Summer Shifter Nights

by Harmony Raines

  I scrape the last bit of runny egg yolk up with my piece of toast. The salty flavor is delicious, and I think about making more. It’s important to the Le Roux clan that we form a strong alliance with the Robichaux. I realize I should probably speak to Donna about this first, but my gut is telling me if Marion is my mother, she’s the one I want to talk to.

  Knowing we can communicate in our heads, I focus on sending her a message. “Marion, it’s Carly Le Roux. Can we meet for lunch? I have a few things I’d like to discuss with you.”

  Her reply is quick but tinny with distance. “Carly, I think it’s a good idea. I’m free tomorrow if you are.”

  “Yes, I can meet you at one. Do you have a favorite place?”

  “There’s a lovely café in Bangor called the Cat’s Meow. I’ll be there at one.”

  “Fantastic. I’ll see you then.”

  Sierra and I have fight training in a half hour, and I think I’d better get ready instead of eating more breakfast. I recall Sierra’s voice in my head before Keith took her home after changing. “Make me a fucking warrior so I can kick Victor’s ass.”

  Determination to do Victor harm makes me stand with purpose, and the wood stairs are smooth under my bare feet as I climb toward my room to change.

  After pulling on my yoga pants, I run my hands over my stomach. My skin is soft under my fingers, and I marvel at the three tiny beings lying below. I’m not starting to show yet, but with triplets, I have to wonder how big I’m going to get. If the amount of food I’ve been eating lately is any indication, I’m going to be huge.

  Sierra’s adjusting well to being a werebear, and I think she actually enjoys the physical aspects of learning to be a warrior. Our morning routine is to meet here to practice fighting with the trainer and then spend our afternoons as bears in the woods, running and doing what bears do so we become comfortable in that form.

  The familiar rumble of Ian’s motorcycle announces he’s here, and I pull my hair back in a ponytail as I jog down the stairs to open the door for him. When I do, I reveal a man with the largest arms I’ve ever seen. Covered in tattoos, he looks dangerous, but warm brown eyes twinkle when he smiles, exposing the sweet man that’s inside. Just like his training, he’s tough on us, but he can be nurturing when we need it.

  “Hi, Ian, come on in.”

  “I know I’m a bit early, but I was anxious to hear if you had any news from Lily.”

  “You must be dreaming about her, too. She texted to say she’ll be here this afternoon.”

  Ian is also able to be Lily’s mate. Sierra and I met her in Colorado on our way here, and she saw the tribal bear paw we had on our skin. Only werebear and those that have been called can see the black mark. When I gave her the same tattoo, she had an aversion to it being in a place that could be visible. The thought makes me wonder what she thinks of the werebear in her visions, because truth be told, it’s not just the sexy dreams about the guys who called us that makes us give up our lives to move here. Something else is at work that we can’t control.

  Ian pulls a bandana from his backpack and rolls it in preparation for pulling back his long hair in a headband. “I’m nervous to meet her. I think she’s shy.”

  “She is.” I grin at him. “But if her dreams are anything like the ones I had, you’ll be just fine.”

  His face flushes a little, and I guess he’s thinking about the naked version of Lily. I bet it’s not the bashful parts he’s recalling. He asks, “When can I meet her?”

  “Would you like to come for dinner? Annie and I will be giving her a tour this afternoon and explaining most things. That way, when you see each other in person, neither of you has to focus on anything but your attraction.”

  Ian looks down at his arms and flexes. “Do you think she’ll be afraid of my ink?”

  I shake my head, because that won’t be what scares her when she finds out about werebear. “She already knows about your tattoos, and she’s coming. My guess is she finds them hot. Relax.”

  He raises his eyebrows. “The dream version does.”

  I chuckle and hold up my hand. “I don’t need any more information than that.” But I need to warn him she won’t know he’s a werebear until tomorrow. Considering the need for secrecy, we want to be sure she plans to stay.

  The front door of the house opens to a large great room, and that leads to what would traditionally be a family room. It was designed as a home gym instead and has everything we need. Ian and I wander over to the area we use to fight, and I say, “Tomorrow we plan to tell Lily about werebear. Do you want to be present for that?”

  Ian answers, “Yes, I think so.”

  “Okay. I don’t know if you heard about how Sierra and I found out, but we’re taking precautions this time.”

  The grin on his face tells me he knows the story about how I almost shot Keith, thinking he was a traditional bear. “No guns?”

  I chuckle and then say, “No guns. We’re meeting at Keith and Sierra’s.” Keith has a large glass wall that will let Lily feel safe watching a shift happen on the other side.

  Ian climbs onto the rowing machine, and I get on the elliptical to warm up my muscles while we wait for Sierra. The hum of my machine is methodic and lulls me into my thoughts of introducing Lily to her new life.

  Sierra arrives when I’ve just begun to stretch. She says, “Hey, guys, sorry I’m late.”

  While usually pale, she seems even more so today, and I’m worried about her. Something seems off about her relationship with Keith lately, and I bet Victor is the reason.

  I get up and walk over to give her a hug. “Have you been sleeping much? You look tired.”

  She sighs as she welcomes my embrace. I speak to her in my head. “Is it Victor?”

  Sierra’s body tenses, and I pull away to look at her face. Her eyes are red from crying, and she nods.

  Ian is stretching, and I say to him, “Ian, we need a little girl time. Be right back.”

  He replies, “Music?” One of the problems with supersensitive hearing is privacy, but if he puts in earbuds to crank the tunes, we’ll get some.

  “Yes, please.” I grab Sierra’s hand and lead her to the kitchen. A chair scrapes against the tile floor as she seats herself at the kitchen island, and I say, “Talk.”

  “He’s in my head all the time. I can’t shut him off, and the other night—” She squeezes her eyes shut, and a tear rolls down her cheek.

  I reach over and take her hand as she continues. “The other night he started talking to me when Keith and I were having sex. Victor could hear the dirty things I was saying to Keith and acted like I was saying them to him. Talk about ruining a moment.”

  The sun is shining into the kitchen, and it bounces off the silver appliances with brightness that is a stark contrast to Sierra’s dark eyes. A low growl rises from my throat. “We need to find a way for you to shut him up.” What have I done to my best friend? I gave her the tattoo that brought her here. I need to do something.

  “That’s the thing. We can’t because he’s an alpha. Do you think I can learn to keep him from hearing me talk to Keith?” Sierra’s eyes look big in her face, and it makes me realize she’s lost weight. I wonder if she’s been eating much lately.

  “Let’s ask Donna. Victor in your sex life is creepy as hell.”

  “Yeah, being watched was never my fantasy, you know?” Her mouth forms into a small smile, and I squeeze her hand before letting go.

  “What does he say to you the rest of the time?”

  “There is no rest of the time for Victor. He always talks about us and the things he wants to do to me.”

  “Honey, why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” I push hair behind her ear, and I’m struck by how delicate she is right now.

  “I kept hoping he would stop if I ignored him.” She takes a deep breath and practically whispers, “Carly?”

  Sierra’s lower lip begins to tremble, and I want to hold her in my arms like a small child.

  “What?
”

  “He’s begun to be in my dreams, and—” The tears she was holding back fall freely as she says, “In the dreams, I’m starting to like it.”

  Crap, this is bad. “Okay, we need help. I’m going to get Donna over here and send Ian home.” I grab a box of tissues and set it beside her before I walk out of the room.

  On my way to Ian, I speak to Donna in my head. “Sierra and I need you. We need to shut up an alpha. Can you come over?”

  She replies quickly, and I imagine Donna peeling off dirty garden gloves to come take care of business. “On my way.”

  33

  Chapter 3

  Carly

  Donna has no shame when it comes to talking about sex. The moment she walks into the kitchen, she takes one look at Sierra and says, “Victor is talking about what it would be like to fuck you, isn’t he?”

  If we both weren’t used to her, it would be shocking. But what’s shocking instead is we both have no trouble speaking to her the same way. Sierra says, “That and talking to me like I’m fucking him while I’m fucking Keith.”

  Donna gazes at us with intensity before she sits at the table. She says, “Bastard. He’s trying to mate rape you, Sierra.”

  We both ask at the same time, “What?”

  She growls in disgust. “Humans have got nothing on werebear. We don’t need a drug, just our teeth.”

  Sierra asks, “He has to have sex with me for us to be mated, right?”

  “Right. But a bite from an alpha makes you attracted to each other. While we might overlook it in a newly changed teen, it’s a serious offense for adults, especially when someone does it to a person that’s already mated—although technically you weren’t because you hadn’t changed yet. Just sex isn’t enough. It’s something put into our DNA to ensure the alpha can always have children and carry on the family line. We like to think we’ve evolved enough that both partners have a say these days.”

  Donna takes the plate of cookies I set out for us and puts it in front of Sierra. She must have noticed her weight loss, too.

  The idea that as an alpha, I could bite any male and make him want to have sex with me is fascinating in an odd way, and I imagine that’s a fantasy in a few male werebears’ minds. I ask, “So how do we break the bond?”

  “The only way I’m aware of is for Victor to find his true mate. Once he has sex with her, the attraction and ability to talk to Sierra in her head will break. It should be the same for Sierra. So either Keith isn’t your true mate or it doesn’t work for halves.”

  Sierra sighs. “Victor having sex with someone else might never happen. Is there any way I can learn to block him from hearing me talk to Keith?”

  Donna shakes her head. “Unfortunately, no, because he’s an alpha. The best you can do is stop talking in your head; try to think like you did before you were changed.”

  When Sierra’s chin begins to quiver, Donna reaches over and grabs her hand. “There is one other way.” She grabs my hand, too. “If something like this had happened a hundred years ago, we wouldn’t have thought twice about killing him.”

  My skin prickles with the desire for revenge, and my body wants to shift. But I tamp it down when Sierra’s tiny voice says, “I couldn’t live with that.”

  Donna scowls before she agrees with Sierra. I guess there’s nothing Donna would like more than to bring back the old ways, and that probably includes killing Victor herself. She sits back and crosses her arms. “I believe it’s time for a meeting. Carly, you’re about to see clan politics in action. I’ll set up a date for the women leaders to have lunch.” She grins, and her smile holds a touch of evil. “After all, they need to meet the newest Le Roux prima.”

  Yes, that will be interesting. Especially since I’m about to find out if Marion is my mother. Still not ready to share my plan, I change the subject.

  “Lily gets here this afternoon, Donna.”

  “Oh, good. Now we’re waiting on Taylor. As far as I know, none of the other boys are dreaming about women. We’re getting to the end of mating season, and this worries me.”

  I ask, “Mating season?”

  “Oh yes, werebear can only get pregnant from May to mid-July.” Donna looks at Sierra’s concerned face and adds, “Don’t you fret. You’ve got plenty of years left, and we’ll get you knocked up next spring if it doesn’t happen this year.”

  Sierra smiles, but I think she’s distracted, and I ask, “He’s talking to you right now, isn’t he?”

  She nods, and I get an idea. “Hey, maybe you should sing loudly to block him out.”

  Of course, the only thing I can think to sing is “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.” I begin, and Donna and Sierra quickly join me. When Donna suggests pigs and we start to squeal, laughter makes it hard to continue.

  Even though we managed to get Sierra to smile for a while, I’m concerned. Unwanted voices in your head are the kind of thing that makes you crazy, and she can’t last like this forever. What the heck is Victor trying to accomplish? There has to be more to this than wanting Sierra to be attracted to him. Why does he want to take her away from us to be his mate?

  Sierra and Donna left a few minutes ago. My stomach rumbles, and I realize I’ve reached the point where my hunger can’t be ignored. I get up from the table to rummage through the fridge for something to heat up. Finding leftover spaghetti, I stick it in the microwave, and buttons beep as I set it to cook.

  My phone buzzes on the counter, and I see Lily has texted. “Eta 1.”

  I have just enough time to eat and drive over to the retail shop. A smile forms on my face as I think about the day Sierra and I arrived. The image of Annie popping through the office door with maple candy and her bouncy curls comes to mind. She’s who trained me in basic bear ways when I changed, and she has become a good friend as well as my sister-in-law.

  Tomato and garlic tantalize my tongue, and the beefy sauce on my spaghetti feeds my need for protein as I swallow a mouthful. Annie runs the gift shop for the Bear Mountain Tree Farm. That first day, she took Sierra and me on a tour of the businesses that make up the company, and I look forward to making the rounds again as an insider.

  The drive over to the store is quick, and the weather is warm enough for me to crack my windows open. The earthy scent of fresh grass is a promise of summer to come. While I’m not near the ocean any longer, I imagine the warm months are easy to enjoy with the number of lakes close by.

  I’m relieved to find the parking lot empty when I arrive. Wanting to be the familiar face greeting Lily, I had feared she might get here first. The heavy, clear glass door opens to the aromas of maple and pine, scents that have begun to smell like home to me.

  Annie glances up from the counter, where she’s unwrapping new items from plastic. “Hey, Carly, how are you feeling today?”

  “Hungry but good.”

  She grins. “I can imagine. I have lasagna planned for dinner, and there’s plenty.” Annie is aware of my new love for pasta and makes sure we have leftovers in the fridge at all times.

  “Ian is coming. He’s quite excited to meet Lily.”

  “Yes, I’m sure he is.” Annie gets a faraway look in her eyes, and my heart aches a little thinking about how she lost her mate. While I don’t know the whole story about how he died, I know she believes she’ll never love again. I hope it isn’t true.

  She inhales sharply and straightens up as if she’s shaking off memories. “I’ll go get the maple candy. It seemed to work pretty well the last time.” She winks.

  “It sure did.”

  A distant memory comes back to me. Sierra and I saw a bear the day we arrived, and I never asked about it. “Does someone send a bear to escort us here? Because Sierra and I saw one on our way here, and I hope they’re doing a better job of being stealthy this time. It’s creepy.”

  Annie replies, “No, this is the first I’ve heard of such a thing. It must be one of the other clans.”

  We don’t need to speak to confirm what we’re both thinking. T
he escort was sent by the Veilleux Clan.

  34

  Chapter 4

  Lily

  Hot breath tickles my sweat-slicked skin as I trace the outline of a tattoo on the guy’s huge bicep. A low voice rumbles through me as the muscled man who just made me scream says, “You’re so beautiful.” He pulls out of me, and it’s as if he’s taking a piece of me away for safekeeping. I whimper and am about to speak…

  Bands of sunlight filter through my blinds as I wake. Today’s the day. I’m so out of here. Last night I packed my car and threw my room-cleaning clothes, sneakers and all, in the dumpster behind the motel as if I was shedding my skin. I’d been running the place for so long I don’t think it occurred to me I was allowed to have a life.

  After I shower and dress, I grab my last bag and the list. I should feel guilty about leaving my mother with nothing but directions for keeping the business running. But I don’t, because nothing I can do will make her deal with life outside a bottle of Mr. Boston coffee brandy.

  The scarred wood floor creaks under my feet as I walk through the living room toward the front door. Leaning over the couch, I kiss my passed-out mother goodbye for the last time. Her sour smell turns my stomach as I place my note on the coffee table.

  She’s no longer my problem.

  The moment I had the first bear dream, I knew I was meant for a lot more than Grand Junction, Colorado. Catori, the old Indian woman who scared the children in my town by knowing things she shouldn’t, confirmed it. She told me I was destined to save a clan, and here I am. Ready to save the black bear.

  Well, that’s not the only reason. The man in my dreams is calling me, too. Carly and I have been texting since the day she and Sierra gave me my tattoo. She says he’s quite real and anxious to meet me.

  I glance out at the grass that leads to pine trees on the side of the interstate just before I get off at the Bangor exit. I don’t know when it started, but I’ve had the strangest feeling something is following me, and the flash of black I see in the woods every once in a while has me convinced.