Page 22 of Bear Your Fate

“If you think of how you’d like me to pay you back, I’ll be in Bear Creek for another day or two.”

I got out of the car and turned to quirk a brow at him. “Does Carrick know you’re planning on staying in his town?”

“No, but I’ll be sure to inform the alpha,” Damien chuckled as I shut the door and he reversed out of the driveway.

“Mom! You’re back!” Selene called. She was standing in the doorway of her home, one baby bundled to her chest in a cloth carrier and the other nestled in the crook of her arm. It was hard to believe that my baby girl was all grown up with children of her own now.

“I am!” I rushed forward and gave her and Nixon each a kiss on the cheek before I stole Nyssa from her. “And I swear these two look like they’ve already grown while I was gone.”

“Nixon definitely has. He’s put on an entire pound since we brought him home from the hospital.”

“A whole pound!” I gave him another kiss before we walked into the house. “He’s going to grow up to be big like his dad.” And his super sexy grandfather.

“And Nyssa’s a tiny thing.”

“Just like you when you were a baby.” I snuggled Nyssa close to my body. “How’re they sleeping?”

“Their late morning naps seem to be the best.” Selene walked into the kitchen to check the clock on the stove. “And it’s time to put them down or else I’ll miss the perfect window for it since they’re both fed with dry diapers.”

I helped her get the babies settled in, and we spent about half an hour catching up on all things Nixon and Nyssa. “How long are they usually down for their late morning naps?”

“We’ll probably have another hour.”

“Great! I can get lunch started and catch you up on any laundry you haven’t been able to finish while you take a little rest too.”

I went to stand, but Selene stopped me by placing her hand on my arm. “Actually, there’s a spell I wanted to talk to you about.”

“What kind of spell?”

“One that’ll give Carrick the chance to have a new fated mate.” I barely heard her explanation of how she’d tinkered with a love spell for the past nine months, driven by her desire to see her father-in-law happily mated.

“We should do it,” I found myself saying. “Right now.”

“But shouldn’t we wait until we’ve talked to Carrick again. He was adamant that the spell wasn’t necessary.”

I was sure he had been, but I also couldn’t let Selene wait until after she tried to get him to agree again. By then, it would be too late and Carrick would put a stop to the whole thing by telling everyone we were in love and he wanted to take me as his mate. It was one thing to say yes when there wasn’t any hope of him having a fated mate of his own. But it was entirely different knowing that there was a possibility for him to have another chance, as slim as it might be since the kind of magic Selene wanted to do had never been done before. I refused to stand in the way of that for him. I loved him enough that I was willing to risk my happiness to ensure he had everything he’d ever dreamed of.

And deep down inside, under the fear of what I might lose because of this decision, there was a kernel of hope. Maybe the tingling in my wrist was a sign from the Goddess. Maybe Carrick and I truly were fated to be together, but our love had to be tested first. It had never worked that way for another witch and their consort before, but Selene and Camden had proven that what was previously thought to be impossible could happen. Selene got her consort mark before they actually met. Maybe mine was just slow in coming where hers had been early.

It might have been a ridiculous rationalization, but I held onto it in the hours it took for us to set everything up for the spell. By the time the babies went back down for their afternoon naps, we were ready.

“Are you sure about this?”

“I am, my darling girl.” Carrick’s happiness was worth any risk, and the hours Selene had spent working on this had resulted in a spell that I thought had a decent chance of working. And I was almost positive that I’d figured out a way to make sure that I was the one who’d suffer from magical recoil once the spell was done. My daughter had two babies to look after, so I’d made tiny tweaks to ensure I was the one to bear that burden.

“Okay, let’s do this.” Selene carried the baby monitor out to the back yard and set it on the porch railing before we walked to the circle we’d arranged. We sat on opposite sides, in meditation poses while facing each other.

As we began to chant, power circled around us and swept through every inch of my body. It pulsed and grew as the words spilled from our lips. Faster and faster. The air around us crackled with magic. Thunder roared and lightning flashed across the perfectly blue sky. My eyes were locked on my daughter, watching as a wave formed around her body. It twisted and turned as the water spun in a circle. But then the back door to the house opened, and it felt like time stood still as Carrick and Damien stepped onto the porch.

“Audra?” His dark gaze moved to Selene and stunned shock filled his eyes. “Selene! No! I told you I didn’t want you to work this spell. The risks are too high, and I’ve no need for a fated mate.”

“Let them finish,” Damien urged, gripping his arm to hold him back.

“Who are you to play Fate with our lives?”

“You trusted me to help keep Audra safe. Trust me in this too.”

Carrick didn’t have a choice because Selene and I uttered the final words of the spell and the water that had been circling her raced towards him. It swept around him, lifting him off his feet and turning him in circles. Selene and I rose to our feet, watching in awe as the shadow of an enormous black bear separated from Carrick’s body and roared. Its giant head swiveled in our direction, its eyes locked on me as the shadow was pulled back inside. As soon as man and bear were reunited, the water evaporated and Carrick dropped to the patio floor. Based on what I’d just seen; I was certain the spell had worked. But what I didn’t know was if Fate had decided that I should be his new mate.

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