“It’s okay, honey. He can’t see much of anything,” he whispered, then lifted his head, directing the rest of his words to the sharp-eared cat. “And if he comes any closer, he’s going to have one very angry bear to contend with. Damn your hide, Slade. Can’t you see we’re busy?” Disgust filled his tone, but it was tempered by amusement as Maggie tried her best to hide against his chest.
“They need you back at the house and I was asked to escort you there. There’ve been some developments.”
What the cat wasn’t saying got Rocky’s attention. Nobody had ever needed to escort a full grown grizzly shifter anywhere. There must be danger in the woods and the damned cat was trying to tell him there would be safety in numbers. For Maggie’s sake, Rocky agreed.
“All right.” Rocky tried to sound nonchalant, but all his senses were on alert. “Go wait outside the grotto while we get decent. We’ll join you in a minute.”
The moment Slade slinked off into the woods, Maggie crouched to retrieve her pants. She shook them out before sliding into her panties and pants, then shoved her little feet into the sneakers she’d kicked off before. She was moving fast and her color was high. She was cute when she was embarrassed.
“I can’t believe we were seen.” She sounded shocked as she concentrated on the knot of her shoelaces.
Maggie had taken a seat on the soft pine needles beneath the tree. Rocky wanted to join her, but he dared not be caught on the ground. He knew there was danger in the woods, thanks to Slade, and he wouldn’t let his guard down again.
“It’s not that bad, Mags. He really couldn’t see anything, except maybe your ankles and my butt. And thankfully, Slade doesn’t roll that way.” Rocky had to chuckle at that thought as he pulled up and zipped his pants. “It’s not uncommon among shifters to be caught naked in the woods. It’s natural for us, more or less. Not something to get upset over. I’m sure he’s seen much more flagrant displays in his time. For that matter, so have I.”
Maggie stood and punched his arm. It didn’t hurt. She was so small compared to him, but he played along, shying away and then pouncing, wrapping her in his arms to fold her close to his heart.
“I didn’t know I was getting involved with an exhibitionist.” Her words were muffled against his shirt. Then she looked up at him, laughter in her eyes. “And you better not be watching any more flagrant displays or I’ll poke your eyes out.”
“Ooh. I like it when you’re feisty.” He kissed her, unable to stop himself.
Slade was watching their backs and there was no one better in the Pack to do so. Still, Rocky couldn’t do what he wanted—which was to back her up against that tree again. So he made do with a quick kiss and a cuddle, then let her go.
“Much as I hate to, we should get back to the house. Our voyeur is waiting.” Rocky held her hand and began walking out of the secluded grotto.
“I heard that.” Slade’s voice drifted back to them from just outside the circle of trees.
Thankfully, Maggie laughed. Rocky knew then that she’d be okay once she got used to the shifter lifestyle.
Slade took point as they began the journey back toward the house. Unlike the trip here, they didn’t pause or talk much. Slade’s sense of urgency communicated itself even to Maggie, and Rocky was saddened to see the lines of worry return to her lovely face. He held her hand, keeping her close to his side and kept a sharp lookout with all his senses on the surrounding woods.
He sensed the other shifters loping, flying and walking through the woods on either side of the trail. Slade had called out the cavalry to guard them as they made their way back to the house. That didn’t bode well. Something was most definitely up.
It was a relief to see the house when they stepped into the small clearing in front. Slade walked them right up to the door but didn’t enter. He gave Maggie a wink and a devilish smile that made her blush, and Rocky was glad his comrade had made the effort to put thoughts of danger out of her mind, if only for a moment.
Rocky shook his hand, letting Maggie be ushered away by his mother who met them at the door.
“I got a call after I met up with you at the grotto the first time. Strangers were spotted at the base of the mountain,” Slade said in a hushed voice. “My men are positioned throughout the woods around your house. We’ll stay on high alert until we figure out where the strangers went and if they pose any problem. I already called your dad and gave him the heads up. He and your mom are going to guard from inside the new construction. That area is vulnerable if someone is able to get too close to the house.”
“Thanks, Slade.” Rocky let go of the ex-soldier’s hand. “Did you call the Lords?”
“Not yet. This could be nothing, but I thought it better to get your lady under cover, just in case.”
“Good thinking. And thanks for the escort.” They both knew Rocky was referring to the dozen or so shifters who had guarded their path from grotto to house. They’d come in force to help him protect his mate, which meant a lot to Rocky.
Slade nodded and left, slinking into the woods as only he could. Damned cat. Rocky smiled as he shook his head and went into the house.
His mom and Maggie were dealing with the cranky twins, which gave Rocky a moment to gather himself. The sight of strangers near their territory might be nothing—or it could be the showdown he’d been expecting.
Only time would tell.
Chapter 12
Alerted by a sudden change in the energies surrounding his home, Rocky stepped out the front door a few minutes later and immediately his hackles rose. Evil was near. The Venifucus demon had come. Finally.
Rocky was almost glad in a way as he pulled out his cell phone and hit the speed dial that would alert Tim and Rafe. It was a pre-arranged signal he’d programmed into his phone days before. The message would be clear to them and they’d come running.
Rocky hoped his parents were okay, but he had no time to find out for sure. They’d taken up guard positions just inside the new construction, leaving Rocky and Maggie in the main part of the house with the boys. He’d thought they’d all be safe enough with Slade and his guys out there, but now Rocky wasn’t so sure.
Somehow the enemy had gotten close enough for Rocky to sense them, which meant they had broken through the perimeter guards. That didn’t bode well for Slade and his men.
Rocky called to Maggie, knowing the time had come to use the heartstone Tony had created for just this moment. He stepped into the doorway, facing her.
“I need your necklace, Mags. Stay here and protect the cubs. My folks won’t let anyone into the house from behind, and nobody is going to get past me from here. You and the boys should be okay. Just stay in the house.”
“I want to help.” She squared her shoulders and he realized all over again how much he loved this fearless little human woman. He grabbed her shoulders and kissed her, fearing it might be for the last time.
But he wouldn’t let it be.
“You can help best by staying with the babies. There’s no stronger magic than a mother’s love. You’ll be able to protect them more than anyone else.”
She held out the necklace that bore Tony’s heartstone and he allowed her to place the pulsing red gem into his palm. A shock of power pulsed into him, up his arm and into his heart and soul. Tony’s power, left for just this occasion. With the pulse of magic he felt Tony’s last wishes, his love for his family—for the boys, Maggie and Rocky too—and his desire that Rocky keep them all safe. This last gift of a powerful shaman was meant to send his love over the realms separating them in one final act of protection.
The stone lost most of its unearthly glow, remaining a beautiful gem, but much of its power was now inside Rocky. He could feel it merging and melding with his own magic, strengthening and teaching him as it found a home in his soul. This was Tony’s true gift. A gift of power and the knowledge to use it. Only Tony had been strong and thoughtful enough to leave Rocky the means with which to protect the ones they both loved.
Rocky kissed her once more and turned to face the threat surrounding them now. He could feel it as his senses expanded with the rush of new magic. He could pinpoint the location of the mage and his minions. They’d come in force, but the forces of good were also on the move. Even as he recognized the various points of energy in the woods surrounding his home, some of Slade’s men overcame a few of the minions, helping to better the odds. And more wolves were on the move, heading here. Tim and Rafe had mobilized their Pack.
“Face me!” Rocky shouted towards the copse of trees where he could sense the creature watching.
A few moments later, he felt the energies coalesce and move. It was his only warning as he dove away from the cabin, tearing at his clothing as he went. Shifting quickly, he spotted a tall man with potent magic that battered against his newly strengthened shields.
In weregrizzly form, he faced the demon, standing over nine feet tall on his hind legs. Even more imposing was the magic. A whole lot of very intense, protective magic. The demon wore a man’s form, probably the handsome face he’d worn to bedazzle humans and shifters alike while in this realm, but as Maggie had warned, the beauty hid a soul as evil as hell itself. Rocky could sense it.
Rocky had more magical power than he’d ever had before, and it wasn’t abating. The more he used, the more rose to his call. It was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. The demon backed away from him to regroup, but Rocky knew nothing would stop one sworn to the Venifucus. Mercy would only be turned back on the merciful. This creature had to be dealt with, lest he come back later to kill them all.
Inside the house, Maggie watched from the window, careful not to be seen. She had to protect the babies, but she also had a role to play in this if Betina was to be believed. She’d run to the phone as soon as Rocky left the house and called the older woman. Betina was already on her way.
They would form a three-pointed triangle around the battling men. Betina and Allie would each take one of the points from either side of the clearing and Maggie and the boys would complete the sacred geometric form from the house.
Maggie didn’t know a great deal about magic, but she felt a buzz in the air when the triangle snapped into place. Peering out the window, she could see the two women at the edge of the woods, one on either side of the house.
A shimmer floated on the air around them and Maggie realized the same shimmer was inside the room with her and the babies. She looked at the boys, who were silent and holding hands. The shimmer was coming from them.
It surprised her but didn’t frighten her. This was magic, she knew. The magic her babies had been born with, thanks to their father. The shimmering light extended and grew, lancing out the sides of the house toward Allie and Betina. Walls didn’t matter to the light. It connected Maggie, the babies and the women outside on some kind of spiritual plane that didn’t know the meaning of walls.
She knew instinctively that the triangle contained and protected those within. It would be up to Rocky to defeat the demon but she had every faith in him.
Rocky felt the magic surround them from all sides while the demon roared in displeasure. The creature was cut off from its minions, unable to draw power from them with the death and destruction they wrought. The demon would have to face Rocky without magical support.
This made the match just about even considering the magical boost Rocky had received from Tony’s heartstone. Rocky liked his chances and knew if he failed, others would pick up the fight until this demon was no more. Such was the benefit of living among the most powerful and diverse Pack on the continent. He knew the Lords would protect the twins and Maggie, or die trying.
They were on their way, but until they arrived, Rocky was the only thing standing between the demon and his new family. The love of his life and the babies he had claimed as his own. It was up to him now. He would have to either kill the bastard outright or hold off the demon until help arrived.
With that knowledge tucked close to its heart, Rocky engaged the battle. He rushed at the man, swiping through the demon’s magical shields with his claws. The added magic and his own brawn mixed together to topple both the shields and the man.
Then the man morphed into the monster that lay beneath his skin and the game was on.
For long minutes, Rocky battled the horned demon whose shape was distorted and half hidden by the swirling maelstrom Maggie had described from her dreams. It was as if the demon had no true shape, but Rocky soon discovered it was able to bleed.
Blow after blow landed on its sticky, smelly hide, Rocky’s claws making deadly contact. Each hit containing not only Rocky’s innate brute strength, but a powerful blast of white light that parted the red and black miasma as if it was a hot knife slicing through butter. The dark cloud could not stand in the face of the shimmering light that represented Rocky’s magic.
The muddy smoke began to dissipate, leaving bald patches where Rocky’s claws connected solidly with the creature beneath. The demon was quickly losing its protective shield, and Rocky went in for the kill.
Blood in the air fired his grizzly instincts while the magic created vast tears in what was left of the creature’s shield of protection. For that’s what it was. Now ripped away by superior magic, Rocky finally understood why he couldn’t see the form of the demon at first. The muddy fog was his main protection.
Without it, he could be killed in the physical plane. Rocky would leave it up to the priestesses to banish the demon’s immortal soul but he would gladly take care of its earthly body.
With a new ferociousness, Rocky waged into battle, striking blow after blow for the side of light. He felt his enemy growing weaker. He knew when and how to strike the final blow and he did not hesitate. This needed to be ended here and now. Never to return.
Within one final strike, the demon’s earthly body lay defeated, torn and bloody, his magic burned away by the rage of Rocky’s attack. The heart stuttered and stopped as Rocky let loose a grizzly roar of triumph.
A swirling maelstrom of red and brown thundered up from the remains and dove back down at him, but Rocky’s magic was strong and protected him. The magical triangle contained the fury of the demon’s magic—or what was left of it that could affect the physical plane. Rocky saw Betina and Allie move in from the edge of the clearing, their hands held out as if pushing the demon’s magical remains into a smaller and smaller container.
Indeed, the triangle that had surrounded them during the battle was growing smaller as the women moved forward. A sound from behind him made Rocky turn.
And there was Maggie, a baby in each arm, the third point of the triangle. Rocky stood in awe as she drew closer. The look on her face was one of utter determination. The babies in her arms were focused on the swirling, evil mist, but they weren’t afraid.
Whether the magic came from the twins or from a mother’s love and need to protect her babies, Rocky didn’t know for sure. But it was equal to or stronger than the priestesses, fully able to keep up with the more experienced women.
The triangle became smaller and smaller until Betina stepped forward to reshape the cordon of energy. She began to sing, pure crystal notes lifting upward on the slight wind, carrying with them small pieces of the dark, evil cloud, dissipating them into another realm a bit at a time.
It took only moments, but the foreign words of the strange song, in a language Rocky could not name, removed the taint of the demon’s essence completely. Rocky could sense no evil around him when Betina’s song ended. The demon was gone.
Allie and Betina lowered their arms and the older woman smiled.
“That should do it. If he ever finds all the pieces of himself, he’ll be limited to walking in that other realm for many centuries to come.” She smiled and her eyes danced with delight. “The Venifucus have lost a powerful ally today.”
Rocky roared in approval, still wearing his bear skin. He would change back, but first he wanted Maggie to see him—really see him—in his fur. He hadn’t wanted to scare her off so
he hadn’t changed in front of her before now. But she would have to come to terms with the knowledge that he was a grizzly bear. And so were their sons.
Allie and Betina went to Maggie, each taking one of the babies to check them over for any signs of strain. Rocky had sniffed them already. The boys were just fine. He could feel their magical energy—so vast and powerful. They were something special, and they had connected even closer to him now that he had Tony’s last gift of power within his soul.
Rocky stood calmly before Maggie, hoping she would come to him.
She didn’t disappoint him. She dropped to her knees in front of him and wrapped her trembling arms around his furry neck. She gasped into his fur, emotion overcoming her now that the danger was over.
“Oh, God, Rocky. I was so scared for you,” she whispered.
He moved into her embrace, trying to offer the comfort of his presence even if he couldn’t hug her at the moment. That would come soon enough. First, he had to be certain the perimeter was safe. He wouldn’t change back to his human form until he was sure.
Rafe and Tim came into the clearing and walked over to them. Maggie let him go and Rocky backed away
“We got the rest of his men and traced them back to their vehicles. The Pack will take care of the rest,” Rafe reported.
Glad of the news, Rocky shifted back to human form. His hands were bloody, but his conscience was clear. The demon would never hurt his family—or any other shifter for that matter—ever again.
“How about Slade?” he asked, his arms around Maggie as she stood in front of him. He wasn’t about to let her go anytime soon.
“He and his guys are mopping up. Nobody was seriously hurt.”
“Thank the Lady for that,” Rocky said, offering a silent prayer to the Mother of All who had protected the men and soldiers of the Pack.
Tim and Rafe agreed, then went to talk with their mate, Allie. The babies were with Marissa and Joe, and the wolf Pack would handle the rest of the cleanup. Rocky was grateful. Every instinct he had called for him to be with Maggie and the cubs. He ushered her toward the house where his parents were taking the boys. He paused only a short moment retrieve his jeans and rinse his hands in the water from a garden hose. He didn’t want that demon’s blood inside his house.
Alphas for the Holidays Page 137