by Sable Sylvan
“So much has happened in the last two years,” said Addison, walking with Sage’s hand in hers. “If you told me two years ago that we’d all be married, and that two of us would be expecting children, well…I’d say that sounded like something out of a fairy tale.”
Herb rubbed Alice’s belly. Alice was due in a few months, along with her sister.
Abigail rubbed her own stomach and looked to Clove and smiled.
“That’s because this is something out of a fairy tale,” said Abigail. “At least it’s more of a fairy tale than my law school applications. How I’ll handle a baby and law school, I’ll never know, but I’m sure that with you by my side, I can do anything.”
“And we all got our happy endings,” said Clove. “Even the beast got his beauty.”
“And Alice, you got your Cinderella story,” said Abigail.
“Fate works in weird ways, doesn’t she?” asked Alice.
“She does,” said Addison. “Back then, I was just another sleeping beauty.”
“At least my kisses woke you up,” said Sage, pulling Addison close to give her a smooch on her forehead. “And now that we’re graduated from college, who knows what’ll come next? Maybe lucky baby number three?”
“Well, about that…” started Alice sheepishly. “We’re actually having twins.”
“Twins? Alice, that’s amazing!” said Abigail, bringing in her older sister for a side hung because their stomachs would’ve bounced. Alice was noticeably a lot more pregnant than Abigail but to be polite, nobody had said anything, because every pregnancy is different.
“I learned a lot from my fairy tale, too,” said Cayenne, squeezing her husband’s hand. “I met my match with you, Basil…”
“…And now my matchstick girl has learned not to work too hard,” said Basil. “I can’t believe we have to wait one more school year to be together forever, but I guess it’s a small, short price to pay for an eternity with my fated mate. I could, of course, just drop out…”
“You have to finish up,” said Cayenne, pushing Basil jokingly.
“Ugh, at least you two only have a year left,” said Savina.
“Hey, you get to transfer to Bonimolean,” said Cayenne. “You get to spend your last two years with Mace!”
“Yeah, yeah, but all y’all get to have all the fun in Fallowedirt,” said Savina. “It’s funny. When I was growing up, I hated that small town, but now…I’m starting to miss it, even when I’m just gone for school.”
“Me, too,” said Mace. “But Fallowedirt’s not that small anymore. Heck, with everything Alice and Herb have done for the town, it’s starting to grow.”
“That’s right,” said Addison. “The factory workers, the warehouse workers, the delivery guys, the waiters, the chefs, the stockists at the store…they’re all people from outside of town.”
“Plus, with those Scoville connections, you got the Asher-Dixon Clan to start a frikkin’ tree farm,” said Abigail.
“And don’t forget the bakery,” said Savina. “The Bear Paw Bakery.”
“Bear Claw Bakery,” corrected Herb. “And trust me. I’ve known Jasper Dixon my entire life. He loves small towns. He’s from Port frikkin’ Jameson.”
“Yeah, well, the shifters working there aren’t from around our parts,” said Savina. “And heck, that’s a good thing. People are moving to Fallowedirt, not away from it.”
“Heck, this has been good for all of Texas,” said Basil. “You’ve got the stores in Dallas, Houston, and Austin. The ‘Alpha Sauce’ is flying off the shelves like wildfire. We’ve got wholesale accounts, including one with a top ten restaurant chain. We’re opening a second grill location, and that one grocery chain has started to stock our sauces. The Feminine Mesquite’s becoming a cultural frikkin’ phenomenon.”
They reached the area where the future Scoville Clan’s trees were. The trees were shorter than the trees surrounding them but were all mature. All the Scoville Brothers found their trees intact.
“So how do we do this?” asked Clove. “You didn’t bring any tools.”
“That’s the thing,” said Herb. “You’re not going to believe this, but…we don’t need tools to carve the trees.”
“We don’t what?” asked Sage. “Are we supposed to shift and carve the trees?”
“No,” said Herb. “Well, kinda. Both you and your mate need to put your hands on the tree, together, like this.” Herb took Alice’s hand in his and placed their hands together on the tree. Alice stood in front of Herb, while Herb had her hand on the tree with his hand on top of her hand. His other hand was underneath one of her hands. They had practiced earlier that day in their room after Herb had told her what the heck they’d have to do.
“You stand behind her, and put your hand on hers, and one of her hands on yours, and all hands on the tree,” said Herb. “Like so.” He then pulled away from Alice.
“Okay, there’s no way that works,” said Basil. “That’s crazy.”
“I swear, it’s magic,” said Herb.
“Magic, yeah, right,” said Mason. “Come on, Herb. You’re pulling our leg. What, are we supposed to shift and use our claws to carve the trees? Because that would be believable.”
“Apparently, these woods are special,” said Herb. “Grandpa Morten told me that a spell was cast on these woods long ago, giving these trees power. It’s a secret that’s been kept by the Scoville Clan for centuries. Now, we are all privy to that secret, and must keep it, for the next generation of Scovilles.” Herb gently patted his wife’s pregnant curves.
“And all our ancestors, for generations, have done this?” said Mason. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Nope,” said Herb. “If you don’t believe me…you can watch me.”
Herb walked behind a tree and took his clothes off. He got down on all fours, turned into his polar shift, and walked back out.
Herb looked at Alice. Was she ready yet?
Alice nodded. This whole thing seemed crazy, but there was only one way of testing the theory.
Alice turned toward Herb’s tree. She put one hand on the tree, and Herb came up behind her, stood on his hind legs, and put his paw over her hand, gently. The feeling of Herb’s bear’s paws on her skin sent a tingle down her spine. Herb put his other paw on the tree. Alice covered that paw with her hand, and then, something magical started to happen.
Herb’s eyes flashed blue, bright blue, as his bear roared. His bear wanted to come out. Herb had never felt anything like this before. After all, he was already in his shift. Herb didn’t hold back, and he let out a mighty roar. The bear came out of him, through his mouth, and for a few seconds, Herb’s bear’s spirit was visible to all, even in the brightness of the day.
All eight of the Quincy and Scoville siblings gasped. They had never seen anything like it. A shift escaping someone’s body spiritually, rather than physically? The spirit bear roared and entered the tree with a pounce, but it did not go out the other side. It had gone into the tree.
The tree started to glow with a pale blue light that came from within the tree’s core. The tree began to change, just as the bodies of the Scoville Brothers had changed when their shifts had taken over. The bear spirit was doing something to the tree. Bark was moving and changing, coming off, being rearranged, as words were chiseled in the tree trunk and the tree grew taller and taller.
The bear leaped out of the tree and back into Herb’s still open mouth. Herb pulled away from Alice and stood there, looking at the changed tree.
The others came up to the tree and looked at what was written on the tree.
There was an array of knotwork designs that looked Celtic inspired. There were names, in runes, of their ancestors, and in English, their given names…as well as the family tree of someone whose family tree was not represented in the forest. It was Alice’s family tree, and when she saw one name at the top, on the same level as Morten’s name, she put her hands to her mouth.
The bear had written out the name of her
father’s father, of Elijah Quincy.
“I can’t believe it,” said Alice, turning to Herb. “I thought it was just another fairy tale.”
Herb shook his head and rubbed up onto Alice. Alice and Herb kept examining their tree, but Abigail and Clove looked to each other. As the second eldest and beta, they knew what they had to do.
Abigail and Clove were obviously meant to go next. Clove and the rest of the Scovilles, except for Herb, went to shift into their forms, leaving their clothes on the ground. The four polars walked out to join their elder brother, who was still in his shift.
Abigail turned to face Clove’s tree, and Clove came up behind her, put his paw on her hand, his other paw on the tree, and finally, Abigail covered his paw with her hand. Clove’s bear took the reins and roared. A pale blue bear spirit came out of Clove, whose body was still inhabited by the human side of Clove, and entered the tree, transforming the tree just as Alice and Herb’s ritual had transformed their tree.
The rest of the Quincys followed suit. Savina and Mason watched as Sage and Addison, and Basil and Cayenne, all went up to their trees to transform them, the bear spirit leaving the bear bodies to enter the tree before leaving the transformed tree to enter back into the bodies of the polar bear shifters.
Finally, it was time for Savina and Mace to transform their tree. Savina kept her eyes open. She didn’t want to miss a gosh-darn thing, and even the heat of Mason’s breath against her neck couldn’t distract her from what she was witnessing.
The bark and the wood beneath the surface of the tree changed, but they weren’t being carved with knives or axes or chisels. The sheer force of the power of the bear spirit was changing the tree, infusing it with growth in the directions the bear wanted the tree to grow. The bear knew everything that Mason knew and more, so the tree showed the names of not only Savina and Mason but of relatives that they’d never even heard of. The names were in English with ancient Norse runes beneath, just as some of the other trees in the grove had listed names in French, in Spanish, in Italian, in Celtic languages and ancient Germanic languages, too. There had even been some Asiatic looking runes.
Each couple’s tree was different, reflecting what the bear thought of their relationship and their story.
Alice and Herb’s tree featured not merely the runes, but a series of knots and swirls that looked like the spitting images of both of their grandfather’s faces. Both Elijah and Morten had been immortalized in the tree that would outlast the next seven generations of Scovilles and the seven generations after that.
Abigail and Clove’s tree featured knotwork of the kind seen on the runestones that peppered the Scoville Manor grounds. The knotwork was made not only of what looked like woodcarvings but of intertwined branches and twigs that made the tree look different than a normal conifer. The designs were complex and messy, but together, formed something beautiful that could never be replicated anywhere else.
Addison and Sage’s tree’s branches had spun into a topiary of sorts. There was sap that was already crystallizing into amber, sealing in their names and the names of their loved ones. Alongside the names of their family were the names of the works of art that Addison and Sage cherished most, and of course, between their names, Pride and Prejudice and Sleeping Beauty were featured prominently. By their siblings’ names, on the lines linking their siblings to their spouses, were their stories. Alice and Herb were linked by ‘Cinderella,’ Abigail and Clove by ‘Beauty And The Beast,’ Cayenne and Basil by ‘The Matchstick Girl,’ and finally, Savina and Mason by ‘Little Red Riding Bears.’ They were stories from time immemorial, and they must’ve been based on truth because history had repeated itself five times over with the Quincy and Scoville kids.
Cayenne and Basil’s tree featured their shared family trees, as well as the names of the children that Basil sponsored back in Brazil. Cayenne looked to her bear and reached out her hand. She squeezed his paw as she saw a single pair of tears well up in his eyes. She knew what this meant. Even the bear was recognizing that those children were family.
Finally, Savina and Mace’s tree was simple. It looked like the trees that high school students carved back in America. However, the carving on this tree would last the ages. There was a simple family tree, but in place of leaves, it had a giant wreath that was shaped like a heart. Inside, the words, ‘Savina + Mason, Together Forever’ were engraved. The conifer’s evergreen leaves had also turned a bright crimson. It was perfect.
The deed was done. They’d made their mark on the family grove, and now, it was time to return to their stories, starting with finishing up the business they had back in the ballroom. After all, their anniversary party was just getting started. All the bears had to do was go shift back into human forms and get changed. That didn’t take the polars more than a couple of minutes.
The couples walked back to the glade together, to get back into the carriages and head back to the manor. On the way, they had one more talk.
“You know how we were all talking about the town earlier?” asked Alice.
“Yeah,” said Abigail.
“Do you think Grandpa Quincy would like what’s happened to the town? To the store?” asked Alice. “Have we done him proud?”
“We’ve done him more than proud,” promised Addison.
“I’m glad that our grandpas were best friends,” said Herb. “And I can’t believe that their crazy plan came together. I still wake up every day and am afraid I’m going to wake up from this beautiful dream.”
“Speaking of crazy plans, did you hear that Grandpa Morten is planning on moving to frikkin’ Fallowedirt?” asked Sage.
“Yeah, and I heard that my Grandma Barbara is moving in with him,” said Addison. “They met at the wedding and hit things off.”
“Do you have any idea what they’re planning?” asked Basil.
“You won’t believe it,” said Cayenne. “They said something about mixing business and pleasure. They call it, ‘Fated Mate Speed Date.’”
“Speed dating? For shifters?” asked Savina. “That’s gotta be the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of.”
“It’s just like us,” said Mace. “That combination’s so crazy that it must be a recipe for success.”
Acknowledgments
This work would not have been possible without the support of readers like you. I’d like to extend a very special thanks to my Alpha Reader team, for providing the first round of outside edits for this series. My thanks goes out to Cassie Cox of Joy Editing (www.joyediting.com) and Chelly Peeler of Ink It Out Editing (www.inkitoutediting.com) for providing the final round of outside edits.
I’d like to extend a very special thanks to my Advance Reader Copy team, for providing feedback on this series from the start.
A big thanks goes out to all my friends. Sorry that I was pretty much AWOL for the last few months! This is what I was working on. Thanks for trying all my sweet teas, eating all my hot sauce, and looking at all my covers.
Finally, again, this book is dedicated to my boyfriend, for believing in this book from its inception, for working long nights and late nights, for eating take out and taking me out of my office when I needed to go home and sleep, and for convincing me that I’m more than just three egg salad sandwiches in a trench coat moonlighting as a paranormal romance author.
Love you all!
Appendix Alpha: Glossary of Non-English Words
The following non-English words appear in the text and have been translated for your convenience.
Familietre : Family tree (Norwegian)
Isbjørn : Polar Bear (Norwegian)
Ipse se nihil scire id unum sciat : I know that I know nothing (Latin)
Kamerat av skjebne : Fated mate (Norwegian)
Kald fisk : Cold fish (Norwegian)
Kæstur hákarl : Fermented shark (Icelandic)
Koldtbord : Norwegian word for a buffet of cold foods, a ‘smörgåsbord’ (Norwegian)
Kystvakten : Norwegian Coast Guard (Norwegian)
>
Madre : Mother (Italian)
Mammina : Mommy (Italian)
Noblesse oblige : Nobility obliges (French)
Norskehavet : Norwegian Sea, the sea between Norway and Iceland (Norwegian)
Pentiti : Repentant (Italian)
Reinsdyrsteik : Reindeer steak (Norwegian)
Sjøforsvaret : Royal Norwegian Navy (Norwegian)
Smörgåsbord : A buffet of cold foods, a ‘smorgasbord’ (Swedish)
Appendix Beta: About the Author
I’m Sable Sylvan, and the only thing I love more than reading hot paranormal romances is writing down my fantasies and sharing them with readers like you. My heroes are strong alpha male shifters who can be grizzly and gruff at times…but when it comes to their mates, they turn into absolute teddy bears. The curvy heroines in my stories are strong, sassy women, and that’s why the bear shifter men who love them will do anything for their fated mates.
You can check out my site at www.sablesylvan.com and buy merchandise via www.shopsablesylvan.com . Shirts are available in up to a unisex 5XL, and you can find them on Amazon and RageOn.com .
My books are available exclusively on Amazon, so check out my author page at www.amazon.com/author/SableSylvan to check out my full catalog anywhere, anytime. All my books are available for FREE under the Kindle Unlimited borrowing program (it’s like Netflix, but for books). If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review on its page!
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