by Leela Ash
“But that’s what began the first war,” Jonah growled. “We can’t let that happen again.”
“Well, it’s already happening, brother. We just have to find a way to stop it.”
“Right. We need to get in touch with Gregors. I’m sure he’ll know what to do.”
Nichols nodded, and the men continued on their way, leaving the corpse of the dead bear shifter behind them.
With possession of the stone and a mine leading to the sacred site, the bears were probably close to building a super army that would easily wipe out the entire city of Stonybrooke and the innocent people, both wolf shifter and human, living there.
“We can’t let the bears get away with this,” Jonah said, finally reaching his truck.
“Yeah,” Nichols said, shaking his head as they climbed into the vehicle they had been assigned to.
“Brace yourself, Nichols,” Jonah said, turning the engine. “This is going to get dangerous.”
After all, Jonah thought, he couldn’t think of anything scarier than going home.
***
“Sit down, Lucas,” Lieutenant Gregors commanded.
Jonah sat, bracing himself for the details of the next mission. Nichols had just been discharged from the medic’s tent, and Gregors hadn’t been happy to hear about the possibility of mines infiltrating Stonybrooke. Especially, with the Serah stone missing. Jonah had the unpleasant feeling that he was right about the bears attempting to create an army of hyper-strong shifters, and it was obvious this was the same conclusion his commanding officer had drawn as well.
“Phone your family. Let them know you’re coming down for a visit. A month. Maybe two. I’m going to have Cameron Nichols do the same. We will have the rest of the troops stationed in the Stonybrooke Inn. But nobody is to know about this. If anybody finds out, it could incite a panic and get in the way of completing the mission successfully. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Jonah said. He hadn’t been home in three years. The idea of finally getting a chance to see his family gave him mixed feelings. Jonah wasn’t the emotional type. His sister Betsy, however, was. And after the death of their parents, he had been restless and unable to feel at home anywhere, while Betsy had needed the stability of an emotionally connected family unit. When he’d left with the SEALs, it had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done, just because of the lost look on her face as she saw him off. He had abandoned her, possibly when she needed him the most.
But the offer to join the SEALs wasn’t something that would last forever. If he had turned it down, who knew what kind of menial jobs he would be doing right now? At least, this way, he could protect Stonybrooke from the same threat that had killed his parents.
“You will leave first thing in the morning, so be ready. Make sure the other men are ready as well. You’ll all be going at the same time.”
“Yes, sir.”
Gregors gave him a quick nod and dismissed him, and Jonah returned to his bunk, his chest tight. He had to call his sister. It would be about 5:00 in the evening in Stonybrooke if he called her now. It would certainly be surprising. Hopefully, Betsy was up to that kind of a surprise right now.
With a deep breath, Jonah dialed the number that he’d had memorized since he was in kindergarten; the number to his parents’ homestead. The place that was now full of ghosts rather than pleasant memories.
“Hello?” Betsy’s cautious voice answered, making Jonah’s breath catch in his throat. She sounded so much older now.
“Betsy, it’s me. Jonah.”
The line was silent for a moment as Betsy let the news sink in.
“Jonah? Really?”
“Yeah, sis,” Jonah said. “Have you been getting my letters?”
“Well, yeah,” Betsy stammered. “But…”
“I know, there’s never really a place to send any back. I’m sorry about that. I’m part of the SEALs, you know. Super-secret, right?”
“Well, I guess so,” Betsy said, finally seeming to collect herself. “How are you?”
“I’m good. Actually, I’m great. They’re letting me come for a visit back home.”
“Seriously?” Betsy asked, the excitement in her voice unmistakable. “You’re coming home?”
“I am,” Jonah said, pleased to hear the happiness in his sister’s voice. He felt terrible about leaving her the way he had. But family had been something that was too hard for him to think about. He’d put himself first and had never been more glad he had. It had made a man out of him.
“That’s great! When?”
“Tomorrow, actually. I’m leaving first thing.”
“Oh my…!” Betsy was beside herself with joy and Jonah couldn’t help but smile. It would be good to see her again. He’d had enough time at that point to adjust to the loss of his parents. Nothing had been the same after that fateful night, and home had only left him feeling empty.
Still, it was the one familiar thing in his life; his bedrock. Knowing that Betsy was still there, taking care of things and keeping them just the way his mother had, was just one more thing to give him comfort on his long, dangerous missions. Every day he had to risk his life, and every day he realized more and more just how valuable Stonybrooke was to him. He did it all for Stonybrooke and its people. For Betsy.
“Well, anyway Bets, I’m just letting you know that you can probably set an extra place at the table for me tomorrow,” Jonah said, trying to get the image of his sister, loyally keeping up with the huge house, living all by herself in the big place for so long, out of his head. “Or not, you know. I don’t mean you have to cook for me. I know I don’t exactly deserve it… I could pick up pizza or something on the way home.”
Betsy laughed dismissively. “Hell no. I’m going to make you something special. Home-cooked. Mom’s recipe.”
Jonah’s heart panged painfully, but he surprised himself by smiling. Nothing in the universe sounded better to him in that moment than being at home, eating the familiar foods of his youth.
“That sounds amazing,” he said. And then, reluctantly, “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” Betsy said. “But that’s going to change tomorrow! I’m going to get your bedroom all fixed up for you. I should go. There’s a lot to do now!”
“Don’t make a fuss over me,” Jonah said, feeling guiltier than ever that his sister was going to go out of her way for him. He knew he didn’t deserve it. “I really don’t need anything special. Just a man-sized space on the floor is all.”
“Jonah Michael Lucas, you must not know me very well.”
Jonah grinned. He was going to be taken care of, whether he liked it or not.
“All right, all right. You can do your thing. I appreciate it. I have to get going now. Take care, sis.”
“You too!”
They hung up and Jonah leaned against the wall with a sigh. It had been so long since he’d been home, but maybe it was exactly what he needed to keep his morale up high. If he was going to destroy the bear shifters, despite whatever advantages the Serah Stone had afforded them, he was going to have to keep in his mind, front and center, just what it was that he was fighting for.
2.
“Winston residence, how may I help you?”
“Lyla! Thank goodness you answered. I need your help!”
Lyla sat her book down and laughed softly.
“Slow down, Betsy. What’s the matter?”
“My brother, Jonah, is coming back from deployment and I wanted to greet him with a casserole, his favorite, the kind mom made us before… anyway, I’m out of milk but I have a billion things to do…”
“Say no more,” Lyla said. “Whole milk, right?”
“Yes! The ones that Maggie and her husband sell. We’ve got to buy local, right? Support the shifter economy…”
“Of course,” Lyla agreed. She had been in Stonybrooke for two and a half years and knew just how important it was that it remain a self-sufficient place where shifters took care of themselves. It
was especially important to Betsy, who had begun an organization for underprivileged shifters who couldn’t seem to find a place within the packs in Stonybrooke.
Lyla had a small amount of shifter blood. Her grandfather was a wolf shifter, but she was mostly human, and as such, she had no abilities to shapeshift whatsoever. Still, she’d always wanted to visit the famous Stonybrooke her grandfather had spoken so passionately about, and after his death, she had moved there in hopes of finding some answers. She felt like something was missing after he had gone, and she hoped, that in Stonybrooke, she would find it.
“You’re a lifesaver!” Betsy exclaimed. “I’ll be in the kitchen when you arrive; just let yourself in.”
“Okay,” Lyla said. “See you soon.”
She grabbed the car keys from the counter of her tiny bungalow, the first little home she had owned all her own. She was proud of it, but there were little things going wrong all the time and she couldn’t help but wonder what it might be like if she could afford one of the more impressive architectural buildings in Stonybrooke. The wolf shifters may have had a simple, outdoorsy style, but regardless of that fact, they were remarkable craftsmen.
“There is nothing a wolf prides himself on more than his territory,” her grandfather had confided in her. “That’s why we are so selective about our mates and where we lay down roots. And why we upkeep it with such diligence. Someday, you will have a family of your own and understand just what I mean.”
Lyla smiled to herself as she turned the ignition of her car and headed down the road to the carryout, where they sold the locally collected milk from Maggie’s farm. Lyla’s grandfather had never treated her like anything but a shifter, despite her never having been raised around other shifters in a community or a pack. He wanted her to hold strongly to the shifter side of the family, despite her blood being mostly human. She knew other shifters looked down on her if she called herself a shifter. She couldn’t transform her body. She barely had a shifter’s scent. But to her grandfather, she was a wolf through and through.
Even though she often doubted her place in the shifter world, she felt secure in her identity. Unfortunately, her grandfather’s words left Lyla feeling pained. It seemed impossible that she would ever have a family. Not only had she lost her parents at a young age, and was raised by her grandfather, but every time she got involved with a man, something seemed to go very wrong. Without fail. She had been hurt more times than she cared to remember. Maybe that was a small part of why she had come to Stonybrooke. To get away from human men who so often convinced Lyla to put their needs before her own.
Lyla pushed the thoughts away as she pulled into the parking lot of the convenience store. As she roamed the aisles, she hesitated in front of a bottle of her favorite wine. It might do as a nice gift for Betsy’s brother. She’d never met him before, and wanted to make a good impression. Anybody that Betsy loved, Lyla would do her best to get along with. Betsy was the kindest-hearted person that Lyla had ever met.
Would it be a mistake to get a man a bottle of wine? Whiskey could do just as well, couldn’t it? At any rate, she had an overwhelming feeling he might enjoy it, and had to try to learn how to trust her intuition. Whether Betsy gave it to her brother as a gift or not, it would at least be a small offering to make his welcome warm. After all, he hadn’t been back since his parents were killed and he’d been recruited by the military. Betsy was foggy on the details, but it was clear her brother was a very talented man, who had quickly climbed the ranks.
Finally, after a few more moments of debate, Lyla grabbed the wine and then retrieved the milk from the cooler. It was an expensive impulse purchase, but it would be worth it. At least, she hoped so. It was good to honor the troops who fought to preserve freedom and give them a nice welcome home. If nothing else, the wine would help to dull the pain of coming home after so long. It had to be difficult.
When Lyla arrived at the Lucas household, she found the kitchen in chaos. She had to keep from laughing as she gazed at the disarray; it was so unlike the cool and collected Betsy to let anything like this fluster her so much.
“Lyla, there you are!” Betsy exclaimed, her arms buried deep in the oven as she pushed her potatoes inside. “Can you give me a hand and stir the beans?”
“Of course,” Lyla said, setting her grocery bags on the table and stepping carefully to the stove. There were empty paper bags strewn all over the floor. It was clear Betsy was preparing a feast fit for the entire town of Stonybrooke. It was over the top, but it was also kind of adorable.
“Thank you!” Betsy exclaimed. “I’m just so nervous and excited. I haven’t seen Jonah in so long!”
“Well, I’m sure he’s going to be very pleasantly surprised. It smells amazing in here!” Lyla said. “I could smell food cooking before I even walked through the door.”
“Oh, this is nothing. I haven’t even gotten started on desserts. My god, I’m worried it won’t all be finished before Jonah gets here,” Betsy said, her face suddenly balking in panic as the weight of her ambitions began to crash down on her. “I don’t know what I’m going to do! I only have a few more hours!”
“I can stay and help if you want! I won’t even beg for scraps,” Lyla said, stirring the beans carefully and turning the heat down. They were just about perfect. Lyla’s grandfather would be shocked to see her now. Cooking hadn’t been her strong suit until she’d had Betsy around to show her the ropes.
“Would you really? Are you sure you don’t have work to do?”
“I was just doing some research for my next article. It’s really nothing special. I’d love to stay and help!”
“Bless you, Lyla Winston!” Betsy cried, standing up straight with a wince and throwing her arms around Lyla. “Get washed up and we’ll get you something to do. I want everything to be perfect for tonight!”
“Well then, perfect it shall be,” Lyla said cheerfully. “You’re a crew of two now.”
Betsy beamed, relief apparent in her features. It was nice to see her friend like this. It was so difficult to get a smile out of Betsy, sometimes. She could seem so far off in her own little world that it could be hard to get through to her at times.
Lyla knew it was because Betsy was lonely. It was painfully obvious. She missed her family more than anything, and Lyla could relate. Wolves were such pack animals; living alone seemed like one of the most difficult things in the world, especially for someone as sensitive and loving as Betsy, who always seemed to want to be nurturing somebody. She would have made a great mother if she was able to have children.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case, and Betsy refused to date even if she could. Lyla suspected she was secretly afraid of disappointing the man she loved with the news that they would never be able to have children together.
“Let’s get to work!” Betsy said cheerfully once Lyla returned to the kitchen and donned her apron.
The rest of the afternoon was spent in a bustle as Lyla and Betsy worked their hardest to create a meal worthy of a Navy SEAL.
***
“Oh! He’s here!”
Lyla looked up in surprise. She hadn’t heard anything, but sure enough, just a few moments later, the doorbell pierced her ears.
“It will just take a few more minutes before this pie is finished, I can sneak out the back and he’ll never know!” Lyla said, hurrying to the stove.
To her surprise, Betsy laughed and shook her head. “No, I’d love to introduce you to Jonah. He was my parents’ pride and joy, you know. I remember how pleased they were when he was born. He looked just like our father.”
Betsy’s eyes grew wistful, and Lyla rushed to her friend’s side, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m sure they were proud of you too, Betsy,” Lyla said.
Betsy nodded dismissively and moved through the kitchen to answer the door. Lyla was going to stay in the kitchen, but Betsy gestured for her to follow. It seemed kind of like an imposition to be there the first time Betsy saw her brother in s
uch a long time, but maybe her friend was in need of emotional support. Lyla couldn’t overthink it, there was no time, and so she absently began to follow Betsy into the foyer to greet Jonah.
“Bets.”
The deep, masculine voice that rolled into the house electrified Lyla immediately. When she was able to see past Betsy and into the doorway, a pair of brooding, beautiful eyes studied her intently. His hair was as dark as midnight, and his chiseled, brooding face softened only when Betsy offered to take his coat. The man was handsome. Really handsome.
“Who’s this?” he asked, almost accusingly. Betsy laughed nervously and led her brother into the living room as he kept his eye on Lyla; suspicion – and something else – flashing in his dark eyes.
“This is my closest friend,” Betsy said, nodding meaningfully toward Lyla. She wanted her to introduce herself.
“Lyla,” she said, offering her hand to the dark man. He took it stiffly, and a jolt of heat shocked her body.
“Jonah.”
“Well, now that we’re all acquainted, Lyla here is going to be staying for dinner,” Betsy said, walking briskly to the kitchen. “Why don’t you get Jonah a drink while I take the casserole out of the oven?”
“Sure,” Lyla said, her stomach fluttering. Jonah sat his suitcase down.
“You don’t have to do that,” he said to Lyla as Betsy disappeared through the doorway. “I know where everything is.”
“It’s no trouble. I’m sure it’s been a long trip for you,” Lyla said firmly, pushing Jonah’s shoulder gently to ease him down onto the couch. He sat, his eyes flashing, and she drew her hand away quickly. Maybe it was a mistake to touch a decorated man from the Navy, even if she didn’t know just what it was that he did there.
“Well, thank you, ma’am,” Jonah said gruffly. Still, his thanks sounded a little forced, as if she were invading his privacy by being in his home. And maybe she was. But it would be even worse to abandon her best friend. It was becoming more and more clear that Betsy was in need of some major emotional support. She hadn’t seen her brother in so long. It probably didn’t even feel real to her.
