Red's Bear (Erotic Shifter Fairy Tales) (20 page)

Her mother glanced away, staring at the front door as
if she wanted to flee with the same haste as she’d entered the office.

The room grew silent.

Glancing over at the sheriff, whose face was a blank
mask but whose onyx eyes were swimming with hidden emotions, Rena found herself
choked up by the revelations she had heard. She could imagine this big bear of
a man felt something too, even as a bystander. “Sherriff Smokey, can you please
take my Grandma into your office?”

With a sharp nod, he said, “I will.” Moving to Genma,
he slipped a careful arm around her grandmother.

Rena watched as he led her away.

Stopping at the door, Genma looked around his broad
shoulder. “It’s time for the truth, Lillian. No more secrets.”

Her mother didn’t respond to her grandmother’s words.

She waited until the door was secure before she turned
back to her mother. At the moment, with her grandmother in a fragile state and
her mother pouting in the seat, Rena felt like the only mature one in the
place.

Taking the few steps to reach her mother, Rena sat
beside her, not touching, just sitting there. She allowed the silence to
stretch as she waited to see if her mother would speak first.

Giving up, Rena began, “Waking up and finding yourself
trapped and looking out through the eyes of a bear does something to a woman.”

Two beats later, her mother gazed over at her. However,
she was still quiet.

“I was so afraid. I didn’t know what was happening to
me.” Rena became choked up recalling that morning and seeing Cord shift from a
bear to a man and back to a bear as he followed her through the woods. “Then
when I found out that I was a Were, some kind of bear-shifter and no one had told
me, because you didn’t want them to. I became angry and for a moment I hated
you, mother.”

Her mother gasped. “Rena, I wasn’t trying to—”

“Please don’t speak…” Rena let out a ragged breath.
“Unless you’re prepared to tell me the truth, don’t say a damn word.”

Crossing her arms, her mother turned her back to her.
“I will not sit here and take—”

Rena’s head bobbed up and down. “Oh, yes you will. You
will sit and you will listen, because you almost ruined my life…kept me from
the man I am supposed to be with…almost killed me. Why?” Too many emotions were
toppling over inside of her for her to hold back the scream that erupted out of
her with that one question.
Why
?

Her mother stood slowly and walked away. Rena thought
she would keep walking out the door, never to be heard from again. But, her
mother stopped in the center of the room, not looking at her.

Watching her shoulders rise slightly as Lillian took
several deep breaths, Rena waited.

“Weres of this town raise their cub-children with
fanciful stories about love and being with one’s true mate. They teach us that
being someone’s life mate makes them strong. That two people become one soul,
sharing dreams and thoughts and babies. Filling our heads with the notion that
there is no greater love.” Her mother turned and faced her, her face wet with
tears, her eyes empty and lost. “But they don’t tell you how to find them, just
that you will know when you do.”

Her lips curled back in a sneer. “Well, I thought I
had. There was a guy who was my friend, but I fell for him hard. Made a fool of
myself trying to prove to him we should be together.” The chuckle that came out
was humorless. “My mother kept telling me to let it go. ‘You just can’t force
these things, Lillian’ she would say. So, I stepped back.”

Breaking eye contact, her mother looked away toward the
sealed door of the back office then said, “Jasper was a few years older than
me. He’d gone away for a while to search out the world, become a more
independent man and stronger Were-bear. Mom told me to let him go, that it was
possible he wasn’t meant for me, but I knew she was wrong. Two years later, the
year I graduated, he returned. As soon as I learned he was back, I drove over
in the new car my parents had given me. I wanted to impress him with the woman
I’d become.” She gazed down at the floor. “When I got there it became real
clear that he wanted someone else. I saw Jasper kissing Charlotte Ruxpin, the
mechanic’s daughter. Not just kissing. His teeth were sunk in her wrist,
marking her. I screamed and when they glanced over at me both their eyes were
golden. I just reacted. Went home and packed. When my parents tried to tell me
to take some time, that there was a Were for me, I waited until they were
asleep and left.” Glancing over at her, Lillian said, “All I could think about
was the same thing happening to you. Those Bjorn men, as well as all the other
men in Den, can’t be trusted not to play with a woman’s heart.”

Rena shook her head at her mother’s words. Her own
experience in town had been completely opposite. “Did dad know before he died?”

“No. It was too unsafe.” Her mother shook her head and
sighed. “I ended up in West Virginia and enrolled in a local college. All those
trees and mountains allowed me space to roam when I needed to. After I found
out what happened to my dad, not knowing he was looking for me when it
happened. I knew I wasn’t ready to return to Den.” In front of her again,
Lillian said, “You have to believe me when I say I didn’t know my father went
looking for me the weeks following my leave.”

Holding the sad gaze of her mother, Rena did believe
her. With all of the things her mother may have done, it was evident in her
voice that she loved her father.

“I do believe you. But why didn’t you ever come back
before I was born?”

“I was still hurt and licking my wounds.” Exhaling, her
mother sat beside her again. “Larry was one of the professors at the college. A
kind older man who wanted someone to care for and I needed to be cared for.”
She shrugged. “It worked for us.”

Rena thought of her father, a sweet absentminded
professor type. He’d loved them both up until he had a heart attack at work.
She missed him. Soon after his death, her mother moved them to the small town
of Adams, Massachusetts, by Mount Greylock and Rena now understood why. They
began to visit Den County for a week in the summers.

 “Then when you were born, I knew there was a chance
you wouldn’t have the gene. I hoped that you would be full human.”

“You raised me with fears of foods? You restricted my
diet—”

“Just to make sure.” Her mother placed a hand on her
leg then removed it as if she was unsure if Rena wanted a connection with her.
“If I’d known the gene was latent or that your sickness was due to your bear
trying to fuse with you…” This time she touched her shoulder and didn’t move
her hand as she stared into Rena’s eyes. “I would have never done it.”

Giving her a small smile, she said, “I believe you.”
She did. Her mother may be a lot of things but evil wasn’t it.

Sighing loudly, her mother leaned back against the
bench.

“There’s just one last thing I need to know, Mom.” Rena
kept her eyes trained on her mother.

“What is that?” she asked, cautious. “I thought I
answered everything.”

“Not quite. What happened the last day we were here?
What was the argument with grandmother about?”

“I had enjoyed each summer with Grandma. Then in an
instant it was all gone and you wouldn’t even let me talk about it.”

“I know you did like coming here. You hadn’t shown any
Were traits, so I thought it was fine to bring you here and I would keep a
sharp eye out, protect you. However, I guess I didn’t keep you sheltered enough
because Jasper’s son still got to you.”

Now that Rena understood, thanks to her grandmother,
more about being a bear shifter and how they are led to their mates, she knew
that Cord hadn’t ‘got to her’ he’d been drawn to her. Unable to stop that kiss
if he’d wanted to. But Rena held her tongue, it was evident that her mother had
never known that bonding kind of love.

“Anyway, I got angry when your grandmother said that it
was possible that the Great Spirit didn’t place me with Jasper because he had
plans for his son and my daughter.” Lillian huffed and rolled her eyes.

“That part is true mother. Very true.” Rena held her
mother’s gaze, black as night, evidence that Lillian belonged to Den County,
even if she didn’t want to admit it. “Cord is my mate. Even then, with my gene
being suppressed he still found me.” 

Placing a hand on her arm, her mother said, “I just
hope you’re right. I want you to be happy. That was all I ever wanted.” Leaning
into Rena, she embraced her.

Rena couldn’t hold back the tears that fell from her
eyes. This was all she’d ever wanted from her mother. To have her understand
and accept that Rena was her own person, able to make decisions for herself without
all the subterfuge and control.

They heard the door open to the back office. Turning,
they saw her grandmother walking out first. A few steps away, Genma gazed down
at her daughter. It shocked Rena to see the uncertainty on her grandmother’s
face. The older woman had always been so strong and confident since Rena had
known her, now she looked unsure.

Moving away from Rena, her mother rose and took a step
closer to her grandmother. “Mom, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know that dad would
follow me. I just wanted to get away.”

Closing the gap, Genma wrapped her arms around her
daughter. Hugging her, Genma said, “He loved you so much. We both did. All we
ever wanted was the best for you, for you to find your mate.”

Rising from the bench, Rena’s heart swelled as she saw
the two most important women in her life finally coming together and healing
the past.

Kissing her mother on the cheek, leaning back she said,
“I was very content, Mom, with Larry. I don’t think the Great Spirit has a mate
for me—”

 “You were always looking in the wrong direction.”
Sheriff Smokey’s voice rumbled deep and brought the conversation to a halt.

All three women turned and faced the only man in the
room. Up until this point the lawman had been a silent observer who was willing
to stand back and let the females handle their family issues. Rena was
beginning to believe she’d perceived the big guy’s actions all wrong.

“That was apparent and the reason I left,” Lillian
said.

He pushed away from the wall, where he’d been leaning
since he escorted her grandmother back into the room. Moving closer to her
mother, he continued. “Did you ever think, Lillian Berend, that maybe the day
you hightailed your sweet ass out of Den that you snatched away the possibility
for you to find your mate and his opportunity to declare himself to you?”

Her mother lifted a shoulder, saying, “Who knows, the
past is the past. I’m Hoodman, now.”

Rena watched the big bear of a man strut across the
room, slow and purposeful. He stopped directly in front of her mother. “It should
have been Smokey.”

The shocked gasp coming from her mother’s mouth was the
perfect sound to Rena’s own response. With wide eyes she stared at the couple
before her. Her grandmother stepped back beside Rena, a knowing smile on her
lips.

“What are you saying, David?” Using his given name,
something Rena hadn’t heard anyone do since she’d been in the county. She noted
how transfixed her mother’s gaze was on the sheriff’s face, seeming to search
it for the truth in his words.

“You’re not getting away from me again. I plan to make
you mine as I’d planned to do the day after our graduation.” His hand reached
up, cupping Lillian’s face. “Don’t make me live without you again.”

Rena didn’t expect her mother’s reaction.

Stretching up on her toes, Lillian kissed him. When
they parted, Rena heard her mother sigh and the low growl coming from the male
Were, accompanied by the flecks of gold revealed in both of their ebony eyes.

Smiling at the pair, Rena heard her grandmother say,
“My job here is done.”

Laughing, Rena didn’t even try to figure out what her
grandmother had been ferreting out of the lawman while they had been in the
back office. With her mother in town and the sheriff declaring his intentions,
things in Den had just gotten very interesting. 

~YH~

“If you two are on my doorstep it can’t be good.” Cord
stared at the ladies on his porch.

“Oh, come on now, Cordy-bear. Why can’t a grandmother
decide to have lunch with her grandson?” His grandmother gave him one of her
sweet, innocent grins as she stepped to him and kissed his cheek, then breezed
by him into his cabin.

“Oh, course you can, Nana.” He eyed her strutting
directly to his long couch and taking up residence.

“We thought you could use a little company.” Genma, his
grandmother’s cohort’s smile was just a matronly as she brushed her lips across
his other cheek and followed her friend in and claimed the seat beside her.

Shaking his head, Cord was even more convinced these
two were up to something. Sweet they both were, but too elderly to be plotting
something, absolutely not. Closing his door, he turned back to his living room
to see what he could glean from his visitors. He cared for both of them.
However, after two days of not seeing or hearing from Rena he was hoping she
was the one knocking at his door. Too many times to count he’d grabbed the keys
for his truck and started for Genma’s or stood in front of his radio ready to
channel up the Berend house to just hear her voice. But his grandmother had
told him to give her some time and that she had a lot of adjustments going on.