Bear the Burden
Rochelle Paige
Copyright
© 2015 Rochelle Paige Popovic
All rights reserved.
Edited by Monica Black
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons or living or dead, events or locales are entirely coincidental.
The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/ Use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owner.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
What’s Next?
Other Books By This Author
About The Author
Dedication
This book is brought to you in part by Netflix and Gossip Girl. I’m addicted and my oldest son has restricted my access to writing hours only.
Prologue
Selene
Growing up as the daughter of a coven’s high priestess meant you were raised knowing there was one particular path you were supposed to follow: treading along the same steps your mother took before you to ensure you’d be ready to assume her place one day. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be prepared to step into her shoes, but the expectation was there just the same. I felt the weight of it on my shoulders every day. My fear of failing the coven, failing my mother, was something I’d lived with for almost as far back as I could remember. It was also the one thing I’d never shared with anyone else. Speaking about it would only create doubt over my abilities amongst my fellow coveners.
It wasn’t that I was unhappy in the coven—quite the opposite, actually, since I’d flourished under their care. They were the only family I’d ever known other than my mom. She’d been kicked out of her home by her adoptive parents as a teenager when she started to dabble in witchcraft. The magic had always been strong in her, and she’d felt the pull toward witchcraft long before she even knew it existed outside of books and movies.
My mom had always possessed strong psychic powers and a heightened intuition. It was something she must have inherited from her biological parents, but she’d never been able to trace them to discover her roots. Her lineage remained a mystery, but the gifts they’d passed along were what made her an effective high priestess. Her sensitive understanding allowed her to guide the coven while maintaining our spiritual integrity. With her in charge, none of the coveners felt the pull toward the darker side of magic. She was responsible for our wellbeing and preserving harmony within the group. These were daunting tasks in a world where witches were often discriminated against by other supernatural beings. Even more so now since the coven was divided over what to do with the information about a threat to a prominent shifter family that had unexpectedly fallen into our hands. One who was known to avoid witches like the plague.
“It’s decided,” my mom said firmly, her tone allowing no room for argument. “We cannot ignore this news. If dark practitioners are involved, we must intervene. It is our duty.”
Our coven’s maiden, my mother’s second, moved from the other side of the circle to stand in front of my mother, resting her hands on my mom’s shoulders as she lowered her head in a sign of respect. “And so it will be.”
When she stepped to the side and walked past my mom, I turned to face her next. “Exactly as it should.”
I kissed her cheek before stepping outside the circle and walking to the tree line behind us. While I leaned against an old oak, each member of the coven, in order of their rank, took their turn and vocalized their support for her decision to intercede. A begrudging acceptance was evident when a few spoke, but they weren’t about to go up against my mom in front of everyone. It was possible they’d try to argue their case with her in private later, but highly doubtful when the maiden and I both fully supported her decision.
My eyes turned toward the sky, drawn by the sliver of moon still visible. Our meeting had begun at the start of the lunar eclipse, my mom calling us together at the last minute. We only had one topic to cover, but it was a lengthy discussion that took up nearly half the eclipse. Staring up at the moon as it disappeared from sight, I felt more than heard my mom’s approach from behind me.
“It’s late,” she chided.
“I’ve always enjoyed the night. It used to worry me when I was younger, the idea of being attracted to the darkness.”
“It’s the moon which draws you,” she corrected. “It’s always been the moon for you, even when you were but a baby in my belly. I named you after the Goddess of the Moon for a reason.”
“Hmm,” I hummed, well aware of how I got my name.
“You surprised me tonight,” she sighed. “I expected more resistance from you.”
I didn’t shift my gaze toward her, afraid to see disappointment in her eyes. Sometimes I felt like I never did what she expected—even at times like this when I did what I would have thought she wanted me to do. “You sound upset that I agreed with you.”
She moved closer, until our arms were resting against each other. “You’re at peace with the decision?”
“There’s no reason for me to be at anything but peace since it’s the right thing to do. How could you even doubt it when you’re the one who taught me the difference between right and wrong?”
She reached for my hand and squeezed it tightly. “I might have taught you everything you know, but you still have a mind of your own. And as much as I hate to admit it, the decision wasn’t an easy one.”
I finally turned to look at her, surprised by her admission. “Are you second-guessing yourself?”
“I’m not sure how to explain what I’m feeling. In my head, I know it’s the right thing to do. But in my heart, I have this inexplicable feeling of dread.”
I was feeling unsettled as well. Something about the lunar eclipse being on the same night our coven decided to reach out to a bear shifter clan was making me uneasy. They were both rare occurrences, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was an omen about how it would all turn out in the end. Knowing my mom was also feeling uncertain did nothing to calm my nerves.
Chapter 1
Camden
My gaze swept across my dad’s living room and I couldn’t help but be amazed by how much my family had changed over the last year and a half. Annora, the sister I never knew existed, along with her wolf shifter mate, Parker, and my adorable baby niece, Kyla, were snuggled together on the couch. While Kyla climbed all over their laps, I noticed Annora’s hand drift to her stomach. I was pretty sure I knew why they’d surprised us with this visit. A pregnancy would certainly explain why my little sister was glowing.
There must have been something in the McMahon clan water lately because Alasdair was standing by the fireplace with his mate, Finley, another wolf, and his hand was rubbing the swell of her belly where thei
r baby rested. At the pace the babies were coming, it wasn’t going to be long before the kids outnumbered the adults. Oddly enough, it was something I looked forward to—which was crazy considering I’d never even thought about being an uncle before Annora got pregnant with Kyla.
And then there was Braden’s recent claiming of Tahlia, a lioness shifter, who was also an agent for the shifter council my dad reluctantly served on. Our family now consisted of bears, wolves, and lions. For a clan who had limited their interactions with other species, our family seemed to have moved beyond our inherent distrust of outsiders with a swiftness beyond the speed of light.
Yet, even with all my family surrounding me, I still felt lonely. I was the last of the McMahons to find his fated mate. At that thought, my gaze drifted to my dad, and my heart clenched at the tightness of his jaw. I wasn’t the only one who felt alone, but I wished I were. Carrick McMahon was many things—a great dad, an amazing grandfather, a solid leader of his clan, and a respected member of the shifter council. The one thing he would never be was mated. He’d never have what Annora, Alasdair, and Braden had with their mates, what I hoped to have when I found my own.
He’d been quieter since Tahlia shot and killed Annora’s mom last month. We’d all tried to give him the space he needed to grieve, not so much the loss of the woman, but the loss of what she could have been if she had been a different kind of woman. It wasn’t the bullet from Tahlia’s gun that took away the possibility for him, but the reprehensible actions of the woman fate had chosen for him.
His chances for a happy mating had been gone for a long time, something he’d come to terms with once he learned about Annora’s childhood. A knowledge only reinforced when we learned of her involvement in what her chosen mate had planned for our family, including the attempted kidnapping of Annora and Kyla. But her death brought a finality he was struggling with.
It didn’t help that we still had unfinished business with her chosen mate. We hadn’t been able to track down Annora’s stepdad yet. My dad used all his council connections, but the trail had gone cold since there was dark magic involved. Tahlia’s agent friend, Damien, was also on it. As a dragon shifter, he had unparalleled access to the witches, but he hadn’t been able to come up with the name of the coven helping to hide the man from our search.
The last four weeks had been a waiting game, and it was both a blessing and a curse. Since both my brothers had mates to protect, it was my turn to step up and help our dad with the search. I was the youngest of the three of us, and although it was only by minutes, it never mattered to my brothers. They had always tried to protect me like I was the baby of the family. Now that it was my turn to keep them safe, I was nervous about what to expect when we finally got a lead. I’d never been tapped to help him with anything council related before, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d end up finding my mate along the way just as my brothers had.
Tahlia sidled up next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Damien texted.” Her voice was whisper soft, low enough that I was the only one who heard her. “He’s going to be here in ten minutes and wants to meet with you, me, and Carrick.”
My eyes darted over to Braden. He’d grabbed Kyla from Parker’s lap and was swinging her in the air, his focus completely on our niece. He hadn’t noticed Tahlia talking to me, but he’d be pissed if we took the meeting with Damien and didn’t include him. I hoped she wasn’t whispering on his account. He was territorial about his mate, especially around the dragon shifter.
“What about Braden?”
“And Braden, too, of course. Damien didn’t ask for him, but I’m not stupid enough to think I could hide this meeting from him.” Raising my eyebrow at her, I crossed my arms and waited for her to realize what she’d said and who she was talking to. “Geesh! Not that I’m trying to hide anything from your brother, or that I even want to. Now, stop being a smartass and quietly head to your dad’s office. Until we hear what Damien has to say, I don’t want to freak everyone out and ruin all the family bonding.”
I chuckled at how uncomfortable she sounded. Tahlia was still adjusting to life in the McMahon Clan, since it was worlds apart from her childhood with her pride. “Better a smartass than a dumbass.”
“You better not be giving my mate a hard time,” Braden warned as he joined us.
“Who, me?” I asked as innocently as I could manage. “Would I ever do something like that?”
“Only all the time,” Tahlia grumbled.
“I’m just doing my part to welcome you into the family. This is what brothers do.” My defense was partly true, but what I didn’t mention was how much fun I had winding her up. Tahlia was more feisty than Annora or Finley, and for some sick reason, I enjoyed pushing her as far as I could before she blew her top and kicked my ass.
“Then I guess I’m lucky it was only my mom and me growing up. And your brother is lucky I hadn’t met you before we mated. I might have thought twice before taking him on if I’d known what a hassle brothers could be.”
“It’s cute how you think there was ever any chance I’d let you walk away from me.” My brother’s tone didn’t match his words since a hint of his bear had crept into his voice. Luckily, Tahlia moved quickly to calm him. Wrapping her arms around him, she rose up onto her tiptoes to whisper something in his ear. Whatever she said worked, thank fuck. The last thing we needed was Braden to already be riled before Damien got here. The dragon shifter managed to piss him off without even trying. While they were distracted by each other, I headed back toward my dad’s office, figuring it would be better if I got there before Braden.
Nearing the closed door, I heard my dad’s deep voice followed by the rumbling sound of Damien’s response. Glancing back at Tahlia and Braden, I was relieved to see they hadn’t moved from where I’d left them. I caught Alasdair’s gaze with mine, jerked my chin toward the couple, and then tapped my fingers against my watch. A quick nod of his head indicated he understood my signal. As I joined my dad and Damien, my aim was to wrap up this meeting before Braden and Tahlia got here.
The second the door closed behind me, I leaned against it and crossed my arms. The humor in my dad’s eyes was clear before I shifted my attention to Damien. “You’ve got news for us?”
“If by us, you mean your dad and Tahlia, then yeah, I’ve got news.”
“Tahlia’s busy with my brother. Her mate. Why don’t you go ahead and share the information you have with me now and I’ll make sure to pass it along to her later.”
The dragon shifter tilted his head as he stared at me, his face completely expressionless while he seemed to consider what I’d said before reacting. When he rose from the chair, I was reminded of how foolish it would be to push him too far. At six-foot-six, he had several inches on me and he was built like a fucking mack truck. I shifted my stance, readying myself for his next move, when he surprised me by grinning.
“I guess I can do that,” he conceded. “But you’ll be the one who gets to deal with Tahlia’s wrath when she realizes you’ve cut her out of the loop.”
“I didn’t say I was cutting her out, just that she can get her information from me instead of you.”
“It’s your funeral.” He stopped speaking abruptly, flames swirling in his green eyes. It was a sight I hadn’t seen before and one I’d be quite happy to never see again. By the time they clouded over before returning to normal, the temperature in the room had climbed by several degrees. Dragon magic was scary shit.
“Never mind,” he murmured. “I’ll make sure Tahlia understands that it’s important for you to be the one who meets with them.”
I didn’t have a good feeling about the amused smirk on his face as he looked at me. Odds were good it didn’t bode well for me. “Meets with who?”
“Oh, this is going to be fun,” he mumbled softly before continuing in a louder voice. “One of the witch covens reached out to me yesterday. They have information about the dark practitioners helping Channing.”
“If they’re the ones who’ve been hiding Channing from us, then they’ve been involved for awhile,” my dad reminded me.
“The best way to fight magic is with magic,” Damien pointed out. “And here you are with a coven willing to help. You might not be comfortable with the idea now, but I’m willing to bet you will be soon, because you’re going to need them.”
Shifters and witches usually stayed far away from each other. The only exception were the dragon shifters, who, by their very nature, kept a foot in both worlds. I was surprised a coven had decided to help my clan. I’d never really had any contact with a witch and couldn’t help but be skeptical about their offer to help us. “You’re a dragon. Why can’t we fight this battle using your magic?”
“Dragon magic is different from witch magic,” he answered. He didn’t continue, as though his limited response was enough of an explanation for me to understand. Unfortunately, it didn’t even come close to helping me figure it out.
“Different how?”
His eyes did their swirling fire thing again. “In ways you’ll soon come to understand. But now isn’t the time, and I’m not the one who will explain it to you.”
“What the fuck ever,” I grumbled. If working with witches was what it was going to take to finally catch the bastard who’d done so much harm to my family, then I’d damn well do it without complaining too much. Although our family had become more open to outsiders lately, our newfound trust didn’t extend past shifters to witches. It would have made what needed to be done a hell of a lot easier, but I couldn’t imagine the day when any McMahon would put their faith in a witch—including me.
Chapter 2
Selene
Bear the Burden: McMahon Clan 3 (Fated Mates Book 6) Page 1