by V. Vaughn
Loved by the Bear - Part 3
V. Vaughn
Copyright © 2018 by V. Vaughn
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover by Ravven
Editing by Jodi Henley and Angie Ramey
Contents
About This Book
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
More from V. Vaughn
About the Author
About This Book
Called by the Bear – The Next Generation
Part 3
by V. Vaughn
Josie discovers her connection to Max is the in she needs to infiltrate the Le Roux clan, but in her excitement she lets her guard down and Madison gets a glimpse of who Josie really is.
When Max arrives at the Le Roux house from his cross country-trip he expects Audrey to be happy to see him. But Audrey’s visions showed her what he did with Josie, and he learns just how powerful and dangerous Audrey’s magic and alpha are.
One
Audrey
The kitchen of the Le Roux house is bustling with activity. The scent of bacon is in the air as Everett places it on a platter, and I lick sweet maple syrup off my finger before I put the pitcher on the table. My dad is cooking eggs and Mom just pulled her famous bear claws from the oven. I watch as she extends her claws and pokes one in a pastry to move it to a plate without burning her fingers, and I recall being a child and wishing for the day when I could shift and do the same.
The waffle maker beeps and I pull two more waffles off it to finish off the stack I'm making when my grandmother walks in. "Donna," I say as I hug her tight. While I usually call her Grammy, she insists I use her real name at the clan business breakfast meetings. I guess she doesn't want to be discounted in any way when it comes to the decisions we make.
"Audrey, dear." She winks at me. "Sierra tells me you spent a year catting around."
My jaw drops, although you'd think I'd be used to it since everyone's sex life is a constant source of entertainment for my grandmother. "I refuse to discuss that with you."
"Pity.” She reaches around me for a waffle. “It's all I've got these days. Sure you won't reconsider?"
I laugh as I shake my head at her. "I'm so not going there with you. But I hear Everett was busy last year too."
"Can't help animal magnetism," he says as he bumps into me on his way to the table with food.
Grammy sighs. "Yesterday's news. We've already dissected his sex life. Bor-ring. That boy needs to find his true mate."
I laugh while Everett closes his eyes and groans as if he's in pain.
I lean in to kiss Donna on the cheek and whisper, "I've missed you, Grammy."
"I missed you too, Audrey. I'm so glad you're back."
I turn to welcome Kimi and Elise as they enter the kitchen too. They both are familiar enough with my family to let themselves in, and I notice Kimi's eyes light up when she sees Mom's bear claws. My mother says, "Everyone, have a seat, and let's get down to business."
She places a large teapot by Kimi when the older woman sits down across from Grammy. The two women will share Kimi's medicinal blend that supposedly helps them with the symptoms of old age. Elise gets herself a cup of coffee before joining us. As we all pass dishes around to load up our plates, Dad says, "Audrey, why don't you go first and tell us what happened last night."
"Sure." I give Everett a smirk. I've already shared my news with him, but I can't help taking the moment to gloat further. "First I want you all to know that my magic is so powerful I uprooted about thirty trees last night and placed them in a neat pile to be cut."
Kimi and Elise smile with pride, and I puff my chest out with the same feeling as my bear preens herself. I imagine being the topic of their next witchy gossip session and know they’ll be talking about me for years. My brother is not as impressed, and Everett shoves bacon in his mouth as if it's not a big deal.
"But what is really important," I say, "is that we now have proof Connell is definitely alive." Everyone knew this information already, but I can't help milking my moment a bit as I make eye contact with each person at the table.
Dad clears his throat, which I take as an indication he'd like me to get to the best part and stop bragging. "What Elise, Kimi, and I think is that he's not anywhere the warriors can find him."
"What makes you think that?" asks Donna.
"When I spoke to him, he was dazed, and our connection cut in and out. It was like he was a projection or a dream. Or—"
I pause to keep Donna in suspense, but Everett's not having any of it and blurts out, "They think he's in the otherworld or some mystical place we can't get to with traditional means."
"Black magic?" asks Donna.
"Maybe," says Elise. "While we were there, I got the sense we were being watched but not necessarily by something evil."
"Or whoever put him in that state wanted you to think so," says Mom.
"Exactly," says Dad. "They could be trying to throw us off by making us believe Connell is fine and it's only a warning."
"Safekeeping," says Kimi. "Connell has strong magic. Maybe he put himself there so he couldn't be manipulated."
My brother spent the last decade coming to terms with the fact he's not an alpha, and I thought he'd finally found his place by taking over the management of Mom and Sierra's tattoo parlor. It seems odd he'd sacrifice himself like this without letting anyone know. "Do you really think so?" I ask.
Elise shakes her head. "I didn't get the sense he was there voluntarily, did you?" she asks me.
"No. He was out of it and seemed receptive to me finding a way to rescue him."
"Right," says Elise. "I believe he was forced to go to the otherworld."
Kimi makes a dismissive noise which tells us she's not ready to discard the idea Connell is protecting himself.
Everett reaches for the bacon. "So how do we get him back?"
Everyone looks at Kimi and Elise. Elise says, "We're not sure." Dad lets out a low growl, and Elise holds up her hand. "We have a lot of ideas, but if we're dealing with black magic, which is very likely, then it's tricky. If we move too quickly without a plan, we could lose a lot more than Connell."
Kimi stares at me. "Audrey is the key. But she will break if we use her on the wrong lock."
Damn right I am. I smirk at Everett.
Donna reaches across me to get to the plate of bear claws, making me lean back. "Well, that's frustrating as all get out," she says. "What do you propose we do?"
Elise says, "Connell said he has what he needs to survive, so we have time. Whoever has him wants him alive."
Now it's my mother who growls. "Every minute he's trapped is one too long."
Donna reaches over to put her hand on Mom's arm in silent solidarity. Everett says, "I agree." He looks at me. "I don't know why Audrey isn't working on this with Elise and Kimi until we get him back."
I bristle at his insinuation I'm not doing anything, and a low rumble forms in my chest as my bear prickles with anger. Everett glares at me as his bear flashes in his eyes, ready to rumble. I open my jaw and flash my bear teeth at him before Dad pounds his fist on the table and alpha orders, "That's enough!"
Everett and I both take deep breaths to blow out slowly as we each tamp our bear down. Thi
s is normal behavior for us, and while I always lose, I'm always down for shifting and having it out in a good old-fashioned bear brawl. But this time I glare at Everett with the knowledge that my new magic means I’d have won. He gives me a fierce look that isn’t brotherly love either. In fact, it would scare the average bear in our clan. A chill runs down my spine because we’ve never gone this far before.
Once we're both calm, Dad says, "Kimi and Elise are the lead on this." He looks at them. "You two will report directly to me." Then he looks my way. "And Audrey will do whatever our clan witches think is best."
Kimi says, "She should answer the door." She smiles slowly as the faint sound of a car coming up the driveway is detected by all the super-sensitive bear ears in the kitchen. Since she and Elise are human, it had to have been Kimi's sixth sense that tipped her off, and she loves to show us her powers whenever she gets a chance. It's a wonder we get anything done at these breakfast meetings because everyone in the room has an ego the size of the Atlantic Ocean. My father raises an eyebrow at me, and I reluctantly get up to go find out who's about to arrive.
I walk through the great room to get to the front door and open it up to wait. After a few seconds a vehicle comes into view, and I immediately recognize it as my Hummer, which someone had to have driven here all the way from California. What the— Oh my god. Could it be my true mate? Jealousy flares in me as I recall the vision I had of him kissing another woman, and I inhale through my nose to keep my anger at bay. He's human. He doesn't know. But even though I'm telling myself that, what he did is still pretty slimy of him, and my fists clench as I control my bear.
As the truck gets closer, I see it is definitely my sexy stranger, and when he pulls up to park, he smiles. Clearly, he has no clue what I know. The door of my Hummer lets out the familiar groan of old age as he opens it and gets out.
"Audrey," he says as he approaches me.
But it's not his voice that stokes my heart like my recently returning love. It's his scent I notice first. And it makes my bear want to break free and tear him to shreds. He's a werebear.
Two
Madison
Considering the amount of chocolate, sugar and coffee I consumed at the Pancake Place a few hours ago, I'm surprised I managed to get any sleep. I wake up to find Josie rummaging around in her closet. I sit up and dangle my legs off my bunk. "Did you sleep?" I ask. Then I recall the way she slammed the hot guy at the restaurant up against the wall so she could kiss him. "Or did you spend the rest of your night stalking Max online?"
"Bingo on the second one." She squats down on the floor in a pair of shorts and a sports bra. Her arm muscles flex as she ties her sneakers. "But I can't find him. I need your internet skills."
I wiggle my fingers in the air. "What would you do without me?"
She rolls her eyes. "We've got nothing to go on besides a first name and that he drives an ancient Hummer with Maine plates."
"Wrong," I say as she extends her legs out and grabs her toes to lean over and stretch. "We've got social media and the power of extrapolation."
"Huh?"
"We're assuming he goes here. Yes?" I hop down from my bunk, and the tile floor is cold on my feet when I walk over to my phone. "So we search social media sites to find UMO students. Then we search their friends for all guys named Max. We'll find him." I plop down in a bean bag chair.
"If he wants to be found." My roommate stand ups and grabs a brush to pull her hair back.
"Trust me, Josie. He followed you to the bathroom." I click on a social media icon. "Guys like Max want to be found. And he definitely wants to be found by you."
She frowns. "I'm not so sure about that. He did run from me."
"Well," I chuckle as I recall the way Josie kissed him. I could hear the thud of his back against the wall all the way across the restaurant. "You were a bit assertive."
Josie’s laugh comes easily. "I go after what I want."
"Yeah. Maybe the next time you see him you wait for him to kiss you first."
"I'll take that under advisement." She puts ear buds in her ears. "I'm off on my run."
After Josie leaves, I do a search for the University of Maine at Orono in profiles and get to work. It's a tedious process, and an hour later I've gotten nowhere. My nail clicks on the phone screen as I pull up Trent and finally allow myself to search his friend list. The moment I see his smiling face my heart warms, and I let out a sigh. I swore I'd give myself twenty-four hours to be sure of what I want, but right now I can't believe I've managed to keep from contacting him for so long. I follow him, heart his profile picture and then tap on the message icon. I give him my number and ask him to text me. Then I get up to figure out if I want to go to attempt the gym or take a shower instead.
Before I decide, my phone dings with a text, and my heart stops as I look with the hope it's Trent. It is, and I let out a little squeal when I read he wants to meet for coffee. I reply to meet me at a campus coffee shop so we can get our drinks to go and walk somewhere private to talk. He agrees.
I twirl around my room with glee as I think about how quickly my life has changed for the better. After my mother died, I wasn't sure I could be happy again and coming here to find my father seemed like my last hope. Only he's not. I have a true mate! And as crazy as it sounds and as weird as the concept of werebear seems to me, I am thrilled about it all.
I manage to get dressed in a t-shirt and jeans before I make my way to the center of campus. When I get there, Trent is already waiting. Any plans of being cool and controlled fly out the window the moment I see him. I rush over and practically throw myself into his arms. He lifts me up over his head with the same joy before setting me down and kissing me.
When we stop kissing, I gaze up at him. "I think you know where I stand now."
He smiles. "I do. But there are things we still need to talk about."
I nod. "Let's get coffee."
As we stand in line, Trent holds my hand and I take the opportunity to ask him about Max for Josie. "Do you know anyone named Max? He'd be," I pause, sure I can't say the word werebear in public, "big like you."
Trent frowns and a low rumble comes from his chest that I think is the beginning of a growl. It hits me why. "I'm not asking for me!" I place my hand on his chest and move in close as I roll my eyes at him.
"Then why do you want to know?"
"It's for—" I realize telling him Josie is half werebear here is not a good idea. "I'll tell you later." I frown, recalling the way Max rushed out of the restaurant as if Josie were the devil, and I think it has to do with the fact she's not a full-fledged werebear. I gaze up at Trent. "How are you okay with our differences? Wasn't it kind of weird for you?"
"I was shocked at first, sure." Trent leans in close to nuzzle my neck. "But it took me about zero seconds to get over it."
I giggle and push him away. "It was my shirt."
He lets out a groan. "You're killing me here, darling. We're in public."
My cheeks flush bright red when I get what he means just in time for the barista to ask me what I want. I go with my standby since I can't think of anything else. "Peppermint mocha."
Trent gets a double shot latte and two scones for us, and when our order is ready we head outside to find a bench away from people. The scent of fresh cut grass is in the air, and a lawnmower whines in the background as we sit under a tree for shade from the warm morning sun.
I say, "Josie told me last night she's half werebear too." Trent raises his eyebrows in surprise. "That's why I was asking about a guy named Max. Last night Josie and I went out to breakfast, and she met him at the Pancake Place. They really hit it off, but now we don't know where to find him."
"I can't think of any of us named Max offhand. Do you want me to ask around?"
"Would you? Because Josie thinks he's the one."
Trent laughs. "Then you don't need my help. He won't be able to sleep until he finds her again."
I smile back, but I can't get the way Max ran off
out of my mind. He was not happy about meeting Josie. I sip on my drink to find it's still too hot, and Trent says, "Let me tell you a little about what it’s like to belong to a werebear clan." He smiles. "It's a lot like being in a big family with cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends who always seem to filter in and out of your life. There are so many of them you're not sure who you're related to, but it doesn't matter because each and every person would drop whatever they're doing to fight for you."
"Fight?"
He nods. "It doesn't happen often, and we have warriors who deal with most of it, but every werebear learns to fight."
"Will I have to learn?"
"You will. But don't worry. It's very likely you'll never have to lay a hand on anyone." He chuckles. "Well. You may need to smack me around from time to time."
"Trent! I will do no such thing. And—"
He laughs and bumps my shoulder with his. "And I would never lay a hand on you. Ever. We aren't cavemen."
"I know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply you are."
"It's okay. Valid actually, because we do have some ways that will seem primitive to you. And hopefully you'll learn to see them as recognizing our bear." He frowns and breaks off a piece of scone to hold out for me to bite. As I chew on the sweet treat, he says, "I know you want to be with me, but what do you think about the forever part? The part where you become like me."
I swallow my food and give myself one more chance to back out. I don't like primitive. I wash my hands every chance I get. Josie laughs at my box of sanitary wipes and the fact I take one to the bathroom to clean the door handle every morning. I gaze into the eyes of my true mate and am filled with so much love it's got to be oozing out my pores. I realize nothing else matters. My heart wouldn't let me stay away from Trent if I tried. His fingers are almost hot when I thread mine through them. "I want it all. I still need to understand what that entails, but if you can assure me I'll live through the process, then I want to be like you."
