Page 2

Chapter Two

The Actual Audacity

Clover

Ugh!

The only thing that would be more satisfying than getting Nana’s locket back safe and sound would have been wringing that stubborn bear’s neck when he said no.

Did I deserve that reaction? Absolutely. Did I expect anything less? Hell no.

Okay, maybe I thought he might have felt the zap of electricity when our gazes met too…but no. The bear was stone cold and all business. I’d thoroughly ruined Bellamy Laredo.

He probably has a family and a mate waiting for him at home, my bear reminded me, pouring salt into a wound that apparently would never heal. And he’s too busy for your mayhem and foolishness.

Totally understandable, even if I didn’t like it. The part where I told him I was absolutely desperate to get this thing back wasn’t bullshit. It was time to stop being the pack fuck up. Ever since Nana had discovered the locket had disappeared, she’d been in full sorceress mode, consulting every grimoire in her arsenal for a spell powerful enough to bring that thing back. There had been salt circles, all the crystals, smoke, sound bowls, and so much chanting. How she managed to channel the ancestors and cuss me out with those very same words was a magic unto itself.

My mind raced as I backed out of my parking spot. The Sawtooth Security office was on the outskirts of the tiny, adorable town of Granger Falls. I flipped off the building before putting my car into drive. Our clan lived deeper in the forest, and I had a decent drive ahead of me. Which meant I had plenty of time to figure out a new plan before I had to tell Nana Bellamy said no.

I told her she’d have better luck if she went herself, but she pressed a piece of rose quartz into my hand and said everything would work out the way it should.

Which it probably had.

Not that I wanted to spend the rest of the trip thinking about what our lives could’ve been like together had I only accepted his claim. He wasn’t the only one who could barely look at me after I’d said no. A few members of the pack still acted like I was invisible after all these years.

And my bear had yet to forgive me, saying I told you so after every failed relationship.

Why did I reject him? It had made so much sense at the time. The magic had skipped my generation, and everyone had expected me to bear the next daughter who would carry on Nana’s work. For that reason, I had to marry well. Many thought Bellamy would be pack alpha someday. He was the natural choice. The golden boy of the clan. Smart, strong, charming, entirely too fuckable, and could absolutely do no wrong. I was supposed to lead the pack into the next generation, whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. I’d been twenty-five years old, and willing to take the gamble and challenge every single one of our traditions.

Now, fifteen years later, the feral spinster of the pack, I might have some regrets. Not that I’d ever admit that out loud. Or that I still dreamed about being with Bellamy.

I banged my hand against the steering wheel in frustration. How dare he say no. Sure, I had some audacity to think he’d come to my rescue. I should’ve just told him how scared and stupid I was back then. That I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to produce this magical heir, no matter how perfect my mate was. That no matter what, I’d fail the clan.

But he hadn’t just said no to me. I could accept that. I was no damsel. He’d said no to Nana.

Something dark, fuzzy, and familiar appeared in the road ahead, and I slowed the car. For a long time, we’d been the only bear clan in the area, but recently a few more had decided to call the forest home after getting displaced. And, of course, there was the Sawtooth Security clan that was growing rapidly. It was strange not to know every bear I saw.

My car stopped in front of them. There were four bears in the road, staring me down. I waved, but they didn’t so much as blink.

Right, they didn’t know me either.

A few more appeared from either side of the road.

This didn’t seem so much like a random crossing anymore.

I lowered my window.

“Hey.” I ignored the icy stares and gave them the brightest smile I possibly could. “I’m part of the clan just north of here.”

Silence. Stillness.

“I’m Clover Crowley.” The Crowleys were an important family, thanks to my grandmother’s lineage. I thought name checking would bring me a little good fortune, but still nothing but these creepy, empty stares.

“It’s her,” one of them finally said.

I held my hands up as they came in closer. It was broad daylight, but we were smack dab in the middle of nowhere, so it was as good as time of any for an ambush.

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure which clan you belong to. There are so many new bears in the area. We need to plan a gathering so we can all get acquainted with each other.” I chuckled nervously, wishing that Nana had given me some protection stones instead of the ones that were supposed to make me more fuckable.

The biggest bear of the bunch came up to me, flanked by two others who were almost as huge. They were grizzlies, but they were bigger than the males in our clan. In my human form, they could take me down in two bites.

If I shifted, it would be an almost fair fight…one on one.

Nothing about this fight is fair, my bear warned. I would help you if I could.

Like I hadn’t already been filled with dread.

Also, why wasn’t I shifting?

“Where is it?” the alpha demanded.

I cautioned a look behind me, to see if anyone else was here. But it was just me and a growing number of unfamiliar bears.

“I think you might have me confused with someone else,” I said.

“No, you cleared that up for us.” How could this bear manage to growl and grin at the same time? “You’re Clover Crowley of the Crowley Clan. Your grandmother Shirley is your pack’s healer. Her ancestral talisman has gone missing.”

Nana had never once called it by such a formal name. It was always her locket. A chill went down my spine when I realized these unfamiliar bears knew more about an important clan relic than I did.

“Do you know where it is?” I asked hopefully.

A few snickers erupted from the crowd, confirming my worst fears, and the bear stepped closer. “That’s what I just asked you.”

My eyes widened. “Wait…you think I have it?”

Bellamy did too…had he tipped these guys off? No, he was way too lawful good to send these thugs out to get me.

The giant bear scoffed. “Wouldn’t waste my time asking you if I didn’t.”

“No! I have no idea where it is.” I didn’t need to know these bears by name to know that they thought that was complete bullshit. “No way I’d cause my Nana so much grief. The whole clan is up in arms about this.”

You’re saying way too much , my bear warned. Only give them what they ask for.

The alpha nodded. “Okay, so you don’t have it. Let’s try this another way. Tell us where it is.”

“Listen, I wish more than anything right now that I could do that. But I can’t.”

The alpha jerked his head, and the rest of the clan started closing in on me. Heat rose in my body, but my bear knew there was no way we could fight.

Ugh. Why did Bellamy have to reject me? It totally served me right, but he lived for this do-gooder, saving the damsel shit.

No, I was not a damsel…

“What are you doing?” I shrieked. If one of them touched me, I would shift. And make things so much worse.

But two of them shifted into their human form and came for me.

“You’re coming with us,” the alpha declared as the two naked giants lifted me from my feet.

“No!” I kicked and squirmed and punched, but I was nothing more than a toy to them. Something to play with, something to break. “Why are you doing this?”

Any time my bear wanted to show up would be great.

The alpha watched his thugs wrap rope around my arms and legs with satisfaction. “We think you might be even more valuable than that talisman, Clover Crowley. So we’re gonna keep you while we find out.”

Fuck. They thought I had my Nana’s magic.

What would they do to me when they found out I didn’t?