Melted By The Bear: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (17 page)

CHAPTER 15

With his expression equal parts concern and surprise, Cormack told Cook to have a seat with us at the table.

She did, still breathing heavily, and set her ladle on an unused bread plate. “I was dividing soup into different containers to freeze can you imagine that? The most normal thing in the world—an average, everyday thing—when it just hit me. I suppose I
was
kind of thinking about the prophecy earlier today, just kind of letting it rattle around in my head, but then I’d forgotten all about it until it was like a bolt of lightning just hit me, and I think I understand everything now. See, when Laurel made the prophecy and said that mating with a frozen woman would cause
ruin
, Commander Blackthorn, she never said
whose
ruin. We all just assumed, didn’t we? We all just assumed she was warning against
our
ruin that would happen if our leader did a certain thing, when she never said it would be at all. I think the battle with the shadow bears just proved it’s not
our
ruin that was predicted. I think the
ruin
Laurel predicted was the ruin of AntiCormack and the shadow bears, and from the way I look at it, it's a quarter of the way to being complete, since a quarter of his men have been killed.”

Cormack and I sat in stunned silence, plates of dinner in front of us entirely forgotten.

Breathing a little slower and easier now, Cook continued, “Now as to what else Laurel told you, Commander Blackthorn, when she told you to ‘keep her close to have hope,’
her
meaning the frozen woman, well, now that we understand the first part of the prophecy, this second part of what Laurel said makes a lot more sense. It’s
not
paradoxical, as we once all thought, when everyone took it to mean that you were supposed to
not
mate with the frozen woman, yet keep her close at the same time. I think Laurel gave you this command because keeping the frozen woman close would presumably help ensure that the two of you would mate, setting the prophecy in motion. So, opposite of what everyone in town initially thought, the two of you were
supposed
to join together to set in motion the fulfillment of the prophecy, and thank heavens you did. Had the two of you not, the shadow bears’ recent attack on our village might have gone an entirely different way.” Giving her head a quick shake, as if not wanting to think about that different way, Cook paused. “I also think a possible second meaning to Laurel telling you to ‘keep her close to have hope,’ Commander Blackthorn, was because she was able to intuit that Aria would have a special power that could help against the shadow bears.”

Wanting to make sure he’d heard every word of what Cook had just said, I gave Cormack a pointed look, which he ignored, keeping his gaze on Cook.

She continued, tucking a strand of gray hair inside a white, lacy net thing she often wore while cooking. “I think Laurel could foresee that this special power, when discovered, would give everyone
hope
that the shadow bears would soon be brought to the predicted ruin. And from what you’ve told me, Aria, about how your special power has continued to improve, it
does
certainly seem like it could be a real asset during another fight against the shadow bears.”

Didn’t I know it. I was absolutely certain my power could be a real asset during another fight with the shadow bears. But I still had to get Cormack on board with that thinking.

However, when he spoke after a few seconds of staring into the twin flames of two taper candles on the table, seeming to be deep in thought, it wasn’t to address the issue of me fighting.

“I think you’re right, Cook.” Sitting up straighter, he shifted his gaze from the candles to her. “I think you’re absolutely right about the true interpretation of the prophecy. It just makes sense, considering what’s happened, which completely backs up your theory. And really, I couldn’t feel like more of a complete ass for not realizing sooner that the prophecy might have an alternate interpretation.”

Cook immediately scoffed. “No one, and I mean absolutely no one, should feel like an ass, here. We
all
fell into line with the first initial interpretation of the prophecy, and why wouldn’t we have? Considering the murder and havoc the shadow bears had just wreaked when the prophecy was first issued, we saw them as a very immediate threat, so we all assumed that the predicated ruin would be upon
us, of course
.”

Cormack frowned, drawing his dark brows together. “Well, at the very least, I should have considered a possible alternate interpretation of the prophecy after the most recent fight.”

Before Cook could respond, I cleared my throat. “Really, Cormack,
I
should have. I’m the one who, beforehand, was all hung up on the idea of changing the prophecy, so I, more than anyone, should have been trying to look at the prophecy itself from different angles.”

Cook suddenly brought her hands together in a light clap. “All right, enough. Enough. Forgive me, both of you, for being so bold, and I mean no disrespect, Commander Blackthorn, and especially not at your table, but what’s done is done. Nobody realized what the prophecy really meant, but we’re fairly certain now, so we should just move forward.

“In my six decades on earth, I’ve never once seen anything good come from second-guessing and people blaming themselves for things beyond their control. Never once. Not to mention that you, Commander Blackthorn, have had your hands quite full defending this nation from constant shadow bear attacks, defending us quite admirably and well, I might add, and I know for a fact you haven’t had much time in the last few years to sit around pondering prophecies.

“And you, Aria, only recently got here, so you haven’t had much time to ponder the prophecy, either. But, sometimes I think that pondering things is part of an old cook’s job, and I’m just happy that
this
old cook was doing enough idle pondering this evening to realize the things that she did.

“So, now, like I said, I think the most important part is to just move forward with the knowledge that we now have. Which, I might add, is just about the most wonderful knowledge I’ve ever had. The prophecy will soon be fulfilled, and it’s the shadow bears who are going to come to ruin, not us. I, for one, feel like my heart is light as air.” With a smile, Cook rose from the table and grabbed her ladle. “I’ll leave you two in peace to eat now.”

She began bustling out of the kitchen, but Cormack asked her to wait, and his deep green eyes radiated sincerity when he spoke.

“Thank you, Cook. Thank you for your pondering, and your realizing, and your brilliance.”

Cook made a dismissive gesture with her hand, but the way she beamed indicated she was very pleased. “‘Brilliant?’ Well, I’m not sure about
that
, although if I’m doing my job properly, you might say that again later, after you’ve had a bite of the pumpkin spice cheesecake I made.”

The moment she was out of the kitchen and through the swinging door to her commercial kitchen, Cormack looked at me with a sigh.

“I know what you’re going to say. I know what you’re going to ask. So, you may as well go ahead before we enjoy our meal. Go ahead and say or ask whatever you’re going to.”

I found myself somewhat taken off-guard, because I’d thought he was going to tell me to save whatever I wanted to say or ask until later, later meaning
hopefully never.

So, I took a sip of water then set the glass down with deliberate slowness, stalling so that I could collect my thoughts, before responding. “I appreciate you wanting me to feel free to say or ask whatever I want to right now, Cormack, and I
am
going to say something, but I’m not going to
ask
anything. What I’m going to say is that if and when AntiCormack and his men attack again, I’m going to use my power to help fight them. Considering that I’m a grown woman who knows her own mind and is aware of the dangers and risks, and that I’m a woman who’s always been in charge of her own destiny and would like to stay that way, and taking into account that it’s now clear that the prophecy has already predicted the shadow bears’ ruin, I can’t imagine
not
fighting and using my power to help defend my new home, so I’m going to. My mind’s made up. That’s why I’m not asking.”

“You’re just telling.”

He made it sound so horribly bossy.

Struggling to maintain eye contact with him, I swallowed. “Correct. I’m just telling.”

“Despite the fact that as commander-in-chief of Michiana, I can veto anyone
telling
me anything.”

I couldn’t quite read his expression, and it was making me nervous for some reason. However, I wasn’t about to back down. “Correct. I’ve made a decision, and despite the fact that you can veto it all day long if you like—you can even put me in chains in a dungeon somewhere to stop me if you like—I’m not changing my mind. You’ll
have
to physically stop me. But just know that if you do....” Not wanting to make it sound like I was issuing threats, I paused to change the phrasing of what I’d been going to say. “I can never be with a man who won’t let me use my power for the greater good, Cormack, a man who won’t
encourage
it. Maybe I’m not the easiest woman to deal with sometimes, as you’ve pointed out, but easy, or difficult, or hard, or whatever, I don’t want a man who thinks he can change me, or control me, or tell me I can’t do something.”

“Even when that man would be telling you that you can’t do something for your own safety?”

I didn’t even hesitate. “Yes. Even then.
Especially
then. That would be you telling me that I don’t know my own mind and I’m incapable of measuring risks and making my own decisions about my own safety. And that is something I know I could never live with.”

Expression still unreadable, Cormack turned his gaze from my face to the twin candle flames. “I’m going to need to think about all this.”

“Fair enough.”

We soon resumed eating our meal, though we hardly spoke. Dessert was hardly any different. We’d gone back to where we’d been when I’d first been thawed. We were people who politely commented on cheesecake no fewer than five times between the two of us, with long stretches of silence between each comment.

However, that night in Cormack’s bed, our hands and bodies spoke volumes, and when we were resting in embrace afterward, I realized that I’d officially fallen in love with him. Not
just
officially, but profoundly. I’d fallen in love with his voice, his touch, and his scent, but those things weren’t even the half of it. I’d fallen in love with his bravery, his caring, and his heart. I’d fallen in love with the way he said my name sometimes when we made love, as tenderly as if my name alone were a poem, and I’d fallen in love with the way that he’d had the humility to apologize to a member of his household staff for not knowing something he’d had no way of knowing.

After the realization that I’d fallen hard, I remained awake for a good while, staring at moonlight dancing on the ceiling in the dark. All falling in love aside, I hadn’t been bluffing when I’d said I could never be with a man who wasn’t supportive of me using my powers. And it was going to hurt like hell if Cormack couldn’t bring himself to be that man.

*

A week or so passed and I barely saw Cormack. If he wasn’t meeting with his advisors, he was holding a council meeting, and if he wasn’t doing either of those things, he was out leading his men on patrol, keeping the village safe from AntiCormack’s spies.

All this time without him left me with a lot of time to spend in town, where people were now markedly warmer to me. Now that word had spread about the prophecy never having been interpreted correctly in the first place, many people even apologized to me for their treatment of me when I’d first been thawed, saying that they now realized their behavior had been shameful. Hazel, specifically, was one of several people who said this to me. I told her and everyone else that I had no hard feelings, and it was true. As Cook had explained to me early on, they’d all simply been scared, and I didn’t blame them. I knew exactly how frightening it felt to think you might lose someone, because that was the way I felt about Cormack at present.

Abby returned to the bookstore and story hour, but she never quite seemed to recover from the recent day when she’d thought she might be pregnant. She just didn’t smile as much as when I’d first met her, and when she did smile, it seemed forced. Her honey-brown eyes just didn’t have the same spark.

One day over tea and apple fritters at our little snack table in the back of the store, she confessed that sometimes she wondered if David was really happy to spend the rest of his life with her if she couldn’t ever give him a child.

“See, he always says he is, but he’s like Cormack. They both act like they’re these big, stern, tough shifters, but underneath it all, they’re kind men. Same with most of the other shifters. From what I heard, all the truly evil-hearted ones left town when AntiCormack did. So, sometimes I wonder, is David just being kind to me when he says that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me, and will be happy doing so, child or no child? And if he
is
serious about that, well, if
I
really love him, which I do, wouldn’t the most loving thing I could do for him be if I just, if I just died? That way, maybe he could get one of the frozen women from DC who didn’t find love matches with the men they were thawed for, and—”