by Bianca D'Arc
“It’s just a couple of sandwiches,” he told her modestly. “And I packed a bag of snacks for the ride.” He pointed to the sack on the counter as he made his way to the bathroom. A quick shower and shave, and they’d be able to hit the road. “Just let me clean up a bit. I want to make a good impression,” he joked. “These guys are bears, after all.”
“And what about the mermaids?” she asked, humor in her tone.
“Them, too. But I can’t see a giant fish tearing me limb from limb if I don’t show proper respect.”
Margo chuckled. “I see your point.”
“I’ll just be a few minutes. We should probably leave once were both ready.”
“No problem,” she told him. “I’m ready to go as soon as you are.”
True to her word, they were in the car and on the road within twenty minutes. Hiram’s assistant had provided map coordinates, as well as an address that Gabe’s GPS system could locate from his phone. Hiram had been right. Grizzly Cove wasn’t all that far away, but it was in some of the wilder terrain along the coastline.
When they pulled into town, Gabe was impressed by all the new buildings and businesses. He saw the bakery Hiram had mentioned right away and then noted the location of the police station and city hall.
“We’re a bit early for our meeting at the mayor’s office,” Gabe said as he pulled into a parking space on the street. There wasn’t much traffic. In fact, theirs was the only car on the road, though there were a few parked here and there along the main drag.
“Why don’t we stroll over to the bakery, like Hiram suggested?” Margo offered. “I could use a pastry or something. Shifters eat a lot.”
“And breakfast was paltry, I know,” Gabe allowed good-naturedly. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just feed me!” Margo said dramatically, drawing a chuckle from Gabe as he slid out of the driver’s seat.
She met him on the pavement, not being the kind of girl to wait for someone to open her door. She was much too independent for something like that, though, at times, he wished she would be open to letting him pamper her. He’d find a way. He just needed to get to know her habits, likes and dislikes a little better.
They walked side-by-side down the pleasant street. The sky was a little overcast today, but the town was filled with bright colors in all the shop windows. Looking more closely, Gabe realized that the vast majority of the storefronts were displaying artwork of one kind or another. Several had the word gallery in the names on the signs above the display windows.
“What’s with all the art?” Gabe asked, thinking aloud.
Margo shrugged. “Maybe this is some sort of artists’ playground. I’ve seen towns like this in tourist spots all over Canada.”
“Yeah,” Gabe agreed. “Come to think of it, I’ve seen places like this, too. A few scenic coastal towns along the East Coast come to mind.”
“Whatever the reason for all the art galleries, it’s very charming,” Margo said, looking down Main Street and then out toward the water of the cove. “Beautiful views from pretty much every angle. I can see why they wanted to settle here.”
Their easy stroll brought them to the bakery, and Gabe politely held the door for Margo to enter. She was so damned regal, the way she moved. He would happily make her his queen, if she’d let him.
The little bell above the door signaled their arrival and a pretty young woman appeared behind the counter. She seemed surprised when she got a look at them but recovered quickly.
“What can I get for you?” she asked in a pleasant tone.
“I want something sugary and decadent and scrumptious,” Margo told the other woman playfully. “Maybe with honey? Do you have anything like that?”
“I have just the thing,” the woman replied with a twinkling smile as she bustled away to one of her display cases. She pulled out a large pastry and presented it on waxed paper. “These are our famous honey buns. A favorite of most of the town’s population.”
“I bet,” Gabe murmured. He suspected the old cliché about bears liking honey was absolutely true. He moved up to the counter and addressed the woman. “We’ll take two of those, please, and two large cups of coffee,” he told her, already fishing out his wallet.
“You can sit down, and I’ll bring it over,” she told them with a friendly smile as the door to the shop opened to admit a tall frowning man in a police uniform.
They sat at the closest table as the policeman came right over to them. He pinned Margo with an angry glance, and Gabe half-stood, ready for anything.
“Him, I expect this of,” the policeman said, poking a thumb in Gabe’s direction, “but you should know better, little wolf. A courtesy call on the Alpha is not only expected, but required.”
Margo didn’t bat an eyelash. “And I will do so, but courtesy also demands that I arrive at the agreed-upon hour, does it not?” She was as haughty as a queen, and Gabe wanted to kiss her right then and there for standing up to this bear bozo. “We arrived early, and the bakery was recommended, so we opted to cool our heels here until the Alpha was ready for our meeting.”
That seemed to set the police jerk back a bit. “Recommended?” he asked suspiciously. “Recommended by whom?”
Gabe had had enough of being ignored. “Master Hiram asked us to pass along his regards to the ladies who owned this establishment,” he declared, still standing, should more aggressive action prove necessary.
The bear-man looked at Gabe directly for the first time, as if measuring him. “You a friend of the old bastard’s?”
Friends? Gabe wouldn’t dare claim any sort of friendship with the ancient bloodletter.
“No,” he answered simply. “We only met him last night. But he’s the one who sent us here and set up our meeting.”
The bear-man’s face broke into a grin. “Well, why didn’t you say so? I’m Zak, and this is my mate, Tina.” He indicated the woman who had come out from behind the counter with their order. She’d brought an extra cup of coffee for her mate, Gabe noticed.
“I’m Gabe, and this is Margo,” he reciprocated the introductions.
“You’re a wolf, and you’re a mage, right?” Zak pointed from Margo to Gabe.
Margo seemed as nonplussed as Gabe felt, but she recovered first. “And what would a bear know about mages…or wolves, for that matter?”
“I know enough to recognize them when I see them. Something strange must be going down if ol’ Hiram sent you here,” he observed, apparently not insulted at all by Margo’s regal attitude.
“You’ll understand, I hope, that we’re not at liberty to discuss it yet. We should really be talking to the Alpha first,” Gabe explained as he finally sat down. The bear shifter wasn’t giving off dangerous vibes anymore. No, his attitude had changed completely. Bears were certainly moody creatures, if this guy was anything to go by.
“Oh, sure,” the bear-cop agreed. “I’m just curious.” He turned to look at his mate. “You about ready, sugar?” he asked her.
“Nell isn’t here yet,” Tina said rather plaintively.
Just at that moment, noise came from behind the counter. Someone had entered via a backdoor. There was a bit of a commotion as the newcomer came up front.
“Sorry I’m late, Tina,” a feminine voice called out, then her words stopped short. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t know we had customers. You two go on, and I’ll take it from here,” she went on, wrapping an apron around her hips as she came toward them.
“I don’t think so, Nell,” the cop said. “They haven’t met John yet, and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t want me to leave you alone here with them until he’s had a chance to check them out.”
Nell looked confused for a moment, then some kind of realization dawned. “Oh. Are they…um…like you?” she asked rather disingenuously
The bear-cop grinned. “No, cher. The lady is a werewolf, and the guy is a mage. Unknown quantities right now, though the fact that Master Hiram sent them is a point in their favor.”
“Oh.” The newcomer’s mouth made a perfect O, and she seemed to look at both Gabe and Margo with wide eyes. Human. Had to be. And ignorant of magic until pretty recently, if Gabe had to guess.
While they were all facing toward the back of the bakery, the little bell above the front door tinkled merrily, announcing a new arrival. Everybody turned to see a couple of large men enter. One went straight to the woman Tina had called Nell and put his arm around her.
Gabe began to believe they might have just stepped in it, but he’d wait to see how this played out. Hopefully, they could salvage something from this awkward arrival in the bears’ town.
The guy with his arm around Nell’s shoulders eyed Gabe and Margo suspiciously. He’d likely bite first and ask questions later if they even looked cross-eyed at his mate. Gabe nodded at him and looked carefully away from the couple.
A behemoth of a man was standing closer to the table. He was looking at them appraisingly. After a moment of consideration, he spoke with a low growl in his voice.
“I’m John Marshall,” he declared, and Gabe’s stomach dropped. Shit. This was the Alpha they had been scheduled to meet at City Hall. He was also the mayor of this new town.
Gabe stood and held out a hand. “I’m Gabe Llewellyn, and I apologize for the way we’re meeting. We arrived early.”
There was a tense moment before the Alpha bear seemed to come to a decision. He reached forward and shook Gabe’s hand, and the tension in the room dropped a notch.
“You should’ve come to my office anyway,” John advised them.
“Hiram sent them to the bakery,” Zak volunteered with a grin. “Nosey old vamp’s stirring shit up again, no doubt,” was his observation. The other men looked contemplative as Gabe tried not to allow his shock to show at the cop’s cavalier reference to one of the scariest ancients Gabe had ever met.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t put it past Hiram to set us all up like this,” John said after a minute. He moved closer to the table and took one of the chairs.
The other men followed suit, the cop pulling up a chair from a nearby table while they all scooched around to make room. The only exception was the guy who stayed at his mate’s side. Gabe understood. Mated shifters were supposed to be incredibly protective of each other.
“That’s Brody over there, this is Trevor, and you’ve already met Zak,” John said, quickly introducing the others. Then, he turned to look at the women. “It looks like we’re going to have our little meeting here. Sorry.”
Tina smiled. “It’s okay. I’ll bring you guys some coffee.”
True to her word, Tina brought coffee for everyone, and more honey buns, then retreated to do bakery work while the interrogation began. Gabe let Margo take the lead in describing the hunt for Bolivar and the crimes he had committed against her Pack. He chimed in with Bolivar’s impact on his family and noted that the bears all frowned upon hearing the sorrow the mage had caused.
John seemed an even-tempered sort of fellow, and he listened carefully while Margo and Gabe told their tale, interrupting only occasionally with questions. The other men listened attentively and followed the Alpha bear’s lead. Gabe liked the way they all seemed to work together as a team.
When Margo finished telling their story with a plea for any information they could provide on Bolivar’s whereabouts, the men at the table sat back thoughtfully. The guy who’d stayed with his mate had sent her back to hang out with her sister at some point in the back room while he leaned against the counter. The silence in the bakery was deafening until, finally, John finally spoke.
“What you’ve shared here is a grim tale, indeed. A mage that can erase someone’s tracks that efficiently is a dangerous creature.” John’s expression lightened a bit as he looked around the table. “Trev, have you had any dealings or intel on this Bolivar guy?”
“As a matter of fact…” Trevor, the one bear at the table who hadn’t yet spoken, suddenly gained everybody’s attention. “I’ve heard that name before. It’s come up a time or two in our cleanup efforts. It seems Jonathan hired out some work to a Mathias Bolivar. At least, that was the name on the books. I had Ezra take a look, but so far, he’s come up with nothing.”
“It’s just possible that Bolivar has a clairvoyant ability that allows him to stay one step ahead of pursuit,” Gabe told the other man.
“Seriously?” Zak declared. “As if he wasn’t dangerous enough already.”
Nods greeted the policeman’s words.
“The thing is, I believe I can countermand his gift magically.” Gabe’s words brought all eyes back to him. “If we can find his trail, I can do my best to cloud his vision so that we can finally apprehend him.”
“You really believe you can do that?” Trevor asked.
Gabe nodded firmly. “I’m a Llewellyn. We don’t give up easily.”
John chuckled. “I’ve met another Llewellyn. Her name was Barbara. Any relation?”
Gabe smiled broadly. “My older sister.”
“Well, then, it looks like I can leave this in your capable hands, Trev. If any of you need resources or manpower, don’t hesitate to call.” So saying, the Alpha bear stood from the table and bussed his empty coffee cup and plate back to the bakery counter before he left the shop altogether.
Zak also stood and went back behind the counter, taking his leave of Gabe and Margo with a polite nod. The leaning guy went with him. Gabe noticed that the two guys in back didn’t leave the bakery, but that was fine with him. Gabe didn’t blame the bears for being overly cautious with their human mates.
That left them with the quiet Trevor. Gabe hoped the reticent bear shifter would get a little more talkative or this meeting of the minds was going to be over before it began.
“I’m recently mated,” Trevor surprised Gabe by beginning to speak. “My mate is mer, and she had a rough time of it growing up.”
“We heard a bit about it from Hiram,” Margo told the other man, compassion in her expression.
“Her stepfather, Jonathan, was a bastard of the first order,” Trevor went on. “He destroyed her father’s Clan and took all their assets, and mer can amass quite a lot of assets on land to support their lives in the sea. He basically imprisoned Beth’s mother and sent bounty hunters after Beth when she was about to reach the age where she would come into possession of assets that had been left in trust for her. We put a stop to his plans, but now, we’re faced with the rather daunting task of taking back what he stole and re-legitimizing businesses that he’d turned to his evil purposes.”
“That sounds like a big job,” Gabe observed sympathetically.
“It is,” Trevor agreed. “We’ve hired a few people to help. One of them is an old friend of mine named Ezra. He’s a troubleshooter of sorts, and former bounty hunter. I propose to put you in touch with him, since he’s our point man on Bolivar.”
“Sounds good,” Gabe replied.
“The thing is, you’re probably going to have to get motorcycles.” Trevor’s unexpected statement and dry tone made Gabe shake his head while a smile of unholy glee passed over Margo’s face. Apparently, she liked motorcycles. Good to know.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Margo was favorably impressed by the little town the bears had built for themselves, which was a good thing because, as it turned out, Trevor had a bit of difficulty contacting his man in the field. Margo and Gabe were forced to cool their heels in town for a day and a half, getting rooms at the newly built hotel at one end of the town’s Main Street. The old man behind the desk was still fit, but it was clear he was an aging bear shifter turned innkeeper. He seemed to enjoy his new role and was happy to hand over keys to two rooms, right next to each other.
The rooms had a connecting door that could be opened between them, but Margo left it firmly locked. Having Gabe that close was a bit too much temptation, and she was very much afraid that, if she ever opened that door, she’d never want to close it again.
Then again, why would that be so bad? A little voice in the back of her
mind kept asking that maddening question. Her wolf was wondering the same thing. While Gabe still confused the more primal part of her personality, the wolf was growing fond of him and had even begun to form a base of respect for the way he’d handled himself on this mission so far.
But was that enough? Margo knew she was a little too Alpha for most people to handle. She always had to temper her natural personality around others—even members of her own Pack. She hadn’t been doing that with Gabe, she suddenly realized. She’d been giving him the full treatment. She hadn’t pulled any punches and hadn’t once bitten back her thoughts or words.
And he was still here. Still looking at her with those molten blue eyes. Still lighting little fires in her blood that could easily grow into a conflagration, given the smallest bit of encouragement.
Wonder of wonders, he still seemed to like her.
That first day in Grizzly Cove was spent mostly waiting. After the meeting at the bakery, they’d been giving implicit permission to browse around the town. Margo had enjoyed going into the different art galleries and checking out what was on offer. She fell in love with a wood carving of a wolf, but the prices were out of her league.
Instead, she picked up a lower-cost print of a painting one of the bear shifters had done of the cove at sunset. The orangey hue of the image appealed to her, and she figured she would have something to take home with her to commemorate her trip. Since they were traveling light, she arranged to have the print shipped by the gallery to her home. It cost a little extra, but it would be worth it to have a memory of this special place when she got back to snowy Canada.
They went back to the bakery for lunch, enjoying thick sandwiches on freshly baked artisanal bread. Margo couldn’t get over the quality of the food the small shop produced and was sure to compliment the sisters who ran the place. It looked like a lot of the town got their lunch from the busy bakery because there was a steady stream of big bear shifters coming in to pick up their orders.
By late afternoon, Margo and Gabe were sitting on a park bench, facing the waters of the cove, just enjoying a quiet break from their walk around town when Zak came up to them. He was no longer wearing the deputy sheriff’s uniform he’d had on before. He was all smiles as he invited them both to his new restaurant, which had just opened up, for dinner. Apparently, the bear shifter—one of the smallest of the giants they’d so far encountered in the town—was of Cajun origin, and his restaurant specialized in the cuisine of his native area.