A Promise on White Wings (Wiccan-Were-Bear) (6 page)

“Better than the first time.”

“It’s always hardest the first time.”

She came out of the bathroom and leaned against the doorway.  “Should I try shifting again?”

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Jes said.  “You could tire yourself out.  You can try again in the morning.”

He held out his hand to her, and she hesitated, not joining them.  He was about to ask her what was wrong when she said, “They’re going to come for me.  Whatever you did to get me out of the den and away from my people will only deter them for a while.”

Chance darted off the bed, scooped her up in his arms and tossed her next to Jes.  She bounced once with a squeal before Chance leapt back onto the bed and caged her with his body over hers.

“You’re wearing my fang marks on your neck and Jes’ talon marks on your arm.  What we did tonight means that you’re ours forever and we’re yours forever.  No matter what fucked up claim that male had on you, it was false.  You’re Jes’ prophesied mate.”  He straddled her legs and sat up, drawing his hands down her body.  “And you’re my
katja
, the mate of my soul.  No one on earth will take you from us.”

She bit her bottom lip and tears welled in her eyes.  “You promise you can share me?  Forever?”

Jes and Chance both nodded.  Jes knew that it would be difficult, but nothing worth having was easy.

“We promise, Danika,” Jes secured her hand with his.  “Whatever happens with your den, you’re safe here with us, and no matter what, you’re our mate and that’s all that really matters.”

Her fears seemed to ease, but not entirely disappear, and Jes took that as a good sign that she trusted them at least on the surface.  Being mates meant that there was an inherent trust between them already, but it was a thin trust, shallow like a puddle after a rainstorm.  But it would grow and deepen, until the trust between the three of them was as wide and deep as the ocean, and as powerful as the waves that broke across the shore.

“We should get some rest,” Jes said, picking up her hand and kissing her palm.  He looked at Chance as he eased off of Danika and settled on her other side.

Chance nodded and picked up her other hand.  Jes could tell that they felt the connection to each other the way that he did to them.  He felt as if Chance had become a brother, and their new mission in life was to protect their mate and their future offspring.

Danika yawned and Chance said, “Let’s rest,
katja
.  We can talk more tomorrow.”

She leaned forward and kissed both of them.  “We’ve got the rest of our lives.”

Jes got up to extinguish the candles and then returned to bed.  Danika settled between him and Chance, and exhaustion fell over him as he moved close to his mate and cradled her hand against his chest.

Great Falcon
,
help me keep her safe.

Jes woke up at dawn, even though it had been well past midnight by the time he fell asleep.  He was always an early riser, and his parents had teased him, quoting the saying about the early bird getting the worm.  It was hard-wired into his DNA.  He just couldn’t sleep late.

He rose quietly and grabbed a pair of slacks out of the closet.  When he came back out into the room, he saw the glint of Chance’s eyes and knew he was awake now.  Jes whispered, “I’m going to check on the situation with her den.”

Chance nodded and Jes smiled as Danika turned into Chance’s side and snuggled closer but flung an arm out behind her as if she were searching for him.  Even in her sleep she wanted both mates with her.  It was tempting to stay in bed with her, but he needed to know if anything had happened overnight with her den and begin the process of moving the rest of the lions into the nest.  His to-do list for the day was a mile long and the sun was barely above the horizon.

He met Ley in the kitchen.  He turned around with a mug of coffee in his hand and gave it to Jes.  “Did you and your mate and the lion Prince sleep well, Sire?”

Jes smiled at Ley’s formality.  “We did.  Thank you for all of your preparations.  How did you know that we would need blackberries?”

Ley looked thoughtful.  “There was something in the air last night, Sire.  I don’t really know how to explain it.  I was thinking about the prophecy the Wiccans shared about you and our people, and when I was preparing the late meal for you, blackberries seemed like a wise addition.  Did you need them?”

Nodding, Jes said, “Yes.  Our mate shifted last night, but only partially, into something like a hybrid of falcon and lion.  The blackberries were needed and appreciated.”

Ley blushed scarlet and busied himself cleaning off the counter that was already spotless.  He didn’t like to be praised for doing what he believed was his calling in life.  Taking care of the leader of the Bishop Nest was all that Ley wanted to do, and he was the very best.

Jes turned from the kitchen to go to his office and stopped, saying, “Do you know where my brothers are?”

Ley looked over his shoulder.  “I saw them head to their rooms not too long ago.  I set up rooms for the pride in the East wing, the King is still up in the War Room.”

Jes wasn’t surprised that Jantha was still up.  Like Jes, Jantha cared about his people and would want to watch over things personally.  Jes didn’t feel guilty for spending the night taking care of his mate.  He trusted his brothers and the males who were trained in their military to handle things in his absence.  If there had been a serious issue, he knew that no matter what was going on behind the closed doors, his brothers would have interrupted him if they needed him.

The War Room was a large conference room on the first floor.  The table was twenty-feet long, carved by hand from a single piece of solid oak.  His grandfather, who had been a master craftsman, created it.  Scenes of famous falcon battles were carved in the center of the table, and Jes had spent many hours as a child staring at the images of the warriors with their broad wings and long swords.  In times past, the War Room was named so because every nest leader had a place where he would meet with his most trusted advisors during times of war.  Now, the War Room was where he met with his highly ranked males to discuss nest affairs.  It was more Board Room than War Room, but the traditional name was kept.

Two guards opened the elaborately carved double doors of the War Room as Jes approached, ducking their heads in deference.  He found Jantha sitting not at the long table, but at the bank of monitors displaying the security camera images.

Two of his computer techs – twin falcons Frost and Glacier – were manning the cameras and reporting anything and everything to the males who walked along the stone wall.

Jantha turned slowly in the desk chair and cracked his neck.  “You’ve got a very good team of males in the nest, Jes.  I’m impressed.”

Jes smiled and leaned against the table, crossing his arms.  “Our people’s safety is important to everyone in the nest, especially those who can’t protect themselves like our fledglings.”

Jantha gestured to the bank of monitors.  “It’s been quiet all night.  I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.  I tried to contact Adriel to find out what was going on with the other den, but his phone went straight to voicemail, and I didn’t want to involve any other were-houses in your business.”

“I’ll try Adriel in a little while.”

Jantha yawned and stood, stretching.  “I’m going to find the room your man Ley told me about and take a nap.”

Jes nodded.

Before Jantha left the room he said, “We should talk.  Later.”

“Of course.”

Jes knew that it would be about the prophecy and the fact that overnight he had basically invited a new were-group to move into the nest.

When the doors shut behind Jantha, Jes said, “Frost, would you put out a blast message to the nest and tell them that I expect every member of the nest aged eighteen and older to report to the garden at eight a.m. today.  Attendance is mandatory.”

“Right away, Sire,” Frost said.

Glacier turned in the chair and looked at Jes with his icy blue eyes.  White stripes wove through his long, black hair, the same as Frost’s.  “There will be some who will protest, Sire.”

“I’m aware of that, Glacier.”  He softened his tone.  “Things in the nest changed overnight.  They can protest all they like, but it doesn’t change what’s happened.”

Frost, who kept his striped hair short, looked over his shoulder and smiled.  “I’m glad you found your mate, Sire.  You deserve happiness.”

Jes left his best techs to their work and headed up to his office.  Even though his dad liked to tease him about being an early riser, he was one as well, so Jes Skyped him, taking a drink of coffee while he waited for his dad to answer.

“Good morning, Son,” his dad said, raising his mug in greeting when his image appeared on the screen.

“Good morning, Dad.”

His dad hummed.  “I can tell by the look on your face that you’re not calling to ask me my opinion on rankings or where to buy the best steel for swords.”

Shaking his head, Jes said, “I found my mate last night, Dad.”

His eyes widened in surprise.  He put down his mug and said, “That’s wonderful news!”  Jes paused long enough that his dad asked, “Perhaps it’s not?”

“No, it’s great news of course, but there are some issues with the mating, and I wanted to talk to you about it.”

“I’m all ears, Son, you know that.”

Sitting back in his chair, Jes’ dad picked up his coffee mug and waited for Jes to explain what was going on.  When he finished the tale, his dad said, “The meeting is a good start.  Some of the older falcons will take issue with making a non-falcon their Queen, and then there’s the issue of the tri-mating.  Even if they were both falcons, there are those who would take issue with a polyandrous relationship.  The important thing, Jes, is that you don’t bow down to pressure.  If someone wants to challenge you for the right to lead your nest, then he may feel free to do so, but he’ll have to fight his way up the chain of hierarchy, and only the most determined could do that and none would get past your brothers.

“If they want to secede from the nest, then they’ll do so without honor and no nest will take them.”

Jes frowned.  He hadn’t considered that anyone would leave the nest because of it.  He expected some complaints, especially from the members who wanted Jes to mate with a female falcon.  But for some to actually leave over it made his heart twinge.  He didn’t want to lose any of his people.  He’d fought hard to be a good and fair leader.

His dad tapped his finger on his desk and brought Jes’ attention back to him.  “If they leave over your choice of truemate and a prophecy, then you don’t need them in the nest anyway.”

He always appreciated his dad’s straight forwardness.  They talked for a little while longer about the lions and the bear den and the potential issues with combining two were-groups.  When they’d finished discussing business, his mother appeared on the screen, elbowing his dad over so she could see.

“We want to come up and meet your mate, Jesuit, and her other mate.”

He smiled.  His mother was very pushy when it came to her family, but she was one of the most loving women he’d ever known.

“After things are settled with her den, Mom.”

“You won’t marry her legally until we’re there, will you?  It’s tradition for the females in the nest to wear their future mother-in-law’s gown.”

“I promise we won’t, Mom.”  Behind his mom, his dad rolled his eyes and made faces, causing Jes to have a difficult time keeping a straight face.

She said irritatedly, “I can see your reflection in the computer screen, Brannif.”

“Uh-oh, Dad,” Jes laughed.

His mom cleared her throat.  “Feel free to start working on a grandchild for me, though,” she said as she winked, blew him a kiss, and walked away.

Jes said goodbye to his dad and closed out the program, leaning back in his chair and swiveling it side to side with his foot.  He hoped that he and Danika would share a love like his parents had someday.

His cell beeped and he answered it.  Adriel said, “I hope you are well, Jes.”

“I am, thank you.”

“And your mate?”

“She’s fine, too.  Thank you for checking on us.   I was just about to give you a call.”

“The den wants to challenge you for Danika.  Elizabeth spoke to the King at length about the prophecy, but Kajika is a very honorable
old
bear, and it’s a blast to his pride that you were able to escape with the girl.  Prophecy or not, he wants his son, Mato, to have an opportunity to fight for her.”

“I expected as much,” Jes said, although he would have preferred if the bears had just headed back home without causing a problem.

“You may use our property for the fight.  It will be in human form of course, with no weapons.  When would you like me to set it up?”

Jes exhaled sharply and said, “Tomorrow night.”

Adriel paused and then said, “I intervened as much as I could, but they are an alliance within our people, and I could only push so much before he threatened the alliance.”

“Thank you.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As he hung up, he found Chance standing in the doorway.  “Are you ready to talk?”

Jes nodded and gestured to two leather overstuffed chairs against the wall.  He took one chair and Chance took the other.

“She still asleep?”

“Yeah.  Ley is hanging around outside the door and said he would call for us if he heard her wake up.  I thought it was as good a time as any to talk.”

“I agree.”

During the hour before the nest meeting, Jes and Chance talked about sharing Danika and what their new family was going to be like.  Jes found Chance easy going, but with a subtle savagery that told him that Chance could turn feral in a heartbeat if someone he loved was in trouble.

Running the nest was difficult and time consuming.  Knowing that Danika was going to be well protected with Chance set some of his worries at ease.  And if something were to happen to him when Mato challenged him for Danika, then he knew that Chance would keep her safe.

He’d never considered dying before, not really.  There was the time when he was first learning to fly and his wings wouldn’t expand.  He almost crashed into a house.  His short life had flashed before his eyes, and he’d been sure he was going to die a horribly painful death.  But this was different.  This was him standing up and saying that Danika was worth fighting for and possibly dying for.  She was still a stranger to him at the moment, but something deep inside gripped his soul when it came to her, and there wasn’t anything on earth that he wouldn’t do to keep her safe and out of the hands of the den.  No matter what, Jes would fight ferociously for Danika.  She was worth his best, because she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.