Rebel Bears MC: (A Bear Shifter Romance Collection) Page 42

  The months went by quicker than she would have imagined possible, and Isabo knew that it was because of all the times Fred took her to the hill with him. The outside seemed to regenerate her soul, and even when she wasn't able to make the trek anymore, he carried her in his arms every day to make sure that she got fresh air. No matter how big she got or how uncomfortable everything was, she could count on Fred to be there.

  The baby was born, and even though they were not together in an intimate sort of way, they were never too far apart. The baby was almost three months old, and Isabo could only think of a handful of nights that they had been separated. It was always because of something that had to do with the Rebel Bear’s business and never by choice.

  She was able to do what she was used to again. Which meant that she could have left at any time, but Isabo didn't find enough of an excuse to go. There was always one reason to stay, though. It was better for their baby, Christian if she stayed. He needed a father, and though Isabo hadn’t thought about what came next, she found it even harder to try and figure it out without Fred. He was always in all of her future outlooks. He was always there, waiting for her ever so patiently.

  Lately, she’d noticed that he was paying more attention than ever before. Halfway through most of the spans of time together, he would have to run out. Isabo had a feeling she knew what it was about. He’d seen too much skin, heard one too many innuendos, or just a flash from the past would come through, leaving him breathless.

  Whatever it was, Isabo knew that he was bothered more than ever before. That should have made her want to slow down, tread water even, but it didn’t. She just wanted to entice him even more, though she hadn’t really thought about what the end result of that would be.

  That evening, Isabo decided that it was time to see where she was going to take it with him. She didn’t really know. She knew that she wanted him as he wanted her. That was all that mattered to her, and when he offered to watch Christian for her, she decided to bring him to Celeste instead. Celeste had one that wasn’t much older, and they had switched off from time to time, just so the two of them would get some sleep and some time to themselves.

  “Oh, well, okay.”

  “I was hoping that we could go up to the hill tonight. I know that you’ve been busy, but it’s been almost a week, and I miss going with you.”

  His surprise was clear, and she wondered if he knew how he made her feel. It was hard to describe. They’d both denied themselves for long enough. She couldn’t wait any longer.

  “Okay. Sure.”

  Isabo smiled and got up. She took Christian to Celeste and then met Fred out front. He was staring at her in a strange way, and Isabo had to wonder if he knew. Did he know what she was thinking about at the moment?

  They left in silence, shifting together and then running side by side up to the hill. It was a way for Isabo to clear her mind, and now she was feeling how good it was to be so high. She looked over at Fred as he turned back and could see the jubilation in his face. She knew that it was in her face as well.

  “Feels good, doesn’t it? To feel alive and together again. Motherhood is great, but I miss the freedom sometimes.”

  He agreed and watched her. Isabo could feel his eyes, and she asked him if he was going to draw her that evening.

  “It’s not going to be light for too long, so you might want to get started.”

  Fred looked at her strangely and then shrugged, taking out his sketchbooks from the cache they kept up there. He sat down on the same tree stump and looked towards her.

  “Do you want me to pose for you?”

  Isabo had never asked him that before. He didn’t have an answer, so she started to take her clothes off slowly. Fred’s eyes didn’t blink, and Isabo felt power from his need. It was exuding off of him, and she knew that she needed that, his desires, more than anything. It called to her, made her feel whole.

  Once she was completely naked, she laid back on the grass and made a gesture for him to come to her. Fred’s hand hadn’t moved, still poised above the paper. His mouth was slack.

  “Are you going to make me beg?”

  Fred shook his head. “You never have to beg me, Isabo. I am just afraid that you will change your mind. I don’t know if I can touch you and not take you.”

  Isabo smiled and said that it was okay.

  “It’s what I want you to do, Fred. I don’t know why it took so long for me to realize it.”

  Fred was up and moving towards her, determination in his eyes that was unmistakable. She was shaking inside, but it was a good thing. There had been so much time since they’d been together, but Isabo remembered it all well. How could she ever forget her first and only?

  Bear’s Vampire Mate

  Rebel Bears MC

  Book V

  Chapter One

  Jake listened with intent to the news of two of his best riders being hit in separate accidents and both being dead. It had happened at almost the same time. It was a coincidence that he couldn't look past, but he didn't say anything out loud. There was no point in stressing everybody out because they were still in the happy period of winning.

  The Rebel Bears were a clan and a family that had been through a lot lately. There had been serious deaths and takeovers, and even to one of the most fearsome competitors in the shifter world. They had gone toe to toe with ancients and rid themselves of the old shifters that wanted to find them guilty of crimes. Jake felt then as he did now: that the only crimes they had to claim were those necessary to survive.

  He knew that bad luck was only natural. Everybody got a little bit of it now and then, so Jake was sure that that's all it was. But when the issues started to compound, he had to wonder if that was true or not. There were too many things happening at once to be a coincidence.

  “Are you even listening to me, Jake?”

  He nodded at his younger brother Donovan, whose face was wrinkled up in a snarl.

  “Of course, I'm listening. I don't know what exactly I can do about it. As you said, they’re already dead.”

  “I know they’re dead, Jake. I'm just saying, don't you think it's a little strange that it happened like that? I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time that some other force was involved with our lives. I think that it is one of those situations, and we need to make a plan to find out who.”

  Jake didn't want to think that way, because that would mean he would have no control over it. He hated magic; it had destroyed his life so many times, and he was always at someone else's mercy and whims.

  They all had the magic to turn into fearsome bears and rip people’s throats out, and sometimes even read minds. But there was other magic far more dangerous than anything he could conjure up.

  “I think that we shouldn't jump to conclusions.”

  “Jump to conclusions?”

  He was literally jumping out of his seat. It was obvious to Jake that his brother did not agree with him. However, he wasn’t ready to go down that road yet. If he did, then it would mean that nothing was over, and he wasn't ready to deal with anything else. He just wanted to be for just a little while. He and his wife and his child. They were about to have another one, and he wanted, for five minutes, to not have to worry about the next calamity that was going to befall his clan. Couldn't they just for a short period of time, go on without bringing the world down upon their heads?

  “Donovan, I know that you are pretty certain of what is to come, but we need to take this slowly. You know how the clan reacts to such information. That is why we kept most of what was going on with the ancients to ourselves. The gang can’t take that much upheaval. We need to make sure that everyone stays calm. That’s how we’re going to get through this: calmly.”

  Donovan was looking at Jake like he had two heads, and he knew why he was getting those looks. He was trying to sweep it underneath the carpet, and it was something that their father, Dean, had done so many times before.

  Dean used to be the ruler of the Rebel Bears. He had
done a poor job, though, and he had been taken out because of Jake’s order. Jake didn't want to be reminded that he acted in a way that resembled his father.

  “It was just two accidents. Yes, it was coincidental that they happened at about the same time, but that doesn’t mean there is anything else to it. Let’s not look for problems, Donovan. We already have plenty of real ones.”

  Jake knew that it was going to do him no good in the end, but he wanted a bit more time without the sky falling. A day, a week, maybe even a month if he could sketch it out. They had just killed the ancients not even a week before. Everyone needed time.

  Donovan was not convinced, and his face told his other brother how he felt about it.

  “We need to stop reacting. We need to get some things in place. It’s coming; we see it. Why pretend like it’s not there and make it worse?”

  “If this is the work of magic, what are we supposed to do? All you can do is react because you never know the form it will take.”

  “I'm telling you now, Jake: this is happening. It's coming, and we need to get ahead of it this time.”

  This time. Jake let the words roll around in his head for a few moments. He knew what his brother was saying. While he had tried to do his best to take on each problem as it arose, there definitely hadn’t been a plan.

  Jake was about to say something else. Something that would explain how everything was going to be alright. It was just on the tip of his tongue, but then there was a loud knock on the door.

  “Who is it?”

  “Charlie.”

  Jake hoped that his other brother might have a different take on things. Donovan was just too damn serious all the time.

  Charlie came in, and Jake could see from the solemn look on his face that it was going to be more bad news. He was getting pretty sick of bad it, He was ready for something good to happen, and for it to stay good for a while. That didn’t seem like too much to ask.

  “What's going on, Charlie? You look like you have something on your mind.”

  “We have three people really sick in the clubhouse. I was just told about it a few minutes ago, but it looks like they're not going to make it.”

  Jake whipped his head around and searched his brother's eyes. By sickness, he knew Charlie meant a magical one. Two accidents at the same time could have been a coincidence. But three more magically sick? That was harder to rationalize.

  “Are you sure they going to die?”

  Charlie shrugged. “I don't know; the healer says that it doesn't look good.”

  “Do you think if we take them to the hospital, it will help them?”

  “Darkin doesn't think so. He says it is like nothing he’s ever seen before.”

  That was what Jake was afraid of. What they had was not caused by anything that could be fixed with science. He had to call on someone else, and the idea of it made him shake a little bit inside. Every time Evelyn was involved, people died.

  Chapter Two

  Celeste could feel the tension in the group. Charlie was with her, and while he was married into her family, he still did not like to go visit her Aunt Eve. Celeste had her own reservations, but the more she was around her as an adult, the more she realized that her aunt wasn’t the evil witch she had believed her to be. She was powerful and probably had done many evil things, but she had done most of it in the name of saving her family. It was hard for her to fault her for that, especially when Celeste herself had done unspeakable things for the same reason.

  Celeste had gone to see the people that were sick in the compound. Charlie asked her if there was any way that it could be a real sickness.

  “I don't think so. It looks like something that was concocted by some witches. I do not believe that any kind of modern medicine is going to help. This is an old problem that needs to be fixed in the old ways.”

  Charlie was about as apprehensive as the rest of them, and he looked away. He didn't want to hear that as an answer, because once again, that would mean that the lives of the Rebel Bears would be in the hands of witches. Even though Celeste was a witch and had married Charlie, he was still hesitant about her kind. She knew the rest of his family felt the same.

  “So, you think that there is a way to fix this?”

  Celeste smiled and shrugged with little confidence.

  “Let's hope.” If Evelyn couldn’t help them, no one would be able to.

  As much as she hated to involve her aunt, Celeste did not know what they would do without her. The older witch had lots of knowledge and magic to go around. She would at least point them in the right direction.

  “Don’t worry about it. My aunt will know what to do. She will have more answers for you than I do. This is all new to me. I tried to stay out of it because there is a lot to it. It feels like it never ends, and it’s always messy.”

  Charlie agreed with her, and they traveled in silence for a while, him in bear form and her on his back. It would have been easier to take the bikes, but her aunt insisted on living in the middle of the woods in isolation.

  It wasn't long before they reached Celeste’s aunt’s house. She waited for him to switch back and pull himself together. It always took him a few moments to right himself after such a monumental change.

  She linked her fingers with his, and they walked towards the dilapidated house. She had tried to push her aunt to let her get some maintenance done, but Evelyn had refused.

  Celeste reminded Charlie that he was supposed to be nice and he agreed.

  “Trust me, Celeste; your aunt has a way of making a person pay attention. I learned a long time ago not to piss her off. Don’t forget that she has cursed me before.”

  Celeste grinned at the reminder and was glad that they could talk about it with such a lightness now. She knew that it was quite hard for him to deal with her aunt. Especially after the several times her aunt had threatened to kill him. He had forgiven a lot, and she was thankful he had that sort of heart.

  Celeste went to the door and was about to knock when she was invited in by Evelyn. Even though Celeste had just as much primordial power through the birth of her child, there were still some things her aunt could do that flummoxed her.

  She pushed the door open and got the familiar chill that came over her every time she entered the house. It wasn’t the house that made her feel that way, and it wasn't even her aunt that had questionable morals; it was more the earth underneath the house.

  It was built and on ley lines, and Celeste knew that every time she stepped foot into the house, her power grew substantially. That was the reason Evelyn didn't want to change anything. She was in dire need of the power that she got from the dwelling and the earth underneath it. Celeste imagined that she was afraid it would somehow be damaged if she moved anything.

  Celeste called out to her aunt, and Evelyn called back.

  “I'm in the study. Why don't you guys come in here and we can have a discussion?”

  Celeste wasn’t the least bit surprised when she went through the study door and there was already a tea kettle set out with several cups. She knew things long before they happened, and Celeste had always wondered why that was. Secretly, she’d wondered why she had not picked up those sorts of powers as well. She certainly wanted to.

  “It is good to see you, Aunt.”

  “We do well when we don't lie to each other, Celeste. What you have come here for is not pleasantries. Let’s not pretend that you’re here to see how your dear aunt is doing.”

  Celeste nodded her head and sat down. Charlie was next to her, and Jake, who decided to come along, was sitting across from them. She busied herself with pouring everyone some hot tea, and she could smell chamomile. Since her aunt already knew what they were there for, and she was serving a calming herb, there was going to be nothing good out of this meeting. It was not until the last cup was poured and passed out that her aunt started to talk.

  “I know why you’ve come here. To answer your question, yes, you have magic working against your clan a
gain.”

  Jake groaned, and it looked like a physical attack to his body. It was what they all had known, and Celeste was telling herself to just take it in stride. They had another hurdle to take care of before they could have the peace that everybody was so desperate for.

  “Tell me that you can help us, Aunt. Was there some kind of curse put on them? That's what it felt like when I viewed the sick ones, but there have also been a few accidents as well, causing death.”

  Evelyn agreed. “It is a curse on all of the brothers. It extends to the rest of the clan as well, because they are your people, but it’s the brothers that carry the curse.”

  “Well, can we go back and get Donovan and Fred? Then we can take care of this once and for all, like we did before?”

  Jake was earnest, and Celeste could hear it in his voice. He wanted it to be done with; they all did. Celeste knew better, though. There was always a catch when it came to magic. Always a price to pay, and especially when dealing with Evelyn, there were always some sacrifices that had to be made.

  “It is a bit like before, and I can do the ceremony, but you will have to bring more than just the three brothers that reside with you.”

  Celeste didn’t know what was going on, and she could not understand what she was saying.

  “You know I hate when you talk in riddles,” Jake said, visibly exasperated.

  “Yet here you are, looking for another one.”

  Jake apologized because he could tell by the way she snapped, that she wasn't looking for his opinion. Evelyn never was.

  “Please, tell us what that means.”

  “I think it's pretty clear, Jake; it means that you have another brother. Your father had another son, and he has to be present—willingly present—so it can be taken care of. That is the only way I could do this for you.”

  It probably wouldn't have been such a shock to everybody, if they would have known that there was a fifth brother that existed. Dean was known for a lot of things, but not cheating on their mother. It was going to be another thing the boys added to the laundry list.