Page 28 of Mated to Four Bears

“We think we know where they are,” William finally confessed. “By the old well. You know, the one where, according to legend, magic is supposed to be strongest and people can do spells that wouldn’t normally be possible.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “But that’s only a legend, right? Not something that we really need to worry about. Antonio might think that this well will help him, but it won’t.”

No one said anything to that. Were they now believing this stuff? It was just a silly old tale told by magical folk, a bit like the tales bears told their young. Bears in the clouds, sliding down rainbows, dancing in fields of gold…didn’t mean the stories were true.

“I wouldn’t put too much stock into it either,” William agreed. “But I also don’t want to ignore anything, just in case. No matter what, we need to get there now. We can’t waste any more time.”

We all shifted back to our bear forms and started making our way to the well.Ididn’t believe in old fairy tales, but that didn’t mean I was right. What if there was some crazy shit going on over there and Samantha was about to get all caught up in it? The psychopath had already proven that he didn’t give a shit about anyone. He’d already shown that he was willing to do whatever it took to get whatever he wanted. We needed to make sure we got there to the old well before any old legends could become the truth.

Fuck you, Antonio.I knew he couldn’t hear me, but I let the venomous thoughts run through my head anyway. Just in case. I wanted to put the fear of God in that man so he knew we were coming.Fuck you, asshole. You won’t get away with hurting Samantha like this.

19

SAMANTHA

The magical people Antonio was working with were getting annoyed. There was a restlessness in their movements and conversations. Antonio had to be able to sense that, but it seemed like he didn’t give a shit.

“Oh, Samantha!” he suddenly said, excitement lacing his tone. “I haven’t shown you everything yet, have I? Since we have some time, I might as well show you what we have going here.”

I was surprised when he tugged the bind away from my mouth. Everything I wanted to say, everything I wanted to scream at this idiot, didn’t come out. I guess I was too stunned. It didn’t help that everyone was staring at me.

“So, you know the well from the story,Vetus Bene?”

I didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need me to. Of course I knew that fairy tale. There wasn’t anyone who performed magic who didn’t know that story. The well could make magic something else. Something that could either be used for good or evil. Obviously, it was one of those tales with a strong moral undertone, but I didn’t think that was what Antonio wanted to discuss.

“I have been doing my research into the well, and as it turns out…it’s here, right behind me.” He stepped to the side to show me something that was…unimpressive and pretty anticlimax. It wasn’t the grand, beautiful well from the story. It was basically a pile of old bricks that had been left to rot for a very long time.

Was he trying to tell me thatthiswas the well fromVetus Bene? Because that was just stupid. It was crazy. That was a fairy tale, not a real story. Seemed like Antonio had lost his mind.

“This well is not only going to let me take your magic, but the magic of anyone I want.”

I glanced around in a panic. Didn’t everyone just hear that? Antonio admitted, in front of everyone, that he wanted to steal other people’s magic too, but they weren’t even reacting. It was official, these people were insane. They had to be. Surely, they wouldn’t give their magic away willingly for nothing in return. I had been kidnapped; I didn’t have any choice in the matter. They did.

“What are you doing?” I rasped, the words uncomfortable in my throat after not speaking for so long. “This is stupid. There aren’t any spells that can be enhanced with a well.Vetus Beneisn’t a real story. It’s just a tale.”

I couldn’t believe I had to say any of this out loud. What had become of my life? I just wanted to finish college and work hard. I wanted to spend time with the men I had been happily falling in love with. I didn’t want to be caught up in this madness.

“Maybe I should have left your mouth bound, Samantha. But I really want to hear your screams when I’m ripping everything away from you.”

“What the hell have I done to make you hate me so much, Antonio? You’re the one who cheated on me, remember? You’re the one who ruined what we had. I was so stupidly in love with you…or what I thought was love anyway.” Now that I was really feeling it, I knew that wasn’t what it had been with Antonio. Itwas puppy love or a childish infatuation. Nothing real. “I would have stayed with you forever, even though you stole all my money. You can’t blame me for anything being ruined. I don’t know why you hate me so much.”

If I thought for one second that my impassioned plea might get through to Antonio, I was very wrong. My emotions meant nothing to him, nothing at all.

“You were supposed to help me, Samantha. You were the one person I thought I could rely on to get me out of the shit with Benjamin. Youwerethe only person who really cared about me, despite everything.” He sighed heavily, as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. I should have known that he would make himself the victim in all of this. “I thought you would be the one to get me out of the hole. Then I thought we might even get back together, because I did have the most fun with you.”

I blanched, unable to keep my feelings inside. It came as such a shock that Antonio would evensuggestwanting to get back together with me. Ineverwanted that to happen, and it never would happen. But my reaction made Antonio stiffen in anger. Even if I had gotten through to him before, he would be back to hating me now.

“But now I have something better. I’ve met people who have shown me something even more exciting that I can do.” He shrugged. “Like I said, by taking your magic from you, and the magic of others, I will be strong enough to tackle anything and anyone. Benjamin willhaveto leave me alone.”

Was he always like this? So God damn selfish? I wanted to rage at him, but if I was going to get everyone else here on my side, before Antonio stole their magic, I needed to look like the rational person.

“Antonio, there are other ways to solve your problems,” I reminded him. “There are other things you can do. You don’t need to resort to something like this.”

He silenced me by pressing a finger to his lips. I hated myself for complying with him, but it was something that just came automatically to me.

“They have all been hurt or killed,” Antonio muttered, his eyes narrowing in focus, as if he were listening to someone speak to him. “Which meanstheywill be here sooner than we planned.”

“Who isthey? Antonio, this isn’t like you at all.”

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