Jade Crew: Fallen Bear (A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Ridgeback Bears Book 7) (9 page)

Victoria

She threw herself down on the mattress, this one covered in a blanket at least. Victoria had hoped that she would be able to go shopping the next day to get some sheets and perhaps a chair of some sort for her own room. She sighed dejectedly as she realized that was never likely to happen.

“Why is this happening to me?” she asked softly, burying her head in her hands. So much was going on lately, and it was making her brain hurt.

The bed wobbled and sunk as Evan lowered his large frame next to her.

Not that everything in her life was stressful. The knowledge that there was something truly special and remarkable going on between them was more exciting than anything she had felt in years. If the two of them survived the oncoming events, she looked forward to finding out just what their bond meant.

That was why she knew she would join the fight, despite the parts of her screaming to flee, pack up, and run away. It would be safer that way, giving her the guarantee of a long life. Of that she had no doubt.

But that long life would be spent alone. Whether Evan survived or not, if she ran, they could never be together. He would never be able to forgive her for running from the biggest fight of his life, to protect his home and those he considered her family. So for the sake of her future, and his, she was going to stay.

“Does your heart feel like it’s been worked over with a sledgehammer in the past little bit?” she asked before he could speak again.

“I think I can safely say that’s an understatement. First they told me I was free to go. That in and of itself was a shock. But to be told that I was going to be an Alpha again? Never in my wildest dreams could I have foreseen that happening.”

His arm settled around her, pulling her in to his chest. Victoria didn’t fight it, snuggling up comfortably against his warm skin, feeling the slight scratchiness of the beard he had only trimmed down to stubble.

“But that was nothing compared to what happened next,” he said, his voice soft and heavy with emotion.

“And what happened next?” she asked innocently, pushing herself tighter into his embrace.

His voice didn’t change, and she shivered at the emotion contained within his words.

“And then I looked at you, and everything else suddenly didn’t matter.”

Then his voice lightened as he spoke some more. “Well, more accurately, I looked at your rear end.”

She poked him in the ribs. Hard.

“And just what is that supposed to mean, mister?” she said, though she didn’t move from her position in his embrace.

“Uhh, it means that you have a fabulous heinie?” he joked.

“Well of course, but what else?” She kissed him on the neck.

“It means that I will fight with every last breath in my lungs and every drop of blood in my veins to defend this place, so that I might make it a safer place for you.”

She shivered as he spoke his vow, knowing that he meant it fully and completely. His conviction was admirable and she didn’t begrudge him his desire to fight back against those who threatened them. Victoria just wished she had had a bit more time with him before everything went sideways.

“It’s only been two days,” she said into the comfortable silence. “But I feel like I’ve known you for so much longer. There’s something about you that’s just…perfect. It’s like...” she paused, looking for the right metaphor. “It’s like you’re the final piece of my jigsaw puzzle. Other things look close, but the moment you slide them together you know, you just
know
, that that’s the way things were meant to be, and nothing else will do.”

He shuffled slightly, and she wondered what he was doing until his lips pressed against her forehead.

“I’ve never felt more at home, at peace, and yet completely alive than I have with you at my side,” he told her. “Two days or two thousand years I could search the rest of this planet, and I know and my bear knows that you’re the one for me,” he told her. “It might seem crazy to part of me, but to my other half, it questions how I’ve waited even this long to tell you.”

She stiffened. “Tell me what?”

“That I love you,” he said softly.

The nerves in his voice were evident, and she didn’t blame him. For anyone else, it would be ludicrous and insane to say that they were in love after barely more than forty-eight hours together. Any human couple would look at them like they were in need of a matching pair of straitjackets. Even a mixed shifter-human couple would normally think they were silly for moving so quickly.

But a bear shifter just knew. And when two of them got together, as rarely as that happened, things just worked, or they didn’t. Victoria had met another pure-shifter couple, though they were wolf shifters, not bears. They were old, approaching the last stages of their life, and yet everywhere they went they held hands, leaned against each other, and a few times she had even caught the old man flirting with his lady, calling her beautiful and buying her flowers. It was the type of lasting love that she had begged and pleaded for with the fates, but had never been granted.

Until now.

“I’m so in love with you Evan Mosier,” she replied, turning and flinging her legs over his and forcing her way into his lap.

“Come here,” he chuckled and lifted her up onto him. “That’s better,” he said.

She agreed, staring dreamily into his dark brown eyes, becoming lost in them for a moment. Without thinking about it she reached up and ran her hand through his hair.

Evan’s hand ran up her back and into the hair at the back of her skull, sending a tiny shiver down her back.

“Stop that,” she said softly.

“Stop what?” he replied, feigning ignorance.

“That,” she replied, her voice turning almost into a moan as he threaded his fingers through her hair, dragging them lightly along her scalp.

“Why?” he asked, his voice low, rumbling gently in her ear.

“Because it feels good,” she told him, inhaling deeply as he continued to lightly touch her.

“How good?” His voice was almost a purr as he leaned closer.

“Wonderful,” she said, her voice trailing off as his lips made contact with her neck.

Her nipples hardened immediately as his hot breath washed across her skin, the hairs on the back of her neck tingling as goose bumps shot across her exposed skin.

“Good,” he said, moving his touch lower, closer to her collarbone.

Her chest rose and fell rhythmically as blood pulsed through her body. She shuddered as his lips pressed against the slight bump of bone below her neck. His free hand had moved up to caress her breasts through the fabric of her shirt, and she felt his cock stir between his legs.

“Evan.” She whispered it into his ear, nibbling gently on the lobe as she did.

His hands tightened around her and she could feel his body flex under her, all from that one little touch. An aroused, excited smile spread across her face as she bit her lip at his reaction.

Well this is going to be fun.

The sheer, animalistic hunger that had infused their first time wasn’t present now. This was the nervous desire to prove that they were alive after facing near death, mixed with the realization that despite everything trying to tear at them, to keep them apart and focus their attentions elsewhere, that they had found each other. And not only that, but their bond was stronger than ever. It was a heady, intoxicating feeling and she quickly felt her body responding. Heat bloomed from within, focusing itself between her legs as desire for physical contact rose within her.

She could feel the same within Evan. His cock began to go hard under her, straining at the containment of his jeans and the pressure of her sitting atop him.

“I want you,” he growled.

Victoria opened her mouth to reply.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” she said angrily, her initial words forgotten as the mood shattered and reality inserted its pesky nose back into their lives.

“Just our luck,” he said with a tired laugh.

“Doesn’t change how I feel about you,” she said, kissing him full on the lips with the energy she still possessed. She was trying to tell him through that single act that he had better not forget about her, and that he had better come back after it was all over to take care of her.

From the way his fingers dipped between her legs quickly, caressing her through her jeans, Victoria assumed he got the point.

“I love you,” she said fiercely as they got up, giving him another hard, passionate kiss.

Then she stood up, straightened her clothes, and strode toward the door, telling herself internally not to be too mean to whoever was on the other side. It wasn’t their fault that the world around them was crumbling down.

“Yes?” she asked, managing—mostly—not to snap at them.

It was one of the Jade Crew bears. She couldn’t remember his name though. He was a little smaller than most of them, with a shock of light-blond hair.

“Hey Corey,” Evan said from over her shoulder.

The shifter in front of her flicked his eyes back into the room, jerking his head slightly upward in greeting.

That’s interesting,
she thought, noting the direction of his head tilt. Men, she had noticed, generally dipped their heads in greeting to someone they didn’t know, or were not on good terms with. When they were greeting friends and comrades, they raised their head, usually from the chin, by way of greeting.

It was a subtle, but almost scientific difference. So Corey, by raising his chin at Evan, had acknowledged him in a friendly manner. She had expected them to be slightly more hostile after the way Evan had treated them, but perhaps in situations like this things like that were to be overlooked.

And men call
us
complicated,
she thought with a mental snort.

“Garrett has called the meeting. Everyone who’s going to arrive is here by now,” Corey said. He looked lost for a moment, then nodded sharply and departed.

“Did you see that look?” she asked, waiting by the door as Evan adjusted his pants and put his boots on. She quickly slipped into her sneakers while he did so. “He’s scared.”

“We’re all scared,” Evan said as he gestured for her to lead and followed her out the door. They had been in his old room at the Ridgeback Lodge, which Garrett had kept intact during his time in jail. It was a welcome bit of privacy that she hadn’t expected, and the time away from everyone to just cuddle with Evan and absorb everything had done wonders for her mental status.

She was ready to face the oncoming storm now, as long as she had him by her side.

Evan’s hand slipped over hers just then, like he could read her mind. She glanced up at him and smiled when he gave her a wink. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she let him lead the way to the meeting.

Be honest, it’s not just a meeting.

It’s a council of war.

***

The meeting room was packed.

The pair of them walked in and took up a position with the rest of their crew on the left side of a cluster of tables that formed the center of the room. They had been pushed together to form one large, slightly rectangular table.

She recognized most of the Jade Crew, with Garrett standing at the head of the table. Corey, the bear who had fetched them, was standing at one end of the group. Along the right-hand side of the table were a bunch of women, and from the way they were looking at the Jade Crew, she took them to be their mates.

At the foot of the table were a half-dozen shifters she didn’t recognize, and they didn’t appear to be united, either. At the fore of the group was a massive shifter, and with a start she noticed he only had one arm.

The low muttering conversations came to an abrupt halt as Garrett cleared his throat. The Alpha she noted, had complete control over the room already.

Impressive.

“Okay, we all know why we’re here. Origin has been, for lack of a better word, invaded.” Garrett spoke firmly and without hesitation, despite all the implications in his words. “We know what they’re after. They are aware of this fact.”

“What are they after?” The question came from one of the unknown shifters.

The one with the single arm turned to face him. “They want the Dragon Stones. They will likely stop at nothing to get them.”

Garrett nodded. “Uriel is correct. If you are unaware, he is one of the Stone Bears, the elite group tasked with guarding the stones. This also means he has information we might not normally be privy to. Information he is now going to share.”

Victoria felt her eyebrows rise at the revelation of who the man was. He must be very formidable indeed to hold such a position with such a limiting injury. She notched her opinion of him up a few points as he began to speak.

“As I’m sure you are all aware, the dragons are governed by a ruling council. Much of what they say is suggestion only, but they can usually be relied upon to help deal with a rogue dragon. Unfortunately we have one on our hands, and the council cannot be found, nor are any of our communications being returned.”

Most of the mining shifters in the room were aware of this, and Victoria wasn’t surprised that they kept quiet. The only noises came from the other shifters in the room.
They must be some of the randoms that live in town, the ones Evan told Jared to call to get out ahead of the invasion.

Uriel’s voice rose slightly, drowning them out. “Now what you might not normally know is that when a Dragon Stone is found by one of the mining crews, it is usually housed at Lionshead Mining head office. Every three to four weeks, a heavily armored and guarded truck arrives from the Dragon Council and takes the stones away for safekeeping.” He paused, taking a breath before continuing to speak, and Victoria sensed some very bad news coming from the way his tone changed.

“Unfortunately, we have not heard from the council in months, including their normal truck dispatches. This means that all the stones have been piling up in secure storage at the LMC office. Normally we house no more than perhaps two dozen stones. As of last count, there are now more than two
hundred
stones just waiting there.”

Garrett spoke into the rising noise as people spoke to each other about the situation. Victoria stayed quiet, more intent on what the leaders had to say than gossiping. She had—mostly—made peace with her demons, and knew what was coming and what she was going to do about it.

“We cannot let them get their hands on those stones. If they do, Luthor/Mirrnolax
will use them to create an army of like-minded followers, and…well, things will get really bad for the rest of us,” he finished with a mild, helpless shrug.

Victoria sympathized with him. There really wasn’t much more he
could
say. If the enemy won, shit was fucked, to put it bluntly. They had to stop them, end of story.

“What about Ferro?” One of the women spoke up, a thick blonde with a commanding air to her that caught Victoria off guard.

“We’ve been over this before, Emma,” Garrett said, and she suddenly realized that the two were mates. “Ferro isn’t getting involved.”

“Why not?” Victoria didn’t realize it was her speaking until all the eyes in the room swiveled to meet her.

“Mirrnolax has seen to it. He’s holding one of Ferro’s family hostage to assure his neutrality. At least, that’s what we think,” Garrett said, admitting that they weren’t positive. “Ferro is notoriously hard to speak with. He hasn’t confirmed our suspicions, but he hasn’t denied them either.” Garrett answered the question, but he was looking down the table at his mate.

She saw several of the other women darting glances her way, and wondered what was going on. Her mind was elsewhere, however. Everyone seemed to be discounting Ferro, but he seemed like the only way to victory. If they wanted to survive, he would have to fight alongside them. Without a dragon of their own, they were screwed.

“So what do we do then?” Emma asked.

Garrett’s eyes narrowed.

“You do nothing. I admire your willingness to help, but you’re nine months pregnant Emma. You’re staying out of this, as are the rest of you,” Garrett said, pointing at the group of women at the table.

“What? You can’t just leave us here while you go off to die without us!” one of the others shouted, getting up from her chair. Victoria’s eyes widened as she saw the size of this woman’s belly. There were apparently a lot of pregnant women in the Jade Crew.

“We can, and we will!” one of the others said firmly before Garrett could reply.

“Quiet,” Uriel said, taking command of the meeting with one simple word. “You will have to hash this out between yourselves, but for now, we must ensure everyone else is up to speed.”

Victoria watched as angry glares from the women speared Uriel briefly before turning back to impale the men of the Jade Crew. She wanted to chuckle at the sight, but it wasn’t a laughing matter. These women wanted to fight for their homes, for their men, and they couldn’t. They weren’t equipped for it, and Victoria knew that, as they must as well. But that wasn’t stopping their determination.

“We know the plan,” Emma said, “So I guess we’ll go elsewhere instead of interrupting.” With a gesture the women followed her and angrily departed the room.

The others watched them go. As the door closed, Garrett sighed. She could see the resignation in his eyes. He didn’t want to have to exert command over his mate, but a shifter war was no place for a pregnant human female. They would be so hysterically outmatched it didn’t bear comparison.

“Basically the plan is to take our vehicles and make our way through back trails to the LMC office. The main road is cut, but there is an ATV and snowmobile trail that should allow the trucks and supplies to get through. We have word from Gabriel at LMC that he expects the attack in the morning. So we’ll take a few hours to grab some sleep, and then head out just before dawn. Be ready to leave at a moment’s notice though, okay?”

Everyone nodded and began to file out of the room. Evan stayed behind, his eyes drawn to the Jade Crew, and she realized this was one of the first times he had seen his old crew since being free. Not wanting to interrupt what was likely to be a rather awkward reunion, she left the room with the others.

Besides, she had her own ideas about what needed to be done.