Page 16 of Bear Your Fate

Decisions were going to be made for their future well before they should be, and the councils were going to be involved when they shouldn’t be. People who didn’t have their best interests at heart had ripped the control away from our family. For whatever reason, they wanted to cause harm to our family through the twins. That was unacceptable. Not when I had no doubt Nixon and Nyssa would be accepted by those who loved them whether they turned out to be witch, shifter, or a combination of both.

“We won’t let that happen,” Carrick assured me. “The person behind this either did it out of fear of the unknown—since Nixon and Nyssa are the first children born of a recognized union between a witch and a shifter—or because of their exclusionist beliefs.”

I hoped it was the latter since I’d been battling those kinds of people within my community with much success for the last nine months. They believed witches and shifters should remain separate because that’s how it had always been, but they weren’t necessarily afraid of shifters. They could be reasoned with; convinced to let the matter be since a mingling of our communities didn’t necessarily mean they had to be welcoming to the other side.

Outright fear of the kind of power Nixon and Nyssa might wield when they grew older would be trickier to battle. It would require a show of force so compelling that they’d back down. We’d need to convince them that it was futile to go after the twins because they’d never succeed. That they’d only bring unwanted attention to themselves and those they loved. Or else they’d never stop coming after them. Nixon and Nyssa would never be given the chance to grow into the people they were supposed to become. We had no choice but to succeed since their entire future was at stake—along with the fate of any other babies born from shifter-witch pairings.

Luckily for us, we had staunch allies who’d stand with us against our newest enemy. Carrick froze for a moment after he opened the rear door of the car waiting for us after we stepped off the plane. He shielded my body as he leaned in and did a quick scan before nodding his head and ushering me in. Two people were waiting inside; a man I’d only met once but had heard much about—Seth, the head of the shifter council—and a woman I’d never seen before. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders protectively, in a gesture similar to Carrick’s with me once we got settled on the seat opposite them.

“I recently heard an outrageous rumor about how you found Jane. Something you neglected to mention six months ago when I met your lovely mate.”

I looked up at Carrick in surprise since I hadn’t heard that gossip, and then my jaw dropped open at Seth’s reply.

“That’s a perfect example of the pot calling out the kettle considering what’s going on between you and Audra. She is the mother of your daughter-in-law, after all. And a witch.”

11

Carrick

It was a good thing Seth’s mate elbowed him in the side as she chided him to be nice, or else I would have been sorely tempted to punch him in the face. Audra had tensed up, and I didn’t appreciate anyone making her feel uncomfortable. Not even the head of the council. And especially not when he was using our new relationship to do it. I’d had a hard enough time getting her to say yes in the first place, I didn’t need someone giving her a reason to rethink that decision.

“It’s fine,” Audra reassured me, patting my thigh.

“I’m sure Seth didn’t mean it the way that came out. He’s a little sensitive about how we met, and sometimes he overcompensates for that in order to deflect attention.” The council leader’s mate leaned forward and held out her hand to Audra. “I’m Jane, the mate he found through a matchmaker.”

“A matchmaker?” Audra echoed as they shook hands. “I didn’t realize shifters had those like the humans do.”

“We don’t. Not really. The one he used to find me is kind of an unusual exception, but she has an unerring knack for finding mates.”

“Yeah, unusual is one way to put it,” Seth muttered under his breath.

“Don’t mind him,” Jane told me as she shook my hand next. “It’s hard for an alpha to admit to needing help with something as personal as finding their mate, especially since his best friend loves to tease him about it unmercifully.”

“Oh, I’m sure Carrick understands,” Audra snorted. “I can only imagine how grumbly he’d be in your mate’s place.”

“Hey!” I protested, glancing at Seth. He gave me a slight shake of his head, and I caught the hint. His frustration didn’t stem from any embarrassment he felt over using a matchmaker. Any shifter worth his salt would use any means available to them to find their fated mate. Pride had no place in matings.

If he was deflecting conversations away from how they met, it had to be out of a desire to protect his mate from any comments that might hurt her feelings. Considering how quick I was to shut down what he’d been saying about how Audra and I had met, I couldn’t blame him.

“That’s okay. I’m sure Seth will get over his irritation when Jared, his best friend, finds his mate. Seth has already set a plan in motion for the matchmaker to hunt her down. It’s the perfect solution because then Jared will never be able to tease him about it again.”

“That was quite clever,” I complimented the wolf alpha.

“I’m good at being cunning. It’s a big part of why I was appointed as head of the council”—his expression turned serious—“and it’s why I arranged for us to meet your plane in the limo you’d already arranged for…so it wouldn’t be traced back to me in any way. Nobody can know we’ve met before the meeting this evening. I had them pick us up in the underground parking garage at the council’s office, and Damien was the only enforcer present. My car is already there, and Damien will let me know when it’s safe for Jane and me to exit the limo. It’ll be conveniently parked next to my vehicle, on the passenger side. Anyone driving up once we’re out of limo will assume that we’ve just exited my car instead.”

I couldn’t fault his logic. Any calls between us would leave a paper trail, and using Damien as our go-between worked best for shorter messages. “I appreciate the effort you put in to give us the opportunity to strategize.”

“Hopefully you’re as appreciative of the other steps I’ve already taken on Nixon and Nyssa’s behalf.”

“Give him the chance to explain,” Audra urged, running her hand along my thigh in a soothing gesture when my muscles locked from the effort it took to hold my bear back from attacking the wolf who it felt had treaded too close to territory it consider his. In his mind, the safety of Nixon and Nyssa fell to him because they were clan.

“The only efforts I’ve made were diplomatic. I haven’t interfered with anything you’ve done to protect your family,” Seth explained. “Although I can understand why you’d have your doubts after I stood by and let Selene put herself at risk when she proved herself to the shifter community, I would never do anything to jeopardize your grandchildren. They’re cubs. Tiny, defenseless”—his hand slid from Jane’s shoulders to wrap around her waist, his hand covering her lower belly—“and deserving of protection by all shifters.”

I understood the meaning behind his gesture. Knowing he’d brought his pregnant mate to our meeting eased my bear’s anger because it was a demonstration of his trust in me. “What diplomatic steps have you taken?”

“I’ve reached out to the other representatives on the council to feel them out, see where their heads were at in regards to the petition that’s been filed.”

“What’d they have to say?”

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