Page 12 of Bear Protector
The answer was both, but it was too early to let Liam into his plan. “Get your mind off my package and worry about your own. I hear it’s been months since you had a woman, Liam,” he joked.
Liam had a smug grin on his face. “Your access to our camp’s rumor mill is sorely lacking, fucker.”
“Yes,Iam the fucker, Liam. Andyouare the…un-fuckable.”
“It’s kind of interesting you think so because that, my friend, is not what your momma told me.”
Xander laughed hard for the first time in days. Liam was the only person with whom he could be himself. All the other shifters saw him as the alpha, a larger-than-life leader meant to rule. “Keep my momma out of it, shithead. In any case, if you’re not careful, you’re liable to go blind next time you jerk off.”
“Have you not learned? You can fool everyone, but you cannot trick me.” Liam pulled Xander aside, looking in all directions to make sure no one was close enough to hear them. “What exactly do you plan on doing with that witch?” he demanded in a fierce whisper.
It appeared that Xander would share his plan for Kiera after all.
5
Kiera
Kiera stared out the window of the carriage as the Chancellors guards returned her to the fortress. She was alone. Apparently, Coco had asked them to take her back after storming out of the Great Hall. The news of Coco’s departure was unsettling. It spoke volumes, filling Kiera’s mind with many more questions that she had about her meeting.
How could Coco just up and leave her there?
What was the reason for Xander’s grudge with the Chancellor?
Why did Xander get under Kiera’s skin so easily?
And where was all this lust and desire coming from all of a sudden?
He was unlike anything she had expected. The man was not the big, brutish oaf portrayed by the Chancellor. He was intuitive, insightful, and his presence had filled the room. She could see why he was the alpha of his species. His men would likely follow him anywhere he asked. Of course, some of the rumors about him were true. He was blunt to the point of rudeness, holding nothing back, not even his accusations about the Chancellor. He spoke to her as though they were equals, which deep down, was refreshing. She agreed that he was her equal, even if he had to remind her of that a few times. Thank the stars that the Chancellor was not around, because he would have openly stated that Xander was a shifter.
A Kodiak bear.
An animal.
Not an equal.
One thing she did not anticipate was her own reaction to him. Goodness, she would have given anything for a basin of water in a back room somewhere to splash on her face and take her mind off of her attraction to him. After Xander had taken the seat beside her, she was ready to jump out of her skin. Either that or climb into his lap, the way heat pooled between her legs and lit up her insides. And that touch of his lips on her hand caused even more electricity to course through her body. Coco had hit the mark when she said that Kiera was drawn to him.
For a moment, her focus turned to Coco again. Kiera needed to confront her familiar. Between the witch master and the familiar, there was an undeniable, indestructible, life-long bond for the witch. Their connection was soul deep, so if Coco knew anything about the death of the eight Chosen witches as Xander stated, she could not hide it. Her stomach turned. Was Coco truly offended by Xander, or did she return to the fortress to avoid confrontation?
Kiera’s thoughts were unsettled. She could not rest until she knew the truth.
For a short, tense, seemingly unproductive meeting, it left her questioning everything. The only part she was not perplexed about was Xander’s recognition of her magic. It was true that she was the most powerful witch in the region, but she hesitated to admit it to anyone. Chancellor Minassus saw things that way too, and he could not be wrong because he was the wisest person Kiera knew. Differences aside, she trusted the Chancellor. He had become like a father to her.
The Chancellor was the closest thing to family that Kiera had since the Big Storm. As he was a strong clairvoyant, he had sensed her powers nine years ago, in that very instant that she became aware of the approaching winter storm and thus the destroyers. Right after her mother passed, her father brought word that the Chancellor had summoned her to report to the castle within forty-eight hours. Her father was killed by a destroyer that same winter, which was when Chancellor Minassus took her in. In the months following her move to the fortress, the Chancellor had explained that her abilities went beyond simple premonition. He called it untapped cosmic awareness, and continually reminded her that her vision all those years ago was just the tip of the iceberg.
It occurred to her that Xander could have been lying about the eight witches. She usually sensed deception in people. Except, he was the first shifter she had ever met in person.
God!
She raised both hands to the sides of her head, running her hands from her hairline into her loose bun. These conflicting details, her out of control physical urges, and Coco’s departure turned the entire situation into complete frustration. It would take a full hour of meditative incantations to calm her mind. On entering the fortress, she made a decision. Reporting to the Chancellor should have been first on her list, but searched for Coco instead. She was not in the fortress, and had probably opted to take on bird form and fly somewhere far enough away that Kiera could not question her.
Frustrated, she headed for the laboratory instead. Her good friend and botanist, Reena, would be there. Last night at supper, she had made Kiera promise to give a full report on her meeting with Xander as soon as she had the chance. Well, now was as good a time as any, because all Kiera wanted to do was unburden herself. She could do that with Reena, so long as no one else was around—and only if the Chancellor was attending to other affairs.
Reena was too busy to notice Kiera entering the laboratory. Her blonde hair was piled on top of her head and covered by a clear hairnet, horn-rimmed glasses were halfway down her nose, and she wore a white lab coat buttoned up over a gray calf-length tunic. As usual, she was bent over a long, wooden section of her research area, working on her plants. The woman was a rare breed of witch who was just as gifted at herbalism for magic as she was in science. Every fortress witch and most of the scientists turned to Reena when they needed information on a plant or herb.
During the cold months, she would cultivate most of the critical ingredients for spells in a tiny greenhouse off the kitchen, using ingenious tricks and spells to allow for accelerated growth indoors. In the late spring and summer, she would boldly venture to all corners of the island to source plants and herb. Reena was fearless, frequently going outside the boundary walls during the warmer months, at the frustration of the Chancellor’s personal guards and the Border Protection Unit.
“How are you doing today?” Kiera asked. Reena jumped and pivoted around, then the two of them giggled in unison. “Deep in your work as always.”
