Claused: BBW Holiday Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Christmas Bears Book 2)

by Harmony Raines

  “All allegations are neither truth nor lies until we’ve investigated. Even then it’s up to a judge and jury to decide.”

  “You win. What’s Callie Frasier been up to, allegedly?” Kain didn’t let Officer Partridge hear him sigh. He let the breath out real slow, and hid the disappointment in his voice. Usually he was more than happy to go into work, but he hated having to leave Marra. They’d just made love, and he felt as if he was running out on her.

  “A Mr. Armand, the owner of the building Callie lives in says she assaulted him. Kain, Callie is a teenager.” Officer Partridge let his words hang in the air.

  “Can I speak to her mom or dad?” Kain asked.

  “Sure.” Officer Partridge said something Kain didn’t catch, and then a woman’s voice came on the line; she sounded upset.

  “Hi, Mrs. Frasier?” Kain asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I need you to quickly talk me through what’s happened.”

  “OK.” Her voice broke as she started to speak, and then the phone got passed to a man.

  “Hi, this is Callie’s dad, are you the lawyer?” a deep, troubled voice asked.

  “Yes. I know it’s difficult, but I need a quick version of events.”

  “That scumbag Armand is trying to blackmail us into leaving the building.”

  “OK. Can you tell me the facts?” Kain asked.

  “Armand is trying to evict all the tenants, using whatever means he can. By acting now, he thinks he can get away with it, with the holidays coming up and everything.”

  “And what’s this got to do with Callie?” Kain asked.

  “Armand is accusing her of assault. Said she gave him a black eye. He’s making the whole thing up, but he’s fabricated a witness. But he made us an offer, he’s willing to drop the charges, if the other tenants agree to leave.”

  “I promise you, Mr. Frasier, he is not going to get away with this. I’ll be there as soon as I can. In the meantime, keep calm, don’t do anything stupid that will give Armand any ammunition.”

  “You mean like going over there and ripping his head off?” Mr. Frasier asked.

  “That’s exactly what I mean.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Be strong for Callie and her mom,” Kain said.

  He hung up, and grabbed his clothes. Dressing quickly, he went out to find Marra. She wasn’t in the kitchen, although the coffee pot was hot, so he poured out two cups, he’d have time to drink this; it would help wake him up. He looked at his watch. It was close to midnight. What kind of person makes allegations about a young girl at this time of night?

  Going out into the small sitting room, he stood and listened, wondering if Marra had gone down into the shop. Or perhaps she was in the bathroom. He sipped his hot coffee, and walked along the hallway, to see the bathroom door open, the light off.

  “Marra?” he called. No answer.

  He stood in the sitting room, and called louder. “Marra.”

  There was a sound from downstairs. He took one more sip of his coffee, and then went down into the shop, feeling his skin prickle as he reached the bottom. Marra’s magic spell. He smiled, at least it had let him through, if it hadn’t he might be trapped upstairs in her apartment. Now that was a thought, held captive by his woman.

  A movement caught his eye. “Marra. Are you OK?”

  “Marra’s gone.” It was Rupert’s voice.

  “Rupert, what are you doing here?” Kain asked, a prickle of fear lacing its way down his back.

  “Orders. Shame, I was about to show Connie a little more of my magic.” Rupert was standing in the doorway of the shop, the light from the street making him a silhouette.

  Kain approached him warily, his bear waiting to come out and chomp on the scruffy man, who had abandoned the tux, and wore casual clothes. Dark casual clothes. And in his hand, there was a woolly hat, or a ski mask. “You look as if you are a burglar.”

  “Jack of all trades. What can I say. Something needs doing, I get asked.”

  “And what needs doing?” Kain asked.

  “A damsel needs rescuing.”

  “A damsel. I’ll get Marra and we’ll come with you.”

  Rupert shrugged. “I told you, Marra’s gone.”

  Kain felt his skin go chill, not a thing he’d experienced before: his bear blood fended off the worst of any weather, but this chill had nothing to do with the temperature, it had to do with his mate. “Marra’s gone. What does that mean, exactly?”

  “It means the man who stole Marra’s wand came back for her.”

  Rupert’s words were not sugarcoated, and Kain felt them like a punch in the gut, winding him up. He reached out to steady himself, and lowered his head, trying to breathe. This was not the time for him to faint, but his head was swimming. This couldn’t be happening. His bear rose up, standing on his haunches and swiping the air, giving Kain the strength to close the space between him and Rupert.

  “How do you know this? Was it you who lured her down here?”

  “Nope.”

  “But you were here?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you didn’t stop it?”

  “Nope.”

  “Damn it, what is wrong with you?” His temper flashed and Kain had to fight the uncontrollable urge to let loose his bear on Rupert.

  If Rupert saw the struggle in Kain’s eyes, he certainly didn’t let on. His heart rate didn’t rise, and his breathing stayed the same, nice and even and easy. “This is how things are supposed to play out. Marra needs her wand back, and the only way she’s going to get it back is if she goes to DeVere’s mansion.”

  “And you know this how? Mrs. Claus passed on the information?” Kain asked vehemently.

  “Now, watch you don’t take her name in vain,” Rupert warned.

  “Or what? She’ll turn me into a frog?” Kain asked. “Or is that what you are supposed to do? Damn it, is that what her picture means? That I’m going to be turned into a frog?”

  “You, my friend, read too many fairy stories.” Rupert clapped him on the shoulder. “Now, are we going to go get your girl, or are you going to stand here all night slinging these accusations around?”

  “That’s it? I’m simply expected to trust you?” Kain asked.

  “Or not. I’m going to get Marra and her wand, whether you come with me or not.” Rupert stepped out into the street, leaving a very confused Kain reaching for his phone.

  “I have to make a phone call first.”

  “I’ll wait.”

  Kain frowned, trying to figure out how he was supposed to be in two places at once. His only hope was to get hold of Asher and see if he could speak to someone who had the authority to let Callie go. Then, first thing tomorrow, Kain would accompany Callie into the station to answer the charges.

  “Hello, this is Asher Murray’s phone.”

  Damn, he cursed in his head. “Hi, Mandy. I take it Asher is unavailable.”

  “Is that you, Kain? Yes, he got called out of town at the last minute.”

  “Thanks, Mandy.” He hung up. Out of town was Asher code for on a job; he would be deep undercover, and there was no way he could break cover for something like this.

  His only other option was to phone Bas, and hope he had cell reception. Then, he would persuade his friend to drive back from the mountain tonight and go to Callie’s aid. Not that Bas would take much persuading. They both knew Callie from a case they had worked a few months ago; that time it was Mr. Armand who was being accused. It looked as if the property developer was after revenge. Between the residents of the building where Callie lived, Eastside Terrace, and Bas and Kain, they had stopped all the residents being evicted and the building redeveloped.

  Mr. Armand had not been very happy.

  Bas’s voice jerked him back to reality. “Hi, Kain. How are you?”

  Kain got straight to the point. “How quickly can you get back?” Kain asked Bas.

  “Why, what’s wrong?” Bas asked. Bas sounded as if he were
walking in a town, there was the sound of people in the background. Or maybe it was the radio in the mountain cabin.

  “You remember that housing development over on the east side of town?” Kain asked.

  “Of course, we fought and won. So what’s the problem?”

  “The owner of the building is trying to evict all the tenants. Thinks he’ll get it done before they have a chance to appeal over the holidays.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” Bas said.

  “You know that. I know that. But a young girl, Callie Frasier, you remember her? She assaulted the owner. Gave him a black eye.”

  “And he’s pressing charges?” Bas asked incredulously. Kain knew why, Mr. Armand, the building owner, was a strapping six foot tall, with a broad chest and big biceps. Callie was tiny compared to him, there was no way she could have blackened his eye. An image came to him, of Marra doing the exact same thing. Callie blacking a man’s eyes wasn’t so ridiculous now that he came to think of it; women were strong and fierce when threatened by bullies.

  “Sure is. Wants to make an example of her.” Kain paused. “Or he’s willing to drop the charges, if the other tenants agree to leave. So Callie’s father told me.”

  “What the hell!” Bas exclaimed, then paused. “Give me a minute.” There was a muffled conversation, and then Bas said, “Are you with the family now?”

  “No. I can’t. I have a problem of my own to deal with.” He hesitated. “I’ll explain when I see you next. It’s not something you will believe if I tell you over the phone.”

  “Kain, after the couple of days I’ve had, I will believe anything.”

  “I’ll trade you stories next time we meet up.”

  “What about Asher, can’t he head over there and do something?” Bas asked.

  “He’s gone undercover. Won’t be surfacing for a while. It’s you or nothing, Bas. I’m sorry.”

  “Tell the family I’ll be there in an hour.”

  “You aren’t at the cabin, then?” Kain asked.

  “No, something came up. Like you said, some things are hard to say over the phone.”

  The call ended abruptly, and Kain called to Rupert, “One more phone call and then I’m ready.”

  “Don’t rush yourself, only the love of your life in the hands of a wand stealer.”

  “I know.” Kain punched in the number of the police station, he knew it by heart, and then passed on the message that Bas was on his way. Feeling bad at leaving the Frasier family to wait for an hour, but knowing there was nothing more he could do, he shoved his phone in his pocket and went out to join Rupert. “Where to?”

  “The DeVere mansion. You drive, I’ll ride shotgun.”

  “Just when I was beginning to think things were going to return to normal, and then this happens.”

  “Son, you left normal at the door the minute you shacked up with a fairy godmother,” Rupert said, and then added, “And I thought lawyers were meant to be smart.”

  Chapter Twenty – Marra

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Marra asked. Not that she needed to. There was no doubt in her mind that the man in front of her was Lance DeVere. The wand in his hand gave it away. Her wand. And she was not leaving here without it.

  “Come, Miss Le Fey, we both know what I’m doing.” He waved the wand at her. “This is useless without you. So I had my men come and pick you up.”

  “Pick me up?” She put her hands on her hips, glaring at Lance DeVere. “Your thugs broke into my shop and kidnapped me.”

  “I thought you would like to be reunited with your wand,” Lance said.

  “Reunited, yes. Held captive with it, no.” She walked towards him, taking no notice as two of Lance’s men stepped forward to stop her. “Give it back.”

  “I can’t,” he said, and a flash of emotion creased his face before he smoothed his expression once more.

  “Why? Why can’t you give my wand back to me? As you know, it’s of no use to you.”

  “At the moment…” Lance stood up. “But there’s a spell, isn’t there? A spell you can use to transfer the power to me, then I’ll be able to use it.”

  “For what? To make you richer? Maybe get your hair to regrow?” She glowered at him, feeling cruel, her tongue acid as she imagined all the things she would like to do to this man, none of them pleasant.

  “Please, Miss Le Fey, calm down and let’s be civil about this.”

  “Civil?” Her voice rose higher, if that was possible, she sounded like a screaming banshee. “You came to my home and took what wasn’t yours. Then you came back and took me. There is nothing civil in your behavior. At all.”

  “I have my reasons,” Lance said, eying his men. “And you are not harmed.”

  “Your men shoved me in a car. I was dressed in a bathrobe. Do you know how undignified that is?”

  “And I have given you your dignity back by lending you some clothes.” Lance pointed out.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m forgetting my manners. Thank you for kidnapping me, and letting me borrow some clothes.”

  Lance sighed, and sat on the edge of the desk in front of her. “I feel that it would be better if we started again, Miss Le Fey. I mean you no harm. I only want what you have.”

  “And if I say no, what will you do, torture me?” she asked, sounding braver than she felt.

  “Torture a fairy godmother? What kind of monster do you take me for?”

  She opened her mouth to reply, but then shut it again; she refused to have this conversation with him. However, she could see no way out of the situation, it was time to call his bluff, if he really did intend to hurt her, she would rather get it over with. No use putting off till tomorrow, what you can do today, her grandmother had often said. Marra doubted this was what she had in mind when she said those words.

  “I take you for a selfish man who thinks more of himself than of others. You do know I was supposed to help a Cinderella today, and I had to do it without my wand? What if it had gone wrong?”

  “But it didn’t, did it? Why? Because you are resourceful. Even if you do the spell and pass the wand to me, you will still have your magic, it’s strong, I can sense it.” He leaned forward and breathed in her scent. “I can smell it.”

  “And once I work out how to use it without my wand, I’ll be back here to take back what you stole.”

  “Oh, but I’m not going to steal anything.” He looked behind Marra. The door was opening and someone was being brought in. “In fact, I’ve changed my mind, it seems I have a little unexpected leverage. I’m giving your wand back to you.”

  He offered it to her, and she itched to reach out for it, but was afraid it was a trap. As she became aware of who had entered the room, she knew it was a trap. Or so Lance DeVere thought.

  Marra took the wand, feeling the familiar weight of it in her hand, much like in medieval times a knight would weigh up the weight of a sword. She’d never thought of her wand as a weapon before, but right now, that was exactly what it was. She raised it in the air, ready to strike.

  “Ack. No. Not for personal gain,” Lance said in a sing-song voice. “You can’t use it against me to get away.”

  “You think you know all the rules, don’t you?” Marra asked.

  “I made it my business to learn all the rules of magic and wands. Although the part about a fairy godmother wand only working for its owner, that part escaped me. I suppose we all like our surprises. Isn’t that right, Mr. Nolan?” Kain mumbled something. “Take the gag out of his mouth, he can shout as loud as he wants, no one is going to hear him.”

  Marra turned now, the wand in her hand, poised ready to use it. All she had to do was work out how she was going to phrase this wish so that it wasn’t about her.

  “I am going to kill you,” Kain said, his voice darkly threatening as he stared down Lance.

  “No, you’re not. Because I have your mate here, and you can’t risk her getting hurt. On the other hand, I can hurt you.” He raised his han
d, and one of the men drew out a gun. “We could shoot you in the leg. For starters.”

  The air around Kain shimmered and Marra saw the bear before he came forth. Only he didn’t come forth. Kain seemed to be stuck, half in this world, half in another. “Kain. Come back.” She rounded on Lance. “What are you doing to him?”

  “Doing to him? Nothing. He’s doing it to himself. You see I have a spell on the house to stop this very thing happening. Mr. Nolan isn’t the first shape-shifter to come here; he’s not the first to threaten to kill me. And I’m sure he won’t be the last.”

  Kain was still a shimmering being, half in this world, and half out, like a ghostly apparition. “Let him go,” Marra demanded.

  “When you agree to give me your power.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Stubborn, aren’t we?” Lance came right up to her, his face inches from hers. “You know what you have to do.”

  “Yes. I do.” She lifted the wand and before Lance could react, she waved it at him. “Frog.”

  This was the final part of her sketch, the final image that had not fit into place before. Lance gave a strangled cry, and then he shifted, growing smaller, and then greener, until he was nothing more than a green frog on the floor.

  Marra ran forward and reached out for Kain, grabbed hold of him, and hauled him back into this world. “Got you.”

  Lance’s men stepped forward, but she raised her wand in readiness. “Anyone else want to live the rest of their lives in a pond?” They backed off, and she took Kain’s hand and said, “Let’s get out of here.”

  Kain looked shaken. “That was awful. It was as if I was stuck in limbo.”

  “It’s a spell on the place. He’s probably got more.”

  “But he allowed you to use the wand,” Kain said, a little shakily, as they left Lance’s study.

  “He thought I wouldn’t be able to. No personal gain. And he couldn’t block the wand’s power, since that was what he wanted.” She stopped in the hallway. “I don’t think he planned on you coming here.” She cocked her head on one side. “What are you here? I don’t see how you got in.”