Bear Meets Girl

by Catherine Vale

  The vampire puffed out his chest. “That would be me, Vincent Ocampo.” He glanced around at the other vampires as they glared at him. “Well, in a way, anyway. This is more of a democracy than a coterie. We’re all vampires who were fed up with the dictatorship of the coteries we came from, and so we banded together to form our own group. We look out for each other, and don’t take kindly to threats from outsiders, even if they are wearing a shield.” He gave her a gimlet stare.

  Well that explains a lot. “So you guys are a brand new Coterie, then?”

  Vincent clenched his jaw. “We prefer democracy, thank you very much.”

  Angela would have laughed at the absurdity of it all if it weren’t for the fact that she was outnumbered. “And are you a democracy of rebels, then?”

  Vincent crossed his arms. “Most of us are happy to live under the current law just as it is.”

  So in other words, you’re not outright willing to name Dimitri. “Alright.” She unclipped a pair of spare cuffs. “I’m afraid I’m not quite prepared to interview an entire democracy of vampires tonight,” she said. “Either you will need to leave the room, or Mr. Devine will need to come back to the precinct so I can finish questioning him.” She eyed Millicent. “And I think we’ll need to take her too.”

  “You’ll never take me alive!” Millicent shrieked, throwing herself in front of Dimitri. “We’ll never give up our secrets to you! Long live the Rebellion!”

  She launched herself at Angela, moving at superhuman speed, but Angela was already prepared for the assault. Moving faster than Millicent, she snatched one of the vials of holy water from her boot and smashed it in Millicent’s face. The vampiress howled in pain and rage, clawing at her face as she fell back.

  Dimitri caught her, his face twisted with anger and horror. “You monster!” he cried, his own eyes flashing red.

  “Kill them!” Vincent roared, and the vampires charged them.

  Angela immediately shifted into bear form, knowing that her thick hide would better enable her to protect herself from vampire bites. She grabbed the first vampire who reached her – a skinny little thing dressed in yoga pants and a sports bra, no doubt in the middle of a workout from earlier – and gathered her up close enough to sink her fangs into the vamp’s neck. Another vampire bit down on her leg, drawing blood, but she didn’t let go, making sure to sever the vamp’s neck before turning to handle the other one chewing on her hamstring.

  Cole was a little less messy in his approach. He lit balls of fire in both palms and started hurling them at the vampires who got too close. They started screaming the moment the flame contacted their skin, their entire bodies instantly going up into flames. One of them staggered back into a wall, and the wall paper caught fire.

  “Retreat!” one of the female vampires shrieked. “We have to retreat!”

  “Where?” Vincent roared. “It’s daylight outside!”

  Angela took advantage of the vampire’s momentary distraction and gathered him up in a crushing bear hug. He struggled mightily against her, but she was older and stronger, and would have given out if it weren’t for the fact that he didn’t need to breathe. Every single vampire in the room stopped moving instantly.

  Cole stepped into Vincent’s line of sight. “Give me Dimitri, and the rest of you are free to go. We don’t want any trouble. We just need answers.”

  “T-take him…” Vincent gasped, his face taut with a combination of anger and fear. “Take him… and get him out of my sight!”

  Chapter Eight

  “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you for taking Millicent from me! For being filthy loyalists! For betraying your own kind! The Rebellion will burn everything down to the ground so that those who deserve it can have freedom again!”

  Angela sighed as she and Cole walked out of the precinct. Dimitri’s words still echoed in her ears, full of strife and passion, forever memorialized on the computers that recorded his interview when she and the Captain had sat down to interrogate him. As she suspected, he and his dead girlfriend had been rebels, or at least held the same ideals as rebels. They’d never been in any active rebel groups before, but had jumped at the chance to help the Black Moon Clan kidnap the Commander’s daughter, which is how they’d ended up being involved in this mess.

  “It looks like this rebellion could be bigger than we thought,” she said to Cole as they climbed into his car again so they could go pick up some dinner. “From what little we managed to get out of Dimitri, it sounds like my brother’s Clan may have support from other supernaturals.”

  Cole snorted. “ ‘Backing’ is the term you’re looking for, sweetheart. I’m sure there are larger groups of rebels who are supporting your brother’s quest for madness and revenge.”

  Angela slanted Cole a narrow look. “Sounds like you know more than you’re saying.”

  Cole shrugged as he started up the Camaro. “I’ve heard some rumors here and there over the years of a larger rebel group orchestrating things in the background. It’s entirely possible your brother and his clan were recently recruited, and that this stunt they’re pulling is a test, to prove their worth.” He backed out of the parking lot and merged smoothly into traffic. “But I don’t have anything concrete, so there’s no point in messing around with speculation.”

  “Hmm.” Angela frowned. “Don’t you have any resources though? People you could ask, who you could get more information out of?”

  “It’s possible.” He slanted her a look. “But really, isn’t there a resource you should be taking us to right now?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Cole pulled into a restaurant parking lot and eased his car up to join the queue in the drive-thru. “You’re a shifter. We’re looking for a shifter clan. Of the two of us, you should be able to gather better Intel than I on where your brother is located.”

  Angela bit her lip. “I’ve been thinking of that.” She sighed. “I didn’t really want to do this… but we may have to go and visit my father.”

  Cole actually paled a little. “Visit? As in, meet in person? Why can’t we just call him over the phone?”

  Angela snorted. “Asking my father to give up my brother’s location is not the kind of favor you ask for over the phone.”

  “Email, then?”

  She looked at him incredulously. “Are you actually afraid of meeting my father?”

  Cole was spared from answering that question as they rolled up to the drive-thru speaker. They both ordered a mountain’s worth of burgers, and then headed back to Angela’s apartment to polish them off – if there were any left by the time they got there. They’d spent most of the afternoon tied up, between getting grilled by the Captain and having to fill out a mountain of paperwork – all perfectly normal occurrences when a house call turned into a vampire killing, or in this case several vampire killings – so the sun was setting over the bay now, streaking the sky gold and orange and deep pink.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” Angela groused around a mouthful of juicy hamburger. She tried to glare at Cole, but the effect was somewhat lost by the grease dribbling down her chin, so she swiped hastily for a napkin and wiped at her face. “Are you afraid of meeting my father?”

  “I didn’t think we were at the ‘meet the parents’ stage of our relationship.”

  Angela rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. Besides, it’s not like I’d be able to meet your parents anyway. Or would I?” she frowned, remembering that he was over two thousand years old.

  Cole’s face tightened, and she felt a stab of guilt for even bringing it up. But after a moment his expression smoothed, and he simply shrugged. “My mother, no. She’s been dead at least fifteen hundred years, so far as I know. As for my father, I suppose it’s theoretically possible, but I don’t know who he is and I’ve never met him. Judging by the powers I’ve inherited he must have been a high-level mage, but that doesn’t mean he’s still alive. And I doubt it would end well for me if I attempted to connect with him even if I did
find him.” He clenched his jaw.

  Angela reached for his hand, her heard aching with a combination of guilt and sadness. “I’m sorry.”

  He didn’t look at her, but his facial expression relaxed again, and he resumed eating his burger. They drove the rest of the way in silence, holding hands, because Angela really didn’t know what else to say to him. What had happened to him was a tragedy, and she couldn’t blame him of being wary to trust. If she were him, she’d be terrified of having to go anywhere near her father, because she had a feeling that out of respect for her, he wouldn’t defend himself at full strength against her father if things went ugly.

  Well I’ll just have to make sure that things don’t get ugly, she decided, setting her own jaw in determination. She would not let anything happen to Cole, not while he was under her care. Because she did consider him to be her responsibility, as even though he might be physically stronger and more skilled than her, he was emotionally damaged and in need of healing.

  As if you’re the best woman for that job, an inner voice snorted.

  Maybe not, but she was the only one around willing, and she would do her damnedest to help Cole understand that he was worthy of affection, even if they did end up parting in the end.

  Cole didn’t speak until they were back up at her apartment, sitting in her living room and polishing off the rest of the burgers. “Look,” he said, swallowing a bite of double bacon cheeseburger, “The fact that I’m uncomfortable with the idea of having to meet with your father under these circumstances doesn’t change the fact that he’s the best chance we’ve got at rescuing Raina. I’ve reached out to some of my contacts for more info, but since we’re running out of time I really can’t afford to be picky.”

  “Thank you.” Angela grabbed his face and pulled him in for a long, heartfelt kiss before he had a chance to react. “I know how hard something like this has to be for you, and I appreciate you putting aside your feelings for me.”

  “Bah.” He turned his face away, but she caught the blush staining his cheeks, and grinned. “You’re making me sound like some kind of needy, emotional woman.”

  “You don’t have to be a woman to be needy or emotional,” she teased, tweaking his nose. The smile faded from her lips as he turned back to her, catching her up in his violet eyes. “To be clear though, expressing your emotions doesn’t make you needy. It just makes you mortal. You know, like the rest of us.”

  He quirked his lips. “I’m over two thousand years old. I think that makes me a little different then rest of you.”

  “If that’s your way of trying to scare me off, you can think again, old geezer.” She climbed into his lap and kissed him again, leaning him back against the love seat. Her fingers pulled hastily at the buttons on his shirt, opening it up so she could run her hands up and down the hardened muscles of his chest.”

  “Jesus,” he gasped when she tweaked his nipples. “Can’t we take this out of the living room? I’d really like to do this on a bed this time.” He sprang to his feet before she could answer, and she squealed, wrapping her arms and legs tightly around him as he walked to the bedroom.

  “Well aren’t you bossy,” she teased as he laid her down amongst the messy sheets of her unmade bed.

  “My personnel report says I have a take-charge attitude,” he chuckled, as he unzipped her jacket, and opened it.

  “I believe it,” she murmured, sitting up so he could help her out of her jacket. His fingers immediately went to the hem of her shirt, and he pulled it over her head, and tossed it aside.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he replied, ignoring her sarcasm. “Even when you sleep. Now, relax,” he said, laughing as he pushed her back down on the bed. “This is going to take all night.”

  “Oh, yeah?” She began to relax, and then stiffened again as another thought occurred to her. “Wait. What do you mean…even when I’m asleep?”

  He paused, in the middle of kissing his way up her abdomen. “I might have come in here last night.”

  “And why exactly would you be snooping around in my room, late at night?”

  He flushed guiltily. “I heard you crying earlier, and I wanted to check on you. I felt bad, but I just didn’t know what to say, and I didn’t want to disturb you when I saw you were finally asleep, so… I just left.”

  Part of her wanted to be annoyed, and another part of her wanted to be afraid that the man on top of her could sneak into her room without disturbing her even though she prided herself on being a light sleeper. But the vulnerable look on his face tugged at her heartstrings, and she couldn’t help feeling a little better about the fact that he had been so remorseful that night.

  “I guess I can forgive you for snooping around,” she said, running a hand through her curls. “But only if you make it up to me. Right now.”

  He grinned. “I think we can work something out,” he said, tugging off her jeans, and panties in one swift motion. Before she knew what was happening, he’d buried his face between her legs and started licking her pussy.

  “Cole!” she gasped as he flicked her clit with his tongue. A low groan echoed from her throat as her hips rocked involuntarily against his mouth, pressing herself more firmly against him. The tension building inside her spiked even further when he slid two fingers inside her and began massaging her g-spot.

  “God yes,” she groaned, rubbing herself shamelessly against him now. He locked gazes with her as he continued to please her, the look in his violet eyes so hot and intense that she came right then and there.

  “Jesus,” she panted when he sat back, licking his lips like a cat who’d just thoroughly enjoyed his bowl of cream. “That was incredible.”

  “Good.” He grinned at her, then pulled her against him for a long kiss. The taste of her pussy on his tongue was incredibly erotic, and she grew wet all over again. She heard a clink as he undid his belt buckle, and then in the next second he pulled her on top of him, spearing her with the hard, thick length of him.

  “Oh yes, baby,” he groaned, his entire body going rigid.

  Angela looked down at his face, worried that she’d hurt him somehow, but the rapture tightening his face assured her otherwise. Smiling, she braced her hands on his broad shoulders and began to move up and down, slowly working his shaft. His eyes began to glow that unearthly blue again, that gorgeous color that told her he was on the verge of losing it. But rather than coming, he lifted her shirt and ducked his head down, taking one of her nipples in his mouth.

  “Oh!” She came instantly, as he bit down on her nipple, the waves of pleasure taking her by surprise. His shouts told her that he was right behind her, and when she collapsed against him, leaning her sweaty cheek on his shoulder, a satisfied smile curled her lips.

  “Well, I’m glad we got that out of our system.” Leaning back, she squeezed his bicep, and then kissed him. “You’re sure to be in a better mood now when we go to talk to my father.”

  He groaned.

  Chapter Nine

  Three hours later, Cole was easing his Camaro along a dirt road winding up a hill in Big Sur. “You didn’t tell me your father lived out in the middle of nowhere,” he said irritably, downshifting.

  “Yeah, well we’re a bit more of a rural clan,” Angela said, leaning back in her seat and looking not at all concerned about the fact that they were driving up a dirt road with no rail guard at all to keep them from falling straight over the side if something were to happen like, say, an earthquake. “Dad likes the freedom of being able to run around in his bear form, as do most of the others. He has a pretty live-and-let-live philosophy.”

  “I see.” Cole frowned as he tried to imagine what that must have been like. “I have to admit I haven’t spent too much time in my bear form.”

  “Really? How come?”

  “After I was unceremoniously thrown out of my mother’s clan, it was dangerous to walk around as a bear shifter,” he said darkly. “Most lower level mages, at a glance, can’t tell that I’m different from them, so
it was easier for me to blend in with them. I honestly can’t even remember the last time I shifted.”

  “Well that explains a lot.”

  Cole glanced sideways at her. “What do you mean?”

  She shrugged. “Usually when shifters get angry or emotional their eyes turn orange and their fangs and claws come out. But with you, your eyes just turn that crazy amazing blue.” She squeezed his forearm gently. “If it weren’t for my nose, I’m not sure I could tell that you were a shifter either.”

  They pulled up to a huge log cabin-style house, which rose three stories high at the top of the hill to look over the waves of the Pacific Ocean, as they crashed up against the shore. Even at night the view was breathtaking, with the crescent moon shimmering brightly, gilding the ocean with its silvery light. Warm yellow light spilled out from the open windows of the cabin, illuminating the yard with its patio chairs and large stone fire pit, around which several people were already gathered, roasting marshmallows and talking amongst themselves. They all stood from their chairs as he stopped the car in front of them, instinctively pushing their children behind them, and Cole immediately picked out a tall, broad shouldered man with russet hair and handsome features similar to Angela’s as the clan Chieftain, and Angela’s father.

  “I’ll wait here,” he said quietly.

  “That’s probably for the best,” she said, nodding. “You can turn off the car, you know,” she added as she opened the door.

  I’d rather not, Cole thought as she shut the door behind her. Her assurances didn’t overrule centuries of hard-won experience and instinct, which told him to be on guard and ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Biting back a sigh, he watched as she ran up to her father and embraced him. Immediately the rest of the clan members relaxed, all gathering close to welcome their Chieftain’s daughter, though admittedly some of their expressions were reserved. He supposed that was the price she had to pay for choosing to serve the Order rather than staying by her father’s side.