by Bliss Devlin
"And I want to stay with you, Rafe," she told him, all impulse gone to tease him further. "You've become so very important to me."
He stiffened, every muscle tensed and in high relief under his skin, then climaxed with a groan and a rush of hot seed.
With a long, contented sigh, Rafe lowered himself beside her and gathered her into his arms. He kissed her hair and nuzzled her cheek.
Relaxed in the afterglow, she ventured, "I've been asking myself why you haven't been taken yet. I mean, it's hard to believe someone like you would be alone if you didn't want…"
She stopped talking as he tensed.
"Maybe I was married. But I can't remember. WSS took all that away from me," he said curtly, all softness and teasing gone.
He heaved himself off the bed and stalked towards the bathroom.
Afraid she had offended him, Shannon lay quietly, listening to the sounds of water running. She wondered if she should take advantage of his absence to return quietly to her own room.
But she didn't want to go. She wanted to stay here, in Rafe's bed, and fall asleep in his embrace. And she sensed that despite his sudden gruffness, he wanted her here, too.
Rafe confirmed this when he returned to the bed and gently drew her into his arms.
His expression still closed and remote, he said quietly, "That was rude. I apologize." He sighed. "I don't know how much your grandfather told you about shifters, but we live a very long time. I know I was married, once, because I found it in some old records. She was an ordinary mortal woman. I outlived her…and most of our children too, because only one of them was born a shifter." He curled around her. "I swore I'd never marry again. It was too hard to think that I'd lost them all…and even their memories are gone now, taken from me by WSS."
"I didn't mean to pry," Shannon murmured. "I’m sorry, too."
His face softened, and he leaned down to brush a quick, light kiss over her lips.
"I don't want to keep any secrets from you. It's just that some things are difficult to talk about, even though you know about shifters and WSS." He took a deep breath. "Drake isn't just my business partner. He's also my great-grandson. Hal and the rest of us have been trying to locate and protect the new generation of shifters, so that they won't be forced to become Beast Warriors, like us. But since Drake is only one-quarter shifter, he can shift into a bear but he's not immortal, so eventually he, too, will grow old and die."
This is our true mate.
In the aftermath of their lovemaking, Rafe felt happier and more at peace with himself than he'd been in years.
His bear was right. The warm, voluptuous woman curled in his arms was his, and he didn't intend to ever let her go.
Luckily for him, she'd made it very clear that she wanted him, too, and wouldn't take no for an answer. He liked that about her—for all her soft curves and gentle healer's nature, he had noticed that she also possessed an iron will alloyed with stubbornness and a certain ruthlessness.
He would never have to worry about walking all over her by accident. She would let him know if he ever overstepped his bounds.
I'll wager that Perry would have had his hands full with her, if he'd managed to succeed in forcing her to come to WSS HQ.
Rafe found himself grinning up at the dark ceiling as her breath tickled the skin of his chest. Her escape from her abductors had been courageous and audacious. And now she was here.
And mine. All mine!
"Rafe," she said softly, settling her arm more firmly around his waist, which also pressed one of her generous breasts very pleasantly against his side. "Are you telling me that you don't remember anything about your life before WSS recruited you?"
"That's right," he answered and felt an old, deep pain stirring in his soul. "I've managed to put together a few bits and pieces from my research, but none of it feels real, or connected to me. What do you know about the Beast Warriors?"
"Not much," she admitted. "Only that they're shifters who were recruited to work for WSS as mercenary soldiers."
"Recruited," Rafe snorted. "Well, that's one way to put it."
Shannon stiffened. "You didn't join voluntarily?"
Rafe snorted again. "Hardly. You've seen how WSS operates. General Kristine Amabilis—she founded WSS and was the head of its Special Operations Division at the time—she knew about shifters and actively hunted them."
"So WSS abducted you, too?" asked Shannon, looking taken aback.
Perhaps she was realizing that she wasn't as safe here in Elysia, under Rafe's protection, as she'd come to believe. He was determined to prove her wrong.
"Yes," answered Rafe and sighed. "I was told that they waited until I was badly injured and couldn't resist them, then they grabbed me. But I don't remember any of it—they used some kind of drug on us that wiped our memories."
"They really did that to you?" Shannon sounded both shocked and outraged. "I know you mentioned it was a possibility, but that's—that's obscene! Oh, if I ever get my hands on either General Amabilis or Colonel Perry, I'll make them very sorry!"
Her arms tightened protectively around him, and Rafe was forced to smile despite the bitter memories raised by her questions. This petite woman wanted to protect him!
"General Amabilis said it was to keep us from dwelling on what was done and gone," he said. "At least we were permitted to keep our names. But though I've been able to find birth certificates and genealogical records, I can't remember my parents or my brothers and sisters…or my wife or children. Whitepine Security Services took all that away from me."
Even after all these years, he still felt the hollow ache left by the absence of those memories. Without remembering those he had loved and lost, without kin, he was not whole.
He felt Shannon's warm lips on his chest as she kissed the closest bit of skin within reach. "That's horrifying."
"I've had to live without those memories for a long time now," Rafe said, stroking the generous rounded curve of her hip.
"So you awoke after being badly injured, abducted by WSS and amnesiac?" Shannon asked. "What happened then?"
"I was introduced to the other bear shifters already in a unit called Bear Team, commanded by Hal Sigurdsson. They put me through a version of basic training, and then they started sending me out on missions. At first, all of the Beast Warriors were well treated by WSS." He sighed. "If you can ignore the forced recruitment and the memory wipe, General Amabilis was a pretty decent and reasonable employer who was careful about what contracts she accepted. And she paid us generously, including bonus for hazardous assignments. It wasn't a bad life, not really, and we felt like we were doing some good, especially when it came to things like hostage rescue missions and guarding aid workers as they delivered food, clean water, and medicines to people in need."
"And then Colonel Perry took over?" Shannon guessed.
Rafe sighed. "Yes. He's her son, and she's blind to his faults. Everything went to hell when she promoted him and put him in charge of the Beast Warriors."
"I can only imagine." Shannon stroked Rafe's flat stomach, which he found pleasantly distracting.
"Yes, well." Rafe stared at the shadows on the ceiling, wondering how much detail he should give.
Not much, he decided. It was disturbing enough that he had certain images in his memories. He would not inflict those mental pictures on his new mate.
"Colonel Perry quickly demonstrated that he had no honor and no respect for his Beast Warriors. He changed our status from highly-respected—and well-paid—mercenaries to indentured servants. Oh, we were being still paid after he took over…on paper, anyway, but in reality, we now had to reimburse the company for our food, clothing, and medical care as well as any equipment we used during a mission and anything lost or damaged. So we were all stuck pretty quickly in deep debt to WSS. At first, we all hoped that Perry was simply green and that with time and a little real experience, he might come to his senses."
"Granda always said that Lu
gh Perry was a monster," Shannon declared.
"And he was right." Rafe turned on his side to spoon his cuddlesome armful of sweetly scented woman. "We chafed under his command and resented the fact that our pay had evaporated, but none of us had anywhere else to go by that point, and so we felt compelled to serve him while we thought that there might be still be some hope for him."
"What changed your minds?" Shannon's soft hands covered his where he cupped the comforting weight of her breast in his hand.
"Lugh ordered the bear shifters to wipe out a village that we'd been hired to guard. The village elders had to dared to complain to the nearest American embassy about Colonel Perry's abuses, and he was afraid that a government investigation would torpedo some of WSS's more lucrative embassy security services contracts if the truth came to light." Rafe shook his head at the memory. "Those villagers were his clients, whom he had sworn to protect, and he wanted to turn us loose on them, knowing what we were capable of!"
"What happened then?" she asked.
"It was the final straw," Rafe said simply. "Hal Sigurdsson finally hit his breaking point, along with the rest of us. And by that time, Hal had won the unquestioning loyalty of every member of Bear Team. When he told us that obeying Perry's orders would stain our honor forever because we would be injuring those we had sworn to protect, we all agreed that we needed to sever our ties with WSS once and for all. And to make sure they never found us again. We pretended to prepare for the mission and packed our weapons, supplies, and anything else we thought we might need. But when we boarded the plane, instead of flying east to the village, we headed west."
Shannon asked, "How did you keep WSS from tracking you?"
"We ditched the aircraft in the middle of nowhere. Someone we'd helped on another assignment arranged other transportation for us." Rafe paused, wondering if he should tell Shannon the next part. Finally he said, "Hal wanted the man to come with us, so that WSS couldn't force him to betray where we'd gone. The man did not wish to go into exile and begged Hal to kill him instead. A swift death would be a mercy compared to what Colonel Perry would do to him when he discovered that he had helped Bear Team to desert." He sighed. "We had other help along the way…I found out later that Hal had been planning our escape for some time, but he didn't want to leave any of his men behind, so he had to wait for an assignment that would deploy all of Bear Team. It took a long time to arrange for new identities for all of us as well as a place we could settle and not raise any suspicions. We all wanted to stay to together, if we could."
"I had wondered why the bear shifters vanished but the other Beast Warriors remained behind," Shannon said in a musing tone. "Granda said that Colonel Perry uses the wolf shifters as his preferred Beast Warriors now."
"Hal didn't dare tell Erik Redclaw or any of the other Beast Warrior commanders of our plans, lest one of them still felt some lingering loyalty to Colonel Perry," Rafe said. "I've often wondered how the others felt at being left behind when the bear shifters escaped."
"And were you and the others able to find happiness in Elysia?" Shannon asked.
"Most of us, yes," Rafe said. "I still regret the loss of my memories, but my life here has been a good one, for the most part. I'm well-off and free, Shannon. I have friends I can trust, a roof over my head, and land of my own…and now I have you."
She turned in his arms and kissed him, long and deep. And he was reminded once again how lucky he was. And how much he wanted her, now and always.
"And what about you?" Rafe asked, when their lips finally drew apart. "Do you think you could be happy here with me, in exile from your home and your family?"
"Yes," Shannon said simply. "If I'm with you, Rafe, everything else will work itself out, I'm sure. I have a roof over my head—"
"—and it's not Brett's," joked Rafe.
"And it's not Brett's," she agreed with a giggle. "Poor Brett. He's such a sweet man, and so handsome, too…"
"Hey," protested Rafe. "I don't want to hear you praising Brett when you're in my bed!"
She giggled again, and the sound was more beautiful to him than the chiming of silver bells. Then she sobered and stroked Rafe's bearded cheek with a gentle, loving touch.
"You saved me from the wolf shifters and WSS, you've given me a roof over my head and your protection, and you've even made it possible for me to continue working as a healer. I owe you a debt I can never repay."
"There is no debt. And no repayment, Shannon. Only the precious gifts you choose to bestow upon me, like this." Rafe kissed her again.
She returned the kiss, pressing her soft curves against him, and he felt desire spring once more to life.
"So, you'll stay in Elysia with me?" he asked and waited apprehensively for her answer.
She was silent longer than he would have liked. "I want to," she said finally. "But I still have nightmares about Colonel Perry finding me…and finding the bear shifters because of me. And I'm worried about my Granda…I know I promised to stay here and work, and not contact anyone from my past, but I think that perhaps—
"Stay," Rafe interrupted hoarsely. "You know I'll protect you with my life."
"That's not a price I want you to pay." She kissed Rafe. "Not for me. You've already paid so much—your old life, your memories. I want you to live free and to be happy."
"I can only be happy if I'm with you. My bear-spirit has claimed you as his mate," he said. He had to tell her. "If, when your service to Hal is completed, you still want to move away from Elysia, I'll go with you."
"I'm your mate now?" she asked. "Truly?"
Rafe nodded. "I know we haven't known each other for very long. But I believe these things are fated. Is there any chance that you might return my feelings?"
He held his breath for her reply. Luckily, she didn't make him wait long.
"I love you, Rafe Magnusson. I think I fell in love with you that first day, but everything I've learned about you in the past fortnight has only confirmed my initial feelings."
"Good," he said. "Because I don't want to live without you. I want to be with you forever, beautiful Shannon."
Chapter 9 – Warned
Feeling blissfully sated and happier than she had in a long time, Shannon nestled against Rafe and ached to reveal the one secret she still kept.
But she had promised Granda never to tell anyone what she knew, what he had taught her. It was the real reason that Colonel Perry had hunted Granda and was now hunting her with such fervor.
Tired after a strenuous day of healing and Rafe's energetic lovemaking, she fell asleep quickly. She didn't expect to remember her dreams.
During her long apprenticeship under Granda, Shannon had been taught about the different types of dreams.
There were ordinary dreams, usually pleasant, in which the soul relived the day's important events and organized memories. There were troubled dreams, often nightmares, which were fueled by fears, worries, or guilt.
And then there were prophetic dreams, sometimes sent by God or the saints as a warning, sometimes born of a soul's sensitivity to the currents of fate.
Shannon's dream this night was vivid and troubling, with a disturbing taint of prophecy.
…the bent and twisted wreckage of the small airplane lies crumpled against tree trunks, just as she remembered it. The full moon glows on a nearby meadow, the grass and wildflowers gone now, torn up by the crash and then churned under by the wheels of the cluster of off-road vehicles parked there.
A shadowy figure, wearing an ordinary tweed suit, emerges from the trees, weaving and stumbling like a drunkard, prodded forward by the shining blade of a drawn sword held in the hand of a big red-headed bearded man.
Behind him come more men, all of them big and bearded and wearing the WSS fatigues and berets.
Silently, the shifters gather around the plane's wreckage.
One of the warriors speaks, and his words send an icy dart through Shannon's chest. "You're sure she survived the crash? And that she's gone to Elysia?"<
br />
"Absolutely certain, Mr. Redclaw." The shadowy man's voice is strangely halting and slurred, as if he's drunk or drugged. It's also tinged with a familiar Irish accent as he continues, "And Colonel Perry need never know that you lost your quarry."
"If you even so much as think about telling him, I'll cut your balls off and make you eat them raw," growls Redclaw.
"I have no doubt." The shadowy man says, stumbling over his words.
Why does his voice seem so familiar?
He extends his left hand in a gesture of appeal, palm up. It is an elegant, long-fingered hand.
Granda's hand. The shock of recognition echoes through Shannon's dream.
"P-please, don't hurt her," he slurs. "And besides, she's the only one who can do it. I should know—" He hiccups. "I tried for years to—to put the theory into action. But she was—she was the only one who ever managed it. The only one in our family whose gift is strong enough. I don't care what you do to me—"
Shannon gasps. Granda is their prisoner? After all the years spent hiding, WSS caught him, and all because of her?
She sees Granda freeze mid-word at her gasp, and his head snaps around to search the trees.
The moonlight reveals his beloved features, and Shannon senses that he is looking right at her. That he can see her.
She freezes in terror. Where is she? Has she returned to the crash site as a ghost? She feels bodiless, with no sense of cold against her skin or solid ground beneath her feet.
"What's happening, old man?" Redclaw demands.
"N-nothing," says Granda softly. "I just thought I heard something."
"Someone's watching us," another of the Beast Warriors growls. "I can feel their eyes on me." He sniffs the air and scowls.
"Who?" Erik demands. All of the Beast Warriors peer around intently, and Shannon sees several of them sniff the air. "Who's spying on us?"
"No one," Granda insists. "No one's here. No one but us." He giggles at this, hiccupping.
But Shannon can see the worry in his face…and so can Redclaw.
"Well, let's get moving, old man," says Redclaw. "And this Elysia had better be a real place. It sure as hell isn't on my GPS. If you've found a way around the truth drug to lie to us—I'll give you plenty of time to regret it."