Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
BECK
Ireached Everett’s house just as the sun peeked over the mountains, spilling orange light down the slopes.
The walk from the bed and breakfast had taken around forty-five minutes, and my bear had paced restlessly for each one. Because every step took me farther from Charlotte, and the beast despised leaving her alone.
But she wasn’t unguarded. I didn’t fool myself into thinking the clan wasn’t aware of my every move. My brothers were watching. Charlotte was safe in Bear Cove. For now.
I paused at the edge of Everett’s property, my breath a fog in front of my face. I’d delivered the DNA samples last night, handing Everett the coffee mug and hair I’d collected from Charlotte’s brush as she slept. By now, he’d know if she was compatible.
The front door opened, and Everett stepped onto the porch.
I crossed the snowy yard. Everett’s place was beautifully built, the wood-and-glass facade blending seamlessly with the natural world around it. Smoke curled from the chimney, and warm, cheerful light glowed in the windows.
“Beck,” Everett said, stepping aside when I mounted the porch. “You’re right on time.”
“Have I ever been late?” I asked, stomping snow from my boots onto the thick rug that spread over the foyer.
Several colorful, plastic toys littered the front room to the right.
One bristled with jungle animals and fabric leaves.
A plastic tray attached to a cloth seat suspended from bungee cords.
Cereal littered the surface, along with a pacifier and a cup of juice with a lid.
“No,” Everett said, “but I thought you might have slept in this morning.” He gave me a curious look that left zero doubt he wondered if I’d slept with Charlotte.
God, bear shifters were as bad as teenage girls when it came to gossip.
Skyler emerged from the direction of the kitchen with baby Wyatt on her shoulder. The little boy lifted his head when he caught sight of Everett. The baby gurgled happily, drool sliding down his chin.
“Beck!” Skyler said, coming to me. She shifted Wyatt higher on her shoulder as she went on tiptoe and pecked my cheek. “It’s always good to see you.”
Wyatt grabbed at my beard, his toothless grin growing when his damp fingers brushed a few strands of hair.
“You, too, Skyler,” I said. “And you, little man,” I added, rubbing a hand over the baby’s soft, dark hair. He rewarded me with another grin and a second swipe at my beard.
Skyler laughed as she captured the baby’s hand and kissed his chubby knuckles. “No, no, Wyatt. We don’t pull the alpha’s beard.”
“He gets bigger every time I see him,” I told Skyler, my heart squeezing at the sight of the cub. He was a miracle—and easily the most popular resident of Bear Cove. Every member of the clan doted on him.
Skyler made a face. “Tell me about it. I can’t order clothes fast enough. Some of the onesies in his dresser still have tags.”
I nodded like I knew what “onesies” were.
Footsteps outside made Everett and me turn. A second later, Skyler heard them, too, and the three of us watched as the door opened and Cal strode inside.
Snow dusted his blond hair, and his blue eyes were bright. Whatever troubles had plagued him since he left Margot Sutton in Seattle appeared to be long gone.
Shaking the snow from his hair, he crossed to Skyler and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Morning, beautiful.”
She gave him an assessing look. “Everything go okay in Seattle?”
Cal grinned. “Even better than I hoped.”
Skyler and Everett exchanged a glance, unspoken communication passing between them. Then Skyler turned back to Cal, eyebrows raised. “I want a full report when you three are done gossiping.”
The three of us laughed. Everett moved to his mate and kissed the baby’s head, then slid his mouth to Skyler’s in a brief but tender kiss. “You got it.”
An ache formed in my chest. They made it look so easy, the life they’d built full of joy and intimacy. What would it be like to have that with Charlotte? To wake up next to her every morning? To watch our cubs grow?
If she chose me. If I didn’t mess things up.
Skyler carried Wyatt to the stairs. “I’m putting him down for his nap.” She swept a look over the three of us. “Try not to destroy the kitchen while I’m gone.”
“It was just the one time,” Everett protested.
Cal rubbed a hand over his mouth, a meek expression on his rugged face. “Twice if you count the microwave.”
“I count it!” Skyler called from the top of the stairs.
Cal looked at me. “Burritos. How was I supposed to know the wrappers had foil in them?”
Skyler’s footsteps faded, and Everett waved us toward the kitchen. Cal and I settled around the table, and Everett slid steaming mugs of coffee in front of us before taking his seat.
“What happened in Seattle?” I asked Cal.
His features softened, and unmistakable joy danced in his eyes. “I reconciled with Margot.”
Relief flooded me. Cal was indispensable around Bear Cove, his gift of speed making him the top member of our search and rescue team. But he was also my friend. “That’s good,” I said. “Really good.”
“It gets better.” He leaned back in his chair, looking more relaxed than I’d seen him in months. “She’s pregnant.”
My breath left my lungs. Across from me, Everett’s jaw dropped. For a second, I was sure my expression was the same.
“You’re certain?” I asked. It was impossible, wasn’t it? Bear shifters could only mate with humans. Margot was a werewolf.
Cal’s tone went hushed, almost reverent. “The line on the pregnancy test was unmistakable. And we both sensed the little guy’s heartbeat. Margot’s mother is half-human. From what we can piece together, that human blood was enough to make her compatible.”
I reached across the table and took his wrist. “Congratulations, Brother. This is the best news.”
Everett leaned over and clapped Cal on the shoulder, a smile twinkling in his hazel eyes. “I’ve got an embarrassing amount of baby gear to give you when you’re ready.”
Cal’s throat bobbed, but his smile stayed steady. “I’m not sure I’m ready.”
“You will be,” Everett said. He gave a low whistle. “Two cubs in one year? The clan is going to lose its collective shit. This is a miracle.”
It was. For years, we’d watched our numbers dwindle as fewer bears found a match among the human women who visited Alaska. The elders among us had given up hope of ever having families. Now, in the span of a year, we’d have two children in Bear Cove.
Everett caught my eye. His face went serious as he pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and slid it across the table. “Here are those results, Alpha.”
Nerves tightened my gut as I picked up the paper and scanned it. Numbers marched in a column that meant nothing to my untrained eyes. But Everett had written something at the bottom:
Compatible
The paper trembled in my hand.
“Her numbers are off the charts,” Everett said, drawing my gaze to his. He nodded toward the paper. “And there’s more. I tested your blood with her DNA. The cellular attraction between your samples was extraordinary. She’s not just a match. It’s like she was made specifically for you.”
I lowered the paper and rubbed my jaw, relief and something else mingling in my chest. Dread, maybe. Because telling Charlotte meant making her choose between me and the life she’d built.
“This is good news, right?” Cal asked, watching me with careful eyes.
“She’s a gifted scientist,” I said. “She has a career waiting for her in Colorado. Job opportunities. A whole future she’s worked hard for. If I tell her about us, I’ll be asking her to leave all that behind. She’ll have to give up her dreams.”
Cal and Everett were quiet. Then Cal spread his hands. “Maybe she won’t see it that way. She might decide you’re offering her something better.”
I wanted to believe it. But I’d spent days with Charlotte in the forest. I’d seen her eyes light up when she spoke of her research.
She was a prodigy, and her brilliance had carried her from foster homes to a prestigious career.
Did I really expect her to throw all that away for a bed and breakfast and a fifty-year-old bear shifter?
“There’s something else,” I said. “I found Charlotte sleepwalking at 3 a.m. last night. When I got her back inside, I saw faded marks on her neck. They looked like puncture wounds.”
Both men straightened.
I relayed the whole story, telling them about the insomnia pills and my suspicions about Dr. Henry. When I finished, Everett and Cal shared a grim look.
Everett frowned. “The scars could be from something else. An old injury, maybe.”
“Maybe,” I conceded, “but my gut tells me something is wrong.” I tapped the paper with the compatibility results.
“And now we know Charlotte is a perfect match. What are the chances a human scientist trained to investigate wildlife anomalies just happens to be highly compatible with our species? And now her advisor has sent her here with a bottle of pills she didn’t get from a doctor? ”
Cal scowled. “If it’s what you think, this Dr. Henry could have been setting this up for years. He’s mentored her since she was fourteen. He probably learned of her compatibility early on. But what could he want with us?”
“His credentials are real,” Everett said. “Nothing says a vampire can’t be an expert in a scientific field. It’s like he groomed Charlotte. Turned her into a weapon.”
My growl filled the kitchen. Wood creaked, and I looked down to see that I’d gripped the edge of the table and was in danger of snapping off the edge.
Something hard and fierce glinted in Cal’s eyes. “We need to find out what’s in those pills.”
I released the table, but my fury remained. “Henry isn’t going to get near her again.”
Worry covered Everett’s features. “Ancient vampires are powerful enough to maintain a long-distance link on their victims. If you try to tell Charlotte the truth about him—”
“He could access her mind and compel her to destroy herself,” I finished, my bear rising under my skin.
Cal’s expression mirrored Everett’s. “The vampires could wipe us out if they wanted to. We’re not a match for them, Beck. If Charlotte is part of some kind of trap—”
“She’s not,” I growled, my voice an octave lower than usual. And my beast must have shone in my eyes because both men lowered their heads.
I dragged in a deep breath, willing my bear to settle. “She’s not,” I repeated more quietly. “Charlotte doesn’t know what she is. I’d stake my life on it.”
Cal looked up, his gaze steady in the face of my beast. “You might be.”
I leaned back, and I drew another breath before I said, “I know the risk. But I also know Charlotte.” I looked between the men closer to me than anyone else in the clan. “I’m falling for her. Vampire bait or not, I’m falling in love with her. Maybe I already am.”
“What are you going to do?” Everett asked.
Silence stretched, the kitchen quiet except for the drip of melting snow outside.
“I’ll get you those pills,” I said finally.
“I want you to find out exactly what’s in them.
In the meantime, though, I need to tell Charlotte the truth about us.
Let her see with her own eyes what we are.
Then we can figure out who Dr. Henry really is and if he’s a vampire.
But I can’t tell her about my suspicions.
Not until we know for sure he can’t reach her. ”
“And if he can?” Cal pressed.
“Then we deal with it,” I said. “But first, Charlotte deserves to know what she is. She’s precious to us. To me. She’s rare and not just because she can bear cubs for the clan. I’d love her no matter what.”
Cal nodded slowly. “When will you tell her?”
“Today.” My bear stirred, eager for the reveal I’d denied it. “Charlotte is too curious for her own good. If I hold off much longer, she’ll figure us out on her own.” I looked at Everett. “Call the clan.”
Everett pulled out his phone. He looked at me, his thumb above the screen. “When and where do you want us?”
“Tell everyone to be outside the bed and breakfast in an hour.”
Everett typed out the order. After a second, he put down his phone. “Sent.”
I pushed my chair back and stood. “I’ll see you both in town.”
Cal rose and clasped my shoulder. “It’ll be fine.”
I nodded, my chest tight. Then I left the house and headed back into the forest. Snow crunched under my boots as I followed my tracks home. Nerves dogged my steps.
Because once I told Charlotte the truth, everything would change. She might choose to stay, or she might run, and I’d spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been.
The bed and breakfast came into view through a break in the trees. In an hour, I was going to shatter Charlotte’s world.
I just hoped she’d let me be there to help her pick up the pieces.