BEAR-LY NEW YEAR

by M. L. Briers

  BARE-LY NEW YEAR

  BY

  M. L. BRIERS

  and

  A. B. LEE

  Copyright © 2016, M L Briers. A.B. Lee.

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced whatsoever without written permission of the author, except for brief exerts in reviews. Any unauthorised reproduction or distribution of the material herein is illegal and may result in criminal proceedings. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to the internet or distributed via electronic or print without prior consent.

  Note from the Author;

  All names, places, and incidents contained herein are purely fictional and have no basis in actual events or linked to actual Humans, Witches, Vampires, Werewolves, Lycans, Werebears or persons living, dead or undead.

  Copyright © 2016, Cover Design; Shardel.

  Table of Contents

  BARE-LY NEW YEAR

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  CHAPTER ONE

  ~

  “The wedding is in two days. I’m so excited. It’s so romantic.” Chloe was practically bouncing on the spot and having another one of her Tigger moments. She’d had too much coffee and she was way too hyped for Zoe’s liking.

  “I’m happy that you’re so happy.” Zoe frowned.

  Then the resident witch turned her attention towards the stunning blonde, and bride to be, that was standing staring out of the window like her very life depended on the answers that she could garner from the snow covered tops of the mountains that were the backdrop to the winter cabin that they had rented, and were the biggest selling point for this whole marriage in the snow themed wedding.

  A winter wonderland for a winter wedding, with capes, fur hoods, and everything that a romantic could wish for. Wonderful. Or maybe not so much for one of them, and when one of them was the bride that smacked of trouble in store.

  Zoe didn’t like it one little bit. Her nose was twitching and itching and when that happened, well, all hell tended to break loose.

  “It’s just so…” Chloe bounced again. Happy in her own little dream world of how romance should be.

  “Romantic?” Zoe offered a little absently as she watched her friend practically lost in those mountains.

  “Yes. So, very, very romantic, and Jackson is so very, very dreamy. Don’t you think?” She gushed.

  “Mr Wonderful himself? Sure, what’s not to like.” Zoe gave a small shrug of the three layers of sweaters that adorned her shoulders. “It’s just a shame the bride is having second thoughts.”

  Like a homing missile – Chloe’s head snapped around on her neck and her eyes devoured Kristy – she eyed her up, down, and back up again. Then she leaned in towards Zoe and whispered.

  “Well that’s not good.” Chloe bit out dryly. Always one to state the damn obvious at any occasion it made Zoe want to face plant her head in her hands, but she somehow managed to resist that urge, and the one that had her zapping her friend with a little light magic touch.

  “You don’t say?” Zoe shot back with an even dryer tone than the one that Chloe had offered, and with a frown cut into her forehead.

  Zoe was miffed. She’d warned Kristy about rushing headlong, feet first, and gung-ho into a marriage with Jackson when the man had proposed after six weeks.

  Six weeks wasn’t long enough to decide which side of the bed you wanted to sleep on. Now it looked like those damn pigeons had come home to roost and she didn’t have the heart to say I told you so.

  “But – two days to lift off?” Chloe hissed and Zoe sighed inwardly.

  “Or two days to splat.” Zoe shrugged.

  “I’ll talk to her.” Chloe took a step, but Zoe’s hand was already fisting a handful of her sweater and she yanked her backwards to a small yelp of surprise.

  “You have had way too much coffee to enter into that kind of a conversation.” Zoe scowled down at her bouncy, flouncy friend and watched as she considered it.

  “Ok, you’re right.” She admitted.

  “Usually am.” Zoe let go of her sweater and folded her arms across her chest. It looked like she’d been right about the suddenness of the wedding too, at least, it looked like that from where she was standing.

  “So, you talk to her. Get her to see sense.” Chloe widened her eyes and gave a backwards nod towards Kristy. “Have at her. Make her see that her a Jackson are soulmates and were meant to be together.” She grinned, excited again, she just couldn’t help herself.

  Zoe sighed inwardly. Chloe was just one of those people, and eternal optimist, and Zoe wasn’t. She preferred to prepare for the worst outcome on all occasions – this one included.

  “Or make her see that she can still walk away from this.” Zoe muttered, almost sensing the chaos in the air.

  “What!” Chloe’s voice turned all shrew like, and Zoe gave her a warning look.

  “This is exactly why you are not the one to talk to her. Go lick out the coffee pot or something.” Zoe hissed as all good witches could. It was sort of inbuilt into their DNA, just like rushing to stupidity was inbuilt in the normal human DNA, and there had been more than a touch of that going around lately.

  “Fine. But I will be eavesdropping where I can.” Chloe tried to hiss back but she just sounded like she was out of breath from exercise.

  Then she took herself off to the kitchen and left Zoe to do the adult stuff. It was better that way for all involved.

  They’d been friends for a long time. Two humans and a Fae – some would say a strange combination – but they’d all gotten on just fine – as thick as thieves, and they had stood shoulder to shoulder being there for each other, better than sisters, for all of those years.

  Now Kristy was getting married to Jackson, the slightly goofy, dashingly good-looking in a classical sense, geek, and things didn’t feel exactly right in the world. Kristy could have at least been happier within her self – not withdrawn and slightly sullen, and Zoe could have sworn that Kristy had looked like a woman on the edge of reason when they’d gone to collect her the day before from home.

  She berated herself for not tackling the issue then and there. Now they were on a snowy mountain staring a wedding in the face…

  There was nothing else for it – they needed to have an adult conversation for once with no brushing over the glaringly obvious.

  “Hey, tart with a heart.” Zoe lurched into her favourite jibe for her friend’s love of all things Pretty Woman the movie. She knew it word for word and grimace for grimace, and that should have been a clue right there that she would do something stupid like rush into love.

  Kristy jumped a little at the familiar greeting. She dragged her eyes away from those lonely mountains that reflected a part of her that she couldn’t seem to shake since arriving at the cabin yesterday afternoon, and turned her attention towards her friend.

  “Witch – bitch?” Kristy tipped her hea
d to one side and smirked. Her full lips pulled back until she was flashing two rows of perfect white teeth, but it was the look in her eyes that held Zoe’s attention – her eyes weren’t smiling, not even close to it – in fact, they looked a little sad.

  “If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?” Zoe asked, strolling towards her, and taking in the view as if it was just normal to see such breath taking beauty outside of the window instead of the drab terrace houses of a tree lined city street.

  Zoe noted that she didn’t answer immediately. She snatched a look at Kristy and there was a half frown on her forehead as her eyes regarded the floor as if she was lost in thought. Then she snapped out of it and Zoe regarded the view again.

  “Here, silly. I always wanted to get married in a big old snow-fest wedding.” She chuckled, but it sounded hollow.

  “So this is the wedding of your dreams?” Zoe motioned towards the outside world.

  “Yep.” Kristy nodded her head as if she was trying to convince herself of that.

  “And what about Jackson?” Zoe offered.

  “What about him?” Kristy frowned hard.

  “He fits into this winter wedding wonderland happily ever after scenario, right?”

  When Kristy didn’t immediately answer Zoe shot her a look. Her friend swallowed down hard and nodded…

  “Of course, sure.” There was a catch in her throat and she looked as if she was having problems picking a direction for her head. One minute it was shaking and the next nodding.

  “You don’t look too sure.” Zoe’s eyebrows questioned her just as much as the look in her eyes, and Kristy grimaced a little, then a little more, as her eyes searched the floor for answers.

  “I’m…” She nodded and swallowed again. A frown. A scowl. A small shake of her head. “Sure.”

  “Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but you don’t seem one hundred percent sure.” Zoe pushed and Kristy’s eyes snatched up to meet hers, questioning what her friend had said.

  Kristy bit out a chuckle. Looked to the floor again. Grimaced once more, and then lifted her hand to her forehead and worried it with her nails.

  “No. I am sure. I mean. It’s two days to my New Year’s Eve winter wedding…” She tried to sound upbeat and excited, but it came out sounding a little breathless, and she looked a little worried. “Who would wait two days before their wedding to be unsure?”

  Her eyes snapped to Zoe’s and she practically begged for answers to the questions that she couldn’t quite formulate in her spinning mind. A pained smile was frozen upon her lips, and those big blue eyes were screaming for help…

  “Cold feet? Sounds normal.” Zoe shrugged and Kristy licked her lips before swallowing against her sandpaper tongue once again. She nodded in agreement.

  “That’s it.” She arched her eyebrows and pointed at Zoe. “You’re right. It’s just cold feet. Nerves. I’m nervous.” She shrugged her shoulders and something approaching a manic laugh rattled from her frozen in place half smile.

  Then the colour practically drained from her cheeks. Her eyes widened, and she looked as if she was going to scream or maybe throw up…

  “That’s it right?” She almost begged Zoe to agree. When Zoe didn’t immediately rush to tell her what she wanted to hear – she did beg. “Tell me that’s it.”

  “It’s… most… probably it.” Zoe grimaced a little.

  “Oh my God you don’t think that’s it, do you?” Now she looked as fearful as a nun in the house of the Devil.

  “I think it might be it.” Zoe shrugged.

  “Don’t sound too convincing.” Kristy snapped back.

  “It’s not my job to convince you to marry him. It’s my job to be your Maid of Honour, and as a good Maid of Honour I wouldn’t be doing my job correctly if I didn’t explore all avenues of opportunity and possibility here…” Zoe shrugged again, looking more than a little sheepish, and Kristy’s head was shaking slowly from side to side on her neck.

  “O-kay.” She held out her hands and her eyes practically begged for answers. Zoe leaned in, craning her head on her neck, and Kristy did the same…

  “Run.” Zoe said, as plain as you like, and Kristy snapped her head back on her neck as if she’d just been bitten by a viper and was in complete shock about it.

  “You think?” She hissed out. Zoe took a moment before she slowly nodded.

  CHAPTER TWO

  ~

  “What!” Chloe screeched from the doorway of the kitchen, and both women turned to look at her. “That’s not good Maid of Honour advice. That’s horrible advice.” Chloe stalked into the room like she was rolling up her sleeves to do battle.

  Kristy turned on instinct towards her and took one step back from her and two steps towards Zoe, as if she was looking for a wing man.

  “I’m just calling it as I see it.” Zoe shot back.

  “But, she’s getting married in two days.” Chloe bit out in disbelief.

  “I know.” Zoe shrugged.

  “I know too.” Kristy grimaced again.

  “See. That face there.” Zoe pointed to Kristy and Kristy once again snapped her head back on her neck as if she’d been bitten. Her hands went to her cheeks and she looked worried.

  “What’s wrong with my face?” She demanded and then gasped. “Did I get a really big zit or something?”

  “That face there says she’s unsure, and walking blindly into marriage with a man you’re unsure about isn’t the best thing in the world.” Zoe tossed up her hands and invited her friend to argue the toss with her on that one.

  “But the wedding is in two days.” Chloe bit out again.

  “God, I know.” Kristy looked pained.

  “And that face says she has really big doubts.” Zoe offered, and Kristy huffed, dropped her hands to her sides and groaned, just a little, before she whimpered.

  “I do.” She nodded agreement towards Chloe.

  “But I don’t think you’re seeing the big picture.” Chloe offered back, and then motioned towards the snow-capped great mountains outside the huge picture window.

  “No. I do. I get it. Wedding paid for. Cabin in the mountains. Jackson’s coming here, on the way as we speak. Two days to go until…” Zoe stopped talking at the sound of Kristy deflating into a heap on the floor – it ended with a thud as her backside hit the wood.

  “Now see what you’ve gone and done!” Chloe berated the witch as she dropped down to her knees beside Kristy, who was having something of a slow meltdown.

  “She’ll be fine. She just has to tell Jackson…”

  “Tell Jackson!” Kristy shot upwards and took them both by surprise. “No, no, no telling Jackson anything.” She was shaking her head so fast that Chloe had to wonder if it was going to fall off.

  “It’ll be fine.” Zoe assured her.

  “You love Jackson.” Chloe gently reminded her.

  “I – I do. I love Jackson.” Kristy shrugged.

  “He’s your soulmate.” Chloe offered.

  “He is...? He is!” Kristy gave a thoughtful nod. “He’s my soulmate.” She rushed out.

  “You’re marrying Jackson and everything is going to be rosy.” Chloe offered.

  “When I marry him, it’ll be…” Kristy swallow hard once more. “Fine.”

  “Sure it will. It’s just nerves talking.” Chloe assured her as she cut a dark glare towards Zoe.

  “Fine. That’s the word you choose to describe the start of the rest of your whole life with Jackson – the man of your dreams – your soulmate?” Zoe huffed. “Sure it will, sounds… Peachy.”

  “Zoe!” Chloe exclaimed, miffed that she’d walked Kristy back from the edge of a very tall cliff only for Zoe to poke the bear once more.

  “I need some air…” Kristy seemed to be sucking in a whole lot of it already as she bolted towards the front door and tore it open…

  The rush of freezing cold air slammed into her body and she gasped in the icy grip of the weather… Then she
turned, snatched up her jacket, hat and gloves, and started to yank them on.

  “I need to walk. I’ll…” She turned on a scowl towards her friends who were starting towards her, one looking expectant and the other looking slightly bored. She fisted the door handle. “Be back.” She bit out and yanked the door closed in their faces.

  Chloe turned to look at Zoe and it took a moment, but then Zoe shrugged her shoulders like it was just another day at the office of life.

  “What are the odds?” She whispered and Chloe scowled back at her with a shake of her head.

  “A fine Maid of Honour you turned out to be.” She grumbled and stalked away.

  “The truth is like a band aid…” Zoe shrugged.

  “Witch or not. You’re weird.”

  ~

  ~

  ~

  Kristy sat at the bar, glass of Scotch in hand, and considered the conversation that she’d had with her friends. It hadn’t gone so well.

  She grimaced and took a big sip of the fiery brew – blowing out a breath as it burned all the way down. It didn’t feel wonderful, but she knew it would numb something – hopefully her brain.

  Kristy knew about witches. Of course she did. She’d learned that lesson at an early age when Zoe had revealed what she could do – her starter magic as it was back then.

  Then the whole world had learned about the shifters – animals that turned into men – or was it men that turned into animals…?

  She dismissed that thought and eyed the young woman, a bear shifter, that had served her the Scotch and caused her to do her very best Dragon impression only without the fire. It still burned in her chest.

  “You’re part of the wedding party?” Lola asked. She thought she’d seen the woman arriving with the witch in tow.

  “Yes.” Kristy nodded, trying to force a smile to her lips, but it was strained at best.

  “Don’t tell me, you don’t like the bride?” Lola chuckled.

  She’d seen it all working at the bar that was the hub to the cabins and the lodge that served everything from corporate retreats to weddings. The stories that she could tell if anyone had been interested enough to listen. Although this woman looked like she could use an ear not be one.