Dark Desire

CHAPTER 67. Bear Vrs Bears

Aaron touched a finger to my temple. "That's how that works, and it's normal for you. You'll go into a different frame of mind, and right now you're not it it. That's why you slapped my mom this morning, and not last night."

I bit my lip. "And you like it?"

Aaron met my eyes. "Do you like yourself? Do you feel okay being vulnerable around me?"

I took a moment to think it over seriously, before I nodded. "I like it," I whispered.

Aaron nodded and gazed out into the woods. "Then I like it,"

We sat together for a few more minutes before I began to get the itch to move. "Can I go explore?" My words were rushed, and Aaron waved me off.

"Stay where I can see you," he said easily, looking completely different than when we first met. I jumped to my feet and gently brushed my fingers against the top of the flowers.

I laughed, some part of me feeling suddenly so relaxed and happy. A flush came to my cheeks and I looked back at Aaron with a happy smile before doing a silly twirl in a circle before jumping onto a log, hoping for some small adventure in the forest.

I smelled flowers and looked under rocks, I couldn't wait to tell everyone about my time with Aaron, as soon as we got back to the house, I was going to call and talk their ears off.

I leaned down and brushed my fingers into a small creak, listening to th frogs sing their happy tune. Adoration for Aaron filled my heart, and I touched it, feeling it beat under my palm.

Like a missing piece, falling into place as I finally opened my heart to the idea of having a mate. It was okay, it was fine, Aaron was mine and I was his, and that didn't change my love for all my vampires and Faith.

Another carefree laugh left me, swishing my fingers through the water come more, unable to contain the joy wanting to burst from me. Everything, was okay, and that made everything perfect.

"Hey,"

I jumped and looked over my shoulder at Bear. "You scared me," I breathed and took my fingers from the creak, getting to my feet.

Bear looked incredibly angry, and I recognized that anger. "You don't belong here," Bear told me.

I sighed and sat on a rock. "Look, just because you're blinded by your grief, doesn't mean no one else around you has any." I said and met his eyes. "Family changes, people move on, you have to accept that."

Bear looked disgusted. "What would you know about that little miss perfect?"

I gazed at him coldly. "I'm being followed by the ghosts of my dead family, just because I'm not bitter like you doesn't mean I've had a perfect life."

Bear glared at me. "Because of you my brother is dead, he may have been wrong, but that doesn't mean he had to die,"

I looked at him steadily. "I'm sorry you lost your brother, truly, but your brother died long before I met him. That man was not fit to be your brother."

Bear pointed at me, tears filling his eyes. "You didn't know him! Don't act like you know everything because you're an adult, you don't!"

It was kind of like looking at my past self, the grief and anger. "I didn't know him, but he did say he wanted to chain me to a wall and rape me," I said simply and watched him flinch. "I've lost people, I've been kidnapped by two psychopaths, and I've even killed someone. Don't you assume to know anything."

Bear flinched again and swallowed thickly. "I," he looked at the ground, pale. "I didn't know,"

"Of course you didn't," I shrugged and gazed at him. "And I am sorry, really am, but don't blame me, I didn't do anything to you."

Bear hesitated and looked ill. "I'm sorry," he actually looked sick. I stood and hesitantly touched his shoulder.

"It's okay," I said softly and smiled. "And you have an awesome older brother."

Bear nodded and wiped a hand over his eyes. I heard a cracking stick and Bear and I looked over by the creak.

"A baby cub," I said blankly and looked around. "Three baby cubs,"

Bear tugged on my sleeve. "And a mommy bear," he pointed to the left, shaking like a leaf. The bear let out a sound like nothing I had ever heard in my entire life.

I stared at its angry snarling face, frozen. I had been in so many scary circumstances, but never been petrified like I was in that moment.

It was just defending it's babies, was I supposed to do something to it? I felt magic fill the forest before the bear could touch me, but it wasn't mine.

I gazed up and stared at the black ghost with no human form, feeling magic coming from it, some it's magic almost seeming to seep into me. Bear stumbled to the side, looking faint as the bears turned into puppies.

I felt a trickle and reached up, touching my nose before pulling my hand back and looking at it. Blood? There was blood on my hand.

"Did you do that?" Beat cried and shook my shoulder. I shook my head and wiped my nose.

"N-no, I didn't do it, I could have, if I didn't freeze, but I didn't do it-" the ghost suddenly let out an ear piecing screech, making me stumble to my knees and cover my ears with a cry of pain.

It stopped screaming and I draped one arm over my stomach while I covered my mouth with the other as I coughed painfully.

Hands touched my shoulders and I looked at Aaron's wild eyes as I took my hand off my mouth, sticky with blood. "Can we keep the puppies?" I started coughing pathetically after I asked, chest heaving painfully.

"Raven, what happened? Are you hurt?" Aaron's words were rushed and stern, but I shook my head.

"Don't know, magic, not mine, in me?" I guessed and shook my head, touching my heart with a soft gasp. "I feel it, I don't like it, it doesn't go there," I rubbed my chest over my shirt and hissed in pain.

"Magic from what?" Bear asked them stopped. "Your dead relatives?"

"Looks like I'm taking you home early, I'm sure they'll know what to do," Aaron said, almost to himself before he glanced at the dogs as they let out a small yip.

"Can we keep the puppies?" I asked again, wiping my mouth.

Aaron looked at me. "Yes, we can keep the puppies,"

"Promise?" I asked and shook my head to clear it, suddenly the pain leaving me.

Aaron gazed at me. "I said we can, don't question me,"

Oh.

"Do we have to go?" I asked and Aaron grabbed my wrist, rubbing his thumb into the blood.

"What do you think, Koshka?"

I nodded a little. "Okay, good point," I said weakly. Hopefully they won't freak out when they see me, I could see my vampires making assumptions.