Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
“Talking to the bears,” she told him.
“How the fuck is that possible?”
“I have no idea, but it’s happening.” She turned to cup his face with one hand. “Please, Damon, trust me. Tell Brock and Arion to stand down.”
She felt the shimmer as both men shifted. A moment later, so did the bears.
Brock gasped. “It’s you.”
“Yes. We are very sorry to scare any of you. That was not our intention,” said the bear Olivia knew was the one she’d been communicating with.
Damon flattened his hand on her stomach, holding her too tight. “Is this the man you spoke to outside your home last year?” Damon asked.
“Yes,” Brock responded. “Why were you lurking around my property?”
The bear responded. “We came to speak to you. When we noticed you were not home and your women were under the protection of one wolf, we decided to wait for your return. We were a distance back in the tree line, but then your mate suddenly shifted, and she sensed us.”
Damon’s fingers stiffened against her. “You could scent them, Olivia?”
“Yes.”
The bear chuckled lightly. “She could do more than scent us. Your new mate can communicate with us.”
“What? Olivia? What does he mean?” Damon asked.
“I don’t know how to explain it. I didn’t think it was strange that I sensed them until I remembered you told me that none of the wolves can scent the bear shifters. You said they mask themselves.”
“Your mate is right, Little wolf,” said the bear. “We’ve never met a wolf who could detect us.”
Damon gasped. “How is that possible? Are you sure?”
“That part doesn’t matter,” said the bear. “Your mate has powers. Powers we’ve never seen in a wolf. It’s fascinating that she’s visually impaired in her human form.”
“My other senses have always been stronger than the average shifter,” Olivia informed them all. “But that’s not unusual. I wasn’t aware my wolf had stronger senses than any other.”
“I suspected, though,” Damon pointed out. “You’ve been telling me you can see things I’m not aware of.”
She chuckled. “The irony. Imagine that. Me? Seeing things better than someone else?”
“My name is Surge,” said the only bear who had spoken.
“And I’m Thorn,” said the other bear, speaking for the first time.
Surge cleared his throat. “We came to warn you that my brother and his friend are once again wreaking havoc. We held them for the past year, but they deceived us. As soon as they were freed, they disappeared. We do not know their intentions.”
Damon drew in a breath. “Thank you. We appreciate the warning. We will spread the word among our leaders, increase our surveillance, and keep a close eye on our pack.”
“I’m sorry we don’t have more information. We are doing everything in our power to find my brother and his friend and stop them from whatever nefarious plans they have, but we did not want to leave you uninformed,” Surge added.
“Thank you,” Arion and Brock said simultaneously.
Olivia felt Surge’s attention turn to her. “You have incredible powers, Little wolf. Take care of her,” he added, his voice carrying slightly more toward Damon. “Thorn and I will meet with our elders and ask them if they’ve ever heard of a wolf with such powers. We will not share that information with anyone else.”
“I would greatly appreciate that,” Damon responded.
“We’ll go now. It was so nice to meet you, Olivia. I’m sorry we frightened your mate and the other members of your pack. It was never our intention.”
Olivia noticed he did not include her in the list of frightened wolves. She had not been scared. She had been curious and confused. “Thank you.” She inhaled deeply over and over as the bears retreated. Even when her mate gave a slight tug, trying to get her to back up, she stopped him with a hand to his wrist.
She continued to face the forest, curious to know when she would no longer scent the bears. It took longer than she expected.
“Little rebel,” Damon whispered in her ear. “You never cease to amaze me.”
Chapter Eighteen
Two weeks later…
“Did you see that butterfly?” Olivia squealed as she jumped up and down, clapping her hands. “It was the prettiest one I’ve ever seen. All the colors of the rainbow.”
Damon smiled as he pulled his Little mate into his arms before lifting her right off the ground and carrying her toward the house. He kissed her several times on the way. “I didn’t see the butterfly, Little rebel, but I bet you can draw me a picture of it so I’ll know what it looked like.”
Olivia giggled as he entered the house. She was dangling in front of him, but she cupped his face and kissed him back. “Thank you for getting me all the art supplies.”
He aimed straight for the nursery where he sat her on the changing table and pulled her dress over her head. “You’re welcome, Baby girl. I’m sorry I didn’t have art supplies on hand when you first arrived. Horrible error on my part. I should not have assumed you wouldn’t be interested in coloring and painting.”