Bearly Enough (19 page)

“Took fucking long enough,” Jeremy muttered, walking in. He
took one look at Stone and raised his eyebrows. “Where is she?” he asked
quietly.

“Upstairs. She’ll be down in a minute.” He looked away,
focusing on an imaginary piece of lint on his shirt.

“Stone,” Jeremy said in a threatening voice, “please don’t
tell me that you were just in the shower with her. Again.”

Stone glared at him.

“Wait,” Jeremy held out his hand, angered, and at first
Stone couldn’t tell what he was doing. Jeremy walked slowly into the living
room, sniffing and Stone cursed to himself.

He knew
exactly
what Jeremy was doing.

“You fucked her,” Jeremy said flatly, and Stone could see
the anger bubbling just under the surface.

Stone took a deep breath, and he could smell it, too. The
smell of sex hung heavy in the air, and even heavier was the sweet, musky scent
of Lucy’s arousal; it permeated the downstairs.

Stone didn’t want to challenge Jeremy; he knew it was unwise
given Jeremy’s position of power. Instead, he tried to change the subject.

“What’s going to happen with her now?”

Jeremy blinked, then grudgingly answered. “She needs to
become part of our tribe.”

“Just like that?” Stone asked tightly. “She has no say in
it?”

Jeremy sighed, suddenly looking much older. “What would you
suggest I do, Stone? As leader of our clan? A clan that is producing only a few
cubs a year? What would you do if you were leading this clan? I’m open to
suggestions.”

Stone bit his tongue, knowing that Jeremy had a point. He
had to make choices for the good of the clan, it was his
duty
; he had
sworn his life upon it. And on paper, what was best for the tribe was having
Lucy join them and help them pro-create.

But it sounded so barbaric.

“You know I’m right,” Jeremy said softly.

“You can at least give her a choice in a mate,” Stone
argued.

“Yes,” Jeremy said darkly, “I suppose I could. Unless you
have already fucked that up and joined yourself to her without her consent.”

“I’m so glad you think so highly of me,” Stone snapped. “I
did
not
do that.”

Jeremy seemed somewhat surprised, then continued. “Of
course, I can give her the choice. We can pretend that we are just as
virtuous
as the Virtus,” he continued, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I doubt that
will make things any easier.” He paused. “And I’m not giving her much time
before she needs to be with child.”

“Give her a break!” Stone exclaimed angrily. So Jeremy would
let Lucy choose in the tribe, just as her sister had been allowed to do, but
Jeremy was going to hold her to a timeline to get pregnant. “And what? Will she
have a quota to meet?” he asked, his tone acerbic.

“Yes,” Jeremy answered honestly.

“You’re going to tell her how many cubs she needs to have?”

“Yes. If she wants to live her life, and not be forced to
mate with others, than she needs to produce a certain number of cubs.”

“That’s bullshit!” Stone exploded.

“What’s bullshit?”

The men turned around to see Lucy halfway down the stairs.
Her dark hair was wet, and hung straight down her back. She was barefoot,
dressed in a pair of jeans and a purple sweater. Something about her being
freshly showered, and her face free of makeup, made her look very innocent.

So helpless.

The bear in Stone roared with its need to protect her from
Jeremy.

“Hello, Lucy,” Jeremy said cordially. “Why don’t you come
down and have a seat on the couch?”

Lucy remained on the step, looking at Jeremy warily. Then
she glanced over at Stone and he saw comprehension dawn on her.

“You told him!” she accused, her face twisting with fury.

“I’m sorry. I had no choice,” Stone apologized, feeling like
an ass.

“You’re sorry?” she repeated, coming down the steps and
walking right up to him. “You’re sorry? This is my life!” She pushed him
angrily. “You had no right telling Jeremy! I haven’t even processed the
information myself!” She was standing on her tiptoes now, yelling at Stone.

“What was I supposed to do?” he exploded. “He would have
found out anyway! And if I hadn’t told him, it would have been even worse!”

Lucy shook her head. “You couldn’t have given me a heads
up?” she cried. “Instead he just shows up here?”

“Lucy. Sit down,” Jeremy cut in, ordering her to the couch.

“And what if I don’t?” she challenged.

Jeremy gave an exasperated sigh. “Then I will pick your ass
up and put you on the couch myself. I am a very busy person. I don’t have time
to play childish games.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, crossed her arms and sulked over to
the couch.

She sat down.

“Thank you,” Jeremy said.

Stone hung back on the outskirts of the room and paced. He
already didn’t like the way this was shaping up.

“Maybe I’ll just slit my wrists,” Lucy spoke up, staring
hard at Jeremy. “I’ll just let all this royal blood run out of me. Then what?”
She looked him dead in the eye. “Then what will you do?”

Jeremy flinched slightly, and Stone recognized that he was
trying to keep his cool.

“I think that would be unwise for all parties,” Jeremy said
carefully.

Lucy laughed. “Really? It wouldn’t matter to me. My life is
over anyway. Isn’t that what you’re telling me?” Her voice was bitter, but the
hurt could not be mistaken. “And who is going to miss me? My drunk mother? She
probably hasn’t even noticed that I’m missing. She probably thinks I just moved
out. She won’t bat an eyelash.” Lucy laughed again, the sound old and hard.
“And who else? Gabby? She’s not going to miss me. She has her new life, and
it’s clear that once you
join
a clan, you don’t really socialize outside
of the clan, do you?”

She lifted her eyes up and met Stone’s eyes. “So who would
it be unwise for?” she asked softly, then looked back at Jeremy. “The only
people who don’t want to see me dead are the lot of you,” she accused. “You
just want me to be a baby making factory,” she raged, jumping off the couch.

“Sit down!” he said angrily. “I don’t have time for your
antics and I think that I’m being more than fair. Yes, you must remain in our
tribe. We know now that you have royal blood and for our benefit, yes, we need
you here. But for your safety, too. Your sister’s dear tribe may leave you
alone, but don’t think for a minute that the Atrocitas tribe won’t come after
you. And you’ll be lucky to survive whatever they have in mind!” He stood up,
pacing the floor in front of Lucy. “This is what I’m offering you. Choose a
mate in our clan; quite frankly, I don’t care who. You do not have permission
to leave our lands until I know I can trust you. I have no idea when that will
be. As of now, I don’t have much trust.”

Lucy was sitting perfectly still on the couch, watching
Jeremy. Stone balled his fists, angered by Jeremy’s callous tone.

“Once you choose a mate, you have three months to get
pregnant-”

“What?” Lucy exploded, leaping off the couch again.

“Sit down!” Jeremy roared.

She sat down quietly.

“Three months,” Jeremy continued “and I think that’s
generous. If you want to remain with the same mate, and be taken care of, you
must produce five cubs. If you want to have more, even better. You will be
rewarded greatly in our clan for having those cubs. Any subsequent cub will
double your reward. You will not need to work anymore. After all, you are a
princess and the tribe will treat you as such.”

“Wait, wait! Hold up,” she exclaimed, and Stone could see
that she was shaking from anger. “You are telling me that I need to have five
children? Five? And the first within three months of finding a mate? I’m
nineteen!” she cried.

“Yes, those are the terms. And I left something out. You
have four weeks to find a mate.”

Lucy stared at Jeremy, her eyes wide and disbelieving. At
first, Stone thought that she was going to jump up and start yelling again.

But she didn’t.

Instead, she stood up slowly, holding her head with dignity.

She took a deep breath. “I am not some piece of property
that you can order around,” she said in a chillingly soft tone. “I don’t accept
your ridiculous terms and please don’t act like you’re doing me a favor.”

Jeremy leaned back amused, crossing his arms as he watched
Lucy.

It pissed Stone off, so he could only imagine how Lucy felt.

“Fuck. You,” she enunciated, turning on her heel and
stalking away.

Stone stood there, waiting to jump in. He knew it wasn’t his
place to defend Jeremy or to defend Lucy, and if there was one thing Jeremy
couldn’t stand, it was having his authority being disrespected.

Lucy was halfway up the stairs when Jeremy spoke.

“So that’s your response?” he asked, his voice cold as ice.
“So be it. I’ll give you three days to accept my terms. If not, then I suggest
you run and run hard. Because if I find you,” he threatened, his eyes dark and
hard, “You will live among us as nothing but an incubator! A
tool
to
populate our clan. And you will
beg,
” He hissed, “for the terms that I
had first offered!”

Lucy sat back on the bed, trembling, thinking about Jeremy’s
words. He was the biggest asshole she had ever encountered, and while she was
furious, she also felt a knot of fear in her stomach. There had been something
chilling in his threat, and Lucy tried to process his words.

He had given her three days.

Three days.

After that, she had to accept his terms or else run.

And Jeremy made it perfectly clear that if she chose to run,
she better hide because he was going to track her down.

Letting out a sob, she clapped her hand over her mouth.

What was she going to do?

What choice did she have?

She could try to run—but where would she go? She had no
money, nothing. She could stop by her mother’s house and take whatever cash was
lying around, but it wouldn’t be much more than a couple hundred dollars. And
then what?

And if she chose to accept the terms, she had a month to
find a mate, and then three months before she had to be pregnant.

She choked on another sob, but she refused to let her
emotions get the better of her. She needed to think.

Besides running, she knew that Gabby wanted to help her.
Gabby had offered to bring Lucy to their tribe. Of course, Lucy knew that being
part of the Virtus tribe would essentially be like staying with the Cruentus.
Given her blood, there was no way that the Virtus would protect her without
making her choose a mate from their clan.

And that would require having to see Zane all the time. How
could she look at the man who had slain her father?

A knock on the door made her jump.

“Lucy? Can I come in?” Stone’s voice was comforting, yet he
reminded her of what she needed to decide.

“Go away!” she called, her voice sounding surprisingly
steady, given her state.

“Lucy, please. Let me come in and talk to you.”

“Go away, Stone!”

He didn’t listen, and instead she heard the door click as
Stone slowly opened it. He gazed at her though the crack in the door, his face
twisted in hurt and sorrow.

“What?” she asked bitterly, “have you come to help me with
my choice?” she spit out the last word, knowing she didn’t have much of a
choice at all. She either could settle down and become a bear mate at only
nineteen, or she could resign herself to death if she tried to run.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, stepping into her room. “I had
no idea that Jeremy would be that way. I know it’s a terrible choice.” He
seemed to want to say more, but he didn’t.

Lucy laughed harshly, looking up to meet Stone’s eyes. “So
what do I do?” she asked viciously. “Which hellish option do I take?” She left
out the part about running away to the other clan.

Stone shook his head. “I don’t think it will end well if you
run.” His eyes turned dark. “Jeremy is very influential.”

“Whatever that means,” Lucy muttered, “I don’t trust him.”

“I know,” Stone agreed.

Lucy looked up at him again, his eyes so beautiful and
strange. The blue eye was exceptionally brilliant in the afternoon light.

“Why are your eyes so light now?” she asked suddenly. “They
darken when you’re angry.”

Stone nodded. “My emotions are more prevalent now, making my
bear more dormant.”

Lucy frowned. “Anger is an emotion,” she pointed out.

He nodded. “I guess I should say that my softer emotions are
at the surface now. The bear becomes closer to the surface when I feel powerful
emotions like anger, rage, and protection. The softer emotions are more of my
human side.”

“Softer emotions like what?” Lucy couldn’t help but ask.

“Concern,” Stone breathed. “Worry.” He paused and then, barely
audible, he added, “Love.”