Claused: BBW Holiday Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Christmas Bears Book 2) Read online

  “Delicious,” she breathed when he pulled back from her.

  “I agree.” His eyes were trapped by hers, and she knew in this moment if she asked him to, he would go and scale the walls of Lance DeVere’s mansion, if it had walls, and knock down his door, and fight to the death to retrieve her wand.

  That was something she would never ask him to do. As their gaze held, she had the feeling she might just have found something worth more to her than magic wands.

  That scared the hell out of her.

  Chapter Nine – Kain

  He could stand and stare at her all day. Well, more than stare but he knew this meant a lot to her and he didn’t want to come between her and her work. If he was lucky, he wouldn’t get called into work. Earlier, while making coffee, he’d tried to call Bas and get him to come back to town and cover for him, but there had been no connection.

  Bas would be high up in the mountains, just him and his bear. That would have made Kain jealous before now, but things had changed, and now he wouldn’t trade Bas his couple of days of freedom. Although working Christmas was looking less and less like a smart move. This year, he was going to have someone to share it with.

  Or did fairy godmothers have special duties over the holidays?

  “Do you help Santa?” Kain asked.

  Marra whipped her head around and looked at him searchingly. “Are you teasing me?” she asked.

  “No.” He opened the car door for her, and she stood, one hand on the door, an inch or two away from where his rested; he could feel their senses reaching out, trying to touch the other’s. “I was only thinking. If fairy godmothers are real, then are the Tooth Fairy and Santa real?”

  She cocked her head on one side. “Does that mean you believe? Truly believe.”

  “Sort of.” It was becoming easier to believe, than not to.

  “Well, when you do, for certain, you won’t have to ask any questions.” With that she slid into the car, and he carefully shut the door, running around to his side and getting in, eager to get going. The next hour would truly make his mind up one way or another. If they found this Cinderella on the twentieth floor of Drake House, then he would allow himself to believe. Now, whether that meant he would accept the belief, he wasn’t sure. It wasn’t like a switch you just flick.

  “It’s my job to ask questions,” he said to her.

  “You accept what you are, but refuse to accept what I am,” she said.

  “You mean… Do you know what I am?” he asked.

  “I know enough.” She put her hand up when he made to say more. “This is going to be an I’ll show you mine and you show me yours thing. When you believe in me, I’ll believe in you.”

  “But I could show you now. You would have to believe,” he said.

  “Not if I don’t want to.” She laughed at his expression. “It’s not so nice when someone doesn’t believe in you, is it? This could be a prank. A hidden camera, special effects. You could be making fun of me. Aren’t those the questions you are asking yourself? So maybe I can ask the same ones. We all have to choose what we believe in, Kain. I’m asking you to believe in me, and then I’ll know I can believe in you.”

  She held out her hand, mirroring his earlier bargain. He reached over awkwardly. “Deal.” His bear grumbled, not happy with the situation.

  Magic had never been part of his life, his parents didn’t do the whole Santa, tooth fairy nonsense, as they had called it, and he certainly didn’t see himself as a magical being, even though he could shift from human to bear. To him that was part of who he was, it was in his genetic makeup; now Marra was trying to tell him it was magic.

  “OK. That’s the building.” Kain swung the car around and drove into the parking lot under the building. He switched off the engine and turned to face her. “You know, I think I have to believe you, since I’m about to walk into that building with you and look for a woman who I saw in a dream.”

  “So you did have a vision.”

  She had him there. He looked out of the car window, and said, “I’ll let you know. If the woman who we meet is the woman from my dream, then I’ll open myself up to the possibility.”

  “How magnanimous of you,” Marra said, getting out of the car. Her hand went to her purse, slipping inside it. Then she withdrew it quickly, brushed her hand against her thigh, and turned to Kain. “Let’s go. Once this is over, I’m going to work out how to get back what is mine.”

  She’d been reaching for her wand, and now the strain showed on her face. “It’s like having a part of you missing,” Kain said quietly, understanding her loss. When his bear had been depressed, he’d had to stare at a future without him, and that future was bleak. Marra’s wand was as much a part of her as his bear.

  You do believe, his bear teased.

  More and more, with every second that passes, Kain acknowledged. However, he still could not throw himself into it completely; he still had reservations, and didn’t know what it would take for that to change.

  “It is like having a part of me missing,” she said sadly. “It’s as if a part of me is dying inside.”

  “OK. I believe you.” It was what she needed to hear. Kain couldn’t stand the idea of her falling into the same depression as his bear.

  She tilted her head to look at him. “Without proof.”

  “Without proof. Look, we’re bonded mates.” He pointed at her, and then to him. “Like your Cinderella and her Prince Charming. I can’t lie to you, not easily at least, it’s in my nature to be honest with my mate in all things. It’s also in my blood to trust you beyond all else. So, knowing this … if you say you are a fairy godmother, I promise to believe you and do whatever it takes to help you, and right the wrong that’s been done to you.”

  “Kain. I don’t know what to say.” Her voice was choked with emotion.

  “You don’t have to say anything,” he said.

  “I do. I told you I know what you are, that I know about the bonded mate thing. And I swear to you, to the best of my knowledge,” she said with a weak smile. “I am neither delusional, nor dishonest. Everything I have told you is true. About Lance DeVere, about my wand, and about magic.”

  “OK. Then let’s do this.” He still thought he was crazy, but this felt right, and his bear seemed to agree. They had placed their trust in their mate, and they would defend her to the end.

  Or at least press the button for the elevator. “Twentieth floor. Eleven pipers piping, nine ladies dancing.”

  She took out the piece of paper and looked at it again. “I wonder if there are any more clues on here.”

  He took the paper from her, and folded it up, putting it in his wallet. “You know, as a lawyer, I’m often called upon to trust my instincts. I believe that is exactly what you need to do right now.”

  “I think I’m going to take your advice,” she said, and took a deep shuddering breath as the elevator doors opened and they were confronted by the offices of Cane and Cartwright. The light above them said the twentieth floor, and so they left the elevator and went to track down Marra’s Cinderella.

  Chapter Ten – Marra

  Saying you were going to trust your instincts, and believing in your instincts, were two entirely separate things. That’s what Marra realized as they approached the reception desk of Cane and Cartwright.

  The receptionist was already eyeing them up, and there was no way they were going to get past her without making out they had an appointment. But with whom?

  Marra looked around frantically for a name. Should she ask for Mr. Cane, or Mr. Cartwright? Or were they just names of the men who had founded the company and were long since dead?

  “Can I help you?” the receptionist asked, looking at them. Marra wished she’d put on something more businesslike. Instead she wore a floral dress, completely at odds with the season. If she were being honest, she’d put it on because it was her most flattering dress. Flattering to her fuller figure at least. She blushed faintly, fairy godmothers were always meant to
be honest. She’d worn it for Kain. Which was a first. Marra usually dressed for herself, and no one else. The man next to her, all businesslike and about to take charge, was already changing her in subtle ways.

  “We’ve come to see…” Kain began, but was cut off midsentence.

  “Me.” Three faces turned towards the voice. Only Marra smothered a smile, while Kain stared, and the receptionist huffed and puffed, seeming flustered by the big scruffy man standing in front of them, dressed as a janitor. Boy, did Marra have some questions for this man.

  “They have come to see you?” the receptionist asked, her voice tinged with annoyance. “You do know you’re only the janitor.”

  “Yes, Connie. It says so on my uniform.” He pointed to the word on his shirt, his face deadpan. But then Knecht Ruprecht was nothing but deadpan.

  “What I mean is…” The receptionist, Connie, drew in a long, steadying breath. “You are the janitor, you cannot simply ask people to stop by and say hi.”

  “They have an appointment. If you look, you will see, dearest Connie,” Knecht Ruprecht said.

  Connie glared at him, and then looked down at her appointments book. Then she prodded the book with her index finger. “When did this get written in?” she accused.

  “When Marraine Le Fey made the appointment,” Knecht Ruprecht said.

  “Which was?” Connie wasn’t letting this go, but her eyes flashed, as if she liked sparring with Knecht Ruprecht.

  “Yesterday,” Kain said, stepping in and passing Connie his card. “I’m Kain Nolan. I’m a lawyer. Are you saying it isn’t OK for a janitor to make appointments for visitors? I didn’t know this firm was capable of such inequality.”

  Connie went red, shuffled some papers, and then muttered. “It’s my job to know what’s going on. I was just trying to figure out how I missed this appointment.”

  “Well, while you do, I’m going to talk to your janitor.”

  “This way,” Knecht Ruprecht said to Kain and Marra.

  “Wait. You need to sign them in, Mr. Knight.”

  Marra had to look away. Mr. Knight. Wow, Knecht Ruprecht must be having some fun with this one.

  “Thank you, Connie, call me Rupert.”

  “I think it better we stick to more formal names, don’t you, Mr. Knight?” Connie, however, looked a little flustered as she turned the visitors book around, and handed the pen to Knecht Ruprecht.

  “As you wish, Miss Havisham.”

  “Don’t call me that,” Connie said quickly. “You know my name is Connie Sinclair.”

  “A slip of the tongue,” Rupert said. “You just remind me of someone I used to know. Or maybe it was someone I read about...”

  Marra erupted into a fit of coughing to mask her giggles. She had to walk away, and compose herself. One thing she was certain of, there was magic afoot, and it wasn’t hers.

  “Are you OK?” Kain asked, coming over to her, and placing his hand on her back as she took a deep breath.

  “Yes.” She coughed once more, and then half turned to look at Knecht Ruprecht, or Rupert Knight, as she must remember to call him. “This is just getting weird.”

  Kain raised his eyebrow and frowned. “Getting weird. This has been weird from the moment I met you yesterday.” He sighed, and shook his head. “But I’m going to go along with it. I want to know what’s going on.”

  “You can always bail on me,” Marra said.

  “And leave you with Mr. Happy over there? No way.”

  He turned to look at Rupert, who was handing the book back to Connie, and smiling at her. “He never smiles, it would ruin his reputation,” she whispered.

  “So you do know him?” Kain asked.

  “I do.”

  “So is it good or bad that he is here?” Kain asked, turning is full attention on her.

  “Good. I think. He must have been sent to help.” Marra watched Rupert saunter over to them. Connie observed his every move, while pretending to look for her pen.

  “Sent by whom?” Kain asked.

  “By the lady herself,” Rupert said drily. “Do you think I’d do this for anyone else?”

  “No. I guess not,” Marra said.

  “The lady herself?” Kain asked.

  “Mrs. Claus,” Marra said, lowering her voice, and checking no one else was listening.

  “Mrs. Claus.” Kain nodded, but didn’t question her words. “OK. So, since you are here, sent by Mrs. Claus, you must know what’s going on.”

  “And you do not? Marraine Le Fey hasn’t told you?” Rupert asked Marra.

  “No. Because I’m not sure myself.” She looked down at a bright red rose on her dress, avoiding Rupert’s eyes. “I lost my wand.”

  “Ahh. Now it makes sense why Mrs. Claus came to me. She said I had to help you, Marraine Le Fey. And to myself I thought, what help could Knecht Ruprecht give to a fairy godmother. They are always so self-assured, so right, at least that was what your mother and grandmother always told me. Often.”

  “Shame Mrs. Claus didn’t simply get the wand back,” Kain said.

  “Mrs. Claus works her own magic, in her own way. If this is how she wants it to be, we will make the best of it.” Rupert gave Kain a hard look, defying him to argue. “Right. If that’s settled, then let us find the one you came here for.”

  Rupert walked off, and Kain and Marra followed, under the watchful eye of Connie Sinclair. Marra thought hard; she was sure neither her mom nor grandma had ever had a Miss Havisham.

  “And you know who we’ve come here to find?” Kain asked, ripping Marra away from her thoughts of Connie.

  “I know you needed to get into these offices. That is why I’m here. The rest is up to Marra.” Rupert looked down at his uniform, and then said to Kain, “It says janitor. Not fairy godmother.”

  “We have a few clues, and Kain had a dream last night, so we know this is the floor.” Marra was sure Kain knew more than that, but he wasn’t ready to share the rest of his dream. When he was ready, he’d open up to her, if not, she would find her own way.

  “Marra figured out we needed the twentieth floor. We’re looking for a filing room,” Kain said. “If what I saw was real at all.”

  “And you, Marraine. What do you know?” Rupert asked. “Or have you lost all of your magic.”

  “I have my magic, but no way to let it out. My wand gives it direction, makes it real.”

  Rupert harrumphed, but said no more. “I can point you to the filing room.”

  He led them along the corridor and then turned left and right, before stopping outside a half-opened door from which raised voices were coming. They all stopped and listened, but didn’t go in, even though Kain moved to open the door a little wider.

  “We have to let it play out, and then we help.” Marra shrugged. “Although I don’t know how.”

  “Take a look at your drawing again.” Kain handed it to her.

  Marra unfolded it, and spread it out to look at. “OK. So we got the ladies and the pipers. And the duck. What else?”

  “What else indeed.” Rupert looked over her shoulder. “What is that supposed to be?” he asked jabbing a finger at the piece of paper.

  “A gnome,” Marra said. “Isn’t it obvious?”

  “Well. There are no gnomes around here. I haven’t seen one for centuries.”

  “I’m not sure if we are actually looking for a real live gnome. This is a Cinderella story.” The voices inside the filing room rose. Or at least one rose; the other was apologetic. That had to be her Cinders.

  “Cinderellas.” Rupert said in disgust. “When are these women going to start helping themselves instead of waiting for their fairy godmother to come along and rescue them?”

  “What about your Miss Havisham? You looked as if you were trying to help her,” Kain said.

  “She just needs a little push in the right direction. She had her heart broken, and needs a good honest man to put it back together again.” Rupert cleared his throat and straightened his janitor overalls. “
Maybe I might help her get on Santa’s naughty list this year.”

  “Too much information,” Marra said, holding up a hand to him.

  “She deserves to let her hair down, best way to get over heartbreak,” Rupert said.

  “I didn’t know you cared,” Marra said, studying the picture in her hand and wishing she could work out what it all meant.

  “I don’t,” Rupert said quickly, too quickly. Knecht Ruprecht was notorious for being dour and lacking in fun. He leaned closer to the door, and then jumped backwards as it was pulled open, and a rather irate-looking woman marched out, almost slamming into him.

  “What are you doing here?” the woman snapped.

  “Janitoring.” Rupert said the word, making out the three of them standing here in an empty corridor was the most natural thing in the world. The woman opened her mouth to speak, but Marra knew Rupert well: he was the only man capable of staring down … well, anyone. He wasn’t known as Santa’s grumpy sidekick for nothing.

  “Well, go and do it somewhere else,” she said, and then walked off.

  “She is going on the naughty list,” Rupert said, and drew a notebook out from his pocket.

  “Wait. There is an actual list?” Kain asked, and then recovered himself. “Wait, forget I asked.”

  “Why? Because if I say yes, you would have to believe?” Rupert said, then he switched his gaze to Marra and asked, “How did you get saddled with a non-believer?”

  “Maybe it’s my job to make him believe,” Marra said, tucking the piece of paper back in her purse. She would study it later, unless the woman behind this door gave them all the clues they needed to make her wish come true. Without magic. She withdrew her hand from her purse, where it had instinctively reached for her wand.

  She could do this. She would do this. Cinderella would go to the ball, or party, or meeting…

  Chapter Eleven – Kain