Bearly Consenting: Russet Falls Series (17 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Drew had no idea if he needed to spend the night in Russet
Falls, and he really hoped that he didn’t have to. He was nearly within the
clan borders, and Ryker asked that they talk at the Meeting House which was
where Ryker conducted most of his business.

The Meeting House was nothing fancy, just a simple building
that sat behind a small hill. It had a large room for big group gatherings and
then two smaller private rooms for smaller gatherings. There was also a large
basement that had been turned into a sort of childcare area, and occasionally
children would play down there if their parents were meeting upstairs.

Ryker’s motorcycle was parked in front of the building when
Drew arrived, though he saw no signs of anyone else.

He didn’t think that was a good sign.

Drew parked his car and walked towards the building,
carefully pushing the door open. It was just past six in the evening; he had
managed to leave his office earlier than planned.

Ryker was seated at one of the large tables, and he got up
when he saw Drew enter.

“Thanks for coming,” he said gruffly, moving over to Drew
and shaking his hand.

“Sure,” Drew said, watching Ryker carefully.

“Of course, I wish you had come sooner,” Ryker said sourly.
He was dressed in all black, and he looked like he hadn’t shaved in days.

“I have a business to run,” Drew pointed out. “My life is in
Portland now.”

Ryker looked him over and then motioned for Drew to sit.

“Whatever made you go to Portland?” he asked. “Clan lands
not good enough for you?”

Drew thought he detected a hint of taunting but he ignored
it.

“I don’t think it was any secret that I didn’t have the
greatest upbringing,” Drew said. “There was nothing keeping me here. I wanted
more for my life.”

“More than the rest of us?”

“No,” Drew said carefully, “More than the pitiful state of
my home life. It’s much easier to advance in the outside world than it is in
the clan hierarchy.”

“I disagree,” Ryker said, “but of course that’s neither here
nor there.” He cleared his throat and Drew waited. “I need your help.”

Drew waited for further explanation but none came.

“How so?”

“We’ve been told that there is a young woman who is the
first born of the last known Bear King. Her father was of the Cruentus tribe,
but she is being harbored by the Virtus.”

Drew started to relax slightly because this did not seem to
have any of Seraphina’s doing, but at the same time, he cared little for what
was happening in the tribe.

“Forgive me, Ryker, but as I said, my interests and life lie
outside of the clan lands. I’m not sure what any of this has to do with me.”

“I’m putting a plan into place to secure the girl and bring
her to our tribe.”

Drew jumped up, his eyes flashing. “I’m not interested and I
want no part of something like that. This is exactly why I’ve distanced myself
from the tribe.”

Ryker stood up slowly, his eyes quickly becoming menacing.
“So, you’re too good for us?” he asked slowly.

“No, that’s not it at all. I’m choosing to live a different
life.”

Yet it struck Drew how very similar his life was to the
clan’s beliefs. Even though he was far from the Atrocitas tribe, he was still doing
awful things because of Seraphina.

And all the charity work, and all the money he donated could
never make up for the sins he had committed.

“So you’re saying no?” Ryker asked softly.

“Actually,” Drew pointed out, “You haven’t asked me to do
anything yet. But if you are asking me to get involved with kidnapping this
girl, then my answer is no.”

Ryker took a step back, looking Drew up and down.

Drew didn’t like it, and he arrogantly straightened his
shoulders.

“I don’t know if you’re the right material for my daughter.
Maybe I was wrong about you.”

For fuck’s sake.

“I don’t think you need to worry,” Drew said, trying to
control his voice. “There is no chance of your daughter ending up with me.”

This was news to Ryker because he raised his eyebrows in genuine
surprise.

“Really?”

“Really,” Drew assured him.

“That’s not what Seraphina or Jade tells me.”

Drew had been doing his best holding things together, but
the mention of Jade and Seraphina, especially the fact that they were clearly
making Ryker believe that something
would
flourish between Jade and
Drew, was just more than Drew could take.

He felt the waves of his bear upon him, and he knew if he
didn’t get himself together, his body was going to explode into a heap of fur
and muscle.

Avery. Avery. Avery.

He closed his eyes, focusing on Avery.

Shifting out of anger in front of the alpha could be fatal.
Especially if he triggered the alpha attack response in Ryker.

He finally calmed down and opened his eyes to see Ryker
glaring at him.

“Are you always this volatile?” he asked, not hiding his
distaste.

“I wouldn’t say it’s volatile,” Drew responded, getting a
better hold of himself. “I don’t have the liberty to shift whenever I please.”

“That’s
your
choice. No one forced you to leave the
clan lands.”

If only Ryker knew the truth.

“Yes, I suppose that is my problem. Now if you have nothing
else for me, I’m going to be on my way.” He turned to head for the exit, but
Ryker stopped him.

“I never told you that I accepted your no for an answer.
This plan is going to be a tribe effort, and I need everyone involved.”

“I already explained that I’m not interested.”

“Yes, I heard, however I’m sure that there are other ways
you could be of service.”

“Are you going to force me?” Drew asked angrily, clenching
his fists. “Because I would like to know ahead of time if I’m going to have to
do your bidding.”

As if it wasn’t bad enough that he had to work for
Seraphina, but now he was going to be stuck working for Ryker.

Ryker seemed ready to angrily respond, but then he stopped.
“Forget it,” he snapped. “I don’t want people like you associated with this
job. If you aren’t interested in being a true member of this clan, then don’t
bother.”

Normally Drew would be insulted by such a remark, but given
the history of his tribe, Ryker’s character, not to mention his wife, Drew felt
nothing but relief.

“Yes, I think that’s best, thank you” Drew said coolly. “I
have business to get back to.”

“Go,” Ryker dismissed him, and he turned his back to Drew.
“Don’t ever ask for anything from me,” Ryker warned as Drew was leaving. “I’m
only willing to help those members of the clan who are proud to be a bear and
want this life.”

“Not a problem,” Drew muttered.

“And stay away from my daughter,” Ryker roared as Drew
walked out the door.

“Done and done.” Drew got into his car, throwing it in
reverse.

He was heading directly to Seraphina’s house and hopefully
it would be before Ryker got there. He didn’t think Seraphina was behind any of
this, but he needed to be sure.

He arrived at Seraphina’s house in record time, and he threw
his car in park before striding across her lawn.

This was starting to feel all too familiar, and again he
thought about ending Seraphina’s life so that he could live freely.

The door flew open before he could reach for the doorknob,
and Seraphina stood there glaring at him.

She was dressed in her “regular” clothes—a simple pair of
shorts, and a green blouse, which offset the brilliance of her eyes. Of course,
she was barefoot like always, and her hair was pulled back in a simple
ponytail.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she hissed.

“I want to know why your husband is summoning me here!” Drew
exclaimed. “As if it’s not bad enough that I’m at your beck and call but now
your husband wants my help on some bull shit tribe kidnapping mission.”

This was news to Seraphina.

She was momentarily silenced, and Drew could tell that she
truly didn’t know what to say.

She quickly regained her composure, though she didn’t invite
Drew in.

“I had no idea about that. I’ll
convince
him otherwise.”

Drew had no idea what kind of convincing Seraphina had in
mind, but he was grateful that he wasn’t on the receiving end of it.

“I already told him I wasn’t going to do it,” he said
bluntly.

Seraphina raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

“Yes, really. He wasn’t too thrilled, but I don’t think he
liked my anti-tribe attitude, so he told me he was better off without me.”

Seraphina laughed sarcastically. “Of course he’s better off
without you. You’re a sorry excuse for a werebear.”

“Fuck you,” Drew spat.

“Watch your tongue!” she lashed, and Drew began coughing and
choking. He could feel his tongue being pulled out of his mouth by an invisible
force.

He clutched at his throat, watching Seraphina with pure
hatred.

He would kill her.

He knew it for certain in that moment.

She finally released him, and he fell to the ground coughing
and sputtering.

“What is wrong with you?” he wheezed, his bear ready to
burst through the surface again.

“I told you to watch your tongue. I don’t know what has
gotten into you, but you’ve been disrespectful lately and I’m tired of dealing
with it.”

Comprehension dawned on her, and she closed her eyes,
inhaling deeply.

Drew didn’t like that look one bit. She was using her witchy
senses to do something, and usually it meant she was gathering knowledge in
some way.

“I am such a fool!” she whispered angrily. “It’s because of
her!
”

Drew felt a sick knot in his stomach.

“Avery,” Seraphina spat. “I should have seen that coming
from a mile away! You’ve rekindled whatever it was that you had, and now she’s
clouding your judgment and now you have some kind of backbone.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Drew said, trying to play it off.
Because that was exactly what was happening, and Avery was already much too
close.

“I warned you,” she told him, “I told you to stay away. Even
my intervening didn’t help!”

“I knew it,” he growled. The tree, the fire—all of that had
been Seraphina’s doing.

“Oh, please. She’s no match for me. I’ve just been lazy in
how I’ve been handling it. I see that I need to give it more attention.”

“Don’t you dare!” Drew yelled, leaping up, but he stopped
himself. His bear was starting to break free, and he felt his pupils dilate and
his body ripple and roll.

“Control yourself,” Seraphina advised. “This is my final
warning. Stay away from her, or I promise, the next time I go to take care of
her, there will be
nothing
that you can do to save her.”

Seraphina closed her eyes again, doing whatever it was that
she could do to read a situation. “Go. Now. Ryker will be here any minute.”

“Don’t you dare harm her,” Drew warned, his heart pounding
in his chest, adrenaline coursing through his body.

He would shift and tear Seraphina to shreds. 

That would be most satisfying.

Of course, he couldn’t do it now because Ryker was nearly
home and Ryker would be no match for him.

“And Avery is about to arrive on clan lands,” Seraphina said
darkly, “I suggest you stay far away.”

What the hell? He had told her she needed to stay away! Why
couldn’t she listen to him?

He whipped around, heading for his car. He needed to find
Avery and send her home. Before Seraphina tried something else to end her life.

“And this will be the perfect opportunity for you to pursue
things with Jade,” she called across the lawn.

Drew turned around and gave her a mocking smile. “I forgot
to mention. Ryker told me to stay far, far away from Jade.”

He got into his car, and slammed the door with satisfaction.

But not before he saw Seraphina’s bright green eyes flash
with uncontrollable anger.

Without waiting another second, Drew raced down her
driveway, putting as much distance between himself and Seraphina as he possibly
could.

He wanted to get back to Portland, to throw himself into
business and forget all about this.

Except he couldn’t.

He needed to see Avery and warn her.

And besides, he now craved Avery more than he craved
business and that was a first for him.

What was he going to do?

He couldn’t put Avery’s life in danger while he was still
dealing with Seraphina.

No.

Neither he nor Avery were safe while Seraphina still walked
this earth.

And then a terrible though struck him.

What if she couldn’t be killed?

He knew nothing of witches and their powers, and sheer bear
strength might not be enough to end her.