by V. Vaughn
“Yeah. As much as I want to hand her over to Henri and give her the trust I think she needs there are a few matters to consider.”
I sit up to look at him. “Like whether or not you really can trust her?”
“Yes. She hasn’t had an easy life since Julie sent her away, and I think she’s experienced so much betrayal she may not believe people act any other way.”
I recall what Nadia said last night about how we both found happiness here after a life of difficulty. I say, “I think you’re right, but people change given the right encouragement.”
Jean Luc smiles. “They do. Nadia mentioned to René that she’d like to help Caitlyn. What do you think about Caitlyn working out as a warrior in training? I’d keep her a few levels down from anything sensitive.”
“Do we know if she can shift without Nadia?”
“No. And I suspect not, but I think the physical training would help her heal.”
“I agree. Just ask Tally how I feel about the power of exercise.”
Jean Luc grins. “She made me feel her bicep.”
“Good, at least she has boundaries with mated men, because she was asking all the single warriors to check out her thigh,” I say before I get serious. “I think giving Caitlyn a physical purpose is a good idea.”
He nods. “We’ll start there. We should also find out if she can shift without Nadia in her head.”
“If she can, that means Kelsey can too. Perhaps we test Kelsey first.”
I take a sip of my drink as Jean Luc says, “That’s a good idea, but we have to do it soon. Val contacted me about changing Kelsey.”
“I’m sure they’re impatient for it to happen. I’ll talk to them.”
“Would you like to call Annie in to help?”
I think about my sister-in-law; the woman who befriended me when Tristan and I came to Maine with the intention of stealing the Northeast Kingdom. I grew to love her, and I smile as I recall her contagious optimism. And since she’s witnessed a few humans changing, she’d be a valuable asset. “That’s a good idea. I’d love to have her visit for a few days, and I’m sure she’d do it.” I also know that because Annie will never be able to have her own children, she’ll take great pleasure in hearing all about her new nephews and niece. I chuckle before I say, “She and Grace will have the nursery ready by the time Annie has to go.”
“Great. Let me know when she’s coming and I’ll inform Val.”
I place my hands on my belly that is now round with my pregnancy. I know my fear is probably unfounded, but I can’t help worry my daughter may have the bipolar curse of the De Rozier women, and I fear one or more of my children could have the temper I used to have. As part polar bear, they’ll be stronger than any of the black bear, and if my daughter is bipolar, not many will be able to control her.
I must be frowning because Jean Luc interrupts my thoughts when he asks, “What’s troubling you, Izzy?”
“The worries of a pregnant woman. I was just thinking about how difficult I was as a child. Did I mention I want to get a De Rozier to come be a nanny so we have another polar bear on hand to keep our kids under control?”
Jean Luc gives me a look that makes me think he finds my concerns unfounded, but my husband knows how to handle even the most difficult of people and says, “If that’s what you want, then that’s what we’ll do.” He shakes his head. “The way things are going she’ll find her true mate, and the next generation will have more polar bear in their blood than we’ll know what to do with.”
My husband is one quarter polar bear and has a white patch of fur over his heart. He was told a polar bear was his fate and waited for years to find out his true mate was a full-blooded one. I say, “Perhaps that’s part of your destiny.”
He raises his eyebrows at me. “Perhaps it is.”
I can’t hide my fear any longer, and I blurt out, “What if--”
I take a deep breath, and Jean Luc leans across the table to hold out his hands out to me. “The curse was broken, Izzy. I’m sure of it.” I place my hands in his as he says, “But if by chance it wasn’t, we’ll deal with it. Look at how Tally, Bella and Kimi managed to get Nadia back even though your portal was destroyed. We’ll figure it out if we have to.” He comes over to me and pulls me up from my chair to hold my waist. “Ma cherie, there’s nothing we can’t handle together.”
I place my hand on his chest over his heart. “Did I ever tell you what I thought the first time I saw you?”
His eyes twinkle with laughter. “Before or after I hit you over the head with a heavy rake?” Considering Jean Luc saved me from drowning because I’d chained myself to a pole with my dead mother, and then I tried to shift into an angry polar bear every time I gained consciousness, what he did was justified.
I smile back. “Before. When you leaned over me as I was drowning I could see you through the water. The sun was shining behind you and created a red halo with your hair. I thought you might be God, and I was sure I didn’t deserve you.” Tears fill my eyes as I think about how my true mate saved my life.
He swipes moisture away from my cheek with the rough pad of his thumb. “You do deserve me.” He places a hand on my belly. “And these babies. Just like I deserve the fierce love of my polar bear, Isabelle De Rozier Ouellette.”
I smile as more tears roll down my face, and he kisses me. I let our connection thread its way through my veins and straight to my heart, and I allow myself to feel his love. Our love. Because I’m going to make damn sure it conquers all.
25
Kelsey
Val talked to Jean Luc about changing me, but it was put on hold for a couple days because of some hunter thing. Apparently, my sister Caitlyn has finally been captured. I’m not quite sure how it worked, but Nadia was inside of her and somehow Caitlyn managed to shift. So it seems I might not need Val to change me after all, and I’m about to find out.
Rain beats at the top of Val’s car as we drive along the road. I gaze out at the ocean and watch the churning water as wind carries the spray from the top of waves in a white mist. When werebear children go through puberty they are able to shift. And most of them figure it out pretty quickly, but once in a while there is one who struggles. When that happens, the clan medicine woman and older clan members step in to help things along. So Val and I are on our way over to Jean Luc’s house where his mother, his wife and the medicine woman will all see if I can shift.
We pull into the driveway of a house that’s more modest than I expected for the alpha of a clan. It’s aged cedar shingles and blue shutters make it look like it belongs on Cape Cod. The home is set on a ridge overlooking the ocean, and I bet the worth is in the location. Wet rain stings my face, and I yank my hair out of my mouth as Val asks, “Nervous?”
“About getting naked in front of three strangers? Yup.”
Val chuckles. “You’ll get used to it.”
He takes my hand, and I hold on tight as we step onto the front stoop. I’m scared I won’t be able to shift, and I’m terrified of what will happen if I do. Val’s fist raps lightly on the door before an older woman answers it. Her hair is a faded version of Jean Luc’s vibrant red, and the streaks of gray give her a grandmotherly appeal.
“Come on in.” She steps aside as we enter and says, “Goodness, it’s really storming out there.” She smiles at me. “I’m Jean Luc’s mother, Grace.”
I smile back, “Kelsey.”
We hang our rain jackets up on a standing coat rack and she says, “I already have coffee made and can do water for tea. What can I get you two?”
Val says, “Coffee would be great for me.”
“Nothing for me,” I say as we walk into an open-space kitchen. I recognize the prima from pictures on Jean Luc’s desk. She walks over to me, and I’m taken aback by how pale she is. Her hair is so blonde it’s almost white and she’s as tall as Nadia. She says, “Hi, Kelsey, I’m Izzy.”
“Hi. Nice to meet you.”
A petite Native American woman is at
the counter and snacking on something with powdered sugar judging by the white residue on her lips that she swipes away with her hand. She says, “I’m Tally.” She holds up a small cookie. “You have got to try these lemon things. To die for.” She pops it in her mouth and closes her eyes as she sighs.
“Maybe when we’re done,” I say. “I’m not very hungry right now.”
“Oh. Right. I suppose this whole thing has you nervous.” Tally waves her hand in dismissal. “Don’t you worry. If you can’t shift then we’ll make Val bite you.”
Grace’s tone is stern. “Tally.”
She huffs as she rolls her eyes at Grace. “I was joking. Geesh.” She switches gears quickly and asks me, “Have you ever gotten really, really mad?”
I frown as I think. I’ve been angry before, but I’m not one to get super-pissed off about anything. “Not really. I know I used to lose my temper when I was little, but my mom says I grew out of it.”
Izzy says, “Looks like I’m out. Anger was my trigger.”
Val says, “Anger was mine too, but there must be something else people use.”
“It’s about intense emotions,” says Izzy. “Fear could work.”
Tally’s face lights up. “Oh fun. We could scare the crap out of you, Kelsey. Like with hiccups.”
I chuckle at her reaction, and Izzy asks Grace, “What was yours? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get mad.”
Grace says, “It’s not much better than fear. Mine was pain.”
I scowl. “I don’t like that idea at all.”
“It’s actually not that bad,” says Grace. “My first time we discovered it by accident. My brother kicked me in the shin and that triggered it. It didn’t take long for me to learn to shift without the pain. I was one of the first of my friends to gain control.”
Val says, “Pain is certainly motivating. I like it.”
“What?” I shake my head at the crazy conversation.
“It’s up to you, Kelsey,” says Val. “Do you want me to dangle you off the deck by your foot or spank you?”
Tally scrunches up her face. “Ah. No spanking. That could lead to a different reaction.”
I frown in confusion before I get she’s talking about sex, and when I do a flush heats up my cheeks. Val grins at me, “We haven’t explored that yet.”
“Oh my god!” I say. “Could we not talk about our sex life please?” Now my embarrassment is making my whole body hot.
Izzy speaks softly. “Val.”
“On it.” Val’s gaze is the hungry look he gives me when he’s thinking about sex, and he asks me, “What? You don’t want them to know how you let out a little moan when I’m --”
Oh god. I’m going to die on the spot.
He shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this.”
“What? What’s going on?”
“He was trying to see if extreme embarrassment would be a trigger,” says Izzy.
“Oh.” I don’t like that any more than the other options. “I can assure you I’ve had enough mortifying situations in my life that I’d know by now.”
Tally says, “I’m not convinced Caitlyn shifted on her own. I think Nadia being in her head was the catalyst.”
“Maybe so,” says Grace. “But Jean Luc wants us to make sure. So we need to pick something.” Her face is kind when she asks, “You decide which you’d like, Kelsey.”
I throw up my hands. “I don’t know.” I’m not a fan of being terrified, I can’t think of what would make me so angry I see red, and I have no desire to go down the humiliation path. “Pain?”
Val sighs. “I don’t like any of this. How am I supposed to watch you get hurt, Kelsey?”
“I don’t like it either.” I think about how my life with Val as a werebear is going to have new rules that may seem barbaric, but they’re also effective. I’m going to have to put tender sensibilities aside, and to do that I need to develop a tougher skin. I say, “Val, you told me a clan is a family where everyone contributes for the greater good. Even when it’s not something they want to do. Jean Luc needs to know what Caitlyn is capable of on her own, and I can give him that answer.” I step toward him and place my hand on his heart. The heat of him travels through me along with our connection as if it’s sealing my decision to embrace the life of a werebear. “I need to do this.”
Tally says, “You got a brave one, Val.”
“That I did.” He tips my chin up. “Each day you manage to make me love you more.”
I smile as I bask in his praise. “I’m about to cry like a baby, and you’d better still love me once you see what a coward I am.”
“There’s nothing you could do that will take our love away. Nothing.”
I swallow hard as I turn away from him, and I say, “Who’s going to punch me?”
Tally and Grace look at Izzy, and she shrugs. “I will.”
Val shifting when Nadia and Marcel took me away flashes in my mind, and I turn to him. “You can’t be here for this.”
“Kelsey--”
“She’s right,” says Tally. “As her true mate you’ll lose it with the need to protect her, and then Grace and I will have to take you down.” She puts her hands on her hips and scans Val as if she’s assessing him as an opponent before she adds, “You don’t want to know the pain I can inflict.”
I cover my mouth as a laugh tries to escape as I picture the petite woman hurting a man double her weight, but when she glares at me I sober quickly. “Sorry.”
Tally winks at me. “Never underestimate a tiny witch. We’ve got short people issues.” She flips back to stern and turns to Val. “Go. We’ll take good care of her and call when you can come get her.”
Val kisses me quickly before he leaves, and I turn to the three women.
I’ve never been beaten, and I’m sure I’ll never want to be again, but I think I need to experience more than one punch. Of course not knowing what it’s really like probably makes me more courageous than I should be, and I say, “One hit is probably not enough. Do whatever you think is necessary.”
Grace raises her eyebrows. “There’s a bit of warrior in you, my dear.”
I chuckle dryly, “Either that or an idiot.” I look at Izzy. “I’m ready when you are.”
Something silver flickers in her eyes as she sets her jaw, and the next thing I know a blow to my head has me on the ground. White-hot pain slices through my brain before a kick sends what feels like an axe chopping me in two through my side. I want to vomit as stars float before my eyes when another blow hits my thigh. I’m blind to everything but my agony, and I can’t even scream. When I’m kicked again, something in me snaps. I scramble to my hands and knees with the intention of fighting back. I lift my face to glare at Izzy as I push myself forward to tackle her, but her foot connects with my chin and sends me tumbling backward. My head slams on the floor with a crack, and everything turns black...
* * *
A heavy blanket of warmth wraps around my body, and I open my eyes to Izzy hovering over me. A yellow glow surrounds her as she says, “Hold on, Kelsey. I’m almost done.”
I sigh as my eyelids get heavy, and then I recall what just happened. I stiffen as the aura around Izzy disappears. Grace leans over me and takes my hand. “Izzy just healed you with her magic. You’ll be sore, but you won’t feel as bad as you should.”
I nod and sit up as I ask, “Did I shift?”
“No,” says Tally. “And if that beating didn’t make it happen, I don’t think it ever will.” She grimaces. “How do you feel?”
I roll my shoulders and arch my back. My muscles hurt more than a hard workout but nothing is excruciating. I say, “I’ve been better.” I reach up to touch my jaw and it’s tender, but the way it felt when I was kicked makes me think it should be broken. I swing my legs over the side of the couch and am shocked I can move. I say, “That’s some magic. You could make a fortune selling it.”
Izzy’s eyes are dark and heavy as if she hasn’t slept in days and I wonder
if healing me exhausted her. Her expression is serious as she says, “You’re not a coward. You got up to fight back the way werebear do. The Ouellettes are honored to welcome you to the clan, Kelsey. I’ll facilitate the change for you as soon as I can.”
I smile at the woman that just pummeled me into a blackout. She taught me an important lesson. A survival instinct I didn’t know I had came out of hiding, and I think my mate’s worries will be put to rest when I tell him. “Thank you, Prima. I’m honored to join you.”
26
Tally
Kimi, Bella and I developed a quick test to determine if the various containers of protein powder all contained the same portal spell. While I think they do, I wasn’t going to leave anything to chance and find out the hard way we have another issue to deal with. My spoon taps against the edge of a wooden bowl as I dump the testing mixture into a sample of powder. The now familiar reaction of bubbling that gives way to a brown goo happens, and when it’s done, I toss the contents into a large bucket. It lands with a splat. Kimi will take it along with all the leftover powder and neutralize the spell before we dispose of the entire lot.
When a knock sounds on my door I call out. “Come on in!” The pregnant women in my clan come often for my maternity tea and I think one is here now. Water rushes as I wash my hands, and I say, “Give me a minute to clean up and I’ll be right with you.”
“I’ll wait as long as it takes.” The deep tone of Marcel’s voice is like warm liquid filling my body.
I turn to him and smile as the rough cotton of a dishtowel rubs on my hands as I dry them. He stays in the doorway and asks, “I know it’s still not safe to be near you, is this far enough away?”
“Too far. Come closer.”
He steps forward and asks, “Want to give me a tarot reading? I need to find out when I can have my dream girl.”
