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Chapter Twenty-Five
After the incident with the cougar, Paulina and Rufus had packed up their pups and decided to keep their distance from Angel Fire. Espie couldn’t blame them for doing so, since Paulina had pups to think about, and no one knew who these cougar shifters might be once they’d returned to their human forms. And for whatever reason, it was almost impossible to detect the difference between a wild cougar and a shifter by scenting, which was really quite bizarre as far as Espie was concerned.
No one was safe, although it really did seem like the big cats had a very specific target group. Both the police and animal control had teams out sweeping the mountain ranges and forests, which made it all the more difficult for her clan to go about their daily business in bear form. And the one man Espie wanted to talk to was so busy managing the chaos that all she’d been able to do was leave him texts saying that they needed to talk.
Got some important information about the attacks for you, bro. I wish you’d find time to give me a call.
Sorry, been too busy keeping tabs on all the angry bears who want to retaliate. Meet at the grotto in one hour. I want to talk to you as well.
Espie blinked at her cell. Miguel wanted to talk to her? She could only imagine he must want to ask her about Luther. The truth was that their two cabins weren’t that far apart, and Clarissa must have told him that her friends had recently shown up at their door with a young polar bear cub in tow.
Miguel might not like that she’d ignored his order to stay away from the miners, but Espie was certainly not going to apologize for spending time with the man whom the universe had chosen for her. Her brother might be the alpha, but it wasn’t up to him to decide who she chose to bond with.
“You’re late,” Miguel grumbled, leaning against the base of a tree with his arms crossed, as Espie’s bear once again took human form at the designated meeting place.”
Espie’s eyes darted up to study their old treehouse, a sight that tugged at her heartstrings as she considered how close she and her brother had been back when they’d played there. When they were kids, Miguel had been her best friend, and they’d helped their dad build the fort one summer, spending many happy times horsing around in it afterwards. She thought it was an appropriate meeting place for the two of them. It meant that each would know what the other had to say was important.
“I’m totally not late,” she objected as she fished through the bundle of clothes she’d been carrying in her mouth in order to find her phone. “Oh, okay, two whole minutes. My bad.”
“Definitely your bad,” he grumbled. “You know I don’t have much time to spare. I’m also meant to have a talk with Ursalina, to see if she might be able to help. She’s been watching everything that’s been going on from the safety of the cave, but even she isn’t sure how much longer she’ll be able to use her spells to keep all the bad things out.”
Espie simply nodded. When he didn’t speak right away, she took that as him giving her the go-ahead to bring up her topic first. “Well, I’ve done a lot of sleuthing since the attacks started, and I think Willard Vesper might be behind it all.”
She waited for a reaction, but her brother’s face remained relatively unchanged. She frowned and tentatively continued.
“Think about it. Most of the attacks have been on people who are related to the two businesses he’s been targeting in his flyers, either directly, or because they’re members of their families. But it’s much more involved than just that. The other day –”
“Espie.” Miguel raised a hand to silence her, and the news of the cougar in her bedroom died on the tip of her tongue. This wasn’t the open, receptive Miguel she knew and loved. He looked almost…cold. Distant. Like he hadn’t heard a word she’d just said.
Espie’s frown deepened, and she planted a hand on her hip – just like their mother did when she was on the verge of frustration. Not quite there yet, but close. “What?”
“I know you mated with that bear,” he growled, each word making the knot in her stomach tighten. “That bear without a clan. I know you bonded.”
Blood rushed to her face and embarrassed heat made her neck itch. She cleared her throat. “What a gross way to announce that, big brother. Thanks. And he has a name, you know. It’s Luther. He’s a polar bear shifter from –”
“I don’t care where he’s from,” Miguel fired back. “If every other damn bear in the clan is meant to present a potential mate to their alpha before they make a decision like that, how do you think it’s going to look if the alpha’s sister chose not to do so?”
“I hardly think I need to ask anyone for permission to bring a date back to my place,” Espie scoffed. “It’s none of your business who I bond with, as long as he’s not doing anything to bother you or the clan.”
“Well, he does bother the clan,” Miguel insisted. “He might still be the one behind the attacks somehow.”
Espie scoffed. “Behind the cougar attacks? Yeah, because they’re totally the same species and everything.”
Her brother scowled down at her, the same annoyed look he’d give her when they were teenagers stuck in some petty dispute. “They could be his friends. Other shifters who work with him.”
“To what end?” she demanded. “Merciless bloodshed? Why?”
“Just because he’s a rogue? I don’t know,” Miguel snarled. Espie took a few steps back when he moved toward her, his height more intimidating than it had ever been. “The truth is, we don’t know anything about him, and he has targeted you, of all people, to mate with him. How do you know he’s not using you to get to me somehow? I mean, Espie, you have to consider all the evidence –"
She felt like he’d just reeled back and punched her straight in the gut. “What evidence?” When Miguel’s lips parted, she spoke over him, fueled by her rage. “Oh, you mean the nothing? Yeah, let me take a few minutes to consider all of that.”
“Stop being childish!”
“You stop being childish!” She noted the rush of color in his cheeks, pleased to see that she had gotten through to him. “I found my fated mate by chance, and, yeah, he isn’t perfect. We need to learn to love each other and trust each other just like everyone else does. But he’s good. He’s protective. He’s nurturing. He’s understanding. And he’s just trying to do his best.”
“Your fated mate?” he scoffed. “This just keeps getting worse! Espie, of course he told you he’s doing his best. I’m sure lots of criminals could say the same.”
“He’s not a criminal.”
