filled the night, but Ursula paid no attention to them. She sat on the porch of her and Walter’s cabin, a blanket wrapped around her, and a mug of her favorite tea in her hands.
Ursula stared at her reflection in the mug blankly. The tea had probably gone cold, but she wasn’t planning on drinking it. She had completely lost her appetite and will to do anything. She was numb, trapped inside the vortex of her mind. Ursula kept telling herself it was a bad dream, that any moment she would wake up in Walter’s arms, sneak out, and surprise him with breakfast in bed.
Despite the cold sting in the air, and the feeling of the blanket around her, Ursula didn’t wake up. It was a nightmare that she couldn’t escape.
There was the creaking of footsteps on the porch, and Walter’s arm wrapped around her as he sat beside her. “We’re going to find him, Ursula.”
Ursula didn’t say anything. She continued to stare at herself in the mug. She felt him watch her, but she didn’t know what to say. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “How are you so sure? Do you even know who could have done this?”
Ursula could feel Walter slightly flinch, but did his best not to show it. “I don’t... yet. But we are going to get our son back, Ursula. No matter what it takes. I can promise you that.”
Walter kissed Ursula’s temple, and Ursula managed to crack a smile. They looked back as three men from the tribe walked out, two of them giving Ursula awkward, sympathetic looks.
The tallest of the three looked down at Walter. “We’ll come back in the morning. We couldn’t catch any scent or find any fresh prints. Whoever stole the kid knows what they’re doing, but we can search better when the sun’s out and we can get more people to help.”
“Thank you for everything. Go on home. Sunrise is in two hours, we might as well rest before we tear the place apart.”
The man nodded and they took off, one looking back at the broken family with wide eyes before being yanked away by his friend. Ursula watched them disappear into the night, and with how numb she felt she couldn’t help but wonder if she had made that all up in her head as well.
“Let’s go in, Ursula. We’ll continue this in a few hours. I promise you we’ll find him. I promise...” Walter helped her up and softly kissed her lips. Ursula felt the tears come streaming down her cheeks, but Walter already rubbed them away.
He guided her back into the brightly-lit cabin, cold skin meeting warm air. Walter sat her down at the kitchen table, took her mug and left to reheat the contents inside.
Ursula listened as he rummaged around the kitchen. She stared at the wood on the table, memorizing which way the swirls went. Ursula was rudely awoken from her thoughts by a crash in the kitchen, and an angry Walter standing in the do
orway between the kitchen and the dining room, his face twisted in a way that gave away his shifter heritage. “Isabella.”
“What about her?”
“Something tells me she would know about this. That witch has far too many secrets for a midwife.” Walter began to head for the front door.
“We’re going now?”
“Might as well. If she knows anything, she might try to make a run for it or avoid going home all day if she’s out. We also might as well find some clues while the trail is still fresh.”
Ursula stood up and nearly tripped to catch up with her mate. She slipped her hand into his palm and he held it back. Ursula was thankful for his warmth; it made her feel like she had the energy and courage to reunite their family, despite the odds being against them.
They left the warm cabin behind as they descended into the darkness of the forest. Above the couple, the stars blinked and twinkled.
***
Isabella’s cottage was dark; if Walter didn’t know exactly where it was, Ursula knew they would have been wandering the woods for hours, not knowing where they were going.
The cabin had overgrown vines and plants on it from years of letting Mother Nature take over. Ursula followed Walter closely as they approached Isabella’s front door.
Walter knocked, and from the inside they could hear the sleepy movement of what they assumed was the midwife herself. After a moment, the door was slightly opened to reveal Isabella’s tired, shadowed face.
Her dark doe eyes widened when her brain processed who her visitors were, but before she could slam the door shut, Walter forced the door open and backed Isabella into a corner.
Ursula found matches and lit some of the candles in the room for them to see.
“Where is he?” Walter snarled.
“Where’s who?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Isabella. I know you know who took my son. Don’t lie to me, I can smell your fear.”
Simply Bears: A Ten Book Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance Collection Page 57