Rebel Bears MC: (A Bear Shifter Romance Collection) Page 23
Evelyn chuckled and then met his gaze. “My niece can be a handful. She is very strong-willed, and I don’t know what has happened to her, but she will not go with you willingly, not at first.”
“Can’t I just say that I am with you and bring her back here?”
Evelyn shrugged. “I don’t know if that will be enough or not. Whatever you have to do, Charlie, do it. Bring her home to me.”
Charlie was determined to do what needed to be done. The only way he was going to make this up to Jake and to the people that lost their lives was to see it through. Revenge would come later.
Chapter Six
It was becoming clear to Celeste that she wasn’t going to be able to put Drennan off much longer. He was getting their wedding ceremony together, without her help. She wanted to throw a curve in his plans, stop them from taking her with them, but she didn’t have a choice.
It was the day before the ceremony and Celeste was trying on different gowns for the wedding. She wasn’t able to pick her own though; that was Drennan’s job, apparently. He was the one that was shaking his head no to everything that she came out with. Celeste was really starting to get aggravated.
“What do you think of this one, Celeste?”
“Does it matter?”
“It won’t because I have a feeling, you’re going to be sullen no matter what kind of dress we pick out.”
Celeste didn’t argue with him. Everything he said was true. No matter how pretty the dress was, she wasn’t going to be happy. It was hard to be happy when she had to marry a monster like him. She would get her full powers soon, and then she would turn him to dust. That was the only thing that kept Celeste going. She knew better than to lose it now. She just had to keep her eye on the prize and think of the long game.
But not too much, because Drennan could see right through that.
“I don’t like it. Put on another one.”
She looked behind her and sighed, saying nothing to enrage him further. She’d tried on several that were really pretty, but he wasn’t happy. Drennan wasn’t going to be happy until he possessed her in all ways. Celeste shook with the idea of it. She knew that she was saving herself for someone special. She’d shied away from intimacy because it was all going to be worth it in the end.
It didn’t feel like it was going to be worth it now. She was upset and stressed out. All she was worried about was making sure that she got away from Drennan. As she stood in the changing stall, staring at her reflection, Celeste felt like she was doomed.
Her face got red, and tears started to form in her eyes. There was nothing that she could do about it, though. The feeling of listlessness was always there, just around the corner. She tried to stay positive, think of other things, but right at the moment, all she could see was herself, standing in a wedding dress. It should have been one of the happiest days of her life, but it was one of the worst.
Celeste must have been taking too long because he barged in behind her and asked her what she was doing. The door made her jump, but those dark eyes in the mirror made her feel cold inside.
“What are you doing in here, Celeste? I thought you were going to try on that other dress?”
She had been lost in the moment, trying her best to pull herself together, but nothing was working. Celeste brushed the tears from her face, turning around to get the other dress.
“Sorry about that. I will be out with the next dress on in a minute.”
It looked like he was going to let her be and leave the tiny room, but then something made him shake his head and stay.
“No, why don’t you just change really quick, and then I will get to see it on you? No one else matters. It’s only what I think of it.”
She wanted to say something, protest in some way, but Celeste knew that it wasn’t going to do her any good.
“Whatever. Are you going to turn around, at least?”
Celeste’s voice rose towards the end of the sentence. She hated that they were there, and she was doing it this way. She wanted some shred of mercy from him. Obviously, he could see that she was struggling, but that didn’t seem to matter.
“We’re going to be married soon.”
Again, she wanted to protest and slow it all down, but Celeste knew he was going to see it all, no matter what she did.
So, she did the only thing that made sense to her. Celeste just looked at him with defiance and started to take her clothes off. She didn’t try to hide anything, even though she didn’t want him to see her. Drennan was to be her husband, but that didn’t mean that she ever wanted to go bare in front of him. It was killing her inside.
His lusty eyes were all over her body, and they might as well have been his hands. It felt like a violation.
Then it was his hands, cupping her breasts, before she was pulling up the dress quickly, almost ripping it in its ascent. She wanted her body out of his view. When she got it tugged on unceremoniously, he told her to turn around and she did just so he could button her up. His fingers played with the flesh of her back, making her shiver, which he took as a good sign. It wasn’t.
As soon as the last button was up, she stepped away and turned around. Celeste took another step back until her heel hit the mirror and she knew that she couldn’t go any further. The need had risen in the room, she could feel it in the air, and she wanted no part of it. The guy was practically vibrating with lust, and his eyes had darkened several shades because of it.
Celeste was scared. That’s all she could feel, and she waited for him to say or do something. The only comfort that she had was the fact that he couldn’t do much in the store. There were too many witnesses.
“You look lovely, Celeste. I think we have found the dress.”
He moved closer, turning her around so that she was looking at herself in the dress, and him standing above her, holding her possessively.
“I am already thinking about how good it is going to look, bundled up on the floor.”
She wanted to take it off and throw it at him. Instead, she smiled and agreed that she liked it. Celeste wanted to pull it off, the fabric burning her skin and making her feel like she was kicking off some hives underneath.
“Let’s take the dress off, so they can ring it up.”
It wasn’t a suggestion. It was a command. She knew that very well, and even though it was the last thing she wanted to do, making him force her was worse. Quickly off and back on: that’s what Celeste repeated to herself.
She had to get out of there. Her time was over, and she had no more of it to waste. It was going to have to happen, her escape, and soon.
Chapter Seven
Charlie wasn’t too happy about everything that he had going on. Not only did he have to find and drag back a rebellious witch, but he still had to take care of the Rebel Bears. Fred stepped in to help, which was a blessing, because he didn’t trust many of the people there. Too many had worked with his father in the past.
“I won’t be gone that long. It’s about a day away and then a day back.”
“You’ve been sent by a witch, and from what you told me, it isn’t a cut and dry situation.”
He groaned and nodded his head. Charlie knew that part to be true. Fred was always quick to remind him of the truth, whether he wanted to hear it or not.
“I know. I am just being optimistic.”
“Maybe you should tell Jake about it and wait until he gets back.”
Since Charlie was still hurting from being slung around so much, he didn’t feel like he could wait another minute. Evelyn had made it clear that she wanted his assistance immediately, and the consequences were dire and swift. There were, after all, two dead people and several wounded from her shenanigans the day before.
“Waiting isn’t an option with her.”
He sighed. “I don’t like witches for that reason. They are way too over-powered.”
Charlie didn’t have to agree. It was just a fact of life. The amount of magic that was given to them was substantial and envi
ed by a lot of the magical community. A few bad ones could really wreak havoc on a place, and there had been more than one occasion where that had happened.
“So, are you really going to go and do as she is asking?”
He was incredulous, and the idea made Charlie feel much of the same. It wasn’t like he wasn’t sure what to say about it; he just knew that it wouldn’t do any good. It was all going to go down as it would. He was there, hoping for the best, knowing that it would blow up. Nothing was ever easy when it came to working with a witch. He was going to have to just grin and bear it, whatever it was.
“Yeah, I am. I will be back as soon as I can, and hopefully, we can then put it all behind us.”
Fred agreed, but the smile didn’t go all the way up to his eyes. There was disconcertion on his face, and it was likely mirrored in Charlie. He didn’t have a good feeling about what was going to happen next, but he knew that he had to do it. Obligation was a hard motivator, and he waved goodbye to his younger brother, wondering how he was going to manage it all without him. Charlie felt like he was either on an adventure or the beginning of a nightmare. Only time would tell.
He finally got to the coordinates that were given to him, and he immediately picked up on the witch. They smelled different, and it was quickly discerned that she was surrounded by a lot of humans. He was used to their smell, of course. Humans were the more common species, but he never was too eager to walk into a wave of them. He wasn’t this time around either.
Since there were so many of them, Charlie knew that he was going to have no choice but to walk in like he was supposed to be there. It was some kind of formal ceremony in the backyard of a huge house. It wasn’t open to the public, and there were a few large bouncer-looking men at the gates. He wasn’t dressed for such an occasion, but he knew that he had to get in.
The man at the gate was dressed in black, dark sunglasses on his face and the expression of not wanting to be there. He gave Charlie a bored look, though he could see that the guy noticed how he was dressed. He was wearing jeans and a regular top that had a beer logo on it. It definitely wasn’t the type of thing that everyone else was wearing.
“This is a private event.”
Charlie told him that he was invited, but he didn’t get into it anymore. He tried to look bored, and when he saw the names through the guard’s eyes, he rattled off one of them that didn’t have a check by it. Then he was able to get right in. Gary Fustian was late, and hopefully he decided to go somewhere else because if he showed up, the two thugs at the front would quickly be going after Charlie.
He looked around at all of the decked-out people, and it was clear that he was walking into a wedding. That wasn’t what he was looking for, but there was still a part of him that had to wonder whose wedding he was about to crash. Charlie didn’t have too much to worry about, considering that he could take all of the humans down.
Charlie tried to clear his mind of all of those thoughts. It wasn’t going to do him any good. The only thing that was really going to help him was to find Celeste and take her away. She was the one that mattered, and her smell and magical presence were felt, drawing him in, much like the witch had done before.
He was standing outside of a room when someone asked him if he needed help.
“The guests are supposed to be outside. It will be starting soon.”
He thanked her for the information but stayed put. “Thanks, but I have an urgent message for Celeste. It will only take a minute. Her aunt wanted to be here but wasn’t able to get away.”
“Oh, of course. Do you want me to see if she is available?”
He waved her off. He didn’t know if Celeste was going to want to go, considering that she was the one that was getting married. Charlie hadn’t been expecting any of it, but then again, he had known that it would be complicated. Dealing with witches always was.
Charlie moved into the room like he had a right to be there and caught a beautiful woman sitting in front of a vanity. Her eyes were puffy, and her makeup had smeared. It didn’t look like she was happy about it at all. She was obviously not a happy bride. But she was gorgeous.
“Who are you?”
Her voice was low, and Charlie locked the door. He didn’t want anyone walking in on them. She was going to have to keep it down long enough for him to explain.
“Tell Drennan I will be out when I am out!”
“I don’t know who that is. I am here on behalf of Evelyn.”
“My aunt?”
She looked hopeful
“That’s right, your aunt.”
“Well, my aunt is no better.”
She was thinking about something, rolling it around in her head, though Charlie had no clue what was on her mind. He just knew that he had to get them out of there. It wasn’t a good place to be, especially when he was trying to whisk the bride away.
“Well, either way, I was sent here to get you. Evelyn isn’t going to take no for an answer, so you’re going to have to come with me.”
“I am going to do no such thing!”
“Look, you were crying when I walked in. Are you going to tell me that you want to be here?”
“No, but I don’t want to go back to my aunt either. She wants to run my life too.”
“Do you want me to just leave you here?”
She shrugged and then decided against it. “Can you really get me out of here, bear?”
“How did you know I’m a bear shifter?”
“It’s in your eyes. So, can you get me out of here with all of those people out there?”
“Are they going to stop you?”
Celeste shook the curls on her head, and the brown hair got caught in the light, shining back at him. Her porcelain face was beautiful despite her tears, and the dress… He had to look away because Charlie was sure that the damn girl was doing it on purpose. Charlie didn’t want to have anything to do with witches. He didn’t trust them.
“They probably will. I don’t want to be here. I am being forced to marry Drennan, and if you can get me out of here, I will follow you anywhere for the moment.”
Charlie noticed the last bit added in, and that told him that he was going to have a fight on his hands soon enough. She was feisty and going to cause problems.
“Why didn’t you just wave your hand, make a spell, and get out of here yourself?”
She shrugged. “I can’t. I don’t know what they did, but I haven’t been able to use any power since I got here. I was supposed to be healing an elderly woman. She needed it, too, but then they didn’t let me leave. Then Drennan, this horrible guy, he tells me that he’s going to marry me, or screw me and take away my ancient family powers. I didn’t know what to do. Just been going along with it until I could figure a way out of this craziness. I guess you’re my way.”
He was surprised, and Charlie tried not to show it. It would do no good if he started freaking out too.
“You’ve been through a lot, Celeste. I will try to make sure that I don’t put you through any more.”
Chapter Eight
Celeste wasn’t sure what to think about Charlie. He was the kind of guy that made a woman pay attention. He was handsome and had a gentle way about him that she was attracted to. Even as she was worried about having to be dragged back to her aunt, her powers to be used by others, she was checking out the man-beast that came to save her. There was something animalistic and sexy about him.
She looked away, feeling her face getting red. The guy was tall like Drennan, but when he towered over her, she felt safe. It was a good feeling, not one of dread. His black hair was slicked back, and he had olive skin that was smooth, speckled with black hairs on his massive forearms. He was the kind of guy that Celeste always thought she would be with. The sort of man that she was waiting for.
“Well, if I can’t get you out of here by hulking out, then you need to change and we will try to sneak out. If I have to, I will take out a couple of people, but the easier way is always the best way.”
He put his hand out to help her up and then turned around when she started to get dressed. Celeste didn’t even have to ask, and that small mercy was more than she could ever expect to get from Drennan. Nothing would have been worse than staying there, Celeste was sure of it.
That was what she thought anyway. She didn’t realize that someone had alerted Drennan to her visitor, and at the very moment, several men were going to burst through the door and catch them trying to escape. She had the wedding dress off and was in the middle of getting something else on.
As soon as Drennan came through the door and saw her in that state of undress, he lost himself. His face was now red with anger and he looked at Celeste in a way that made the blood in her veins cold.
“You put me off for weeks, but you’re ready to get naked with the first man you see?”
Celeste would have been offended if she didn’t already know the man. Drennan was a vulgar and hateful person. The more Celeste tried to shrink away and get closer to Charlie, the more upset Drennan became. She didn’t care, though. A complete stranger was better than the man in front of her.
Several other guys came in after him, and after a scuffle, Charlie was hit on the head, and she saw him go down. Her heart sank; she was no longer safe. What was worse than having to marry Drennan?
This, she thought to herself. This has to be worse, way worse.
“Since you couldn’t wait until the wedding was done, I guess that I can give you what it is you want. Sorry your boyfriend won’t be with it enough to watch it.”