Tempted by the Bear - Complete (37 page)

I
sabelle

G
race lent
me a pair of soft, cotton, pajama-style pants and a large T-shirt I suspect is Jean Luc’s. I’m beyond hungry, and I make my way downstairs with wet hair. The tile of the kitchen floor is cool under my feet, and I discover Grace reading her paper. Jean Luc is at the stove, and his wooden spoon taps on the edge of a large pot before he turns to me. “Soup’s on. It’ll be about a half hour.”

“You cook?” I ask. I wander over to the large window that overlooks a cove. We are in the center of it, and there aren’t any visible houses on either side.

He smiles. “When my mother lets me.”

She snorts as paper rustles when she turns a page of her reading. “He cooks for pretty girls.” I turn to her, and she glances up at me to ask, “Polar bear?”

I nod.

She snaps out a page of her newspaper and begins to fold it. Concentrating on her task, she doesn’t look at me when she speaks. “That explains a lot. My father was a polar bear.” She smooths out her paper so that the crossword puzzle is the only thing showing before she looks at me. “It was quite the scandal at the time.” She grins now and says, “I tell Jean Luc that’s why we’re good at arguments. Polar bear always win.”

A small smile comes in spite of myself, and I direct my gaze to Jean Luc as I say, “We like to give orders too.”

He smiles back. “We do.” The oven door creaks open, and he pulls out a loaf of bread. The pan clatters on the stovetop. He says, “Come taste this. I know you’re starving.”

I walk over as I watch him dump the loaf onto a cutting board and slice gently. Steam rises up as he hands me a piping-hot piece. Butter is already on the counter. It melts instantly when I smear it on for a bite, and when starchy goodness fills my mouth I let out a small noise of happiness. After I swallow I say, “You are a good cook. This is delicious.”

Grace sets down her pencil, and Jean Luc hands her a piece too. I watch the writing utensil roll slowly toward the edge of the table as Jean Luc walks away, and in my mind I will it to stop. When the pencil makes it to the edge of the surface it falls off and hovers in the air.
Whoa. Did I just——?
I don’t break my stare and focus on returning it to the table. The pencil lifts up higher before it falls with a clatter.

I move my gaze to Grace’s wide eyes. I ask, “Did I just do that?”

She nods. “I guess that’s the first time?”

“Yes.”

Jean Luc asks, “What just happened?”

“You found her,” says Grace.

I dart my eyes between mother and son to discover Grace is smiling, while Jean Luc’s expression is unreadable. I ask, “Found who?”

Grace says, “The one Jean Luc needs. I think you’re his destiny.”

Damn it. These people are trying to reel me in. I have a death to complete. I spent most of my life unwanted, and in less than twelve hours I’ve become someone’s destiny.

“Oh no,” I say. “Hang on there. Just because my near-death experience gave me a touch of magic, don’t think I’m part of some prophecy. Trust me, I’m not someone you want or need.”

Jean Luc pulls bowls down from a cabinet, and they rattle as he says, “Maybe not.” He winks at me. “But humor my mother. She’s been waiting a long time for this.”

“What? You haven’t?” asks Grace. “It’s creepy that you live with your mother, Jean Luc. We need to spice up your life.”

Fabulous. Now they think I’m supposed to be his mate too? I think I’d know if we were true mates. Wait.
The tingle.
I walk over to Jean Luc and say, “Touch me.”

He raises his eyebrows and smirks at me as he lifts his hands to wiggle his fingers. I roll my eyes and grab his hands. The moment our skin makes contact I feel the electricity, and I sigh. At first it’s in frustration, but the longer he holds my fingers, the more I want to sigh for other reasons. I yank my hands away as I step back.
Shit.

“We’re true mates, Isabelle.”

I shake my head as I back away. This can’t be happening. I’m about to ruin some stranger’s life, because I
have
to die. My bear wants out in the worst way, and I take a deep breath as I say, “I need to run.” Sound becomes muffled as my pulse pounds in my ears, and I strip out of my clothes.

Grace grabs my arm as she says, “No! You can’t go out there.”

I shake her off. Jean Luc says, “Let her go.”

There’s a pair of doors that lead to a back deck, and the handles are firm in my hands as I twist them open. I’m a full bear before I get down the steps, and I gallop off toward the beach. I don’t know the woods around here and have no idea what is Ouellette territory, so I think a swim in the ocean is my best bet. The coastline is rocky, and the bits of stone and crevices are rough under my feet as I move.

Seawater splashes as I forge through the ocean to dive under the surface. It takes a moment for the chill of the water to seep through my fur, and I’m fully submerged before the coolness begins to soothe me. While the cove appears to be private, even in my agitated state I’m mindful of the fact that humans might be around, so I swim mostly underwater and come up for air only when necessary.

When my muscles are spent and I’ve calmed down, I turn to go back. The last day has taken its toll on my body, and my legs are like rubber, so I move slowly. Splashing catches my attention, and I discover another bear is swimming toward me. I assume it’s Jean Luc, and as I get closer I see the polar bear influence. His dark fur appears as if he’s going gray. He joins me to follow me to the shore.

When we get to the beach we both shake, and I notice his chest. A white patch of fur is placed off center so that it’s over his heart. I focus on letting my skin swallow my bear and shift back to human. Jean Luc does the same. Now that we’re standing naked across from each other I can’t hide my arousal, and my core trembles for him. He’s not hiding anything either. I say, “I’m sorry. I can’t be what you need me to be.”

“Did you see my white patch?” he asks.

I nod, and he says, “That’s the prophecy. Our medicine woman said that my heart belonged to a polar bear.”

I shake my head. “You don’t understand. I——”

“I know what you fear, Isabelle. You were destined to be just like your mother, and what you did was noble. But you needn’t have.” Jean Luc steps closer to me, and I inhale sharply as I fight the urge to press my body against his. “It is my destiny to save you from that fate.”

Jean Luc is my salvation?
Helga did say a true mate could break the curse, but I was sure it was the desperate words of a crazy woman. I ask, “What happens if it isn’t true? You saw it for yourself. Do you want to be mated to the horror my mother was?”

“I’m willing to find out, Isabelle, because there’s more.”

I frown and glance at the mouth I’m dying to taste as he says, “You’re supposed to save me too.”

“What?” My need for Jean Luc to touch me is clouding my thoughts, and I shake my head to clear it. “How can I possibly save you?”

Jean Luc touches my cheek, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding as I melt in the sensation of our connection. “I don’t know,” he says, “but don’t you see? If you kill yourself, you’ll kill me.”

I can’t control my lust any longer, and I grab the back of his head as I mold my body to my destined mate and devour him in a kiss.

L
ucy

A
s if having
two true mates isn’t enough stress, I still have to find Sven’s wife and sort things out with her. Now that I don’t have a positive claim on Sven, a divorce isn’t a sure thing, and I’m afraid of what her reaction is going to be. I figure my best approach is to be honest and deal with it sooner, rather than later.

My sweaty palms slip on the hard plastic of my steering wheel as I pull up to Annie’s house. The odor of fresh tar is thick in the air when I get out, and I notice a new section of the driveway that leads behind the dorm. I guess a parking lot has been installed too.

As I approach the building, a guy is walking toward me, and I ask him if he can tell me where Sven’s wife, Nadia, is. He points to a girl sitting on the porch, reading. Her hair is dark blond with bangs, and she’s wearing it in a ponytail.

My feet tap lightly on the two steps as I walk up them, and when the girl glances up I say, “Hi, Nadia. I’m Lucy.”

She huffs at me as she stands and squints her eyes. “I know who you are.” Her book thumps in her chair when she tosses it to focus on me.

I say, “Look. I just wanted to apologize. I did—”

“Didn’t think it mattered?” Her eyes flash with anger. “Well, guess what? It does.” I step back as she clenches her fists at her side and tries to tower over me as she continues. “Girls like you make me sick. The world is just handed to you, like that fancy car you drive.” She’s inches from me, and adrenaline surges in my bloodstream as I position myself toward the stairs to keep from being trapped. She continues, “If you don’t have something, then you just take it.”

I shake my head. “No, that’s not—”

“Don’t you dare try to tell me the true mate bond was
soooo
strong you couldn’t resist
my
mate.”

Now her claws are poking out, and I’m afraid she’s going to shift. I hold up my hands as I begin to walk backward. “Okay. Got it.”

I turn to leave, and after I make it down one step, the sharp puncture of claws slices into my shoulder. Nadia whips me back to face her, and she screams, “I’m not done with you yet!” The half-shifted girl slaps my face with her other paw, and stinging pain from her nails makes me stumble back down the last step as I reach up to touch my face in shock. The sticky warmth of blood on my fingers snaps me out of it though, and months of warrior training kick in as I begin to shift to fight back. Fabric tears, and my favorite shorts are shredded into strips of cloth as they rip off me.

Nadia is a full bear by the time I’m done, and she launches herself at me. I dodge out of the way and stick my foot out to trip her. She sprawls across the lawn and lets out a loud roar that makes ice run through my veins.
This is so bad.
I take a ready position to fight, even though I’m no match for one pissed-off polar bear.

She gets up, and her lips curl back as she shows her teeth in a menacing snarl. I brace myself for the excruciating pain of a beating, but it doesn’t happen. A flash of white flies between us to smash Nadia back down to the ground so hard the earth shudders under my feet. I don’t know who just saved me, and right now I don’t care. I take off in a run toward Annie’s house and shift back to human before I enter through the door she holds open for me.

Annie asks, “What just happened?”

My hands tremble as I take deep breaths to calm down. “I introduced myself to Sven’s wife, Nadia.” An inappropriate snort escapes before I say, “I don’t think she likes me.”

Annie cracks a smile too. “I guess not.” She reaches over to a hook and hands me a large button-down shirt.

The cotton is soft as I slide my arm into a sleeve. “I get it. I’d be furious if I were married and discovered my husband had been cheating on me, true mate or not.” A button is smooth in my fingers as I fasten it. “Do you know who stopped her?”

The screen door squeaks open as Annie nods her head toward it. A naked Serge steps through. He looks so much like Sven it’s scary, but that changes when a cocky grin covers his face. Serge oozes sexuality, and I keep my gaze up instead of perusing his body as I say, “Thanks.”

He steps in close and reaches over to hook his finger in the opening of my shirt. “All in a day’s work for a true mate.” He tugs hard to pull me close. Now I feel what I was trying not to look at as Serge presses his hardness against my belly. The layer of cotton between us is thin as he says, “Nothing like saving a damsel in distress to get the
blood
pumping.”

Damn it. More than my blood is flowing right now as my body reacts to the true mate attraction. I place my hand on his chest to push away, but it only increases my desire, and my attempt is feeble as I say, “Look. I know polar bear move fast, but we black bear like to get to know each other first.”

He takes my face in his hands, and his callused fingers grip lightly as he whispers, “Fair enough.” He lowers his mouth to mine and gives me a gentle kiss. In fact, it’s so sweet I move with him a little when he pulls away, because I want more.

The door bangs open, but Serge’s body blocks who just entered until he turns to reveal Sven. Any pleasure I just felt is gone as my stomach clenches at the pain written on Sven’s face. He says, “I see you’re not hurt.”

“No. I’m fine,” I say, but he’s not, and Sven drops his head as he turns to leave. I push my way past Serge and grab Sven’s arm to say, “Wait.”

Sven gazes down at me, and a vise grips my heart as I say, “Nadia has no intention of letting you go.”

“I know. And I belong to her unless a true mate makes their claim.” His eyes search my face as if he’s hoping I can give him an answer.

A warm hand lands on my shoulder, and the zing of electricity tells me it’s Serge. I reach for Sven, thinking I can compare the two connections and discover one is stronger. He takes my hand in his, but it doesn’t work. I squeeze my eyes shut, and a tear leaks out. I whisper, “I still don’t know. I’m so sorry.”

Sven releases me and says, “Me too.”

I watch him walk across the lawn with his head down. Serge takes me by my shoulders to turn me back to face him. “I can make you forget about my brother.”

I shake my head. “I love him, Serge. How does one forget that?”

His smile is actually tender instead of taunting, and he says, “I hear you black bear like dates. Can we have dinner this week?”

I flash to Sven taking me out on our first date. He did it because Carly taught him how to court me. I imagine he’ll be taking Nadia for ice cream now, and it hurts so much I have to push the thought away. I gaze into Serge’s pale-blue eyes and pretend for a moment I can love him too as I say, “That would be nice.”