Page 30

Chapter Thirty

Who Do You Think You Are?

Clover

The whole village blossomed before our very eyes from a dusty, deserted camp to a vibrant community. Old tents transformed into colorful yurts worthy of a social media glamping selfie, and wild forget-me-nots, lady slippers, and arrowleaf dotted gardens in the landscape between them. Bear shifters in their human forms milled about, getting ready for another gorgeous, abundant feast. Tables were heaped with fruit, vegetables, and baked goods.

I jumped as the fire in the pit roared to life.

“Are you seeing this?” I was pretty sure that was Barrett’s voice. “This deserted lot just roared to life.”

“Are they really ghosts?” another security team member asked. I didn’t remember his name.

None of the recent arrivals seemed to notice Bellamy or me. This time, they were dressed in more modern clothing. They looked like hippies, or bohemian, as Barrett had described Alba earlier.

The males were strong, healthy, and absolutely huge, making Bellamy look small. He looked around, eyes wide, absolutely dazzled by the scene unfolding around us. Good, it wasn’t just me experiencing this. Although, my mate looked more gorgeous than ever…

No, I couldn’t get distracted. This already felt like a dream, because the images, even the smells, were so fucking vivid this time. There were jeeps and motorcycles and things that couldn’t have possibly just appeared here.

It had to be real, right?

Alba appeared out of nowhere with Anders at her side. I’d definitely have to compare notes with Bellamy as soon as we were alone, if I didn’t rip his clothes off first.

“This place looks amazing,” I said, not sure if it was the right description. “It seems different than the last time we were here.”

The old woman nodded. Her dress was long and red, waffled cotton with embroidered flowers. Real flowers had been twisted in her hair, looking like they’d grown there. She was elegant, effortless, and magical. I didn’t expect to feel underdressed for the occasion, but I could add that to the list of surprises.

“This is what’s possible when you believe in your own magic,” she said as my jaw dropped. “You always had magic, even though you didn’t know it. We gave you back what we could the first time we saw you. But you didn’t believe, and you thought you were fighting us, but you were holding yourself back. We left you alone, to see what you’d do with that power. At first, I feared we had overwhelmed you. But it seems like you manifested an admirer.” She beamed at Bellamy. “He was drawn to your power like a magnet. The two of you were always meant to be together.”

Wow. “How did you know?”

I didn’t want to give them too much information. Like visiting a psychic, leading these bears or giving them something to confirm wouldn’t help us solve this case, find the locket, or save Nana. We needed to hear what they’d volunteer on their own.

“We could feel Shirley’s signal fading,” Alba said. “We knew the clan would fall to chaos, so we needed to reach out to you before it was too late.”

It was a nice, neat explanation that made no sense. “But you knew the locket was missing before it really was.”

“The locket belongs to you,” Anders said. His voice was deeper than I remembered, and he was the only one who was still dressed in a more dated way. Men’s fashions didn’t change as drastically as women’s, but his colorless button-down shirt and gray pants didn’t fit with what everyone else wore.

“It’s my nana’s locket,” I said.

“We allowed Shirley to keep it until there was kin with real power.” Alba gave Anders a knowing smile. “We may have influenced that.”

“It was a risk we didn’t think would pay off, but it looks like it just might,” Anders’s glittering gaze was squarely on me.

My body warmed in an unfamiliar way. I wasn’t turned on, but I wasn’t creeped out, either.

Bellamy growled. “Care to explain?”

“I would love to.” Anders took a slight step forward, and Bellamy tensed beside me.

If we had another bear battle royale, we’d never get the information we needed to save my nana.

“Clover is my daughter,” Anders declared.

“What?” I couldn’t have heard him right. This bear was lucky I’d never met my father. The sperm donor had only been spoken about in hushed tones and profanities. “That’s not possible.”

“We found records of the clan,” Bellamy said. “They showed that Anders’s mate should have been Shirley.”

Anders’s expression darkened and a rumble emitted from his lips.

“That is the way fate intended for things to happen,” Alba said, probably staving off World War Bear for now. Anders and Bellamy weren’t yet seeing eye-to-eye. “But Shirley left with the locket, convinced that she could choose her own fate. And she proved herself right. But if we were unable to continue our magic line, we would all perish. So when it was appropriate, Anders wooed your mother.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to rip this giant bear a new asshole. Even if this was true, how dare he prey on my poor mother, who’d worked her ass off to provide for my sister and me as a single mom? The clan helped, especially after she left, but in a place where fated couples were the norm, Mom was definitely othered. No wonder I had daddy issues.

Your mother wasn’t that sweet , my bear reminded me. She had enough power to take your magic away…

That was true, but for the moment I was willing to revise history to fit my rage…

“Seems like you can’t resist a devastatingly handsome bear either, Clover,” Alba said, smiling at Bellamy. “We had to make sure we preserved our magical lineage. We’d heard another powerful bear had been born into your clan.”

“Bellamy,” I said.

She nodded. “Without the locket, we’re all stuck in time, unable to age or to go onto our next energetic assignment. You’re our only hope, Clover.”

So without the locket, my nana might die, and these ghost bears would live forever. “And if I give you the locket, you’ll be able to age?” I couldn’t bring myself to say the other thing. Because if these bears were really my family, it seemed unfair that I could be responsible for their death.

This was a lot to swallow. This bear was claiming he was my father.

Wait, did they just admit to having the locket?

“As long as the locket is obtained by honest means, no harm will come to our clan,” Alba said.

Bellamy raised a brow. “And if someone came by the locket in a dishonest matter?”

“Magic is simply the way we activate the energy that we invite into our sphere,” Alba said. “No one answer would apply to every situation.”

“That’s a fancy way to say I don’t know.” I folded my arms across my chest. I wanted answers, not more questions. Although they’d just given me one hell of an answer. “Was Anders honest with my mom when he knocked her up and then left her to fend for herself?”

“A spell was cast, blocking me from having any part of your life.” Anders lowered his gaze. His hands were behind his back, and he pressed his lips together, like he had so much to say but needed a moment to make sure the right thing actually came out. I could sympathize, even if I wasn’t ready to accept he was who he claimed to be. “We’d hoped that having a new generation with magic would bring the clans back together and be enough to break the curse. It backfired.”

“A shield prevented Anders from setting foot on your clan’s land, and your magic was taken from you,” Alba said with disgust. “Very crudely, I might add. Not done properly at all. Your clan is lucky that wayward magic didn’t come back to bite them in an uncomfortable place.”

“Maybe you needed to give it more time,” Bellamy suggested. “We’re here now.”

“Are you Sage’s father too?” I asked.

Anders shook his head. “You’re my only daughter.”

“Let’s make sense of a few things,” I said, rubbing my hand over my forehead to stave off a burgeoning headache. “You sensed Nana was getting weaker, and you captured me, thinking I had the locket. Why?”

“We hoped we could show you how to use your power to save both clans,” Alba said.

Okay, I could accept that. Their execution hadn’t been the greatest, but if these bears were actually ghosts, it was pretty impressive. Those naked bears who had picked me up and carried me here felt pretty damn solid. But that didn’t explain everything.

“We knew you needed more proof,” Alba continued. “We needed to make you believe in your own powers or everyone was doomed. After our first attempt to show you who you really were, we realized you’d have to figure it out on your own.”

Bellamy chuckled. “She’s always been stubborn.”

I nudged him.

“Did you actually order the motorcycle?” I asked.

“I did.” Anders’s face lit up. “It’s over there, if you’d like to see it.”

My mouth dropped and I met Bellamy’s gaze.

“I’d love to see it,” Bellamy said. “I thought that might have been one of the clues.”

“It wasn’t intended to be, but we hoped it would be a good way to gauge how interested Clover was in her magic,” Alba said. “Anders gave your grandmother that ring, which was why we chose it as a conduit of your magic.”

“But how did you manage to get your hands on it?” If they could get the ring, they could get the locket.

“We didn’t,” Anders said with a maddening smile. “The ring is an illusion. It would disappear if we chose to terminate the spell.”

“Can your magic tell you who has the locket?” Bellamy asked.

Alba smiled. “Whoever benefits from the truth staying a lie.”

“Really?” I sighed. “You’re going to leave us with a riddle?”

“Soon, it will become clear to you,” she said. “No matter what happens, we’ll always be here for you, your mate, and your heirs. All you have to do is believe in your own power, Clover, and anything is possible.”