I shook my head and was grateful when I felt her pulse beneath my fingers. “I don’t know,” I said. “She saved my life.”
Trace’s brow winged up. “And how did she do that? With a spell?”
I knew Trace was hesitant around most witches, but that probably had more to do with his ex than it did the power running through the little witch’s veins. He liked magic and respected it, but loving a witch who hurt because of their magic tended to scar a man, much like the magic had scarred his ex.
“I don’t know what she did. I was having trouble getting out from under that tree that fell on me out of nowhere,” I grumbled.
“You let a tree fall on you?” I didn’t appreciate my brother’s tone.
I scowled. “I didn’t let a tree fall on me. Lightning hit it, and it slammed into me. It wasn’t like I rubbed my back on it and was suddenly impaled.”
“I don’t know, I could make a bear necessities joke, but I’ll refrain. The storm is letting up. I didn’t realize we had weather like this in the forecast,” Trace said as he looked up at the sky.
I followed his gaze and shook my head. “We didn’t.” Then I looked down at the woman in my arms. “Could have something to do with the new witch in town. Or something else that doesn’t want her here.” Stranger things had happened in Ravenwood.
“She shouldn’t even be here,” a third voice said as I looked up at my other brother, Alden, as he strode into the small clearing.
I met Trace’s gaze, and he gave me a slight shake of his head. He hadn’t realized that Alden had been there either. Great. The three of us were triplets, and though we were nearly equal in strength, I was slightly stronger since I was the alpha of our pack. Alden hated it. Because Trace was beta, and that meant Alden didn’t have a title.
It didn’t matter that Alden was as revered in power as the rest of us. He still wanted more.
And he hated witches. Trace only growled at one witch for reasons of his own, but Alden hated them. I didn’t know why.
“Alden, she’s hurt.” I pulled her closer, checking for any other injuries.
“She passed out looking at a little bear coming closer,” Alden sneered. “She must not be that strong of a witch if she passes out at the idea of a shifter.” His lip lifted into a snarl as he spoke, and I shook my head.
“I don’t know if that’s the case,” I said. “There was magic ringing from her. And whatever she has in her, it shocked me out of the dizziness that hit me when I fell. I’d have drowned in that mud pit without her.” Not the most honorable way to die. But she’d been there when I needed help.
“So weak that you can’t even wake up from a little spell? Huh,” Alden said, huffing and chuffing.
Trace opened his mouth to growl or say something he would probably regret later, and I shook my head. There were ways to deal with Alden. Though right now, I didn’t want to worry about any of them.
“Do you think we should take her to Rowen?” I asked, looking down at the passed-out witch.
“We’re not going anywhere near that sorceress.” Alden snarled again.
I let my bear slide into my eyes, the gold glowing brightly enough to illuminate the area, even in the semi-darkness from the storm.
“Watch your mouth. Rowen has done more for us than nearly anyone else in this town.”
“Rowen is the reason our town is cursed,” Alden snapped. “I don’t have to be nice to the parasite who’s killing Ravenwood.”
Trace began to growl, his whole body shaking, claws extending from his fingertips.
I let out a curse and stood, the woman still in my arms. I ignored how she felt next to my chest—as if she were always meant to be there. I wanted to hide her from my brothers, keep her close, and make sure the world knew that she was mine. But that didn’t make any sense.
“Stop it,” I snapped. “We don’t have time for this. Trace, go to Rowen and tell her what happened, about the storm, and that we found a witch. I’m taking her home.”
“You’re taking her to the den?” Alden asked, his eyes light gold as they shined from his bear being at the surface.
“I’m taking her to my home.” My bear wouldn’t let her be anywhere else—something I’d have to think about later. And, frankly, the man wasn’t much better with his possessiveness at the moment.
“That’s still part of the den, alpha,” he said, snideness in the term, making my bear stand up and want to lash out. This was my triplet. I didn’t get to fight and prove my dominance right now. Not if I didn’t want to deal with an even bigger situation.
“My home is my home. And though it is part of the den, it’s still mine. I’m going to make sure she’s okay and wakes up feeling safe. Rowen can come to me if needed.”
“I’ll bring her.” Trace looked between us. “Laurel, too?” he asked, his voice carefully bland.
I met my brother’s gaze. My bear pulled from the woman in my arms to focus on the pain in Trace’s eyes. “If needed. If she can. If you can.”
There was so much left unsaid in those words, but I knew that Trace understood. He gave me a tight nod, glared at Alden, and then loped off towards the trees. He would probably shift back into his bear form. That way, he wouldn’t run naked around town. He could find one of our caches of clothing around the area before he met with Rowen. Not that Rowen would care if a nude bear shifter showed up at her shop. She was used to it. This was Ravenwood.
I cleared my throat as I looked at Alden. “I’m going now. Please don’t stand in my way. You could help by getting her car out of the ditch.” I didn’t put a command in my voice, not as an alpha. I wanted him to help me as my brother.
Alden snorted. “I’m not helping a witch,” he said, glared at me one more time, then ran off, still in his human form. He hadn’t shown up naked, so unless he had brought clothes with him, he had found us in his human form rather than his warrior or shifter form.
Warrior form, the halfway point between bear and human, was difficult to hold, and only Trace and I had a handle on it—and we only used it when we were in battle. And even then, not always. It took a lot of energy to maintain it and was hard on the system. Plus, it was more comfortable to be fully bear or man. Alden didn’t have access to his warrior form without effort. I wasn’t sure he even used it at all.
When Alden was out of sight, I brought the woman closer to me and inhaled. My bear chuffed, nudging at me, wanting out, wanting to see. I let my eyes glow, allowing the bear to rise to the surface. My nostrils flared, her sweet and intoxicating rose scent wrapping around me. It mingled with mine, forest and rose, acting as an anchor to something I didn’t dare breathe. I shook.
I looked down at the unconscious woman in my arms—the witch, who I had a feeling knew nothing of our kind. I cursed.
Mate.
My bear couldn’t speak, couldn’t communicate with me, but I knew what word it wanted to use. What word it needed to.
Mate.
This woman could be my mate. The earth shattered beneath my feet as the gods looked down upon me. I’d found her. After all this time, I’d found her.
And now I needed to keep her. A woman who didn’t seem to know about our world and who looked to be a witch from Ravenwood’s lost coven.