The Dire Bear’s Witch
Immortal Affinity Book One
Jessica Ripley
The Dire Bear’s Witch
Copyright © 2020 by Jessica Ripley
Published by M.T. Worlds Press, Inc.
Winter Springs, FL 32708
http://mtworldspress.com
Cover design by Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs
Formatting by Eighth Ripple Press
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
http://mtworldspress.com
Created with Vellum
Contents
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Paranormal Dating Agency
About the Author
Also by Jessica Ripley
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Milly Taiden for letting us write in your worlds and for always being a supportive and kind friend. You’re a one-of-a-kind Goddess!
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Thank you Jennifer Wedmore and Heather Witherell for your constant help and work behind the scenes. You two are rock solid awesome ladies!
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Thank you Jessica Snyder and Devin Govaere for your work with me on this manuscript. Thank you Anne Victory and Crystal Berry for the final eyes.
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Thank you to my family and friends for supporting me.
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Thank you in advance for anyone who leaves a review. You bring me such joy for letting me know you’ve read the book, and you encourage me to keep going!
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And a final thanks to everyone else reading this! I hope you enjoy!
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~Jessica Ripley
The Willow Rescue
Willow Baldwin is a member of the Federal Paranormal Unit’s (FPU) Aquaterrestrial Task Force. As a zebra moray, her assignments frequently take place in the deep sea where it’s impractical for the land shifters. She’s not thrilled with her next job—investigating some missing fish. But that changes when she discovers the job is near Ursanis, an underwater domed city in the Arctic, off-limits to outsiders.
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Graham Auman, prince of Ursanis, is in the middle of his multi-year trip from his home to the land-dwelling world to find a mate. But really, what woman would give up their land life to live underwater with him forever? Learning that trouble is brewing at home, he takes the opportunity to return, without a mate. Oh right, he’ll have to check in with the FPU before he flies north.
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Life has a funny way of throwing at you what you need when you least expect it.
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At their first meeting, Willow and Graham know they are mates, but that takes second seat to the mission. They have to stop a cult from stealing the fish keeping an Old One asleep, because if the ancient monster wakes, it could mean the end of the world.
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This is a sea shifter romance in Milly Taiden’s Federal Paranormal Unit world and Book One in the Disrupting Crinis series. It can be read as a standalone novella.
The Dire Bear’s Witch
Dixie Reade is a newly immortal witch, looking for some excitement in her life. She’s in for more than her fair share when she runs across famed matchmaker, Gerri Wilder, who drags Dixie to a party at Dire Bear Estate.
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Slade Galath is content with life the way it is. He’s spent centuries as an immortal dire bear, and despite Gerri’s regular teasing, he’s not interested in finding a mate and settling down. That all changes when Slade meets Dixie, his fated mate.
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Neither of them trusts love, but that’s the least of their problems because the local wolf pack has targeted Dixie and set the immortal council on her. If she can’t convince the local coven to sponsor her, the council will exterminate her, and Slade is not about to let that happen to his mate.
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Can these two get over their stubbornness and figure out the best way for Dixie to get set up with the council, and accept the best way for each other?
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This paranormal romance is Book One in the Immortal Affinity Series but can be read as a standalone. This novella is part of Milly Taiden’s Paranormal Dating Agency shared world and features matchmaker extraordinaire, Gerri Wilder! Reader note: unlike most PDA books, which are quite steamy, this falls in Amazon’s “clean and wholesome romance” category.
Prologue
Dixie Reade died, cold and alone.
Just the way she’d always planned it.
To complete her task, she couldn’t have an audience.
Death would never allow itself to be bested if others were there to witness it.
So when the reaper’s cold shadow came to meet her, she finally had the chance to do what her ancestors hadn’t—she grabbed Death by the wrist and uttered the words that she’d memorized years and years ago:
“One soul you seek, but the price is paid. Take thy treasures and never again set your aim in this direction.”
She couldn’t see a face beneath Death’s black robes, but the way it jerked back at her words betrayed its surprise.
Its hood turned to peer past her at the basket filled with various items collected over several lifetimes. She was the first of her ancestors to assemble them all, and the last of her line to try. The goods seemed meaningless to any human who might look at them—a chalice from a holy monument, a cracked foot from a legendary creature, a potion that she’d paid a fairy way too much for…
Those, and more, that might not even be considered significant enough to earn a spot in a museum, but things that—for one reason or another—the reaper desired.
Which meant that they were all invaluable to Dixie, as they equaled the ultimate trade: a basket of ostensible junk for immortality.
Death swept its arm over the items, and they vanished, causing fear to grip her for a moment. Surely she’d not failed her quest at the final juncture by letting Death have access to its prize before it upheld its part of the bargain!
But then Death turned away, and as it wandered out of her house, it took with it the coldness she’d felt moments ago. It siphoned the old age and mortality from her body, and she watched those human elements of impermanence flow after the dark figure like golden tendrils.
That was it.
It was done.
She’d finally done what her ancestors had started and failed to finish.
She’d paid off death in exchange for everlasting life.
1
There’s one big problem with fulfilling your life’s purpose.
You enter your new life without one.
For all the times Dixie thought, “Oh, I’ll do that when I’ve beaten death,” she failed to write them down and make some kind of second-life bucket list. A list of goals to work on once she achieved the big
one.
Maybe she just hadn’t really believed that she’d make it, and that was why she put no planning into what she’d do once she was immortal.
Either way, she entered her new phase with absolutely no idea what she was going to do with all her time on earth.
And so she just wandered.
She tried to find things to amuse herself. She bought things, traveled, visited all the places you’re supposed to enjoy seeing…
Sure, the sites were pretty. The buildings and art exquisite. But she found it all empty and void of purpose, unlike before, when she’d experience such a rush while hunting down treasure after treasure that she needed for her offering. Now it was all so aimless.
It disheartened her. She’d worked so hard in her first life it was a shame that her eternal retirement had yet to prove it was worth all the effort. She’d looked forward to forever roaming the mortal coil as one of its most powerful beings, but now she was coming up empty as to what to do with herself.
She wasn’t about to open a magic shop or some silly thing like that. Her days of serving others were over. She had no interest in the silly troubles of non-magic beings and feigning interest all so she could make a buck. Creating and selling potions and spell glyphs was how she’d made the money that funded her questing at first before she invested it. She’d had a reputation for being worth every penny since she was the last in a long line of strong witches. Her spells had been pure power, something not seen very often anymore, since most witches over the centuries had ended up blending into normal human society.
People used to travel far and wide to visit the mysterious witch who lived alone in the forested wilderness, and she’d saved and invested wisely, knowing that if she was prudent in that life, she could live lavishly in the next one.
And she’d succeeded on that front too. Her stocks were earning, and she could play with virtually unlimited money.
But she was coming up short on what to do with it.
Dixie was starting to think she might understand the villains in some superhero movies. Maybe wreaking havoc was the only way to entertain yourself once you had access to everything you could ever want.
Because, if she didn’t go the villain route, she was starting to think that maybe living alone in the woods and making her potions and glyphs was the only purpose she’d ever find.
Surely she wasn’t in for a cruel trick like that? She’d worked a hundred years for this! She wasn’t going to live hundreds more in that same situation.
She wanted more.
She tapped a freshly manicured finger on the table at a hip coffee shop and sipped her fancy sugary drink, feeling melancholy and unsure of what she should do next.
She looked around at the people inside and outside of the restaurant, trying to see if any of them had something that she might want to work toward achieving. Lady driving past in a fancy red car, nah. Woman walking a fluffy little dog, nope. Lady with a small child tugging her arm and screaming. Nooope… no thank you.
She opened the internet app on her phone—pocket computer was what she called it, as she had no one to call on the phone part—and searched for the day’s greatest achievers. People running for president—too much responsibility!—people winning big sports games—her body wasn't that refreshed!—and even someone planning on colonizing another planet—whoa boy, if this planet didn’t have enough for her, she didn’t think spending eternity on a dead rock was going to be much better!
She sighed and clicked her device into sleep mode just as a loud commotion erupted at the table across the room, where a group of young women were squealing and jumping up from their seats to hug one that was holding out her hand. Dixie squinted and made out a big shiny rock that they were admiring.
A pang hit—an ounce of desire that told Dixie that she’d spotted something she actually wanted.
Clearly, diamonds were the answer.
“Ah, to be young and so excitable again,” a woman walking by Dixie said. When Dixie looked up, she caught her eye and smiled.
“Mind if I join you?” the woman asked. “Table space is at a premium in here.” And Dixie was one person sitting at a four-person table.
“Of course,” Dixie said, gesturing to the empty chairs.
The woman was about Dixie’s age—her new human-appearing age, anyway. With her white-blond hair and sparkling blue eyes, they could pass as sisters. Dixie admired the woman’s Chanel tweed slacks and black silk blouse, both seemingly tailor-made to fit her, and the single silver watch on her arm. Though Dixie had thought her form-fitting red dress was fun and flirty when she dressed that morning, she suddenly felt like it was too much, compared to the sleek elegance of this stranger.
Something else, maybe in the woman’s aura or the general way she presented herself, gave Dixie the impression that the woman had something she lacked. Wisdom? Inner peace? Confidence? In any case, Dixie knew she was meeting a kindred spirit, someone she’d want to be friends with.
Dixie nodded toward the group of women. “Wait until they’re old enough to buy their own diamonds.”
The woman chuckled. “Ah, but it’s not about the shiny stone. It’s what it stands for.”
“And what’s that?” Dixie asked. “Locking herself in a legal commitment with another person? In a world with a fifty percent divorce rate?”
The woman clucked her tongue and shook her head. “Regardless of what you think about the institution of marriage, that young woman has dreamed of it, and her friends are excited she’s achieved her dream. The rock is a symbol of her love for the other, and this whole thing marks her entrance into a new journey, a new life.”
“New lives are overrated. I think it’s diamonds.” Dixie shrugged it off. She was raised with only one dream, one goal. And she’d achieved it.
Her new friend raised one eyebrow. “It’s never materialism. You can have all the expensive clothes, shoes, jewelry, or cars, but none of that makes you happy in the long run.”
Dixie felt exposed. “Not even a tiara?” She held a finger up to point toward her head and gave the woman a joking pout.
The woman’s eyes widened, and she shook her head vigorously. “Especially not a tiara! I don’t envy the royals who have to put that responsibility on.”
Dixie had meant the kind of tiara meant for fun, not for duty, but it didn’t matter. The woman was right, and deep down, Dixie knew it. The sparkling stones were just a distraction. She sighed and plopped her chin in her hand, dejected to be back at square one.
The woman held out her hand. “Gerri Wilder, nice to meet you.”
“Dixie Reade,” she answered, though her tone was nowhere near as chipper as Gerri’s.
“What ails you, Dixie Reade?” Gerri asked, taking a sip of her drink.
“How do you know something ails me?” Dixie asked, even though she knew the sigh, pout, and chin in hand were dead giveaways.
“I’m good at reading people.”
Dixie forced herself to smile widely, hoping it didn’t look as fake as it felt. “I’m fine. Everything’s great.”
Gerri didn’t buy it. “You know, Dixie, I’ve been around a lot of supernaturals, and I’m a bit known for, well, knowing things.”
The fact that this woman was familiar with supernaturals was something of a surprise for Dixie. She rarely met other supernaturals, let alone someone who knew many. Even so, she didn’t know what Gerri thought she knew about her. “What are you getting at?”
She leaned forward, keeping her voice low enough that those around them wouldn’t hear her. “You’re a witch, and a newly immortal one at that. What’s it been, six months?”
Dixie stiffened. “Yeah… how could you know that?”
“Like I said, I’ve been around a lot of supernaturals. Enough that I can recognize what I’m looking at when it’s in front of me.”
“Oh.” Dixie felt a bit silly. Of course there were others like her out there. Just because she hadn’t met them didn’t mean they didn’t exist.
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“So I ask again, Dixie Reade, immortal witch, what’s making you so glum?”
The sigh slipped out of her before she could stop it. It was evidence that Gerri was right, and Dixie had a feeling if she didn’t open up, Gerri would keep pressing, so she decided to tell her. “I’m searching for meaning and coming up short.”
“Are you dating?”
The question came out of nowhere, and Dixie scowled in response. “No. I’m living for me, the way I always planned I would.”
Gerri looked confused. “Meaningful connections with other people don’t take away from living for yourself. In fact, they add to it. Lives aren’t whole without others.”
A pang hit Dixie in the heart. She’d had people in her life before. Not romantic love, but family, and they were all gone now. There wasn’t a reason to try to fill their spots with new people. She’d decided, after grieving so much, that it was better to just move on and get used to living alone. “I’m really just more of a loner. I get annoyed if I’m around other people for too long.” Dixie offered a laugh, hoping it would help her to sound more convincing.
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