by V. Vaughn
I leave the keys under the mat on the floor of the driver’s side and open the back passenger door to wake my mother. A moment of kindness makes me grab a candy bar and shove it into a pocket of my jeans. I pull out my phone and notice the stream of text notifications; I don’t bother to read them. My cell thuds lightly when I toss it on the front seat. There won’t be any texting where I’m going.
My mother’s arm jerks when I touch it, and I say, “Rise and shine. We’re here.”
The lock of her handcuffs clicks when I open one as she blinks away her sleepy fog. I snap the cuff shut on my wrist, and she asks, “Where are we going?”
I speak to her as if we’re on an adventure. “I thought you’d enjoy a walk on the beach. The tide’s out, and maybe we could dig for oysters.” I release her feet and help her out of the car. The key to the restraints is hard against my thigh when I stick it in my front pocket, and the solid slam of the car door signals the beginning of the end of my life.
A seagull calls out as it flies overhead, and a cool breeze blows through my hair as I walk my mother toward the shoreline. She lifts our hands up. “You really don’t need these, Izzy. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Nice try. But I stopped believing most of what you say years ago, Helga.”
“Fine,” she says. “At least tell me what we’re really doing.”
“Aren’t you enjoying this?” I swing our arms. “Doesn’t this bring back memories of my childhood? How many times did you take me on a surprise trip?” Tristan and I learned to dread those excursions. Sometimes they really would be fun. But as the years went on, we discovered there was a price to pay for the adventure, because my mother’s high was always followed by a low.
The lights of the marina illuminate our progress, and I glance over to discover fear on Helga’s face. Revenge is sweet. I say, “Oh. That’s right. You probably remember how they end for the ones who have no choice, don’t you? I wonder, would you prefer the cage? Or maybe just a broken bone to commemorate the fun?”
She doesn’t answer, and a sick part of me is actually enjoying this. I say, “The injury isn’t going to be very satisfying for me, though. While it took weeks to heal on a child, you’d be fine in a day or so.” I sigh and then whip my foot out in a sharp kick. A bone in her shin cracks, and she cries out. “Yeah. I think being trapped is the way to go.”
We reach an embankment, and I drag my mother as she tries to limp along with her broken leg. She’s wailing with her agony, and I say, “Shut up before I give you something to really cry about.” I chuckle at my words as I take us down a steep path. My mother stumbles because of the incline and pants out, “Izzy, I can do better. It doesn’t have to be like this.”
“You just keep being a good girl, and I’ll let you have a treat.” I offer her my smile, and my face is cold with the evil that lurks behind it. “I brought us a candy bar to share.” I have no doubt she recognizes the bribe as one of her own.
When we get to the sand, the whine of a boat engine makes me think she might try to call for help. I stop and dig my fingers into my mother’s neck to grip her esophagus. The scent of her fear turns my stomach. My voice is barely above a whisper when I say, “I’m the fiercest warrior the Le Roux and the Robichaux have ever known. I train hours every day and have learned dozens of ways to incapacitate you in a second. I promise the agony I inflict will make you beg for death. If you want to go peacefully, I suggest you keep your mouth shut and do as I say.”
Her eyes are wide as she nods, and I release my grip. Helga coughs as she bends over and clutches her neck with her free hand. I yank at her arm that is connected to mine and begin to walk briskly. My mother falls, and I drag her body along the beach. The metal cuff bites into my skin, but I ignore the pain.
As we approach a pier, I notice a rusted chain snaked around one of the support poles. It should work for what I have in mind. The ground beneath our feet is a combination of mud and sand, and we begin to sink as we get closer to the water. The stench of the mud flats is strong as I walk us over to a pillar. I say, “Sit with me, Mother. Let’s chat.”
I lower myself so my back is against the wood that is covered with barnacles and seaweed, and Helga reluctantly follows since she’s handcuffed to me. She groans as cold seawater soaks the seat of our pants, and she hisses when salt water enters her open wounds. Her voice is panicked as she begs, “Izzy, please.”
“Right.” I lift up on a hip to remove the chocolate bar from my back pocket, and the barnacles behind me dig into my shoulder. The wrapper crinkles as I hold the end and wave it. “One more thing, and we can have this.”
The metal of the handcuff key is warm when I remove it from my pocket, and I open my restraint. The rusty chain wrapped around the pole stains my fingers orange as I grab it, and I slide the connecting chain of the cuffs under it. The metal snaps as I reattach it to my hand. “There. Now we can have our treat.”
The tide here rises fifty feet in twelve hours. It should only take an hour before we’ll be submerged in ocean water with no way of escape unless I unlock the handcuffs. The wrapper of the candy bar tears as I grab it with my teeth and pull. I snap half off and hand it to my mother as I say, “You’ve been a good girl. Here you go.”
She takes it, and before biting in, she asks, “Do you really think you’re saving the world here? The damage I do is trivial compared to what happens out there.” She sweeps her hand at the vast expanse of ocean before us.
I gaze at the woman who gave birth to me. She’s a mess, with hair that is matted, and the neckline of her shirt is torn. I smile at her. “You look like hell. They’ll be happy to see you.” I chuckle at my poor joke.
Helga says, “There’s still hope. If we found our true mates, we’d be cured.”
She’s grasping at straws, but I expected it. I ask, “Did you ever love us? Tristan and me?”
She growls as her claws poke out. “Tristan, yes. But you?” She reveals her teeth and snaps at me. “Never.”
I react without thought and slam the palm of my hand against her forehead to knock her out as I say, “Shut up, Helga.”
Her head lolls on her shoulders. The piece of candy bar she had in her hand lands on the wet sand, and I grab it. I take a gritty bite and chew. The sweet chocolate is comforting as I lean back against the rough surface of the periwinkles and barnacles that live on the pillar. Finally, the noise has stopped.
Chapter 10
Lucy
Sven offered to clean the dessert mess we made with the whipped cream while I give the girls a bath. Shampoo squirts out of a bottle as I squeeze it into my hand to wash Eva’s hair. Ellie asks, “Are you going to marry Sven?”
“I hope so. He’s my true mate.”
“What’s a true mate?” asks Echo.
“Hmm, how do I describe it? It’s kind of like how Cinderella and her prince fell in love when they first see each other.” Water rushes when I pour a cup of it over Eva’s head to rinse her hair, and I say, “It took me a little time to figure it out, but I know that Sven is the man I’m supposed to be with for the rest of my life.”
Ellie says, “Boys are icky.”
I chuckle as I recall how the first day I met Sven, he stripped off his shirt in a restaurant because he was hot and then proceeded to shove multiple hamburgers in his mouth as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks. Although to be fair, he may not have. “Sven was kind of icky when I first met him. But they grow on you.”
Eva says, “My true mate won’t be icky.”
“No?” I ask as I move on to Ellie’s hair. “What will he be like?”
“Handsome and really nice.”
“I think Sven is handsome,” I say. “Don’t you?”
Eva shrugs, and Echo says, “At least he’s funny. You can probably live with that.”
I grin at some adult’s words coming out of her mouth. “Yes. I think I can live with that.”
Ellie says, “You should tell him to get you a pretty ring like Daddy gave to Annie. It’
s sparkly.”
“It is. Your daddy has very good taste.” Sven came here with nothing, and I don’t think he’ll be buying me a ring anytime soon. And I don’t care. It wasn’t that long ago that it would have mattered to me. But since I met my true mate, material things are insignificant.
Water drips as I lift Eva out of the tub, and she says, “We’re going to be the flower girls when they get married.”
I wrap her up in a large towel and reach for another child. “You’re so lucky. I always wanted to be a flower girl. But nobody ever invited me to do it.”
Echo says, “You can do it with us.”
I frown at her and say, “I think I’m too big.”
Ellie is standing in front of me and says, “Yeah, you are.” She pats my shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’ll get to wear a pretty dress when it’s time for my wedding.”
Once I get the girls in pajamas and comb out their hair, and they brush their teeth, we make our way to their bedroom. Sven is sitting in the rocking chair with a pile of books. He asks, “Who likes stories?”
The triplets answer yes with enthusiasm, and I pat the beds for them to get in. He lifts the books out of his lap, and they thud when he sets them on the shelf. He leans forward in his chair as he says, “When I was a little boy, I used to visit my grandmother. She lived in a very old house. One day I was in the attic.” He glances at their faces as he says, “It was creepy up there.”
The carpet is soft on my legs as I sit on the floor to listen while Sven weaves a time-travel story for the girls that involves adventure and a little bit of romance. When he’s near the end, their eyes are droopy, and he must notice, because his voice gets softer. When he finishes speaking, we both sit for a while. The little girls breathe softly as they sleep, and I imagine evenings like this in my future as I gaze into the face of my true mate.
The rocking chair creaks as Sven stands, and his hand is warm when he reaches for mine to help me up. We tread softly to leave the room. Sven whispers, “I need to tell you something.”
I nod as we head toward his room. He shuts the door behind us when we get inside, and I wonder if he’s thinking about a little romp before we go down to check in with Annie about Tristan and Helga. He releases my hand and tilts his head at me. I wait for him to form his words.
Sven says, “My wife will be here tomorrow.”
I blink. Did he just say wife? “What?”
“Polar bear mate; we got married.”
No shit. I shake my head. “You have a wife?”
“It was necessary. A dying clan needs more werebears.”
The shock of what he just said wears off, and my skin prickles with the urge to shift. In our clan, if you find your true mate after you’ve married, the marriage can be annulled. But you tend to discuss these things.
I ask, “You didn’t think this was something I should know before?” I take a deep breath and force my claws to stay back as I process what else he said. I speak before he has a chance to answer my first question. “Wait. You have children too?”
“No.”
The thing about true mates is you don’t have a reason to be jealous. The love you feel for each other makes your relationship exclusive. But that doesn’t stop the nausea that flips my stomach. The fact is, Sven belongs to someone else until we go through the steps to change it. My hands clench and unclench as I try to keep myself from having a major hissy fit. He’s lucky there are three little girls sleeping down the hall.
I ask, “Why the hell didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
He shrugs, and his lack of feeling makes my claws come out. I curl my lip and growl low as I reveal my bear teeth.
Sven’s brow knits in confusion. “This does not matter. We are true mates.”
“Are you kidding me right now? I bet your wife will think it matters.”
He tilts his head at me again. “Don’t be angry. She knows how true mates work.”
“I-I can’t even—” I turn and stomp out of his room to jog down the stairs before I shift inside the house. When I get to the living room, Annie is slamming things around in the kitchen. I’d go commiserate with her, but I need to pace for a bit until I’m calm enough that my bear is safely tucked away. My true mate is so clueless that he never thought to share with me that he’s married with me. I sigh as some of my anger dissipates.
Dishes crash and startle me before I hurry to the kitchen to find out what happened. Annie is standing in the middle of broken glass, and tears are rolling down her cheeks.
“Annie?” She begins to sob when she sees me. I rush over to her and wrap my arms around her in an embrace. “What’s wrong?” I ask.
When she recovers enough to speak, she says, “Helga and Isabelle are dead.”
“Oh my god.” I pull her back against me when fresh tears fall. Luke. While we haven’t been that close lately, I think he’s going to need me now. I ask, “Did anyone tell Luke yet?”
Annie pulls away. Bits of glass crunch under her feet as she sniffs and wipes her eyes on the hem of her apron. She says, “I don’t think so. Tristan just told me.”
“I’ll do it.” While I don’t really want to be the one to break the news to my brother, I should be. It wasn’t that long ago we were best friends, and I think he’s going to need me.
Sven has come downstairs, and I say to him, “Isabelle and Helga are dead. I need to find Luke.”
“I’m coming with you.”
Even though it was only moments ago that I was furious with my mate, my heart soars that he wants to be by my side. Sven wraps his arms around me as he hugs me tight. “Little Bear, I’m here.”
I imagine what it would be like to lose Sven, and hot tears roll down my cheeks before I swallow down the lump in my throat. I pull away and gaze into the face of the man I couldn’t bear to live without. I know he’s mine, and while the fact that he’s married bugs the crap out of me, I’m sure he loves only me. I place my hand on his cheek, and the stubble on it is rough under my fingers as I say, “Thank you, but I think I need to see my brother without you.” I lift up on my toes to kiss him quickly, and Sven surprises me with something more passionate.
When he breaks away, he places his forehead against mine and says, “I love you, Lucy. You are the one I want to be married to.”
“I know.” While I’m going to have to deal with the fact that he has a wife, it seems trivial right now compared to what my brother is about to experience. I say, “I love you too.”
Chapter 11
Tori
Keith communicated with Carly on the drive home from the Milk Shed, and once she heard I’m an alpha, she came over to meet us after we finished dinner. To say Carly’s excited is an understatement. She hugs me so tight she almost knocks the wind out of me as she says, “I don’t know if you can possibly imagine what a big deal this is.”
“Oh, I might. The idea of being in control of an entire clan is pretty overwhelming.” I turn to Keith. “But knowing I have a kick-ass prime helps.”
“I’m glad you have him too. You also have me and Brady.”
We walk to the kitchen, where I started a pot of coffee. The aroma of French roast is strong to my new nose, and Keith says, “Come sit, Carly. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”
Liquid gurgles into mugs as I pour us all a hot drink, and I bring them to the table.
Carly says, “It’s time the clans all worked together.” She looks at me. “You’re aware that the Veilleux and Le Roux have a long-standing rivalry. Since Victor died, we’ve formed a council with all three clans in the Northeast Kingdom. Brady and I represent the Le Roux. My mother, Marion, and her husband, Richard, represent the Robichaux. And Lily, the human who became your father’s mate, along with a man named Edward represent the Veilleux.”
I ask, “So once we’re ready, Keith and I will take the place of Lily and Edward?”
“Yes,” says Carly. “But.” She glances at Keith and then back to me. “I think we should w
ait for a little while before we reveal the news. I want you to be prepared for whatever kickback Patricia may have in mind.”
Keith says, “Good call.” He takes my hand. “We’re not sure which Veilleux can be trusted.” His grip gets tighter as he returns his gaze to Carly. “And I hate to think about what might happen to Tori.”
“I agree,” I say. “I’d like to learn how to fight as a bear and get a handle on what exactly being an alpha means.”
Carly nods. “Ian’s your man for fight training. We won’t tell him you’re an alpha though. Let’s keep this between the three of us and Brady.”
I say, “There’s one thing I don’t understand. What makes Patricia so powerful?”
Keith’s mug thumps hard on the table, and Carly says, “She’s got the Veilleux medicine man on her side.”
“Medicine man. As in Native American witch stuff?”
“Exactly,” says Carly. “Their man, Tokala, is one of the most powerful.”
A few days ago, I’d be shaking my head at this news. I was blissfully ignorant of the world beyond humans. It’s amazing how quickly I’m accepting the new information thrown my way. “I don’t suppose there are ways to block him, are there?”
“There are if you have the powers,” says Carly. “But so far I’m the only werebear we know of who has the ability to use magic.” She sips her coffee.
I say, “Tell me about Lily.”
“Lily’s great. She came to us with the call, but when she met Victor, she discovered they were true mates.” Carly swirls her coffee in her cup as if she’s remembering something. “She surprised us all and has done a good job of being the prima in the absence of an alpha.”
“Do you think she’s going to mind me coming along to take over?”
Carly shakes her head. “No. I expect it will be a great weight off her shoulders. But I wouldn’t dismiss her. She’s one you can trust, and I’d keep her as a valuable asset.”
