Tamed by the Bear (Bear Creek Clan 3) (4 page)

“Oh. Now it makes more sense.”

“Then, while I was watching you, I realised she was my mate.”

“And she was already upset by me and you acted like an idiot?” Daryl asked.

“Yes. I think that sums it up.”

“Listen, Sam, that’s how I was around Kayleigh.” He placed his hand over hers and smiled at her. “And that ended OK. Or at least I hope it will end OK.”

“It will.” She smiled at him and leaned forward to kiss his cheek.

“The difference is that you had months to pluck up the nerve to even speak to Kayleigh. I don’t have the luxury of time.”

“But do you think that showing her that you have another, more animalistic, side is going to make it easier? It can kind of freak people out. You can’t exactly just walk up to a woman and say “Hey, babe, you're my mate, and by the way, I turn into a bear,” can you?”

The hair on Sam’s neck prickled. He stiffened in his seat and his eyes grew wide. “I don’t think I have to.”

She had come out of the bathroom, rubbing her hair with a towel. The voices coming from downstairs rose and fell, and she knew that her future brother-in-law was home. Going back to her bedroom, she brushed her hair and tried to make herself look presentable. But, as usual, her face was red and blotchy from the warm shower.

Looking at her reflection critically, she decided not to put on any makeup to even out her complexion. It would take too long, so she went downstairs as she was. At least she got halfway down the stairs before she heard them talking.

They had moved into the kitchen and they were talking like co-conspirators. This was it: if she listened to them, she might get to the bottom of how Kayleigh really felt about her fiancé. If nothing else, she would be able to see them interacting naturally, without them putting on a show for her. It was rude, and underhand, but she had her sister’s best interests at heart.

Their voices were very low, so she crept further down the stairs, hoping they wouldn't hear her. No, they were still talking. She watched Kayleigh put her hand on Daryl’s and reassure him. Still unable to hear every word clearly, she tiptoed along the hallway. If she were caught, she would simply say she had come down to say hello.

Now Daryl was talking. Something about animals. They must be talking about Sam’s farm. She had missed her opportunity; it was better if she just went on in. So she did. Only to hear the most bizarre thing ever.

“Antonia!” Kayleigh stood up abruptly and looked at her closely. “We didn’t know you were there.”

“Obviously.”

Kayleigh looked from Daryl to Sam, pleading with them for help. It was Sam who stood up and spoke. “Antonia, I’m not sure how much you heard.”

“Enough.”

“I really didn’t want you to find out this way,” Kayleigh said, coming around the table to hug Antonia.

“Find out what? That you’re all mad.”

Kayleigh released Antonia, who took another step backwards. “What is this, some kind or LARPing thing you play?”

“I’m sorry?” Sam looked bewildered. “What is LARPing?”

“Live action role-play. You know, when geeks dress up as characters and playact. Or in this case, pretend to be bears.”

“People actually do that?” Daryl asked Kayleigh.

“Yes, honey. They do.”

“Weird,” he said.

“Weird. You think that’s weird? What about you two? What do you do, crawl around on all fours howling at the moon?” Antonia’s voice rose.

“Wolves howl. We’re not wolves,” Sam said.

“Listen to you both. You’re not bears either.”

The three people in front of her were silent, none of them knowing what to say. Neither would they meet her eye. A tremor passed through her. They really did believe they were bears. She had to try to get Kayleigh away from them—but how, when her sister obviously believed in this too?

“They are,” Kayleigh said. “I know it’s hard to believe, but they are.”

Antonia couldn’t understand how Kayleigh had bought into this whole thing. But she had, completely; she could read it on her face. So she called their bluff.

“OK. I can see how much you want to believe this. And I guess I’d like to believe it too.”

Kayleigh frowned at her sister. “Really?”

“Of course. Look how happy you are, Kay. Perhaps if I see what Daryl can do, then I might understand it all a bit better.”

“Toni. I know you don’t mean that. That’s how you used to speak to me when we were kids and you were trying to make me believe my nightmares weren’t real.”

Tears welled in Antonia’s eyes. “I’m scared for you, Kay. I really am. I don’t understand how you can go along with this make-believe.”

“Antonia. Will you promise me that if Daryl and Sam show you ... really show you that they can change, you’ll keep this to yourself?”

“Kay, it’s not real.”

“OK. Then I promise you that if it’s not real, I’ll go home with you. And if it is real, you’ll keep their secret.”

“I promise,” she answered, “As long as they promise to let you leave. I want their word on it.”

Daryl stepped forward. “Kayleigh.”

Kayleigh turned and looked at him. “Daryl, this is the only way to make this right. Antonia needs to know. I can’t keep a secret like this from my sister. Not now.”

“Then we swear.” Sam came to stand by Daryl, putting his hand on Daryl’s shoulder like two comrades about to go into battle. “Come on, Daryl. What’s the worst that could happen?”

But Antonia could see the uncertainty in Daryl’s eyes. He knew he couldn’t pull this off, and he would be giving Antonia a strong case for dragging Kayleigh out of Bear Creek. She had the upper hand; she could get her sister away from these madmen easily. All she needed to do was get Daryl to agree.

“Listen, Kayleigh, let's forget about it. I don’t want to embarrass Daryl in front of you.”

Daryl squared his shoulders. “Antonia, it’s not that I can’t change. But I don’t ever want to swear on anything that might involve me losing Kayleigh.”

“That’s sweet, so you’re not going to do it?” She wanted to end this. It was completely ridiculous to even be having this conversation.

“Daryl,” Kayleigh said, slipping her hand into his. “Let’s get this out of the way. I truly believe that it’s the best way of sorting everything out. Don’t you, Sam?”

“Yes,” Sam answered. Then he came towards Antonia. “I know how this looks, I really do. But we’ll go outside, Daryl and I will change ... and you have to promise not to freak out.”

Antonia smiled. “Oh, I promise.” How could a man who was so handsome and rugged be so delusional?

“No. You need to take this seriously Antonia.”

Straightening her face, deciding it was time to get this over with, she said, “Shall we go?”

Sam walked past her, giving her a look of sadness and concern. In that one glance, she should have seen the truth about him, but she was too blinded by the need to let her sister see the folly of her ways. So she missed the look and instead went confidently outside.

Behind her, Daryl grasped Kayleigh’s hand and kissed her fiercely. “I hope this doesn’t backfire.”

“How can it, Daryl? At least this way everything is out in the open.”

When they got outside, they went around to the side of the house. Daryl and Sam left the sisters standing together and moved some way away. Kayleigh slipped her hand into Antonia’s and squeezed it tightly. She was scared, Antonia could tell. She felt so sorry for her sister; she hated having to break her heart by proving that none of this was real. But sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.

“Please don’t judge them, Antonia,” Kayleigh said.

“Do you promise you’ll come home with me?”

“They do change into bears. I swear. That’s why I know Daryl will never leave me. They have this thing where once they find their fated mate, they are loyal to them for the rest of their lives.”

“Oh, Kay, is that what he told you?”

“Yes. But it’s true, Toni.” She rubbed Antonia’s hand. “And Sam is your mate.”

She snorted in contempt. “No. He is not.”

“Yes, he is, Antonia, and when you see him as a bear you’ll have to believe.”

“If he stands before me as a bear, I promise you, I’ll believe it.”

“I will hold you to that. You have to give him a chance, Toni. You just have to. All the things we missed growing up, they’ll be a thing of the past. I can’t tell you how much it means that you’ll be part of the family too.”

“Kayleigh. I’m so sorry they’ve lied to you.”

Kayleigh kissed Antonia on the cheek and then hugged her. “I’m right here by your side.”

“Kay ...”

“Ready?” Daryl asked. He had been talking to Sam, who was looking extremely worried. However, his concern seemed to be directed at Antonia. But not in the way she expected. For the first time, Antonia had the vague feeling things were not going to go her way. Had they seen this coming and set out some kind of projection equipment?

“Yes,” Kayleigh said, and squeezed Antonia’s hand harder, if that was possible. It seemed she was willing them to change, if only because she wanted to stay here rather than leaving with Antonia.

For a brief second, Antonia regretted pushing them into a corner. But she was only doing it for Kayleigh’s own good. These thoughts soon passed; something was happening. The air around the two brothers crackled and hissed. For a moment, they disappeared, and she blinked in quick succession to try to refocus her eyes and look for them. When they weren’t there, she knew it must be some optical illusion, or they had gone inside a box, as magicians do. Yes. That was it. A box painted to blend in with the darkening gloom settling around the cabin.

No sooner had her eyes got used to there being nothing there, then they were reappearing. Only it wasn’t two men standing in front of her. Whatever it was was bigger, lower to the ground and much bulkier. She took a step backwards and Kayleigh sandwiched Antonia's hand between hers.

“It’s OK. Just breathe. I know it’s a shock when you first see it.”

“It’s not real.” Antonia couldn’t remember whether she spoke the words or they were in her head. Because she kept repeating them. Her mind was trying to work out how they had pulled it off. Because standing before her were two bears. Exactly where Daryl and Sam had been standing.

“They are real,” Kayleigh said.

“Two bears... We need to run.”

“No, we don’t. They won’t hurt us. They can’t hurt us.”

“Because it’s a trick?”

“No. Because we are their mates and they know us. Just because they are bears now doesn’t mean that they don’t think, don’t feel.”

“But...”

“Hold out your hand, Antonia. Stroke Sam’s fur. Then you’ll understand.”

“I can’t.” Antonia was frozen to the spot. Her mind kept racing through all the possible scenarios that could explain what she had witnessed. However, as Kayleigh slowly pulled her forward, she had to admit she had nothing. If she touched the bear and he was real, she would have to accept that what her eyes had seen was real. But her mind couldn’t process that.

So when she finally made contact with Sam’s thick, soft fur, her brain short-circuited and she fainted. Before her eyes closed, she saw the bear’s eyes; they were looking at her, full of concern. And all she could think was that she knew those eyes, she had seen them before.

As she drifted into the darkness, she remembered where she had seen them. Sam. They were his eyes. He was the bear. It was impossible. She couldn’t deal with it. So for once in her life, she didn’t. Instead, she let Kayleigh look after her, because right now, she was no good to anyone.

His bear roared, and he had to try to contain himself. He needed to change back to be the man Antonia needed in this moment. But it was so hard; the urge to protect her while she lay on the ground was intense. He told himself that there was no danger near, that she was safe with Kayleigh by her side. Still, he struggled to bring himself back.

Concentrating, he pictured himself as a man, holding the image tightly in his mind. Then he stepped into it and the world around him faded, and for a few moments, he ceased to exist on that plane. Instead, he walked in the world of magic and energy, where anything was possible but nothing was real.

Slowly he came back, one atom at a time. The process accelerated as the mass of his body on the mortal plane grew larger. Almost like the force of gravity, it dragged more of him back. Then he was whole, or was he?

Now that he knew her, without Antonia in his life he would never feel whole again.

“How is she?” he asked, stumbling forward onto his knees next to Kayleigh, who was stroking her sister’s face.

“She’s just had a shock. She’ll be OK, Sam. I know how she feels—when I saw Daryl change for the first time, I fainted. It’s hard to make sense of something that in our world can’t possibly be real. You’ve grown up with this knowledge, but to the rest of us it’s like something out of a movie.”

“I never wanted to hurt her.”

“I know, but she had to be told. It was the only way.”

“Do you think she’ll accept me for who I am, what I am?”

“Yes. She’s lived the same life I have, and when you’re constantly being moved around, you accept things more easily. The life we lived would be alien to most other kids, but to us it just became normal. We didn’t like it but we had to survive it. We good at not being normal.”

He reached out his hand and stroked Antonia's cheek, so gently it was like a breath on her skin. Yet it might just have carried an electric shock, because her eyes suddenly flew open and locked onto his face. He couldn’t read her expression: pain and shock, or a deep realisation of the bond they had together. Or was he dreaming, or in wishful thinking mode?

“What happened?” Antonia said.

He was so tempted to make it easier for her, to tell her that she had tripped and fallen. Then when she said she had seen a bear in the place of him and Daryl, he could say she must have been hallucinating. But Daryl took that away from him, thank goodness.

Her eyes slid past Sam's face, and she looked over his shoulder. There, big, bulky and brown, stood Daryl. He hadn’t changed back. Instead he stood looking at her with his soft brown eyes. His body relaxed, trying his hardest to look cuddly and cute rather than fierce and deadly.