Southern Shifters: Bearly Dreaming (Kindle Worlds Novella) (8 page)

His jaw clenched tight. “They kill her.”

My bear roared, the sound too strong to hold in. The man stared at me with wide eyes as I struggled to hold my human shape. My hands squeezed into fists and my teeth lengthened, but I succeeded in blocking my bear. Though he wouldn’t be controlled for long if he thought Nyla needed him.

“They ain’t killed Nyla yet,” he said, still staring at me with trepidation. “But they locked her in the holding cave four days back. The Council met this morning, which probably means today is her day.”

“Why would they kill her?” Whit asked, helping Audrey up the path. All of us walking faster.

“To protect the secret of the clan. She’s refused to take a mate, see, and that means she’s slowly going insane from the power bleed of the Tallan. She needs a man to claim her so the two of them can balance out that power, but she’s stubborn and wants a true mate, not just someone assigned to control her. I offered for her—” he stumbled as I growled again, catching himself on a nearby tree “—I offered for her because she’s a nice girl who doesn’t deserve the fate coming her way. No one else would have taken her on because her Tallan is too weak. They see her as expendable. But she was always kind to me growing up, and I owed her momma a favor.”

“But she wouldn’t accept you,” Audrey said, glancing my way.

“Nope, and that put her in a worse spot,” Liam replied. “One of the Council members claimed her himself. He’s got enough pull to convince the others to allow the forced mating to go through, too. He’s also mean enough to kill her even if she does accept him, purely out of spite.”

“How. Much. Farther?” I bit out, the tingle of a shift teasing my spine. I would kill them all. For scaring her, for thinking they could control her, for locking her up and trying to take her away from me. I would destroy her entire clan to save her, but first, I had to get to her.

“Right over this last hill,” he said. Once we crested the top, he pointed down to a slight rise in the valley floor. “Just around that tree is the cave entrance. The Council may already be there or they may not, that I can’t tell you. There’s a guard shack not too far away as well, but you won’t have to worry about him.”

“Why not?”

He smirked. “He’s my brother. I’ll take care of letting him know he needs to go on break for a while. You three just get to the cave. Once you get past the Council, you’ll be fine. They’ve got her in a cell inside.”

“Thanks,” I growled, too far gone to care if he noticed. I moved to stride past him, but he grabbed my arm.

“You go in there, there’s no sticking around. And there’s no reasoning with the Council. They lost a MacDonald psy to a cougar shifter a while back and have been right pissed about it since. You get Nyla out of there and you run. Don’t ever let her come back.”

I nodded, understanding. This was it. I was a hundred yards from my mate, the woman who’d been haunting my dreams. And she was in danger. She needed me, and I was going to save her. Then I’d tell her everything. About me, about my life, my bear. I’d tell her and I’d ask her to come with me. To let me keep her safe. To let me make her happy. Because I would, I’d do everything in my power as her mate to make her the happiest woman in the world. I would cherish her, if only she’d let me.

Without another word, the stranger turned to leave, heading back up and over the hill the way we’d come. Whit, Audrey and I rushed down the hill, boldly walking across the open spaces, not trying to hide. We’d barely made it a quarter of the way when a feminine scream rang out through the forest, coming from the direction of the cave. My shift was immediate, my bear taking over my body in a split second and racing ahead. My mind focused on only one thing as I roared my fury.

Nyla.

I stood with my head up as the Council walked into the cave, Secor right smack in the middle of them. My mother stepped in front of me, her terrified eyes on mine, playing the role of translator as she’d done a million times before.

“Nyla MacDonald, you are charged with risking the secret of the MacDonald clan by allowing your mating call to continue unchecked. The power bleed associated with this event has left you unable to tell reality from delusion, endangering the secret and the clan as a whole. As you have been unable to locate your true mate, we offer you the option of joining with a secondary mate to quell the psychic storm brought on by the Tallan. Elder Secor has volunteered to take responsibility for you and your power, no matter the cost to his personal standing. Speaking as a father, it is an offer you should definitely consider.”

My mother’s hands hovered, waiting to translate more from the leader of the Council. I eyed him, heart pounding in my chest, but he stood silent. Still. Waiting on me. Expecting me to be so happy to accept Secor’s offer that I didn’t need to hear the other option. The option of death.

I raised my hands to sign my response, and his face curled into a frown of pity. One I’d seen him make for most of my life. Shaky but refusing to let his disdain change my mind, I signed, knowing my words would break my mother’s heart.

“I refuse the secondary mating option.”

I waited for my mother to speak, for her to say what I’d signed, but she didn’t. She stayed quiet as she began to reply as if I’d spoken directly to her.

“No.” Her anger apparent, my mother signed her refusal with a single, forceful pinch. “Nyla, no. I won’t watch you die.”

I glanced from her to the Council, unable to avoid their heavy stares. Keeping my hands low, trying to hide our conversation from Secor, I signed, “I die either way. At least let me choose how I go.”

“Nyla, no. Please.”

She spun to face the leader of the Council, though I couldn’t tell what he was saying. I watched as the two went back and forth, not able to read their lips as they weren’t looking at me. But Secor was, and his face grew angrier with every second.

“Stop this,” Secor signed, glaring. “Accept my offer or die, Nyla. It’s that simple.”

I grabbed my mother’s arm, demanding her attention so she could see my words.

“Tell them what I say, Mom. Tell them I refuse Elder Secor’s offer to be my secondary mate.”

“Nyla, don’t—“

“I found my true mate,” I signed, making sure Secor could see this time. “I will not accept your offer because you can never have me. I have found my true mate and have given my heart and body to him. No substitute will do.”

My mother stepped in front of me, arms out, protective. Elder Secor’s face went flat, emotionless, though I knew it was a mask. He was more dangerous when he appeared calm, more deadly when quiet than when he was shouting.

“I withdraw my offer,” Secor signed, saying the words as well. “The subject has obviously lost all control of reality, and I fear even a claiming by a secondary mate as strong as I wouldn’t help her. I fear she must be destroyed.”

“Bring out the executioner,” the leader of the Council said, eyes finally meeting mine, words clear as they passed his lips. My mother turned to grab me, her mouth open in what I had to assume was a scream, but I was ready. My head was clear, my thoughts my own. I would tread the path of my destiny with open eyes.

“Last chance, child,” Secor signed, his motions choppy and agitated, his eyes filled with fury. “Accept me as your mate or die. Do not think there is another option for you.”

“
I
choose my fate,” I signed, harsh and staccato. Showing my strength, making my point. “Not you, not them. Me.” Keeping my eyes locked with his, I placed my hands parallel to the ground, one palm up, one palm down. And then I rolled and reversed them, making the sign for death, staring at him as I did. He was no Kian, and I would not settle for less than my true mate.

“Kill her,” Secor said, signing as well, as if it was some kind of threat. But it wasn’t; I would rather be dead than trapped with him, forever bonded through the mating ritual. No, that would be my definition of hell: remembering the joy of Kian’s touch as another man forced himself on me.

Secor turned as if to leave, but before he could move out of my sight, all of the Council spun toward the cave entrance. Two animals, huge and white and—oh my God, were they polar bears?—raced into the cave. Mouths open, air vibrating with the force of the sounds they made. The floor shook with their weight as they bolted into the crowd at the door to my cell. One knocked Secor to the ground, mauling him, shoving his body into the wall like a rag doll when he was done. My mother grabbed my arm and yanked me deeper into the small space, her eyes wide with terror. But I knew no fear. All I felt was completion, hope, and affection. I felt him.

Kian.

The smaller of the two bears ran into my cell, turning his back to me, weaving and shaking his head at the Council members. The other, the one who’d attacked Secor, crept closer to the rest of the men in the hall, herding them deeper into the cave. A woman followed him, one I’d never seen in MacDonald territory. She walked behind the polar bear until he had the Council members backed into the cell at the far end of the hallway, then she rushed forward to swing the door closed, locking them all inside.

She hurried back in my direction, tucking herself against the wall opposite my cell. Waiting. Watching the bear in front of me with a proud look on her face. When the bear from the hallway came back to my cell entrance, he shook his head, his mouth open, making the air vibrate again with what I assumed was his roar. The bear in front of me hurried out into the hall, standing between the woman and the cave entrance, guarding her. Guarding all of us. Her bear paced the hallway, looking aggressive and ready to pounce on anyone who dared cross him. But I wasn’t afraid. Not yet. Not of either of them.

I wasn’t sure, had no way to be certain, but I thought…I hoped…

The other bear walked into my cell, head down, gait slow and steady. When he was only a few feet away, he lifted his head, his dark eyes meeting mine. I felt the tingle of magic deep inside me. Welcomed it, pushed for more. The vision that came to me made my heart soar. Through my mate’s eyes I saw a picture of a dirty, exhausted
me
, as if I was looking in a mirror. Or through the bear’s eyes.

And I knew.

“Kill her.”

The words made my heart stop, made every inch of me vibrate with hatred for the man so callously speaking of killing my mate. I ran into the cave as fast as my four paws would carry me, aiming for the speaker, needing to show him who the real killer was. As I knocked the fucker to the ground, Whit ran past. I didn’t worry about where he was going; I already knew he’d do anything he could to protect my mate. To save Nyla.

I slashed and snarled at the man on the ground, batting him around like a toy, demonstrating his place in the food chain. I wouldn’t kill him, but I’d make sure he remembered not to fuck with a polar bear or his mate. His screams cut off as I swatted him against the rock wall, so I left him there and moved on to the humans threatening my mate. Eight men stood in the dark hallway, all staring at me, smelling of urine and fear and weakness. I growled and crept forward, forcing them down the hall, herding them to an open cell at the end. They stumbled backward, scrambling away from the beast before them. Which was good—my bear’s temper had been let loose and I wasn’t going to stop him from enacting his revenge again.

I roared and rose to my back legs as they balked at entering the cage. All eight yelled and raced inside, much to my amusement. Let them experience what they’d put my Nyla through, what they’d put countless other women like her through. If it were up to me, I’d lock them inside and throw the key away for a good long time. But they were not my focus, at least not for long. Nyla needed me, and I needed to make sure she was safe and unharmed. These fuckers were nothing more than a distraction.

Audrey ran past me once the men were in the cell, slamming the door and locking them in. She gave me a wink as I dropped to four feet, before running toward the entrance to where Whit could see her. He’d been growling and hissing since she followed me, making sure I knew he didn’t like her being out of his sight. But he’d stayed in the cell with Nyla, knowing I’d take care of Audrey if need be. Something I’d owe him for when all was said and done. My rage at the fucker sentencing my mate to death had been too strong to stifle. I’d needed a few moments to get it back under control so I didn’t terrify the poor girl, and to teach all these men a serious lesson.

Once I knew the threat to Nyla was contained, I hurried back to her cell. Whit left as soon as I chuffed, knowing it was time to let me take over. I walked in, eyes on the ground, trying my best not to scare Nyla or the woman beside her. This was it, the moment of truth. I needed to shift to talk to her, so there would be no doubt in her mind my bear and I were one. Would she run? Turn away from me in fear? God, would she scream?

Close enough to smell her fear, to crave the warmth of her touch, I raised my head and looked into her eyes. Instantly, my heart broke for her. She looked so frail, so lost. She was the only spot of color in the carved out nook they’d stuck her in, but the days had obviously not been easy for her. The woman had lost weight, and dark circles lay as shadows under her beautiful eyes. They’d tried to break her, and though they’d failed, their cruelty had left its marks. I growled at the thought, wanting to head back down to those Council members and pound them into dust. But Nyla was afraid and had been alone for too long. I couldn’t leave her side, not for a single second. Not even to avenge her. Plus, deep down under all the anger, I needed to be close to her as much as I hoped she needed to be close to me.

Taking a deep breath and throwing up a prayer to whoever might be listening, I reached deep inside myself and pulled my human side forward. When I stood on two feet instead of four, naked both emotionally and physically, I kept my eyes on hers. Waiting. Afraid to move even a muscle. She didn’t run, didn’t scream, so I signed the only words I could think of. The only ones that mattered.

“I told you I’d come for you, and I’m a man of my word.”