That’s why it was crucial for Presley to know who she was. Charlotte had always hoped she would end up with either Liam or Lorcan, and it saddened her to know that Liam would never have the opportunity to know a love like his parents shared.
She heaved a sigh, placing the dish towel on the counter as she gazed out the window towards the vast, open field that rested behind their home. She could remember Liam and Lorcan playing cowboys and Indians as if it were only yesterday. Her eyes became misty as she smiled sadly.
In the beginning, there had been ten ursithrope families living in Kadenburg; hers was among them. Charlotte’s father and Richard’s mother had been best friends in childhood and after finding their mates, they made sure their offspring would be around each other as much as possible. It was just the way of the ursithropes. Nearly one third of childhood friendships in humans resulted in marriage, but there was a one hundred percent success rate within the ursithrope community.
Charlotte always knew she could not force Presley to be with one of her sons, though she did hope for it. All ursithropes mated to others of their kind. She couldn’t recall any before her who had successfully mated to a human and as much as she wanted to warn Presley before she left for Florida, Arnold told her to keep her nose out of it.
Poor Presley, Charlotte thought as she stirred the boiling pot of home-made pudding. Huckleberry was Lorcan’s favorite, and she presumed he would enjoy it once this little debacle was over. Such sweets always helped to calm them down after stressful situations.
She shouldn’t have run away. She’s only going to be more confused.
Charlotte moved her fingers through her thick, graying hair as she closed her eyes. If only there was more she could do. She felt like her hands were tied and there wasn’t a clear solution to the problems they faced. The growing threat of lycanthropes and seeking justice for Liam’s death had put everyone on edge, but Presley’s situation was the icing on the cake.
The poor dear has been left in the dark for too long, she decided as she pursed her lips together. If Arnold doesn’t tell her soon, I’ll do it myself. She deserves to know.
Lifting the large wooden spoon once more to stir the huckleberry pudding, Charlotte suddenly caught a whiff of something that was neither bubbling berries or her husband’s cologne. It was a scent she remembered from her 20’s, a scent that carried terror and disaster with it.
Her face paled significantly as the spoon slipped from her grip, hitting the floor. Yes. She remembered that scent. It belonged to one particular being and it struck a chord of grief in her chest as she hurried to the back door and pushed it open. Her eyes scanned the wooded area as her nostrils flared and then her brows furrowed.
It wasn’t just any lycanthrope she smelled, no. It was him. The one who murdered Pierce Carroll in the fall of 1986; the one who drove seven other ursithrope families from the mountains of Tennessee; the one they had battled once before and he promised it was not over.
“Oh, sweet Urseth,” she whispered before she turned to rush back into the house, shutting the door and locking it quickly.
It was Breslin Connor, and he wasn’t alone.
______________________
They had him cornered. Lorcan was trying to listen to reason as his eyes narrowed in on the red wolf, but any rational thoughts he’d previously had were thrown out the window when he picked up on Presley’s scent mixed with a lycanthrope’s. He’d shifted almost instantaneously and Arnold Goult wasn’t far behind.
He should have known he couldn’t trust the wolf. No wolf was trustworthy in any sense, even one that claimed to love his brother. It didn’t help matters that Presley was stubborn, and it was worse that she was clueless about their kind. How was he supposed to protect a woman who was so oblivious to the danger surrounding her?
His eyes didn’t move away from the wolf as he bared his large incisors to show he meant business. If Dimitri thought this was some sort of game, it was a mistake that would get him killed.
Arnold approached his very confused niece as he nudged his snout against the side of her head. She was visibly trembling as she turned to gaze at Arnold with wide green eyes.
It’s okay, Arnold said gently as he moved his head up and down. I’m here now and nothing is going to happen to you, Presley. Do you hear me?
Uncle Arnold? She squeaked as her mouth fell open and she released a distressed bawl like a cub.
Lorcan didn’t mean to listen in on their conversation, but he wanted to make sure she would be all right. He’d honestly hoped her first time shifting wouldn’t be brought on by the possibility of danger, and more so, he never imagined it would happen because of another shifter threatening them.
I don’t understand, Presley’s cry echoed in Lorcan’s mind as he frowned on the inside. What’s happening, Uncle Arnold? Why has this happened to me? It’s not normal!
Lorcan stayed in a defensive stance as he watched the red wolf’s eyes moving from him to Presley, and then to Arnold before returning to him once more. If that wolf made one wrong move…
We’re not normal, Presley, Arnold replied. I should have told you this a lot sooner but I honestly just wanted to give you the chance at a human life.
I am human! Presley exclaimed as she took a few steps backwards until her backside hit the cave wall. Her green eyes shifted from Arnold to the wolf before she sobbed inwardly. This must be another bad dream. It has to be.
It’s not, Lorcan offered, though he remained vigilant to the wolf as he towered over him. Though ursithropes were significantly larger than lycanthropes, the wolf predecessors had an advantage with their speed while transformed. Lorcan didn’t want to take the risk of letting his enemy find a window of opportunity. This isn’t a dream, Presley. This is what we are.
Lorcan! She gasped in surprise.
Yes, Pretz, it’s me.
There was a brief moment of silence before Presley’s small voice sounded in his head again.
We’re bears? Presley questioned as she tried to inch further away from her uncle. I really need to stop drinking…
As much as Lorcan wanted to laugh at her last remark, the moment was too serious for humor. He needed to focus on keeping the wolf at bay. How naïve of him to think he could actually trust what Dimitri had stated during their first encounter. He was no better than the rest of them. Lycans couldn’t wait to dig their claws into someone’s back-or their throats.
I need you to trust me now, Presley, Arnold stated gently as he released a low growl that was meant to comfort her. Lorcan could tell by the tone in which the growl was delivered. I can help you through this, but you’re going to have to trust everything I’ve got to say. Do you understand?
This is too much… Presley admitted as she stared back and forth between her uncle and Lorcan. What about that wolf thing? I don’t understand. Are you saying that werewolves are real, too?
And a real problem, Uncle Arnold replied as he turned his large head to glare towards the red wolf. I need you to leave this cave with me now, Presley. There’s much to discuss and I’m afraid we don’t have much time. There’s something much worse headed our way besides one measly fleabag.
What could be worse? Presley asked sarcastically as she bared her teeth.
A whole pack of measly fleabags, Arnold retorted. I just need you to trust me, Presley. It’s all I’m asking.
Lorcan glanced towards the two of them as Arnold finally convinced the timid white bear to leave with him and once they were gone, it was just him and Dimitri. He was trying, with much difficultly, to remember the red wolf was his brother’s mate. It was with that thought alone that he was able to shift back into his human form.
As his muscles quivered beneath glistening skin, Lorcan kept his eyes on the nude man standing in front of him. They were both breathing heavily, trying to give their bodies time to adjust to flesh and healing bones as the minutes passed by. Neither spoke a word as Dimitri bent down to pick up his tattered jeans, mumbling about how it was a waste of
good denim.
The silence became unbearable for Lorcan. He couldn’t stay quiet any longer. He pushed raven locks away from his forehead as he frowned.
“What the hell were you thinking?” He asked. “You just made her shift for the first time in her life-out of fear!”
Dimitri lifted his eyes to Lorcan’s as he shrugged his shoulders, trying to tug what was left of his trousers over his muscular thighs. “I didn’t know she was ignorant to her heritage.”
Anger flashed in Lorcan’s eyes as his upper lip curled back. “She is not ignorant!” He bellowed.
“Whoa! Hey,” Dimitri lifted his hands up as if to signal his surrender. “I’m not saying she’s ignorant. I’m just saying the truth has been hidden away from her, which in itself, is an ignorant thing.”
Was this guy for real? Lorcan’s jawline began to tighten as he glared daggers at him, wondering if his desire to punch him in the face would be justified. The fact that Liam had loved him was beginning to lose its influence over Lorcan’s conscience.
“Look, I saved her,” Dimitri threw a hand out in front of himself as he spoke. “Thomas would have killed her had I not intervened. I killed one of my own to keep one of yours alive. Don’t get any ideas.”
Lorcan smirked, rolling his eyes as he put his hands on his hips. “Is that supposed to have some sort of significant meaning for me? You saved her so that makes everything okay between us? Is that supposed to excuse what just happened?”
Dimitri stared at him in disbelief as he crossed his arms over his bare chest. “I’m not trying to make excuses for what just happened. She shifted-OKAY. Big deal! It would have happened sooner or later. At least her uncle can take care of her now.”
“Oh right, at least her uncle can take care of her now,” Lorcan mocked. “She could have killed you if her mind had been clear enough for her to concentrate on her instincts. Or you could’ve killed her, seeing as you handled your own urges so well.”
“Don’t try to put the blame on me here. I shifted in an effort to protect myself. I’m not fond of the fact that your kind thinks my scent is tasty.”
Lorcan nearly snorted as he stared at him, quirking a thick brow high on his forehead. “I hate to burst your bubble, wolf-boy, but you stink.”
“Your brother would say otherwise,” Dimitri said in a taunting sing-song voice.
Lorcan released a frustrated growl as he pointed a finger at the other male. He opened his mouth to reply, but what was he supposed to say? He could see exactly why Liam had fallen in love with the man. He was clever, Lorcan would give him that. And as much as Lorcan didn’t want to admit it, Dimitri was right about the inevitable. Presley would have changed at some point in her life, and he had to be grateful that she’d done so in front of another shifter and not a human. It would’ve been catastrophic on many levels.
“I did what I felt was right, even if it seems stupid to you,” Dimitri admitted.
“You’re right,” Lorcan murmured, his eyes remaining on the ground now.
“Beg your pardon?”
“I said you’re right,” Lorcan repeated a little louder. He lifted his brown eyes to Dimitri’s hazel hues and frowned. “I’m man enough to admit how irrational my thinking is sometimes. I just worry about her.”
Dimitri gave a lopsided grin as he cocked his head to the side. “You fancy her?”
With a roll of his eyes, Lorcan chose not to confirm that. Instead, he moved over to the rucksack he’d spotted moments before and bent down to open it up. Surely this kid had something that would fit him. He wasn’t enjoying the draft.
“You do,” Dimitri jested as he squatted down beside of him. “She’s pretty.”
“She’s also very vulnerable right now,” Lorcan tugged a pair of jeans from the bag and turned his head to gaze at him. “How would you react to finding out you could shift into a massive bear after leading a life of normalcy?”
“Considering I’m a wolf, I’m pretty sure I’d be horrified.”
Lorcan stared at him, not amused with his little remark. “You know what I mean.”
“I do,” Dimitri nodded, a little more serious this time around. “I’d probably be really confused and a hell of a lot of terrified.”
“Exactly,” Lorcan’s lips tugged into a frown as he stood up, pulling the pants on and then buttoning them. They were a little tight, but they would do. Unlike his brother, Lorcan wasn’t fond of another man seeing what the good Urseth had blessed him with. “The option of easing her into it flew out the window about thirty minutes ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
Lorcan shrugged. “You don’t have to be sorry for it. What’s done is done. Now we just have to figure out how to deal with the new issue at hand; your pack,” he stared at him. “I want to know what they’re up to right now. Your alpha just stirred up a hornet’s nest by killing my brother. You understand that, don’t you?”
“Yes, I understand it,” Dimitri nodded. “I’m just as pissed off about it as you are. We both lost someone important to us.”
Lorcan studied Dimitri’s face, noting the hint of sadness clouding his eyes as they stared at one another. Lorcan wasn’t stupid, or even self-centered enough to think that Liam’s death didn’t effect Dimitri as much as it effected his family. Selecting a mate was crucial for any type of thrope-and losing that mate was agonizing enough to drive a person to madness. Presley’s mother was an excellent example.
He often worried about that day coming for his parents. They were only in their mid-forties, but he knew when they got older that one of them would go before the other. He didn’t like to think about it-hell, who did-but the thought snuck into his head from time to time. His parents had been together since their early adolescence, and the love two ursithropes shared was such a powerful thing. He’d heard stories that when one ursithrope dies, their mate would take their own life just to be reunited once more.
If that was the case, then why was Presley’s mother still alive? Maybe someone had misunderstood the original message behind that story. Maybe ursithropes could really survive without their mates. Maybe an ursithrope didn’t always go insane from grief. Maybe he had wasted the last twelve years of his life trying to get a girl to notice him…
It was a stupid thought to have, but Lorcan couldn’t help pondering everything he had been taught since childhood. Dimitri was living proof that loopholes did exist and that created new worries in Lorcan’s mind. If Liam and Dimitri found a loophole within the laws of nature, what else was possible?
Eleven
“Just focus on me, Pretzel,” Uncle Arnold said as he kept his eyes on hers. “You’re going to be okay.”
Presley was sick of hearing that. She wasn’t going to be okay. None of this was okay. Normal people didn’t have the ability to turn into a hideous bear with sprouting fur and ginormous teeth. That wasn’t how the world worked! This wasn’t normal!
She kept her arms hugged around her knees as she lowered her gaze to the hardwood floor. Anything to keep her mind off the current situation. Anything that would keep her from going into full blown panic mode. She hated feeling so helpless and enclosed. She didn’t like the heaviness in her chest that squeezed the air out of her lungs. The sensation of being unable to breathe was terrifying, and she felt it ten-fold at the moment.
“Here,” Uncle Arnold offered as he held out a steaming mug of tea towards her. “Drink this. It’ll help you.”
Presley’s nose scrunched up as the scent of whiskey attacked her nostrils. How in the hell was that supposed to help her right now?
“No thanks,” she shook her head. “I’m not sick. I don’t need a hot toddy.”
“It’ll calm your nerves,” he promised. “Trust me. The honey will soothe you.”
Honey? Was he serious? Presley rolled her eyes before laughing bitterly. “Sure, that’s cute. Honey soothes bears, huh? It makes sense.”
Arnold’s jawline flexed as he stared at her, placing the cup on the coffee table as he moved t
o sit beside of her. “I know this is a lot to take in, Presley-”
“You’re damn right it is,” she snapped suddenly. She turned her head to look at him. “You’ve lied to me my entire life. A lot of little girls secretly hope they’re a mermaid or a fairy, but I get to find out I’m a bear!”
Presley’s palms smacked against her forehead as she buried her face into her hands, letting out a groan of frustration as Arnold stared at her. He licked his lips quickly and attempted to find the right words before he continued on.
“I guess I’m going to be cliché here and say that I just wanted you to have a normal life,” he said quietly. “I didn’t want to see you suffer like your mother did. The ways of our kind; sometimes there are things that happen and we can’t control how we’ll react to those events.”
Presley lifted her head to stare at him, a frown anchoring her lips downwards as her shoulders slumped. “Like when my dad died?” She asked. It was weird to actually talk about him. They didn’t really do that. It wasn’t because Presley didn’t grieve over him-she did. She just couldn’t recall having conversations with her uncle about him that often.
“Yeah,” Arnold nodded as he lifted his hand to scratch at the scruff adorning his chin and jaw. “Just like when your dad died. Your mother was devastated and I was worried that she’d miscarry. It was pretty miraculous that you came into the world, Kiddo. You have no idea what a big deal it was for you to make it.”
At the mention of a miscarriage, Presley flinched and it didn’t go unnoticed. Uncle Arnold’s arm wrapped around her shoulders as he gave her a gentle squeeze.
“I’ve said it a million times before, but I’m gonna say it one more time just to make sure the message gets across,” he rested his forehead against the side of her head. “You can talk to me about anything, Presley. I know I’m not your dad and I can’t fill those shoes, but I do love you. I will listen.”
The Truth About Kadenburg Page 9