The Blackstone She-Bear: Blackstone Mountain Book 7

by Alicia Montgomery

  The door buzzed behind him and they both turned. A tall, imposing man walked inside. He nodded at Irene, and then turned his tawny-golden gaze at Mason.

  Mason reined in his polar bear as the other male sized him up. He felt the man do the same to his—tiger? lion?—and then gave him a nod. This was a day care, after all, not the African savanna.

  “Luke,” Irene said. “Are you checking out Grayson early too?”

  “Yeah. Georgina’s working late again, so I said I’d pick him up and feed him dinner.”

  “No worries,” Irene said. “I’ll go get him ready, too.” With that, she turned and walked back into the main room.

  “Do I know you?” Luke said when they were alone.

  “Mason,” he introduced himself.

  “Are you new around here?” Golden eyes looked at him suspiciously.

  “Yeah. I just moved here with my daughter. And you are?”

  “Luke.” He offered his hand and Mason took it with a firm shake. “Do you work here?”

  “Not here. At the mines.”

  “Ah, I used to work there too,” he explained. “I moved here. To the marketing department on the fifteenth floor.”

  Marketing? With his size, Luke Lennox looked like he should be a bouncer or a bodybuilder, not a marketing guy.

  “Long story,” Luke said, obviously sensing his confusion, but didn’t offer any other explanation.

  “Right.” Everyone was entitled to their private business.

  A few seconds of awkward silence passed.

  “Army?” Luke finally said, his eyes on the tats on Mason’s forearm.

  “Navy,” he corrected. “SEALs. Former.”

  “Really?” Luke rubbed his chin. “And you moved here to work at the mines?”

  “Long story,” he shot back, but grinned at the other man.

  “Papa!”

  “Daddy!”

  Two small bundles of energy came out of the door where Irene had disappeared into.

  “Hey, baby,” Mason greeted as he kissed Cassie on the nose.

  “You came early!” she giggled.

  “Of course, I wanted to come and take you to dinner. I heard there was this place called Rosie’s that had good pie.”

  “Rosie’s?” came a voice from behind. “I love Rosie’s! Can we go too, Papa?”

  “Oh no, Grayson, we already went last Sunday. You should eat the dinner Momma made you.”

  “Aww!”

  Mason turned around. A boy of around four or five stood next to Luke, holding his hand.

  “Daddy, that’s my friend, Grayson,” Cassie said as Mason put her down on the floor. “He goes here to the day care, too.”

  “Hello, Grayson.” Mason knelt down so he could be at eye level with the boy. He narrowed his eyes at Grayson. He could have sworn he heard the boy call Luke “papa”, but the boy wasn’t a lion cub. He was a bear cub. Of course, maybe his wife was a bear.

  “Hello, sir,” he said in a small voice.

  “Daddy, he’s a bear, like you,” Cassie proclaimed. “But my daddy’s a polar bear.”

  Grayson nodded. “I’m a bear. My papa’s a lion and Pop-pop is a dragon. Grams and Mommy are human, though.”

  Mason was confused. How many dragons were in Blackstone?

  “I also know a dragon lady,” Cassie said. “My daddy said she was mean, but ’Melia said was nice. She was right.”

  “Mean?” Luke asked, his voice rising slightly. “Sybil’s not mean.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and his gaze zeroed in on Mason. “Why would my sister be visiting you? And how do you know Amelia?”

  Sister? Mason wasn’t just confused. He was downright baffled.

  “You know Auntie Sybil and Auntie Amelia?” Grayson said.

  “Yeah, she took me shopping, and then Miss Sybil came to the house and asked me some questions.” Cassie said. “They’re your aunts?”

  “Yeah. But Auntie Amelia’s a bear, like me.” Grayson’s little brows furrowed together. “At least I think so. She’s weird. She smells strange.” Luke frowned at him in warning. “Oops! Papa says I’m not supposed to say that out loud. It’s rude.”

  Mason’s heart thudded in his chest at the child’s words. He remembered how he made that observation when he saw Amelia again.

  “Grayson, will you wait outside, please?” Luke said. “And why don’t you take Cassie with you?”

  “That means he wants to talk like adults,” Grayson stage-whispered to Cassie. “Okay Papa!” He took Cassie’s hand and led her outside of the waiting area.

  When the kids were gone, Luke turned to Mason. “I remember you. You’re related to Tim. You came to visit a few years ago.” Tawny eyes pierced right into him, as if daring him to lie.

  “Yeah. So?”

  “You were sniffing around her, weren’t you? I thought you looked familiar.” Luke crossed his arms over his chest. “I know it’s none of my business, but Amelia is my family. Something happened to her that made her leave. She didn’t come back the same.”

  The broken mating bond. Luke had noticed it, then maybe it was true. Was Amelia sick because of what he did? If so, then he would never forgive himself.

  “She’s mine.” Was mine, he corrected himself. “But it didn’t work out back then.”

  “Are you going to get her back?” Luke glared at him.

  He sighed. “I … She’s been avoiding me. Besides, I have Cassie to think about.”

  “You do,” he said. “But just because you’ve got a kid, doesn’t mean you can’t have a mate.”

  “Is she sick?”

  Luke shook his head. “She’s not the same, I can tell you that. But I never asked. Maybe I should have. Listen,” Luke began. “If you showed up around here months ago, I would have kicked your ass and told you stay the hell away from her.”

  Mason snorted.

  “But, if she’s yours and you’re hers, then you should fix things between you. Believe me, nothing good will come from denying your animals.” Luke shoved his hands in his pockets. “I gotta go take my son home. And your kid is probably starving too, though she’s got a human’s appetite, I imagine, something you should be thankful for.”

  “Ha.”

  “If you want to fix it, then do it soon,” Luke said before he turned away.

  Mason stared after Luke. He didn’t know the man, but he was right. Cassie was always going to need him, and he would always care for her. But, if something was wrong with Amelia, he would have to fix it now, before it was too late.

  Mason couldn’t sleep. Not after what Luke had told him. He played the events over and over again in his mind. And each time, he only came to the same conclusion: he broke her somehow. It was dawn when he decided that it was up to him to fix her.

  He got Cassie ready for day care, dropped her off, and then went to work at the mines. It was a good thing that they finished work early, so he was already outside the building where Amelia worked at four that afternoon. He waited across the street, counting the minutes until five.

  Sure enough, ten minutes after five, Amelia breezed out of the building. She was dressed in her usual office attire—jacket, blouse, pencil skirt, and sensible heels. Her dark blonde hair was tied into a bun at the nape of her neck.

  Mine! His polar bear roared when he set eyes on her. How could he not realize what his bear had been telling him all these years?

  She walked east, to the small lot a block away where he knew she had parked. Using his shifter speed, he quickly got in front of her.

  “Mason?” she asked. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “For what—Mason!”

  He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the empty alleyway beside her building. He pushed her against the wall and leaned forward.

  She placed her hands on his chest to push him away. She was strong, but he was stronger. He slammed his palms on either side of her, trapping her, and moved in closer, trying to catch her scent. Mint sham
poo. Traces of ink and paper. Sweat. But he couldn’t pick up her scent of fur and honeysuckle. He tipped her head up toward him and looked straight into her eyes. What he saw there—or didn’t—would haunt him forever. It was like staring into an empty void.

  “Amelia?”

  “Get away from me.” Her voice was quiet, but dead serious.

  “No,” he said. “Not until you tell me what’s going on. Why do you smell like this? Is your bear sick?” His own animal whimpered, unable to feel its mate, and pain slashed through him.

  “It’s none of your business. Now, please.” She swallowed hard. “Let me go.”

  “I can’t,” he rasped. “Please, Amelia. Tell me what happened.”

  “I …” She broke into a sob, and his stomach dropped like a stone. “It’s gone. My bear. It’s just … vanished.”

  “It’s my fault.” Mason knew it. Amelia’s silence and her refusal to meet his eyes told him it was true. “You were trying to tell me we had bonded. I didn’t understand. But I should have.” He pulled away from her, then slammed his fist against the wall so hard that the cement broke under his fingers. The sound of breaking bones was unmistakable too, and made her jump in surprise. “I broke you. I broke us.”

  He deserved to die. And his polar bear agreed. It roared so loudly, his ears rang. He could feel the rage and hate flowing through him. His fingers were growing, turning into claws. Fur sprouted on his arms. His teeth pierce at his lips as they began to elongate.

  “Stop!” Amelia cried. “Please. Stop.”

  Mason’s bear roared, the sound inhuman and feral. I’m sorry! Mason screamed from deep inside. The animal growled. When it looked at Amelia, at the real fear in her eyes, it whimpered and slowly began to back away. Half transformed, Mason braced himself against the wall, his claws digging into the cement as he sank to his knees.

  A few heartbeats passed. “Mason?” Amelia said in a quiet voice.

  Mason gnashed his teeth together and slowly got up. He knew what he had to do. “I’m going to fix you,” he vowed. “I don’t care how long it takes.”

  She sighed. “You can’t. I can’t be fixed. Don’t you think I’ve tried?” Amelia asked. “I’ve searched the Internet for answers, tried asking other shifters … I haven’t found anything.”

  Mason raked his fingers through his hair. “There’s never been a case like this before, where a shifter just loses his animal. They might go crazy or feral, but to totally disappear? I don’t accept it. I can’t.”

  She shrugged. “I have. Look, Mason, it’s all in the past. I’ve come to terms with what happened.”

  Mason felt hope slipping away. “There must be something we can do. We can go to the woods and try to get you in touch with your bear again. Or go to a therapist.”

  “I’ve tried all that,” Amelia said. “I moved away because I thought it would fix things. And there aren’t any shifter therapists specializing in this kind of thing. I’ve looked all over the world. No one can help me.” She turned away.

  He placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m going to try.”

  “You have a child, Mason. Cassie needs you.” Amelia shrugged his hand away. “You can’t fix me and take care of her, too.”

  “I love Cassie with all my heart and soul. But I wronged you, and I have to make it right.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  His bear disagreed. It wanted Mason to fix it. Now. “I can—”

  “No.” She put a hand up. “Please, Mason, I’ve come to terms with this. Life moves on. I’ve moved on.”

  The words were like a knife, cutting into his heart. While Amelia may have moved on, he had to face facts: he had not moved on. “Amelia—”

  “No more. Please, just leave it be.” Her voice trembled, but her face remained impassive. “There’s nothing anyone can do. Just leave it alone.” She sighed. “I’m tired and I want to go home.”

  He didn’t move a muscle. “All right then.”

  She opened her mouth, then closed it again. She gave him a nod, and then turned on her heel.

  Mason watched as Amelia walked out of the alleyway. He knew he should respect her wishes, but at the same time, the need to help her was too strong. He’d gone through some shit in his life, but the hollow, empty look in Amelia’s eyes was the worst thing he’d ever seen.

  I have to fix things. And he had an idea how. Whether Amelia would agree to his plan was the question.

  If a broken bond made her bear go away, then maybe fixing the bond would bring it back.

  Chapter Nine

  “Everything okay, Amelia?” Erin asked.

  “Huh?” She looked up at Erin. “Yeah, I’m good. Why do you ask?”

  Her boss leaned her hip against the desk. “You’ve been staring at that for hours.”

  Amelia followed Erin’s gaze, leading her to the empty sheet of paper on the table. “Oh. Sorry, I’m just … I have a lot of things on my mind.”

  “It’s okay, I know it’s hard to be creative just like that.” Erin snapped her fingers for emphasis. “Why don’t you go home? You can start again tomorrow.”

  “T-thanks. And, sorry.” Amelia really was embarrassed, having been caught by her boss in a daze.

  “Don’t worry. Go home, have a glass of wine, work on your apartment.” She and Erin had been chatting about how she was decorating her new house.

  “I do have boxes to unpack.”

  “Go.” Erin waved her away. “Work will still be here tomorrow.”

  Amelia didn’t argue with her boss, and instead grabbed her things. “Thanks Erin. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  As she walked out of the office and to the elevator, she kept her guard up. Sure, it was unlikely Mason would be waiting for her again, but she couldn’t help herself. She was surprised at his sudden appearance yesterday, and even more shocked at what had transpired. She had become so good at keeping up appearances, she never thought anyone would figure out what she’d been hiding, much less him. She should have been more careful, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

  Still, she was curious. How did he figure it out? What did he see that told him something was wrong?

  Amelia sighed. No use thinking about it now. She put it out of her head, walked to the lot where she’d parked her car, and drove home.

  The house she rented was all the way across town, but she didn’t care. Blackstone wasn’t too big and there was hardly any traffic, so she pulled into her driveway about fifteen minutes later. While she wanted to take Erin’s advice and have a glass of wine, she really did have boxes to unpack. Said boxes greeted her as she opened the door. With a great big sigh, she put her things down, took her heels off, and got to work. She tackled the boxes one by one, putting stuff away, until there was one box left.

  This box contained all her oldest stuff; some memories and keepsakes from her childhood and high school. She ripped the top open and began to unpack the various knickknacks—her yearbook, photos of her family and friends, an old stuffed wolf she used to bring around. When she picked up an old sketch book, something fluttered to the ground and she picked it up.

  Amelia held her breath as she looked at the old napkin with the sketch of a house done in red ink. I kept this? The memory of that day was still clear in her mind.

  She had been waiting for Mason at that hipster diner in Verona Mills. He was running late, doing an errand for Tim, so to pass the time, she started drawing. She’d dreamt of the house just a few nights ago and had been itching to get it down on paper. It was a big, beautiful cabin, much like her dad’s and Ben’s, though she liked to think she’d improved it with a modern flair, like the sunken living room, big glass windows and skylights, and clean, straight lines. She had also imagined at least four bedrooms for the kids and a big master bedroom for herself and Mason.

  Amelia swallowed the lump in her throat. She had been planning that house for them, for the family they would have. She should have known it was too soon, but she had been young and foolis
h, thinking that being mates would automatically mean a happy ever after.

  A ringing sound startled her, and she lunged for her phone on the coffee table.

  “Amelia?”

  “I—Mason?” Why was he calling?

  He let out a breath. “Amelia, I’m sorry for calling last minute, but I’m kind of in a bind.”

  “Is it Cassie?” she asked, concern creeping in.

  “Yeah. I have to work at The Den. One of the waitresses broke her leg. Tim asked if I could fill in, and I couldn’t say no. I called Cassie’s usual sitter, but she’s out. I got no one to watch her. I could take her to work, but …”

  “Oh.” Take Cassie to The Den? Was he serious? She shook her head. Men. “Do you need me to come over?”

  “Would you mind?” he asked, sounding unsure. “You were great with her and I don’t have anyone else.”

  “Of course, I’ll be right over.”

  “Thanks. I’ll text you the address.” He hung up before she could change her mind. A few seconds later, a message came in with the location of his apartment.

  Amelia knew she should have said no, but he sounded desperate. Plus, it wasn’t like she would be spending time with Mason. No, he would be at work and she would just be with Cassie.

  Mason didn’t specify the time, but he sounded like he needed her to be there right away. She got her purse, stuffed her phone inside, and looked around her. She grabbed a couple more things and was soon on her way.

  Twenty minutes later, Amelia found herself outside Mason’s apartment. It was too late to back out now, so she knocked on the door. A few seconds later, it swung open.

  “I brought art supplies,” she said, holding up a canvas bag. “I didn’t know what Cassie liked to do.”

  Mason’s eyes lit up. “I’m sure it’s fine. I have some toys and games.” He opened the door to let her in. “Sorry, it’s not much.” He looked almost embarrassed as he glanced around at his apartment.

  Amelia looked around. The studio was small, but clean. There was a futon in the middle of the room, a small table and two chairs, and a lamp. In the corner was a child’s bed, which was made up with all the sheets and pillows they had bought at the store. “It’s fine,” she said. “Very cozy.”