Desired by the Bear Book 3

by V. Vaughn

  I take a breath of air that fills my lungs, and I realize my body is free from pain now that Bella’s magic is flowing through my veins, and I can think clearly. If Victor knew I had my friend’s power he could suck it out of me, but he’s too focused on fighting to notice.

  The fact Victor is in the spell circle confirms our theory that Cassandra’s plan is to transfer Lucian, Leanne, and Bella’s power to Victor. And his protective circle tells me Victor needs to stay here. I think Cassandra knows I’m one of the few witches powerful enough to break through Victor’s shield. And since Victor contains nearly all my magic, she thinks I wouldn’t be a threat. She didn’t count on Marcel.

  I don’t thinks she’s worried, though, because Cassandra and her friends are cheering and shouting as if they’re at a boxing match. Although I can tell Marcel is holding his own by the booing. But he can’t last forever, and I have to act soon. I close my eyes tight as I frantically search my brain for a solution. Victor. He’s the key to all of this. That’s it! Cassandra spelled my friends in the middle of Victor’s ceremony circle, which means she’s working through Victor and everything is tied together. If I can break the spell linking us to Victor, everything else in this circle will return to its previous state. I take a long, controlled breath and blow it out just as slowly to calm myself as I think.

  One of the common mistakes made in a ceremony is someone entering the circle. Not only do they disrupt the spell, but unexpected things can happen. Leaving the circle before a ceremony is completed is risky too. It can have catastrophic effects. And--it usually breaks the spell! I need to kick Victor out of the circle while keeping Marcel, Bella, Lucian, and Leanne inside so we can be sucked back to Bella’s backyard.

  My lightbulb moment is quickly shattered, because I have no idea how I’m going to push a fighting werebear past the salt perimeter and keep Marcel inside it while under the nose of four evil witches with the ability to block or hinder my actions by merely hooking a finger. What I need to do before that is close off Victor’s power source--Cassandra. With the element of surprise on my side, I should be able to do it.

  The ground shudders as the fighting werebear move closer to me, and I suddenly recall something René told me when I first began training. He told me the taller they stand, the harder they fall, and now I know exactly what he meant. Once I disable Cassandra, I can send one powerful blast at Victor and force him out of the circle, while I pull Marcel back to stay inside.

  I roll to my side slowly, as if I have barely got the strength. Cassandra and her partners are engrossed in the fight, so I decide to use a paralyzing spell. It’s something that won’t be noticed right away and will buy me the time I need to get to Victor next. I close my eyes and focus on building up all the power I’ve taken from Bella. As it reaches the surface, I realize it’s not going to be enough. No! I need the loud buzz of power to zap Cassandra and Victor back to back.

  I look at the fighting werebear as despair fills my heart. I notice Marcel seems to be dodging and weaving more than he was before, and I wonder if his stamina is fading. Are we going to die? He’s also maneuvering Victor closer to the salt edge near me, and realization slaps me in the face. It’s as if he knows what I plan to do!

  It would make sense that he foresaw this scene in a dream, and that could be why he purposely came after me. I glance at Cassandra, and the vision of Izzy learning to throw fireballs flashes in my mind. I helped her become more. And I recall how she trained me at the gym to become more too. I know what I have to do. Taking Bella’s power means I have a thread of a connection to Izzy. I’m sure it’s broken, but the ties of a friendship as strong as the one Izzy and I have are never completely gone.

  I close my eyes and dig deep within me to find the strands. Just as I knew the green ones belonged to Marcel earlier, I see a blue strand I instinctively realize is Izzy. Another blue strand, a bit paler, appears too, and I grab hold of both of them. I nearly let go when bolts of raw energy slam into me like a freight train, and I gasp for air at the harsh intrusion. I’m suddenly higher than a kite with the magic I contain, and it makes me cackle before I slap a hand over my mouth to stop myself.

  With a quick blink of my eyes, I send a paralyzing spell at Cassandra, and she’s in midshout when her body begins to crumple to the ground. I’m on my feet before she hits it. The magic cocktail brewing in me is radiating off my body in waves of blue and white, and I need to let it loose before it consumes me. I blast a fireball the size of a small car at Victor.

  As if I’m seeing the scene in slow motion, it hits Victor in the chest, and he flies up in the air and backward. His spine hits the ground hard enough that bones crack as the ground shudders beneath my feet. Victor’s completely out of the circle, and Marcel’s fur is sticky with blood when I grab him to make sure he doesn’t follow. I’d let out a whoop of triumph, but all hell breaks loose.

  The candles surrounding us shoot flames straight up into the sky as a high-pitched scream comes from a blond woman who throws herself on top of Victor. I realize it must be his true mate, Lily. Fireballs fly toward those of us in the circle, and I duck one as my magic Victor had stolen slams back into me like a bolt of lightning. I let go of Marcel with the impact, and fear clenches at my heart. The spell has been broken, and Marcel just rushed to the wrong side of the circle!

  “No!” I race toward him as Lily rises to her feet midshift. She’s a full bear when she slams into Marcel to block him from Victor, and the two of them land back in the circle, which is quickly evaporating. I jump on top of the two werebear as if we’re playing pig pile and dig my nails into both their hides with the intention of never letting go so they won’t be left behind. The ground falls out from under my feet, and my stomach lurches up my throat as we’re sucked into the vortex.

  It’s not a pleasant ride as the six of us get sucked back to earth. We’re bounced off the walls, which are searing hot with black-magic tendrils that try to cling to us. I have no doubt Cassandra isn’t letting us go without a fight. My head cracks as I slam into someone else’s skull, and as limbs tangle with mine, it’s as though all of us were put into a blender. Lily escapes my grasp, but my other hand is cramped as I continue to grip Marcel with all I’ve got. I manage to maneuver myself to wrap my legs around his large body, because wherever he goes, I intend to go too.

  After what seems to be an eternity, we land on solid ground.

  “Oh my god!” screams Izzy.

  She drops to her knees near us but holds back as I stare up into Marcel’s eyes and unwrap my limbs to release him. He gets up on all fours and shifts to his human form. I whisper, “You saved me.”

  He nods while tears stream down his face. He chuckles as he reaches a hand out to help me up. His strong fingers wrap around mine, and I rise. Blood is caked on his skin where he was torn open, but his healing abilities have already begun to work. He pulls me into an embrace that takes away any doubt he’ll be okay, and he says, “Loving a witch is a hell of ride.”

  Now my emotions let go, and my tears burn on my cheeks as I say, “Buckle your seat belt, because we’ve got a lot of years to go.”

  Chapter 29

  Izzy

  Carly and I refused to leave the spell circle when Marcel, Tally, and the other witches disappeared. Both of us feared they’d never be able to return if we did. The two of us are lying on the ground, staring up at the stars, when a sharp pain stabs me in the chest. I let out a gasp as I grab Carly’s hand. “What’s wrong?” she asks.

  In my mind, I see Tally’s dark eyes as she reaches out her hand. “Tally’s taking my magic.”

  Carly clenches my hand with both of hers. “She can have mine too.” The warmth of her magic flows into me, and it tempts me to keep it, but I resist the urge and keep my channels wide open to let Tally take whatever she needs.

  When the transfer ends, I feel as if I’ve been in battle as my limbs ache with weakness. But when the ground beneath us begins to shake, Carly and I both find a way to jump to our fee
t, ready to shift, as air buzzes around us with a painful hum. A tangled mass of people and werebear suddenly appears as a pungent odor of sulfur fills the air and makes me want to gag.

  I rush over as I call out, “Tally!” But I stop myself from grabbing her arm when I notice she’s wrapped around Marcel’s animal. Her clothing is tattered, and burns cover her arms and legs. But she doesn’t appear to feel the pain, because she’s staring at her man with love. When Marcel shifts back to human, I let them have their moment, and my heart’s glow of relief that she’s alive is replaced with joy for her true love with Marcel.

  I notice the other bear has shifted into Lily, and she wails as she falls into Carly’s open arms. I take quick stock of the other witches to discover they’re as disheveled as Tally but otherwise appear to be okay. When Tally realizes she and Marcel are not the only two people on earth, she turns to me. “We’re fine, Izzy.” A grin covers her face as she stands up, still clinging to Marcel’s hand. “He saved me.”

  “I know.” I recall the way he rushed to Tally and scooped her up just before they were sucked away. He couldn’t fight his need to protect her, no matter where she was going. I glance at Marcel. “What you did was very brave.”

  He shakes his head. “It wasn’t bravery. It was my only choice.”

  Bella asks, “Would someone please explain what happened?”

  Lucian is rubbing his temple, and he says, “The last thing I remember was we were all sucked toward Victor.”

  “That’s because we weren’t strong enough,” says Leanne in a condescending tone. “I knew it wasn’t going to work.”

  “Did you find Kimi?” asks Carly, and Tally shakes her head.

  Tally says, “We ended up in Cassandra’s spell circle. We were right, she did want to take all of our power to keep Victor on earth.”

  Lily says, “That’s not what I wanted.” She closes her eyes as pain flashes across her face. “When he first came to me, I was so happy, but I quickly realized he wasn’t the Victor I knew and loved.”

  “No. He was Cassandra’s pawn,” says Tally. “You pushed Marcel back in the circle on purpose, didn’t you?”

  She nods as tears roll down her cheeks. “The ceremony was explained to me, and I knew once the spell was broken, everyone inside the circle would be sucked back to Bella’s backyard.”

  “Thank you,” Marcel says to her. He looks back at Tally. “I dreamt about what was going to happen, and as soon as people started to be sucked away from our ceremony, I knew I had to go with you and live out my premonition.”

  “So you kissed me,” says Tally. Her gaze is euphoric as she looks at him.

  “Well, yeah. And you gave me the magic that had begun to return to you. That’s how I was able to go with you so I could fight Victor.”

  “Did you know how we were supposed to take him down?” asks Tally.

  Marcel smiles down at her. “I did. I put on a darn good show with the fight, didn’t I? But you knocked him out with one move.”

  I frown in confusion considering Tally had barely enough energy to speak earlier this evening. “How?”

  Tally looks at me. “It was you who made it happen, Izzy. I drew upon the connection of our friendship, and you let me take your magic.” She turns to Carly. “You let me have yours too.”

  “But how did you have the power to reach for it?” Bella asks. “You weren’t anchored to them.”

  Tally gives her a sheepish grin. “I borrowed yours first.”

  Bella’s eyes twinkle with amusement as she says, “The payback for this is going to be sweet.” Bella slaps dirt off the seat of her pants as she cocks a hip, and it makes me think Tally may be assisting the girl with her social life in the near future.

  Carly says, “Kimi!” She and Bella race toward the back door, where the older woman is standing. Carly lifts Kimi up off her feet to swing her around.

  I walk over to join them as Kimi says, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could sure use a pretty drink right about now.”

  Bella says, “You’ve got it.” She turns to the rest of us. “C’mon on inside, and let’s celebrate being alive.”

  Carly’s arm is around Kimi’s waist, and she says, “I’m so relieved to see you. Where were you all this time?”

  “Get me my drink. Make it sparkly, and I’ll tell you the whole story.”

  When we get settled in Bella’s living room, I watch in amazement as Kimi sips on a cocktail that appears to have tiny fireworks flying out of it. While Bella prepared refreshments for everyone, Lucian and Carly explained to Kimi, René, Jace, and Xavier what happened. Now Jace and Xavier are outside, guarding us while René is with us. It’s Kimi’s turn to tell us what went wrong on her end.

  “I hate to admit this, but I underestimated Victor,” she says. “As soon as he was reunited with Lily, he cast a spell over me. I spent the last few days in a room I couldn’t leave.” She scowls. “He must have been practicing witchcraft in the underworld.”

  “Maybe,” says Lucian as he glances at Lily. “But Cassandra had a hand in who came when we called up, looking for information.”

  Kimi says, “That makes sense, because Victor was prepared.”

  Tally is cuddled into Marcel’s protective arm when she says, “We were swinging on her playground.”

  “See,” says Leanne. “There’s a reason we don’t use black magic.”

  Lucian’s drinking scotch, and ice cubes rattle in his glass as he swirls them and glares at Leanne. “Maybe we just need more practice.”

  Kimi’s voice is stern when she says, “What we need is someone who has more experience than we do.”

  Tally sips a pink cocktail with bubbles floating out of it. “My thought too.”

  I say, “I guess Cassandra doesn’t take defeat well. What do you think her next move might be?”

  “Revenge.” Lucian waggles his eyebrows. “I think it’s time to pay her pretty sisters a visit.”

  Leanne smacks his arm but keeps from saying anything when Kimi clears her throat in a warning. Kimi says, “I think that’s a good idea, Lucian.” She scoots forward on her chair. “Cassandra almost won today. That’s not acceptable.” Her jet-black eyes glisten as she speaks. “Sleep well tonight, because tomorrow we begin our plan to destroy Cassandra and her coven of evil.”

  I glance at the stern faces in the room. Just like werebear warriors, the witches who protect our clans are fierce fighters who continue to stand by their vows. When Lucian raises his glass in a silent toast, I join him. We managed to escape danger today, but every person in this room knows more lies ahead, and we’ll need to stay vigilant to keep werebear safe.

  Chapter 30

  Nadia

  When René left with Izzy and Xavier to go to Maine, the sense something was going to happen had me on edge. Knowing Cassandra was working with the hunters and that she’s a clever witch who had to be the mastermind behind Victor’s unbreakable hold on Tally’s magic made me think the hunters would use the situation to their advantage. Jean Luc thought so too, because he contacted all the remaining warriors to be on call.

  Wind blows through my hair as the engine of a motorcycle hums beneath my thighs. After I paced around my house for most of the day, my bear was agitated. I finally called a few of the guys and asked them to meet me at Reggie’s, a local bar where we can play pool. While none of us will drink, I figure I’m not the only one who could use a distraction.

  Neon lights glare from the various vendor signs in the window of Reggie’s as I pull into the parking lot. When I get inside, Lance is the first guy I spot, and I grin at him as I approach. “Hey, lover boy. I thought you’d be cuddled on a couch, picking out wedding dresses with Caitlyn.”

  His friends chuckle at my words. He says, “Thanks to you, she’s getting serious girl time with that hunter Linda.”

  “Right.”

  A young warrior growls and speaks under his breath. “I don’t get why we rescued her.”

  I give him a warning
glare as one of his friends punches his arm. Warriors hold their alpha in high regard and treat him with respect. Since I don’t know the kid, I suspect he’s never seen action and is nervous about the possibility of his first fight tonight. I refrain from rolling my eyes at his immaturity, and I make my way to the bar for a soda.

  I don’t get the chance, because Jean Luc’s order rings clear in my head. “Get to the cliff behind the safe cabin. Hunter attack.”

  Jean Luc’s message only goes to the warriors he wants alerted, which is likely all those on patrol so they can secure their area, and a handful of us that he wants to go immediately to the scene. He’ll send out another message to the remaining warriors to back up the perimeter guards.

  I’m on my bike before I have time to figure out who is going to the scene with me, but when Lance pulls up by my side, I nod at him in acknowledgement. I suspect he’s worried about his true mate, and the intensity of his need to protect her at all costs is no doubt testing his control.

  When we get to the cabin, dirt and gravel kicks up from Lance’s bike as he spins out to a stop, and he’s in bear form before he shoves his way through the cabin door, which stands ajar. He’s not thinking clearly with his panic, so I yell before I shift, “Scent her!”

  I’m in bear form before Lance runs out of the cabin, and I follow him as he races down a path. We’re the first ones to arrive, and I can’t let him interfere with a potential hostage situation, so I bite his hind flank to make him stop. Lance jerks around with fire in his eyes, but I’m nearly twice his size, and I flash my fangs at him to let him know I mean business.