by Bianca D’Arc
Tim nodded. “That’s what we’ve heard.”
Ace was impressed. “Pete’s not any more magical than the rest of us, but he’s one big mofo. I guess I could see the relationship, but it would’ve had to be far back in the family line for him to be so much a bear and not have anything Other about him. I’ve met him a few times, and he’s always felt one hundred percent bear to me.”
“Yeah, they think maybe his great-grandfather—or maybe even further back than that—might’ve been a dragon shifter.”
“Man.” Ace shook his head. “I thought they were just a myth. Didn’t actually realize dragon shifters were a real thing.”
“We have records from millennia ago that show they were around at one point, but there were never that many of them, and we believe they were specifically targeted in the past centuries by the Venifucus and hunted to extinction. They were serious opponents to Elspeth and played a pivotal role in her banishment.”
“So, if the Venifucus are planning ahead to bring back their leader, Elspeth, from the farthest realm to which she was banished, they would naturally try to get rid of her greatest enemies beforehand,” Ace said, thinking it through. “Makes a horrible kind of sense.”
“Yeah,” Tim agreed. “But they seem to have missed one, at least. We’re very eager to talk to him, but he isn’t in Grizzly Cove at the moment. He was called away by something, Peter said, but he promised he’d be back as soon as he followed whatever trail he was on to its end.”
“What’s he searching for?” Ace couldn’t help but ask.
“Others like himself,” Tim answered with a bit of pity in his tone. “The poor bastard. He was raised in a Romanian orphanage at a time when such places were like horror chambers. He didn’t know what he really was until he started shifting.”
“Damn.” Ace thought about the rude awakening that guy must’ve had when he turned into a freaking dragon for the first time.
Their conversation was interrupted when Rafe came out of the house, joining them on the veranda. He had brought fresh bottles of beer with him and handed them around to his twin and their guest. Ace took the frosty bottle, thanking the Lords with a nod.
“So, you’re all set,” Rafe announced. “I called the Alpha up there, and they’ll be expecting you.”
“But how did you know I’d agreed? You got this place bugged?” Ace half-teased.
“Dude.” Rafe shot him a look, shaking his head. “We’re the Lords.”
Tim guffawed. “Don’t let him fool you, Ace. My twin is a shameless eavesdropper.”
Ace didn’t know what he’d expected when first meeting the all-powerful Lords of North America, but these two had set him at ease. They were just regular guys—if you didn’t mind hanging out with clones. Essentially, that’s what identical twins were, right? Ace had mastered enough knowledge of genetics in college to remember that much, at least.
But where Tim was more serious, Rafe was much more the jokester. Still, they made a good team, and their people clearly loved and respected them. Rocky spoke highly of them both, and he’d been with them for decades.
Rocco Garibaldi was sort of a hero to most bear shifters. He was the go-to guy for the North American Lords, which gave him a special status even among his own kind. He’d been hiding out up here in Montana ever since his mating, and even now, he’d basically just provided the introduction to Tim and Rafe, then left. Something was up there, but it wasn’t Ace’s place to pry. Still, he wondered if everything was okay with Rocky.
“Something troubling you?” Tim asked quietly. Ace must’ve let some of what he was thinking show on his face, though he hadn’t meant to. Or, maybe, the Lords were just that sensitive to other shifters.
Ace didn’t want to stick his muzzle in, but he really was concerned. “Is everything okay with Rocky? He seemed a bit…uh…preoccupied, and he hasn’t really been in touch with anyone outside of your immediate circle in a long time. Bears all around the country look up to him, and since he’s gone silent, there has been some concern expressed. In fact, once my brothers knew I was heading in this direction, they asked me specifically to check in on him, but he’s not the same approachable bear I once knew.”
“He’s got a family to protect, now,” Rafe said before Tim shot his twin a quelling look.
“Look, Ace,” Tim said in a more serious tone. “There are reasons for his change in behavior, and I can promise you, they’re nothing bad. He does have a mate and children to consider, now,” Tim elaborated but didn’t go into detail. “More than that, I can’t say, but know that we’re looking out for him and his family, and he’s doing the same.”
Ace wasn’t entirely placated, but he’d basically been told to mind his own business in a very polite way. One did not argue with the Lords. They hadn’t gotten their position through popular election. No, they’d been marked from birth by the Mother of All. Their position of power was a quasi-religious thing that all shifters respected.
The shifter birth rate was naturally low. Twins were extremely rare. Identical twins were limited to one set per generation, per region of the world. A very small number of sets of identical twins that were marked out, by their very existence, as special. Chosen of the Goddess to lead the next generation of shifters in their region of the world.
The species varied. Tim and Rafe were werewolves, but the Goddess only knew what form the next set of twins would take. The Goddess…and the parents who were raising the twins. A suspicious thought began to form in Ace’s mind about Rocky’s withdrawal from the public eye, but he didn’t ask. For everyone’s safety, it was better to just let some secrets lie until they were ready to be revealed.
“I can respect that,” Ace told Tim quietly. “Just… Tell him he’s got a lot of people out there who would be glad to help him, if he ever needs it. He’s well liked among bears, and though we’re not as big on togetherness as you wolves, we do care deeply for one another.”
Tim nodded. “He knows, but I’ll mention your concern. I’m sure he’ll be touched by it.”
The moment stretched until Rafe moved closer. “After you deal with the woman up north, why not come through here again on your way back into the States?” he suggested. “We can always use more friends among widespread communities, like bear shifters, and you seem fun. We can have a barbeque and make fun of cats.”
“Is that a werewolf’s idea of a good time?” Ace just shook his head, even as he had to chuckle at Rafe’s bizarre sense of humor. “Some of the big cat shifters I know would claw your face off just for looking at them funny.”
“Yeah, I know a few like that, too. Can’t take a joke for the life of ‘em,” Rafe complained with a mocking scowl. “But they do say bears know how to throw a party. Sadly, we’ve never been invited to a bear party.” Rafe gave a mock forlorn look, and Tim just shook his head.
“Dinner’s ready.” A feminine voice came from the open door into the house.
It was Allie, the priestess and mate to the Lords. It was an unusual arrangement, but none of the normal rules applied when it came to the Lords in each generation. They were Goddess-touched, and their mate was always a priestess of the Lady. Ace didn’t pretend to understand it, but like most things related to the Goddess, he accepted with no judgment. She worked in mysterious ways, and it was always better, he thought, to not mess with a deity who had such power in this realm. Better to live life unnoticed and happy than have some grand destiny and a ton of struggle and strife.
He wasn’t sure he’d get away with it, but while it lasted, the peaceful life was nice. Of course, now that he’d met the Lords and was even agreeing to do a job for them, he wasn’t sure he was keeping a low enough profile, anymore. Then again, nothing ventured, nothing gained was another motto he had learned to value in recent years.
It was that last philosophy that had led to him and his brothers taking off for parts unknown—separately. Their lives were full but had become way too predictable of late. Bears needed a bit of excitement from time to
time or they got fat and lazy. The brothers’ occasional solo explorations of the country were supposed to help them each inject a bit of excitement into their lives. So far, Ace had to believe it was working. At least, for him.
Only a few days apart, and already he had met the leaders of their kind on this continent and been given a mission in a new part of the world for him. He’d never been up into the part of Canada where they were sending him. It ought to be nice, if nothing else, to see the mountains up that way.
Ace followed Tim and Rafe into the house and then enjoyed a hearty meal with the priestess, Allie, and the twin Lords. They were nice people, and Ace thought maybe he was well on the way to making them friends. If a plain old garden-variety bear shifter could be friends with such powerful beings. He wasn’t Rocco, after all. He was just the eldest of three brothers who all made their livings as mechanics nowadays.
Still, the trio made him feel very welcome, so the possibility of friendship—or at least a cordial acquaintance—was very real. Ace felt good about his adventure already. Meeting new people and expanding one’s horizons was a big part of why the brothers had decided to go their separate ways for a while.
The next morning, when Ace was ready to take off for Canada, the Lords saw him off with words of advice, supplies for the trip, and their best wishes. The ride was refreshing, the temperatures dropping as he went farther north. His inner bear appreciated the colder air. He loved spring and autumn best, and that’s what it felt like as they crossed the border into Canada—a crisp day that appealed to both sides of his nature.
He slept in the wild that night, shifting into his bear form after hiding his bike in a thicket at the side of a mountain road. There was nobody around for miles, and he was able to bed down in his fur, near his bike and belongings. Yeah, this was the life.
He did that for the next two days, making his way slowly up into the mountains on twisty roads that challenged his riding skills. It was incredibly invigorating. Then, on the third day, the weather went crazy.
CHAPTER TWO
Sabrina didn’t know what was going wrong, but something was definitely wacky with the storm she was trying to control. First, the winds picked up, instead of dying down the way she’d intended. A chill had come blasting through, freezing some of the rain so that the raindrops became ice pellets that really hurt when they hit bare skin. Then, the snow started to fall. Just on one side of Main Street.
Sabrina rushed outside to try to stop what she’d unwittingly set in motion, but the frozen rain hit her in the face, nearly blinding her. She kept walking, and three steps later, she was on the curb in pure rain. She blinked a few times. It was snowing in the middle of the street, and hail was hitting on the opposite sidewalk. Yeah, no way this was natural.
It was her latest screw up. Damn. She’d meant to coax the clouds away from town. Instead, she’d whipped up a hell of a winter storm. Only, it wasn’t winter. And this storm was in no way normal.
She heard the rumble of an engine before she caught sight of a motorcycle coming cautiously down Main Street. Whoever that was, he should know better than to ride a motorcycle in a storm like this. Only…the storm had come up so suddenly—thanks to her—that he probably hadn’t had a chance to find shelter.
Nice. Her guilt escalated. She’d caused this poor biker possible hypothermia and dangerous driving conditions.
Scratch that. Not just dangerous conditions, but an actual accident. Even as she watched, he skidded on a patch of black ice, and his wheels went out from under him. It felt like it all happened in slow motion as he slid, the heavy bike on its side, the big man trapped with one leg beneath it. They were moving fast, thanks to the road paved with ice. At least he wouldn’t get friction burns. At least, she didn’t think he would.
She put out her hands, hoping to slow him, and from out of nowhere, a chilly wind came to her aid. He was on a trajectory heading directly for her, but the wind helped stop the slide, and he came to a halt just a few feet from where she stood on the curb, her hands outstretched.
The moment he stopped, she went to him.
“Are you all right?” she asked, kneeling to get a better look at the man. He was wearing leather, which hopefully had protected him from the slide.
“I’m—” He looked up, and their eyes met…and held. Time stood still. Even the winds died down.
He reached out one hand to her, and she took his big hand in hers, and a jolt of magic shot through her, feeling…delicious. Why that word sprang to mind, she didn’t know, but if this man’s magic had a flavor, it was something she found almost irresistible. Like her late father’s famous Irish coffee. Rich and powerful, with a kick of something forbidden.
The magic felt somehow familiar, as well. He was a shifter, of that she had no doubt, but he was much more magical than the wolves in this town. He was something else altogether.
His magic calmed hers, and before she knew what was happening, the storm died, and the clouds began to disperse. Snow and rain stopped altogether, and even the ice began to melt as the cold winds ceased to freeze everything in sight.
When the first rays of the sun hit their hands, she became aware of where they were and that she was still holding a stranger’s hand. “Um…” She retrieved her hand and stood, reaching for the handlebars of the bike. She wasn’t sure she could lift it, but she wanted to help the man. She had to help the man.
He was going to be important to her future. She didn’t know how or why, but he was. For good or ill, she didn’t know either, but she had to help him. She’d caused his accident. The least she could do was attend his recovery from it.
She tugged up on the handlebars while he pushed from below. Honestly, he did most of the work, but she guided the big bike off him and rolled it into a parked position. She knew how to lower the kickstand because the Harley was a lot like her father’s old Indian. At least in some respects.
He remained on the ground, watching her, and she began to feel self-conscious. “You know bikes?” he asked, his voice a rumble that she hadn’t quite expected.
Still, he was a big man. Big voice for a big man. It fit.
“My father had an Indian,” she told him. “He taught me to ride when I was a teenager. I still keep my license current, though I don’t have either a car or a bike, right now.” Why was she telling him her life story? What was it about this guy that invited her to share information? “Are you okay? Did you hurt your leg when you skid?”
Before answering, he straightened both of his legs out in front of him and seemed to do a quick inspection of his leathers. The chaps he wore had protected his jeans and were only a little scuffed. The ice had limited the friction, as she’d hoped.
Of course, he wouldn’t have skidded in the first place if she hadn’t lost control and allowed ice to form. This was all her fault, and she felt terrible about it, but at least he didn’t seem too damaged.
“I seem to be intact,” he told her. “No harm done.”
“You better stand up before you make a statement like that,” she told him, offering a hand.
He hesitated only a moment before taking her hand, and a little sizzle of magical energy worked its way up from her fingertips to sizzle and snap its way through her whole body. Yowza. The man packed a punch, magically speaking.
She leaned back as he stood, allowing her to help a bit. He favored the leg that had been trapped under the bike for a moment, then tentatively put weight on it. He then walked a few steps, hopping up the curb and onto the sidewalk, shaking his legs out and walking off whatever pain he might be experiencing. She cringed, watching him, hoping he was going to be all right.
Ace felt the impact of the woman all the way down to his toes. She was the weather witch he’d come to see. Her magic felt like wind and rain, ice and snow, but mostly like air currents buffeting him gently in her presence. That moment when she’d first touched his hand had marked him, and he knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that his life would never be the same, again.
Poor baby. He was fine. Or, he would be, given a chance to heal. No harm done. He didn’t want her to feel bad. He never wanted her to feel bad.
And, what the actual fuck was he thinking? Those kind of thoughts weren’t something he was used to having. Had he cracked his head during the slide? No. He thought he probably would’ve remembered that. Still, he ran his hands through his hair, looking for bumps as he walked off the leg pain.
Finding no evidence of head trauma, he turned around to find the witch watching him warily. She looked so afraid that he might be hurt, he had to—just had to—put her at ease. It was like a compulsion.
“I’m fine. Seriously. Just a little sore.”
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean—”
“This is the absolute last straw.” A new voice came from behind Ace’s back, and he spun to confront the threat. “I’ve warned you before, Sabrina. We can’t have stuff like this happening in our town. You need to get your shit together, or you need to go.” The man looked at Ace, giving him an appraising glance. “You okay, mister?”
“I’m fine, Alpha.” Ace figured it was better to be clear on who he was and what he knew from the get go. This was the Alpha wolf of this town. Ace would stake his bike on it. Or, whatever was left of his bike after that skid.
The other man looked more closely. “You the bear?” he asked in a quiet voice. Ace nodded. “Well, I hope you can do something with her. She’s causing havoc all over the place, as you can see.”
