Page 66 of My Unbearable Mate

“Hear me out. Then I’ll answer anything I haven’t already cleared up for you.”

“I can do that.” Inside, I cursed myself. After my mate left our land bloody and broken, I had every right to demand answers from her. But taking control of the situation was simply what she did.

She’s scared, my bear said. Because you’re in control.

“As you know, we mislead you about your magic.” Nana let out a shaky sigh. “The truth is, your magic is more potent than any of us have ever seen. None of us knew how to nurture something that far surpassed our abilities. Some of the elders thought that unmanaged magic could put our clan at risk.”

“Why would they be threatened by a little girl?” I asked. “Seems to me, the power would’ve made our pack stronger. Unless we didn’t want to be noticed.”

“In retrospect, you’re correct. We thought that with time, we’d learn to manage your magic, and teach you how to use it. But then Bellamy showed that he had power too. Not as strong as yours, but we feared that had we let you go through with mating ceremony, we’d create a bear so powerful that we wouldn’t be able to contain them.”

“So Bellamy’s power was stolen too?”

“It wasn’t developed,” she clarified. “He’s not as powerful as you, and as alpha, it wouldn’t have seemed unusual for him to have power.”

Later, I’d be pissed about the double standard, but right now I’d revel in the fact that I was right.

“It was decided that it would be best for the pack if you were kept apart. It wasn’t solely my decision, but I have to admit, I supported it, and I was the one who cast the spell that convinced you to reject him.”

It took everything I had not to scream I knew it. The life I could’ve had if Nana hadn’t spelled me flashed before my eyes.

“Nana, how could you do that?” Forget being pissed later. My heart broke for Bellamy. He’d lost everything because the elders were too intimidated by our power. “You made me humiliate him. Made me think I didn’t want him.”

“As soon as I did it, I knew I made a terrible mistake. I hoped that your power would be stronger than my spell and it would fail, but instead, it made your conviction stronger. I don’t expect either of you to forgive me for this, because I’ve never forgiven myself for betraying both of you, and my clan.”

“You took my mate from me. He was supposed to be alpha.” There were no words for how deceived I felt. “My whole life has been a lie.”

“I know. The elders assured me that a bear as magnetic as you would find another mate, and he’d be so head over heels for you that you’d forget about Bellamy. But you never did, and I decided to right this wrong. Once I saw Bellamy on TV, as part of the team that helped that reality show gal bring down that awful wolf, I knew it was my turn to play matchmaker.”

“I guess I can thank Barrett for bringing me to my mate…or destroying my clan. Or maybe both.” Wait a minute. “Is the locket even missing?”

It had to be, if the Lynwoods knew about it. They knew about me.

Nana sighed. “It wasn’t. It was supposed to be a cute way to get the two of you talking to each other. But when I came back from Granger Falls after you didn’t come home…I discovered it was gone. As you saw, all hell has broken loose in its absence.”

“Maybe it’s karma,” I said. “Because I heard you stole the locket.”

I swear I could feel her bristle through the phone. “I don’t know where you heard that, but it’s not true.”

I wouldn’t argue with her, because this might be my only chance to get the information I needed. “So let me get this straight. The missing locket is the reason Edgar attacked Bellamy?”

“It’s possible, but it’s more than that. My body is changing.”

“I’m not sure I’m following.”

“The locket’s magic might have been keeping me alive,” she said. “If we don’t find it, I’m not sure how much longer I’ve got.”

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

An Inside Job

Clover

Leaving Bellamy’s office, I felt like I was walking through taffy. My body was numb. If we didn’t find this locket, the clan could descend even further into chaos. Nana could die. Edgar might call himself alpha, but Nana was the leader of the pack. Without her…

No, I couldn’t even think about it. I wouldn’t mourn her while she was still here. My nana might be a lot of things, and no matter what we found, badass would always be one of them. I took after her in that regard.

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