Eventide of the Bear by Cherise Sinclair
“She sure did.” Shay rose to sit on his table. He pointed at Emma. “The bard almost lost her life saving the cub from the hellhound. Ryder attacked the hellhound to keep it from ripping her apart.”
Emma realized the entire tone of the tavern had shifted. Sympathy for Genevieve had faded to nearly nothing.
“But…but, I was afraid.” Genevieve held her hands out to the crowd. “You would have been also.”
Calum said something to Alec before turning to answer Genevieve. “Everyone is afraid of a hellhound. The question is who were you trying to save—yourself or a cub?”
The male standing beside Genevieve dropped his gaze and moved away from her.
Calum crossed his arms over his chest. “I think it’s clear where the cub is better cared for and better loved.”
A hum of agreement ran around the room.
Calum continued, “However, the bond between a mother and child can’t be ignored.”
Genevieve nodded vehemently. “Yes. See?”
“So. Has anyone ever seen a well-loved child willing to be parted from her mother?”
As Calum’s keen gaze swept the crowd, Ryder saw the shifters shaking their heads. No one volunteered an exception.
“Excellent. We shall allow Minette a choice in her future.” The Cosantir motioned to where Alec was crossing the tavern with Minette in his arms.
Calum plucked Minette from his brother, set her on her feet, and went to one knee in front of her. His hand cupped her little chin. “Cub, should I send you to live with your mother?”
He paused.
Minette’s forehead crinkled with worry. Thumb going into her mouth, the cub looked at Genevieve.
Genevieve held out her hand. “Come here, baby. I love you, and I’ll take care of you.”
Bitterness rose in Emma in a foul cloud of darkness. Why would Calum do this? Minette couldn’t stand against her mother influence.
But Minette was shaking her head. She backed away until she could hide behind Ryder’s legs like a terrified puppy.
Genevieve stepped forward.
Emma felt her hand close in a fist—and she stepped in front of Ryder at the same time Ben did.
Genevieve stopped dead.
Calum spoke. “Ryder, ask Minette if she wants to live with you.”
Ryder knelt to face his cub. He had to clear his throat twice before he could speak. “Kitten, do you want to stay with me?”
“Daddy.” Without any hesitation, she burrowed into his arms.
As he lifted her, she wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging tighter than a burr. His eyes were wet before he closed them and rested his cheek on the top of the cub’s head.
Emma heard his whispered, “Thank you, Mother of All,” before he took his place between Emma and Ben.
The entire tavern filled with cheers.
IT WAS OVER. By the God, the cub was safe. Ben’s eyes burned as if he’d peeled a sinkful of onions.
“Nice job, Cosantir,” Alec said to his brother, then motioned toward Minette. “But I hope it’s all right if the greedy cub demands more than one parent.”
The cub wanted Genevieve, too? Dismayed, Ben looked at Minette.
Not Genevieve.
The cub had her fingers wrapped securely around Emma’s braid—and her other hand was fisted on Ben’s shirtsleeve. The kitten was claiming all three of them as her own.
Laughing in relief, Ben put his hand over hers. So little. So beloved.
“Indeed, I do believe her wishes are quite clear. Herne agrees as does the Mother.” The Cosantir turned to Genevieve. His eyes darkened to the deepest of blacks with the presence of the God. “The bond between you is broken.”
Ben saw Minette jolt.
Genevieve staggered back, and her hand pressed her chest at the cleaving of the mother-child bond. “You can’t…”
“You abused one of the Mother’s precious cubs.” The Cosantir’s expression turned to granite. “Last night, your greedy, vindictive actions caused the death of one of my shifters. If you are within my territory by morning—or ever again—I will find you and send you back to the Mother.”
Genevieve’s face went white at the promise of death. Her mouth opened and closed, and she fled the tavern, abandoning her male companion without a backward look.
The Cosantir’s gaze took in the male who now stood alone. “Jeffrey, you came to the rescue of your female, Genevieve, but abandoned another female and child to the hellhound.”
“I did.” The shifter bowed his head. “I…I let her push me into the cabin. I wanted to come back out, but she shifted to wolf and stopped me.” The lad pulled up a sleeve to show oozing marks from a bite. So he had tried.
The Cosantir waited silently for…Ben didn’t know what.
And then he did when Jeffrey pulled in a breath and turned to face Emma. “A wiser male wouldn’t have listened to Genevieve. Wouldn’t have been pushed around—or cowed by a bite. I’m sorry, bard.”
“I understand,” she said softly.
Ben felt her shiver. Donal had healed her body, but…Ben could only imagine what she’d felt when left out in the dark and cold with a cub, left to face a hellhound. His mate had a soft heart. Ben did not.
“You have summed it up well, Jeffrey.” Calum’s face softened slightly. “I will not banish you, but you will leave this territory. After three winters, you may return and we’ll discover if you have acquired some wisdom. The Mother has given you gifts. Endeavor to prove worthy of them.”
The stiffness drained from the young male, and his eyes gleamed with sudden tears. “Thank you, Cosantir. I—I will return at the appointed time and show you that your mercy is justified.” Head bowed and without a glance at the front door through which Genevieve had disappeared, Jeffrey moved toward the back of the bar and the portal leading into the wilderness.
As he left, Ben discovered his heart held sympathy after all. Jeffrey wasn’t the first male Genevieve had almost destroyed. Thank the God that Ryder had learned and was back where he belonged.
Next to Ben, Ryder whispered to the cub, “I love you, kitten, forever and ever.”
With her arms around his neck, she planted a kiss on his cheek.
So fucking little. But not alone any longer. It was time to make the changes clear.
“May I hold the cub?” he asked his littermate.
“Our cub,” Ryder corrected, even before knowing what was on Ben’s mind. He passed her over, kissing the top of her head as he did.
Gripping Minette around the waist, Ben lifted her over his head.
To his delight, she showed no fear, but beamed down at him.
“This is the cub of my littermate.” His voice boomed through the room. He turned so all the shifters had a chance to see her. “I say she is my cub as well. Her heart and body and soul are mine and my mates’ to guard as long as life shall last.” He lowered her to kiss her forehead.
Her little hands patted his face before she planted a kiss on his big nose.
He laughed and shouted, “Have I witnesses?”
The room shook with the voices of his clan. “Witnessed.”
The Cosantir smiled slightly. “Let it be so.”
Joy surged through Ben, and he couldn’t keep it from his face. As he held Minette in one arm, he gave Ryder a bear’s smack on the shoulder. “We share, bro. Aye?”
Emma’s cheeks were wet with tears as Ryder gathered her in one arm and pulled her between them—the place their lifemate belonged. “Aye, brother. By the God, aye.”
Chapter Thirty-One
‡
North Cascades Territory; first quarter moon
Human “Memorial Day”
THE SUN WAS retreating into the west, turning the tips of the tall conifers a lovely glowing green and sparkling off the clear mountain lake. Seated in the middle of her friends, Emma looked around the clearing.
A game of keep-away was going on between the wolf pack and some first- and second-year shifters. Calum??
“And Alec told me—” Vicki broke off, her gaze on her stepdaughter. “Go, Jamie!”
Jamie had leapt up a tree trunk and now rebounded straight into a cluster of wolves. With a swift paw, she batted the oversized rubber ball right out from between Zeb’s fangs and into the air.
Her bear teammate fumbled before catching it in his jaws. With a burst of speed, he scurried toward the first-years’ goal, protected by the young wolves on his team.
When the bear reached the goal, winning the point, he shifted. The rest of the youngsters followed suit, and their loud cheering echoed through the mountains. Jamie did a victory boogie around the wolves.
“I can’t believe she stole the ball from Zeb. She’ll be gloating for days.” Vicki handed out drinks, grinning proudly.
As Jamie gave another piercing whoop of victory, a pinecone smacked into her head. Pixies in the quiet mountain areas didn’t take well to noise. With a grumble, Jamie shifted back to animal, and the game resumed.
“That’s one feisty little tree fairy.” Bonnie motioned to the scowling sprite swinging on a low limb, chittering insults at the pack.
“Aren’t they adorable?” Breanne smiled. “The one in the spruce near our patio acts as if she hates the parties, but when Shay tried to convince me to start the season late, she bombarded him with twigs.”
“I can’t believe how many OtherFolk have moved close to the lodge,” Jody said. She did cleaning there, so she’d have noticed the increase.
“What kinds?” Vicki asked, turning away from the game.
Emma smiled. She’d noticed Vicki and Bree—previously human—were fascinated by the OtherFolk.
“Each cabin now has at least one tree fairy nearby,” Jody said. “Salamanders are in all but the least used woodstoves and fireplaces. There are even a few undines teasing minnows in the creek.”
“There’s also a gnome under the footbridge embankment,” Bree said. “Even though the kitchen’s a mess after the Sunday barbecues, there are more brownies. They seem to think cleaning is fun. But I don’t how why the rest of the OtherFolk have increased.”
With every breath, Emma could feel the zinging energy around the lake. “Of course the OtherFolk love the lodge. You not only have people on vacation, but you have parties where people eat and talk, and laugh and play. Look at all that energy.” She motioned toward Minette and her cubmates.
Ryder was in cat form. Minette was shouting commands to her troop of small friends as they played Pounce on the Panther. When enough little bodies piled on him, Ryder obediently collapsed. One little boy was giggling so hard he rolled right off the heap.
Laughing, Bree opened her hand in acknowledgement. “I never thought about how the guests would affect the OtherFolk.”
“Bards are taught to sense the energy in a room.” Emma took a sip of her drink. “Ben told me hellhounds feed on negative emotions. If true, the OtherFolk, like sprites and brownies, probably get a boost from happy emotions. And, Bree, even your smallest parties generate so much joy the air tingles.”
Vicki nodded. “Calum says laughter and song are the human race’s gift to the gods.”
“As are babies.” Emma grinned at the brunette. “Speaking of which, shouldn’t you be showing by now?”
“What a disgusting word. Showing.” Vicki scowled, and yet one hand tenderly covered the invisible baby bump. “The thought of turning into the Goodyear blimp doesn’t make me happy.”
“Maybe you won’t be that big.” Bree frowned. “How many are you having? Did you get a sonogram?”
“No sonograms. Shifters only use healers. Donal says he might know the numbers and sexes, but he won’t tell.” Vicki glowered. “The bastard is unbribable. I tried.”
“Daonain are crazy,” Bree muttered. Her exasperated expression was identical to Vicki’s.
“You two are Daonain now, in case you forgot.” When Vicki and Bree turned their scowls on Emma, she grinned. “I’ve never met humans turned shifter before, but it’s certainly fun to view our world through your eyes.”
Bree nudged her shoulder hard enough to knock Emma sideways, despite her greater size. “And now you know how much fun we’ve had with you, Miss Shyness, as you get your ass integrated into the”—she waved her hands—“greater whole.”
Emma opened her mouth. Closed it. She knew they’d understood her trepidation and worries, but apparently, they viewed her tentative steps with the same affectionate amusement as she watched their human missteps. That was…lovely.
Vicki noticed and pointed a finger at her. “Do not start with any teary-eyed stuff. This is a party.”
“Yes, uh…”—What had the human spy called her?—“Sergeant. As you wish.”
EVENTIDE. THE FINEST hour of the day, and even better when celebrated with family and friends. Ben took a slow breath of the moist lakeside air. The last rays of sunlight glinted off the glacier-tipped peaks, and the first hint of coolness had appeared. Across the lake, a deer stopped to drink, ears tipped toward the commotion.
As he discussed remodeling Alec and Calum’s over-the-tavern apartments, he could hear Emma laughing with her female crew. Her happiness warmed him, inside and out.
And Ryder… He didn’t often see his taciturn brother play. Then again, staying in cat form meant he didn’t have to talk…and all cats loved games of pounce.
Just then, Minette pulled herself out of the heap of children, put her hands on her hips, and scowled. It was an exact copy of Emma this morning when Ben had stolen some of her newly baked cookies.
“Mama!”
Minette’s yell silenced the lake clearing.
Undoubtedly recognizing the cub’s voice, Emma turned, eyes wide. Her drink tipped sideways, spilling onto the grass until Angie righted it.
The bard’s voice, which normally could fill an entire room, emerged shaky. “Y-yes, my kitten?”
“Tyler got Luke for his bodder. And Jamie is getting bodders and sisters from her mama’s stomach. I want bodders, too.”
The expression on Emma’s face was…indescribable, and the look she gave Ben then Ryder, held equal amounts of love and joy and helplessness.
Ben grinned at his littermate.
The panther’s purr filled the air—Ryder agreed with his daughter.
After clearing his own throat, Ben answered his cub in the only way possible. “Don’t worry, darlin’. We’ll get right on that.”
*
Daonain Glossary
The Daonain use a conglomeration of handed-down languages from the British Isles. Some of the older villages still speak the Gaelic (Scots) or Irish Gaelic. Many of the more common (and mangled) shifter terms have descended from Welsh.
Errors and simplification of spelling and pronunciation can be attributed to being passed down through generations…or the author messing up. Below are a few of the more common words and terms used by the shifters.
a bhràthair: brother
a chuisle mo chridhe: pulse of my heart
a leannán: sweetheart, darling
a mhac: son
brawd: brother
cahir: warrior
cariad: lover, darling, sweetheart
cosantir: guardian or protector
dùin do bhuel: shut up
mo bhràthair: my brother
mo charaid: my friend
mo chridhe: my heart
mo leannán: my darling / my lover
tha gaol agam ort: I love you
trawsfur: transform or shift
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*
Have you tried the Mountain Masters & Dark Haven series?
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Mountain Masters & Dark Haven: Book 1
Available everywhere
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I loved it! Every word, every page, every moment until the end! So that is my review in a nutshell…….. OK I can do better than that, but seriously a melt your panties right off, intriguing love story that forces you to turn the pages until the wee hours of the night just to get to the end! How about that!
~ Book Junkie
Rebecca thinks she is overweight and boring. Logan disagrees.
When Rebecca’s lover talks her into a mountain lodge vacation with his swing club, she soon learns she’s not cut out for playing musical beds. But with her boyfriend “entertaining” in their cabin, she has nowhere to sleep. Logan, the lodge owner, finds her freezing on the porch. After hauling her inside, he warms her in his own bed, and there the experienced Dominant discovers that Rebecca might not be a swinger…but she is definitely a submissive.
Rebecca believes that no one can love her plump, scarred body. Logan disagrees. He loves her curves, and under his skilled hands, Rebecca loses not only her inhibitions, but also her heart.
Logan knows they have no future. Damaged from the war, he considers himself too dangerous to be in any relationship. Once the weekend is over, he’ll have to send the city-girl subbie back to her own world. But will driving her away protect Rebecca or scar them both?
*
Excerpt from
Master of the Mountain
THE SUN WAS high overhead and unseasonably hot by the time the trail descended, leaving the pines behind. He led the group across a grass- and wildflower-filled meadow to the tiny mountain lake, clear and blue and damned cold. Granite slabs poked up through the wildflowers, glimmering in the sun. With yells of delight, people dropped their backpacks and stripped.
Logan enjoyed the show of bare asses and breasts as the swingers splashed into the water like a herd of lemmings, screaming at the cold. As he leaned on a boulder, he noticed one person still completely dressed with wide eyes and open mouth. The city girl. Considering she and Matt bunked together, Rebecca couldn’t be a virgin, but from her reaction, she was pretty innocent when it came to kink.