Bearly a Chance: A Second Chances Romance (17 page)

As her eyes followed
her
magic spark through the air, they landed on something – or someone – just the other side of the willow tree. Much closer to the pond than she'd ventured yet. The ghostly form stood straight and tall and stone still. She could see more sparks of magic floating around, and maybe through that figure. Something about him seemed incredibly familiar to her.

As she slunk closer to the ghost, it finally hit her just who this was. "Gramps? Is that you?" Her whispered question floated on the slight breeze before she'd even given consideration to whether or not confronting any ghost was wise. The ghostly nod and bright, merry eyes were reassuring enough to draw her the final distance to his side.

"What's all this?" Aria gestured vaguely to the space surrounding them. Her skin prickled as she noticed all the little magic dust specs converging on their location. Then one landed on her bare arm, and despite her earlier fascination, she had the almost overwhelming urge to brush it off her now. It tickled, then burned a bit, and she flinched. Her hand automatically reached over to smack the offending mote away, but a ghostly grasp snapped tight around her wrist in mid swing.

Mouth wide and round, Aria gasped and then glared at her grandpa. "How dare you - It stung me!"

Gramps silent head-shake and slightly increased pressure were enough warning to her to leave the mysterious things alone, at least for now.

"Can you speak?"
Or am I going to have to become an expert in incorporeal body language like yesterday?

Aria shuddered as a hollow voice filled the space around her, echoing through her bones. Damn, maybe she didn't want the ghost to talk, after all. "Can you tone it down a bit, please?"

Her bones stopped shivering in her skin as the ghostly form of Grandpa Gabe finally got his voice dialed in. It was still odd to listen to, and hard to make out all the words, but at least it wasn't painful.

"Welcome, granddaughter."

"Welcome? Thanks, I guess. What's all this and why are we here?"

"It's time for a new guardian."

"Okay, not catching on here Gramps."

"Someone needs to take over for me. I am weakening, despite the shell my willow has provided. Soon my wards will fade, and Espen will be vulnerable."

"Still not seeing why I'm here."

"You must take my place, and my powers."

"Oh. Hell. No. I've got enough on my plate just dealing with Faith. And Ben. You expect me to replace you?"

Grandpa just looked at her, eyes soft, and sad. Then he nodded once. Short and sharp. "You're right. If I'd realized that one of my grandchildren was going to replace me, I'd have done things differently."

Aria shivered when gramps clamped one of her hands gently in his big ghostly ones. She was expecting extreme cold, or sliminess or other grossness, because hello, ghost? But all she felt was a slight warmth, and a gentle pressure. "I am so sorry for my human failings. Can you forgive me? And take this burden before I falter and put everyone in the garden, in Tori's cabin-hell, the whole town, in danger?"

Oh, shit. When he put it like that how could she refuse? How dare she even consider saying no to that request, regardless of any potential cost to herself? She nodded once. A slower, softer echo of the one he'd given her earlier. Tears tracked their way down her cheeks, leaving a chill in their path. She stepped forward, wrapping the ghost in a final hug. As their arms wrapped around each other, light flared, and warmth and energy flooded through her. Her sense of the world shifted, flipped a few times and then finally righted itself. But that world was greatly expanded.

Aria could feel gramps solid and whole in her arms for just a moment. His brilliant eyes sparkled bluer than Faiths’, and his smile held all the confidence in the world that she could succeed in his place.

Then his solid form flickered. He stepped back slow and steady toward the old willow tree, talking fast as possible as he moved. Aria wasn't consciously absorbing every word, but she could feel his meaning settle into a small corner of her mind in a nice neat packet waiting for the right time to present itself. Finally, just as his ghostly back connected with the bark of the willow, he spoke words she'd longed to hear.

"I'm proud of you. Well done so far child. I'll always be here if you need to talk." He patted the tree gently, almost like a lover, as he faded into it and became one with it. Those blue eyes peeked out merrily at her from the bark for a moment, and then his last words echoed in the secluded space. "Go forth and guard well, child. I love you."

As his final sentence faded along with the dancing magic motes, Aria felt the full weight of his guardian magic settle onto her, into her blood, right down to her very bones. The ghostly world she stood in flickered, then popped out of existence with a thought. Aria could sense the wall that encircled the willow tree, the wall gramps had fueled with his essence, and the flexible strength of the willow and the gentle implacability of the water that ran beside the willow. She felt that packet of knowledge gramps had dropped into her mind open and spill just enough info into her awareness that she could deal with this moment, this spell. She could sense even more knowledge hidden in that secret corner, waiting for the right time to make itself known.

Aria felt the others waiting just beyond the barrier, shivered at the tingle Ben's touch sent coursing through the wall of magic. She couldn't resist a moment of practice, and set that wall to flickering in and out of existence. She intended that flicker to be too fast to notice, but she hadn't taken the keen shifter senses or enhanced speed into account. On the third pulse, a roar sounded loud and clear inside the barrier. A white bear charged through and skidded to a stop nose to nose with her. His hot breath washed over her, and his eyes were wide and startled.

Ben.
She recognized him without a doubt. If she hadn't seen him in his bear form before, her new abilities would still have given her the most important details. She could somehow sense the human hidden within the bear. Unfortunately, her new ability did not appear to have any of the answers she'd been searching so desperately for. Instead she was swamped with even more questions. The biggest one being how the hell could she explain this to Ben, and what did it mean for their budding relationship?

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Ben felt the barrier falter under his hands. Once, twice it flickered out and then back into existence. Bear roared challenge and on that third flicker burst forward, shifting form on the fly and driving them into the dark space beneath the willow. They barely made three steps before they were nose to nose with Aria. Bear planted all four feet and put on the brakes hard. They skidded to a stop, breath heaving and on the verge of panic.

As the situation hit home, bear leaned in and snuffled Aria, checking her over from head to toe for anything out of place. She seemed alright, at least visually. But she smelled different. Other. Her unsettling scent made bear's nose tickle as though they'd gotten a big whiff of cinnamon.

Despite her new scent, she still smelled like mate, and home to bear. Didn't matter what had happened to her, as long as there was no danger and she was uninjured, bear would be happy. Ben wished he could view the world so simply, so black and white. But he knew something had happened to change Aria. And from the scents bear had picked up, that something was big. Hell, even just being close to her felt a bit like being too close to a high voltage line. She damn near thrummed with invisible power, power just begging to be unleashed. As Ben considered the implications of Aria having magical type powers bear rumbled in pleasure and slunk back into the recesses of his mind. His body ached as the shift overtook him once more, without warning. One day, he and bear were going to have to learn to work together, rather than bear appearing and disappearing at will like he had been. Ben desperately hoped that day came soon.

As the last aches and pains from shifting again faded, Ben stepped up to Aria and folded her in his arms. Holding her like this felt like trying to capture lightning, damn near literally. Every part of him from his head to his toes tingled and arced with an echo of the magic radiating off her. He did his damnedest to ignore the desire for her riding just behind that tingle, but it rose hard and fast anyways. He sighed softly then spoke.

"You alright?"

Ben tried his best to communicate all the layers that such a simple word as alright contained. He eased back a bit, his bear mourning the loss of her pressed close to him. But her answer was important. He had to know for sure that she was not going to suffer from whatever had happened in the moment's they'd been separated.

Her slow nod, and hooded eyes didn't reassure him at all. Bear grumped, not finding any hint of anything, no sense of truth or falsehood. Just blank space. Hell, Ben had been dreading repairing their relationship before when he'd had the advantage of bear's truth sensing ability. Now, he just hoped Aria was damn forgiving.

He rested his hands lightly on her shoulders, and looked deep into her eyes. Even if Bear's senses were on the fritz, Ben's were fine. But he couldn't catch any hint of what had transpired, what had changed her. He saw weariness, resignation, and power. Everything else lay hidden beneath those overwhelming emotions she wore for the world to see. He waited, with barely leashed patience for an answer.

"Maybe. I guess." She shrugged, and he let his hands slip off her shoulders. He smoothed them down her arms and clasped her hands in his to emphasize his words.

"I'm sorry. Sorry I wasn't there. Sorry I'm always a step behind when it comes to you." Ben’s throat tightened and he felt tears tickle the corners of his eyes. Damned if he was going to let them fall just now.

Her slow nod, and the answering squeeze she gave his hands was a start at least.

"Thank you." For a moment, the veil of weary resigned power lifted, and he spotted mischief and playfulness and love in her eyes. Then the curtain fell again. All that shone through was exhaustion and determination. Ben could not begin to fathom the load she bore, but he could damn near sense it like a physical presence.

"I need to talk to Gran," she said as she pulled him behind her. Bear huffed at being denied an answer to what lay secreted at the heart of the small clearing beneath the willow. Whatever it was, it was not nearly as strong as before the wards fell. But it still made his bear's 'trouble' sensors tingle, and the hairs rise on his spine.

Still, she was choosing to keep him with her. Choosing him for backup in whatever came next. Ben took that as a good sign. Bear just took it for granted. Of course she would choose them. They were mates after all. It's what mates did.

Something cool slipped past Ben's shoulder, cool and damp. And it wasn't the leaves of the willow. When he squinted he could almost see something–or someone–beside him. Bear rumbled agreement and confidence. Something was there, shoulder to shoulder with them, but Bear wasn't worried about who or why. Ben was torn between agreeing with bear, and investigating this new mystery. Before he could decide, Aria has pulled him back into the real world, the brightly lit, colorful world of Victoria's garden. When the tug on his hand stopped, he stood side by side with Aria, and only a few paces in front of Delilah and Victoria.

Bear insisted on a security scan, co-opting a good portion of their shared senses for a moment. There was nothing living within the walls of the garden other than the four of them. Bear could hear Faith giggling in the house. Ben grinned a bit at the sound of the cub giving his old man hell. Ole bugger deserved a dose of his own medicine, and she was just the one to dish it.

Then the full import of Bear's scan struck Ben at the same moment that cool presence solidified beside him. His skin shivered, almost like a horse dislodging flies, and his mind shied from what he saw. No fucking way was he standing next to a ghost, a ghost that once bore the name Gabriel Fox. How the hell had the old man stayed present all this time? Was it a guardian thing? Was Aria supposed to do the same when her time came? Oh, hell no. Ghosts were too fucking much after the week he'd had.

Come ghosts, hell or high water, he and bear were sticking to Aria like glue. This wander off into danger alone bullshit was getting tiresome.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Aria heard Gran gasp. She was so focused on figuring out just what the old ghost had done to her it didn't register just how hard this had to be for gran. Until she spoke.

"Gabe? Gabriel Ian-? What on earth-" Gran's words faded. Speechless, she reached for gramps ghost, attempted to fold him in a hug, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Aria paused when she noted Gran's hug slipped right through Gramps pale form.
Odd. He'd felt solid enough beneath the willow.
She couldn't help wondering what was different here in the garden. His grip had been surprisingly solid and warm just moments ago. And now, he was all mist and air from what she'd just seen. The question of why echoed through her brain.

Gramps voice however, was well tuned. That shiver inducing otherworldly echo was still present, but his voice didn't threaten to hammer her into oblivion or vibrate her very bones to splinters any more. Strange that one adjustment stuck, and the other-didn't.