The Dire Bear’s Witch

by Jessica Ripley

  Slade offered her a curt nod and then took large strides, getting as far from her as he could before he stopped to process how much of a fool he was being.

  But that was just like him. Slade Galath, cantankerous prince of boorishness, with a special talent of messing things up.

  3

  Dixie watched Slade walk away, all six feet, broad as a board, chiseled jaw and all.

  “They’re a little eccentric.” Gerri appeared back at her side. “Give him time.”

  Dixie wasn’t sure why she would want to give him time. Normally she didn’t chase people. If they were lost in their head and unable to make a meaningful connection, she didn’t stress over it. But Slade had piqued a little interest in her, and a part of her felt drawn to him.

  “Should I have just accepted his tour?”

  Gerri raised her eyebrows. “He offered you a tour?”

  “Yeah, but I turned him down. I thought I should stay and meet more people.”

  Gerri laughed. “Oh my, that’s rich. Slade offered an olive branch, and you refused it.”

  “Oh, no. Did I really mess things up? I guess I shouldn’t have said no to the owner of this place. I’m his guest, but it just seemed weird.”

  Gerri was still chuckling. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Believe me, Slade needs a little shake-up. He’ll be back, I guarantee you that. Just understand, when you’re immortal, when you’ve spent so much time on this earth, things get awkward when you’re thrown for a loop. He functions just fine in his normal circumstances, but you’re something new and interesting, and he’s gotta get a handle on that.”

  “I hope you’re right.” Because she didn’t want this to be an indication of how she’d be received by all the immortals she’d meet.

  “Do you want me to introduce you to more people?” Gerri asked.

  “No, I’ll just make my way around. You don’t need to babysit me.”

  “All right then, just call if you need anything!”

  So Gerri wouldn’t worry about her, Dixie walked away first, looking around the room at the different party guests. She had no idea if every person in the room was paranormal, but it seemed likely. Gerri had told her it would mostly be shifters and fae, but not likely any other witches, as they usually kept to themselves.

  Dixie wished she could figure out an easy way to tell who was immortal or not. Taren and Slade were, that much Gerri had prepped her on. She’d also mentioned that Slade had two younger brothers, but neither lived at home anymore.

  “Who are you?” A dark-haired woman stepped in front of Dixie, examining her with her dark eyes.

  “I’m Dixie,” she answered, offering her hand.

  The woman took it and lifted her mouth into what looked more like a snarl than a smile. “Maeve. My father’s the wolf pack leader of the area.”

  Good for you, Dixie thought, not knowing why she should be impressed. It made no difference to her, as it seemed everyone there had some sort of importance. “Nice to meet you,” she finally replied.

  “You’re a witch.” She let go of Dixie’s hand and circled around her.

  So the she-wolf’s nose worked. “Yep.”

  “What are you doing with Slade?” She stopped in front of Dixie, crossing her arms across her chest.

  Dixie gestured around them. “Clearly, nothing.”

  “I saw you with him earlier.” Maeve pointed back to the bar, where Dixie and Slade had talked earlier.

  “I was introducing myself to the party hosts.”

  “You came with Gerri.”

  Maeve’s interrogation was starting to annoy Dixie. “Sure, I came with Gerri. What’s it to you?”

  “Did she tell you to meet Slade?”

  “Yeah, but why does it matter? Are you into him? Because you can have him—”

  Maeve laughed, a sound that sounded more like a bark. “Me and Slade, not at all.”

  “Okay,” Dixie said, getting the feeling this wasn’t someone she wanted to keep talking to. “Well, if you’ll excuse me...” She tried to step away, but Maeve blocked her.

  “The rumors about you are circulating,” she hissed, putting her hand on Dixie’s arm. “I’ve heard that you’re not just any witch. You’re the one who cheated death less than a year ago.”

  Seriously? The rumors were news to Dixie. “So?” She threw Maeve’s hand off her.

  Maeve looked insulted at the slight. “Witch, you don’t seem to be very knowledgeable on certain things. Let me give you a hint. You want to make nice with those in power. If someone like me takes an interest, it’s in your best interest to play nice.”

  “What exactly is your interest in me?”

  “If it’s true you know how to attain immortality, then I want that knowledge.”

  Dixie rolled her eyes. So this was how things were going to go. “Too bad. It’s an old family secret, and not something I’m going to share.” It also wasn’t like she had it memorized.

  “I can make it worth your while.”

  “Sorry.” Not sorry.

  “You might want to rethink this.”

  “I think you’re underestimating me. If I am who you’re suggesting I am, then you should consider the fact that I’m hiding more up my sleeve than you could even imagine.”

  “Maeve, are you rolling out the red carpet for our new friend?” Slade’s voice cut through the tension, and he stepped between the two women.

  “I was just leaving,” Maeve said, shooting daggers out of her eyes toward Dixie before she left.

  “Everything all right?” Slade asked.

  Dixie shrugged. She didn’t figure there was any reason to let him know his local wolf pack leader’s daughter wanted the secret to immortality. Who didn’t?

  “Yep,” she replied. “I didn’t expect to see you again.”

  “I thought you could use a save.”

  “Thanks for that.” Dixie wondered if the relief she felt at his presence was just a reaction from how Maeve had rubbed her the wrong way, or was it representative of something deeper?

  “You still have people to meet?” he asked.

  “I think ending with Maeve is good enough for me. I’m about peopled out.” Dixie looked around for Gerri, wondering if she could get her to leave soon, but didn’t see her anywhere.

  “Peopled out of everyone, or do you think you could stand my company for a bit?”

  Contrary to the awkward man he’d seemed like before, the Slade in front of her now seemed smooth. He’d handled Maeve like no problem, and he offered her a smile now with the confidence of the billionaire he was. Dixie didn’t know why the change had happened, but she thought it might be nice to get to know the real Slade Galath for a bit.

  “Sure, I think I could stand it.” She took the arm he offered her and walked with him toward the back doors.

  “It’s a bit late to tour the grounds, but I could at least show you around back.”

  He escorted Dixie to the back terrace, where she admired the fantastic view of the garden on one side, the pool to the other, and, in the distance, the Dire Estate forest.

  Then she looked up and felt almost dizzy at the number of stars she could see in the moonless night. Wow.

  “Did you get what you came here for?” he asked as they settled into a set of chairs on the far end of the terrace, near the pool side.

  “I came here to meet people, and that I did, yes.”

  “Anyone especially interesting?”

  Dixie shrugged, smiling coyly at him. “Maybe one or two.”

  For just a moment, they looked at each other, and Dixie felt her attraction for him building. Now that he’d stopped acting so peculiar, he was kind of charming.

  Then he pulled back, as though the moment was too much, and changed his tone to a much more energetic, jovial tone. “So, tell me, what did Gerri tell you about me?”

  “Oh.” Dixie was caught off guard and fumbled to remember. “That you and your father and brothers are immortal dire bears?” She was vague about wh
at they did for work, something more about investing and owning many companies, but that wasn’t what she’d been interested in.

  “Did she tell you how we became immortal?”

  “No,” Dixie replied.

  “Ah, there’s a story we love to tell,” Slade said, a sly grin on his face. “You see, we’re dire bears, monsters so fierce the devil himself gave us immortality in exchange for a promise that our kind would never again enter his domain.”

  Dixie laughed. “Have you really been able to convince people of that?”

  Slade shrugged. “Go ask my dad if you don’t believe me.”

  “You won’t tell me the truth?”

  “It is, more or less.” He turned slightly more somber, which made me think his story might actually be based on truth. “When my mother passed, my father could have found someone to settle down with, even if she weren't a true mate. It would have made things easier on him, since he was raising three rambunctious boys alone.”

  “I’m sorry you lost your mother young.” Dixie was an older adult when hers passed, and she still felt it keenly.

  Slade waved the comment off. “It was a long time ago.”

  Which meant he didn’t want to dredge up the memories, so Dixie turned the conversation back to his story. “So, where does the devil come into this?”

  “Well, like I said, dire bear, right? A monster and, not surprisingly, Lucifer tends to make friends with monsters.”

  “Huh.” Dixie hadn’t known that. She really didn’t know anything about dire bears, monsters, or the devil. Her expertise was in treasure hunting and magic, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t interested in learning more. “So, he befriended your father?”

  “Yeah, the old man was kicking up trouble, drew the devil’s attention, and got himself an invite to hell. Once the door was open, dad and us boys just kind of moved in, and the rampaging began. Not just us boys, though. Dad was worse than any of us.”

  Dixie was impressed. Getting an invite to Hell—when one was still alive—was very rare. “Rampaging, what do you mean? Like, destroying stuff? Partying?”

  “Yep, both of those. Just getting into any trouble that could come about. He started getting popular, even rivaling Lucifer for friends, but he didn’t have all the responsibility and work that Lucifer did, so he got to have even more fun.” Slade laughed a little at the memory.

  “And this went on for a long time, if you went there as boys and grew into men.”

  “Yep, I think Lucifer expected my father to grow out of it, to move on, and he sort of did. He just switched from throwing huge parties to planning extremely elaborate practical jokes.”

  “On the devil?” Dixie gasped.

  “Yup.”

  “So he couldn’t kick your father out without people getting mad because of your father’s popularity, so he had to make him a deal to get him to leave him alone?”

  “Exactly. All four of us got immortality, and the devil got reassurance that we’d never bother him again.”

  “That’s one way to do it!” Dixie laughed at the stark difference between the ways they’d each gotten their immortality.

  Slade nodded. “Since then, I’ve seen so much. We amassed our fortune, and we’ve had a good life.”

  “You say that like it’s over.”

  He shrugged. “You never know what tomorrow brings.”

  “But you’re immortal. What could you be afraid of?”

  “I didn’t say afraid. I just mean that things can’t go on the same way forever. You never know who you might meet who will change it all.”

  He brushed Dixie’s hand, and she threaded her fingers into his, letting the small bit of physical contact overwhelm her senses. She looked at her hand in his and wondered why she’d never felt this strongly for any of the men she’d been with casually in the past. What was different about Slade? His immortality? She didn’t know the answer to that. All she knew was that she itched to touch him more, to feel his arms around her, to touch her lips to his…

  Dixie knew he might pull away, he might reject her kiss, but she had to take the chance. She leaned over and was rewarded when he did the same. Their lips connected, and Dixie melted into his arms.

  Excitement coursed through her whole body as the kiss deepened. She was surrounded by him, lost in his scent, his warmth, driven by a sense of urgency until she finally had to pull back for air. “Do you use that line on all the people you want to seduce?” she joked, letting her well-kissed lips, already feeling puffy from the friction, have a break.

  “No.” Slade released her from his embrace, seeming to want to say more, but he remained silent.

  “What is it?”

  He shook his head and stood. “It’s getting late. We should go in.”

  “Yeah,” Dixie agreed, standing with him. She dug around in her purse to find her phone and saw she’d missed a text from Gerri.

  I had your suitcase sent up to a room. Just ask and they’ll take you there. Hope you had fun!

  “Gerri says there is a room waiting for me,” Dixie said.

  Slade nodded. “We’ll go inside and get one of the staff to show you there.”

  “Thank you.” Dixie felt a pang of regret, not wanting to leave his side. If he hadn’t stood, she likely would have spent all night on the terrace with him, hearing stories of his time in hell or his time being immortal on earth. Or kissing him… which she definitely would have enjoyed more of.

  Before they parted ways, Dixie told him, “I had a really nice time out there with you tonight.”

  A strange look hit his face, one she couldn’t read. Finally, he leaned over, kissing her on the forehead and whispering, “So did I.”

  4

  Dixie had barely taken any notice of her room once the staff member guided her there. She’d been exhausted and also floating on a cloud from her moment with Slade. Her feet hurt, and her body had finally felt all the effects of the alcohol and socializing. She walked right into the room, hit the bed, and fell asleep, fully dressed.

  When she woke, she was better able to appreciate the space she’d been given for the night. Like the rest of the estate she’d seen, it was lavish, containing a king-sized bed, floor-to-ceiling windows that led out to a balcony with a glorious view of the grounds, a front sitting area, and a huge bathroom with Jacuzzi tub.

  The best thing she laid eyes on, though, was the breakfast spread that had been left on the table in front of the fireplace. Pastries, bacon, and glorious coffee!

  That was when she saw her suitcase and noticed the note left on it: Hope you had a fun night! I have to leave early, but I’ll be in touch. ~G

  Dixie was surprised that Gerri would have left her like that. It wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t like she was stranded. She could easily call a car, but it would have been preferable to wake up early and leave with Gerri than having to wander around, a stranger alone in a house the day after a party.

  She decided to go for the shower before breakfast, needing fresh clothes more than she needed caffeine and sustenance. Her slight hangover headache tried to argue that fact, but she figured she would be quick about it.

  As the water rained down, her thoughts turned to Slade, to the kiss they’d shared. Had he thought of her after they went their separate ways last night? She would have had she not instantly crashed. While he seemed caught off guard when they first met—which was strange, she guessed that he’d expected to know everyone at the party and was surprised when she’d crashed it—he seemed very gracious when he saved her from Maeve and very easy to talk to when they were away from everyone.

  Dixie could see herself enjoying spending more time with him, but that was a warning sign. She’d dropped her guard a little the night before, but she had to be careful it didn’t happen again, not with someone like Slade, a man who seemed like the whole package.

  Dixie had promised herself that she wouldn’t fall into some kind of trap like that. She wasn’t going to be tied down to someone. She had a world to see.
It would be nice to have Slade—and Taren—as casual friends, maybe folks she saw every year or so, but she couldn’t let herself get attached to Slade.

  Her heart had enough heartache for many lifetimes. No one new was allowed in.

  Once she was dressed, and her bag repacked, she jumped into breakfast, the coffee especially. When she was finished, she left the room, delighted to find that she could remember her way back to the main entrance. She just needed to find a housekeeper to let her know the address so she could call a car.

  She was in luck, as a staff member was peering out the window by the front door as she approached. “Hi, can you—”

  The woman blew straight past her in an agitated state. Not seeing anyone else she could ask for help, Dixie followed the woman down the hall. “Hey, I just need a minute of your time, so I can be on my way.”

  The woman didn’t seem to hear Dixie at all but continued on, taking a swift turn into a large office. One that, as Dixie entered, she saw Slade occupied. He was seated at the desk, and she wasn’t prepared for the way her heart jumped in response to seeing him. Had the housekeeper been told to lead Dixie to him?

  That didn’t seem to be the case, based on the words she spoke to him. “The council is here. I haven’t let them in yet. I figured you would all want to know and get ready before I brought them in.”

  Slade looked up from his work, his eyes flicking to Dixie for just a moment before he replied to his staff member. “Page my father out on the golf course. He’ll need to be here for whatever this is about.”

  Whoever the council was, it seemed they didn’t make drop-in visits very often.

  The housekeeper rushed out, and Dixie hung back, figuring the woman had more important things to attend to than a lost guest. Besides, she could get help from Slade. “Good morning,” she greeted him.

  “Hi, Dixie,” he replied. “Seems we have unexpected visitors this morning. You’ll have to excuse me. I need to see to them.”