Bear My Soul: (Arcane Affairs Agency)

by Sophia Barron

  A warning rumble echoed through the porch, and Asher backpedaled with hands held high. “Easy there buddy-bear. I get it, hands off the ladies.”

  Shit. Devlin hadn’t meant to start the morning off on the wrong foot. Still, the bear had a point. His partner was a hell of a player most days; went through women faster than some guys went through t-shirts. Best to make his claim known.

  “Hands, eyes, even your goddamn thoughts stay off my Michaela,” he warned.

  Asher nodded vehemently but kept his distance. “So, what’s the story here boss-bear?”

  Devlin could feel his bear settling back into watchful wariness, stepping away from that attack anything that moves cliff with every soft word and careful motion his partner made. Damn good thing Asher knew him well enough to take care with his actions. “Michaela’s sister is missing, as is her brother in law. Two boys, nine and eleven or so, would love to have their mom back.” Devlin shivered as morning fog rolled into the yard, stepped back and held the door open. “Come on in, we’ll discuss the rest over coffee. Just, keep your voice down huh? Don’t want to wake anyone if we don’t have to.”

  Ash’s eyes flickered from the gleaming table to the high end kitchen and around the great room, consumed every detail as he stepped carefully across the threshold. His narrowed gaze assessed and cataloged every charm, spell and object of value in sight. Devlin could almost hear him noting down costs and value. “Nice place.”

  It didn’t take long for Devlin to get coffee brewing and bring Ash up to speed on the missing couple and the mysterious warlock. He must not have been quiet enough, though. That or his woman had a nose for coffee. She stumbled into the kitchen bleary-eyed, still smelling of sex and sweat, hair a tangled, sexy mess. His beast shot to attention, rumbling warning and claim all in one when Asher’s too-keen eyes trailed slowly down her luscious curves. “Mine, Ash,” he warned.

  Asher nodded and smiled, hand extended politely. Devlin could feel the beast’s rage spiking when Michaela put her soft hand in Ash’s. The fucker raised her hand to his lips and planted a soft kiss on the back of it, eyes twinkling merrily when they glanced sideways at Devlin. Ooh, that man was playing with fire. If the fucker were a shifter instead of a witch, the beast would have him bleeding already. Michaela’s swift gasp and quick jerk of her hand out of Asher’s was all that saved his partner from a future mauling, witch or not.

  “Good to meet you, Agent—”

  “Knight. Asher Knight at your service, miss.”

  “Thanks.” Michaela bolted for the coffeepot with a relieved sigh. “I thought you were in the hospital, Agent Knight,” she said. Coffee trickled slowly into her cup. Devlin couldn’t stop watching the way she devoured the heady aroma of coffee, buried her nose in the steam and inhaled. There must have been something in the very essence of the scent that worked like caffeine. Michaela visibly brightened as she added a splash of French vanilla cream and a pinch of sugar to her cup. Her movements were smooth, thoughtless as she chatted with Asher. “Nice of them to let you out early.”

  “They aren’t too fond of me, and my early release wasn’t exactly voluntary on their part,” Asher shrugged.

  “Oh, so you’re the troublemaker,” Michaela winked and sipped her coffee. That wink did funny things to Devlin’s stomach even though it wasn’t directed at him. His bear was stunned silent by this playful side of his mate. Surprised and a bit jealous he hadn’t thought of lightening the mood a bit.

  “Born and bred, Miss Michaela.”

  Michaela puttered around the kitchen, poured a couple more mugs of coffee and set a pot of water to boil on the stove. Before long she had three bowls of steaming hot oatmeal topped with frozen berries, mixed nuts, and honey set on the island counter top. “Eat up, boys,” she commanded with a crooked grin. “Going to need all the energy we can get to vanquish a warlock today.”

  The silence was broken by the clink of spoons and soft sighs of pleasure as the three adults settled in to breakfast. Conversation was non-existent until the last bite was gone. Never thought I’d enjoy oatmeal. Guess every thing’s better when Michaela makes it, huh beast?

  “So, who’s playing rear guard, and who’s doing the dirty work?” Asher’s tone was slightly mocking, but the question was valid.

  “You feel up to matching spells with a warlock? One who can fill an entire forest with dark magic, and leave these—” Devlin pulled the cursed amulets out of his jacket which still hung on the back of the chair he’d left it on, and set them gently in front of Asher. “Anywhere he pleases without being seen?”

  Michaela’s attention focused on the silk-wrapped objects. Devlin could hear her heart tripping in fear, but she kept all trace of it from her voice. “I don’t have much magic, Mister Knight. Not like that.” She waved at the amulet Asher had unwrapped, then continued. “I’m great at anything that involves plants. Potions, baking, teas. My charms and talismans have an unfortunate tendency to backfire—or worse.” She shivered, and her eyes went distant and cold for a moment. Devlin cleared his throat and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. He could feel the room brighten when she snapped out of whatever dark memory held her, back to the here and now.

  “Welcome back, babe. You were saying?” He squeezed gently, whispered a soft ‘you got this’ in her ear then returned to his seat.

  “I suck at the ritual stuff, can’t seem to connect with the rest of the coven right.” She sighed. “Not saying I don’t want to go find this bastard,” her voice trembled, but she stood straight and solid under Asher’s curious gaze. “Just saying I don’t want to be a liability to anyone.”

  “Babe, you’re no liability,” Devlin growled.

  “Agreed.” Asher’s tone was sharp, brusque. His too-bright gaze locked onto Michaela. Devlin could feel electric tang of magic about to happen in the air as his partner took stock his mate. “There’s so much more to you than meets the eye, Miss Steele. I don’t see any reason for the issues you’ve described.” Asher shrugged and stepped back from the island, arms out. “You’ve got the strongest, deepest connection to the earth that I’ve ever seen. Look,” he thumped his chest. “I’m drained to the dregs. Took almost all my magic and the miracle of modern medicine to put me back together after our last assignment.”

  Devlin nodded and huffed soft agreement. He could still feel Asher’s life slipping away beneath his frantic hands as he tried to stem the flow of blood. Somebody, or several somebodies had done damn fine work to have his partner back on his feet this quick. Not that he wasn’t grateful for the back-up. He was worried though. Couldn’t take another scare like that without losing some part of him that made him human.

  The air changed again when Michaela truly looked at Ash. Where Asher’s magic felt like lightning waiting to strike, Michaela’s felt like the warmth of the spring sun after a cleansing rain. Soft, but implacable. An unstoppable demand for growth, for good. How had he never noticed that before?

  “I see, Agent Knight.” Michaela shivered and her eyes rounded. “I would hate to meet whatever caused you such trouble. Can’t send you out after my sister in that condition.” Her voice was soft but determined. “Just—I’m not sure I’ll be much help if—when push comes to shove.”

  Devlin bit back an angry roar at the sorrow and self-accusation in his mate’s voice. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not leaving you behind. At least the magic you have is bright and strong. There has to be a way to use that to our advantage.”

  The slow smile she sent his had his bear damn near sitting up and begging for more. Asher’s soft hmm cued Devlin in. His partner had an idea with a capital I.

  “I’ve got a bag of tricks in the trunk. Enough for both of you to carry a full set,” he smirked.

  Michaela’s confused glance at Devlin had him chuckling. “Oh, you’ll love Ash’s charms. Never met a witch with better set spells.”

  Her wicked grin set Devlin and Asher to laughing so hard they struggled to breath. It felt good to know without a doubt his mate was b
rave as they came. “Guess that means I need to call Shaundelle?”

  Twin whoops of joy bounced through the room in answer. Michaela jumped, then turned toward her too-hyper nephews with a frown. “Don’t remember asking you boys for input,” she grumped.

  “I’d say that’s a yes,” Asher grinned back. “Any woman who gets a reaction like that has got to be worth meeting,” he winked at Michaela.

  “Oh, Shaun’s awesome,” Jack chimed in. “Sucks at Uno, but she’s a kick-ass lady otherwise.”

  Devlin glared at the boy, satisfied with the slight flinch and mouthed ‘sorry’ as the kid realized he’d been caught red handed cursing. “That settles it I guess.” He watched the smooth dance between Michaela and the boys as she got them settled at the table with their own berry-covered oatmeal. He’d have turned up his nose at such fare as a kid, so he was surprised to see them dig in with obvious enjoyment.

  He waited until the boys were fully occupied with breakfast, then turned his attention to Ash. “You figure those out yet?” Devlin nodded at the silk wrapped charm his partner kept twisting on the counter top.

  Asher’s slow head-shake sent Devlin’s stomach through the floor. If Ash couldn’t tell, they were up against one hell of a ‘lock.

  “They’re kind of like wards but… not. Not dangerous in and of themselves but the intent behind them is…” He shrugged, tucked the twin parcels into a pocket. “Dark. If I had to guess?”

  Michaela eased onto the stool next to Devlin, eyes locked on Ash as he spoke. “What? If you had to guess, what?”

  “Alarms. Sort of a ward mixed with a tracker to ping the caster when something changes.”

  “Something like a door opening? Or not so simple? Maybe something like when people are present or absent?” Michaela’s voice was soft, tentative but her eyes said she was certain clear to her toes of her guess.

  “Exactly.” Asher shrugged. “Not a combination I’ve ever seen before. Could be useful I guess.”

  “Could you make one?” Curiosity and envy warred in Michaela’s guarded expression. Curiosity won.

  “Something similar, sure. Exactly the same,” Asher tapped his fingers lightly across the butcher block as he thought. “Unlikely. I don’t have that depth of darkness in me.” His gaze locked on to Michaela’s. “Neither do you, witchling.”

  She nodded slowly. “That mean we’ve found the valley between the rock and hard place?”

  Devlin shivered at the bleak tone in his mate’s voice, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her close. Anchor her in the here and now instead of the dangerous waters of fear and what if’s.

  “Nope. Just means we’re not warlocks,” Asher replied calmly. “Doesn’t mean we couldn’t trigger those on accident. So be careful out there.” He passed each of them a small velvet bag. Devlin knew without looking the inside would be lined with silk, and filled to the brim with charms and trinkets similar to the dark amulets Asher had tucked away in a pocket. “If the shit really hits the fan, use the blue stone,” he nodded at the pouch Devlin held, then at Michaela’s. “They’ll work better if you trigger them together, but… one should be enough if it comes down to it.”

  “Blue stone, got it.” Michaela sighed. “You aren’t going to tell me what it does, are you.”

  Devlin and Asher shook their heads and whispered harsh ‘no’s’ in unison. Better she didn’t know, or there was no way his sweet Michaela would use the damn thing. Stupid spell had been ultimately responsible for Ash’s last hospital stay. At least Devlin knew without a doubt it wouldn’t be the cause of his partner’s next one. Jury was still out on his health though.

  A knock sounded at the front door, and the boys shrieked with excitement.

  “Shaundelle, it’s game time!” Eli yelled as he sprinted to open the door.

  “We’re going to kick your butt again,” Jack grinned and tossed her the deck of Uno cards as she stepped through the door. She barely caught it, fumbling not to drop it as she shut the door. Her laugh was bright, eyes merry as she headed for the living room.

  “We’ll see about that,” she grinned. Then settled in at the coffee turned game table with a serious expression and started shuffling.

  The gut-punched expression on Ash’s face made Devlin grin. He leaned in and winked, “Good luck, partner. Want me to introduce you?”

  Ash’s stammered ‘no’ and flushed face was oddly endearing. Maybe the playboy had finally met his match in Michaela’s feisty human friend? Devlin sure hoped so.

  “We got this, eh, Agent Hot-stuff,” Shaundelle winked at Devlin and shooed him toward the door. Then she pointed at Asher. Her emphatic ‘come here’ gesture was more command than request. Poor Asher started across the room before his brain even got in gear. Devlin smirked and pulled Michaela toward the front door with a grin. It’d do his womanizing partner good to be strung along by a sharp girl like Shaundelle for a while.

  Now all Devlin had to do was keep his mate safe and kick some warlock ass.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Michaela gripped the door handle so tightly her fingers tingled. Not that she needed the extra support, despite the bumps and holes in the road Devlin’s car rode amazingly smooth. No, her tight hold was a desperate attempt to battle her fears into submission. Every breath, every moment, every tingle brought them closer to finding the warlock responsible for all her troubles. She could feel the coming confrontation the same way she could sense a far off thunderstorm rumbling toward them.

  She could hide from the storms, but there was no hiding from this. Her other hand fumbled with the velvet bag Asher had tossed her. She could feel the magic in the stones even through the double insulation of silk lined velvet. The stones pulsed with energy waiting to be used, but the only one she knew for certain how to use was the blue one.

  The spell to be kept as a last resort. God, she hoped they wouldn’t need it… and feared the outcome if they did.

  Before she’d gathered the frayed edges of her nerves together the car was stopped in front of the Supreme’s cabin. Someone must have cleared the fallen trees and debris from the road. Michaela didn’t know if she should be grateful she didn’t have to walk through the dark-infested forest, or terrified that their enemy had figured out their plan—and lay waiting to ambush them.

  Devlin’s matter of fact tone pulled her out of the endless spiral of worry, grounded her in the here and now. “Looks like someone’s been busy,” he gestured at the tiny cabin up ahead.

  Michaela had to squint to see what he meant. That plus an errant breeze and perfectly timed beam of sunlight refracting off a crystal pendant pulled her attention to the smallest details. Charms lined the porch, the windows, the roof-line. Everywhere she looked, she found another handful of crystals.

  “Any clue what they’re for,” Devlin’s question was soft, his eyes patient. His posture was stiff, tense and the hiss of air through his teeth put lie to his patient act. He was a man ready for action but unwilling to start trouble without a good lay of the land.

  Michaela looked hard at the be-spelled objects, one after the other. The magic bound up in them was bright enough to blind her if she stared too long, but it didn’t give any clues to its purpose. She cursed her ‘one trick’ magic side and shook her head. “I can’t tell, Devlin. I’m sorry but..” She held her hands out with a sigh. “I’m not built for this kind of magic.”

  A rumbled curse filled the car, damn near burst her ear drums. “The hell you aren’t, mate. Even my beast can feel your strength here. Ash is right, you’re blocked. Damn powerful, but there’s something—” his unsaid words ‘not right’ lingered in the air between them. Shame and anger heated her cheeks, and she swung a fist at him without thinking. Her punch connected solidly with his stubborn chin, and she cursed.

  “Damn you, you smug arrogant ass. You don’t have a clue what it’s like to be me. To be told how ‘strong’ I am if I’d just try a little harder. Fuck your try harder, you’re not right. This is me, and my ability
to access the ‘strong magic’ everyone says I have is what it is.” She bit back a sob, ignored the hot tears tracking down her cheeks. “Don’t you think if I had that ability I’d have dealt with all this already?” She waved a hand at the cabin, the spelled crystals and trinkets, and sighed. “I just want my sister to come home. My life to go back to normal…”

  Silence pressed in on her, but Michaela refused to budge. Not even Devlin’s hurt, angry glare could move her until she was damned well ready to move.

  “I’m sorry,” Devlin reached out and turned her face towards him with a feather-light touch. “You hear me, mate? I’m sorry to make things complicated. Sorry you’ve always been pushed to do more. But…” His hands trembled as his thumbs brushed away her tears. “Sam needs you, the boys need you. You and every bit of power, of will and strength, whether you know how to access or not. I fear that’s what it’s going to take to fix this.” He leaned in and pressed a hesitant kiss against her pursed lips. Nibbled and teased until she softened beneath his tender demands. “Get used to a new normal, Michaela. When this is over you’re in for a whole new normal. My bear won’t wait much longer to claim you and neither will I. We need you, Mike.”

  Shivers of desire ripped through her, demanded he make good on his promise. Common sense asserted itself when she paused to really consider the situation from all angles. Why should she essentially marry this man? Sure, he’d come to fix things, and brought nothing but trouble into her life. Trouble and complications. And mind-blowing sex, but was that enough to overcome their differences? “I—don’t know if we can make it work, Devlin.” She shook as the brutally honest words tumbled free. Damn, this wasn’t the time, wasn’t the place and her traitorous mouth had run away with the agenda.

  “Babe, we can do anything. First things first, make me up a tracking spell—” her glare cut him off mid-sentence. His sly wink and abrupt redirect of the conversation made her giggle. “Or potion or whatever. I want to find whoever put all those out there, and what they’re looking for.”