Shades Of Green (8 page)

“Dae ye think so?” Gaige stepped forward. Grasping an ogre by the front of his dirty shirt, he snarled. “Leave them be, or we’ll make
ye
our food, and I guarantee, ye won’t taste as nasty tae us as the nymphs do tae ye.”

The ogre slapped him away as though he was nothing. “I’m hungry now, human, and humans taste good.”

“Perhaps,” Gaige said as the ogre stalked him. “But I’ll bet my bear will bite back.”

“I don’t see no bears.” The ogre turned to look behind him. By the time he spun back around, Gaige had shifted into his beast. The polar bear was larger than the ogre. At over ten feet tall when he stood on his hind legs, he towered over the ogre. It screamed and fell back, landing hard on its too-large ass.

“It’s a ghost bear!” The others spun around, their mouths open and eyes wide. “Run before it eats ya!”

“No!” Kiran stepped forward. “Hear me, or I swear tae the gods we’ll hunt ye down and kill every one of ye.”

The ogres stopped in their tracks. They stood trembling before him, casting their gazes about frantically.

Gaige followed their gaze and smiled deep within the bears form. The rest of their group encircled the grove, the nymphs sitting placidly on the backs of the large polar bears who pawed the ground as though sighting their next meal.

“It’s a pack of ghost bears. They
do
exist.”

“Yes,” Kiran added. “We
do
exist. We coexist with you, with nymphs, humans and other beasts. Just as you will from this day forward.” He stepped forward to stare into the eyes of the beast that had done most of the talking.

“You will no longer kidnap nymphs, you will stop trying to eat them and you will carry this news to others of your kind. Tell them that the ghost bears protect the nymphs, and if they harm the nymphs, they will die.”

Gaige growled and pawed the ground in an effort to drive Kiran’s words home.

“The nymphs have asked us not to harm you, but know this, you
will
die if you capture another.”

“But they smell so good.”

“Then sit in the woods while they work and smell them all you like. Just don’t touch them.”

The ogres glanced at each other. “We could do that,” one said and they all nodded. “I like the way they smell when they’re alive. They stink something fierce when they die.”

“Everything stinks when it dies, stupid.”

“I’m not stupid,
you’re
stupid.”

Gaige sighed. They
were
just like children.

The bears encircling the glade parted and allowed the ogres to leave. The nymphs all gave a collective sigh, slid from the bears’ backs and got to work on rejuvenating the glade.

“You should be safe to work alone next year, though I think working together is better. The plants grow thicker and faster. Not to mention I think you’ve covered more ground than you would have alone,” Kiran said to Thal as her mother ran forward to hug her.

“I agree, Kiran.” Kalysis took him by the shoulders and leaned forward. He bent, unsure of what she intended. He smiled when she touched her forehead to his. “Welcome to the family.” She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I’ve never known a son before. Perhaps it is time we all knew that honor.”

“Perhaps it is,” Thal agreed, moving up beside him to wrap her arm around his waist. “And maybe it’s time that those of us who decide to take a mate decide to stay in touch with our kin.” She hugged her mother. “I will be back every spring, and one day, I will bring my sons and daughters with me.”

Dear Reader:

If you’re reading this, I hope it means that you’ve just enjoyed reading one of my books. Always a romantic, I started weaving little fantasies for my friends at the tender age of fifteen. Never once did I think that writing would be my dream until around 2002. After complaining to my husband that my favorite authors didn’t write fast enough, my husband asked a fateful question. “Why don’t you write one of your own while you’re waiting?”

Once I started, he couldn’t stop me. Now, I write in the morning before work. I write during my breaks at the day job, I write at night when I should be relaxing. Heck, I’ve even been known to write in my sleep. Every member of my family has had the dubious honor of witnessing my fingers moving over the keys while I’m off in dreamland. Sometimes it even makes sense!

I grew up in Southwest Florida where I met and married the love of my life. My husband was in the Navy for twenty years, so if you wonder where I have gotten some of my ideas, I blame him. I suggest you do the same. He’s always saying he has wide shoulders. Let’s load them up, shall we?

Currently, I live in a small town in Michigan, seven miles from the nearest grocery store. I love living out here in the country. It gives me the peace and quiet I need to continue to write these stories for you. It also shows me a lot of natural beauty that I try to share with you in my books. While my titles may be dedicated to certain individuals who have touched my life in differing ways, please remember, every one of them is written for you.

My most recent dream is to continue what I do—to share more stories with anyone willing to read them. My new dream is to be able to pursue both my writing and my husband fulltime. Do you think he’ll run?

More of Tianna’s Books

The Caspian Cascade series

Gate To Fate series

The Paradise series

Brianna’s Prophecy

Dragon Bound series

The DARE series

The Endowed Series

The Chosen Series

Hidden Breeds

Highland Bears

Where to find Tianna:

www.tiannaxander.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TiannaXander/

http://twitter.com/#!/TiannaXander

http://www.myspace.com/tianna_xander

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