Prologue
In the enchanted glow of a decidedly fey garden, a family of werebears, reunited with their lost little girl, accepted the hospitality of their new friends. The papa bear, Martin, was a retired Marine whose specialty was tracking. He’d tracked his cub from the schoolyard in Southeastern Pennsylvania where she’d been abducted, to the Blue Ridge Mountains of West Virginia, where she’d been found. The trail had been tricky. Deliberately fouled by evil magic. He’d been stumped several times, but the belief of his human mate and the love they both felt for their missing cub propelled him forward.
He had kept the faith that little Melissa would be found alive, and she had been, just that afternoon, by a mixed group of shifters and other magical folk, who had contacted him and his wife. He’d driven straight to the little town and the paper mill on its edge, finding his cub, much to his great joy and relief.
Martin Ebersole and his wife, Lisa, after much excitement, were now sitting in the fey garden of a cottage rented by one of their cub’s rescuers. The woman, like his mate, was non-magical, but she had wisdom about herbs and had played a role in ending the evil bitch that had kidnapped his child. Kiki Richards and her newfound werebear mate, Jack Bishop, sat on the other side of the patio table, holding hands. Kiki’s sister, Helen, who was a healer, sat beside the younger of two ex-military werewolves, with a human Navy SEAL filling out the group that had saved his little girl. He owed them.
After the family had been reunited at the mill, Kiki had generously offered her cottage to Martin, Lisa and Melissa, so they could clean up and rest a while before heading back home. Her generous heart had touched Lisa, and she’d decided for the family, taking Kiki up on her kindness. Which was how the small family had ended up having dinner with the group in the backyard of that cottage with the magical fey garden.
Melissa had shifted into her bear form and was curled up, asleep, on her mother’s lap while the ladies drank some after-dinner tea. The men were drinking beer, but not heavily. They were all just relaxing after a very trying day.
In the case of Martin and his wife, they’d been on the road for weeks, going from place to place, following the faintest of trails to find their daughter. They’d been close when the call had come in from the Lords, relaying that Melissa had been found. Martin had driven them as fast as he could get away with toward the mill where he’d been directed by those he could trust, and sure enough, Melissa had been there. A bit thinner than she had been. A bit weaker than she should be. But alive. Thanks be to the Mother of All.
Apparently, the team had found her in a laboratory darkroom, restrained with a silver chain that had burned her tender skin, silver being poisonous to many magical creatures. Helen had taken away the marks with her healing power, and Jack had offered to sell the pure silver to a group of Native American artisans who would melt it down and turn it into trinkets for the human market. In that way, they’d be turning something that had been made for evil purposes into something harmless. The money from the sale of such a huge hunk of silver would go toward Melissa’s recovery and future education, which was an even more generous offer.
Martin had called the Lords directly when they’d driven away from the mill and headed for this cottage and learned that these people were able to make such expensive decisions and were as good as their word. Overwhelmed by the generosity of spirit of these people, Martin had taken his wife and cub into his arms when they reached the safety of the fey cottage, and all three had just held each other for a good long while. His wife had cried. Melissa had cried. And, yes, Martin wasn’t too proud to admit there might’ve been some tears of joy and relief in his own eyes, as well.
They’d had a few hours to relax and regroup at the little cottage set in the middle of the most fantastic garden. Martin and Lisa had been on the road for a long time, and it was nice to just sit still, secure in the knowledge that their baby girl was finally safe, with them.