Bear Bait (Hero Mine Book 1)

by Harmony Raines

  Locke’s smile dropped off his face. “I’m listening.”

  “You aren’t going to like it,” Cade said.

  “Templars?” Locke asked.

  “Yes,” Cade answered.

  “You’re right, I’m not going to like it,” Locke said, and pulled up a tree stump and sat down. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear it.”

  Chapter Fourteen – Octavia

  “Maybe I didn’t want to hear it,” Locke said, as he sat with his head in his hands. “The bastard had a son?”

  “Seems that way,” Cade said. “The question we face now is what do we do about it? Do we let them come, and hope we can stop the degetty, or do we try to track them down and end it?”

  Locke shook his head. “You said the degetty is not getting close. It will be hard to find. The only way you will track it is if you are constantly on your guard.” He glanced up at Octavia, a pained look in his eyes. “We can take it in turns. We will keep you safe, Octavia.”

  “Thank you,” Octavia said. “I feel so helpless.”

  “That’s because you are a human,” Tally said, with no malice in her voice.

  “An ordinary, worthless human,” Octavia said.

  “I would not say worthless,” Cade said with a smile.

  “It feels that way. You two can shift, and Tally has magic.”

  “Cade could always…” Tally was cut off mid-sentence by a savage look from Cade.

  “What? Cade could always what?” Octavia asked.

  “Could always lend you a knife,” Tally said sullenly.

  “Cade?” Octavia asked. “Tell me?”

  “It’s nothing, we can talk about it later,” Cade said with a false smile, before glaring at Tally again.

  Tally scowled at him and looked mutinous, before saying, “Well, if we need backup, and Lucas is too scared to bind a demon, why don’t I bind Zinan?”

  “No,” Locke and Cade said in unison.

  “Why not?”

  “I am not going to let you get in that degetty’s sights. Look how he went after my mom. After all this time he still thirsts for blood.”

  “I don’t have to ask him to fight for us.” She nodded thoughtfully. “We can ask him for information.”

  “Information? What is he, Google?” Cade asked bitterly.

  “No,” Tally persisted. “But he might know who this other demon is. And if he does, we will know what we are up against. A whole lot easier than guarding your princess 24/7.”

  “She might be right,” Locke said.

  “No,” Cade said sternly.

  “Look, Cade, you are not my babysitter, or my mother.” Tally sounded more confident now she had Locke on her side. “If I bind him, and don’t use him to hurt anyone, then he will have nothing against me.”

  “We need to know what we are up against,” Locke agreed. “We need to know if we have any chance of sending this thing back to the Underworld without druid help.”

  “Or,” Tally said, “if we can shut it in the Druid Box.” Her voice rose in excitement. “That would be the perfect plan: empty the Druid Box of Zinan and then put the one hunting Octavia in it.”

  “I can’t have you risking yourself for me,” Octavia said. She had sat quietly listening to the discussion going on around her, feeling out of place and useless still.

  “It’s not your choice,” Tally said hotly. “It’s my choice.”

  “I’m squad leader, you have to do as I say,” Cade reminded Tally.

  “Not if I quit. You can ask one of the other coven members to ride shotgun with you,” Tally said.

  Cade put his head in his hands, and shook it. “This is not going to end well.”

  “And will it end any better if we do nothing?” Tally asked.

  “This is all my fault, if I had never gone to that stupid fortuneteller…”

  “And if I had never retrieved the Dragon’s Tear, twenty-odd years ago, you would not have been in this position,” Eva said, from behind Octavia. “Don’t live with guilt that is not yours. I know how that feels, and it leads nowhere good.”

  “So we’re settled?” Tally asked. “I release Zinan, and then bind him.”

  “No,” Cade said. “What if you can’t bind him? What if he hurts Eva?”

  “We have to try, Cade.” Eva walked over to her son, and put her arm around his shoulders. “I am fed up with waiting. We need to be proactive. This degetty hunting Octavia came to us last night. It was drawn to you, or maybe it sensed Zinan, I’m not sure. But why not see if Zinan can help us. It will make something good out of the wretched thing’s existence on this plane. And then we send him back to the Underworld and be rid of him.”

  “That’s the deal,” Cade said. “We get what we can from him, and then we send him back.”

  “We’re going to need a druid to send him back,” Tally said. “Or the rest of my coven. If they will help me. I’m sure they would be just as pleased if Zinan took me with him to the Underworld.”

  “You don’t mean that, Tally,” Eva said.

  “Yes, I do,” She stirred the potion that had been simmering, neglected, over the fire. “Too young, too weak, too short, too loud. You name it, one of them thinks it’s a reason for me not to be the head of the coven.”

  “The Elementals chose you.”

  Tally looked toward the house. “The rest of the coven think it’s because I’ll be the easiest one for the Elementals to get rid of when my mom gets back to normal.” Tally looked into her small cauldron. “And they are right, if my mom got better tomorrow, I would gladly hand it all over. Whereas the others would put up a fight to remain in control.”

  Eva went to Tally and hugged her. “Once this is over, we are going to figure out what is wrong with your mom.”

  “Good luck with that,” Tally said. “Locke and I have tried everything.”

  “I bet you haven’t tried a druid?” Eva said. “We’ll drag one over to work on unbinding her.”

  “Tried it,” Tally said despondently.

  “Maybe you need a more powerful druid,” Cade said.

  “More powerful than the leader of the Council?” Locke asked, his voice tight.

  “Lucas? He actually tried to help?” Eva asked, shocked.

  “Yes, for old times’ sake,” Tally asked. “Whatever that means.”

  “He was friends with us all once,” Eva said. “At least he has some loyalty to Helena.” Eva rubbed Tally’s back. “I’m sorry it didn’t work.”

  “Me too.” Tally moved away from the cauldron, and looked up at the sky. “When the moon shines on this tonight, it will be ready.” There was barely any hope in Tally’s voice, and it reminded Octavia of going through the motions with her own mom, trying one remedy after another, knowing that there was no use, but not willing to give up.

  “Is there anything I can do to help you, Tally?” Octavia asked, moving toward the young witch, and ignoring the hostile stance Tally took. Did she see Octavia as a threat?

  “No. There’s nothing anyone can do.”

  “Except go home and eat,” Cade said, getting up and breaking the tension between Tally and Octavia.

  “Does that mean the discussion is over?” Tally said.

  “No, Tally, it means I need to think about it,” Cade said.

  “You need to think about it?” Tally asked fiercely. “You don’t rule us.”

  “I’m squad leader,” Cade said. “That makes it my decision.”

  “Just like it makes it your decision whether or not Octavia gets to be turned?” Tally accused.

  “Turned?” Octavia asked, a chill creeping into her bones. “What do you mean turned? Like a vampire?”

  “Like a shifter,” Tally said, as if Octavia was stupid.

  “You can make me a shifter?” Octavia asked, part horrified, part fascinated by the thought.

  “Tally, enough,” Eva said, as Tally opened her mouth to speak.

  Cade moved to stand next to Octavia, his expression pained. “We ca
n talk about it after we get rid of the degetty.”

  “And what if I want to talk about it now?” Octavia asked.

  “Octavia, honey, this is a conversation for you two alone.” Eva gave Cade an apologetic look. “Let’s go eat, and then you two can talk.” Eva rounded on Tally. “And you need to promise me that you will not do anything stupid.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Tally asked.

  “It means I do not want to be scraping your hide off the floor if you release Zinan alone,” Eva said.

  Tally shook her head. “I wouldn’t.”

  “I know you, Tally,” Eva said.

  Tally’s eyes misted up. “Not as well as you think,” Tally said. “Because if you did, you would know I wouldn’t let Zinan out on my own. Because if I can’t bind him, and he gets loose, it puts you in danger. And I would never do that.”

  Eva’s body language softened, and she hugged the teenage girl for a long time. “I’m sorry. I should never have doubted you.” She kissed the top of Tally’s head. “It’s all gotten mixed up. But I promise when it’s done, and it will get done...” She looked across to Cade. “That we will figure out your mom.”

  “Thanks,” Tally said, sounding like a scared teenager, something Octavia could relate to.

  “And I’ll do whatever I can to help too,” Octavia said. “Whether I am a plain human, or a shifter.” She gave Cade a meaningful look, which he chose to ignore, finding something fascinating to look at in the other direction.

  “Thanks, Octavia,” Tally said.

  “Come on, Tally,” Locke said, coming getting up off his tree stump. “We should eat too. I’ll fix you something.”

  “I think Helena is fixing you all lunch,” Eva said. “At least, she was when I left her.”

  “Really?” Tally asked.

  “You don’t sound pleased,” Eva said.

  “Mac and cheese,” Tally said. “If my mom cooks, it will be mac and cheese.”

  “Every time,” Locke agreed.

  “Mac and cheese, no magic needed,” Tally said brightly.

  “Oh, Tally, we had no idea.” She shrugged, and Cade closed in on her and pulled her into a big bear hug. “We’ll fix this.”

  “I don’t know,” Tally said, her voice breaking. “How do we fix something when we don’t know exactly what is broken?”

  “We will find a way,” Eva said, joining the hug.

  Octavia stepped back, leaving them together in this moment. They were family. A family she wanted to be part of. It didn’t take blood to hold a family together; all it needed was love.

  And she had all of her love to give. Because, right now, it belonged with no one. Octavia had never been so aware of the aloneness, which had filled her soul before she came here. Cade’s family and friends were beginning to shine a light into the darkest corners of her soul, and she was going to walk into it, and embrace it.

  Being in Cade’s physical embrace wouldn’t be so bad either. Wouldn’t be so bad at all.

  Chapter Fifteen – Cade

  “And you didn’t think this was something I should know?” Octavia asked as they walked alone with Cade, under the canopy of the trees, the afternoon sun dappling the ground before them.

  “I thought you had enough to think about without adding more,” Cade said honestly. Was he being honest, was that the real reason he hadn’t been completely open about the mating bond? Or was it his way of protecting Octavia? If she couldn’t turn into a bear, she would have to stay back out of harm’s way.

  It killed him every time they went out as a squad, that one of them would get injured, like Roman. Or worse.

  The last words his father had said to him before he went to find his brother, Liam, were, “Look after them. It’s your duty as the eldest, your responsibility to make sure they all come home at night.”

  Kurt had shouldered some of the burden, that was true, but as the leader, the buck, or the degetty, stopped with Cade.

  “Cade, don’t shut me out,” Octavia said.

  He took her hand, static electricity sparking between them as skin made contact with skin. “I don’t want to.” He frowned. “You said you wanted to go back to your old life, when this is over. If I turn you, that is never going to happen. You might go back to your old home, your old job, but that life will never be the same.”

  “I think I know that now.” She reached for his other hand and stood looking at him, while all around them the world went on as normal. Birds sang and searched for food, the breeze rattled the leaves, and clouds moved across the sun. “And I’ve made my choice.”

  His heart hammered in his chest. “You want to stay?”

  “Yes.” She smiled crookedly. “If you’ll have me, of course.”

  “You are all I want … to have,” he added.

  “Kiss me.” She tilted her head back, her lips open in anticipation.

  Cade lowered his head, his lips an inch from hers. “I have nothing much to offer. We make a living off of the furniture we make, but it’s haphazard at best.”

  “I only asked for a kiss.”

  He smiled, and inhaled her scent, which aroused him instantly. This was where he belonged, this was where she belonged. Life in this split second was perfect, there were no Templars, no lost parents, only the two of them and the forest where he belonged.

  “I can give you that.”

  Their lips met and fireworks exploded in his head, setting off a chain reaction in his body. He wrapped his left arm around her waist, and pulled her close, their bodies pressed together. Octavia leaned into him, his body giving her support. He wanted to think his kiss had made her go weak at the knees, but he figured it was more likely shock from everything that had happened in the last few days.

  He moved to pull back, to let her recover, but she put her hands around his neck, and held him close, whispering, “Maybe more than a kiss.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want you to do something you might regret,” Cade said.

  “I won’t regret a thing,” Octavia said. She slid her hand down between their bodies and stroked his hardness. Cade groaned against her mouth, wanting to devour her. His bear roared inside his head: she was his, he had every right to take her, to turn her.

  No one gets turned today, Cade said, and he meant it, but he was not prepared for the strength of emotions she unleashed in him.

  As they kissed, he moved her toward a thicket of trees. Using his body to shield her, and ignoring the sharp branches that tore at him, he took them deep inside the trees, where no one could see them. There, he intended to make love to her.

  “Are you sure?” he asked once more.

  “Never been surer,” Octavia replied, and her hands set to work undoing his belt, and then the buttons of his jeans, so she could reach inside and squeeze his cock.

  He nearly came right there in her hand. It shocked him how little control he had when Octavia was close by. This was why it was better if he didn’t turn her. Cade knew that in the heat of a battle, he would be too worried about Octavia to be able to focus properly. And that’s when people got hurt.

  “Let it go,” she whispered in his ear, her breath caressing his neck, sending shivers of desire through him.

  Cade stared into her eyes, they were so clear, so honest, so innocent of what was to come, and he longed for her to stay that way. But she was right: she was part of this, because she was his.

  Claiming her became his new obsession.

  Fumbling with the hem of her borrowed T-shirt, he lifted it up over her head, revealing the same lacy bra she had worn under her tight dress. It might have withstood a degetty attack, but it was no barrier to his eager hands. Unclasped, it fell to the forest floor, and her pants soon followed.

  “No fair,” she said. She didn’t try to cover her body, which had curves in all the right places, from her voluptuous breasts, down to her curvy hips, and her round thighs. Octavia was comfortable in her own skin, and he marveled at the way she responded to him as he reached o
ut and touched her breasts, her nipples hardening.

  “I don’t play fair, I play to win,” he said, and lowered his head to graze the taut buds with his teeth, before sucking one inside his mouth.

  “No rules, I like it.” She curled her hand around his cock and began to torture him in earnest. Up and down, the palm of her hand covering the head of his cock, then she slid down the length of his shaft before repeating the same movement.

  “Fuck,” he ground out, when she cupped his balls in her hand and fondled them. It was his turn to feel weak at the knees. He was also incredibly close to coming.

  “Whenever you are ready,” she whispered against his ear, her teeth nipping the soft flesh of his earlobe, driving him insane.

  Cade broke away from her, lifting her off her feet, and, after quickly appraising the forest floor, laid her down in the soft leaf litter before covering her body with his. He kissed her neck, his hand stroking her breasts as he slid between her thighs.

  She moved, opening her thighs wider for him, as he adjusted his weight, and then guided himself inside her. Octavia gasped, her back arching as he filled her with his cock. Deeper he pushed, closing his eyes as the sensations built up inside him, until he thought he would lose control. Cade slowed, lying still, inside his mate, allowing his arousal to lose its peak. He wanted this to last, he wanted to make love to her, slowly, not jerk into her immediately.

  What kind of a lover would she think he was if he came prematurely?

  “Relax,” Octavia said, her fingers trailing across his chest.

  “I don’t think I can. Not at a time like this,” he said hoarsely.

  “It doesn’t have to be perfect,” she said. “There is always next time, or the time after that…”

  “First impressions count,” he said.

  She lifted her head off the ground; leaves littered her hair. Placing her hand on his cheek, she leaned forward and kissed his lips softly, sensually. “I already have an impression of you. And it’s not formed on your prowess in the bedroom.”

  He looked down into her eyes, and wanted to lose himself in them. “I wanted this to be perfect, because nothing else has been, and I can’t promise the future will be either.”