by Celeste Raye
“What if it isn’t fine, Charlie? Maybe we should go back to my aunt’s house. Nothing will happen to us there, neither one of us. She would protect you all if that’s what is needed.”
He scoffed. “That is the last place I would go for help. It will be fine. Jake says that though we have broken some rules, we shouldn’t worry about it. Everything we did, we did for the right reasons.”
“And us?”
Charlie got serious for a moment. “I would never regret us, never. This was meant to be, us together, and you shouldn’t question that. I don’t.”
Celeste wished that she could be as sure of it as he seemed to be. She wasn’t, though. She kissed him, eager for his warmth and the reassurance that though the future was unsure, she was still his wife, and that settled her mind. Celeste had love and freedom, everything that she needed. It was going to be fine. They would work it out as long as they were together.
Together, Celeste felt like they were unstoppable.
Bear’s Wolf Virgin
Rebel Bears MC
Book IV
Chapter One
Jake was looking at his youngest brother in earnest. He could see that Fred was worried about all of the responsibility that he was heaping on his shoulders, but he knew that he could handle it. It was a sure thing as far as Jake could see. Fred was the quietest of the four brothers, but that usually just meant that he noticed more. He wasn't talking, Fred was listening, and he picked up a lot more than the rest of them because of it.
“If you don't think you can do it, just tell me now. I don't see anything on the horizon as of yet, but we both know that can change. When I left Charlie in charge, I never would have imagined that so much would happen while I was gone. I don't know any other witches I owe though, so I think you're good on that, but with the ancients acting like they run things here, it could get difficult. If it does, I want you to contact me as soon as you can. I will come back and we'll figure it out together. Anything else, though, I am leaving in your hands.”
The younger blond man nodded his head in agreement. Fred was nervously picking at the cuticles on his other hand.
“What are you worried about, Fred? You know that you can tell me whatever it is. I am here to help you.”
“It's nothing. I just haven't been without you guys before. It's going to be weird to have everybody gone. Charlie was gone a lot when you were away last time, but it wasn't for too long of a stretch. You're talking like this could be a month or longer.”
Jake smiled at his younger brother and told him that he would probably not even miss him while he was gone. He would like a turn at the helm.
“Now you’ll have time to do some reading and painting while we're gone. I bet you'll be up on that hill more than you'll be at the clubhouse. Just make sure you do the runs that are already scheduled. It's a light load because we got rid of some of the activities that Dad was into, but it'll be enough to keep you busy.”
Fred gave his older brother a hug and then walked over to Donovan and did the same. He was always left behind. Fred was almost ten years younger than Jake, and in his world growing up, that was a lot of difference.
“I will look forward to hearing from you guys. Let me know how everything's going and where you're at. I will keep everything going here.”
Fred watched Donovan and Jake ride off on their bikes. Fred hated to see them go, but his older brother had been right. He did feel an almost immediate sense of relief and freedom. He would not have anyone looking over his shoulder and telling him how he needed to spend his time.
Fred would paint, play his guitar, and read a good book before almost any of the gang activities. He never had like drugs or guns, but Fred liked to think that he would do what was needed if necessary. That was his hope, anyway, but he’d never been tested on that theory.
When he got back in the clubhouse, it was already stifling to him. It would only take him a few minutes in his bear form to get to the hill through the woods, and he was up there most days at least for an hour or two. It was the only place that he felt peace.
Once he talked to a couple of people in the kitchen when he came by for a sandwich, Fred made his way to the edge of the woods. As soon as he knew he was far enough in not to be seen by someone that was happening by, he went straight for the hill. He already had everything up there that he needed, and he got a few things out of his cache before he found the tree stump that he had used for a seat for several years.
He took a deep breath and looked around. There was a stillness up there that was not present in the city. It wasn't even a big city, just one hundred thousand people or so. It was enough to make it hard for Fred to think though, the noise of all of those people constantly moving around, talking, living. It was distracting.
After a while, he’d painted the sunset, and even though it was getting cold, he didn’t want to go back. Everyone was going to be coming to him to fix problems, and he just wasn’t ready for it. Fred tried to make Jake feel better about leaving because he had to go. It didn’t mean that he was confident in what would happen while they were all gone.
Donovan and Jake were recruiting more shifter clans for some reason. Fred was suspicious of the long game for that move, but Jake was holding back a lot. Charlie would tell him if he were there, but he was off with his new bride, taking care of some of her family business and enjoying a honeymoon.
That left Fred to balance it all on his shoulders. He knew that he had a run later that night, but it also meant that there was a time and place that he had to be to. Fred checked his phone for the time and cursed out loud. It was time to go. He had work to do and the responsibility was hard to ignore.
Shifting, he moved through the forest quickly. He made it back to the clubhouse in time to get ready and leave when they were meant to. It was a quick run to pick up a truck and take it to the warehouse, and Fred only had to deal with the driver.
While he prepared to leave, he thought about what he would do if he didn’t have to do runs and criminal shit for his gang and family. The answer was clear to him. He would do anything, but what he was currently doing. Basically, anything else.
Chapter Two
Jasper and Brick were quick to want to take advantage of finding Fred on his own. Jasper hadn’t recognized him at the bar, but his brother Brick had. They were the last two Bennigan males, and both had been trying to find a direction to go in. Their clan was dead, and with nothing left, it was a few months of drifting for the two of them.
Seeing a Rebel Bear jacket in the bar, then finding out it was the leader’s younger brother, Jasper was practically frothing at the mouth. He wanted revenge so bad he could taste it.
They were sitting on the other side of the bar from the guy they knew as Fred. He was wearing the colors because the city was theirs, and it made Jasper that much madder. They had promised opportunity when they came to see their leader, talking of making things right and a truce between the two clans. It had ended rather abruptly, though. The Rebel Bears had been working with a powerful witch. They wanted Donovan and the witch that had destroyed their kin.
“What do you think we should do, Jasper?”
Brick was itching for a fight. Jasper could see it on his face, and he told him to calm down. His beady black eyes were shifty. Jasper didn’t have a plan just yet, but he was trying to make one. It wasn’t the time to start something. They needed to subdue Fred first. While he was smaller, Fred was a bear shifter, and they were stronger than the Bennigans.
“I don’t know yet, Brick, but you got to stop vibrating on that seat. We know where he goes, and he doesn’t know who we are. We got to get him in a vulnerable way somehow. We just got to think about it. Maybe he will drink too much. We aren’t going to be stupid like the rest of our kin. We’re going to live to fight another day.”
Brick agreed, and though he was anxious to get started, Jasper could see that he had at least visibly stopped freaking out. That was good enough. Jasper was fine with his brother simm
ering just underneath the surface. He was more inclined to do what he said later.
Jasper and his brother watched Fred for an hour or so. He didn’t even look like he was happy there. His steel-blue eyes were searching the crowd, but whatever he was looking for, he didn’t find it, and he was leaving long before he had any kind of buzz. Jasper saw how easily he was walking and he knew that it wasn’t the right time. The opportunity hadn’t presented itself yet. He was going to have to force it.
There was a strong need to follow Fred and to take him out. They probably could with two to one odds, but something was holding Jasper back. Instead of pursuing him, he decided he would come up with another plan. If they couldn’t wait till he was drunk, they were going to need distractions and something to put Fred in a stupor. Once he was out, they could tie him up, and he wouldn’t be such a hard target.
Brick asked Jasper where they were going, and Jasper gave a name.
“Isabo.”
“What in the world are we going over there for? She hasn’t been herself since the clan was killed. You know that. Why would you want her involved with this? She’s soft when it comes to violence.”
“Sometimes, Brick, I really wonder how you can be my brother. You’re so damn stupid. We don’t need her for violence.”
Brick frowned and waited for the reason. Jasper always gave it.
“We are going to use her to sidetrack the bear long enough to get something into his drink. Then we will be able to get him back to the house and tied up, so he can’t rip our throats out.”
Brick liked that idea, his smile widening to show a couple of teeth that had been knocked out years before by one of his rough family members.
“Sounds like a plan. Then we’re going to torture him, yeah?”
Jasper sighed and rubbed his hand through his dark brown hair. He was trying to hold his temper, but his brother always tested it. While he was happy that he and Brick were gone for the massacre, he wasn’t too sure if he would have picked his youngest brother to be the one that survived out of everyone. Matter of fact, he knew he wouldn’t have picked Brick.
“Not yet, Brick. We want the witch and Donovan first. Those are the real murderers. This guy, he was just born into the wrong family. I don’t know if I have ever heard anything about him before.”
“But we’re still going to kill him, right?”
Jasper shook his head in amazement at his brother’s bloodlust. “Yeah, Brick, I reckon we’re going to kill them all, just like they did us.”
Brick liked the answer enough not to ask more. Jasper was able to think straight for once, and he was trying to figure out how he was going to get Isabo involved. She wasn’t going to be so happy with the plan, but she was who they needed. Isabo was young, and she hadn’t done much in the clan, but she was smart, and Jasper was sure that she would learn. She had to.
“No, Jasper, that doesn’t even sound like a good plan. What are you going to do with him? Hold him for ransom?”
Isabo was incredulous when she heard their grand scheme. Her two older cousins had come to her with some hare-brained idea that she couldn’t even consider for a moment. They wanted to use her as bait and then drug someone.
“Well, I hadn’t thought that far, but yeah, I guess that would work. We could tell the witch and Donovan that they can give themselves up for Fred. They will. He is the youngest and the most innocent. That’s why he will just eat you right up. You always have been the naïve one of us all.”
Isabo didn’t like how quickly she was classified. She didn’t like that she was thought of that way either, but she ignored it as much as she could. What other choice did she have? They were all the family she had left, and Isabo already felt alone.
“I just don’t think it’s a good idea, Jasper. I mean, why can’t we think of another way? It sounds like this guy doesn’t need to be dragged into it because he wasn’t involved.”
“None of them are innocent, Isabo. They all need to die. Your parents, mine, everyone we knew, are all gone because of them. That’s all that matters.”
She saw his tight jawline and knew that there was going to be no arguing with him. How could she say no when he put it like that?
“Fine, Jasper, you set it up, and I will go distract your boy. But I am not going to be involved in the rest of it. You know I don’t do well with that kind of thing, and I don’t want to get in your way.”
Jasper wasn’t happy. She suspected that he had wanted her to jump up and down with joy. All Isabo could think about was how much more complicated it was going to be now that she had to deal with them.
Isabo felt relief at their departure. Afraid that she had gotten in over her head, Isabo tried to convince herself that it was going to be fine. It was just one guy, and it wasn’t like she had to do anything. Just talk to him, bat her eyes, and hopefully, that would be all that was needed. The pill could be slipped in his drink, and then her cousins could take care of the rest of it.
It wasn’t a very good plan, but she was still trying to fit in with what was left of her clan. It was slim pickings nowadays when it came to family and allies. Isabo couldn’t be very picky.
Chapter Three
Fred was starting to get the hang of the runs. He didn’t usually go on pick-ups or drop-offs. He was more the brother that gave advice and did a whole lot of paperwork to make most of their money legal. He didn’t like the darker side, but he had a head for numbers. Now, though, he was getting the hang of things, and when Jake checked in after a few days of being gone, Fred could honestly report that everything was going rather smoothly.
It was hard for him to imagine that he would feel so at ease, but once the anxiety of the first couple of runs and days were behind him, Fred was starting to think that he could do it long term if need be.
Fred had also gotten more attention from the women than he usually did. He was not only getting it from the girls in the gang, but also from random women that he met in the clubs and bars. There was a new confidence exuding from him, and the women were picking up on it. They all seemed ready to pounce.
That would have been good news if Fred knew what to do with all of the added attention. It was hard for him to see himself as the women did. He was one of the founding brothers, which had always meant something, but it was running the Rebel Bears that helped people start to notice him.
Fred was getting used to the attention, or at least he was getting better at avoiding the awkward conversations and the way that he felt when girls were close. Fred hadn’t had many girlfriends, and he still wasn’t sure how to talk to them. He was more introverted, and confidence was what pulled them in. Fred had watched his brothers do it for years.
After another successful run, Fred was feeling good and went out with a couple of clan members. Oscar was one of his father’s old friends, and Cage was new. He had come in with some recruits the year before from the Altrue clan. It was a mixed set that walked into Larry’s bar. Fred was feeling good, and he had a beer in his hand in moments. While he would have rather been at the hill by himself, it was better than he’d imagined.
One woman, in particular, caught his eye, but unlike every other broad in the place, she didn’t seem all that interested in him. Her hair was long and black. It flowed down her back, and he watched her swing it when she laughed. She was talking to another woman in the corner. Fred was usually just fine to sit and watch the festivities. It was the first time that he was drawn to someone, and he found himself moving towards the back table before he realized what he was doing.
Fred just went with it. Obviously, he was drawn to her for a reason, and after watching every one of his brothers fall in love, he knew that sometimes love hit like a shot. Was this it? Fred wasn’t sure, but when he stopped in front of the table and the raven-haired beauty looked at him, he was basically swallowing his tongue.
“Hi, I’m Fred.”
It wasn’t a line, and it wasn’t filled with all that pizzazz. He wished that he had said something better, b
ut she smiled at him, and he was back to jelly-kneed feelings.
“Nice to meet you, Fred. My name is Isabo; this is my friend, Cassandra.”
He smiled at them both but didn’t know what to say. Cassandra finally said something about leaving to get another drink, and Fred was happy for a moment alone. It was hard enough to hit on one woman, but with two, it was too intimidating for him.
“Are you going to sit down or what?”
Fred agreed, though he was shaking in his boots, and it didn’t seem possible to hide that fact. He wished that he’d paid more attention to what his brothers said to women. He knew they had always been successful with the ladies, but he didn’t know how.
“You seem pretty shy. I am surprised that you came over here at all.”
Fred looked at Isabo and knew that he wasn’t going to be able to play it off. He wasn’t the young and cocky man he wanted to be, even with the beautiful woman in front of him. As she looked at him with cool blue eyes, he knew he didn’t have to be that person. He could be himself.
“Well, you’re the prettiest girl that I’ve ever seen, and I wanted to come say hi. This isn’t something that I do all that often.”
“A good-looking man like you, that seems hard to imagine. You should be out here picking up women all the time.”
Fred felt himself blushing, and he should have known then that he was in trouble. The girl was toying with him, and he was the mouse in the scenario.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here before. You from around here?”
“Not too far away, but like you said, this isn’t something that I usually do. Cassandra is the one that dragged me out. She doesn’t like to go alone, but she leaves me to my own devices pretty quickly.”
