by V. Vaughn
Caitlyn knows that Julie can hear them since she’s bound to be listening after scenting Caitlyn, and she says, “I don’t think that’s a werebear.”
“The hell it isn’t,” hisses Buck. “Get her in your scope.”
Caitlyn does as she’s ordered, and we’re privy to a view of Julie glaring in our direction before she jumps off the porch and disappears behind the trailer. Buck speaks, and I think it’s to everyone. “She’s on the run.”
His boots thud on the ground as he takes off running toward Julie, and Caitlyn chases after him. The stupid humans sound like a herd of cattle as they move in, and my warrior instincts are screaming to save Julie, but I’m not sure how. I wonder if Caitlyn can do it, as adrenaline rushes though her veins. At least she’s not the type to freeze under pressure, and I will her werebear side to take over. She and Buck get behind the trailer and stop for a moment as they both assess the situation. Caitlyn listens, and when she hears faint footsteps off to the left she runs in that direction.
Her thoughts are about saving Julie, as hatred for the Eradicators begins to fuel her. Flashes of past evils she suffered at the hands of men like Buck run through her mind, and all the hatred for werebear seems pale in comparison. She even flirts briefly with the idea of running away tonight with Julie. No matter how much she detests the Ouellette clan, it’s clear to me she doesn’t want Julie to die. Although she’s not sure how she can stop anything, she’s going to try. I speak to her, although I realize she can’t hear me. “I’m with you, Caitlyn.” I may only be a passenger on this ride, but I take all my mental power and attempt to feed it to her.
Once again, Caitlyn stops to listen, and this time what she hears makes her blood run cold. Multiple men are running now, and unless Julie can manage to hide, she’s likely trapped. A flash of something catches Caitlyn’s eye, and she turns to discover Julie is on top of another trailer. The moment she sees Julie flatten herself on it Caitlyn keeps turning as if there was nothing there. It might have worked if Buck hadn’t seen the same thing.
He lifts his gun slowly and whispers, “Gotcha.” He nods toward Caitlyn, and she trains her gun on Julie too as Buck tells the other’s where their target is.
Caitlyn says, “I really think she’s human.”
“Then why’d she run?”
“Because she could sense she was in danger? Does she look like someone who would live in that trailer she came out of?” Asks Caitlyn. Julie raises her hands and gets up on her knees as she stares down at Buck and Caitlyn. “Ask her,” says Caitlyn.
Good. She’s just given Julie an explanation. Now let’s hope Julie knows what to do with it. Buck asks, “Why’d ya run?”
Julie goes with strong female and says, “I don’t like guns pointed at me.”
“How’d you know they were?” asks Buck.
Julie shrugs. “Sixth sense. It’s never steered me wrong before.”
Caitlyn glances at Buck to see if he’s buying it. His gun is still pointed at Julie, but his finger is no longer on the trigger. He asks, “Do you live here?”
Julie shakes her head, and now she appears nervous as her eyes dart around. She asks, “Can I get down from here?”
Buck nods for her to do so, but when she moves suddenly, a shot rings out, and Julie thuds to the top of the trailer as a low growl rumbles in her chest. I understand the reaction, because the pain of a gunshot is excruciating. As the fabric of her clothing begins to rip from her enlarging form, I have no doubt that her shift is an automatic response.
Caitlyn screams, “No!” and shoves Buck. The ground around us vibrates with the force of Julie landing on it as a bear, and Caitlyn runs toward her. My skin that I shouldn’t be feeling begins to prickle with an oncoming shift as Caitlyn begins to growl too. What the-- Julie the bear begins to run, and when Caitlyn’s arms fall to the ground she glances down and we both notice they are now paws. And I realize she just shifted into a black bear. It’s as if it’s happening to me, and I force her limbs to move with the speed and power of a warrior. Her clothing flaps in strips before it falls away as she races after Julie towards the woods. Shots pepper the ground around her. The sharp hit of one radiates through her leg. Only the pain is so intense I would swear it was mine.
As we crash through the forest I’m feeling more than Caitlyn’s senses. The ground is hard under the pads of my feet, and the branches that scrape against her body hurt as if it’s happening to me. When I realize that my desire to have her run off to the right to zig zag actually happens, I think I may actually have some control. I speak in my head. “Listen to me, I’m trained for this.”
While this bear form is a smaller, weaker version than mine, I still know how to make it move quickly. My agility allows us to get deeper into the woods with enough speed that the hunters are far behind. Every step we take on our back left leg shoots white-hot pain through the limb, but I fight through it to keep going. I’m clearly in control now, because I can’t hear Caitlyn’s thoughts any longer. So I take advantage of it and push harder.
The scent of Ouellette bear hits me the moment before I spot one, and I want to cry in happiness when I realize it’s Xavier. I speak in my head. “We’re safe now, Caitlyn.”
I stop before him, and because I’m sure he hasn’t got any idea who I am, I lower my head in a submissive move so he won’t attack. A man’s voice speaks in my head, and I recognize it as Jean Luc. “Nadia, is that you?”
“Yes, I’m in Caitlyn’s bear and have control”
Jean Luc tells the warriors who the strange bear is and then orders me not to shift back to human. I think he’s afraid Caitlyn will take over, and I’m sure of it.
A bear rushes up to me, and when I scent him I know instantly it’s René. I haven’t seen him in full bear form before, and I nuzzle up to him in relief. Although when I think about how Caitlyn is probably living in my head the way I was in hers, I refrain from thinking about more.
Jean Luc speaks to me. “We need to get you to Tally so she can get you out of Caitlyn.”
“I’m pretty sure we’d both like that. What about Julie?”
“Men are on it. René and Izzy will take you to Tally’s.”
I never thought I’d want to cry in relief at the sight of Isabelle De Rozier, but when the white flash of her fur appears in the woods, I know that she and René will get me home safely. She nuzzles near my wound, but it’s already begun to heal. While the pain is still great, I’m too much of a warrior to let her carry me, so I tilt my head in the ‘let’s go’ signal. René stays by my side as we follow Izzy, and I can’t help brush against his shoulder often to make sure I’m really going home.
21
Izzy
The stench of human male sweat and fear is strong, and I wonder how many Eradicators are staked in out the woods behind the trailer park where a bear sighting was reported. It’s most likely Julie, who has been missing since Henri told her to move out. She probably skipped out because she knows that stealing a child, even from a human mother, is a crime that Jean Luc will punish. While it would be nice to capture Julie, we’re not here for her. We’re hoping to trap Caitlyn so we can pull Nadia out of her and bring her back to us.
The Ouellette warrior team is spread out in a circle about a mile away from the trailer park in order to avoid the hunters while keeping them trapped so we can locate Caitlyn. With my powerful polar bear senses, I can smell things black bear can’t, and I speak to Jean Luc telepathically. “The hunters are definitely watching the trailer park.”
“Good.” He talks to everyone. “The hunters are there. We wait for them to leave, and if we hear a shot, we move in.”
It’s a little past midnight when we do hear a shot, and we all shift to bear as we race toward the action. By the time we get there, multiple guns are shooting rapid fire, and moments later Jean Luc reports to me that Xavier found Caitlyn as a bear and Nadia has control of the body. I race toward the direction Xavier should be in, and when I find him with a black bear who has th
e reddish tint of a Ouellette, I sigh in relief.
Blood soaks the left hip of the bear, but when I nuzzle her she makes the motion she doesn’t need help. I’m sure it’s Nadia in control now, because judging by the limp, she’s got to be in excruciating pain. Only a warrior would push past it for their pride. René takes her side, and I lead the way home a little slower than I normally would to accommodate for her injury. But I’m anxious to get Nadia out of Caitlyn, because when it comes to magic, anything could happen.
Jean Luc and the rest of the warriors have gone after Julie, but the Eradicators complicate matters. Jean Luc would rather keep every member of his team alive than catch Julie, and I bet he’ll let her get away. Being shunned from your clan is often punishment enough. I chuckle at myself, because I can’t believe I just thought like my peace-loving husband instead of the cold Isabelle that would have wanted Julie to suffer more.
We’ve reached a clearing, and the stars are bright pricks of light in the dark sky as I gaze up. I think about my mother and the bipolar curse on the women in our family. While I’m fairly confident it no longer exists in me, I still can’t shake the fear that my daughter may not be so lucky. The babies’ hearts beating comes to the forefront of my mind, and I listen as I imagine what they might look like. It occurs to me that this is probably my last mission, since my children have reached the stage where my belly is about to become vulnerable.
But one last thing needs to be done before I hang up my warrior status for motherhood. I glance behind me and tilt my head to indicate I’d like to move faster. Nadia nods and we begin to run. When the moist ocean air fills my nostrils I know we’re close, and I ask Jean Luc to make sure Nadia doesn’t shift to human, although I doubt she needs the reminder. I’d guess now that she has control of Caitlyn, she has no intention of giving it up.
When we reach Tally’s backyard, René and I shift into human form, and I rap on Tally’s door before we enter. She’s used to naked werebear arriving at her house, and a variety of clothing hangs on hooks for us to utilize. The worn cotton of a large T-shirt is soft on my skin when I pull it over my head. While René gets the bear form of Caitlyn arranged on the table next to an unconscious Nadia, I find a pair of shorts for him to wear. Kimi and Bella are still here, and they’ve already sprung into action to set things up.
Another rap on the door makes me turn and notice Marcel as he walks in. He grins as he says, “One portal, at your disposal.”
Bella’s about to grab his arm, but quickly stops herself and says, “Oh boy, you are dangerous.” She winks at him before she steps away so she doesn’t get accidentally sucked into another person too.
Tally says to him, “This is Caitlyn’s bear, but Nadia is in control so we shouldn’t have any trouble getting her to come back through the portal.”
I ask, “What about Caitlyn?”
Kimi says, “She’ll be fine, but that’s why Jace should be here any minute.” She glances at the bear. “So don’t get any ideas, Caitlyn.”
“So a half shifted,” says Marcel. “That’s kind of crazy.”
I say, “Actually, she’s three-quarters werebear, and that, along with Nadia in her mind, might be why she managed to shift.”
Kimi says, “It’s also possible that three-quarter were can shift on their own in an extreme situation. Think of it as a magnified version of what you had to do when you first learned how.”
I recall that as a teenager all I had to do was think about something that made me angry, and I shifted easily. I imagine Caitlyn had to have been confused when she discovered she couldn’t shift easily like her friends, and when Julie told her she was a full werebear she likely gave up trying. But now I wonder what would have happened if she’d managed to get her emotions to be intense enough. When another knock sounds, I smile, because even Jace respects Tally enough to accommodate for her human hearing.
He nods at everyone and takes a place in the corner. Tally takes a deep breath before she blows it out with a whoosh and says, “Let’s do this.”
René leaves the circle and gets dressed before he comes to stand next to me. We watch Marcel enter the salt circle and place a palm on both Nadia’s and the bear’s foreheads. Bella says, “Marcel, you may need to hold on tight. Take Nadia’s hand and grab a chunk of Caitlyn’s fur.”
Tally adds, “Remember what I told you about the power of the portal. It’s going to call to you, and you must fight it.”
I think about the implications if Tally has to destroy another portal. We could lose Nadia forever. But I believe if I had known to ignore the desire, I could have fought it. And I think Marcel is strong enough to do it. I speak quietly to René. “It’s going to get weird in here, but these three know what they’re doing.”
He nods as his gaze stays trained on Nadia, and like last time Kimi begins with the chant. I recall the wind that I felt and watch it happen again, but notice it’s only within the circle. It’s like a strong storm when Bella joins in, and I watch Marcel sway a little. He widens his stance and takes the brunt of Tally’s addition to the magic with a fierceness that shows his strength, and his determination reminds me why he’s one of the Ouellette’s top warriors.
Nadia’s body jerks up and she gasps before she cries, “I’m back!” She sits up as the chanting stops. The storm disappears too.
I hold out my arm to keep René from running to her. I say, “She needs to leave to come to you.” I glance over at Caitlyn who’s probably freaking out. Marcel hasn’t let go of her, and I say, “Caitlyn, imagine your skin swallowing up your fur so you can shift back to human form.”
It works, and she shrinks back. She sits up and gazes around with wide eyes. Tally says, “Nobody’s going to hurt you. When you’re ready, you and Marcel will come out of the circle together, and we’ll give you some clothes.”
Jace is by the door, and he grabs a flannel shirt to toss over to Marcel as he and Caitlyn walk out of the circle. She grabs the shirt and quickly covers herself before Marcel returns his grip to her arm. I say, “Caitlyn. I’m the prima of this clan now, and you won’t be hurt unless you give us a good reason for it.”
She nods as Nadia says, “Get Henri. Julie fed her a pack of lies.” She stares at Caitlyn for a moment before she says, “You didn’t belong with the Eradicators, I’m sorry you were given no choice.”
Caitlyn has tears streaming down her face and she sniffs as swipes at them.
Nadia turns to me. “I need to talk to you and Jean Luc.”
“Yes.”
René says, “Once I’ve dealt with Caitlyn I’ll come get you.”
Nadia grabs him and kisses him hard, and I speak to Caitlyn, “You’ll be kept somewhere safe and be made comfortable. In the morning you’ll see Jean Luc.”
She nods, and the door snicks open before René leads her outside along with Jace and Marcel.
I turn to Kimi, Bella and Tally. “Job well done, ladies.”
Kimi sighs, “It was a tough one. I’m glad it worked out.”
“Me too,” says Tally. “But we’re not out of the dark yet. We still need to figure out why people are becoming portals. Nadia isn’t magical and she should have never been able to go with me.”
Bella says, “She could have if she were spelled.”
Nadia says, “I don’t think I was. I’d have noticed if someone were doing it, wouldn’t I?”
“You might not,” says Kimi. “Don’t discount something you ate either. We had an incident with the Le Roux clan that involved tainted tea.”
Nadia frowns as if she’s thinking, and I say, “Okay, thanks for the heads up.” I turn to Nadia. “The alpha’s waiting.”
After I say my goodbyes and thanks to the witches, we walk out to my Hummer. Nadia is quiet as I drive, and I let her have the time to process without questions. She cracks a window open and inhales the fresh air before she says, “I’m really glad I’m not human. Their men are jerks.”
“You didn’t exactly witness shining examples.”
&n
bsp; “True.” She chuckles. “Caitlyn’s not a bad person. She’s a product of her environment.” Nadia gazes out her window for a moment before turning back to me to say, “Like us.”
I think Nadia is talking about how I’ve changed into a nurturing person now that I’m in a place where the good in me can flourish. And even though Nadia had only a couple days of life with René where she felt safe and loved, I know she gets what it’s like to feel as if you can allow yourself to open up to happiness. Bright light illuminates the truck as I pull into our driveway, and I say, “If anyone can fix her, it’ll be the Ouellette’s.”
Nadia grins at me and her eyes shine as she says, “And we’d both know.”
I smile back as I think about my love for Jean Luc, and it makes me happy that Nadia and René have the same thing. “That we do.”
22
Nadia
After I debriefed with Jean Luc, René came to get me and report in that he got Caitlyn to a safe place. Xavier and Marcel insisted he take me home since they could handle getting her medical attention and much-needed sleep before she’s questioned tomorrow. As I finish the glass of juice Grace gave me for quick energy, I gaze at René with longing. But unlike our first few times together, it’s not about sexual attraction. While I didn’t suffer any physical damage, I’m mentally exhausted from the ordeal of being in Caitlyn and saving us from the hunters. All I want is to be held by my true mate and bask in our connection. When he finishes talking to Jean Luc he comes to me and pulls me into a tight embrace.
Tears form in my eyes as the rush of my love for him overwhelms me, and my warrior steps aside to let me surrender completely to René. With him I don’t need to be strong, and I tremble slightly under his touch. His thick arms wrap around me and make me feel safe as I lean against his chest and inhale his scent. “I can’t believe how much I missed you,” I say.
He nuzzles my hair. “I’ve never been so afraid in my whole life. I hope you don’t mind, but I can’t let you out of my sight for a while.”