Hard (The Bear Chronicles of Willow Creek #2) (11 page)

Running a hand through his already tousled hair, he sighs before continuing. “I understand where his hatred comes from, but the one thing that meeting you has taught me is that you can’t punish everyone for a mistake they had no part in. As for what will happen today, I promise you there is no reason for you to be so frightened.”

“Your father is going to be down there. Last time he saw me, he wanted to bite my head off, and he tried to hurt you and Ethan in the process,” I explain, placing a hand on my hip. “You need to understand my part in this whole mess. I understand he’s your father, but I also don’t trust him not to try to hurt me again.”

His eyes flash with anger before he blinks it away. “My father will not lay a hand on you. I promise. If he wants to come after you, he’ll need to go through me first. I don’t give a shit if he’s my father. My mate will always come first. End of story.”

Laying a hand over his clenched fist, I do my best to pacify him. “I know you can protect me, Eli. That is something that I’ve never ever doubted.”

Before he can reply, the elevator opens, and I see Amelia and Ethan standing in the hall. Rushing to her, I whisper in her ear, “Has Ethan told you what he is going to do? Has he even decided what he’s going to do yet?”

She shakes her head no and grabs my hand. “He hasn’t told me anything, but I promise you, everything’s going to be okay.”

Eli bends his head down and gives me a quick kiss. “I need to go with Ethan now, Angel. Stay with your sister.”

With that, he and Ethan walk down the hall and enter a room. Amelia leads me to the same room, stopping right before we walk in. “No matter what, Liza, don’t freak out. You need to go into this with an open mind and remember that they don’t live in the same kind of world we do.”

With those words, she opens the door, and I do the exact opposite of what she says, immediately freaking out at the site before me. “What the fuck is going on?”

The room is massive, with ceilings that must be close to forty-feet high, and every square inch is filled with animals. Bears, wolves, and deer are roaming around freely, as panthers and mountain lions stalk near the entrance. Above us, a hawk and an eagle are making slow circles around the room. Their eyes are trained on the double doors at the far end. 

Before I can take any more of my surroundings in, the doors open. Eli and another man are walking in, with his father between the two. They lead him to where Ethan is sitting at a high table with a gavel in his hand. He pounds the gavel once and nods to Eli.  

 My mate lays his hand on his father’s shoulder and says, “Jackson Artair has admitted his guilt and is prepared to accept his sentence.”

“Thank you, cousin,” Ethan replies then looks to his uncle. “You admit your guilt freely?”

Eli’s father nods his head. “Yes, I endangered your mate.”

“And the mate of your son,” Ethan growls out, obviously not liking the fact his uncle is not acknowledging Eli’s claim that I am his mate.

The older man’s back straightens, and he pushes his shoulders back. “At the time, I did not know my son had claimed the human as his.”

Even from the back of the room, I can hear Eli’s growl, but he doesn’t speak. He doesn’t have to because Ethan does it for him. “Is that all she is to you, just a human? You do not claim her as a daughter? As one of your own?”

Eli’s father’s head drops and his shoulders droop as if they are carrying a ton of bricks. “I did not want my son to mate with a human, but I see now that it is not my choice. The fates have spoken, and I have no say in the matter.”

“So, you will accept his mate?” Ethan asks, looking from his uncle to his cousin. “Will you accept any children they may have?”

“If I’m allowed the opportunity, yes, I will.” Eli’s father responds, but he doesn’t sound too happy.

Ethan looks at me. “Liza, what shall his punishment be?”

I’m so shocked that I take a step back. “Why are you asking me? I don’t know.”

Ethan’s face softens as he smiles at me. “At our last tribunal, my mate showed that humans are often more generous with their punishments. As shifters, the only end I see is his death. I do not want to end my uncle’s life, so I ask that you set his punishment instead.”

My brain runs in circles trying to think of something. Anything would be better than death. My eyes lock on Eli’s father, and I can still see the anger burning in them. It pisses me off that this man thinks I’m less than him just because I do not have an animal living inside of me. Suddenly, an idea pops into my head, and I can’t keep the smile off my face. 

“He has to spend at least an hour every day teaching Amelia and me about shifter traditions.” I can hear my sister groan, so I throw an elbow into her side as I go on. “He has to be nice while he’s doing it as well. I want to be able to teach my children about their heritage, and what better way to learn about it all than from someone who has been around much longer than my mate.”

A few of the shifters chuckle, but Eli and Ethan laugh out loud. Finally, my brother-in-law gets control of his humor and looks at his uncle. “Do you agree to this punishment? Will you teach the women about our traditions?”

“Yes,” the older man mumbles.

With a chuckle in his voice, Ethan asks, “Will you be nice while you’re doing it?”

“Yes,” he answers again through clenched teeth. 

Stepping forward, I raise my hand and wait for Ethan to acknowledge me. As soon as he nods my way, I suck in a deep breath and muster up the courage to say the second part of my punishment idea.

“I also want him to go to grief counselling. I think he needs help to get over the tragedy behind his wife’s death, and I think this could be something that would help him. I also think it’s important if the counselling is run by humans, with humans in attendance. I think Mr. Artair could benefit from seeing humans as more than just the enemy. Allow him to see that we hurt just as he does.”

As soon as I get the words out, I slam my mouth shut and stare at the shocked faces in front of me. Before Ethan can speak up, Eli does. “I agree with my mate. I think this is something that could benefit my father greatly.”

Turning, he smiles before throwing a wink at me.

As soon as I see his glowing smile, the tension within me releases, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Good. Then, it’s settled,” Ethan says, banging the gavel against the table. “This meeting is over.”

Chapter Fifteen

Eli

AMELIA SETS
a pork roast on the table as Liza places another beside it and takes her seat. “I’m never gonna get used to cooking for you guys. The amount of food on this table is absolutely ridiculous.”

Grabbing a few slices of meat, I smile at her. “You’re an amazing cook, so you won’t be hearing any complaints from me.”

“It’s not the actual cooking that’s the problem. It’s trying to decide how much to cook that I’m having trouble with,” she says, pushing a stray lock behind her ear. “Amelia is constantly having to tell me to make more. I honestly don’t think I’ll ever be able to figure it out.”

Leaning my body toward hers, I give her a quick kiss before letting my fangs descend. Letting out a growl, I smile at her. “Just remember you’re feeding a hungry bear, Angel. If you don’t feed him enough, he may just be tempted to take a bite out of something else.”

“Two hungry bears,” Ethan says from across the table while filling his plate. “Except, I have my own tasty morsel to take a bite out of if need be.” 

Shaking her head, Amelia doesn’t bother to smile but throws a flirty wink in Ethan’s direction, earning her a groan from her sister.

“Could we make that three?” a voice says from the entry way.

I turn to find Mason standing there with his hands in his pockets. “It sure smells good, but I wouldn’t want to impose.”

I motion for him to sit down as Ethan says, “Come on in. If there’s not enough, I’ll throw some steaks on the grill.”

As soon as Mason sits down, I can tell something is on his mind. “What are you thinking so hard about, Mase?”

He looks between Liza and me before responding. “I heard through the grapevine that you were getting married?”

Slinging an arm over my woman’s shoulder, I nod my head. “We sure are. I needed to stake my claim before she tried to get away from me.”

“He never did actually ask me to marry him, but I guess I’m going to anyway. I’m fairly certain I don’t have much say in the matter,” she says, smirking at me.

I lean down and press a hot kiss against her lips. “There was never a question, babe. You were mine the minute I laid eyes on you. I don’t need to hear the words come out of your mouth to know that you feel the exact same way.”

She blinks her eyes and smiles up at me. “No, I think you have this backwards. You were mine the minute I laid eyes on you.”

“Damn right,” I agree.

Before I can say more, Mason starts talking. “That’s what I want. What you all have. I don’t want to be on my own anymore.”

“Huh?” Ethan mumbles. “What exactly are you talking about?”

“I want a woman of my own, someone who will look past all of my defects,” he confides, ending on a harsh whisper.

Mason was born to a bear father and a bobcat mother. Unlike all of the other cubs born from mixed mating, he has some of his mother’s traits: blond hair, cat eyes, and it’s said they he even purrs at times. Because of this, many of our own kind look at him as a freak, not even considering mating with him. Those who have let him into their bed enjoy telling everyone what it’s like fucking a mutant. Considering that we are all different in one way or another, their attitudes piss me off. 

“Are you asking to be the next to take a human wife?” Ethan asks, grabbing another roll. “I gotta tell you, there are quite a few shifters coming to me now that they have seen Amelia and Liza.”

Mason nods, grabbing a spoonful of potatoes and placing them on the plate that Amelia sat in front of him. “Yes, I want a wife. I think a human may be the only one able to look past my issues.”

“What issues?” Liza asks, never one to be shy.

His hand goes to his buzzed hair, and he pastes on a smile. “My blonde hair and my eyes.”

She stares at him a second before looking at Amelia. “Is this one of those things that I’ll understand in time?”

Her sister tosses her hands up and replies, “Hell if I know. I’ve seen a lot of people with blonde hair. I didn’t realize it was a bad thing.”

“I’m a bear,” Mason explains, shaking his head at them. “All bears have brown or black hair. Not to mention that not only are my eyes the wrong color, but I have the eyes of a cat. I’m the most fucked up grizzly bear anyone’s ever seen.”

“So what? You’re hot as hell. You’ve kinda got that Liam Hemsworth look going on,” Liza says, drawing a growl from me. She simply pats my arm and keeps on talking to him. “Human women will go crazy for you. I honestly don’t see how the color of your hair or your eyes makes a damn bit of difference anyways. Really, Mason, from what Eli’s said about you and the bit I’ve learned on my own, any woman would be lucky to have you.”

“Really?” Mason asks, looking between the two women. “Are you sure? You really think so?”

The excitement pouring off of him at this moment is enough to make even my black heart go weak. I’ve always known that Mason has struggled, but up until this moment, I never realized just how bad it was for him.

Amelia nods her agreement. “She’s right, and I think I know the perfect woman for you.”

Getting up, she walks across the room and grabs her laptop. Carrying it to Mason, she starts hitting the keys. Less than a minute later, she points at a picture. “That is our foster sister, Josie. We haven’t seen her in a while now, but from what I know about you and what I remember about her, I think you two would be perfect together.”

The moment his eyes land on Josie’s picture, I can hear Mason’s bear begin to growl. His teeth elongate as his claws grow to sharp points, all at the same time. He places his hand on the screen, as if he is touching the woman, and says her name. “Josie.”

Liza claps her hands before jumping from her seat and running over to look at the laptop. “I miss her so much. It would be great to have her here.”

Again, Mason’s hand goes to his nearly bald head. “Are you sure she won’t mind my hair?”

Both women smile and shake their heads, but it’s my mate that answers. “She’ll be ready to jump your bones the minute she sees you. Trust me on this one, Mason.”

Turning toward Ethan, Mason gives a single nod. “It’s her. She’s the one I want. What do I need to do to make it happen?”

Smiling, Ethan just chuckles and reaches for the laptop. “Don’t you worry about it, Mase. I’ll take care of everything and let you know when it’s all been finalized.”

The smile that takes over Mason’s face is absolutely massive. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen him look this damn happy. He’s more of the dark brooding type, always off on his own and preferring to keep to himself.

After catching a glimpse at the smile on his face, I can’t help but smile myself. “Well, I guess another one bites the dust.”