Her Reluctant Bear: A Hot Paranormal Fantasy Saga with Witches, Werewolves, and Werebears (Weres and Witches of Silver Lake Book 5) (3 page)

T
he last place
Brian Stanley wanted to be was in his dead parents’ house packing up their possessions, but his very pregnant sister Elana had asked for his help and he couldn’t say no. Thankfully, she’d already done most of the furniture removal before he’d moved to Silver Lake.

Two days ago, she’d told him it was time to put the house on the market, and he was thrilled. He wasn’t so crass to mention that she could burn the old homestead down for all he cared. After all, he’d found his parents murdered in the living room and sworn he’d never step foot in this place again, yet here he was. That was how much he wanted to reconnect with his baby sister. For as distant as he’d been from them most of his life, even he agreed with his therapist that unless he found closure to his parents’ actions, he’d never heal. So here he was—back in the town where it all started.

As calloused as it sounded, it wasn’t holding his dying mother in his arms that still haunted him; her rejection and total lack of love still fucked with his head. Hell, it had taken him thirty years of therapy to mostly come to grips with being tossed in an institution as soon as he turned eight.

“The door leads to the attic,” Elana said pointing to the ceiling in the hallway outside their parents’ bedroom. “Just yank on the cord.”

He was more than aware what was up there, but perhaps it slipped her mind that he had lived in this house until she was born. Many times he’d sneak up there when his parents weren’t around—which was much of the time—and pretend he was a stowaway on a pirate ship headed for some Caribbean island where he could run free.

As much as he didn’t want to touch anything that belonged to them, Elana was asking for his help. If he had any chance of experiencing what it was like to have a family, he couldn’t blow it now. He’d already walked out on her once, and he was determined not to rebuff her again. In the short time he’d been in Silver Lake, Elana had proved to him that she was pure goodness.

He tugged on the cord, climbed up the steps, and then turned on the bare bulb that only faintly illuminated the attic. Heart pounding, memories assaulted him, and he had to squeeze his eyes shut to block out the images. Despite the precaution, he couldn’t stop his mother’s sharp voice from entering his mind. The sound bounced around like a pinball, slamming against his brain until it hurt. No sooner had that stopped than his father’s pinched face came into view filled with disgust and disappointment that were heaped upon controlled anger.

Brian slipped his hand in his pocket looking for his meds, but they weren’t there. Damn. Only then did he remember that he’d tossed the small pillbox in his glove compartment in case of emergency. Today might be the day that broke his streak of being one-month medication free.

“What do you see?” Elana called from below, immediately blocking his parents’ grim faces.

“Ah, boxes.”

“How many?”

Happy to take his mind off where he was and why, he swept his gaze across the two pieces of plywood that sat on top of the rafters. Pink insulation covered the rest of the area. “I’d say no more than eight.”

“I’ll have Kalan and some of his friends come over and bring them down.”

If she’d planned on doing that, why ask him to help? “I can grab some of the smaller ones.” He needed to be useful.

“Okay.” The cheer in her voice bolstered him.

Ever since he’d come to Silver Lake a few months ago, something wonderful had happened to both his body and his attitude. Not only had he dropped the excess belly fat he’d been carrying for years, he’d been able to more or less wean himself off his bipolar meds. Even though Brian was thrilled to be mostly drug free, he still didn’t understand why the change had happened, though he sensed it had something to do with his sister. Every time he visited her, it was as if his worries suddenly disappeared. However, it could be that the air was less polluted in Silver Lake than in Ohio, which helped suppress his allergies. Bottom line, something was affecting him—and in a good way.

Pushing his questions aside, he brought down the four lightest boxes one at a time.

Elana examined them. “I wonder why Mom didn’t mark what was in them.”

“Maybe she didn’t want anyone to know what was in them. She was secretive that way. You could open them and find out.”

Elana inhaled then ran her hands over her protruding belly. For a moment she looked like their mother, but he dismissed that unpleasant thought. Elana was much prettier and a hell of lot nicer. Maybe it was the pink top that cinched under her breasts and the pink bow that held back her thick hair that made her look so young and innocent. What he knew for sure was that his sister was happy, and that gave him hope he could be too.

“Yeah, I know, but I’m not ready to see what’s inside just yet,” she said with a bit of depression in her tone.

He wasn’t ready to see their stuff ever. “I’ll put these in the back of the truck then.”

“Thanks.”

The moment he finished loading them, Elana slipped into the front seat, and Brian couldn’t wait to leave the property. The drive down the tree-lined driveway caused too many bad thoughts to jam his brain waves. He even had to force himself to loosen his grip on the wheel.

“Looks like it might snow,” Brian said, wanting to take the focus off being in his parents’ house.

“It does, but I don’t mind the cold.”

As much as he disliked the inconvenience of driving in the wet stuff, of late, things like slippery conditions and the wind cutting right through him, didn’t seem to really bother him much anymore. Even the gunmetal sky, while dark and foreboding, couldn’t dampen his overall mood—only thinking about how his parents had treated him could.

Ten minutes later, Brian parked in front of his sister’s house. “Where do you want the boxes?” he asked.

She withdrew a remote from her purse and clicked it to open the garage door. “Just stack them on the right side.”

“Can do. Why don’t you head inside while I take care of it?” He didn’t want her to push herself too hard. His nephew needed his rest.

“You have a moment to come in?” Elana asked.

He did, but he wanted some alone time. Who was he kidding? He needed his meds, and he didn’t want to take them in front of her. “Can I have a rain check? I have a lot of chores to do. It’s been a long day—and I bet the baby wants you to rest too.”

Elana leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. That one action heated his cheeks, but it also lightened his heart. She pushed open the truck door and eased out. “Thanks for helping me. I know that was hard for you.”

Brian had never been around anyone like Elana before. “It couldn’t have been easy for you either.”

Her thin smile told him she was working to hold it together. As soon as Elana waddled to the front of the house and let herself in, he placed the boxes inside the garage. Once done, he fished out his meds from his glove compartment and downed an anxiety pill. Disappointment washed through him. Fuck. Why was he so weak? He knew. It was his parent’s fault.

Stop blaming them for everything
, that little voice in his head told him.

Shaking off his own self-loathing, he drove off. While he had every intention of heading straight to town, something made him turn toward the lake. He’d only seen the shimmering water through the trees one time when Elana had given him a brief tour of the area, but even that small glimpse had drawn him in like a rubbernecker to an accident.

It might be cold, but today he needed to explore the area. It was as if some siren was calling to him. After a two-minute drive, he reached a spot where car tires had rutted a stretch of land. He shut off the engine, zipped up his jacket, and headed down the path that led to the water.

As he neared, his step turned lighter and a strange joy seeped into him. He swore Silver Lake was emitting some kind of drug that created a surge of endorphins, or else the pill he’d just swallowed had kicked in already.

The pine trees were giving off a fresh scent that entombed the area in coziness. There was definitely something strange going on here. He could feel it, but what was
it
? What he wouldn’t give to have this fleeting euphoria stay in his heart once he left this lake.

Brian walked around the shoreline, confused as to why his years of hatred toward his parents dissipated the longer he spent in the lake’s presence. Perhaps he was crazy to attribute his happiness to a body of water. It didn’t really matter. Contentment surrounded him.

It’s the pills
.

No, it isn’t.
He’d taken these pills for years, and they’d never worked this fast before or made him feel this way. Once his demons shut up, Brian returned to his car, determined to unravel the mystery of Silver Lake.

*

Jillian was exhausted.
As soon as she’d flown the coop, she’d driven straight to the Los Angeles airport, praying the bastard didn’t realize for a few weeks at least that she’d left the state. Because she’d given the female cop her cell phone number, Jillian had to turn it off, fearing
he
might be able to trace her location. Even if Camille called, she had to remain offline.

By the time she arrived at the airport, it was almost three in the morning, and unfortunately, the first plane to Knoxville, Tennessee didn’t depart until six.

With her suitcase by her side, she slipped down onto one of the terminal airport seats. Twisting her long blonde hair into a knot at the back of her head, she tried to stretch out on the hard lounge chairs for the long wait, but she couldn’t get comfortable. It might have been because with each passing minute, not only did her mood head south, her anger at the injustice of Dalia’s death caused her stomach to turn into a cauldron of acid.

Believing she was safe in the airport, she closed her eyes. Seconds later that horrible man’s smell floated toward her, and she jackknifed into an upright position. Jillian twisted around, expecting to see the cop with the scarred face, but no one was there. Damn. The last thing she needed was an over active imagination to mess with her senses. Her tiger was already on high alert.

No sooner had Jillian pushed aside the heinous violation that had occurred in her home than she realized she’d have to call Dalia’s parents and tell them how sorry she was. Hopefully, they wouldn’t blame her for leaving their daughter to go to the party.

While Jillian tried to relax once more, a looming sense of doom prevented her from letting down her guard. She might not be psychic, but she’d always had a sense about people. It was what made her a successful lawyer. If that cop was involved in Dalia’s murder, he might consider her a loose end. And loose ends needed to be eliminated.

*

By the time
Jillian made it across the country, rented a car, and then drove the hour to her brother’s place, it was a little after dinnertime. Thank goddess for the GPS system or she’d never have found Dalton’s house.

The only good thing about arriving late was that her brother might be home from work. If not, she’d find the sheriff’s office and ask for him there.

Her brother had lived in Silver Lake for nine months, yet she hadn’t found the time to visit her only sibling before now. Jillian could see that had been shortsighted. Family had to come first. Clearly, her struggle for success had blinded her to what was important in life.

As she pulled in front of his one story brick house, his white SUV sat in the drive. Jillian smiled as she remembered how happy he’d been when he bought his new car. He’d added the black wheel well trim, joking that his car was more of a white tiger than he was. He had even kept his identity secret from his werebear partner, Kalan Murdoch. As far as Dalton knew, only wolf and bear shifters existed in this town, and he didn’t want to be the odd man out ever again.

As soon as she cut power to the engine, the tension in her shoulders unknotted. She’d made it.
I’m safe, for now at least
.

Leaving her suitcase in the car, she stepped into the brutally cold air and shivered. Looking over her shoulder one last time, Jillian rushed to the front door and knocked. Shifting her weight back and forth to keep warm, she rubbed her arms. Voices sounded and then the door opened.