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Chapter Thirty-Three

I Won’t Let You Destroy This Clan

Clover

“We’ve had some strange cases at Sawtooth Security, but this is a first,” Bellamy said. “We’ve never had the answer come in a dream before.”

“A magical bear dream.” I chuckled as I corrected him. But there was no hiding the fact I was nervous about what action that dream demanded we take. Even if I was right, I could still lose everything. “Are you sure we’re doing the right thing? If we’re wrong, the legacy of two clans is in jeopardy.”

“Based on what you told me, and what we know about the current clan dynamics, we should have enough to mark this case closed.”

Problem was, it was so much more than a case. “It’s just my entire life and the future of our clan hanging in the balance. Don’t mean to sound dramatic, but watching every video available on YouTube about lucid dreaming doesn’t feel like we’ve done enough.”

“If I didn’t think we had enough evidence to get in there, we wouldn’t be doing it.” Bellamy punctuated his statement with a growl. “You deserve answers, and the clan deserves a stable future. Whatever that is.”

“We won’t be able to go back to our lives like they were if we find the locket. This changes everything.”

He raised a brow. “Is that what you want? Your life like it was before?”

“No. I want to start a new life with you. But it would be nice to be able to go home again.”

“You can’t protect the clan from other people’s mistakes,” he said. “It’s the hardest part of this job. All we can do is show them the truth, and hope that they make good choices.”

“Because we all know that’s my strong point.” I took a shaky breath as Bellamy turned off the highway onto the road that led to our village.

He brought the truck to a stop in the middle of the dirt road. “If you don’t want to do this, you gotta tell me right now. We can turn around, and we’ll never talk about this again.”

“I’m sick of living everyone else’s lie.”

He took my chin in his hand. “You’re also sick of being everyone else’s scapegoat. Trust your intuition. You’re a powerful woman, and you’re just coming into that power because the people you trusted the most lied to you. Exposing that lie? It’s not gonna be easy. But know this—I want to see what that power can do.”

“Thank you.” I wished that declaration was enough to dissolve the brick of doubt that had formed in my belly. “Are you sure a feast day is the right time to drop this bomb?”

As the clan’s designated party girl, it was one of my favorite days of the year. I loved getting everyone together, all the food, and sitting around the fire until the wee hours of the morning. I was usually the one who planned the festivities, and this year, I’d been too wrapped up in Bellamy and the mystery of the locket to put the final touches on the day.

It would be my first chance to see what the clan would do without me. It was a grim thought, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to find.

“It’s the perfect day to do it,” Bellamy countered. “Everyone will hear and see the truth firsthand. They’ll demand answers from the elders. They might even ask questions we didn’t think of.”

“You’re right. I need to stop thinking that everyone will turn against me.” I waited for him to open my door for me. I’d never considered myself a chivalry type of girl, probably because no one but this bear had ever shown me any. Bellamy had a quiet way of demonstrating he had every situation handled, and it was making me fall even harder for him.

But last time we were here, he’d been pushed to losing that control. Over me.

“Clover, it’s not your fault the clan put you into this impossible situation. I’m proud of you for taking your life back.” He kissed my forehead. “I love you.”

Sweet moon, it was the first time he’d said those words to me. My heart fluttered as I let the emotion wash over me. “I love you too.”

He took my hand in his and squeezed it. There was no missing how tense he was. “Let’s do this.”

Rocks crunched under our feet as we made our way to the green. Bellamy was determined, looking straight ahead, his body on point like his bear would burst out at any moment.

We passed a few clan members, and I smiled and waved. Every single one of them responded with an open-mouthed stare.

Not good. Although not unexpected. Bellamy hadn’t exactly lost Edgar’s challenge, but anyone who dared to make our alpha look weak wouldn’t be welcomed back with open arms.

I felt like shaking everyone who looked at us with suspicion. Telling them that what they knew about the clan was a lie.

And I wanted to tell them all that this bear loved me.

They’ll know , my bear said. Everyone can see it.

Bellamy slowed his pace, and his grip on my hand intensified.

“Is something wrong?” I asked. My heart was in my throat. My bear felt close, but I had no idea how to tell if she was coming…the other night might have been a fluke, a spell cast by Bellamy’s body.

If I had to fight…no. I had to stop expecting the worst. But Bellamy had said to trust my intuition, and I had a bad feeling the worst was about to be served at this feast.

“I swear that’s Alba and Anders up ahead,” he said.

“How?” I asked as I squinted. “What do they want from us?”

“Looks like we’re about to find out.”

Bellamy held out his hand and Anders took it, giving it a hearty shake. Then the ghost bear offered his hand to me.

So many emotions rocketed through me. It felt like we were choosing a side, aligning with these bears. Possibly the wrong side. But I was also relieved they were here. Even if they had a funny way of showing it, these ghost bears had my back.

Anders clapped his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I’m proud of you,” he said.

Alba stepped forward and took both of my hands in hers. Energy tingled through my veins on contact. “We’re so glad you’re learning to trust your intuition. The Lynwood clan knows you’ll do the right thing.”

“Thank you.” Tears welled in my eyes.

“There’s something I need to tell you before you get there,” she continued. “Your grandmother…she’s considerably weaker.”

“You mean she’s dying.” All the air went out of my lungs. I wasn’t ready to lose my nana.

“The time to act is now.” Alba stepped away from me with a reassuring nod and turned to follow Anders to the green. Music and laughter spilled from the party, waiting to greet us.

If she was right, how could the clan possibly be celebrating at a time like this?

Bellamy put his arm around me and followed them. My legs were heavy. Sweet moon, I didn’t want to find out Alba was right.

“Am I dreaming again?” If so, I could wake up and fix this. I could help Nana.

“I think so,” he whispered back.

The party was in full swing. Picnic tables had been set up around the green, circling the spot where we’d all gather for the fire later. Families perched at each one, enjoying heaping plates of food. Edgar was manning the giant grill. As alpha, he certainly wasn’t expected to do the grilling, but he was totally in his element.

I scanned the crowd for Nana. She was nowhere to be found. My heart sank. I came by my love of parties honestly—Nana never missed one. If she wasn’t here… I looked at Alba, and she simply nodded.

I’d never wanted her to be wrong more in my life.

Everything quickly skidded to a stop as the clan realized we were here. Everyone turned to stare at us. The only sound, other than my thundering heart, were murmurs about Bellamy, wondering if he came back to finish Edgar’s challenge.

Not one of them seemed concerned that we’d brought friends. Could they even see them?

This is the first time any of them but Nana have seen a Lynwood, my bear reminded me.

Edgar set his spatula down and nodded to one of the other bears before striding over to us.

“I told you to never come back here, Bellamy.” He didn’t even acknowledge me.

“This might be the last time?—”

“It will definitely be the last time.” Edgar stepped forward and growled at Bellamy

I wedged myself in between them. “Enough.”

Edgar sneered. “Another magic trick won’t save him.”

“Tuck your ego back into your pants, bear. This has nothing to do with you.” I pushed Edgar, but it was hardly enough to make him budge. The crowd who had gathered around us gasped. “Where’s Nana?”

Confusion furrowed his brow, and relief washed over me. Maybe Nana had just run back into the house to grab a plate of cookies, or my favorite, her pasta salad.

“She’s in her cabin,” he said gruffly. “But I still need to ask you to leave. Your friends too.”

So he did see Alba and Anders. Interesting.

“We’re not going anywhere until I see Nana.” I met his gaze. “What are you so afraid of that you don’t want to see the two of us together?”

“There’s no need to overreact,” Sage said, wrapping her arm around me in an attempt to pull me away from her mate. But she couldn’t move me. Guess all that kickboxing was no match for real magic. “You’re causing a scene.”

“That’s what I do, right?” I turned to her. “Screw everything up and you’re the one who picks up the pieces. You’re the perfect one who never does anything wrong, but you got cursed with a hot mess of a sister.”

Sage pinched between her eyes. “This isn’t the time.”

“Why not?” I gave her a moment to answer, but no surprise she didn’t. She was the alpha’s mate. She wasn’t used to being questioned. “Is it because Nana is fading away and you’re throwing a party?”

Her mouth dropped. “What do you mean, fading away? And no, that’s not true.”

“Then where is she?”

“In her cabin.”

I pushed past Sage and made a beeline for Nana’s cabin. Heat confirmed Bellamy’s presence behind me.

“Clover, you have no idea what you’re doing.” Sage called after me, but with the wall of magical bear at my back, there was no way she could stop me.

Bellamy almost walked right into me when I stopped, turning to face my sister. Nana might be far from perfect, but she deserved better than this.

“You can save her, you know,” I said.

“Clover,” Alba said softly, nodding to me. “Trust your intuition.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’ve changed.” Sage tipped her head, her brow furrowing with what looked a lot like concern. “Ever since you got back together with Bellamy.”

“He’s not responsible for this.” How could I possibly explain what had happened to someone who didn’t have magic? And why was I trying to dumb this down for her? “I know who I really am now. And you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Explain it to me,” Sage said. Edgar had come to stand behind her, rumbling and ready to unleash some chaos.

“Where’s the locket?” I asked. The crowd around us gasped once again.

“Everyone thinks you stole it,” Sage said. “That you’re using it as some kind of ransom, and that’s why you’ve been missing in action. I think they might be right, since you showed up here with bears we’ve never met before. Are you in trouble, Clover? Again? Are you expecting us to get you out of it?”

“I didn’t steal anything. See, turns out, Nana was using the locket as a ploy to get Bellamy and I back together. Pretty good plan to pretend it was missing, since it worked. But then, the locket really went missing. And that’s when things started to change around here. When I felt like I no longer belonged in this pack. When your mate was all the sudden ready to fight anyone who looks at him sideways. This isn’t about Bellamy. This is about you trying to keep control of your own destiny.”

She shook her head and scoffed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You found out that Nana was sick, and you were scared to death that I’d find out that I had magic,” I said. “You were there when Mom took it away from me. I always thought she’d taken yours too, but it turns out, it came from my father. Not our mom. You didn’t really understand what was going on at the time, but you were sworn to secrecy. There was a reason for that, and you probably still don’t know the whole story. Until now. And because you’ve always done what everyone’s expected, that secret was safe. But if Bellamy was back in the picture, mated to a bear with magic, then Edgar would no longer be alpha.”

“This is ridiculous,” Edgar huffed.

“And it’s why Edgar made the last-ditch attempt to keep me away from Bellamy. But you both know how it is when you find your mate. Nothing will keep you apart, and you’ll do anything to protect them.” My heart was beating so hard I thought it would break a rib. “So you slipped into Nana’s house when she went down to Granger Falls looking for me.”

“That’s preposterous.” Sage scoffed.

I shook my head. “You might have gotten away with it, but the Lynwood clan?—”

“Who the fuck is the Lynwood clan?” Edgar growled.

“They’re a clan who lost their power when Nana took the locket from them. Her magic was stolen. She’s been fooling everyone all this time,” I said. “Meet Alba and Anders Lynwood.”

“We tried to reason with her,” Alba said. “But as you know, Shirley Crowley is a strong-willed bear. She created a beautiful thing here, but she’s not who she claims to be.”

Sage’s mouth fell open, mirroring the expressions of the bears around her. “And we’re supposed to take the word of complete strangers over our own family?”

“They’re my family,” I said. “Anders is my dad. Which makes Alba my other grandmother.”

The Lynwoods looked so proud, so certain, and honestly, it was the only thing keeping me going.

“This is ridiculous.” Sage shook her head.

“It’s not, and I wonder, is this the first time you’ve heard this? Because let’s go back to you sneaking into Nana’s house. You knew if I got my hands on that locket your mate would no longer be alpha. The only way you had a chance to keep your status is if the locket actually went missing. So you took it. Funny how you knew more details about it than I did, when I was supposed to be looking for it.” I gave her a moment to protest, but she didn’t. “I’d like to give it back to Nana. I’m not sure it will be enough to save her, but I’d really love her blessing to bring the clans back together.”

“I would love to help you with this, Clover. But not only is this story batshit crazy, I don’t know where the locket is.”

“I think I do.” My lips curled into a grin. “Wanna help me find it?”

My sister cocked a brow. “Now? In the middle of our feast?”

“Can you think of a better time? Everyone’s already here. We can celebrate.” I didn’t wait for her blessing. I prayed to any deity willing to listen that these visions were right. My magic was as untamed as I was, and trusting it was terrifying. But Bellamy, Alba, and Anders believed in me.

My body shook as I turned the knob on Sage’s front door. We didn’t bother locking things—stranger danger wasn’t an issue with bear clans.

“Clover!” Sage was right behind me. “This is too much.”

Her house was immaculate, a magic feat of its own with two littles. I marched through the living room and straight to the primary bedroom.

I lifted the mattress on Sage’s side of the bed. “I’ll be damned.”

Sage gasped. “How did that get there?”

“You put it there, knowing no one would ever have the balls to accuse the alpha’s mate of a crime.” I scooped up the locket and let it dangle from my finger, unprepared for the power that jolted through me on contact. “Nana used this talisman to destroy one clan. I won’t let you do it to another.”