First Witch-Bear Baby

by Charlie Hart

  First Witch-Bear Baby

  Charlie Hart

  Copyright © 2019 by Charlie Hart

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  First Witch-Bear Baby

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue I

  Epilogue II

  The Wife Lottery

  Charlie Hart

  First Witch-Bear Baby

  Three is bear-ter than one.

  A Bite Club Short Story

  It takes me nineteen years to figure out my life was a lie.

  My dad? Liar. My mother? Who the hell knows.

  And my future?

  Well, apparently these bear shifters in Diablo Falls think they know exactly where I belong.

  They say I’m their mate, that I smell like apple pie a la mode.

  That I’m the only thing they ever want to taste.

  Turns out, after being sheltered so damn long, I want a bite of what these untamed alphas offer.

  A mysterious address may have brought me here, but my destiny has been calling all along.

  I belong in Diablo Falls ... but I have to die if I want to stay.

  Chapter One

  Ruby

  My fingers shake as I scan the document a second time. It has to be wrong. There’s no way my father has been lying to me all these years. But the name on the birth certificate is clearly mine.

  Ruby Rose Gillen.

  Yet where my father's name should be, is marked unknown. But it’s my mother’s name that has my head spinning the most, because where it should read Annabelle Clark, is another name altogether.

  So, who the hell is Carolyn Gillen?

  I shuffle through the small box of papers and old photos and let out an uneven breath when I find a picture of a woman who looks uncannily like me. She’s clearly pregnant, her hands resting on her belly, a small smile stretching across her lips. But it’s her green eyes that stare straight at me that cause a shiver to run down my spine.

  My eyes. The same aquamarine color that people always tend to notice first about me. Some call them haunting, and I agree, next to my pale skin and jet-black hair, they are slightly shocking.

  I flip the photo over and read the name scribbled on the back, the same name written on my birth certificate.

  Carolyn Gillen.

  The woman is my mother.

  Prickles of ice skate up my arms, which usually occurs when a storm is coming. But this storm isn’t outside, it wages inside of me.

  “What the hell,” I breathe out roughly, flipping through more pictures of the woman.

  One particular photo has me pausing. This one is of Carolyn when she’s around twelve, maybe thirteen. Also in the picture is a teenage boy who looks like a younger version of my father - or at least the man I’ve been calling dad for the last nineteen years.

  They’re standing in front of a mountain, and behind them is a sign that reads Diablo Falls. I’ve only heard about the place, the stories of violence and disappearances, the warning from my father to stay away from the forests that surround it.

  There’s an envelope inside the box, a letter addressed to my father, David Gillen. The return address is Diablo Falls. Tears burn my eyes when I read the name of sender, C. Gillen.

  My mother?

  Is she still alive?

  In Diablo Falls.

  He told me the place was dangerous and I’d believed him.

  I’d believed everything he told me.

  But now, I’m wondering how much of my life is one giant lie.

  I shove the envelope and a few of the photos in my pocket before pushing the box back between the crates where I’d found it. A vortex of emotions swirls inside me as I try to piece together what it all means.

  “Ruby,” my father calls out to me from upstairs. “Come help me with the groceries.”

  I find him in the kitchen, juggling paper bags before setting them on the counter. I watch him, wondering who he actually is, why he’s been lying to me my entire life. He’s been my world for nineteen years. Sure, he’s more overprotective than most fathers, but he’s always been good to me.

  Except now, I feel like I have no idea who he actually is.

  Or who I am.

  “Put the milk away before it spoils,” he says, his back to me.

  There’s a rumbling in the distance and through the kitchen window, I see the sky illuminated by a bolt of lightning. I swear I feel the electrical charge straight in my chest, like it somehow came from me. Which is insane. But no more insane than my dad not actually being my dad.

  “What’s going on with you?” he asks, turning to me and frowning.

  “Who...” I swallow over the lump in my throat before asking, “Who is Carolyn?”

  He goes still, blue eyes narrowing on me, and his voice is low, dangerous when he asks, “Where did you hear that name?”

  “Is she my mother?”

  “Ruby.” I know the tone he’s using, it’s meant to calm, and intimidate. He takes a slow step toward me. “Whatever you think you know—”

  “Are you even my father?” My own voice is clipped, an octave higher than it normally is.

  His jaw tightens and his nostrils flare. “Listen to me—”

  “No.” I shake my head, needing an answer. “Tell me the truth,” I yell, the same time thunder cracks outside, closer now.

  The lights in the room flicker above us.

  He glances around the room, frowning as the bulbs continue to dim and brighten like they’re reacting to my emotions. When his focus is back on me, I see the truth in his eyes. “Biologically, no.”

  I suck in a breath as the reality of his words hit me straight in the chest.

  Again, thunder cracks violently, shaking the house and then the power goes out.

  I don’t hesitate. I grab the car keys from the counter and rush outside. It’s not raining, but there’s an electrical charge in the air.

  “Rose, stop,” I hear him yell as I get into his truck and slam the door.

  I grind the engine as I start it, then shove the truck into gear, tires squealing as I speed out of the driveway.

  No tears fall. Only anger and frustration drive me. My phone starts to ring, and when I see my home number pop up on the screen, I roll down the window and toss it out.

  I drive for thirty, forty minutes, not knowing where I’m going, mind blank, fingers numb, the storm lighting up the sky around me, thunder booming like the rhythm of my heart.

  Crash.

  Boom.

  Bang.

  It’s only interrupted by a blaring of a horn, and I have to swerve to miss the oncoming cars.

  “Shit,” I mutter, my eyes refocusing on the two-lane highway in front of me.

  It’s not until I pass the sign that reads Diablo Falls that I realize where I am. I didn’t even know I was driving toward the small mountain town. It’s like something is pulling me here. I feel it inside of me. A tug. Like a cord is attached to my soul, a tether binding me to the place.

  Or maybe I just need answers.

  I pull out the envelope and read the address.

  1 Kodiak Lane. Diablo Falls.

  I type it into the truck’s GPS, but when the location comes up on the screen, it looks like it’s in the middle of nowhere, halfway
up a mountain.

  Ignoring the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, I take the next turn onto a dirt road and start driving through a dense forest.

  There are no street lights, and not even the moon or stars can get through the canopy above.

  It’s eerie.

  Creepy.

  “This is insane,” I mutter, making a decision to turn back.

  But then I’m jolted forward when the truck just stops, the lights, radio, everything just shuts down. And I’m in complete darkness.

  “What the hell,” I mutter, trying to turn the engine. Nothing. I fiddle with the lights, but it’s like the truck just died. “Fuck,” I yell, slamming my palms down on the steering wheel. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

  I close my eyes and try to calculate how far back the main road is. It’s probably only a ten, fifteen-minute walk. My dad is going to kill me, not just for running off, but for breaking his precious truck.

  What do I do now? If I had my phone, I could call a tow truck. Not that any sane person would come up these parts alone, at night - except me.

  A cold chill wraps around me, and I get a weird feeling that someone is watching me. Do I stay here, or try to make it back down to the main road?

  I have no cell phone. And I have no idea when or if anyone ever comes up this road.

  But when I open the truck door and hear an animal howling in the distance, I wonder if I’m better off staying put. I climb into the bed of the truck and feel around for the toolbox I know is there. Inside is a flashlight, and when I hear what sounds like footsteps crunching around me, I quickly turn it on.

  “Who’s there?” I call out, picking up a hammer as well, and shining the light around me.

  But there’s no movement, just trees and bushes.

  With a shaky breath, I lower the flashlight. Maybe I should just wait until morning before walking back. The last thing I need right now is to get lost in the woods. And maybe I’ll be able to find someone who knows my mom.

  I’m climbing out of the back of the truck when I hear the crunching again. My eyes are starting to adjust, and I see something moving toward me.

  Shit. Oh God. All the stories my dad told me about the dangers of Diablo Falls rush back into my head.

  I fumble with the flashlight, trying to turn it on, and when I do, I wish I hadn’t.

  A hooded man stands at the front of the truck, his eyes seeming to glow. Cold skates down my spine, and thunder cracks above us.

  “Ruby Gillen,” he says, pulling his hood back, his face and hands shimmer with patterns that seem to dance across his skin. “You need to come with me.”

  If I’d been scared before, it’s pure terror that fills me now.

  I drop the flashlight and start to run. But somehow the hooded man is faster than me, and I smash into his chest like he’d been behind me all along. And when he places a cold hand on my arm, ice slices through my skin, pain that seems to sever every nerve where he touches, and I let out the scream I’d been holding in.

  Chapter Two

  Gage

  I smelled her scent before I heard her scream.

  Intoxicating.

  Pure.

  Sweet.

  Scared.

  I’m in bear form, my senses heightened, and I glance over at Cody and Huck, whose ears perk up, and then we’re racing through the woods, paws crunching against branches and dried leaves.

  Vampire? Cody pushes into my mind.

  No, I push back. The danger is something else, something I haven’t smelled before.

  I let out a growl of warning when I hit the clearing and see the cloaked man with his hand wrapped around the young woman’s arm. Pain slices through her, like the man’s touch burns, and she cries out again.

  If I didn’t think there was a chance of me hurting the girl, I’d attack instantly. But I’m not sure what I’m dealing with. There are all kinds of creatures that live in these woods. But the hooded man doesn’t smell like anything I’ve ever encountered before.

  And neither does the girl.

  She’s human, maybe witch, or psychic, but she’s also something more. Something that has the primal part of my brain needing to protect her.

  I growl again, this time my threat clear.

  The man holds my gaze. “This isn’t your business, shifter.”

  Except it is. Everything that happens on this mountain is my business.

  I shift into human form, and when I do, I see the shock that makes the woman’s eyes widen, her mouth drops open. And despite her fear, I can feel her gaze roam down my naked body.

  “You’re on Kodiak land,” I tell him. “Let the woman go, now.”

  Gage and Huck, still in bear form, move closer, the threat clear. They will strike. Whatever he is, warlock, fae or something else entirely, I can see in his eyes that he knows he’s no match for three Kodiaks.

  He glances back at the woman, his skin shimmering in odd patterns. “You have been marked. If you wish to stay here, the mountain will require a great sacrifice,” he tells her, the words sounding like a threat.

  She whimpers and jerks her arm back, and when she does, I see the shimmering on her skin where he’d touched her. I’m about to demand to know what he meant, but in a blink of an eye, the man is gone.

  The woman stumbles back, and I’m on her in three long strides, wrapping my arms around her body. She lets out a sob, her face against my bare chest.

  At the same time, the lights to her truck turn back on, and the radio begins to play.

  She blinks up at me, then her gaze drops to my torso, then farther down, and she gasps. “You’re...you’re...”

  I wince, wishing I had a change of clothes. I wish we all did when both Cody and Huck shift into human form, and I see her eyes widen even more.

  “I’m Gage,” I tell her. “And we’re not going to hurt you.”

  “But you’re...” She shakes her head. “You were just... and now you’re...” She motions to my body.

  I tilt my head and study her. “You’re not from around here.” That much is clear, because if she was, she’d know about shifters. But I still get the feeling that she’s not fully human either.

  “I-I need t-to g-go,” she stutters, climbing into the truck and flooding the engine with her attempt to start it. She tries three more times before finally crying out, “Damn it.”

  I catch Cody and Huck’s gazes. They have to sense it too. The way her scent has the bear inside me pacing, needing to protect her...to claim her. Our bears are connected, so I know they feel it. But I’m the alpha of our group, the leader, and they both look to me for what to do.

  Most bear shifters are solitary creatures. Mating singularly, and for life. But the Kodiaks of Diablo Falls have never followed that custom. My own father explained it to me once. That there’s something in the water of Diablo Falls that anchors us to others, that creates a connection between bears that wouldn’t normally occur.

  Cody, Huck, and I formed that bond when we were little more than cubs. A bond that connects us, mind, soul, animal, and eventually with our mate.

  No one seems to know why, what the magical property is, or the reasoning behind it, only that it makes us stronger. And in Diablo Falls, strength is critical to survival.

  And this woman will not survive out here alone.

  “Hey,” I say, gently. “What’s your name?”

  Her eyes are wild when they stare back at me, but even in the dim light, I can see the unusual color, a pale aqua green, rimmed with dark lashes. She’s gorgeous, with long, black hair that hangs halfway down her back. There’s a strength to her, despite how petite she is, how innocent those eyes are when they roam back down my body. But even so, there are worse things than the cloaked man lurking in these woods.

  And I want to pull her to me, wrap my arms around her, and keep her safe. Hell, I want to do a lot more than that, but right now the main thing is getting her someplace secure.

  The woman’s cheeks fill with color and she looks away
. “Ruby. My name’s Ruby.”

  “Ruby,” I say, liking the sound of it on my tongue. She smells like apple pie a la mode, and her scent has both man and bear pacing for a taste. “I’m Gage,” I tell her, then I nod toward my friends. “And that’s Cody and Huck.”

  “And you’re...what?” She lets out a disbelieving breath. “Bears?”

  I nod. “Shifters, werebears. Skinwalkers. We have different names in different cultures.” I study her, trying to figure out what she is. “What about you?”

  “What about me?” She frowns.

  “What are you?”

  She lets out a small, hysterical laugh. “I’m...human.”

  I grunt, not believing that for a second. “Look, our cabin isn’t far from here,” I tell her. “You can stay with us for the night.”

  “I don’t...” She licks her lips, looking between the three of us, and I can only imagine the danger she thinks she’s in.

  “Trust me, Ruby,” I tell her. “You’re safe with us.”

  The truth is, it’s us who are in danger. Because I’m pretty sure by the way my bear is pacing inside me, that it’s ready to make claim on the beautiful creature in front of me.

  Chapter Three

  Ruby

  I’m shivering, more from nerves than fear, when Gage opens the door to his cabin. If you can call it that. The place is huge and meticulously crafted, however, even in the dimly lit space, I can tell it’s a mess, a bachelor pad. A large stone fireplace is the center of the living area, and there’s rudimentary furniture. But the place lacks any feminine touch.

  The men disappear into other rooms once we’re inside, and I’m left to explore the place. There aren’t any pictures. No television. Nothing that suggests any connection to the outside world. The place is primal, solid, all male - just like the three men who saved me.