Tempted by the Bear - Complete (32 page)

L
ucy

P
oor Annie is beside herself
, wondering what’s going on with Tristan and Helga. Tristan contacted her earlier to say Helga was in jail and that he and Isabelle were going to bail her out. But that was hours ago.

The plastic of an outlet cover is slick on my fingers as I screw it into the wall. The house for the incoming De Roziers is in the finishing stages, and I’m in awe of how quickly it’s come together. Annie’s voice carries to me. “No, no, no. Seriously? This room was supposed to have the blue carpet, not brown.” I glance over to where she’s talking to the installers, and when she throws up her hands to walk away, I decide she might need some assistance.

My tool thuds when I set it down, and I stand up to go over to Annie. She turns to me, and her brow is knit as she says, “Nothing is going right.”

“I know. Let’s take a walk.”

“Good idea. I need to get out of here before I say something I’ll regret.” A drill whirls as we move past a room, and the distinct odor of paint fills the air. When we get outside, Annie takes a deep breath.

I ask, “Any word from Tristan?”

“No. And it’s making me crazy. I don’t want to be the clingy mate begging for an update, but a little contact would be nice.”

“I know it’s got to be hard, and I’m preaching to the choir here, but he’s probably too busy to think about the things he knows are fine.” The trickle of a fountain is soothing as we get closer to the center of Annie’s courtyard.

She bumps her body against mine as we step onto the flagstone path. “You’re right. Some days I wish I were the alpha who could talk to anyone whenever I wanted.”

“I used to hope to be the alpha too,” I say. Luke and I are the twin children of the Robichaux clan’s alpha, my mother, Marion. I recall the arguments we’d have as children about who would eventually be the leader of our clan. I wanted to be alpha so I’d get to order him around. The joke was on us though, because it turns out we had an older sister who would end our fight once and for all. Too bad we didn’t know about Carly back then.

I add, “Watching what goes on firsthand, I’m really glad I’m not the leader. I don’t think I’d be cut out for having all that stress in my life.”

“True.” Annie stoops to deadhead a flower. “Besides, I’ve got my own stress. Half of the De Rozier clan will be here tomorrow, and the single-women’s wing has brown carpet.”

I chuckle but sober when I recall how thin and disheveled Sven was when he arrived. “I have a feeling not a single one of them is going to mind.” We’ve reached a bench, and it’s hard on my bottom when we sit. “How’s your punch list looking? What else can I do to get ready for tomorrow?”

Annie tilts her face up to the sun and closes her eyes. I imagine she’s running through a mental checklist before she says, “The beds will be here late this afternoon, and I’d like to make them up. Could you take care of dinner and bedtime for the girls?”

“I’d be happy to.”

“Thanks.” She takes a deep breath. “Okay, I can be nice now. Thanks for the break.”

“Any time.”

We spend the afternoon finishing up little details, and by the time I go to relieve the nanny, the men are getting ready to leave too. I find Sven. He’s got paint splattered all over his clothing and skin. I say, “I’m in charge of dinner tonight for the girls. Want to join us?”

He asks, “What are you cooking?”

“Cooking?” I snort. “I was thinking about taking them to the Milk Shed for chicken tenders and ice cream.”

Sven waggles his eyebrows at me. “Ice cream cones?”

I smack his arm, because he’s teasing me about our first date, where we pretty much seduced each other by the way we ate our ice cream. “Impressionable children will be present.”

“Maybe we should get some to go?”

I stand on my tiptoes and pull him down for a quick kiss before I say, “Now that’s a good idea.”

An hour later, I’m glad I invited Sven along. He has the girls laughing so hard I think Echo might have wet her pants. I gaze at my mate, and French fries stick out of his mouth like fangs as he speaks in a mock vampire voice. I had no idea Sven was such a hit with children. Eva squirms her way onto his lap, and he says, “Ah, a snack.” He lowers his mouth to her bare arm and blows a raspberry as she squeals in delight.

I can’t help but grin at the idea that my mate is not only going to be a fabulous father, but also that he’ll want to be, if the way he’s acting right now is any indication. When it’s time for dessert, Sven convinces the girls that we can make hot fudge sundaes at home. So we get ice cream as takeout.

The trip home is just as much fun for the children as Sven and I sing silly songs from our childhood. Of course the favorite is the one Sven teaches them about being chased by a bear. When we get home, we go right to the kitchen for dessert. Bowls clatter on the table as I set them out for ice cream. Each girl takes their container and dumps it upside down into the dish as Sven instructs. I squirt chocolate sauce on each one while my mate takes care of the whipped cream.

He puts a dot on Ellie’s nose and says, “You have to keep it there until I give you the go-ahead.” She giggles, and he does the same to the other two triplets. When he turns to me, I play along as well. The light cream is cold on my nose and tickles as I wait for his instructions.

“Now,” he says. “You can only get it off by licking. Go!”

I reach my tongue up, even though I know it’s impossible. “You’re insane,” I say to him.

“Absolutely.” He reaches out with his tongue to lick the cream off my nose, and then he points at me with his finger so the girls understand what he’s done.

Eva jumps up to lick Echo’s face. When their noses are clean, Ellie cries out, “Do it again!”

My stomach hurts from laughter by the time the can is empty. I gaze at my adorable, goofy mate. There’s a bit of cream on his chin, and I lean in to lick it off before I say, “You continue to surprise me. You’re like the pied piper or something.”

He kisses me and says, “Stick with me, Lucy. The fun has only just begun.”

I lick sweet dairy flavor off my lips and smile. “So it has.” I turn to the girls and ask, “Did you know Sven is ticklish?” I jump out of the way as they launch themselves at him, and I laugh along as three little children show me the joy my future family may bring.

T
ori

E
very once in a while
, a girl needs French fries and ice cream. Since Lucy is too busy with Sven and building the dormitory for the De Rozier clan, I decide to make Keith indulge in my guilty pleasure. Besides, he tells me I start training to fight tomorrow, and I figure I can handle the extra calories.

The aroma of fried food is so strong I’m salivating as we stand in line at the Milk Shed. Gazing at the menu posted in black plastic letters on a board, I determine the lettuce and tomato on the hamburgers is the healthiest food choice available. I ask Keith, “What are you going to get?”

“Since the options are all a heart attack on a plate, I’m going to go out in style. I think I’ll have the fried clams and onion rings.”

“Excellent choice.” I lean against my mate’s solid torso and ask, “You have life insurance, right?”

“I see how this is going to be.” He wraps an arm around my waist. “I’m going to suffer through age jokes for the rest of my life, aren’t I?”

It’s our turn to order, and paper cups are cool in my hand when I grab our drinks to go find a table while Keith gets his change. Crushed stone grinds under my feet as I make my way to a red picnic table. I glance around at the other patrons. In addition to my new super-aware state, I have an unexplained confidence. It’s as if any person in this place could be swayed to my way of thinking if I wanted. I might be taking this werebear thing a bit too far. It’s not like I’m a superhero or anything.

The restaurant is family-style seating, and I place myself at the end of a bench seat in case other people need to join us. A familiar voice makes me glance over and discover Jax, my ex sort-of boyfriend from last semester. He’s facing me and with a girl who has long brown hair. When he notices me, he waves. I wave back as the girl turns around to glance at me. Her expression turns sour before she quickly turns back.

Knowing he’s a werebear, I watch with curiosity as he stares at the girl. I wonder if they’re mates and what they might be saying. A girl’s voice speaks.
“Another one of your conquests?”

I blink because that voice was in my head. Another werebear speaks in my mind, and I recognize it as Jax.
“Actually, I did date Tori. But I’m here with you.”
Jax reaches for her hand, and I quickly move my gaze to Keith as he sits across from me.

A voice over a loudspeaker calls out a number indicating an order is ready.

I don’t dare communicate telepathically, so I whisper, “Keith, something really strange is happening. Don’t look now, but I swear I just overheard Jax and his mate talking to each other.” I tap my temple. “In here.”

Keith’s lips part for a moment in surprise before his brow knits. He closes his eyes and sighs. I ask, “What’s wrong?”

He gazes at me and says, “I should have considered the possibility, knowing who your father was.” Keith takes my hands. “You might be the new Veilleux alpha.”

Now I’m the one to furrow my brow. “What?” Being an alpha is a big deal and not something I would have ever aspired to. Besides, it’s crazy to think I’d be a leader. I’m just a college sophomore who recently became a shapeshifter. What would I know about running a clan? “I don’t want to be.”

“Honey, you don’t have a choice.”

I smile at his new pet name for me. Only an alpha can communicate with all the members of a clan. Bubbles of my cola fizz in my throat as I take a sip. Maybe because I was human and recently changed, it’s a fluke. Except that I remember Carly telling me she discovered she was an alpha after she changed too. I pull my sweaty hands away, and the cotton of my shorts is rough on my palms as I wipe them on my thighs. “I’m a little freaked out right now.”

“Me too,” says Keith. “Want to test it out to be sure?”

I nod.

“Give me an order.”

“But you’re not a Veilleux, it shouldn’t work,” I say.

“I’m your true mate, and we’re bonded. If you’re the alpha, it will work.”

“Ah.” I lift my palm as I think and say, “Go get me some ketchup?”

“No,” says Keith. “Say it to me like you mean it. Like you expect me to do it because you said so.”

“Oh.” I make my voice stern. “Get me some ketchup.”

Keith drops his gaze and gets up. I’m pretty sure my jaw hangs open as he marches over to the counter where the condiments are located. Holy crap. I am an alpha.

When Keith returns, little paper cups full of ketchup tap lightly as he sets them down and says, “You, my incredible mate, are the Veilleux alpha.”

A voice over the loudspeaker calls out a number, and I recognize it as ours. I say, “I’ll go get that.” I glance over at Jax when I stand. I could speak in his head if I wanted to. And I could make him, and his girlfriend, do anything I wanted if I ordered it. This is so weird. A blue plastic tray is slick in my hands as I grab it and return to Keith.

I sit and stare at my mate. “What do we do now?”

“Eat.” He picks up an onion ring and bites into it. Speaking around the food in his mouth, he says, “Food first. You’re going to need it.”

I reach for my fried shrimp and drag it through cocktail sauce. The spicy horseradish stings my mouth as the delicious flavor of seafood fills my mouth. It’s my previous delight for the meal times ten, and I let out a tiny moan of pleasure. But after I swallow, my appetite disappears. I wonder what me being an alpha for another clan means for my life with Keith. I bite into a French fry, but the taste doesn’t register, and it might as well be chalk. I drop the rest in the container.

Keith sips his soda as he watches me. He says, “Let’s take this home.”

I nod as I stand. Keith goes to the window to get containers, and I stare numbly at the playground. Children’s laughter carries over to me, and realization hits me. I’m supposed to lead the very clan that has caused my true mate so much pain and anguish.

When Keith returns to me, he takes my hand and asks, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” I know I should be afraid. The human Tori sure would be. But I’m not, because I feel as if a power within me is taking over. I have the opportunity to right the wrongs of the Veilleux clan.

I slide over the warm leather seat of Keith’s jeep. His door slams shut, and he reaches for my hand. I squeeze his fingers as Patricia’s face flashes before my eyes. She tried to drug me in a scheme for revenge on the Le Roux. I suspect she knows I could be an alpha, and I wonder if she thought I could be fooled into doing her bidding.

I flex my hand as I gaze at it. I have the ability to turn into an animal that can kill with the swipe of a paw. Air rushes in my lungs as I inhale deeply, and the Jeep rattles over the bumpy dirt parking lot and onto the road. I’m the
alpha
for a clan that has been without strong leadership for months. The green eyes of my father glimmer in my mind as he smiles. I
was
born for this, but I’ve got a lot to learn. “Keith?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you prepared to become the Veilleux prime?”

I glance over at him, and his mouth is set in a tight line. We pull to a stop at a red light, and he turns his gaze to me. “Bring it.”

I think about how the Veilleux killed his previous mate and kidnapped the one before that. He deserves justice. Steely determination makes me clench my jaw too. “We will.”

I
sabelle

I
used
to love the color red, but after today I never want to see it again. The blood on the floor of the convenience store is imprinted on my mind, and I can’t get past the way an innocent man’s life was nothing more to my mother than a way to make her annoyance known.

The punishments my mother doles out have never made sense. I recall five-year-old Tristan and me in the cold, dark basement of our house. We were held in cages for a crime I can’t even remember. I can still see my brother’s hand reach through the solid bars of his prison to hold mine. He promised me when we were free he’d kill her for what she’d done. The promise of a little boy who wouldn’t shift for eight more years couldn’t come true, but I held on to the hope. We spent a lot of time in those cages.

Once we left the gas station, I knew I couldn’t return to the States with Helga. I took a left turn and headed for the ocean.

The clanging of the metal chain in the backseat as Helga struggles to get free gives me an idea. When Tristan and I were researching places for the De Roziers to relocate, I studied the Eastern Canadian coastline and recall that the Bay of Fundy has fifty-foot tides. There are stories about people who get swept away when they’re caught unaware, and it sounds perfect for my plan.

I revisit the vision that haunts me. Eight slain police officers on the highway who died in a moment of my mother’s fury. My jaw is clenched so tight it aches. Over the years, the death count has grown to dozens. And today another needless death is attributed to the hands of one woman.

My mother whimpers like a small child. “Izzy, please don’t be mad at me.”

She’s back to a coherent state, and I decide to take advantage of it. A tractor-trailer carrying logs whooshes by on the other side of the road closely enough that the suction makes me grip the steering wheel to keep us in our lane. I bite my tongue instead of laying into Helga. “I’m not mad, Mother.”

The reality is, I don’t think she understands what she’s done. It’s like she isn’t aware of her actions and snaps out of her trance to discover she’s done something unforgivable. And because she can’t live with the guilt, she’s learned to block it out. I like to believe she used to have remorse, but she’s so far gone now there’s no hope for her sanity. And who better to stop her than someone destined for the same?

I glance at the pine forest that lines the road, and the crack of a tree snapping from the force of my mighty paw sounds in my memory. I say, “Tell me about the curse, Mother. Tell me the truth this time.” I’ve heard so many versions during her rages, I’m not sure what to believe. But single grains are constant, and those are the ones I fear.

I glance in the rearview mirror, and my mother offers a sad smile. “Your grandmother gave you many gifts. Her ability to entice any man into a physical relationship was legendary during her time. Just like me.” Now she grins as if she’s sharing a secret. “And just like you, I hear.”

“So I come from a long line of sluts.” But I knew this already, and it’s not a curse in my mind.

Now Helga chuckles. “Yes. We’re wanton women, although if we found a true mate, we probably wouldn’t be. But I’m not sure any exist for the De Rozier women.”

I knew my parents weren’t true mates, but I’d always believed I had one.
Somewhere.
I shake off the sadness that washes over me, because it no longer matters. My mother continues. “Your grandmother set her sights on a beautiful Native American man. She had to have him even though he was in love with another, and she managed to get her claws into him.” Helga cackles at her pun. She sniffs when she recovers and says, “Anyway, the medicine woman of the man’s tribe was so angry, she cursed us.”

Before I met the Le Roux, I wasn’t sure that could happen, and I thought that my mother was making it up. But the infertility curse placed on Annie’s clan makes me believe it now. “So I’m destined to be bipolar just like you?”

“Yes. And any daughter you may have. It’s passed down directly to the female descendants.”

I breathe a sigh of relief that Tristan’s daughters won’t be affected. I didn’t have the stomach to kill them too, and hoped Annie and Tristan would know what to do. I can’t recall a time that my mother wasn’t crazy, so I ask, “When does it happen?”

“I was thirty. But the signs were there for a long time. You have them too, Izzy.”

Another logging truck approaches us, and I give it a wide berth when we pass as the vision of a tree splintering flashes in my mind.
My rages.
The noise in my head that I can’t shut off.
In two years, I’ll be thirty, and my birthday present will be to become bat-shit crazy. Unless...

My mother asks, “Where are we going? What are you going to do, Isabelle?”

“It’s time to end this, Helga. I have the power to destroy the curse forever, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

“No!” she screams. I glance in my rearview mirror at the woman who is my mother. In an instant, her mood has flipped. Her hair is snarled, and spittle is on the corners of her mouth. Helga’s wild eyes connect with mine, and she shifts partially to growl as her lip curls up.
My god, she looks rabid.

I smile sweetly.
You want crazy, Mother? I can do that.
I say,
“I thought we’d go to the beach. I hear it’s lovely.”

Orange glows behind me as the sun sets. I take a moment to freeze the vision in my mind. My last sunset. My last full day of life. A faint voice calls out in my head. It’s Tristan, and we’ve traveled far enough away that I can barely hear him.
“Izzy, where are you? Do you need help?”

I ignore him, because it’s too late for help. I return to my memory of my brother and I in the basement and the warmth of his hand when he told me everything would be all right. He couldn’t fix it. I should have been making the promise, because I’m the only one who can. My twin is the one constant in my life. He has always loved me no matter what and is the only one who will miss me when I’m gone. A tear escapes to slide down my cheek.
I’m so sorry, Tristan.