“I believe that you can if you try hard enough. Perhaps it will take just the right time and place.”
Elaina shook her head. Like she wasn’t already under enough pressure. Now she would be expected to shift into wolf form? It’s just not possible. She had to say something to take her mind off what was ahead.
“Why did you really take me from the lodge like that if you had known all along the clan was in hot pursuit?”
“I didn’t then, but neither was I willing to lose you. While you recovered, Shauna told me.”
Elaina balled up her fists. “I hope I have a chance to pay Shauna back for telling you. She betrayed me to the clan, no doubt.”
Cullen’s face tightened. “She has already paid for that with her life.”
Elaina’s jaw slacked open. “You killed her?”
“No, the clan did. Atar said it was because she betrayed one of her own kind, but I wonder—”
“Wonder what?”
“What his real motives are, but he’s traveling with Gerirr and Hectar and I know they’d have killed me if they had the chance. They’re the inspectors I tangled with not long ago.”
Elaina could scarcely breathe. “I might not have liked Shauna, but I’m sorry she’s gone now. How is Damon taking it?”
“Not well, but he was resolved to find you and Liam and warn you both. I know it’s hard to understand how I treated you that last night and I wish it hadn’t gone like that, but after I learned the truth about how close the clan was, I knew the best thing I could do was treat you so badly that you’d leave the village before it was too late.”
That blew Elaina away. “You did it to protect me?”
“Yes, and it worked much better than I had hoped. I was so glad that you were gone, but I didn’t even tell Damon what I had done. He was quite mad at me when you were gone and left, too. I’m also glad that he was not in the village when the clan came. I thought everyone I cared for was safe, but when the clan threatened the life of my son, I had no choice but to lead them to you. Believe me, I tried to lead them astray, but eventually I did make it to the werewolves’ den. Unfortunately, that’s also where Damon was, but Nala really helped us out. It wouldn’t surprise me if Damon seeks out Nala when this is all over.”
“That shouldn’t be too hard since they’re at the village.”
“I meant for a mate. I’ve never seen Damon so smitten with a female before.”
“That shouldn’t surprise me. Nala is a very kind werewolf, and if she wasn’t barren, she’d probably have a mate by now.”
“That shouldn’t matter to Damon since Shauna was also barren. I had begun to wonder if a werebear can bear a child with another of their own kind. That’s why Damon and I were willing to break the clan’s rules and bed down with Klesa.”
Elaina smiled. “I give you both credit. While you both have been forced to allow the clan to take the men of the village, you have also represented to me your defiance of the clan.”
“We don’t consider ourselves to be part of the clan. Being werebears is hardly a qualification, although Atar considers us one by default. I still wish there were more werebears in our village. I might have been able to fight against the clan and save Shauna’s life. I don’t feel good that Gerirr and Hectar murdered her. I should have protected her better, even sent her away.”
Elaina put a hand on Cullen’s arm. “There’s nothing you could have done. Had you fought back, you and the entire village would have been murdered.”
Liam strode over, his eyes flashing. “When you two are finished making up, we should get started.”
Elaina dropped her hand and would have said something, but she bit down on her lip to stop herself. Even if Liam thought that was what she was doing, he shouldn’t have said so in front of Cullen. Elaina was glad that she was able to clear the air with Cullen, and to hell with what Liam thought. Now was not the time for petty jealousies. They had to all pull together. Now, they all had a common goal: find the remains of her parents and bring them to the clan’s fortress to try to end this blasted war.
Liam was speaking with Samson when Elaina strode up, listening to Samson’s instructions when Cullen and Damon also joined them. “They might have the entrance to the cave concealed. We must make a thorough inspection of the base of the mountain for any signs of a cave. I also expect it to be hidden by fallen rocks that might be covering the entrance. If the clan hid any bodies here, it’s going to be concealed for sure. Whatever they hid, they wanted it to remain that way.”
Elaina thought this to be an impossible task and she concentrated on trying to remember any detail that she could. She closed her eyes for a moment, but what she envisioned was not a cave at all, but looked like more of a cabin. In her mind, she saw rugs and smelled food cooking. She breathed in, hoping to recall a fragrance, the scent of her mama bear, anything that might help her remember.
When Elaina opened her eyes, all eyes were on her. Instead of asking her anything, Samson led the way to the edge of the mountains and far below the peak of the North Ridge. The sides of the mountain were nearly sheer in this area and there was not a hint of a cave. Boulders and rocks rested on the ground from numerous rockslides and possibly an avalanche, but no signs of a cave.
“This is going to be harder than I thought,” Elaina said.
“If only life was that easy, the war might have ended long ago,” Samson said with a hint of a smile.
There was snow on the tallest peak of the mountain, but Elaina wandered from the cliffs and entered the forest where there was a trail, or what looked to be one. She hadn’t gone in more than fifteen feet before a large tree lay across her path. Instead of being dissuaded, she climbed over it.
Branches and needles scratched across Elaina’s face, but she continued. She could smell the food, or in her mind she could, and the sound of laughter. Elaina could visualize her mama bear in human form standing before an open fire, stirring a pot. Her dark hair glistened within the light of the fire and a man put his arm around her, bringing her closer. She, in turn, playfully batted away his wandering hands and he kissed her gently on the ear, winking at the children close by.
Elaina shook her head to clear the images just as she saw a moss-covered, abandoned cabin, or what looked to be one. Common sense told her to go back for the others, and it won out.
Elaina was panting when she found Samson lifting a large rock. “C-Come quick. I found a c-cabin.”
“We’re not looking for a cabin,” he replied.
“I know, but—”
Elaina ran off and heard the men following. When they stopped at the door to the cabin, Samson asked, “Is there something you remember, Elaina?”
“Yes. I’m not sure, but I believe that this might just be the cabin we lived in when I was a child. Before you found me wandering in the woods, Samson.”
Cullen and Damon forced the door open and halted Elaina from entering. “Let us check it out first, Elaina,” Cullen said. “It might collapse on our heads.”
Elaina examined the roof and knew he spoke the truth as there was a huge hole in it, but she waited only a few minutes after Cullen and Damon entered the cabin before she also walked inside.
The smell of mold assaulted Elaina’s delicate nostrils when she entered. In the center of the room was a table with four overturned chairs that were broken on the floor. Plates and a metal pot were on the table, too.
“It looks like the table was set for dinner,” Elaina observed. “I can’t help but wonder if this is the cabin I once live with my parents. I can’t believe my memory is coming back to me in chunks right now.”
Cullen and Damon forced the windows open and that helped as they could then see inside the cabin much more clearly. There were toys scattered on the floor that were made of carved wood, and that solidified to Elaina that this might be indeed the cabin that she had spent part of her early childhood.
Elaina gently touched the mantle of the fireplace, remembering back, but these images were not
nearly as pleasant as before. These were filled with panic. She gazed up as her human-form mama stood over her, giving her instructions that needed to be followed. She and a boy a head taller than her were ushered outside. They shifted, but she couldn’t quite see the one who might just be her brother. He certainly wasn’t up the same tree that she had climbed in fear as she heard the rumbling of paws, and shrieks of birds taking flight.
She gazed down from her perch and saw more bears than she had ever seen before. Her mama bear tried to escape, and the wolf that was her father was pinned down against the rocky outcropping. Her mama bear roared, but instead of trying to make her escape, she made way to free her mate. She was stopped when she was struck by a mighty paw of a bear with a white spot on his right ear.
Elaina wanted to wail for her mama to stay away, but—
“Werebear with a white spot on his right ear,” she said. “He struck my mama bear down. S-She was trying to save her mate, my father, but—”
“It might be better to not remember,” Samson said.
“It would be better if she did,” Cullen insisted. “Go on, Elaina. It might help identify the ones responsible for her death.”
“I can’t remember much else other than the bear with the white spot knocked her down and took her life.” Tears coursed down Elaina’s cheeks. “When my father ran to her, he shifted to human form and that’s when the bear murdered him. Right before he died he shifted back into a wolf.”
Liam moved to hug Elaina, but she was already in Cullen’s arms. Elaina saw the disappointment in Liam’s eyes, but she came undone at this moment. She’d explain to him later that it didn’t mean that she cared more for Cullen than she did Liam, just that she was overcome with grief, recalling the violent deaths of her parents.
Samson moved forward and said, “I’m sorry that you had to remember, but hopefully that will help us. Do you think you can remember where you hid from the clan?”
Cullen let Elaina go, and she nodded. “I can try. I can’t seem to remember my brother, or his death. I’m not sure if the clan murdered him, or if he escaped. Are you sure you didn’t find any other bear cub besides me wandering the wilderness, Samson?”
“No. I wish I had, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t escape. There are more possible explanations.”
“Such as?”
“That the clan took him back with them, that he was allowed to live.”
“That makes no sense. Wouldn’t they fear he would tell everyone the truth?”
“It depends if he saw what you had, or if he didn’t. He might even have thought his parents had deserted him. Stranger things have happened.”
“No, I’m sure that’s not the case. The clan wouldn’t allow him to live. Not after the way they acted after my parents were killed. The one with the white spot roared an order to find and kill the cubs.”
“I’m sorry, Elaina, but if you can try to find the tree now…” Samson said.
Elaina wiped her tears with the back of her arm, and went back the way she came up the trail. She wished right now she had more time to adjust to remembering, but Samson was right; maybe finding the tree would help locate the cave, although certainly Elaina couldn’t remember any such cave.
Back at the mountain, Elaina scanned the nearby trees and found one that looked like the one all those years ago, but it was no longer the strong tree she had climbed. The branches hardly had any needles and didn’t look stable enough for anyone to climb.
“This is the tree. It sure doesn’t look like I remembered now, though.”
“You were but five when I found you, Elaina.”
They spent the next few hours going back and forth, shifting or lifting rocks and boulders, but all to no avail. No cave was found.
“This is exhausting,” Elaina finally said. “We’re never going to find the cave.”
“Not with that attitude,” Liam said. “What if the cave is at a higher elevation?”
Samson nodded. “Great idea. Who wants to climb a tree to see if they can find anything?”
Elaina was selected and she climbed a tree, staying in human form. She pointed out a spot twenty feet up, and they scaled the rock wall, and cleared the rocks that hid an opening to a cave.
When they entered the cave, a foul odor assaulted them. “Is that death I smell?” Elaina asked.
“It smells more like sulfur,” Samson said. “I can’t imagine you’d be able to smell decay from that long ago.”
“It’s much too vaporous in here,” Cullen added. “We need to do a quick search and get out of her before any of us pass out.”
The cave was searched and Elaina wandered in deeper and tripped over something. When she looked to see what it was, an animal skull was found, it’s cranium much larger than that of a human. Elaina called the others and Samson acknowledged that it was indeed that of a bear. Upon further inspection, another skull was found, this one much smaller. It was the skull of a wolf. “It looks like we found our evidence,” Samson said.
Damon went down to retrieve the bags, but Elaina said, “This won’t prove anything unless we find something else that might identify the remains.”
Cullen nodded and a search began. He came back with a piece of fabric with the bones. “This might be part of a banner that belongs to someone from the clan. The remains had to have been placed here while the clan was in human form, and something was dropped here.”
“Or placed,” Damon added. “Someone with a guilty conscience perhaps, or completely by accident. Elaina, if your mother was part of the clan, I can’t help but wonder why they would have hunted her down just because she fell in love with a werewolf. It just seems more personal.”
“Yes,” Cullen said. “Possibly a jilted or unrequited suitor. I imagine in those days, arranged marriages even happened. Especially after Anna had met a violent end.”
“I suppose, but if that’s the case, this suitor sure had a lust for blood.” Elaina paused in thought before continuing. “It makes me look at this in a whole new light. It was quite personal to whoever hunted them down.”
Liam began coughing and they left with their findings, concealed in burlap bags. Elaina carefully made way for the ground when she spotted a group of three bears not far away. She waved her arms and the others joined her. Elaina whispered to them so as not to alert the marauding bears, and they made their escape.
They traveled to the north in bear form, carrying their clothing in bags and took refuge in the forest where they shifted back to human form and hastily dressed. Samson was then pacing. “We can’t keep ahead of them now. They’re on to us.”
“We’ll have to keep pressing on,” Elaina suggested. “If we keep moving, we’ll be okay.”
Cullen nodded. “Elaina’s right, but if we have to wage a fight, I’m more than willing to stay behind to fend them off.”
“No!” Elaina shouted. “I won’t leave any of you to stay behind. We came here together and together we’ll see this through. I won’t see anyone unnecessarily endangering their life on my account.”
“You don’t have much of a choice, Elaina. I’m staying behind and you’re to go forward.” Turning to Liam, he continued, “Liam, don’t allow Elaina to put herself into any more danger than necessary. Stop her from following us.” With that, Cullen and Damon left, leaving a startled Elaina to look on in horror.
Chapter Fifteen
Elaina didn’t have time to protest further as Samson and Liam took ahold of her arms, leading her away. It was quiet in this part of the forest, but squirrels chattered in a nearby tree, and a deer leapt away at their approach.
By the time they took a moment to rest near a stream, Elaina was near tears. She pulled away from Liam when he tried to comfort her. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Cullen and Damon will be fine. They’re quite capable of taking care of themselves.”
“If something happens to either of them, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“Didn’t they both treat you badly when you were with them?”<
br />
“They treated me no different than any of the other females, but I now understand why Cullen treated me like he did that last day. He told me he drove me away to protect me from the clan.”
“If you feel so strongly about them, then why did you flee? I can’t help but wonder if you have more feelings for Cullen and Damon than you’re willing to admit. I saw the way you look at Cullen, and the way he looks at you.”
“Sure, I have a bond with them, but I also know that their lifestyle does not suit me.” Elaina took Liam’s hand in hers. “Please understand. They took me willingly under their wing and I gave myself to them both. I would be very cold-hearted were I to wish them harm. It’s obvious that they’re both willing to protect me.”
Liam led Elaina near a large pine. Once they were standing beneath it, they embraced. “You have nothing to fear, Liam. I have a bond with you that can’t be broken. One that has existed since long before I ever became a woman. If you could only forget my time with the werebears…”
“I’m not jealous, if you think that. I just want you to admit how you truly feel. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring to either of us, and I don’t want to spend it arguing about the werebears.”
Samson cleared his throat as he walked by. “Reconnect if you must. I’ll keep a lookout for the marauding bears,” he said.
Neither Liam nor Elaina waited another moment as they fell into each others arms. They melted to the ground, meshing on the soft spongy soil beneath them. Liam’s lips closed over Elaina’s and they kissed long and slow, intertwining their tongues, tasting one another’s essence.
When their lips parted, Liam sighed. “If this is to be our last day on earth, I want it to be with you.”
Tears glistened in Elaina’s eyes at Liam’s tender words as she fumbled with Liam’s shirt, yanking it off as he worked hers off, too. Liam stared at Elaina’s breasts and she felt a tremor make way, ending to warmth between her rounded thighs.
He traced the roundness of one breast and squeezed her nipple with a gentle twisting of finger and thumb. Elaina leaned back, trying to press her nipple toward Liam’s mouth, meeting his hungry eyes with hers. His lips curved into a smile and as he took a nipple into his mouth; his eyes never left hers.
Betrayed (Werebear Shifter Romance) Book 3 (Clan of the Werebear) Page 8
