Rebel Bears MC: (A Bear Shifter Romance Collection) Page 22

  Charlie found Mona was still in his room, and he didn’t want to get started on that conversation again. He would have done about anything to avoid it. She wanted to talk about their relationship and where it was going. She wanted commitment, a ring, promises, children, everything that he wasn’t trying to have in his life.

  “Why don’t we talk about something else, Mona?”

  “What do you want to talk about?”

  He was moving closer, and there was a part of Charlie that only wanted the wide-eyed brunette because it would get her mind off of what they were talking about. It was a dirty trick, but once she started getting back into it again, he decided that the best thing to do was to kiss her. The words were stuck in the air, and before long, Mona wasn’t asking about tomorrow. She was more than a little preoccupied with the present, and Charlie was off the hook for a little while longer.

  He thought that he’d licked his problems for the day. He was lying half-naked in bed with Mona, satisfied and staring up at the ceiling. Charlie was even drifting off to sleep when a loud explosion pulled him up and out of bed.

  Charlie cursed and started to pull his clothes on. Why did everything have to go to shit when he was watching things? One night. Was it really hard to get one night of peace?

  Chapter Three

  “My aunt would have never agreed to this. Evelyn wants me to have my powers, but she wouldn’t have pushed for this. I was supposed to be back a week ago. I don’t know what she was thinking, sending me here to begin with.”

  Drennan grinned and moved closer. “You’ll be my bride, Celeste, whether you like it or not. I know that there is a well of magic inside of you. If you don’t marry me, you will go back to your aunt and just become her foot soldier for everything that she wants.”

  “And you, what do you want me to do for you?”

  His eyes went dark, and Celeste wished that she hadn’t said a word about it. She was shaking inside, but she didn’t want him to know that he was scaring her as much as he was. Celeste was sure that he’d be the type of guy to like the idea of it. She had to be strong, somehow getting out of the predicament that she now found herself in.

  “So many things that I want to do to you, Celeste. I can show you a bit of it now, if you like.”

  Drennan moved closer, and she could feel the man’s hot breath on her face. He towered over her. Celeste was short, and she was used to feeling like the world was going to overwhelm her, but the feeling was different with Drennan. His hungry look and sardonic smile didn’t take away from his words. She knew what he was eluding to, and she quickly backed up several steps.

  “Come on, Celeste. You’ve been here for over two weeks and you haven’t even let me have a kiss. I am starting to think that you are playing hard to get. While on some occasions, I can find the game fun, this is not one of those instances.”

  “Did you ever think that I am just not interested in you? I don’t want to marry you, so I certainly don’t want a kiss, nothing from you. You’re not the man I want.”

  “Then who is?”

  Celeste didn’t have an answer for that. She just wanted to get out of there and go home, even if she wasn’t too happy with the life that was carved out for her. She didn’t want to live as a witch, doing spells and being an outcast like her aunts. Celeste wanted to do something else, but now her only choice seemed to be getting married to an older man.

  Celeste didn’t have to read his mind to know that his intentions for her weren’t good. Every hair on the back of her neck went up when he was too close, and she shrunk back from his touch.

  “No one. I am going to find love, though. I will not be stuck in a loveless marriage. I want to thank you for your hospitality while I helped your mother, but I am ready to leave. I came here to help; that is all. I don’t know where our lines got crossed, but there is nothing between us.”

  Celeste was a healer, and even though she’d had a bad feeling about the request for her to go, someone had needed her help. The anxiety in her was rising the more he talked about stupid fantasies like marriage.

  “You either marry me, gain your power through the ceremony, and then submit to me—or lose it before all of that happens and still submit to me. Either way, you will be in my bed, underneath me and crying out in pleasure very soon. Mark my words. It doesn’t matter to me how it happens. I don’t need your magic, Celeste; I have warlocks on the payroll. I want your body, and I’m going to get it. You’ve been prancing around here for weeks, teasing and tempting me.”

  Celeste moved her face as he brushed his lips against hers. It was hard for her to contain herself, knowing what he wanted to do to her. Celeste was afraid for once in her life. The cold lips on her cheek were enough to freeze her insides, leaving her shaking as he went away.

  “I will be back later. We have a dinner to attend, and I would like you by my side, Celeste. Can’t have you getting it in your head that you want to leave. You’ll come to see that it won’t be so bad to be mine. I will take good care of you, Celeste, as long as you take good care of me.”

  She nodded her head, trying not to show how upset she was. He wanted a rise out of her, and she wasn’t going to give it to him. She had to get a message to her aunt or figure out another way. Whatever needed to happen, needed to happen soon.

  It was funny to her that she had been thinking of getting away from Evelyn before she’d gone to help Drennan’s mother. She’d thought that she would use the excursion as an excuse to leave for good. How silly had she been, to think that it would all be so easy? She didn’t want to go back to her aunt’s, but it had to be better than marrying Drennan. Celeste was convinced that anything had to be better than that.

  Celeste didn’t see a way out of her current situation. The fact that Drennan knew so much about her, and her kind, made her nervous. He was only human, yet he had trinkets that stopped her magic and made him immune. Celeste wasn’t sure what it was, though; all she knew for certain was he was keeping her there and he knew what would happen if she had sex before marriage and the ceremony could happen.

  Celeste didn’t believe Drennan wouldn’t want her for her power. People who got close to her always did. There was no telling what an evil guy like Drennan could do if he had access to some of Celeste’s abilities.

  “I have to get away.” She said it softly to herself, so no one else could hear her.

  Chapter Four

  Charlie ran towards the sound of screams and the smoke that quickly filled the air. It was late, dark, and he took a minute to realize what was in front of him. Part of the clubhouse was on fire, and a chunk of it was on the ground, burning.

  He cursed out loud and then saw Fred walking up. He was rubbing his eyes and looked to be half-asleep. His younger brother didn’t know what was going on, either.

  “Go back to my place and call some of the elders, have them sound the alarm. We have to get this fire out or it’s going to spread and consume the whole place. I don’t want to have to explain to Jake why there isn’t a clubhouse anymore.”

  Fred agreed, not even realizing that most of them were in danger’s path. Charlie didn’t want his younger brother near the fire or the burning parts of the building that were still teetering and falling to the ground below. What a mess, he thought to himself. Charlie couldn’t believe what was going on, and then he felt the same draw that he had before. It was the witch, and seconds later, it dawned on him: it was all the witch’s fault. She had done it somehow, though he had no clue how she’d managed it.

  He was barking out orders and helping put out the fire for as long as he could. Charlie could feel the witch’s drag on him, and although he tried to ignore it so he could help, it was useless. He finally had to leave Fred in charge and go.

  Charlie turned into his bear. He went tens of miles before he was finally able to stop and turn back to his human self. No longer was he worried about where he was, but why he was there. The witch’s house was as old as she was, and he was hesitant to go in but knew that
he was to go inside. She’d sent a message and drew him in from far away. Charlie had to go face her.

  While Jake’s first instinct would have been to work things out with the witch, stay away from extra trouble, Charlie wanted to end the witch. Charlie wasn’t there for negotiations, no matter what his alpha would do. Charlie knew what he wanted to do. His temper was boiling over, and he wanted to just let it run free. Everything worked out better when he wasn’t bottling it all up.

  Charlie moved to the door without hesitation. He should have given some sort of thought to what he was doing, but he couldn’t. The draw was gone, he was there, and his patience was in threads. Whatever the woman was trying to do, she had only made it necessary to get rid of her. Charlie never did like witches; their power was too much.

  “Ahh, I see you have come finally. Good boy.”

  Her voice was strong, no longer feeble like before. He was expecting the same old woman that he’d seen before, the one that had tried to get him to listen.

  “You have made a mistake, witch. You killed my people. You will pay for this. Half of our bikes were totaled when the roof of the clubhouse collapsed. My brother’s bike…”

  Of all the things that he’d just relayed, that was the one thing that Charlie wasn’t able to say out loud. He didn’t want to croak it out, how his brother’s bike was smashed into pieces. Jake was going to kill him.

  “Yes, well, you should have listened before. I tried to come to you in a civilized fashion. It didn’t work. I had to take drastic measures, and I am sorry if that got in your way. It was what needed to be done. See, now you’re here, and we can get back to what I was trying to tell you before. I must warn you though, beast, you walk out on me again, at least a hundred of your kind will die because of it. I have no patience.”

  That had Charlie’s attention, and he couldn’t believe that she would threaten such a thing. He welled up with anger and set to charge, power building up inside of him for the change. He was going to turn into his bear, rip her throat out, and be done with her.

  The thought didn’t enter his mind until just seconds before he was going to go through with it, but it was all the warning that Evelyn needed. She threw him across the room with a flick of her wrist.

  Charlie saw stars, just like he’d seen in the cartoons. The amount of force that was sent through him was too much to reckon with, and he was dazed for several minutes.

  “You damn witch!”

  He tried to get up and attack her. It was now the only way it could end. He would never be able to deal with this person being able to live.

  “Now, if you don’t stop, Charlie, I am going to have to really hurt you. Then I will have to go find Fred and have him help me if Donovan and Jake are really gone. I suppose they are, or you would not be here.”

  She was young and beautiful. He was squinting his eyes, sure that he’d knocked his head too hard or something. It was the same witch, same voice, same draw, but nothing else was physically the same. She was now twenty, blonde, beautiful. He didn’t want to look away but knew it was some sort of trick.

  “More threats?”

  She sighed out loud, obviously done playing games with him.

  “I tried being nice. Last chance for you, Charlie. Your brothers would miss you, but at this rate, the world will not.”

  He scowled at her, because that was at the heart of all of his anger. Charlie didn’t believe that he was going to make his mark on the world. He had two older brothers and a father that would do and had done far more than he could hope for. Charlie had always felt less-than, and the witch’s words just made it clearer that he was going to go down that way if he didn’t do something to stop it.

  “You don’t know me, witch.”

  “It’s Evelyn. That’s how you will address me. Now bring yourself over to me and leave the violence at the door. I tire of it but am still far better at it than you will be for years.”

  Charlie had to swallow his pride and do what was necessary, even if it was a jagged pill. He had to do it. It was bad enough he couldn’t figure out a way to explain it all to Jake. He didn’t want to put Fred in danger as well. He’d messed up enough, and Charlie was ready to make it all better, somehow.

  He sat down tentatively on the old couch that was covered in dust, trying not to stir up more than was already floating in the air. The witch had changed, but her surroundings had not. He just wanted to listen to what she had to say, and then get the hell out of there as soon as possible.

  That was the plan.

  Chapter Five

  The dinner was perfect. Drennan had pulled out all of the stops, and Celeste knew that it was because he was trying to impress her. Maybe if she weren’t being held against her will, she would have enjoyed herself.

  Every possible thing she could think of was laid out before her on one of many tables. The champagne and more potent punches were just as plentiful, and before long, Celeste had had enough to drink and eat. She was actually feeling a bit woozy, and the room was spinning.

  She needed to lay down, but Drennan wasn’t going to let her go alone. He wanted to go with her, which made Celeste decide to stay there at the party instead. She knew better than to be alone with someone like him. It didn’t do her any good, though. Everyone there was his people. They were loyal, and most of them feared her and kept their distance. Celeste wasn’t sure what was said, just that everyone gave her a wide berth like she was going to explode at any minute.

  “My dear, if you’re ready to go, I will take you back up. You seem to look like you’ve had enough fun for one night.”

  “I have, but I don’t want to go back to the room with you. I don’t trust you.”

  “I could have had you many times over Celeste, and you know it. I have control.”

  She didn’t believe that for one moment. Maybe he wouldn’t have sex with her, but he was getting closer and making physical moves the longer they were together. Her mind went to the kiss, and she didn’t want to repeat it.

  “Why would you even want me like that? Why would you want someone that doesn’t want you back?”

  “I saw you a long time ago, years really when you were younger and with your mother. I knew then that I was too young for your mom, but not too old you. One day we would be together, I knew it, and now we will be.”

  She was too drunk to keep that in. She scoffed loudly, and Celeste got several looks. Bringing up her mom wasn’t the way to go.

  “I am only nineteen, Drennan; how long ago could this have been? My mother has been dead for years.”

  Celeste also thought that the fact that he was almost forty should come into account too, but last time she’d mentioned the age thing, he’d erupted into a rage that she didn’t want to see again. It wasn’t pleasant, to say the least.

  “If you are going to talk to me like this, Celeste, I will drag you upstairs and throw you into bed myself. How would you feel then, when I take you and strip you of your powers, fill your belly with my baby? All of these things are going to happen if you don’t shut your damn mouth now!”

  It was all said with a silent violence that was synonymous with him. Drennan was nothing but threats. She said that she wouldn’t say another word, and she didn’t. Celeste no longer felt any sort of a buzz. It was dangerous being around Drennan, and she had forgotten herself. She wouldn’t again. His threats hit home, and she was doing her best to smile and act like he wanted her to, even though Celeste was dying a little more inside each day.

  “What do you want?”

  “Well, now that you have calmed down, I would like to tell you. Your brother owes me, and since he isn’t here, you’re going to have to do it for him. It seems right that you continue his blood oath.”

  Charlie didn’t know what was going on. His body hurt from being thrown three different times, and his head was going to be groggy for a while. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to take the witch down. He couldn’t take her out if he couldn’t reach her. That’s the circumstanc
es he was in now, and Charlie didn’t know what else to do but listen.

  “I don’t think this is what my brother had in mind. I know that he wasn’t going to allow you to attack the gang.”

  “He made promises, and now he needs to fulfill them. You’re here, you’re his blood, you will do. Now, can I get on with it? I am not getting any younger.”

  Charlie waited for her to say whatever it was. It was most likely going to be something crazy. He didn’t know what else would have been deemed worth it to make the ruckus that she did. When he heard what she wanted, he chuckled. Charlie couldn’t help it, even if it was going to make her mad.

  “That’s what you want?”

  “I tried asking nicely…”

  He shrugged and sighed. “I know, you tried being nice, and I didn’t listen to you. Why don’t you just go get her yourself? You seem to move just fine, or at least you seem to get things done.”

  “I would do it myself, but I don’t have the strength. The further I am from this house, and this land, the less power I have. That’s why I need you to bring her back to me, here, where I have my powers and youth.”

  Charlie didn’t pretend to understand any of it. He wanted to be done with the witch, and if that meant that he had to go track down a nineteen-year-old girl, that’s what he was going to do. He certainly wasn’t going to say no. Not after what happened last time, he didn’t heed her words and do what she said.

  “So, all I have to do is go get your niece and bring her back to you?”

  Evelyn agreed, but Charlie still wasn’t sure if that was the gist of it or not. It seemed like there should be more to it, or there had to be something that he was missing.

  “That’s it, Charlie. You bring Celeste home, and your family’s debt is paid. Easy enough.”

  “What are you not telling me?”