Page 16 of Hexy Bear
They collapsed together, tangled and breathless, limbs entwined and sweat-slicked. Mara's fingers drew idle circles onhis back, soothing and grounding, and Griff buried his face in her neck, breathing her in.
“I love you,” he murmured again, softer this time. “So much it scares the hell out of me.”
Mara kissed his temple, her voice thick with exhaustion and wonder. “Then we’ll be scared together. And we’ll face whatever comes next—together.”
As their breathing slowed and their heartbeats synced, something shifted in the air again. The warmth that enveloped them wasn’t just post-coital haze—it shimmered, golden and thrumming, sealing around them like a sacred vow.
"Do you feel that?" Mara asked softly, her voice still rough from their lovemaking.
"Like we're surrounded by something," Griff confirmed, tightening his arms around her. "Something warm and safe."
Through the bedroom window, they could see a faint shimmer in the air around the house, like heat waves rising from summer pavement. But instead of distortion, the shimmer seemed to clarify everything it touched, making the colors more vivid and the shadows less threatening.
"It's a ward," Mara realized, wonder in her voice. "Our connection, our bond, it's created some kind of protective barrier around the house. Around our family."
Downstairs, they could hear Tilly's voice calling out in delight. "Daddy! Miss Mara! Come look! The house is all sparkly now, and Mr. Gruff says it means we're safe!"
Griff kissed the top of Mara's head, breathing in the scent of her hair and the satisfaction that came from knowing she was his to protect and be protected by. "I guess our daughter approves of the new magical development."
"Our daughter," Mara repeated softly, and the words carried weight with choice and love and the family they were building together.
Outside, the afternoon shadows were growing longer, and laughter carried on the wind. The entity that had worn Ruth's face was still out there, still planning whatever final move would complete centuries of manipulation and control.
But since the crisis had begun, Griff felt ready for whatever was coming. He wasn't alone anymore, wasn't carrying the weight of protection and responsibility by himself. He had Mara, fierce and magical and completely committed to their family's survival. He had Tilly, wise beyond her years and powerful in ways that were only beginning to manifest.
And he had love, which the shadow beings had told them was the one thing the entity couldn't touch or corrupt or steal.
It would have to be enough. Because ready or not, the battle for Mistwhisper Falls was about to begin.
EIGHT
MARA
The emergency council meeting convened at seven AM in the Mist & Mirth Inn's main parlor, the only building in town that was large enough to accommodate everyone while still being protected by the new ward that surrounded the Cooper family home. Griff could feel the magical barrier humming just beyond the windows, a constant reminder of what he and Mara had created together and what they now had to defend.
Aerin sat at the head of the dining table, her research materials spread across every available surface like battle plans. Dark circles under her eyes suggested she'd spent the entire night cross-referencing data from supernatural incidents across the continent, while Leo maintained his protective vigil near the entrance with the focused alertness of someone expecting an attack at any moment.
Lyra and Cade had arrived just after dawn, their founder's mark and alpha bond making them natural allies in whatever confrontation was approaching. Nico occupied his usual position near the window, ancient texts balanced on his lap as he continued the genealogical research that had already revealed so many uncomfortable truths.
Tilly sat beside Mara on the inn's old-fashioned sofa, her stuffed wolf clutched in her arms and her eyes bright with supernatural awareness that made her seem decades older than her six years. She'd insisted on attending the meeting despite Griff's protective instincts, and given her central role in recent events, no one had been able to argue with her logic.
"I've been analyzing the pattern of supernatural incidents across North America for the past eighteen months," Aerin began without preamble, her academic training allowing her to maintain professional focus despite the personal stakes.
She activated a tablet that projected a map of the continent onto the parlor wall, red dots marking locations where supernatural communities had suffered unexplained magical disasters. The pattern that emerged was both elegant and terrifying in its systematic precision.
"Each site that's been hit follows the same progression," Aerin continued. "First, trusted community leaders begin making subtle changes to protective protocols, always justified by seemingly reasonable safety concerns. Then individuals with founder bloodline connections start experiencing what appear to be natural magical surges or awakening abilities. Finally, those same individuals either disappear entirely or suffer complete magical breakdown that leaves them in persistent vegetative states."
"The consumption process," Leo said grimly. "What we saw with the shadow beings, but refined over decades of practice."
"Exactly. But here's what I couldn't understand until yesterday." Aerin highlighted several clusters of incidents on the map. "The targeting isn't random. Every community that's been hit contains descendants of the original four founders of Mistwhisper Falls, and in every case, the entity responsible gained access through someone in a position of hereditary authority."
Lyra leaned forward, her chaos magic crackling with agitation. "Someone like Ruth."
"Someone exactly like Ruth," Aerin confirmed. "But not just Ruth. I've identified similar patterns of manipulation in at least twelve other supernatural communities, all involving trusted elders whose families have held leadership positions for multiple generations."
Cade's wolf was close to the surface, his protective instincts responding to the threat assessment with barely controlled aggression. "You're saying this thing has been infiltrating supernatural communities for decades, using the same strategy over and over again. We suspected this but not this big. I never thought this have spread… literally everywhere."
"Not decades," Nico corrected quietly, looking up from a leather-bound journal that appeared to be written in multiple languages. "I've been tracing the genealogical records of the families involved, and the pattern goes back to the original founding of Mistwhisper Falls."
