Page 5 of Harvest Magic

You’re too serious, my bear confirmed. You’ve forgotten how to have fun.

Suddenly my bear had an opinion about everything.

I was about to ask what was up with him when I ran into Ben and Marie. Ben’s mate pulled me into a quick hug, then my cousin clapped my shoulder hard enough that if I was a human I would have fallen over.

“You came, I’m so glad.”

“You promised me a honey-based treat,” I reminded him.

Just then the wind shifted and I caught a whiff of something. Vanilla with a hint of something floral. Lilacs maybe. Not that I’d ever smelled a lilac, but somehow I knew that’s what it was. I looked around, sniffing.

“What?”

I shrugged at Ben’s question. “Something smells good. Like vanilla.”

He inhaled deeply. “I don’t smell it, but it’s probably coming from the bakery booth. Do you want to head over there?”

Go find the honey, my bear urged me.

“Where’s the honey?” I asked.

Ben looked at Marie who pointed forward. “It’s usually at the far end so the crowd of bear shifters don’t block the other booths.”

I picked up my pace and Marie laughed. “Don’t worry, big guy. There’ll be plenty for everyone.”

I could scarcely hear her. The closer we got to the honey co-op table, the stronger that delicious vanilla lilac scent became. And there was something else there, something almost smoky. No, that wasn’t right, it was more atmospheric, the way the air smelled during a lightning storm.

Pushing my way through the crowd with Marie and Ben on my heels, I skidded to a stop at a cluster of women standing off to the side of the honey co-op table.

“Ollie? Is that you?”

With great effort I focused my attention on the person who had stepped forward to speak to me. My mother would have cuffed me in the ear if I was rude to a woman. Even though Mama was gone now, I still didn’t want to disappoint her. It took a second before I recognized the woman. It was Pepper Rosewater, the middle Rosewater sister. There were three of them, as I remembered, the oldest a few years behind me in school. Their mother was the head of the local witch coven, and their father was a world-renowned psychic, but as far as I knew, none of the sisters had inherited any supernatural abilities.

But that was not true anymore, I realized. Pepper crackled with a kind of fractured magic that hadn’t been there when she was younger.

“Hi Pepper,” I said politely. “How have you been?”

“Good. I heard you moved back to town last year, but I haven’t seen you around.”

“He likes to stay up in his mountain lair,” Ben teased.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone walk up behind the women, a bundle of honey sticks in her hand. She was tall for a woman, about five nine or five ten, with a lush and curvy body. Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, several tendrils framing her face. Her chocolate brown eyes found mine, and I felt a jolt of recognition go through my body.

My bear realized who she was about two seconds before I did.

Mate! he roared inside me. Our mate is finally here!

I took a deep breath, struggling to hold him back, my eyes still fixed on the woman.

“Mate.” My voice was more bear than human. “Mate.”

Pepper sighed deeply. “Not this again! Every damned time!”

The other woman chuckled in response, but my mate turned to Pepper. “What are you talking about Pepper?”

She huffed out an annoyed breath. “Has Mom talked to you about fated mates yet?”

“You mean like in paranormal romance books?” my mate asked in confusion.