And her mouth dropped open.
They were talking to each other.
Yes, it sounded totally crazy but that was the only explanation she could come up with because whenever Arin babbled, the bear fell silent and when Arin stopped, the bear answered.
It was the most amazing thing she"d ever witnessed. And the most terrifying.
She didn"t know how long it went on but she did know Race was ready for anything. He hadn"t moved his hand from her shoulder, the weight both a comfort and a warning.
Finally the bear moved, lumbering up onto its four paws. She couldn"t contain the gasp that left her lips and, even though it was silent, Race somehow heard her. His hand tightened on her shoulder, not painfully but in warning.
The bear never looked twice at either her or Race. It turned and made its way back into the forest, leaving her and Race to stare at each other.
"Vaffanculo. What the h.e.l.l just happened?"
She shook her head. Even if she could speak, she wouldn"t know what to say. The shock was slowly wearing off, leaving her with the sense that something momentous had just happened and she had no idea what.
Other than the fact that her six-month-old son had apparently talked to a bear.
"We need to talk to Cole. Come on."
Race grabbed her hand and pulled her along in his wake.
She stole several glances at Arin, who wore a big, happy grin. He clapped his little hands, as if he were having a great time.
It didn"t take them long to get to the den"s main community of houses. Cole kept a home there, though it mostly served as his office. The building looked almost plain, as did the rest of the houses in their community. To the outside world, it looked like any other rural development, set in the woods miles from the nearest city.
The houses were made from wood and stone, all local material. And almost all had only one floor, a nod to their Etruscan roots. Cole"s home was no exception.
Race beat her to the door, his fist banging against the wood until she swore she heard it echo through the forest.
Seconds later, a tall woman opened the door, dark eyebrows raised.
"Dorian, we need to talk to Cole."
Mara recognized the woman. Cole"s praetorian, his personal guard. The first time Mara had met her, she"d wondered why the lucani king"s safety would be entrusted to a woman who couldn"t weigh more than one hundred forty pounds and stood nearly six feet tall.
She"d only thought that until she"d gotten a glimpse of Dorian working out in the community building across the street. Now she knew better.
"What"s wrong?" She waved them into the house, her gaze traveling between Race and Mara. "What happened?"
"We need to talk to Cole."
"Then talk."
Cole had appeared in one of the doorways toward the rear of the house and Mara was struck as she always was by his quiet sense of strength. The lucani king was handsome in conventional terms, with dark-brown hair, dark eyes and perfect cheekbones.
But he had an air about him that was...imposing. She never failed to feel intimidated in his presence. And to know that her welcome here hinged solely on his opinion...
Would he kick her and Arin out now? Where would they go? How- "I know this is going to sound crazy but we"re pretty sure Arin just had a conversation with a bear."
Race"s hand tightened around hers and she realized she was clenching his so tight her knuckles were white. Arin had started to babble, jumping up and down in the pack, as if he understood what they were saying.
Which he couldn"t. He was a baby. Her baby.
Cole"s eyebrows lifted but he didn"t show any other sign of shock. As if people told him babies communicated with wild animals all the time. "Why don"t you start at the beginning."
Mara was starting to think the beginning went back a lot further than her arrival here at the den.
Race felt the change in Mara as soon as the last word left Cole"s lips.
She tensed, as if he"d said something shocking. Or he"d threatened to kick her and Arin out.
Cole wouldn"t do it. But, of course, Mara didn"t know that. She hadn"t been here long enough to know Cole had a heart. Unlike every other man she"d ever known.
Instead of answering Cole, he turned so he could look directly at Mara. "Hey. We"ll figure it out. Everything"s going to be fine."
Mara"s mouth pursed and he waited for her to shake her head, to deny him. Instead she signed, "Let me have Arin."
Cole and Dorian waited silently while he undid the pack so Mara could lift the baby off his back. But once she had Arin out of his snowsuit, Cole stepped into the room and held out his arms. "May I?"
Race wondered if Mara would balk at handing over the baby but she gave Cole a small smile and a nod before holding out a smiling Arin.
"h.e.l.lo, little man." Cole took the baby as if he were an old pro. Race wasn"t surprised. Sometimes he didn"t think there wasn"t anything Cole couldn"t handle. "Sounds like you had a busy day."
Arin gurgled and smiled and made all the noises Race was used to hearing the baby make. Which made him look to Mara. Today was the first time she"d heard the sound of her son"s voice. The wonderstruck look on her face made him bound and determined to make sure no one ever took another thing from her.
"Race." Cole"s voice held a note of amus.e.m.e.nt. "Anything else you can tell me?"
He shook his head, not in answer but to clear his thoughts. Then he forced himself to think. But Mara beat him to an answer. She tapped her hands together to get Cole"s attention then began to sign until Cole made an apologetic face.
"I"m sorry, Mara. My signing just isn"t good enough."
In the next second, Dorian held out a whiteboard and marker with an eraser attached by a string.
Race shook his head. Was there nothing Dorian didn"t think of?
He made a mental note to ask her where she"d gotten that then read what Mara had written.
There were squirrels at his window the other day. Five of them staring at him. I thought it was strange but I lived in the city all my life. Maybe country squirrels are different.
Cole nodded, still smiling at Arin as the baby put his chubby little hands on Cole"s cheeks and patted them, smiling the whole time. "Actually, the squirrels around here aren"t too keen on getting close to us. The whole predator-prey thing tends to keep them scarce."
Great. So that meant another episode with Arin as a d.a.m.n Doctor Doolittle...
Or not a doctor at all.
s.h.i.t.
Cole met his gaze. Obviously the king had already come to the same conclusion.
Mara touched his arm and he grabbed her hand before she could move away.
She signed "What?" with one hand.
Vaffanculo, he did not want to have this conversation here and now. But the look in Cole"s eyes meant he was going to be overruled on this one. He looked back at Mara, the slightest hint of fear starting to creep into those wide eyes. Would he ever see her without that fear?
His jaw locked. He shot Cole another look, one that warned him to be careful. One that should have put his back up. The king gave him a wry grin.
"Mara, what do you know about Arin"s father?"
Cole should"ve just taken a knife and stuck it in Race"s stomach. Mara looked sucker-punched and the blood drained from her face.
No one, not even Grace, had brought up Arin"s father since she"d been here. When Arin had been born without the intact cowl marking him Malandante, everyone had breathed a sigh of relief.
Mara"s baby would not be drawn to the dark side of magic. But beyond that, no one had thought to ask if there was anything else they should know about his biological father.
Race reacted without thought. He turned her toward the couch and guided her down onto the cushions. He sat beside her, not about to move while they had this conversation.
To his surprise, she didn"t move away from him. And when she laced her fingers through his, he clasped her hand tight and felt her return the squeeze.
Cole watched everything with a sharp eye but his expression showed nothing.
She only held on for a few seconds then released him to write again.
What do you want to know? As far as I know, he was Mal. Nothing more. And not very strong. But then everything he told me may be a lie.
"Did you notice anything different about him?"
She sighed.
Yes. He treated me well.
If Race ever came face-to-face with the b.a.s.t.a.r.d who made her look like this just by thinking about him, he was going to tear him apart with his teeth. Slowly.
Dorian appeared to be thinking the very same thing. The praetorian"s scowl promised retribution.
Cole walked to the chair opposite the couch and sat with Arin on his lap, alternately clapping his hands and grabbing at Cole"s hands, which the king obligingly held out for the baby to play with. "I understand that this entire situation sucks. If we find him, you have my promise that he"ll pay. But right now, anything at all could help us figure out what"s going on with Arin."
Another sigh then Mara shook her head.
There"s nothing. He was an average guy with minimal power even though he"d been born Mal. He was never going to be anything other than Ettore"s p.a.w.n. He had a minor affinity for earth but the man couldn"t manage a workable spell.
Cole nodded. "Okay. And there"s nothing in your family, like a fauni ancestor, who could account for it?"
Another denial from Mara.
"Then I"d like to send you to see someone who may be able to tell you what"s going on."
"And you think there is something going on?" Race asked.
Cole"s steady gaze met his and Race bit back a profane curse at the certainty he saw on the other man"s face.
He felt Mara shift beside him and he turned. "I"m going with you."
The fear was back in her eyes and he"d do anything to wipe that away forever. He"d defy Cole for that. Might as well just hand his pelt over to her right now. Knowing full well she probably wouldn"t take it.
Why would she? They didn"t know each other well enough.
But then the fear retreated from her eyes and she smiled up at him for several long seconds. When she finally looked away, he felt as if he"d been smashed on the head with a two-by-four.
Vaguely he realized she"d picked up the whiteboard.
Where do we have to go?
Chapter Five.
Arin was down for the night and Mara had just closed the door behind Kaisie and Grace, who had stopped by to make sure everything was okay.
Mara had smiled and said of course, they were fine. Race had held up a corner of the living room, arms crossed over his chest. He hadn"t said much but he hadn"t made Grace or Kaisie suspicious.
The story of her son"s encounter with the bear hadn"t left Cole"s house. She had asked Cole to keep it secret until they knew what was going on and he"d agreed. She didn"t know whether to be grateful or even more worried about his agreement.
Arin had fallen asleep after a short feeding and a little rocking, not at all out of sorts. As if nothing momentous had taken place today.
And maybe nothing had. Maybe they were making a mountain out of a molehill.
Sure. Bears always sat and had conversations with babies. And totally ignored the adults.
It made no sense and she couldn"t believe she"d managed to convince Grace that everything was fine. Maybe she hadn"t. Maybe Grace had simply decided to cut her some slack.
She needed a little slack. A little breathing room.
But not too much.
Where"s Race?
She realized it was a thought she had several times a day. She"d grown so used to his presence that when she couldn"t find him, she felt...lonely.
Now he wasn"t anywhere to be seen.