Return to Kadenburg (14 page)

The male’s hood fell away from his face to reveal a
bloodied lip, a swollen cheek, and very angry eyes. He was panting heavily as
he glanced at the woman. “Do not intervene, Cousin,” He muttered. “He is one
of them.”

The young woman approached them quickly, pushing her
long black hair out of her eyes as she frowned. “He is different,” She
insisted, gazing at Dimitri. “He is protected. You cannot harm him.”

“It is a little late for that,” The male smirked.
“What the hell are you talking about?”

Dimitri rolled his eyes. “She means that I was mated
to an ursithrope and you can’t do shit to me,” He explained, releasing him with
a hard shove. “I guess you didn’t get that memo.”

“That is impossible,” The ursithrope replied, spitting
blood against the grass before wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Ursithropes and lycanthropes do not mate.”

“It’s true,” Another female voice stated.

Dimitri’s eyes landed on the familiar woman as she
appeared beside the first female. She hugged her arms around herself,
frowning. “I thought you were dead, Dimitri.”

His brows furrowed together as Dimitri stared at her.
The warning bells went off in his head as he cocked his head to the side.
“What are you doing here, Natalie?” He asked, frowning. “Did Breslin send you
to finish the job?”

The first female glanced at the male ursithrope in
confusion before she spoke again. “You two know one another?”

“Yeah, we do,” Dimitri scoffed. “She’s a treacherous
bitch that allowed Liam to be killed by Breslin. Now what the hell do you two
want?”

“We have all made our share of mistakes,” The girl
argued as she placed a hand against her hip. “But you need to tell us who you
are-and quickly.”

“I don’t have to tell you a damn thing,” Dimitri
growled, narrowing his eyes. “He’s the one who decided to shoot me with a
fucking arrow.”

The male smirked, glancing in Dimitri’s direction
before rolling his eyes. “You’re a wolf. You’ll
heal
.”

“Let’s see how fast you heal when I rip your head off,”
Dimitri threatened as he took a step towards him.

“Whoa whoa, hey now,” Rutley chimed in as he stepped
between Dimitri and the ursithrope. He sniffed, rubbing his jaw as he glanced
back and forth between them. “I have no freaking idea what’s going on here,
but I think you two need to calm down.”

“I agree,” Natalie nodded. “Dimitri, I’m sure Beau is
very sorry for shooting you-”

“No, I am not,” Beau commented haughtily.

Natalie shot a glare in the ursithropes direction
before sighing. “He was only following his instincts.”

“Well I’m only following mine in wanting to kick his
ass,” Dimitri took another step forward, only stopping when Rutley’s hand
pressed against his chest. He glared down at him. “Move.”

“I don’t think I can do that,” Rutley replied as he
stared up at him. “I really think you need to take a second to think about
what you’re about to do. He’s not the real enemy here, right? He was just
doing his job; just like how I was doing mine.”

Dimitri stared down at him, frowning again as his
jawline tensed. He glanced at ‘Beau’, and then he looked at Natalie before his
gaze settled on Rutley again. He could tell the boy was pleading with him, but
would it really hurt to let him beat this arrow shooting fool into a bloody
pulp?

He huffed, standing down. “Fine.”

Sixteen

L
ouisa walked briskly beside her cousin as they
made their way towards the Bamey house. It had been a crazy day already and it
wasn’t even noon. She was sure there would be more excitement to come, and she
wasn’t sure if she was ready for it.

Life since the attack on her village had been very
different from what she was used to. Nearly everyone she knew and loved had
been ripped away from her, including her mate-to-be. There was a certain agony
that could only be understood by someone that had cared and lost just as she;
and the werewolf walking a few feet ahead of her knew what she felt.

From the second she picked up on his scent, she knew he
was protected by the coupling he’d shared with Liam. An ursithrope’s mate was
always protected, and despite the fact he was
not
an ursithrope, she
could not allow her cousin to bring harm to him. It would be frowned upon in
the eyes of Urseth. She had done the right thing.

She gripped the handle of her hatchet as her eyes
darted around them, taking in each sight and sound as she tried to become
acquainted with such sacred ground. Kadenburg was her home just as much as
anyone else’s. She had a right to be here, just as her grandparents and
great-grandparents had so many years ago.

She’d just celebrated her 19
^th
birthday a
few days before her world was turned upside down. What a foolish girl she was
to ignore her gut instincts; she
knew
something terrible was
approaching, yet she was far too eager to order the silly flowers and get the
finishing touches on her wedding gown. How very selfish of her. Her greed had
cost her everything and there wasn’t any way to bring them back.

She pushed the thoughts aside as she glanced at the
human male, watching curiosity get the best of him. He was trying to pull the
arrow free from the wolf’s shoulder and he was only making it worse.

“
Ow
,” Dimitri growled, shooting a glare at
Rutley. “Just leave it alone for now. I’ll pull it out when we get to the
house.”

“It’s going to get infected,” Rutley frowned. “It’s
going to take more than a band aid to fix that booboo.”

“He will be fine,” Beau stated in annoyance. “It’s not
like I killed him.”

“You sure did a damn good job at trying though,”
Dimitri muttered.

Louisa sighed, dropping her gaze back to the ground.
She decided that it was better to get trapped in her thoughts for a while
longer. It was agonizing to think about her mistakes, and it killed her on the
inside to think of her lost mate-to be; but her mind was the only place where
she could be with him, and oh, how she wanted to be with him.

“I love you, Xiong Liu. I promise that I will do
whatever I can to make you happy.”

His words still echoed in her
mind from time to time. She couldn’t be too sure that he’d actually loved her;
he was more than likely attracted to the idea of continuing his bloodline. It
wasn’t like there were many female ursithropes in China to choose from. Their
marriage was arranged after all, as so many couplings were for ursithropes in
the village. Her grandfather and the other elders did not want to risk
extinction, and he had been very clear on his wishes for her to mate with
another panda; how could she say no? She would bring dishonor to her people
and she never wanted to do that…..

Yet ignoring her instincts and the warnings that came
to her in dreams was a much worse betrayal than breeding with a different
bear. They were all dead and it was her fault. She had a responsibility to
her people and she let them down.

She’d heard many things about Kadenburg, and America in
general. A female ursithrope was encouraged to couple with the male of her
parents’ choice, but ultimately, so long as he was an ursithrope, she could be
with whoever she wanted. Louisa couldn’t imagine picking a man of her
choosing. She was engaged to her future mate at the tender age of eleven and
she’d spent nearly every waking hour preparing for the big day. It was a once
in a lifetime experience and she wanted to make her family proud of her.

Oh, how proud they must be of you now,
she
thought bitterly as a cool breeze ran its fingers through her fine hair. She
closed her eyes and frowned.
You are lucky Beau did not kill you for your
mistake.

She was very fortunate to have
Beau in her life. He wasn’t just a cousin to her; he was like the brother she
always wanted, and she often referred to him as one of her best friends. Since
that morning, all she could do now was worry about his true feelings towards
her. She knew in the very depths of her soul that he was disappointed with
her, and that bothered her greatly. Beau was the last person on earth she
wanted to let down.

Perhaps one day he can forgive me,
she thought
as she trapped her bottom lip between her teeth. She lifted her cocoa colored
eyes to peer at the clear sky, admiring the beauty of this place. America
would’ve been a grand adventure for her if she’d arrived under different
circumstances. They had only left China because they no longer had a home, and
Beau was determined to kill the werewolf responsible for the death of their
people.

If I kill Breslin Connor, that will make Beau proud
of me. I will bring honor back!

“I don’t think I should go in
there.”

Upon hearing Natalie’s worried comment, Louisa focused
her attention on the present instead of the past. She gazed at the quaint
little home settled in the middle of a huge yard, and then she peered at Natalie,
frowning.

“Why do you not want to go inside?” She asked
curiously.

“I don’t think I will be welcome,” Natalie replied as
she hugged an arm around herself and dropped her gaze to the ground. “It’s
complicated.”

“It’s not that complicated,” Dimitri spoke up, and his
tone was angry. “You’re a traitor to your kind.”

“And you are not?” Beau snapped suddenly, glaring at the
wolf. “I do not imagine that your alpha was pleased with the news of your
extreme interest in one of us.”

“That is none of your damn business,” Dimitri growled,
his eyes slowly starting to glow.

“Whoa, whoa, Calm down,” Rutley, the human, said as he
stepped between them once again. “Ignore him.”

“I’m not freaking ignoring him,” Dimitri said through
clenched teeth as he easily pushed the human aside and stalked towards Beau.
“You’ve got a real big mouth, you know that?”

Louisa watched her cousin anxiously as he crossed his
arms over his chest, cocking his head to the side while gazing at the wolf calmly.

“And you are easily the most sensitive lycanpup I’ve
ever had the displeasure of meeting. What do you want to do about it?”

Though she was certain everyone was curious to see what
the werewolf would do about it, the opportunity quickly vanished when the sound
of a screen door opening hastily caught their attention.

“Oh, Dimitri! There you are!” A rather cheerful female
said excitedly as she placed her hands on her hips and smiled. “Come inside
for breakfast! There won’t be any left for y—oh! We have company. Richard, we
have company.”

Louisa sighed in relief, watching her cousin relax as
his shoulders slumped.
Thank goodness.

“Hello!” The voluptuous older female said as she
hurried down the steps, making her way towards them with a bright smile on her
face. “Welcome to our home. I’m Charlotte Bamey.”

Louisa was taken aback when the woman’s arms wrapped
around her, nearly squeezing the life right out of her small frame as she
blinked. “H-hello,” She replied hesitantly. “It’s very nice to make your
acquaintance, Mrs. Bamey. I am Louisa X-”

“Oh no, dear,” Mrs. Bamey shook her head. “Don’t call
me that, please. I’m Charlotte, not an old woman. Only Rutley can get away
with the Mrs.”

“O-oh,” Louisa frowned. “I am sorry. I am Louisa
Xiong and this is my cousin Beau.”

“Hello, Beau,” Mrs. Bamey nodded eagerly, stepping
towards the apprehensive ursithrope and wrapping her arms around him. “It’s so
lovely to meet both of ya’ll.”

Louisa couldn’t help but to feel particularly amused by
her cousin’s reaction. They were not used to such affection, after all. When
was the last time she’d received a hug? Her grandmother, perhaps…..

“Oh,
Natalie.
”

All eyes moved to watch Natalie shift her weight from
one foot to the other. She was nervous; Louisa could feel the tension
radiating from the other ursithrope as Mrs. Bamey gazed at her.

“Is it really you?”

The petty bickering was soon forgotten as the two older
women gazed at one another, seemingly remembering something from the past; or
reliving it. Mrs. Bamey’s eyes filled with tears as she took a careful step
towards the timid brunette and then stopped suddenly. It seemed she was afraid
of scaring her off.

“Hello, Charlotte,” Natalie managed to say after
another few beats of silence. She was visibly trembling, and Louisa actually
felt bad for her. No, she didn’t know Natalie very well at all, but she could
relate with her in so many ways; especially about making a mistake and fearing
never being forgiven. It wasn’t the greatest feeling in the world.

“You’re okay,” Mrs. Bamey whispered as her eyes roamed
over the female’s face. “I thought….” She sniffled softly and clasped her
hands together. “We always assumed the worst had happened to you, Natty.”

No one spoke as the two women gazed at one another, and
they could’ve stood there for an hour for all Louisa knew. It wasn’t until the
screen door creaked again and more ursithropes appeared that Louisa finally
remembered why they were even here.

“Rutley, your dad’s called about fifty dang times. You
might want to-” The older male stopped mid-sentence as his eyes landed on
Natalie. Every reaction seemed to be the same as soon as they saw her; like
seeing a ghost. The man’s thick eyebrows knitted together as he leaned against
the porch post and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “I’ll be damned.”

Natalie swallowed hard, trying to force a smile as she
nodded to him. “Hey, Richard.”

More and more men filed out onto the porch to catch a
glimpse at the newcomers. Louisa felt very self-conscious as their eyes fell
upon her, possibly sizing her up for breeding purposes. How was she supposed
to know? Americans were very odd…..

And then another man appeared in the doorway, his green
eyes moving straight past Louisa to stare at the woman standing behind her.
The expression on his face was unreadable, but it was somewhere in between
surprised and heated, if she had her guess. Was he happy to see Natalie?

Natalie’s heartbeat was loud and sporadic. Louisa had
to concentrate very hard just to hear anything else. She supposed she would be
incredibly nervous about a homecoming such as this as well.

Poor Natalie,
Louisa thought as she turned her
head to glance at the woman. She was still trembling like a leaf and the
perspiration on her forehead glistened in the sunlight. Great Urseth, was she
going to faint?

“H-hi, Arnold,” Natalie whispered.

It was only then that Louisa finally made the connection
in her head. She understood
why
Natalie was so nervous, and her heart
broke for her as the man turned his back to them and disappeared inside the
house.

“Don’t mind him,” Mrs. Bamey said gently. “Come inside,
please,” She insisted as she looped her arm through Natalie’s and guided her
towards the steps. “All of you, come on in and make yourselves at—Good
gracious, Dimitri! What happened to you?”

Louisa heard the wolf scoff as she made her way up the
steps. His explanation faded away as she entered the house and her life
changed forever.