“I love you, bud.” Fred thumped his tail on the spongy forest floor in response. When he pulled away, the fur on Fred’s nape was damp.
Sniffling, Jess stood and took in a deep lungful of the crisp forest air that held a tinge of the sea. It refreshed his spirit and, he hoped, would make him think more clearly.
Pushing out his confusion about Veronica, he focused on the other bear. Was it the same one Fred smelled the other night? Was it stalking him? Neither seemed likely for a normal grizzly. It just didn’t make sense.
Unless...
His thoughts shifted to the email Veronica had sent after she left his cabin, after he basically told her to get the hell out of his life forever.
My dearest Jess,
I’m so sorry you had to find out about me the way you did. I know you never want to see me again, but I feel I should at least explain everything so you aren’t left wondering what the hell happened.
I’m a werebear. It’s so strange to be telling you that because I’ve spent the last six months trying not to tell you. Everything else you know about me is true: I have twin sons, my husband died six years ago and I’m utterly, truly and helplessly in love with you. You probably don’t want to hear that, and I don’t blame you but it’s the truth.
When I signed up for that matchmaking website, I never for a second thought I’d fall for a human. I just wanted to practice flirting and have a little fun. But you just blew me away.
I’ve been told all my life that humans and werebears can’t mate and I never thought to question it. But then I found out about a mixed couple who had done it. Sure, there’d been rumors of such couplings, but...I’m getting off-track.
Regardless of whether it’s possible for humans and my kind to live happily ever after, you’ve made it clear that isn’t an option. I respect that. I won’t bother you again, but you know where to find me.
Please watch out for yourself (and Fred!) because I’m concerned my clan has gotten wind of our ‘relationship’, and they won’t approve. I’m going to do everything I can to protect you but it pays to be extra-vigilant until you leave for the season.
Love always,
Veronica
He’d still been in shock when he read the email and the implications were just starting to sink in. That other bear must have been one of her ‘kind’. Somehow her tribe or whatever it was called found out about them and now his life was in danger.
“That’s just great. It’s my luck to fall in love with a member of some mutant species, and now her family wants to kill me.”
Even as the words left his mouth, he felt a deep shame at uttering them. Veronica was about as far from a mutant as possible; he was just upset. A relationship with her might be insanity, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t give her the respect she deserved.
Images of Hannah popped in his head unbidden. What the...? It took a moment for his conscious mind to understand what his unconscious mind was trying to tell him. He was giving up on love without even trying to fight for it, just like he had with his ex-wife. He’d waited too long to fight for her, but it wasn’t too late to fight for Veronica.
“No,” he mumbled to himself. This was different. A part of his brain wanted to ask why but he pushed the question away. It just was.
His thoughts were once more wrapped up in Veronica when he stepped into the clearing at the riverbank. A shimmer caught the corner of his eye and when he turned his head, what he saw nearly stopped his heart. Three impossibly tall and hairy men were growing larger and even hairier. Before he could even take a lungful of that crisp air to bellow a scream of terror, he was facing a trio of enormous grizzlies, all of which were snarling at him.
Paralyzed with fear, the breath caught in his throat, but when Fred darted past him toward the bears, he came to.
“FRED!”
The bears spread out, flanking Jess while Fred whipped around barking at each in turn, not knowing which to attack first. Jess continued to yell for his dog but he raised his hands and started to slowly back away. He silently cursed himself for being in such a daze that he forgot to grab his rifle before heading out.
“C’mon, Fred, let’s leave these nice, um...bears to their business.” He knew that they knew that he knew what they really were and, after Veronica’s warning, he wondered if he’d ever see his shabby little cabin again.
Growling with a ferocity to match the bears, Fred backed toward Jess until he was just in front of him, guarding his master. The bears kept advancing as the pair retreated. There was no way Jess could outrun them and he had no way to defend himself. If only bears could understand reason.
Wait a minute! Maybe they did. Veronica had seemed to know exactly what was going on when she switched into a bear. Real bears wouldn’t fight each other over a dog, unless they were trying to eat it or something. She showed real concern for Fred’s well-being while in bear form.
Is it possible they can understand what I’m saying? Jess wondered. He had no idea if this was true but he had nothing to lose right now by going on that theory.
Looking the lead bear dead in the eyes, Jess took a steadying breath and said, “Listen, guys. I really don’t want any trouble. My name’s Jess and, yeah, I know you guys are, um, werebears.”
The lead bear, a huge bugger whose shoulders were nearly as high off the ground as Jess’ head, snorted at his words. His beady black eyes narrowed to slits and his head lowered in a threatening pose.
“Trust me, I don’t want to know anymore than you want me to know, but I do. And I swear to God it’s our little secret.” He tried to chuckle but was too terrified to pull it off.
This only seemed to piss them off more. All three were now growling from deep within their guts, teeth bared, eyes blazing.
Oh, shit, he thought. What now?
Grasping at straws, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I broke it off with her. So we’re not, you know, seeing each other anymore.”
The alpha bear blinked at that, pausing for the briefest of seconds. This gave Jess hope that he was on the right track.
“She’s a wonderful woman, don’t get me wrong, but humans and werebears? That can’t work, right?”
Hope welled inside him as the lead bear slowed his advance. When the next bear back grumbled at him, Alpha Bear grunted and Jess could have sworn he nodded. Something like a smile spread across the bear’s broad face.
Uh oh, thought Jess, his heart trying to beat its way out of his chest. That doesn’t look like a friendly smile.
Alpha Bear pulled himself to his full standing height of roughly two hundred feet tall and let fly a bellow-scream that nearly burst Jess’ eardrums. Instinct took over and Jess tore off down the path toward the cabin, Fred hot on his heels. His heart thundered almost as loudly as the bears that were crashing along after them.
They were approaching the cabin’s clearing when it struck Jess that the bears were getting quieter, but he didn’t dare break his pace to look over his shoulder. He paused for only a second as he yanked open the cabin door, Fred shooting past him like he was on fire. Looking back, there was nothing behind him. The bears had let them go. The only noise that disturbed the eerie silence behind them was the sound of cruel laughter.
His entire body was shaking as he barred all the doors in the cabin, loaded the rifle and sat down in the center of the room next to a quivering Fred.
“It’s okay, bud, we’ll be okay. They were just screwing with us...I hope.”
Time stood still as they waited for the front door to burst inward on them, but the attack never came. Jess’ constant petting soothed Fred to a point where he laid down, his head in Jess’ lap. One eye was trained on the front door, but it was better than nothing.
When his computer binged that he had a message, Jess felt sufficiently settled to leave his defensive position and go the desk.
It was from his supervisor, Rob. “Any more unusual bear activity to report?”
His humorless bray of laughter star
tled an already skittish Fred, who whined in response.
“Sorry, buddy, but what timing, eh?”
He stared at the screen for a minute, wondering exactly what he should write, before hitting the reply button.
“Funny you should ask...”
Chapter 14
Max burst into Elder Watkins’ tiny office at the Kodiak community center, cinnamon eyes flashing. His bear was eager to jump into the fray, but Max held him back.
“Where is she?!” he bellowed.
The old man glanced up from the document he was reading at the interruption and narrowed his eyes at his new guest.
“We have a certain way of doing things in this clan, Brother Pearce. Barging in on an elder uninvited is not one of them. Explain yourself.”
Elder Watkins laid the document on his card table of a desk and leaned back in the worn leather desk chair, lacing his fingers across his protruding belly. The ancient chair let out a squawk of protest as it struggled to perform its duty to keep the portly man from falling on his ass. His surroundings might have been meager but he’d certainly never gone hungry.
“Bethany! What have you done with her?!” He advanced on the elder, which was a serious breach of etiquette in any clan, but he was barely restraining himself from throttling this old codger, so he figured it evened out.
“Lower your voice!” The elder’s commanding tone stopped Max in his tracks. If he hadn’t been so furious, he might have smiled at the irony of half-deaf Elder Watkins telling him to lower his voice. “Now, calmly tell me your grievance.”
Glaring at Watkins, Max took a deep breath. “Moments after our phone call, Bethany was snatched off the street. I demand to know what you’ve done with my mate.” He could no longer contain his bear’s agitated growl.
“Tsk tsk, Max. After I explicitly told you to keep her safe in the hotel, you let her leave?” The old man shook his head in disappointment.
Shame, grief, fear and anger were making his blood boil. It was his fault. He’d been warned, but his shock at finding out the sex of their baby caused his devastating hesitation. Tears pricked behind his eyes at the thought of Bethany and his son being in danger, not knowing if they were safe or even alive. He would do anything to ensure their safety, and he told Elder Watkins the same.
Watkins nodded sagely. “I have no doubt, Max. And more than anything, I’m hoping for their quick and safe return.”
He stood and edged around his desk, wrapping an arm around Max’s shoulders. The simple gesture sent waves of revulsion through Max, but he didn’t dare pull away. This asshole was his only hope.
“What do you want me to do?” He begged through gritted teeth.
“Me?” Watkins feigned surprise. “You think I had something to do with this...abduction? No, my friend, it wasn’t I. But who could it have been? Let’s look at that.”
He guided Max to a pair of simple plastic chairs in a corner. As soon as Max was settled, Watkins gingerly perched himself on the other until he was sure it wouldn’t crumple under his girth.
“Of course our council might have reason to...incentivize your cooperation in the Yoren Brand situation, but we rarely find it necessary to take such drastic actions. Next on the list of likely suspects, naturally, are the Brotherhood.”
Cold pierced Max’s heart at the mention of the hate group. What would they do to the human mate of a were? One who was getting ready to give birth to a mixed-species baby, no less. His horror at the thought was broadcast like a flashing neon sign on his face.
“You know as well as I do that the Brotherhood are a bunch of unpredictable hooligans. It seems quite logical, in fact, that they might not take too kindly to your mate’s presence here in Kodiak. Some might even think her being here could encourage other werebears to think they might also have a happy union with a human.”
Max was a statue, waiting for the shoe to drop. Watkins sat across from him, fingers steepled in front of his mouth, pretending to look extremely thoughtful and worried. Asshole.
“Now, it’s possible the Brotherhood, if that’s who took Britannia—“
“Bethany,” Max growled.
Watkins continued as if he didn’t hear. “It’s possible they’d release her unharmed if you were to show your support for our clan by ensuring a Brand-Muir union. If something were to go awry...”
His shrug said it all. If Max didn’t make sure Veronica and Yoren became mates, he might never see Bethany again. He couldn’t bear the thought of never meeting his son, never teaching him the ways of the were, never watching him grow into a man, never seeing him fall in love with his own mate. A piercing cold swallowed his heart. He knew as well as Elder Watkins did that he’d do whatever it took to get his family back.
“I’ll do whatever it takes.” Even he could barely hear his whisper but, deaf or not, Watkins heard it just fine.
“Wonderful, Max!” He clapped him on the back and pulled him up, ushering him toward the door. “And in the meantime, I’ll ask around about Betty.”
“Bethany.” He couldn’t even muster the energy to growl this time.
“Yes, yes. I’m sure she’ll be fine, Max. Now off you go!”
As Elder Watkins’ office door slammed in his face, Max struggled to not break down. They’d broken him and they knew it, but he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing any weakness.
His bear, on the other hand, was starting to get angry. Max felt the adrenaline pushing through his bloodstream, shoving the despair to the side in favor of righteous fury. He rarely allowed his bear to take over his emotions like that, but anything was better than feeling so helpless. He needed to focus, not only on his task at hand, but on figuring out who took Bethany and how to get her back.
And who needed to be killed.
~ * ~ * ~
Grace lied. Things didn’t look better after a couple hours sleep. In fact, the mix of nasty sweet wine and the weird gin drinks had soured her mood considerably.
“Bitch,” she whispered, and even that was too loud for her aching head.
She stumbled out of her room and into the tiny bathroom to splash water on her face. She gulped handfuls of coolness down her throat to quench her deadly thirst and to try to rinse out the horrifying taste that seemed cemented to her tongue. “Gack!”
A pot of coffee and some ibuprofen, and a few minutes to let them take effect, sounded just about right. But the thought had no sooner waded through the muck to the front of her mind when her front door burst open and the squeals of two excited little werebears were like icepicks in her brain.
“Momma! Momma!”
Sam and Jason came screaming around the corner into the hallway and leaped into her arms. She did her best not to wince at the noise, but her mother-in-law couldn’t help but notice as soon as she spotted her.
“Boys, be dears and get your old grandma some water,” Gretchen said while peeling the boys from their mother and gently swatting their bottoms toward the kitchen.
Jason gave her a very severe look. “Gramma, we’re bears not deers!”
Gretchen laughed, sending another ripple of misery through Veronica’s head. “Go on now, Mr. Smartypants.”
As soon as they were out of earshot, Gretchen gave her a once over. “Everything okay?”
Veronica closed her eyes, her hand drifting up to cover them.
“Mmm hmm,” she nodded. “Just need an Advil or ten.”
“Rough day, huh? You want me to take them for the night?”
“God, I love you, Gretchen. You walk in and see me in this state and don’t give me a hard time. Bless you.”
Gretchen wrapped her arms around her daughter-in-law and held her close without squeezing too hard. Veronica sank into the comfort and love she felt there.
“Darlin’, you’ve dealt with more than any woman should. You’re allowed to cut loose now and again.”
The ringing phone drew a pained groan from Veronica and, before she could move to answer it, Sam pulled the receiver from the cra
dle. “Hewwo, Mewer wesidence.”
Gretchen gave her a gentle squeeze and released her. They both were smiling like idiots at how absolutely adorable her cubs were.
“Momma!” he hollered. “It’s f’you!”
“So much for his impeccable manners,” she mumbled, her mother-in-law chuckling behind a hand.
“Hello?” She couldn’t help smiling as the boys ran circles in the living room, climbing all over the sofa like it was a fallen log. The smile slid away when she heard the caller’s voice.
“Oh, hello, Elder Watkins. To what do I owe the pleasure— Um, yes. Uh huh.” She nodded, not daring to look at Gretchen. “Of course. I’ll be there. Thank you.”
It seemed like her hand moved for an eternity before setting the phone back in its cradle. Her mind was whirling. Why did Elder Watkins want to see her and why did it have to be right now? Had he heard about Jess already? Was she going to be banished? What about her boys?
Of course it could be nothing. Don’t count on it, babe, Keith’s voice rang through her head. The head elder of the Kodiak clan doesn’t call you to his office for coffee and crumpets.
Summoning every ounce of courage she had, she dared to meet her mother-in-law’s eyes but she was running after the boys, trying to get them to pack an overnight bag. The headache that had been threatening her sanity moments before was replaced by the same dreadful fear she’d experienced when she opened her front door one late night to find the sheriff on her front step, his hat in his hands and a mournful look on his face.
She had no idea what was coming but she braced herself for anything.
~ * ~ * ~
Veronica shook the nerves from her hand before knocking gently on Elder Watkins’ office door. She sucked in a couple of deep breaths while she waited for a response, but they did little to calm her. Acid churned in her empty stomach and her skin was flush. Her bear was all kinds of antsy, which didn’t help matters at all.
The door whooshed open. “Mrs. Muir! Please come in.” The elder ushered her into the small room with a wide grin.
Crazy About Curves: 10 Luscious Reads Page 113