Page 10 of Big Top Bear Raid (Wolves of Stone Ridge #64)

A WASH OF RELIEF FLOODED Zion when he spotted the recognition light up Acadia’s eyes. He’d been so worried that his cousin’s mind would no longer be intact. Zion couldn’t imagine the isolation he and his bear were fighting through.

How could he have any hope at all?

But he’s still in there.

Zion sent up a silent prayer to all the gods for that saving grace. Stepping closer to the cage’s bars, he swept his gaze over Acadia’s bear form. To his surprise, Zion thought Acadia looked pretty damn good for being a captive bear.

Well, other than the scars on his back, easily seen through his fur, just like Zion’s own bear, and to varying degrees with every other bear in their sleuth.

“If you want to stay here and talk to Acadia, I’ll go check out the zebras.”

Wraith squeezed Zion’s shoulder, offering comfort.

“See if any of them are shifters, too.”

Nodding, Zion agreed, unable to tear himself away from Acadia, just yet.

Wraith leaned close and pecked a kiss to his jaw.

“Keep your wits about you, my mate.”

Then he turned and began moving toward another animal trailer.

“That’s Wraith,”

Zion stated, turning back to face Acadia.

“He’s my mate.”

With a warm smile as he glanced at where Wraith was disappearing around the side of a trailer, he added.

“We just met a few days ago. I’m so damn blessed.”

Zion refocused on Acadia, pleased to see his eyes clear and his focus on him, telling him that his cousin listened attentively.

“I missed you, cuz,”

he whispered.

“So much has changed.” Grimacing, Zion added.

“There’s so much to share. The people we lost. The people we’ve met. Our mates.” Seeing the way Acadia’s bear tilted its head just a little, expressing his interest, Zion huffed softly.

“We’ll explain everything over a beer, a brat, and a campfire.”

Acadia let out a quiet rumble, and Zion imagined that he was telling him that he was looking forward to that.

With a smile and a nod, Zion told him.

“I’ll just share the highlights right now, because I imagine we don’t have much time. We—”

“You’re only half right.”

A deep voice Zion vaguely recognized reached him.

“Because you don’t have any time.”

Lawrance Walker strode around the corner of the trailer with Ringmaster Goldsteen following, as well as a heavy-set blond Zion didn’t recognize and the brown-haired man he’d seen earlier.

“So, you got away from the witches.”

Lawrance smirked as he eyed Zion with a sort of feral delight.

“I’m impressed, and I can’t wait for you to tell me where others of your bespelled sleuth are. I’d love to expand my bear show.”

Pulling out a pouch, Lawrance began to speak in a language Zion didn’t recognize, but the tingles working along his skin told him the warlock was casting a spell.

He clenched his jaw as he watched the guy use his thumb and index finger, dipping them into the pouch.

He pulled out a pinch of something pale green and blew it from his fingers toward him.

Then Lawrance stated.

“Kneel, bear shifter.”

For an instant, Zion felt a compulsion to obey the warlock’s command.

It quickly dissipated, washing over his mind and slipping away.

Zion likened it a bit to water running off his hair when he exited the shower.

Knowing that Lawrance expected to be obeyed, Zion quickly sorted through his options.

It was best to have Lawrance and his cronies’ attention focused on him.

Zion sure didn’t want his mate to be discovered.

Besides, while his bear growled in his mind, hating the idea of submitting to this man, kneeling wasn’t that big of a deal.

He clenched his jaw, pretending he was fighting against Lawrance’s order.

Slowly, he began to kneel.

When Acadia growled softly, clearly displeased, Lawrance snapped at him.

“Shut up, bear.”

Acadia obeyed almost immediately.

Zion took advantage of the group’s slight distraction to wink conspiratorially at his cousin. Seeing Acadia tilt his head just a smidge, he did it again. After that, Zion refocused on Lawrance just in time to see him return his attention to him.

A smug smile curved Lawrance’s harsh features.

“Excellent,”

he rumbled.

“Now, bear, tell me your name.”

After clenching his jaw once, twice, Zion told him, “Zion.”

“Well, Zion.”

Lawrance grinned broadly.

“No one will ever say your name again.”

Then he laughed as if that was the funniest thing ever.

Zion barely resisted rolling his eyes.

Douche.

“How are we going to explain another bear?”

the heavy-set blond asked.

“It’s hard enough to keep permits for one.”

“Leave that to me, Steele,”

Lawrance stated, waving his hand as if shooing away a pesky fly. He smiled at Kyle.

“That’ll be a great training exercise for you, Kyle.”

As the dark-haired young male nodded, appearing eager, Zion realized that meant Kyle must be Lawrance’s apprentice.

So there are two.

Turning to face Goldsteen, Lawrance stated.

“I’m going to need a secure space. Somewhere away from the others, so they don’t catch wind of the paranormal.”

He arched a brow at the man.

“Find a place to rent. A storage locker or out-of-the-way cabin.”

Rubbing his hands together, Lawrance smiled sinisterly at Zion.

“I sure hope you resist. It makes it so much more fun.”

“I’ll find something,”

Goldsteen assured. With an excited grin, he stated.

“A group bear show is going to bring in so much fucking money. No one’s doing them anymore.”

He scoffed before muttering.

“Damn animal rights activists.”

Then the ringmaster pulled out his phone and began doing something on it—searching for listings, perhaps.

Lawrance strolled toward Zion, sliding the pouch into some inner pocket of his jacket.

“How many in your sleuth are left of those bespelled by the witches?”

Zion didn’t like the lazy way the warlock asked, as if he was just passing time as opposed to trying to force him to betray his sleuth-mates.

Narrowing his eyes, he breathed deeply.

While Zion knew Lawrance expected him to answer, and he felt the tingle telling him that the warlock’s compulsion spell was still in effect, he felt no desire or need to answer him.

Still, what does it matter if I tell him, and how long will I have to play along?

Catching a flash of movement behind the four guys, Zion spotted Wraith peeking around the corner of the trailer at him.

“Th-There’s...”

Zion began, pretending to fight the compulsion. He kept his mate in his peripheral vision as he peered in another direction.

“Th-There’s...”

Wraith held up five fingers, then gave him a thumbs up.

Zion wasn’t totally sure what that meant. He needed five minutes, maybe? Zion hoped his mate wasn’t planning something to put him in the line of fire.

“How many are alive?”

Lawrance demanded, more command filling his voice. He scowled, clearly starting to lose patience.

“Where are they?”

“F-Five,”

Zion stuttered, making it sound as if the words were forced from him.

“B-But I only know where f-four are.”

Hearing Acadia’s distressed rumble, Zion took the opportunity to look at his cousin.

“It’s one of the things I was going to explain. There weren’t many of us left by the time we were rescued from Priestess Amelia and her witches.”

Zion left out the fact that they’d been rescued by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse with a little help from a vampire coven.

He would share all that with his cousin another time.

While they’d lost a couple more of their sleuth during that battle, those fighting them had realized something was off and had done their best to incapacitate them instead of kill them.

“Hmmm, four more bears,”

Lawrance mused, rubbing his chin in thought.

“A half a dozen bears.”

With a pleased smile, he ordered.

“Where’s your vehicle parked? You will take me to your bear shifter friends.”

Yeah, that’s not happening.

As Zion hesitated, uncertain how to keep up his ruse, a new voice filled the area.

“Lawrance Zindral.”

A slender black male strode toward them. Gray at his temples and at the edges of his goatee betrayed his advancing years.

“I always knew you wouldn’t change.”

Shaking his head, the guy grumbled.

“The Circle of Mages will not give you a pass this time.”

Lawrance’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “Urskin,”

he hissed.

“You have no business here.”

“Actually, I do,”

Urskin countered, moving closer as a thickly muscled, blond-haired, bruiser of a man flanked him.

“You’re using a bespelled shifter in your show, forcing him to perform tricks.”

His dark eyes narrowed as he growled.

“Naughty, naughty.”

“Who did you tell?”

Lawrance demanded, rounding on Zion. “Who?”

With the way Lawrance roared the word, Zion almost missed the way the warlock lifted his hand. The warlock began to swing. Zion rocked backward, arching his back, forcing Lawrance to miss.

“Damn you,”

Lawrance snarled, his face turning red. He used his lifted hand to point at Urskin.

“Shift and attack him.”

Zion scoffed and rocked to his feet.

“I don’t think I will.”

He smirked as he stared down at the surprised-looking warlock.

“I’ll never do anything for you.”

Then Zion took a step backward as he glanced Urskin’s way. Shrugging negligently, he shared.

“And I don’t have a clue what Urskin is doing here, who he is, or who the other guy is.”

Urskin moved closer.

“You’re under arrest, Lawrance.”

Then he glanced around the group. His eyes narrowed as he took them in, finally settling his attention on Kyle.

“You. You’re his warlock apprentice. You’ll also be coming with me, and we’ll see just how deeply you’re involved.”

Arching his brow, Urskin looked between Ringmaster Goldsteen and Steele.

“You’re humans, but you know of paranormals. You’ll be detained for questioning and rehabilitation.”

Zion knew that probably meant vampires and mind-alterations.

While Kyle paled, his jaw sagging with his obvious shock and his eyes growing huge, Steele snarled.

“Hell, no.”

The heavy man moved surprisingly fast as he pivoted and started running.

The big guy with Urskin took off after him.

Ringmaster Goldsteen gaped as he glanced between them.

“Circle of Mages?”

he squeaked, backing up a step.

“Lawrance, what’s going on?”

“What’s going on is this,”

Lawrance declared. Grabbing Goldsteen, he shoved him toward Urskin. As Urskin dodged, Lawrance reached into his jacket as he began to chant.

Snarling, Zion lunged forward. He wound his arms around Lawrance, wrapping him up from behind. When the warlock bucked in his hold and tried to jerk free, he tightened his grip, not letting him go.

“Stay still, before I gut you,”

Zion snarled. With a little concentration, he managed to grow short claws out of the tips of his fingers and pressed them against Lawrance’s stomach. Lowering his voice to a raspy growl, Zion murmured.

“I’d love it if you gave me a reason.”

Too bad Lawrance stilled in his hold.

“Thank you.”

Urskin had passed Goldsteen off to Wraith at some point, and the human stood in his mate’s grip. The dark-featured warlock was standing beside Kyle, snapping some sort of bracelets on his wrists. “Zion.”

Urskin focused on him. “Right?”

“Yeah, I’m Zion,”

he replied, eyeing the older warlock warily.

“How do you know Lawrance? How are you here?”

Zion couldn’t help his questions, considering the confusion filling him.

“I’m Urskin,”

the man told him, the corners of his lips curving in a small smile.

“And I was en route to Alpha Declan’s place when your mate called him and let him know what was going on.”

He indicated Wraith with a wave of his hand.

“I was close, so I changed direction and came straight here.”

With an eyebrow waggle, Urskin teased.

“Perfect timing. Right?”

“Yeah,”

Zion replied. He focused on Wraith.

“You good?”

Wraith nodded and offered him a small smile while keeping a hand on Goldsteen’s shoulder.

“He won’t be for long,”

Lawrance snarled under his breath. Using Zion’s few seconds of distraction, he twisted in his hold, yanked his arm back out from where it’d still been inside his jacket, and threw something at Wraith. At the same time, Lawrance chanted.

Zion watched in horror as a blade flew directly toward Wraith with unerring accuracy.

“No!”

Zion’s scream turned into a roar as he lost control of his bear. His shift swept through him. Fur sprouted over his body, his arms and legs thickened, and his head reshaped to accommodate his mouthful of sharp, sharp teeth.

Lawrance used those few seconds it took Zion to shift to drop to the ground. The warlock rolled to the left before springing to his feet. Then he sprinted away while casting something or other over his shoulder.

Dirt erupted, billowing from the ground and clouding his vision.

When it cleared, the scent of blood reached Zion’s nose, and he barreled toward Wraith.

He saw that his mate had pushed Goldsteen to the ground while he’d evidently jumped in the other direction.

Still, with Wraith’s delicious-scented life-fluid perfuming the area, Zion knew it hadn’t been enough.

Crouching over Wraith’s prone form, Zion roared before sweeping his gaze over the others.

Urskin approached him slowly with his hands up in placation.

“Let me help him, Zion,”

he urged. He glanced toward Wraith, who lay still underneath him before looking Zion in the eyes once more.

“That blade has poison on it. I need to remove it.”

Then Urskin narrowed his eyes and told him.

“And I need you to chase that bastard down.”

When Zion hesitated, Urskin turned and snapped his fingers. The lock on Acadia’s cage fell to the ground. With a wave of Urskin’s hand, the door opened.

“Take Acadia with you...for back-up,”

Urskin told Zion. Then the warlock focused on his bespelled cousin and ordered.

“Help Zion chase down Lawrance, and assist him in capturing him.”

The dark warlock’s eyes narrowed as he added.

“Follow no words spoken by any warlock but me, and no order by another.”

Then Urskin snapped his fingers, and Acadia started moving.

Before Zion could roar in rage at Urskin’s audacity—how dare he order Acadia about—Urskin refocused on him and stated.

“Return Acadia to me so I can reverse that.”

“Go,”

Wraith ordered, resting his hand on Zion’s foreleg to get his attention.

“Go, and don’t let that asshole get away.”

Zion rumbled as he nuzzled Wraith’s neck. Then he licked his mate, right over their mating mark, before turning and bounding away.

A second later, Acadia fell into step beside him.

Tipping his head up, Zion inhaled and caught Lawrance’s scent. He roared and gave chase, his bear beyond pleased to be tracking their prey...and to have his cousin with him again.

Now I just gotta find the bastard and get back to my mate.