Family With Honour (Book 4)

Seven

"It is an honour to meet you," Christine tells him, dropping into a quick curtsy. Wolfe thumps Bear's back as discreetly as he can. Bear shoots him a quick glare while Christine watches the two with amusement. "I intend to go for a walk in the forest but my mother is ever so particular and anxious when I go alone. The boys back there I know far too well and I do not trust them." Bear's brow creases at her words, slow to see where she is heading with her words. Wolfe sighs, reading the signs easily and knowing his brother will not take the opening she has given.

"How bizarre, Bear was also intending to go for a walk through the forest. To ease your mother's mind, perhaps you could go together and your safety is guaranteed." Wolfe says.

"I am sure Christine does not wish for my company. People will talk," Bear abruptly says and the words die in Christine's throat. She warily looks at Bear, confused by his quick dismissal of going for a walk with her. She had just been about to accept, the boy before her intrigued her to no end and she had been waiting for an opportunity to approach him without being presumptuous. Wolfe had given her that opening but now he simply looks embarrassed for her.

Bear sees the wary look enter her eyes and his shoulders deflate. His mother may still call him handsome but he accepted a long time ago that he was not like Wolfe. He did not attract the attention that followed his brother because of his long legs and broad shoulders. They share the same shoulders but long legs were not distributed fairly in the womb. He knows though that his peculiar eyes set him apart and give him power and weakness in how others view him. This wary look is one he has seen enter many eyes but he never wished to give her the opportunity for it to appear in hers.

Christine swallows as her mouth becomes uncomfortably dry. She hesitates, mouth opening and shutting like a curtain in the breeze. Bear glances at Wolfe. His gaze leaving her for the moment gives her a burst of strength. She will not allow her first meeting with him to go so badly. "I rather like hearing people talk. The stories they come up with could fill a book from cover to cover and be fairly entertaining." Bear's gaze comes back to her, a smile lifting up his lips. She grins. "I would be interested to hear what they would discuss about a walk in the woods but there is only one way I could..." She waits patiently, hoping this time he will not dismiss the idea.

Wolfe clears his throat and opens his mouth, "I would be honoured to accompany..."

His words are sharply cut off when Bear speaks over him saying, "Indeed there is. May I?" He offers his arm to her which she gratefully places her hand on. Wolfe smirks smugly as the two walk off together.

○ ○ ○

Guilt. The monster grows in the pit of his stomach as his hands tighten into fists and his body goes rigid. A strong breeze would struggle to move him an inch. He restrains himself, but only barely. Her name sends ripples of pure destructive agony through his spine, spreading out its sharp fingers into his heart and lungs. Each breath takes an age as his ears numb to the sound of Sparrow's voice. One thing repeats over and over within his mind. He must not harm Sparrow or her baby.

"Enough!" The word echoes in the silence, bouncing off the walls sounding firmer each time. Bear exhales as Sparrow's mouth stills, any more words dying a quick death in her throat. His nails release their pressure on his palms as his breathing steadies and his head stops swirling so violently. Sparrow opens her mouth again but she is beaten in speed with the next words spreading through the room. "Enough." The word is tired but firm. There is no ignoring the spoken order to the Lady of Usani. Wide, although drunken, gazes fasten on the three stood so close by the bar.

Sparrow steps back, her eyes darting over Bear's statuesque figure and his still clenched fists. Her hand moves without her brain's knowledge to her stomach. His gaze follows the movement as he inhales and exhales deeply, keeping his nerves in check. She swallows and opens her mouth again, only to close it a moment later. There is nothing she can say, no apology that can suffice. She has stomped on his grief and his guilt through her own impatience and anger. There is no going back and dragging the words back into her mouth.

"I believe it would be best if you left," the third in their little standoff, the woman, suggests. She steps between them ignoring every little voice shouting at her to stay out of this. She had not listened when she spoke the word 'enough' clearly. She did not listen when she said it the second time. Why should she start listening now? The damage has most likely already been done.

Sparrow licks her lower lip and nods her head. "I am so..." Bear shakes his head stilling her tongue.

"Go home Sparrow. Tell Wolfe I am sorry and tell him to call off his men. I refuse to be followed or checked up on from here on out. I will come home when I am ready and not a moment before." His words are calm and controlled but listening closely you can hear the stress echoed through every word.

Sparrow grits her teeth but gives a short affirmative signal with her head. She turns to walk out.

"Sparrow." She glances back at her name. Bear's jaw tenses before he speaks, "I am sorry for what I am putting you through. Distance yourself, please. I do not want to harm you."

"Goodbye Bear." She walks out and Bear closes his eyes and sighs loudly.

His eyes spring open, his vision taking a few moments longer to respond. "You order around a respected warrior then sneak away?" he asks with an enquiring eyebrow raised. She stops and turns to face him. "Somehow I expected more," he finishes.

"I..."

"Name?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you have name that you are known by or must I only refer to you as the mistress?" Bear flatly expands. At her silence and wary expression he decides to continue. "You said 'his other mistresses'. I can only follow that line of thought to see that you must have been one too."

"That was a long time ago and not something I ever wish to relive. My name is Amelia. I would prefer that over mistress." Her eyes slip towards the door, keeping watch on her exit. Bear chuckles softly.

"Thank you, Amelia," Her focus shifts back to him, "both for stopping me from murder and for relieving me from a difficult situation."

She smiles. "You have surprised me twice tonight so far and that does not happen often. You gave up your last drink of the night and I see how that still pains you. Then you expressed appreciation and I did not expect that. You could be quite the charmer if you were not so dependent on this." She waves her arm around the place, her words light enough not to cause any offense.

Bear scoffs. The idea of him being a charmer is absurd. That role has always fallen to his brother. It fell to his brother to get him to finally speak to the girl he had been in love with. Bear had been the opposite of charming that day but somehow she was still interested. She still wanted to get to know him better. Any charm he gathered from that point on was from her. She charmed everyone she met, a smile never falling from her face. Not until the end anyway.

Bear looks around and the guilt increases. She hated drinking with a passion. Why has he come to the one place she would have detested with all her being? Despite this he still wants another drink. He wants to be numb to this pain deep in his chest. 

What do we think to our new character, who has finally been named, Amelia? Will she be able to get through to Bear where others have failed? Will she even try? What do we think to Bear and Christine?