Authors: V. Vaughn

Called by the Bear 4-6 (16 page)

BOOK: Called by the Bear 4-6

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Chapter 9

L
ily

I
stretch
my arms up over my head to get the kinks out of my neck. In the small parlor that is now my office, I’ve been studying the history of the Veilleux Clan and sorting out exactly what my role will be. I get up from the Victorian-style couch and wander to the window. The room is decorated in a faded pink color that looks like it was stained with tea. Heavy drapes in a cabbage-rose print are drawn, and I push back the thin sheers. The translucent fabric allows light to filter in while maintaining privacy.

I gaze out at the gardens that are void of vibrant color. Still meticulously maintained, the brown and forest-green landscape is majestic. I think of Patricia, and her anger spit out in harsh words replays in my head. While I’m sure she expected me to cower, unrelenting determination to prove her wrong has set in. She won’t be the first drunk to underestimate me.

Fortunately, Victor has a global calendar for all leadership events that happened in the last two years, and I know what my mother-in-law did with her time as prima. Apparently it was lunch. A lot of lunch. I expect I’ll have more than one Patricia follower to convert.

Soft footsteps make me turn to find Carol bringing me a tray. She smiles at me and says, “I made my butter cookies for you.”

“Thank you.” The tray clatters on the coffee table, and I reach for one. “Your daughter must be coming back soon. When is her Thanksgiving break?”

“She’ll be home tomorrow.”

“Wonderful. You enjoy her and don’t you worry about the extra time off. We’ll manage just fine. I heat up a mean leftover.” Carol is working on Thanksgiving, and while I wish I could let her spend the day with her relatives, cooking for our family is part of her job. So against her protests we might starve, I gave her the weekend before to celebrate.

Tea trickles into my cup as Carol walks toward the kitchen. She pauses by the door. “Ms. Lily?”

“Yes?”

“I’m glad you married Mr. Veilleux.”

Her words make me smile as she turns away. My home has become a warm place to be, and Victor lifts an eyebrow now and then when a staff member attends to one of my needs before I ask.

I return to the calendar and notice my husband took a vacation the week before we got married. Strange, he never mentioned being away in our texts. And now that I think about it, I’m sure we had a date during that time. Why would he take a vacation and stay home?

The soft whine of our town car sounds in the distance, and I know Victor will be here soon. He’s bringing his friend Luke, so I gather my papers and put them away. I’m still in my yoga pants and T-shirt from working out with my trainer. It seems that, while I’m never alone, it’s important for a werebear to know how to fight. With my new strong body, it’s kind of fun.

I call to Carol as I make my way upstairs to change. “Tell Victor I’m upstairs please.” Guilt twinges in me over leaving my tea tray for her to deal with. I’m not sure I’ll ever be used to having someone cleaning up my messes.

An hour later I make my way to Victor’s study. I can hear the men’s voices and guess they might be having a drink before dinner. Another odd idea to get used to since Luke can’t be much more than eighteen. But the werebear world has different rules, and as the son of the Robichaux prime and prima, Luke travels in a privileged circle of friends.

Victor is already standing when I enter. “My darling, you look beautiful.” He lifts my chin and gives me a chaste kiss. I’ve learned that if our bodies touch in a hug we struggle with our arousal and other werebears can smell it. Good manners dictate that, while it’s a normal occurrence, it’s not appropriate for leaders in most situations.

Luke greets me with a kiss on the cheek. “Lily, so nice to see you again.”

“You too. Now what kind of trouble are the two of you up to?”

“Nothing much. I was catching Victor up on Robichaux happenings. What have you been up to?”

“Learning all I can about what a prima does. It seems I have a few people to meet and a lot of food to eat.”

Luke chuckles. “Yeah, if my mother is any indication, you’ll be doing lunch quite often.”

I grin back. “Exactly. I never knew it was such an important meal.”

Victor says, “As long as you save coffee for me.” He glances at Luke. “Did you know I met Lily at the Cat’s Meow? She kept peeking over her menu at me, and I couldn’t resist.”

“What? You said you stared at me first.”

“That’s true, but admit it, you couldn’t keep your eyes of me.”

I shrug with a smile. “Must be that true mate thing.”

Victor lifts his glass toward me with a twinkle in his eyes. “Must be.”

I turn to Luke. “I’ve yet to meet your mother. Perhaps we can schedule a dinner with all of us?”

“Maybe. But she’s busy playing grandmother these days.”

“You’re an uncle, how fun!”

Luke’s brow furrows. “Not really.”

“Why not?”

He tilts his head at me as if I’m a mystery. “Because they’re Le Roux babies. You know that I’m Carly’s brother, right?”

I didn’t, but I don’t let it show. It certainly explains the resemblance. “Yes.”

Victor communicates with me.
“Nice game face. Hang on to it.”

A growl rumbles through Luke as he says, “She’s also the Robichaux alpha.”

This time it’s a little harder to hide my shock. The idea that the woman who almost chained me to a Le Roux to aid in their need for a future generation is a leader of two clans makes my skin prickle with my bear.

Luke’s anger is more self-centered, and he paces the room, trying to control his rage. “She stole my birthright. I should be alpha.”

I’m a little confused because Victor told me alpha traits show themselves at puberty when bears change. I speak to Victor silently.
“I though Luke wasn’t an alpha.”

“He’s not, but he held on to the hope he was a late bloomer, because he didn’t know Marion had other children.”

Wow. No wonder he’s pissed off. “Surely an alpha can’t rule two clans?”

Victor’s fangs come out, and his voice lowers. “No. I won’t allow it.” He turns his attention to Luke. “There’s one way to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

Luke’s hands are in fists, and he glares back. “I’m in.”

Wait. Are they talking about killing her? My stomach clenches, and I imagine Victor with blood on his hands. I shake my head a little at the horror and turn away to hide my face. Did I marry a man capable of murder?

Victor’s voice sounds in my head.
“Lily, I’ll explain more later.”

I close my eyes and compose myself before turning back to him.
My husband’s face has softened, and he winks at me as if we’re sharing a private joke. Only I don’t get it. He frowns abruptly. “Enough of this. Luke has invited us to go skiing this winter. How does that sound to you?”

My mind is still churning with the idea my husband could be a ruthless killer, but I shove the thought aside for later. “Lovely. I’m only an intermediate, but I love the sport.”

Luke’s smile doesn’t quite turn up, and he says, “Great. Your husband is an expert, but we can get you lessons to bring you up to speed in no time.”

Sure, why not.
What’s one more lesson in danger?
I force a smile of my own. “Sounds like a plan.”

Chapter 10

C
arly

T
he familiar buzz
of my tattoo machine is like a favorite old song playing on the radio. Sierra is giving Ashton a tattoo while I sit at the reception desk in case someone wanders in. It’s our opening day, but Sierra and I are adamant this won’t take over our lives, and didn’t make a big splash.

Although we didn’t have to, because news travelled fast and our calendar is filling up quickly with Le Roux werebears who have seen Sierra’s arms. I flip open the laptop, and the white screen flashes as I boot it up.

I glance out the window while I wait. November in Maine is kind of ugly. It’s an overcast day, and the colorful trees of fall have lost their leaves. The green grass and shrubbery are now shades of brown. The drab color paired with the cold makes me understand why locals long for the beauty a white blanket of snow will bring.

Email notifications pulse on the computer screen, and I open the mail program to sort through appointment requests. One catches my eye when I read it’s from Marion. I grin at the sweet gesture, knowing she could have easily sent me this message telepathically. “Hi Carly, Good luck on your opening day. Your father would be so proud to know you’ll continue to carry on his legacy. Remind me to show you the tattoo he gave me. Love, Marion.”

My father’s face comes to mind. I recall his baritone laugh that made everyone around him join in and his gentle voice coaxing me through my training. The vision of him dancing around our kitchen with Marion flashes in my mind, and I remember squeezing in between them to feel their love.

I scan my tattoo parlor and take in the pale-yellow walls adorned with framed images of my father’s famous designs. I may have lost my dad, but his memory will live on forever. Now I have my mother and am finding a way to forgive her abandonment. While the pain still exists, it’s fading as we spend time together. She does love me, and she’s a doting grandmother to the triplets.

With a sigh, I return to the emails and my fingers click lightly over the keyboard as I fill in the calendar and email the confirmations. Music from the gym next door flows around me and tries to hide the sounds of Taylor instructing a class.

The gurgle of our one-cup coffee machine carries over to me, and I take a break from my bookkeeping to glance back at it. Ian grins at me. “Want one?”

I stand and walk over to our shared kitchen space. “Sure. How’s your first day going?”

“Couldn’t be better. Our classes are filling, and I didn’t lose a single client by switching from their home to my space. Cool, right?”

“Very.” I give him an exaggerated once-over with my gaze. “Of course, your body is legendary with the older women. I hear watching you move is worth the pain of your workouts.” Ian’s face is flushing red, and I can’t resist a parting jab. “And when you take off your shirt...” I fan myself as I laugh.

Ian chuckles and shakes his head. “If that’s what it takes to keep our clan strong, I’ll suffer through.”

He nods his head toward the room where Sierra is working on Ashton. “How’s my brother doing?”

I snort. “You don’t really think an ex-Navy SEAL would have trouble dealing with pain, do you?”

“No.” Sadness flickers in his eyes as he says, “I’m thrilled he found Sierra. She’s brought my brother back from his demons.”

I wonder if he’s jealous or perhaps longing for a love like that of his own. The door for Ink It opens, and I turn to the melody of two girls giggling. I’m struck by the jet-black hair of one, and when she glances my way, her green eyes are startlingly vivid.

“Hi, ladies.”

They appear to be college-aged, and I guess they’re students by the University of Maine sweatshirt the blonde is wearing. I can’t help but smile at their mascot image of a bear and wonder if a werebear in their history had anything to do with it.

The dark-haired girl has her back to me and has picked up a book of flash to thumb through. She says, “I’m thinking about getting a tattoo.”

The blonde squints at me, and I notice she has eyes similar to mine. Her voice is curt. “We’re just looking.”

I take the hint and say, “Sure thing. Let me know if you have any questions.”

The green-eyed girl says, “Hey, Lucy, look at this one.” She turns the book to show Lucy a small bear image and then looks at me. “How much would one like this cost?”

Lucy doesn’t let me answer and says, “Tori, we are so not getting tattoos.”

I’m about to give Tori an answer when Ashton comes out of the tattoo room with Sierra. He puffs out his chest and asks, “What do you think?”

It occurs to me that, while Lucy gives off a werebear scent, Tori is human. She won’t see his paw print that isn’t visible to human eyes unless they’ve been called.
But before I can send a warning message, Tori squeals, “That’s it! That’s the tattoo I want.”

Sierra asks telepathically,
“Whoa, do you think she came in here because she was called?”

“I suppose it’s possible.”
I wonder if she chose the University of Maine at Orono for school because of it but wasn’t daring enough to venture onto Le Roux land. I grin and reply,
“Donna will be thrilled to have another girl to breed.”

Lucy’s voice sounds in my head. “
What’s wrong with you?”
She grabs Tori’s arm. “C’mon. We’ve haven’t got time for this.”

Tori lets herself be tugged out the door, but she looks over her shoulder at me and says, “I’ll be back.”

I nod with a smile, because I’m sure she will. But I’m more concerned about Lucy. I speak back to her. “
You’re a Robichaux.”

Lucy is already on the sidewalk, and her growl comes through loud and clear when she turns to glare at me through the window.
“I’m your sister, bitch.”