Alpha Bear (23 page)

It…screamed. Although that word didn’t quite
cover the intense cacophony of sound and evil that emanated from
the creature as it fell back, hit by the power of her ward.

It crashed back into the ocean, water coming
up in a mini tsunami, washing over the point of the cove on which
they stood. Urse held strong, knowing her circle would keep her and
John safe. She wasn’t sure about the rest of the men. She prayed
they were far enough back to avoid being washed into the cove or
ocean by the powerful wave.

Cam was another story. He glowed with golden
light as the water parted around him. Encased in her bubble of
protection, she could see Cam clearly. He was protected, too,
though he had no circle. Perhaps it was his armor—blessed by the
Mother of All—that was his shield. She would probably never
know.

“Isn’t that something?” John whispered as the
water passed over their invisible, magical dome. He was looking at
Cam and up at the water sliding over and off the shield to wet only
the area outside the circle.

“Pretty cool, huh?” she agreed wearily. The
magic was spent. The ward had been placed. The leviathan had been
run off. For now.

“I take it we’re done for the night?” John
asked, coming up behind her again. He’d been a strong presence at
her side throughout, but now, he put his arms around her,
supporting her as she began to wilt.

“Yeah. The ward is up and running. We’re safe
here for now. We just have to break the circle and make sure all
your men are still with us. I’m afraid some of them might’ve gotten
washed away by the wave.”

John walked her over to the side of the
circle closest to Cam. The fey was watching them with a grin on his
face. His hands were on his hips, satisfaction in every line of his
body.

Urse broke the circle with a final prayer of
thanks, and the magic dome collapsed back into the earth. Cam was
no longer glowing with power, but the expression on his face was
one of approval.

“That was beautifully done, lassie.
Beautifully done,” Cam repeated, smiling from ear to ear.

Urse felt bolstered by the fey knight’s
words, but she was weary to the bone. If John hadn’t been standing
behind her, propping her up, she’d have slipped to the ground like
a limp noodle.

Cam seemed to realize it belatedly and turned
his attention to the ocean while John spoke into his radio,
checking on his men. Urse rested against him, waiting to hear that
all the shifters who’d come out to support them were okay.

“Everyone’s accounted for,” John said quietly
near her ear. “Joe Nightwing is going to fly out and see how far
the safe zone extends.”

“I wouldn’t advise it,” Cam said, talking
directly to John. “That thing can reach pretty high. It’s not worth
the risk.”

“I’ll call him back,” John promised, speaking
quickly into his radio in a sort of clipped code that he and his
men seemed to understand. It must be a military thing, Urse
thought.

A few seconds later, they saw an enormous owl
glide silently overhead. He dipped one wing as if in acknowledgment
before flying off, over the forest, toward the town.

“Shall we?” John asked politely before
lifting her in his arms. She felt foolish, but too weak to really
argue.

He walked back toward where they’d left the
vehicle, Cam at their side. The men spoke in low tones while she
dozed in John’s arms. If he hadn’t been there to carry her back,
she probably would’ve slept out on the point tonight. She was way
too weak after that spell to walk out through the forest on her
own.

Thank the Goddess she only had to do one more
of these. She didn’t think she’d have the strength to do any more.
But she was still a bit worried… Tomorrow night would be the
biggest expenditure of magical energy of all.

*

“Wake up, baby. I know you’re tired, but you
really should eat something. We missed dinner.”

John’s voice came to her, rousing Urse out of
the fog of sleep. She discovered she was in his house, lying on the
couch in his living room. He’d put a blanket over her at some
point, and she figured she’d been asleep for a few hours at
least.

Delicious aromas hit her nose, and her
stomach growled a little. Someone had cooked. She heard John
talking in low tones with another man, and then, she heard the door
open and close, and she felt, from the drop in ambient magic, that
they were alone. Her magical senses were more sensitive than usual
after all the wards she’d been casting these past few days.

She padded into the kitchen and found a
gourmet feast had been laid out on the big butcher block table.

“I asked Zak to cook something special for
you. The man’s a genius in the kitchen.”

“You did?” She looked from the food up to his
beloved face. “He did all this for you? For us?” She felt tears
gather in her eyes. She didn’t know why she was so emotional, but
it just seemed like such a big thing for Zak to do for John—and for
John to arrange for her. “He must love you a lot to go to all this
trouble after the day we’ve had.”

John actually blushed, looking down and
busying his hands by setting out plates and silverware. “I might’ve
asked, but he did it for you. All my guys know how hard you’re
pushing yourself to safeguard our little town. This is Zak’s way of
saying thank you.”

“Well, it’s pretty spectacular—and very
welcome at the moment. I’m starved.” She moved closer, taking a
seat at the table. “My goodness, is that Cajun rice? And beef
stroganoff? Wow.”

John served portions of whatever she asked
for, placing it all on her plate before making his own serving. He
sat beside her at the giant table, and they shared a lovely meal,
quietly, together.

It was a cozy feeling, being here with him,
in the home he had built. She could feel the love and hope that had
gone into every timber, brick, cut and nail. This was a place of
potential. Potential for joy and for the future. A dream come to
fruition, needing only a few more key elements to make reality.

Much like the town John had dreamed. He’d
shared his dream with his men, and they’d built it into something
real. Something beautiful. All because he’d dared to dream it.

John was a man who made things come to pass.
He wasn’t a bystander in his own life—or in the lives of those he
touched. The others had followed him into battle and now, into life
as civilians precisely because of his ability to lead. To dream big
and make things happen.

He was a hell of a man, and she greatly
feared she was falling deeply in love with him. So deep, her love
for him would change her for all time.

Uncomfortable with the direction of her
thoughts, she broke the silence with idle conversation.

“So what happened to Cam? I almost expected
him to be somewhere nearby, already planning the next event.” She
picked at her food as she continued to eat. It really was
delicious. She’d have to thank Zak specially, for going out of his
way.

“He probably is already planning, but he’s
staying in town tonight with the guys he brought in. Zak’s
christening the new kitchen he’s almost finished building in the
restaurant, entertaining everyone who’s off duty. Sounds like they
have a little party going on down there with Red in town.”

“I can hear it in your voice, how much you
like the guy. So you go way back?” She knew she was prodding him
for information, but talking about the past was easier right now
than thinking about the future.

John didn’t seem to mind. “Red and his older
brother, Grif, are good guys. Both found their mates since the last
time any of us saw each other, so I think the guys are having a
little party in honor of that momentous occasion, even though Red’s
mate is back in Las Vegas with the rest of the family.” John spoke
calmly, eating between sentences. His steady words calmed her as
well, for which she was grateful. “I don’t blame him for not
wanting her here. What I’ve heard about her leads me to believe
she’d be right out there in the thick of things, taking on the
leviathan all by herself if she was here. I wouldn’t want
that.”

That surprised Urse. She’d thought,
underneath the excellent manners, John wasn’t a chauvinist. He was
polite and opened doors, and the like, but he didn’t seem to think
less of the women in town or their abilities. In fact, she’d never
felt that he thought less of her power simply because she was
female. Urse frowned.

“I thought you’d take any help against the
leviathan,” she stated, pausing in her meal to await an
explanation. He’d better have a good one.

“Normally, I would, but mates are special. I
don’t even want Red out there, risking himself, but I know him and
his abilities. I know he has good judgment and won’t take
unnecessary risks now, because he’s mated, and that means his
actions directly affect his mate. If he died here, he’d be breaking
her heart, and he knows better than to do that when it can be
avoided.”

Urse stopped frowning. That did sound like a
good reason, but she said nothing, wanting to hear more of his
reasoning.

“I don’t know his mate, Trisha, at all. I
know her brothers, but not her. I can’t trust that she wouldn’t
take one risk too many in seeking to defeat the leviathan, and none
of us could back her up. She’s a water sprite. She can go right out
there in the ocean and battle the creature in its element. None of
us can do that. Even if it means we’re at risk a little longer here
on land, I’d rather wait until her brothers are free to do the job.
They, at least, can back each other up, and have years of
experience battling things in oceans the world over. From what I’ve
heard, Trisha has lived a much quieter life. At least until she met
Red. He told us about their first meeting and all the havoc that
followed.” John grinned as he resumed eating. “They had a rocky
road to mating, and had to fight an evil mage along the way, but
they prevailed. I’m happy for them.”

That sounded like a story—and really good
reasoning for his stance on Trisha not being here. Faith restored,
Urse went back to her meal.

“She sounds really interesting.” She frowned
again as she speared a piece of beef with her fork.

“Yeah, Red got lucky. All the Redstone
brothers did, actually. Red was telling us how they all found mates
within a year or two of each other. Lucky bastards.”

Urse thought how different it was in the
shifter world, where mating was considered the ultimate happiness.
Many human men would’ve been saying how sad it was that the five
brothers were leg-shackled—or some other unflattering expression.
Shifters, she’d discovered, were genuinely happy about others of
their kind finding mates and eagerly searched for their own special
someone as soon as they hit adulthood.

“If mating is so important to you guys, why
are so many of you single?” she asked, curious.

John put down his fork, his demeanor turning
serious. “That’s because finding one’s true mate is a rare thing.”
He looked straight at her, and she forgot to breathe for a moment.
“You see, there’s only one for each of us, and we may search our
whole lives and never find each other.”

“That’s really…” Why was she breathless all
of a sudden?

“You’re mine, Ursula. My mate.”

And now her mouth was dry. Was her heart
fluttering?

“I’m, um… Really?” She had to clear her
throat of the frog that was suddenly there. “I mean… You really
think so?”

John got up and walked to her side, taking
one of her hands in his and tugged. She rose on unsteady feet to
face him.

“I know so. My bear is in agreement. You’re
mine, Ursula.”

Oh, wow. She couldn’t speak as his head
descended, his lips capturing hers in a kiss of possession. His
dominant Alpha tendencies were on full display, and something
inside her melted and wanted to roll over and let him do whatever
he wanted. He had that much power over her.

And she knew, without a shadow of a doubt,
that he would never abuse his power. Which was why she gave it so
freely. He would never hurt her. Never betray her. He would protect
her and cherish her the way she yearned to cherish and protect
him.

Maybe that’s what mating was all about? Could
it really be that simple?

A part of her really wanted to believe that
it could be so simple. A part that still believed in fairy tales
and happily ever after wanted to think that she and John could be
together forever.

Dare she believe it? Could she have her
happily ever after? Would the other shifters let them?

As the kiss deepened, worries took a back
seat to passion. She felt the sensation of movement and found
herself deposited on the other end of the long kitchen table,
sitting on the edge with her legs splayed and John between them.
She mentally cursed the layers of cloth that separated them.

Her desire was an instant burn when it came
to John. She’d never responded to any man the way she did to him.
Was that because she was his mate? Was he hers? She thought so. If
mages could have such beliefs.

But she had a little bit of bear blood in her
too. Was it enough to form the bond they’d need if this mating
thing was going to work?

Goddess, she hoped so, because John was
everything she’d ever wanted in a man…and then some. She hadn’t
ever considered the idea that she might end up married to a
shifter, but John had a way of making her want to try all sorts of
new things.

Such as making love on the kitchen table.

It might not be very hygienic, but she’d make
sure to clean up after…if only he could be convinced. She had a
feeling it wasn’t going to take all that much convincing. Already
she could feel the ridge of his erection pressing against her
cloth-covered pussy. Oh, yeah. He wanted it too.

She pushed at his clothing, wanting it gone.
John obliged by removing his shirt, then hers. Sweet Goddess, he
felt good against her. His chest rubbed her nipples in just the
right way as their kiss resumed, and went on and on.