Bearly Enough (16 page)

He could hear the shouts as they approached.

“Hey!” he said loudly, walking inside. Quentin had been right
about one thing; they didn’t want to draw any extra attention to themselves.

“I don’t understand!” Lucy cried as she paced the room. Her
hands were balled into fists and her eyes were red. Her hair flew wildly around
her face and her shirt was untucked.

She was a hot mess.

Gabby was trying to console her, but it wasn’t doing any
good.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Stone said quietly, going up to her and
putting his arm around her shoulder, hoping to calm her.

“You don’t touch me, either!” she screamed, turning on him.

“You have no idea!” she shouted at Gabby.

Gabby looked at her patiently, but Stone noticed that she
was shaking.

“Actually, I do,” she said calmly. “I’ve been through this
Lucy. I was in a room full of werebears. I mean,” she amended, “I had
no
idea
they were werebears, but still. I ordered this asshole to leave me
alone, and suddenly everyone in the room was acting like I was some kind of
freak.”

Lucy had stopped pacing and she was staring at Gabby.

“I knew something was wrong. I didn’t know what it was. Then
I come to find out that I have some kind of crazy-ass blood!” Her eyes filled
up, but instead of crying, she got mad. “Do you think I like this? Or wanted
this? No! And I’m so sorry that it’s happening to you too!” She turned away,
covering her mouth with her hand, seeming shocked at her outburst. “But I fell
in love with Zane.” Lucy opened her mouth to argue, her whole face turning red,
but Gabby held up her hand to stop her.

“I know what Zane did. I
know
. And I was hurt, angry
and furious when I found out, too. But in the end, I couldn’t walk away from
him. I love him
in spite
of it, and once you hear the story, I think you
might understand a little better.”

Lucy opened her mouth to speak again, but instead she just
stood there, her mouth agape. She raised her hands up to her face, pressing her
palms into her eyes. She crumpled to the floor and Stone jumped to go to her,
but Quentin stopped him.

“It’s too much,” Lucy cried, hanging her head between her
knees. “It’s too much for me to process right now.”

Quentin walked slowly toward her. “Lucy?” he asked quietly.
She didn’t respond and he sat on the floor next to her, not touching her.

Anger and jealously flared up within Stone. Clearly, Lucy
and Quentin knew each other; Quentin was acting much too familiar. And to make
matters worse, Stone could tell that Quentin had a thing for her.

He scoffed at the idea.

Quentin seemed far too safe and predictable for someone as
impulsive as Lucy. Why did he even waste his time?

Quentin began to talk to Lucy in calm, soothing tones.
Annoyed, Stone turned around and went into the kitchen. He wasn’t going to
stand around and listen to someone else try to calm Lucy down.

Apparently, Zane had the same idea, because he was standing
in Stone’s small kitchen, looking out of place and desperate to be anywhere but
standing there amid the stainless steel appliances and marble countertops.

Stone’s initial reaction was to punch him in the face, but
he just didn’t have the energy. He turned around and paced by the windows, wondering
what to do and how soon it Jeremy would find out. He didn’t know if Jeremy
could sense these things with his freaky werebear-alpha senses, but Stone knew
that no good would come from him trying to hide this.

And now the Virtus would know too.

Stone had no choice but to tell Jeremy.

He wasn’t going to let Jeremy harm Lucy, though.

It was Stone’s job to keep Lucy in his home and safe, and he
had decided that keeping Lucy safe also meant keeping Lucy safe from his own
tribe.

Resigning himself to telling Jeremy, he took out his phone
and slipped outside to make the call.

Lucy appreciated what Quentin was trying to do, but she just
wasn’t interested. Luckily, Gabby picked up on the fact that Lucy wasn’t
interested.

“Thanks, Quentin. I’ve got it from here,” Gabby said
quietly.

Quentin nodded, then stood up and left the room.

Lucy wanted to tell her thank her sister, but she was too
angry. She didn’t know whether she wanted to hug her sister or hit her.

“I just don’t know how to make sense of all of this,” Lucy
said, feeling the knot of pain, confusion, hurt and anger twist deep in her
belly before spreading through her whole body. “I can’t even comprehend what
you know and how you could marry Zane, let alone the fact that now—now—’’ she
stuttered, trying to get the words out. “Now I have this
thing
in my
blood!” Her last word choked on a sob.

How could this be happening? How could she come from a line
of werebears, and not only that, but also carry some kind of fancy blood in her
veins?  She knew with absolute certainty that her life would
never
be the same again.

Now she knew why Gabby had thought about fleeing.

She would never be left alone—by either tribe—now that they
knew what she was. They would want to use her and make her marry someone.

“I fell in love with Zane,” Gabby said, pulling Lucy from
her thoughts. “Don’t think that I didn’t struggle with this.” Her eyes clouded
over. “I swore that I would never forgive him! I wanted nothing to do with him.
I
hated
him.” But then a soft smile played on her lips. “But love has a
funny way. And it was clear that if I wanted to be safe from
this
tribe,” she looked around the room distastefully, as if Stone’s house assumed
the blame for the entire tribe, “then I was going to have to stay with the
Virtus tribe. And since I knew their bear secret, I had no choice.” She looked
pointedly at Lucy. “And you now you have the same lack of options.”

“That’s bullshit!” Lucy cried. “I could do what you tried to
do! I could try to run away!” Her heart hammered frantically in her chest.

Gabby shook her head sadly. “It would never work,” she said
quietly. “They would find you, or worse, another tribe could find you. You will
not be any safer than you would be here.”

“Here,” Lucy said flatly. “With this tribe.”

Gabby gave her a look and moved so close to Lucy’s ear that
Lucy could feel her warm breath. “We could save you,” she whispered. “We could
bring you to our tribe.”

Lucy looked at her sister, shocked.

Did she want that?

Did she even want any of this?

She thought of Stone, and then thought of the others in the
tribe Gabby and Zane belonged to.

Was that an option?

Could she do that?

Gabby scooted away, looking meaningfully at Lucy.

“We can do it,” she mouthed, and for some reason Lucy felt a
tremor of fear move through her.

What Gabby was suggesting was both promising and scary. She
would have to think about that later—she couldn’t comprehend such a thing now.

Gabby must have noticed her doubt, and frowned.

“What is there to think about?” she pressed.

“A lot,” Lucy snapped, running a hand through her messy hair
and trying to pull it out of her face. “Excuse me for having my whole world
turned upside down today.”

She felt another swell of anger rise inside her.

“And I’m still upset that you didn’t tell me about you and
Zane and what you are and what happened to Daddy!” she cried out.

Is this how she would feel now? Feeling surges of anger
again and again as she thought about all of this new information? How was she
going to deal with everything?

And who was the enemy?

Stone? The Cruentus tribe?

Gabby and Zane? The Virtus?

Or both?

Was she safe from anyone?

And what would happen if Jeremy found out? She knew that it
was only a matter of time before he discovered her, and she doubted that she
could convince Stone not to tell him.

Would Lucy be given a choice like Gabby?

Marry into the clan?

She gulped when she thought of what the clan had wanted to
do with Gabby initially. Was Lucy truly safe in this clan? What if they hadn’t
actually changed their ways?

Gabby was speaking to her, but Lucy hadn’t heard.

 “You can be mad at me later,” Gabby implored. “I need
to know that you’re on board with this,” she dropped her voice, “so we can
start planning.”

Lucy simply shook her head.

Almost nothing was clear to her, but one thing was
crystal—she could not deal with this now.

“You need to leave.”

“What?” Gabby looked shocked.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do this now. What I need right now
is to sort through all my thoughts.”

“But—but Lucy! I’m your sister!”

“Yes, I know and I love you. But I need to sort out my
thoughts and feelings toward you. And toward Zane.” She frowned for a moment.
“And Stone.”

“But Lucy! You don’t have time!”

Lucy stood up. “Yes, I do,” She said firmly. “I need time to
think and try to figure this out.”

Gabby tilted her head to one side, her hair flowing behind
her. Lucy looked up and admired her older sister so much. It had been Gabby who
had cared for her all of those years when their mother had been drunk, too busy
loving her liquor bottles instead of her children.

Lucy absently wondered if her mother even knew she was
missing. Would she even care?

“Gabby, I love you, but I need time.”

Before Gabby could protest again, Zane entered the room.

Lucy looked at him, upset by every thought he stirred within
her.

“I’m sorry, Lucy,” he mumbled, walking up to Gabby and
putting his arm around her shoulder. “I’m so sorry for what happened to your
father.” He turned to Gabby. “I think it’s time for us to go now.”

Gabby shook her head, ready to protest, but Zane gave her a
meaningful look. Gabby relented and let Zane guide her toward the back door.
Quentin approached from the kitchen, and Lucy noticed Stone pacing out back.

The other clan had virtually invaded his house.

The Virtus trio stepped outside, and reluctantly Lucy
followed, hanging back. She wasn’t part of their clan, she didn’t belong. And
yet, she didn’t belong with Stone’s clan either.

She felt so obviously out of place.

“I’m going to need to see my sister again,” Gabby said
stubbornly, looking up at Stone.

Stone seemed to study Gabby before responding. “I’ll see
what I can do. I’m not the alpha, so I can’t make any promises.”

“But you’re the one who called us!” Gabby exclaimed.

“Yes, but I didn’t have permission.”

Well, crap.

Lucy didn’t know that.

“But—but what if I don’t see Lucy again?” Gabby asked
panicked.

That snapped Lucy back to life.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Lucy said, walking to her sister and
hugging her fiercely.

Gabby smelled the same as she always did—yet different.
There was now a musky smell to her—almost like something outdoorsy. Could it
have to do with her new home?

“You are my sister,” Lucy reminded her. “That isn’t going to
happen.” She looked at Stone for support, but he looked away.

Screw that. She wouldn’t let it happen. As angry as she was,
there was no way that she would never see Gabby again. Even if she was mad as
hell.

“I’m still mad at you,” Lucy reminded her, and Gabby nodded.

“You have to forgive me eventually,” Gabby said, squeezing
Lucy back.

Lucy only hoped that she could.

Her mind was mush and what she needed then was hours upon
hours of quiet, to process.

“You need to go
,”
Stone said, and Zane nodded. Lucy
released Gabby and they looked at each other one final time, before Gabby
hurried off with Zane and Quentin. Once they were through the tree line, Lucy
lost sight of them.

She didn’t even wait for Stone, and instead turned and went
back into the house.

“We need to talk,” Stone insisted, coming right up behind
her.

“We can talk later,” Lucy said wearily. “I need to lay down.”

“No. It has to be now. I know you’ve had a lot of
information thrown at you-”

“Thrown at me?” Lucy repeated incredulously. “You have
no
idea about what has been thrown at me! We are talking about my
father!
And my
sister!
And let’s be honest here, now that you all know that I
have this crazy bear blood in me you’ll never let me go!”

“Look! I’m going to keep you safe!” he said quickly, his two
different colored eyes darkening.

“How?” Lucy exclaimed. “How?” She realized that she didn’t actually
care. All she needed right now was to be alone.

“Let’s talk about this,” Stone pleaded. “Let me help you.”
He reached for her, and Lucy jumped back as if she had been burned.

She shoved Stone away. “Don’t touch me! Just leave me
alone!”