Storm Bear

by Bianca D’Arc

  “The Lords sent me up here to assess the situation. I’ll report back to them, and we’ll take it from there. Right now, I just want to get the lay of the land around here. I’ve never been up this far in the Rockies before,” Ace admitted.

  “You called the Lords on me?” Sabrina’s voice held both betrayal and anger.

  Her face was pale when Ace turned to look at her, putting himself sideways between her and the wolf Alpha. He wouldn’t turn his back on a predator, even if the wolf wasn’t much of a threat to a full-grown grizzly shifter. It was also a sign of disrespect, which could set the wolf Alpha off, if he was the sensitive type.

  “I told you I was out of patience, Sabrina,” the other man reminded her in a scolding tone. “Something has to be done to get your magic under control. If this guy can help, so much the better, but if he can’t, then you’re going to have to find another place to live. You’re drawing too much attention to our little town. We’re trying to live a peaceful life here, and you’re making that difficult.”

  “Well, I’m sorry for breathing in your nice, peaceful town! Excuse me.” Sabrina gathered up her dignity and stormed off down the street.

  Ace wanted to follow right after her, but the wolf Alpha caught his arm. “Better let her go. She gets in snits like this, now and again,” the man said disdainfully.

  Yeah, Ace thought, I’d be in a snit if some asshole treated me like crap in public, too. Of course, when a bear got testy, people bled. Still, Ace knew enough about women to realize she needed some time and space to cool down. Hopefully, she’d allow him to start over after Alpha Jackass—Ace’s new designation for the not-too-bright werewolf—was out of sight.

  “How long has she been in town?” Ace asked, both because he found himself intrigued by the woman, and because it was pertinent information for the job he’d been sent here to do.

  “About two years,” the Alpha told him. “She’s been out of control only for about the last two months, bringing all kinds of wacky weather down on us.”

  Two months? That wasn’t much leeway the Alpha was giving her. A more sympathetic fellow probably would have given someone he’d known for two years a bit more time before reporting her to the Lords and demanding help in sorting her out. This guy wasn’t much of an Alpha, Ace decided. He was rude and not very considerate of the feelings of his people.

  Ace would do more observation of the town and its residents. If this Alpha was a bad one, the Lords would need to know. If he was just indifferent, perhaps the Lords could send him help. Maybe someone who could teach this jerk how to be better to his people. Ace wasn’t exactly sure how wolves handled this sort of thing, but hopefully, something could be done, if necessary.

  “Name’s Tobias,” the wolf said, holding out his hand to Ace.

  Ace looked after the woman. She’d already disappeared from sight, but he could track her, both by her magic and the delectable scent of her skin. She wouldn’t get away from him so easily, but first, he had to deal with this guy.

  “I’m Ace,” he replied, returning the man’s handshake.

  “You a friend of Rocky’s?” Tobias asked point blank. The man was blunt, that was for sure.

  “Yeah. I’ve known Rocky a long time,” Ace admitted.

  “I asked them to send him, but I guess he’s busy,” Tobias went on. Was the man trying to be insulting? Ace did his best not to take offense. He’d only just driven into town. He’d give it a day or two to decide if this guy needed to die or not.

  “Yep. Real busy. So, you got me. And, if you don’t mind—” Ace turned away, intending to head in the direction Sabrina had disappeared, but the Alpha grabbed his arm, again. Ace swore. If the wolf did that one more time, he was going to lose a limb.

  “I need an update first. Tim said you’d have some data for me,” Tobias reminded Ace of the small package Tim had given him to give the Alpha.

  “It’s in my saddlebags,” Ace told the other man with a long-suffering sigh.

  He was going to be stuck with this guy for at least a little while longer. Ace didn’t know what was contained in small package, but he was obligated to deliver it. Leaving it unattended while he pursued a woman probably wasn’t the best move he could make at this point.

  Ace bent down to retrieve the package and caught sight of the deep scratches on the side of his bike. Damn. They weren’t as bad as they could have been, due to the smooth sheet of ice, but there was still quite the mark left on his beloved Harley. He’d have to fix that at some point.

  “Here you go,” Ace said, wiping the grimace from his face as he straightened and faced Tobias. He handed over the package gladly. Anything to discharge his duties and be able to go after Sabrina.

  “Your bike will be safe there. Join me for a beer.” It wasn’t really a request, Ace could tell from the tone of the Alpha wolf’s voice. This was a man who was used to getting his way and being obeyed.

  “If you don’t mind, I’d rather check on your weather witch,” Ace told him.

  But Tobias shook his head. “You won’t get any sense out of her ‘til she calms down. She’s weird. Let her be and come on over to the pub. I’ll buy the beer, and there’s good food if you’re hungry.”

  That was kind of a stupid question to pose to a bear. They were always hungry. And, right now, Ace’s stomach was reminding him that he’d skipped breakfast in order to make better time. While he objected to the Alpha’s characterization of Sabrina as weird, the wolf knew her a lot better than Ace did. If he said she needed time alone, then perhaps he was right.

  Also, Ace was still trying to decide if he would leave this asshole intact when he left this town. Perhaps he was just bad at first impressions. He’d give the Alpha a chance to redeem himself, and a beer and a burger sounded like just the ticket.

  Ace wouldn’t admit it to himself, but there might just be a little fear involved in his decision, as well. It wasn’t every day a man met a woman who could change his destiny. He didn’t really know how he knew that, but the knowledge was there. His bear half felt it deeply.

  Better to eat first, and then confront fate on a full stomach, both bear and man side agreed.

  Sabrina was humiliated. She was as embarrassed as she’d ever been and went to hide in the back of her friend’s coffee shop. Marilee was just about the only friend she had left in this town, and the moment Mar saw Sabrina’s face, she led her right into the back corner. She broke out the cinnamon buns and a pot of chamomile tea and sat with her as they noshed and didn’t speak for a while.

  “Now, honey, are you okay?” Mar asked in a soft voice. She was a good wolf. A wolf who cared for others. Maternal, they called it, even though Mar wasn’t mated and didn’t have any pups yet.

  “I’m…” Sabrina didn’t want to say it out loud. “Oh, Mar, I caused that storm just a little bit ago, and Tobias called the Lords on me. They sent some guy, and he skidded out and scratched his Harley and hurt his leg and landed right in front of me. And he touched my hand, and the magic went all docile and quiet.” Her words trailed off, and she realized what she was saying. She’d been too upset before to realize what had happened.

  “That’s a good thing, surely,” Marilee prompted. “Maybe this man really can help you.”

  “He’s a shifter, just not like you. He’s…something else,” Sabrina told her friend.

  “Not a wolf?” Mar looked thoughtful. “Well, there are other species that have way more magic than we do. Bears. Some kinds of special cats. The occasional aberration in other populations. You say the Lords sent him?” Sabrina nodded, feeling glum. “There’s a bear who works for them, and Tobias knows him. Maybe he’s a bear. Is he a big man?”

  “A giant,” Sabrina agreed, nodding morosely. “Tall. Big all over, really, but not fat. Muscular, at least from what I could see under the leather he was wearing. He had chaps on over his jeans, but he had a nice butt.” Sabrina blushed, even as she giggled a little. Had she really noticed the guy’s butt even as the Alpha was complaining abo
ut her?

  “You noticed his butt?” Mar was always on her wavelength, which was why they’d become such good friends. She was smiling in a conspiratorial way.

  Sabrina nodded. “It was hard not to notice. The man is hot. In a giant-sized way.”

  “Don’t look now, but I think your hot behemoth is heading this way.” Mar nodded toward the big windows at the front of her shop. “Do you think he tracked you down?”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Ace followed the luscious scent of Sabrina into a small café. He found her sitting in the farthest corner, a half-eaten cinnamon bun in front of her. His half-assed plan to eat with the Alpha then track her down had been blown to smithereens. The moment Tobias had mentioned other newcomers to their small town who seemed inordinately interested in the local weather, Ace had left the pub without even placing an order.

  Just hearing that someone might be a little too interested in Sabrina’s area of influence set his teeth on edge. Strangers in a shifter town were always worth noting. This sleepy little mountain village didn’t get a lot of visitors in the normal course of business. Ace had been invited here, and he was a shifter. Wolves liked togetherness, and their Packs—if large enough—often formed towns around themselves and their holdings, over time. They protected their lands and territories with ferocious intent.

  Strangers didn’t just walk into such places every day. And, once in a wolf town, non-magical folk seldom stayed long. Sooner or later, the suspicion of outsiders got them moving on to someplace wholly human, where they were made much more welcome. That someone was asking about Sabrina’s weather was somewhat expected. Non-magical humans spent a great deal of time studying the weather. But that these newcomers hadn’t taken the hint and left town already made Ace feel wary.

  That, and the fact that the werewolf Alpha didn’t know where the strangers—supposedly hikers—were staying, sent alarm signals tingling down Ace’s spine. How could a freaking werewolf Pack not know where human intruders were camping in their own territory? How were they masking their presence? At least one wolf should have run across them. The werewolves patrolled their territory all the time. Somebody should know where the camp was, but Tobias had told Ace that the humans were seen in town last week, and then, when everybody thought they had gone, one of the men showed up at the pub, asking more questions.

  He’d been asked things in return, of course. Things like where he’d come from and where he was staying, but he’d been cagey. Downright rude in one instance, which had earned him a cold shoulder from the bartender, who had a touchy temper. Ace wished the bartender had been able to contain his temper and find out more about the strangers, but that was water under the bridge. All Ace could do now, was keep an eye out for trouble.

  In fact, he’d keep one eye on Sabrina and one on everyone else. If strangers had come to town looking to make trouble for her, they were going to get a rude awakening. Ace was on the case, now. Nobody would get to Sabrina unless they went through him first.

  He walked cautiously closer to her table in the corner, making eye contact before she could look away, pretending not to see him. He wouldn’t allow that. They would meet face to face, eye to eye. They would be equals, regardless of the fact that he was a grizzly and she wasn’t even a shifter at all.

  “I’m sorry about before,” he told her as he stopped in front of her table. “That guy seems to say out loud whatever fool thought crosses his tiny mind.”

  Sabrina gasped. “You shouldn’t talk about him that way,” she told him, surreptitiously glancing around to see if anybody else was listening.

  “I’ve only just met him,” Ace replied slowly. “He’ll have to do a lot to change that first impression.” Ace sighed and consciously relaxed his stance. “Look, can we start over? I just rode up from Montana, and this is my first time this far north in the Rockies. I came here at the request of the North American Lords to see if I could give you a hand regaining control over your gift. I’m not the bad guy here. I’m truly just here to help.”

  He seemed so sincere. Sabrina wasn’t sure what to think. The fact that Tobias had ratted her out to the Lords—a hierarchy she didn’t even belong to, thank you very much—still hurt. A lot. How dare he? She’d always done her best to help the people in this town. She’d expected a little more gratitude, and maybe a bit of lenience and understanding when her powers started going wonky.

  Instead, he’d tattled on her to the Lords. And this guy was the result.

  Of course, her sudden ice storm had almost killed him. She felt a bit guilty about that still, even though he’d come through it mostly unscathed.

  “I’m sorry, too,” she told him. “About the ice. I truly didn’t mean for that to happen. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Fine,” he assured her graciously.

  “And your bike?” She hadn’t gotten a very good look at the Harley, but she was pretty sure it had to be scratched up. “I can’t offer to pay for repairs because…well…I’m broke, but maybe I could help, somehow? I’m pretty good with paint and buffing if it’s just scratches on the finish.”

  “That won’t be necessary. I’m actually a mechanic. If there’s anything wrong, which I doubt, I can fix it myself, and the cosmetics can wait ‘til my brother can do it. He’s a genius with finishes.” He seemed surprised he’d said so much, then shrugged. “Thanks for offering, though.”

  Well. He was being nice, again. Maybe he really was nice. Unlike some wolves, named Tobias, she knew.

  “Would you like a cinnamon bun?” she offered, deciding to take the hint as he seemed to glance more and more at the plate of pastries.

  “Thought you’d never ask,” he said, sitting down opposite her and grabbing a bun off the plate. His first bite took care of more than half the giant cinnamon roll. Sabrina watched, impressed, as he chewed, a big smile breaking over his face.

  “These are delicious,” he said after he’d swallowed. So, at least he had manners. Somebody had trained him well.

  Shit. He was probably married.

  Here she was, having lustful thoughts about a married shifter. She knew they mated for life. There was no fooling around and no finding someone else once they’d found their true mate. She’d always thought that was kind of beautiful. And she definitely wasn’t the kind of woman who would even think about stealing another woman’s man.

  “Marilee does all the baking. She’s really good,” Sabrina told him, trying to disguise her turbulent thoughts.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, putting down the cinnamon roll and looking at her.

  “Nothing’s wrong,” she replied, speaking too fast for it to be the truth.

  “You smell upset.”

  She did a double take. “Smell? You can smell the way I feel?” She felt violated.

  He tapped his nose. “Bears are very sensitive to scent. So are wolves. Don’t tell them I said this, but they might even be better at sniffing out people’s moods than I am.”

  “They can smell things like that?” Now, she was really upset. Had all her so-called friends in this town been reading her so easily? Was that why she’d had such a hard time fitting in?

  He looked surprised. “They didn’t tell you?”

  “No,” she snapped. “Nobody saw fit to educate the poor human witch with only one gift.” She felt brittle all of a sudden. Marilee was watching her with a concerned expression. She could probably hear what they were talking about. “Everybody in this town has better abilities than I do. I tried to help them, but they ratted me out to your Lords.” She stood, so upset she didn’t really care if he could smell it. “I can tell I’m not wanted here.”

  She lifted the empty plate and brought it back to the counter where Marilee was watching with wide, stunned eyes. Sabrina put the plate on the counter between them.

  “You’ve been a good friend to me, Mar. You’re probably the only one in this entire town who gave me a chance.” She hated that she sniffled in the middle of her little speech. “You can tell Tobias
I’m leaving.”

  “Where will you go?”

  Marilee looked really upset, but it wasn’t her life that was falling apart. Sabrina would regret losing her friendship, but it couldn’t be helped. This town didn’t want her, and she wasn’t any good to anyone until she got her head back on straight and her power under control.

  “I don’t know,” Sabrina admitted with another betraying sniffle. “But, when I get there, if I write to you, will you send my things to me? I can’t take everything with me, right now.”

  Marilee reached out to put her hand over the top of Sabrina’s. “Of course I will. But, Brina, you shouldn’t leave like this.”

  “She’s right, you know.” The man’s voice came to her from just behind her shoulder. He’d moved silently—like the rest of the shifters in this town—and snuck up on her. People had been doing that ever since she came here, but she still wasn’t entirely used to it.

  “I thought you’d be happy if I took the problem out of town with me,” she countered without facing him. “You were sent here to fix the situation, right? I’m leaving. So, problem solved.”

  “It’s not quite that simple,” he told her. “Whether you stay here or go someplace else, you still need to get your magic in balance. I’m willing to do what I can to help you with that, no matter where you go.”

  That made her turn to look up into his warm brown eyes. “Why?” she asked. “Why do you care what happens with me and my ridiculous little talent?”

  He stepped closer. “It’s not ridiculous, and judging by the ice sheet I hit on my way into town, it’s not little either.” He looked around, and his voice dropped into a more confidential tone. “There are things happening in the wider world that you don’t know about. Dangers to magic folk. If your wild magic attracts the wrong sort of attention, you could be in real danger.”

  “What?” Marilee and Sabrina voiced their shock in unison.

  “There are strangers in the woods,” the man went on. “Did Tobias send out a warning to his Pack?” Here the man looked straight at Marilee, though they hadn’t been introduced. He seemed to know she was a werewolf. His nose probably told him, since shifters could apparently scent things like that.