Alpha Bear by Bianca D'Arc Page B

with me. I
figured if I screwed up and those tentacles came for me, John would
help me fight them off.”
    “I wanted to be the one to help you,” Mellie
insisted in a quiet, hurt tone.
    “You know you can’t. Not only did Nonna
forbid it, but you know as well as I do that my kind of magic isn’t
your strong point. Nor can I help you with the potions you’re going
to need to work on for the second phase of this operation.”
    “Second phase?” John’s query came from the
doorway. The man moved so silently he’d snuck up on them.
    Urse looked at him, his endearingly raised
eyebrow invited her to answer, but her heart was racing—both from
being surprised by his presence and a little excited about seeing
him again after what they’d done just a few minutes ago. Was she
blushing? She really hoped she wasn’t blushing.
    “Come on,” she said, going for distraction
and heading for the hall. She’d have to pass John to get into the
hallway, but at least Mellie wouldn’t see the telltale flush Urse
just knew was racing to her cheeks. “I’m hungry. Let’s
nibble on something, and we’ll go over what comes next.”
    She led the way toward the kitchen, glad when
she heard them following. She had to regain control of herself, and
the situation.
    Urse busied herself making a sandwich at the
kitchen counter while the other two took seats at the table. She
looked at John, shrugged, and decided to make two sandwiches—one
for her and an extra-giant-sized one for him. They’d both been up
since before dawn, and it had to be mid-morning now, if not close
to lunchtime.
    Without a word, she placed the plate she’d
made up for him in front of John, then took her own seat next to
him at the table. Mellie was on one end of the rectangular table,
unpacking a bag from the bakery and putting her purchases on a
platter.
    Urse took a bite out of her sandwich, chewed
and swallowed before she spoke again. Yum. She’d needed that. The
magical work had taken a lot out of her, both emotionally and
physically. She needed to replace the many calories she’d used.
    “Okay.” She wiped her mouth with her napkin.
“So, Phase Two. That would be Mellie’s part. Tell him, Mel.” She
introduced the topic and let her sister take it away while Urse
concentrated on stuffing her sandwich in her mouth.
     

Chapter Seven

    John was intrigued as Amelia explained more
about her work with potions and the research she would have to do
before implementing her part of the plan. Apparently, there were
herbs and precious commodities to be gathered and blessed, then
prepared in just the right way. Potion work, she told him,
shouldn’t be undertaken quickly. A hasty potion could very well
have disastrous consequences.
    He’d had no idea. Then again, John hadn’t
ever spent any time with magic users. Not good ones, anyway. There
had been the occasional bad guy who flung magic at them when he’d
been leading his Spec Ops team, but John hadn’t stopped to chat
before tearing the bad guys apart.
    He was learning all sorts of things about
good magic today. These two young strega had really opened
his eyes. And Ursula, in particular, had made him think about
things beyond magic and managing the town. She’d made him think
about personal things. Things about his own future.
    John hadn’t given his personal life much
thought lately. He sort of figured the town had to come first. When
that was up and running, he had hoped that a suitable female
grizzly shifter might miraculously show up and be his mate. It was
more than a little ridiculous, when he stopped to think about
it.
    Ursula was real. She was here. And his bear
was making noises inside his mind that led him to believe she might
be the one.
    That was even more ridiculous, but there it
was. The Alpha bear couldn’t mate with a mage and keep his
position. He doubted his men would stand for it. They all
distrusted magic other than their own. Shifter magic was one thing.
Ursula’s kind of magic…