Page 13 of Bear's Rejected Love

“If you want to cover them up or me, I’d appreciate it. I’m going to go over and see if everything’s okay.”

“No. Mom. I’m not going to let you humiliate yourself like that.”

“It’s not a humiliation, I’ll just check in. Worst case scenario is that you’re right, but I don’t want you to have to face that. Let me do it. I can always report back.”

“I don’t trust you not to soften the blow.”

“And I don’t trust you not to take anyone’s head off, which I’m honored you would do, but it’s not necessary.”

“Maybe what Roan needs is a good takedown, bear to bear.”

“Fighting a much older, more established, highly skilled shifter isn’t in your best interest.”

“It is when I’m running on rage and adrenaline.”

She kissed her son’s cheek. He dodged away so that she barely grazed it. “Seriously. No. Nothing is going to come to violence, ever. That’s a last resort. The bear is not a—”

“Weapon. I know. You’ve said that a thousand times. I’d be happy to knock some sense into him in human form and get him to apologize to you. I don’t care how much bigger he is than me. I’m fast.”

“I think what we need is to be more understanding and not jump to—” Corbin’s nose scrunched up like that advice straight up stank. Her words died as soon as she saw the wrinkles in the bridge. “I’m disappointed too. Very. But I know that some things have explanations behind them. Part of being an adult is realizing that everyone’s shoes are basically shit to walk in.”

“Good job, mom. You used profanity in front of me.”

“Don’t get hopeful. It’s not going to happen again.”

“Neither is us extending useless lunch gestures. He had one shot of me not hating him. It’s pretty much blown up. I’ll put the food away and when you’re back, we’ll eat together. There are plenty of men here. If you want me to pick a role model, I will. It doesn’t have to be him.”

“Ok. But let me go see what’s going on first before we make any decisions.”

Corbin grumbled something in response, but he went back to the kitchen and started wrapping up the food. Tabitha pulled on a jacket, slipped on her old worn boots, and decided to power walk all the way to Roan’s cabin.

***

Greenacre had a main street and all the houses bordered it in a square, then they were surrounded by woods for miles. Roan lived on the other side of the small town, so by the time she got there, she was clammy and damp under her jacket.

Unlike other places, where the front of the houses faced the streets, most of the cabins in Greenacre backed the gravel roads, with the front door and porch either off to the side or facing the woods.

She found Ora and Helena sitting beside each other on the front steps, the baby balanced between them, holding onto each of their hands. They all had warm sweaters on, and Honor even had a little hat that matched the yellow ones the girls were wearing. They looked handmade and all three of them were adorable and beautiful. It was easy to see why Corbin blushed over the girls. Their dainty, petite beauty was more haunting than it was beguiling. They were clearly still young, but had the eyes of the oldest souls. She actually felt her heart beat harder when they looked at her like they were reading her closely. After what Roan had told her, she supposed that they always assessed any new person for danger. Even if that person was a fellow shifter.

“Hey.” She didn’t want to scare them. “I’m uh- Tabitha.” She’d only seen the girls in passing.

They looked very similar, but the one who was a few inches taller, with sweeping brown hair and soft brown eyes, raised a hand. “I’m Helena. This is my sister, Ora. And Honor.”

They sat there like they were supposed to sit there all day and wait for something. Like Roan hadn’t told them about the lunch offer at all. “I- is Roan here? We had- that is, I had invited him, and you both as well, and Honor of course, over for lunch.”

“Oh.” Helena remained emotionless, but not the same way Roan often did. She seemed more like an empty shell, something the wind could pick up and blow away, she was so light. “We’re waiting for him to come down.” She turned to the huge tree directly to the left of their cabin.

“Oh my god!” Tabitha put a hand over her chest. There was the largest owl she’d ever seen. She didn’t know her owls, but it had brown feathers, golden eyes, big horns, and looked more like it was straight out of some Greek myth than any animal that should live around here.

“He was agitated this morning.” Ora’s voice was lighter than her sister’s. Like dew drops left on flower petals after a rain. “He said he just needed a quick walk, but when he didn’t come back, we opened the door and there he was.”

“The owl isn’t giving over,” Helena added. “So, we’re just going to sit here and wait where he can see us. He knows that we’re here, and that we’re never going anywhere then.”

“I’m sorry…” A wave of dizziness swept over her, twisting her stomach, not quite understanding what they were saying. Where was Roan, and why were they watching the owl so intently? “I’m sorry, what? Where’s Roan? I don’t know if you should be sitting out here, especially with the baby. It looks like a harpy.”

Helena giggled, “Honor loves it when he flies for him.”

Now Tabitha was really confused, “Is the owl a pet or something? Where did Roan go?”

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