Page 33 of Goldie's Grumpy Grizzly
“Am I not speaking loud enough, girl? Can’t you hear me? I said, you’re. Having. Cubs.” She smacks her cane down against the floor. Shaking her head, she mutters to herself, “Told that sulky bear she’d be coming for him, and he still didn’t listen. Fool.”
Then she pats her pockets, looking for something. When her hand comes up empty, she turns to go, but I leap to my feet.
“Wait. You… You told Cole I was coming? You know who I am?”
One cloudy gray eye peers at me. “I know you’re that baby. The one the Sorceress Magen tried to imbue with her ugly, dark magic. But that backfired on her, didn’t it?”
She cackles, shaking her head so her long, gray braid sways behind her.
“What do you mean it backfired? Do you know what happened that night?”
“Magen meant to merge her powers with the ones your mama had. Your mama was a healer gifted with charms. Magen was obsessed with control and skilled at manipulating people around her for her own purposes, but she couldn’t make anyone love her. That’s a gift freely given, that.
“So, when she killed Charlie Osborne, she might’ve taken his life, but she didn’t succeed in stripping him of his fierce love. Ain’t nothing powerful enough to do that. All she accomplished in the end was stripping herself of her powers.”
“So, she didn’t pass on her powers of influence to me? I’m not… I’m not evil and manipulative?”
“No, girl.” The crone laughs, a sharp crack that transforms her face with mirth. For a second, I see the young witch she must’ve been once. “You got your mama’s heart. Golden and pure. And if I’m not mistaken, her healing gifts too.”
I think back to Cole’s surprise at the speed of his healing, wondering if I’d done that.
“Besides, babies aren’t born evil. They make choices as they grow. And if you were evil and manipulative, you wouldn’t have been marked as a worthy mate, now would you?”
My fingers fly to my neck where Cole’s mark is still bruised and tender. “Who are you?”
“He didn’t tell you?” She waves her hand. “Maebeth Thireault. I run the Mystica shop here. Which reminds me. You’ll be needing a new one of these now. For you and the babies.”
Digging deep into her other pocket, she withdraws a braided leather necklace bearing another three stones. They gleam and shine in the light as she dangles it before my face, then tucks it into my hand.
“You made my necklace?”
She bobs her head, eyes shining. “Before your mama died, she bade me to make it for you. Took longer than I thought it would to call you home, but you made it in the end. Safe and sound, as promised.”
Maebeth pats my arm and gestures to the Mystica shop behind her, its shelves glittering with gemstones, geodes, and other witchy gifts. “You take care of yourself and those cubs of yours. And you come see me again soon, okay?”
I nod.
“Oh.” Maebeth turns to look back at me. “Welcome home, Aurelia.”
Home.
The word hammers around in my head as I gather up the items and trek back to the cabin. My mind whirls with the revelations Maebeth dropped on me, and I mechanically put everything away and glance around the cozy space. All too easily, I can imagine children running and laughing outside, chasing each other along the stream.
But the picture isn’t complete without a big, gentle grizzly in it.
Sliding a hand over my soft belly, I feel a warm, protective instinct rise up in me. With my eyes shut, I roll the new stone pendant between my fingers and reach for that shiny thread of connection. It’s faint, but I still feel it pulsing within me, a triple thread that unites me with my grumpy bear shifter and ties us both to the twin babies just forming inside me.
The very thing I’ve been seeking is now something I will be able to provide for the cubs I’m carrying. And I want to do it here. In Fable Forest.
With my mate.
Cole, where are you?
Peering out at the expanse of forest and mountain beyond the cabin walls, I spy the entrance to the hiking trail beyond. Clay said he’d gone up the mountain. If that’s where Cole is, that’s where I’m going too.
Chapter Fourteen
Cole
