Knox (BBW Bear Shifter Moonshiner Romance) (120 Proof Honey) (133 page)

“Got any more gum?” I leaned in to whisper to Malcolm, my little brother. He always came prepared, no matter the occasion. Parties, graduations, weddings and, yes, even funerals. He was quirky, but if you needed allergy medicine, ibuprofen or gum, he had your back.

“You know it,” he whispered back, reaching into a pocket and handing me a piece. He glanced around, making sure our little exchange wasn’t ruining the somber mood in the church. Great Aunt Liselle wouldn’t have approved, if she were still among the living.

I looked at the big, gorgeous picture they had next to her coffin. Elegantly composed, she sat in a chair, looking out over the sunny veranda on her estate. The photo had the dimness that comes over time, probably thirty years worth.
 

Liselle had been a strong woman, bred from a different stock altogether. Her generation had survived the great depression, fought in WWII and put a man on the moon. My generation’s biggest accomplishment was an app that made fucking strangers more convenient.

I sighed, forgetting where I was. My mother, sitting further down the pew, leaned forward to shoot me a nasty look. I mouthed to her that I was sorry, and she turned back towards the pulpit as the priest wrapped up his sermon.

I didn’t know a lot about Liselle, actually. We weren’t close. We weren’t at odds or anything: she lived an old lady’s life in another part of the country. She’d been one of those family members that you’d catch little glimpses of by eavesdropping on others. Never anything substantive, though. Just little appetizers of who she was.

—

“And to my Great Grand Niece, Clarissa…” the lawyer said.

I snapped my head forward. “What?” I blurted out. What was going on? I definitely hadn’t expected to hear my name. I was here at the reading of the will as a formality.
 

The dozen other family members in the room turned towards me.

The lawyer looked down his nose at me, peering over his gold rimmed glasses. “The eagerness of youth,” he said, drawing chuckles from the other octogenarians in the room. “As I was saying…where was I?” He held the document out at different arm lengths until he could read it again. “Ahh, yes. To my great grand niece, Clarissa, I leave article four.”

I watched, confused, as the lawyer pulled out manilla envelope, sealed by a wax pressed seal. He held it out to my father, who took it and passed it back to me.
 

I looked at the envelope. My name was written across the top. That was it. I looked down at it, fingering the creased corners and the rose embedded in the cold smear of wax.

---

I closed the door to my apartment behind me. I dropped my luggage in the hallway and collapsed onto my couch with my bag next to me.

“Hey girl,” June said, coming in from her room. She leaned in to give me a hug. “Aren’t you proud of me? The place didn’t burn down or anything,” she said, arms held out wide.

“Thanks, and yeah, you managed to not destroy our possessions. Well done,” I said, smiling.

“So, how was it?” She sat down next to me.

“What a weekend. So many family members I hadn’t seen in years. All with the same questions. How was my first year of college going? How was Edgar?” I said, straightening out my dress against my legs.

“Yeah, that’s to be expected. What did you say?” She straightened out a book about 1970s architecture that was on our coffee table.

“I lied,” I said, shrugging. “I couldn’t bring myself to tell them that my first year of college was a catastrophe.” June knew I was in way over my head and was probably going to end up changing majors. “But I told everyone that things were going great. I didn’t have the heart to tell Dad that his little girl wasn’t going to be a doctor. It wasn’t the time or place.”

“And about Edgar?” Her face held a pained expression.

Edgar was a cheating piece of shit. I hoped he’d die in a car fire. Caught red handed, his fingers inside some business major. My friends had warned me about him: they told me he was the kind who would cheat. I didn’t listen. “I told my family that Edgar was fine, and let it die at that.”

June nodded, and glanced down into my bag. “What’s that?” She motioned towards the envelope.

“Good question,” I said. “I guess that’s my inheritance.”
 

“Holy shit, an inheritance! What is it?” June’s eyes went wide.

“I don’t know. I haven’t opened it.” I picked up the envelope and flipped it over. I ran my finger against the wax rose seal again.
 

“You have to open it.” June watched it in my hands, expectantly.

“I don’t think I deserve whatever it is. I barely knew her.” I took a deep breath.
 

“No, you have to open it. Whatever is inside of it, she meant for you to have it. I’ll make us some tea.” She got up and went into the kitchen.

I knew June was right. Regardless of my feelings, Liselle had given this to me. I gingerly lifted the wax seal and opened the envelope. Inside was a note and a ticket.

A train ticket.

“Well, that looks curious. I was expecting a savings bond or something.” June said, putting a mug of hot tea in front of me.

I was busy reading the note. It was a single sentence:

My sails fell still and flat: yours shall carry wind.

—

“This is so fucking baller.” June said, driving down the highway.

“It’s not a big deal.” My stomach fluttered despite my brave words. The train ticket was nestled in my bag. The next day I’d get on a train in Oslo and enjoy a scenic train ride through the most beautiful countryside in Europe.
 

“Bullshit it’s not a big deal. Shifters!” she said. “I’ve never met one. A girl I went to high school said her boyfriend in another town was a Shifter, but she was full of shit.”

“They’re just like other people. I think.” I had no idea. I’d called the travel agency the train ticket was booked through. The woman told me a little about the region the train went through, including the…charming nature of the locals. She’d assured me that I had nothing to fear. “Do you think they’re dangerous?”

“Hell yeah they’re dangerous. But, ya know,” she gave me a sultry wink, “that's not always a bad thing.”

“This is a bad idea. I should just cancel this trip.” My hands were shaking. I was way too anxious to enjoy whatever this was going to be. My first time traveling abroad.

“You need this, Clarissa. I don’t know how your great aunt knew, but she also knew you needed this. She wanted to give you an opportunity to live like she never did. Maybe even do something scandalous.” June gave me another wink.

I wanted to elbow her in that eye. “Nope.”
 

“Oh come on. Romantic train ride. Some dashing Norwegian guy. Things could happen.” She did a little dance in the driver’s seat. A sign announcing the airport flew past.

“It will never happen. Have you seen the women they have over there? They’re all blonde, six inches taller than me and sixty pounds lighter. Did you know in Europe a size six is like our size negative one?” I sighed.

“You’re fucking gorgeous.” June said. “Why you can’t come to grips with that, I don’t know. Not every guy is looking for a barbie doll. Some guys want someone better than that.” June looked over at me, “Just have an open mind.”

“Ok.” I said.

“Promise?” She wouldn’t let it go.

“I promise,” I lied. Nope, never going to happen.

—

“Next,” the person in the ticket booth said. I picked up my luggage and shuffled forward. I looked around, taking in the beauty of the sleepy Norwegian city. The cobblestone streets underfoot gave a vintage feel to the whole place, like something out of a fairy tale.

The spring air was warm, but a cold undercurrent ran through the breeze each time it blew, reminding you how far you were from the equator. Lots of locals and tourists walked the streets, enjoying a late afternoon coffee or ice cream.

My gaze landed on a pair of men standing on the curb as a taxi was pulling away. One was wonderfully tall, probably a foot taller than myself. He wore a long sleeve checkered shirt, but I could see the tips of dark tattoos at his wrists and up the side of his neck. He had those strong defined cheekbones that sent my heart aflutter. His blonde hair was cropped short, perfectly framing his face.

His friend was just as tall, and broader of shoulder. He could have been a competitor on those World’s Strongest Man shows. He had shoulder length brown hair and a face that looked gentle. Oh, what I’d like to do to that face.
 

I realized he was looking straight at me and I looked away, embarrassed that I’d been caught staring. There was something about his eyes.

“There’s the booth, Sven.” I looked down at my bag, a sad reminder of the long journey Sven and I had undertaken. All over Europe in search of a mate, someone we could bring back to the pack to solidify its future. Without a complete Trinity, our leadership of the pack would be challenged. I rolled my shoulders, my nostrils flaring.

“I see it, Helmut,” Sven said. But he was distracted. I followed his gaze.
 

A young woman stood in line at the rear of the ticket booth. She was very pretty. Petite and curvy in all the right places. Her tight jacket accentuated her ample bosom and her yoga pants showed off an ass that was mouth watering. Her scent carried on the breeze, somehow being both fresh and exotic. But most of all, nervousness. A tourist, then.

“As our quest comes to an end, perhaps victory is at hand.” Sven grinned impishly, hoisting his pack onto his shoulder. He flipped his collar up, covering his tattoos.

“She’s gorgeous,” I said. “But it can’t just be about that. We need the right person. The right fit.”

“As you say, Alpha,” he said, sauntering over to the line.

I was not looking forward to this train trip home. Our pack would be gathered, expecting us to arrive with our new mate. How could we tell them that despite spending six months traveling through eight countries, we couldn’t find a single match for the two of us?

I grabbed my bag and followed Sven.

“Excuse me,” a deep voice said from behind me.

I turned around. The blonde guy I’d seen across the street was standing right in front of me. Oh my God, he was so gorgeous! Up close, I could see his eyes. They were gold. A Shifter! “Uhh…”
 

The man’s smile faltered, “Parlez-vous français? Sprechen Sie Deutsch?”

“I speak English, actually.” How embarrassing. I knew I was blushing eighty shades of red.

“How fortunate for me, then. My French is horrible!” His smile returned, his golden eyes glinting. “Is this the line for the train to Trondheim?”

“Yes.” I felt myself being lost in his gaze. I could smell him this close. He smelled like the deep forest, like something primal and untouched by society. Something dark and dangerous. I could feel something deep inside me awaken, a desire. A need. I wanted to squirm, but kept my composure.

“Then we are in the right place. My name is Sven. Helmut,” he called to the other man who was now walking up, “Come meet my new friend…” He looked at me expectantly.

“Clarissa,” I said. These European guys were direct.
 

“A pleasure,” Helmut said, his face a crisscross of worry.
 

I could tell something was weighing on his mind, but even that didn’t take away from his stunning good looks. His brown hair was mussy in a wild, unkempt way. His eyes were also gold. So, a pair of Shifters. “Are you two traveling to Trondheim?”

“We are, Clarissa,” Sven said.

The way he said my name sent shudders through me. There was a rumble that came from his throat, almost a growl. Some ancient switch flipped in my mind, something left there by my ancestors. My knees threatened to go weak. “Then have a nice trip! Bon voyage!”

I picked up my bags and ran up to the ticket counter. I threw my ticket at the person in the booth and took my receipt without saying a word. Fear and excitement ran through my body, like a live wire.