Bearly a Chance: A Second Chances Romance (10 page)

"Let's do this." He held out his hand. She slipped her hand gently into his grasp and they stepped across the threshold into the dark unknown together.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Aria trailed behind Ben, struggling to see in the dark stairwell. She felt his hand tug her upward and figured the first stair had to be right in front of her. She found it the hard way, by slamming her soft soled toes into the faceplate. She cursed, and then gingerly lifted her aching foot, seeking the step blindly. Just as her foot made contact with the stair, a roar echoed through the store behind them.
What the hell was that?

Ben's tightening grasp on her hand didn't ease her fears any. She felt him step back down the stair, felt his strong arm wrap around her shoulders in an easy hug. He pulled her close and whispered one word.

"Stay." Then he released her and stepped boldly back through the door they'd just entered.
Stay my ass.
Trembling, she trailed behind him. He hadn't let her come to face this trouble alone; she sure as shit wasn't abandoning him to face whatever was trying to stop them.

Aria felt her eyes widen and her pulse hammer when she saw what loomed in Delilah's shop. An enormous, silver grizzly with purple eyes stood stock still in the center of the floor. The beast stood nose to nose with Ben.
He’s not going to fight that beast in human form?
If she had to guess, the mystery bear was easily twice the size of Ben’s bear. Damn. She couldn't help but wonder just who this strange shifter was and what he wanted with them.

Witch light flared in the store, and Delilah appeared in a pillar of green smoke beside the silver grizzly. From the fierce look Delilah sent toward the open door behind Aria, she wasn't happy. And the hand she rested on the giant grizzly's shoulder suggested that at the very least the two were on speaking terms.
But Gran said there weren’t any more bear shifters in town. So who’s that?
Panic slammed into Aria's stomach, doubling her over as she wondered who was watching Faith. She scanned the small shop again, searching for answers.

Delilah, the mystery bear, Ben, and me. No gran. Should I be worried or relieved?

The subtle growl she'd barely noticed a moment ago slowly increased until the floor practically vibrated beneath her. Her bones and teeth rattled in time with that growl. But which shifter was growling and why? She looked at Ben, still in human form, although from the silver glow and coalescing light, that could change any second, then her gaze darted to the giant beast perched in the middle of Delilah's shop.
Has to be him, doubt human lungs can sustain that sound.

His lips were pulled back, exposing canines easily half as long as her legs. Damn she'd hate to meet him on a dark night, but what had him all upset? Even Delilah was shifting with what appeared to be discomfort mixed with a healthy dose of fear. Aria struggled to keep her breathing calm and even, but gave up on exerting any control over the panicked racing of her pulse. At least the furious shifter was focused on the formerly hidden door instead of her or Ben. Despite the short term comfort her observation offered, she doubted the anger readily apparent in the strange bear’s posture boded well for any one standing in range of his teeth or claws.

Who the hell is that bear, anyways?
Aria dared a glance toward Ben once more. Silver light flowed around him and his face twisted with pain.
Is he fighting the change? Why?
Finally, he sighed and accepted the change and the light consumed him. When it flared from existence, a brilliant white grizzly stood in his place. Ben's bear form was a fair bit smaller than the stranger in front of them. But something about the strange bear felt familiar. What could it be, though? Just then, Delilah met her eyes. Aria felt her jaw drop when she heard the single word the witch spoke.

"Arcos." Delilah tangled her hand in the fur on the beast’s shoulder.

Does she think that’ll keep him from attacking?

This beast was Ben's father! Hell, she’d never considered the possibility that a bear could be bigger than Ben. Aria’s heart swelled with pride when she realized Ben wasn't challenging his father. Instead, he stepped between her and the bigger beast and then turned to look at her. Ben snuffled her gently from head to toe. His breath was warm and tickled, but his attention reassured her. He butted his big head up against her chest, as if to let her know he was there, and he would protect her. She couldn't resist patting his head gently, and marveled at the solid strength hidden beneath the soft caress of fur against her palm. Her heart dropped through the floor when Ben’s eyes flared with anger and then narrowed before he turned to face his father. Damn they didn't need this fight right now. Seemed to her they had a common enemy to face, if they could just get past their testosterone fueled anger and realize that fact.

Aria started forward, intent on stepping between the two bears, only to stop when Delilah held up one hand in warning. Aria felt her head tilt, curious at the odd motions and strange language the witch was speaking.
What are spells going to accomplish against a couple of pissed off bears anyways?

With a final exclamation and a sharp slicing motion of her hand Del's expectations became crystal clear. Orange smoke flooded the shop, emanating from the very walls. Aria thought she saw letters or maybe runes in the smoke, but those faded as they came in contact with anything that occupied physical space. Anything included bears. The smoke coalesced in their fur; became an orange ash that interrupted whatever power allowed them to shift in the first place. The beasts shimmered furiously when the ash stuck in their fur. Amber light flared a fine time and both bears reverted to their human forms. Their gloriously naked and entirely-too-human forms. Aria looked away, offering the men what little privacy she could. Her stomach twisted and tumbled in time with the fading magic. Damn that witch was more powerful than anybody had had suspected. From the shock on the shifters’ faces, they hadn't realized she had that much power either.

"What the fuck was that witch?" Arcos' voice was more growl than recognizable human speech.

Aria couldn’t resist peeking at the men.
Oh, angry shifters are gorgeously scary.
From the look on Ben's face, he agreed with Arcos' sentiment, despite himself.

Both men glared at Delilah like they truly believed looks could kill. Aria was just glad she wouldn’t have front row seats to a bear fight. She wouldn't have been able to let Ben face that monster alone, bear or not. And from the way Ben still shielded her from Arcos' gaze, interfering would have gone poorly for everyone.

Delilah's cold voice pulled them all up short. "My shop. My home. My rules, boys and girls. For all intents and purposes my magic rules here." Delilah's grand gesture indicated the entire shop and then she pointed up, and continued. "Up there, though. The rules change. The Fallen Gods rule there. And I have no say in their actions or their punishments." Delilah's gaze rested on Arcos. Aria sensed an intimate subtext in the byplay between witch and bear. "And since you two were brazen enough to breach my wards AND the door itself, we have no choice but to go up." Delilah's eyes were wide, and from the set of her shoulders, up was not going to be fun.

“Here, take these,” Delilah tossed a pair of jeans to each man. “They’re spelled, so you won’t lose them when you shift.”

Ben nodded solemnly and caught the pants single handedly. Aria took a moment to admire his muscled body before turning her back. She could hear the rustle of rough cloth against skin, and desperately wanted to sneak another peek. But she controlled the impulse. Ben stepped back beside Aria, and wrapped her in a hug, before speaking one word. "Mine." He growled and his eyes swirled silver. Aria struggled to keep still under the curious gaze Arcos leveled her way.

Not going to let that bastard see me blush.
Damn, she couldn’t resist Ben’s hug or the smooth feel of his chest beneath her hands. Arcos violet-swirled gaze hammering into hers and the low growl rumbling through the air sent fear slithering up her spine.
What the hell’s he on about now?
Delilah's sharp clap brought the grumpy bears back to the present. “Aria, you'll lead the way, then Ben, then me. Arcos, you can play rear guard, since you're no good at facing the truth.” From his reaction, Delilah's barbed comment struck home. Arcos stepped back from the witch and his shoulders slumped. Then he straightened with a visible effort and nodded once.

"As you command, for now witch." Aria sensed a threat hidden in his reply. But she was too busy worrying about the confrontation to come to be concerned about any bad blood the witch and the elder shifter might have between them. She turned on trembling legs, paused to reach up and plant a gentle kiss on Ben's cheek. "Thank you, Ben.” She whispered for his ears alone, before turning back to the staircase they'd sought so hard to find.

She was just glad her trembling legs didn't collapse as she started to climb the shadowed staircase. Despite Delilah chanting what she figured had to be a spell for light, everything was shades of gray.

Even if this was a mistake, Aria was determined to carry it through to the end. No way she dared reveal her babe to Arcos himself. She didn't trust that shifter any further than she could throw him, and from the way Del spoke to him, she wasn't the only one who felt that way. Aria was grateful for the solid presence Ben provided behind her. She was certain he would guard her from harm, even to the point of his own harm. Not that she wanted it to come to that, but at least she had one person she could count on to guard her back on this mad venture.

***

Ben fought to stay focused. He had to guard Aria, but her lithe body kept distracting his bear. Bear wanted to both mate with her and murder all who contested for her attention. The beast was particularly put out with Arcos. For once they actually agreed. What kind of man–or bear–abandoned their child? Especially when that child bore shifter genes? As far as Ben was concerned Arcos was no kind of man, and as far as Bear was concerned, Arcos should have been born a coyote. Especially considering the challenge the elder shifter had seemed poised to issue before the witch’s interference. Ben and Bear were certain Arcos was going to challenge for the right to claim Aria. And considering the way Delilah had aligned herself with their nemesis, their shared view of her had fallen considerably. Although her sheer magical power was impressive, it was mitigated by her choice of partners in crime.

Mate hurts.
Ben fought to keep from sweeping Aria off her feet and carrying her to the top of the winding staircase at his bear’s comment. She limped with each step she took, but he didn't think she'd care for such high handed ways. He could hear the exhaustion and pain she was fighting with every step. He just wanted to save her from that. Bear urged him on, begged him to help their mate, but Delilah's sharp 'stop' froze them all in place.

Ben peered back over his shoulder and down half a spiral before he spotted Del on the stair case. She looked like she was chanting, but not even his sharp ears could hear her. Before he figured out what she was trying to accomplish the entire stairwell flared with blue light. Even the marble stairs glowed with the aftereffects of her spell. Damn, the witch impressed his bear more with every spell she cast. But Ben couldn't help but wonder just how much of her magic was augmented by the beings they were ascending to see. He was torn between hoping it was most of her magic, and not even a bit. Either way, he and Bear were certain the confrontation to come was going to be bloody. He swore on his shifter soul that none of the blood would be Arias. Bear huffed agreement.

A sharp thud echoed down from above.
What the hell?
Ben turned back toward Aria, only to find her sitting on the stairs, eyes wide and body trembling. He didn't know what was wrong, and Bear didn't scent anything more specific than fear and exhaustion.
Damn.
Ben hesitated a second then called his bear closer to the surface. Bear was more than happy to help their mate, and readily pushed his shifter strength into Ben's human muscles. Together they gathered Aria up and cuddled her close against Ben's bare chest. Ben marveled for a moment at the fact that his mate's need was enough to get his bear to work with him instead of insisting on compromise or directly opposing his human needs.

Ben glanced back down at the witch, searching for a signal. He guessed that the need for light was the reason she called for a halt. He hadn't had any trouble seeing in the dark, but his bear had better night vision than the average human. Bear's sense of smell was damn near enough to navigate full darkness, providing the wind was not against them. At Delilah's signal to go ahead, Ben started climbing once more.

The simple act of caring for Aria was enough to set his bear to damn near purring with joy. Not that bears purred. It was more a gentle rumble. But still. Ben hadn't felt this happy since before he'd shifted the first time. When she looped her arm around the back of his neck and held on, his bear practically roared in triumph.

"You alright?" he whispered, throat tight to hold back the triumphant roar trying to sneak out. Her slow nod didn't reassure him or his bear. "What's wrong?" He needed to know just what she was dealing with in order to keep her safe once they reached the top of the stairs.

"Tired. Pins and needles everywhere, so much pressure." she shivered in his arms. Ben glanced back toward Delilah and whispered a question.