by V. Vaughn
“Madison,” Mrs. Robichaux says. “You seem to have survived the change well.”
“Yes, thank you. It went as smoothly as it could.”
“I’m glad.” She glances at the woman by her side. “I like you to meet my granddaughter, Audrey.”
I hold my hand out to Audrey and notice she has eyes as blue as Marion’s. “Nice to meet you.”
“You as well,” Audrey says. “I’m in awe of you going through the change.”
“Don’t be. I was scared out of my mind, and I’m certainly glad it’s over.”
“She was so brave,” Trent says.
Audrey smiles at him and asks me, “How do you like being a werebear so far?”
“It’s great.” I smile thinking about all the physical changes I’ve undergone in such a short time, like being stronger. “Food tastes amazing, and it’s crazy how much I used to miss out on as a human. You have no idea how bland food is for us— them.”
“I can imagine,” Marion says. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to mingle.”
“Of course,” I say. “Thank you so much for coming.”
When she leaves, Trent says, “I’m going to get more steak before it’s gone. Can I get you ladies anything?”
Audrey says, “I’d like a drink. But we’ve got it. Take a walk with me, Madison.”
“I’d love one,” I say, and we walk over toward the ice buckets.
“I hear you came here from Connecticut to go to the University of Maine,” Audrey says.
“I did. I came to become an English teacher. I never expected to find my true mate.” I glance over at Trent talking to his father at the grill, and my heart fills with so much love it’s almost painful.
“Nice surprise, I’m sure.” She pops the top of a hard seltzer can. “How is your roommate? Do you get along well?”
“Josie’s great.” I recall how difficult she was the first day we met, as if she didn’t want me to like her. But we became friends, and thinking about her makes me worry again. Part of me wants to mention my concern to Audrey, but how ridiculous would I appear to her if my vision was just a vivid werebear dream?
“Everything okay?” Audrey asks.
“Oh, yeah. I was just thinking about how I’ve ignored Josie in the past few days. She doesn’t make friends easily, and I hope she’s not feeling abandoned.”
Audrey smiles. “You’re a good friend.” She looks over at the table full of food and grabs a wrap sandwich. “What made you come to Maine? Do you have family or friends in the area?”
It occurs to me that Audrey is someone who might be able to help me find my father. “Actually, I came here because when my mother died, I discovered letters from my biological father, and a bit of research told me that he lives in the area.”
Audrey’s eyebrows go up. “Do you know who he is?”
I nod, but the last thing I want to do is blindside him with a daughter he doesn’t know about, or hasn’t thought of in years, so I don’t share the information. “I know he’s a werebear since I’m sure my mother was human, but I don’t know if he’s aware I exist, so I’ll wait until I’m settled before I approach him. If I do at all.”
“Ah, I see how that could be tricky.” Audrey takes a bite of her food.
“Exactly. Once I get settled into my new life, I’ll do a little sleuthing and figure out if I’d even be welcome in his life.”
She frowns. “It must be hard not having parents around.”
“I’m fine. Trent’s parents are great, and I have a wonderful new family now.”
“That you do. But if you need any help finding your father, I’m happy to assist you in any way I can.”
Her offer warms my heart, and I’m tempted to take her up on her generosity and ask about Josie. “That’s so nice of you. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Audrey smiles and lifts her seltzer can in a toast. “I like you, Madison, and I can tell we’re going to become good friends.”
I smile back at the kind woman before me, one I know will be the alpha of my clan one day. And I can’t help thinking she’s a good person to have in my corner if Josie is something more than she says she is. I say, “I’d love that.”
Six
Max
While Audrey is off at some party pursuing the Madison angle of our theory about the two halves who may be trying to infiltrate the Northeast Kingdom clans, I go over to the dorm to find Josie. I know she had to have seen what happened at the river when I almost drowned, and I figure taking her to the spot where it happened might get her talking.
When I step into the great room of the dormitory, I see Reese splayed out on an oversized couch. He hops up when he notices me. “Hey, Max.”
“Relax,” I say. “I’m here to relieve you of your duties for a few hours. Is it okay if I go up to Josie’s room?”
His brow furrows for a second as if deciding how to answer a question I didn’t really ask before he says, “Why don’t I go tell her so she can have time to get ready to see you?” He grins. “You know girls.”
I chuckle as if I believe that’s the real reason he’s hesitant to let me go up, but I decide to go with the flow instead of getting alpha on him. “Sure. I’ll wait down here. Tell her to grab a sweatshirt.” I watch as he walks down the hall to the stairway and wonder if his reluctance to let me go up to Josie’s room has to do with his loyalty to Audrey. I can imagine he’s not a fan of the guy who is causing her pain by having two true mates, and he probably doesn’t want me spending time with her competition.
Josie comes down in less than ten minutes with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She’s wearing jeans and a t-shirt and has a hoodie draped over her arm. She smiles when she sees me, and I guess her heart flips the way mine does as she walks toward me and says, “Hi.”
“Hi. Want to go for a walk?”
“Sure,” she says, and we make our way out of the building. I take her to the path that leads to the river and waterfall. She pauses when we’re in the woods to lift her face to the sun and take a deep breath. “My god, I forget how much I love being outdoors until I can’t go out whenever I want to.”
“Is it horrible being cooped up in the dorm?”
She glances at me, and twigs snap beneath her feet as she begins walking. “Yes. Having your freedom taken away is horrible, Max.”
Anger at Reese begins to burn in me. “Are you being mistreated? Because if anyone—”
“No. Nobody is harming me.” She sighs. “It’s an impossible situation, so let’s change the subject. I need to apologize to you for the other night. I shouldn’t have punched you. It’s just— well, this is probably a copout, but I think my bear made me do it.”
She’s likely right. My bear can push me into bad decisions if I let him. “I believe you. It would be a copout if you’d been a werebear for a while, but I suspect being close to your true mate is making your bear wake up, and they don’t like the threat of losing that person. I think you acted out of jealousy.”
“I know I did, and I’m so embarrassed about hitting you. Did it hurt?”
I chuckle. “It did. You’re pretty powerful”—I give her a cocky grin—“for a girl.”
“Ouch. Careful, or I’ll punch you again.”
“I don’t doubt it. Where did you learn to hit so hard?”
She shrugs. “When my mom died, I had a hard time dealing with the grief. I was angry and turned to the gym to deal with it. I ended up training with some MMA fighters.”
“Wow. That explains why you’re so fit. And your incredible concentration while playing cornhole.”
“I think you mean to say I’m intense.”
“I suppose I do. I also get the impression you’ve had to fight for things in life.” I reach over and take her hand in mine and squeeze her fingers. “At least recently.”
She shrugs, making me think I’m not wrong. “That’s kind of deep, Max.” Josie squeezes my hand. “I think I might have warrior in my blood, though. I bet my dad was, or i
s, one.”
“You might be right. You could be a warrior once you’re changed if you want.”
“Really?” Josie chuckles. “Is that behavior becoming of the alpha’s wife?”
“Prima,” I say. “The alpha and their mates are called Prime and Prima.”
“Prima. I like it.”
“And yes,” I add. “If you wanted to be a warrior as prima, you could be. Being a leader of a clan isn’t just a figurehead job. We get our paws dirty.”
She smiles at my attempt to joke. “Great. We’ve got my career figured out. And we know you’ll lead a clan in Southwestern Canada one day. Tell me though, why did you come all the way to Maine? Did you know Audrey was your true mate from thousands of miles away?”
I shake my head. “I met Audrey in California. She was living there for a year, and I was on vacation. When she left to come home, I followed her.”
Josie narrows her eyes at me as she pulls her hand away. “And you’ve been staying with her family for how long? Driving their car and, what, courting her?”
Her jealousy is practically steaming out of her ears as the sound of the falls we’re approaching gets louder. “I got here the day you and I met in the diner.”
Her eyes are blazing with her anger when she asks, “Do you sleep in the same bed with her?”
I decide at the moment it’s best to take her question literally. “No. I stay in a guest room. I’m not going to be with either one of you until I figure out who to choose.”
“How noble of you.”
I ignore her jab and stop walking now that we’re at the shore below the falls I went over where I broke both my legs on a rock below. I turn to look around. “Which tree were you in?”
“What?”
“When you saw me get rescued.”
“Oh.” She points off to the left of the falls. “It’s back there.”
“What did you see?”
“I saw two women hovering over you and two guys yank on your broken legs.” Josie grimaces. “That had to have hurt like hell.”
“It did. What were you doing in the tree?”
Josie stops moving. “What is this?”
“I’m curious. It’s not every day a human gets past warriors onto clan land. Or even wants to.”
“Are you fishing for compliments?” When I shake my head, she says in a snippy tone, “I was so drawn to you that, when I was turned away at the Le Roux house, I decided to sneak onto Le Roux land again to find you. And when I realized that warriors were close by, I climbed the tree to hide from them. I got way more than I bargained for by trying to see you again.”
“We take our secrecy seriously.”
“Tell me about it. But I have to ask, why keep me as a prisoner knowing I’m a werebear too? Do you really think I’d tell people about the secret world I want to be part of?”
“You were caught lurking in the woods near the Le Roux home after you were told to leave. I think that makes it hard for the Le Roux to trust you, Josie.”
She glares at me. “So what was I supposed to do? I couldn’t stop thinking about you, and I was pretty sure those girls who slammed the door on me weren’t going to tell you I’d stopped by.”
Her desperation is believable, and my heart aches a little imagining how she must have felt. The true-mate bond can be overwhelming. I say, “I’d have found you.” I reach out and take her hand again. “I wanted to see you again, too.”
Josie threads her fingers through mine and sighs as if she’s letting her anger go before she steps closer to me. “Really? Because if I’d just left like I was told to do, your life would be a heck of a lot easier right now.”
I nod and gaze down into her green eyes. “I couldn’t have gone on if I’d never seen you again. As intense as your feelings are, I feel it more so as a werebear.”
She leans toward me and drapes her arms over my shoulders. “So, you’re into me.”
I smile down at her. “I was hooked when you slammed me up against a wall and kissed me as if your life depended on it.”
Something dark flickers in Josie’s eyes as she studies me for a moment. I sense I’m seeing a painful vulnerability, and it takes my breath away.
Josie reaches up to hold my face before brushing her lips against mine. She whispers, “That’s because it does.”
Seven
Josie
I float into the Le Roux dorm when Max drops me off after our walk. While our conversation started off with me feeling as if he was interrogating me, once he believed I was as intense in my effort to find him again as I am in competition, things went much better. He just left me with a toe-curling kiss that made me want to drag him upstairs and break that promise he made to be celibate until he determines which true mate to choose.
Reese sits up from his prone position on the couch he was likely napping on and holds up my phone. “You know, it’s kind of interesting that only one person texts you.”
Madison. My stomach lurches because she could get in the way of what I’m doing. If she thinks I’m in trouble, she’ll do her best to find me. I hold out my hand. “Give me that.”
He shakes his head.
“Reese, I’m sure it’s my roommate, and she’s got to be worried about me. Do you really want her to call the police and start looking for me?”
He raises his eyebrows at me. “She thinks you’re an idiot who doesn’t charge your phone. But she could be a problem. She wants to catch up and asked when you might be free to meet her for coffee.”
I imagine she’s got a lot going on that she wants to share with me, considering she found her true mate. For all I know, she’s already been turned into a werebear, because it feels like a lifetime ago since I’ve seen Madison. I ask, “What am I going to say?”
“Good question.” He taps his chin. “Oh wait. I forgot. You also got a text from some guy named Axe at two in the morning. Really, Josie? You date a guy named Axe?”
I groan. I’d forgotten about my booty call backup werebear I planned to use to bite me if necessary. “We aren’t anything serious. What did you tell him?”
Reese’s chest rumbles with a growl as he tilts his head and looks at my phone. “Huh. Friends send these kinds of pictures to each other? Oh,” he says sarcastically. “Friends with benefits. Got it.”
“Reese.”
“You’re ignoring the guy, but I think you’re going to tell Madison you and Axe are getting away for a few days.”
I shrug, silently thinking that ought to buy me some time. Besides, I’m sure Madison is too busy with Trent to be hanging out in our dorm room wondering why I never returned to pack for a trip. “Okay.” I make my way toward the kitchen. “What can I eat? I’m hungry.”
Reese follows me. “You don’t even want to attempt to send Madison a secret message so she’ll come save you?”
I open the fridge since Reese didn’t try to stop me from rummaging for food. “Save me from what?” I ask as I gaze at a stocked refrigerator that I haven’t seen the likes of since I was a teenager. “Your sarcasm?”
“So you want to be here.” Reese reaches around me to open a drawer in the fridge which reveals large packages of sliced sandwich meat. He grabs the roast beef and a bag full of sliced cheese.
I snag the mustard container and set it on the counter while Reese opens a cabinet and pulls out a loaf of bread. I say, “If it means I can have my true mate, then yes. I want to be here.”
“You’re not worried about what might happen if Max doesn’t choose you?”
Of course I am, but I’m not telling Reese that. I grab a slice of bread and slather mustard on it. “Should I be?” I set the bread down and apply mustard to another slice.
“Yes.” Reese slaps a hefty amount of meat onto the two slices of bread I set down.
He just confirmed what I’d thought. It’s not like I’m going to go down without a fight, but my concerns are better focused on getting Max than worrying about a situation I can’t control. Even so, I can’t help takin
g the opportunity to poke at Reese. “What you’re saying is that you may have to kill me.”
He grabs a sandwich that I notice looks like an appetizer in his huge hand, and he takes a big bite while staring at me. He chews slowly as some intense emotion burns in his eyes. I can’t tell if it’s hatred, though.
I scoff and pick up my sandwich. “Don’t think I’m going to beg for my life from you.” I take a bite of food that fills my mouth and try hard to chew something I no longer have the stomach for.
“A warrior never would,” Reese says before he shoves the rest of the sandwich in his mouth and turns away to get something to drink.
I don’t miss the opening and ask, “What’s it like being a warrior? I mean, say I wanted to be one after I become a werebear. What do you do all day when you’re not babysitting a prisoner?”
Reese hands me a glass of water. “Patrol the perimeter. Train.”
“Ever see any action? Besides capturing girls out for a run in your woods.”
He snorts. “My job is to keep the clan safe. I do whatever that takes.”
“I could be a warrior once I’m a werebear. Can you imagine working with me?”
He shakes his head and walks out of the kitchen. “You’re not warrior material.”
I follow him. “Why not?”
Reese plops down on the couch. “You don’t respect authority.” He picks up the television remote and clicks it on. “Time for you to get back upstairs.”
I open my mouth to protest and ask if I can watch TV with him, but I manage to shut it again to keep from proving his point. I move toward the hallway. “Thanks for the sandwich,” I say before returning to my room.
When I get there, I lay down on my bed, wishing I was still on a high from my goodnight kiss from Max. If physical attraction was all it was going to take to make him choose me, then I’d be sure he was mine. But I know he’s just as attracted to Audrey, and I wonder what I might be able to do or say to become the better choice. The fact Audrey may have to run a clan on the East Coast one day while Max has to return to the West Coast might have mattered if he hadn’t informed me Audrey’s not going to be the clan’s alpha until after her mother’s had a chance. Surely a few decades would give her time to figure out a backup plan if she moves to the West Coast to be with Max.