My Perfect Mate Read online

  “Sir Hywel, I heard you found your Destined One. May I speak to you a moment?”

  “Of course, come in.” JP ushered the captain inside his rooms. “I go by Jean-Paul, now that my duties take me back to Earth, and yes, I found my Destined One. She is a lycan, though once she was human.”

  “I wanted to encourage you to go through with the bonding ceremony,” Dinadan said, running his hand through his brown hair and sighing. “I miss my Clara every day. I left her when our daughter was still young, and returned to my duties as captain of the guard. I should’ve stayed and bonded with her, but I feared giving up my immortality, and my life here in Ynys Afallon. I always felt that romantic love would only bring heartache, and things were complicated between us. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Grab onto your Destined One with both hands.”

  “I plan on doing just what you suggest. That’s one of the reasons I returned to Ynys Afallon. I needed to get my personal items taken care of as well as get permission from our queen. But, Dinadan, if you miss your Clara so much, why don’t you ask Her Majesty for an assignment on Earth. Destined Ones can’t be separated by law.”

  “I’m no longer in favor with our queen. One of her nephews has gone to Earth through one of the portal gates without permission. I have disciplined the guard on duty. I fear now wouldn’t be a good time to ask Her Majesty for a change in post. Perhaps in a few weeks, when her Gwarcheidwad y Earth returns with her errant relative.”

  “Don’t wait too long, remember each day here, is a week on Earth. I’m traveling through a portal to return to Earth and my duties as Gwarcheidwad y Earth in Quebec.”

  “Let me take you to the portal now. You can get through faster if I escort you.”

  “That would be wonderful, thank you.” Jean-Paul picked up the coffer and glanced around the chamber. So much beauty surrounded him that he would never see again, but there was a certain beauty waiting for him on Earth. The ache in his chest told him, he needed to get back.

  §

  Ujarak glanced at Susan in the passenger seat of the Jeep. Her nose was still red and every once in a while she would swipe at her eyes, like he wouldn’t notice that she still cried. He drove through the streets of Quebec to the old quarter, and finally found a parking space near the granite building they sought.

  A woman walked a small dog down the street and piles of snow still lay upon the ground, making sidewalks icy. Ujarak looked from the building to the piece of paper Mathis gave him. He’d really hoped his big brother would take over once Ujarak told him about the accidents happening around his uncle. Being the father of six pups did take a lot of time. Ujarak could understand why Mathis didn’t come with them. It galled him even more that the one man he had to talk to was the girlfriend-stealing Jean-Paul.

  “Why don’t I knock on the door and see if anyone’s home?” Ujarak suggested.

  Susan nodded and took a shuddering breath. Rage swamped Ujarak. No one should be allowed to hurt Susan, especially not her mate. She’d had a rough time of it with being turned into a lycan against her will. She didn’t need this. He got out of the car, marched up to the front door, and knocked loudly. He almost hoped Jean-Paul wasn’t home. Then Susan would know he wasn’t ignoring her.

  The door opened. Jean-Paul seemed to have a glow around him. Ujarak blinked and the glow disappeared. JP smiled at seeing Ujarak. Red covered Ujarak’s gaze. He pulled back his arm, his hand fisted, and punched Jean-Paul in the face. “How dare you make Susan cry,” he yelled. “You bastard, what kind of mate are you? Three weeks, you’ve been gone. You’re lucky Susan didn’t do something stupid, all for the love of a bastard like you.”

  Jean-Paul landed hard. Blood poured from his nose. He squinted up at Ujarak from around the hand where he pinched his nose. His stocking cap had fallen off and his long dark hair fell wildly around his face. Ujarak noticed the tips of JP’s ear appeared pointed.

  “Is she all right? I got back late last night.” JP pulled his hat back on and then went back to holding his nose.

  Ujarak heard the car door slam. Susan ran over. “What have you done?” she asked, pushing by him and reaching for the man on the floor. “Are you all right, Jean-Paul?” Ujarak hated the worried tone in her voice.

  “I’m fine, sweetheart,” Jean-Paul said climbing to his feet. “No, don’t get mad at the polar bear. He’s right to chastise me. I see from your face that you’ve been crying. I just got back from my trip. Mathis called right before you arrived and colorfully explained my screw-up in rather explicit terms.” Jean-Paul put his arm around Susan, and pulled her farther into the house and under his shoulder. Ujarak was hard pressed not to growl from seeing someone else touching her. “You, too, Ujarak. Come into the kitchen and have a glass of something. I need to explain a few things to both of you.”

  Jean-Paul led Susan down the hall. She pressed a tissue to his nose. Ujarak huffed and followed after them.

  §

  Jean-Paul whispered a healing spell under his breath to stop the bleeding and glanced at the woman who fussed over him. He’d never had anyone fuss over him before. Like most Fae women, his mother wasn’t particularly warm.

  “Sit, Jean-Paul. I’ll get something to clean off the blood.” Susan hurried to the sink.

  Jean-Paul admired the way Susan’s jeans hugged her slight form. The sweater she wore set off the highlights of her blond ringlets. She was small compared to Fae women, and the lycan females he’d seen. Jean-Paul liked the way she fit under his shoulder.

  “Don’t trouble yourself, sweetheart. It’s almost completely healed.” Jean-Paul smiled and wiped the last of the blood from his face with the tissues she’d pressed into his hand.

  Ujarak stood in the doorway, a scowl on his face. Jean-Paul knew the bear had thought to claim Susan. Then the mating bond snapped into place when he was shot. Susan was Jean-Paul’s Destined One, or heartmate as the lycans called it. Still, he didn’t realize that she would grieve over him if he left. The Fae and witch-kind didn’t suffer from that malady.

  Susan hurried over with a dishcloth and wiped gently at his face. “I’m sorry he hit you. I didn’t know he’d really do it.” JP captured her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. He smiled when she whimpered. Her eyes glowed a moment and a hungry wolf looked out at him. JP didn’t mind, Fae appetites were strong. Her wolf would be a good match for him.

  “It’s okay. I didn’t know about the reaction you’d have from my absence. Forgive my ignorance. Mathis explained when he called to tell me you were coming.” Jean-Paul glanced at Ujarak. From the line of his jaw, he wasn’t happy about Susan attending to JP’s injury. The polar bear would have to get over it. “Mathis also said you needed to speak to me, Ujarak.”

  “Unfortunately,” Ujarak said quietly to himself.

  JP heard the comment clearly with his heightened Fae senses. Susan gasped. She must have heard his mutter as well. Jean-Paul decided not to react and waited for the polar bear shifter to speak.

  “So my brother said you’re a witch with magical powers.”

  “I am a member of the witches’ council here in Canada,” JP admitted. He couldn’t tell them the full truth. He was a Fae, one of the legendary Averys who could control all four elements. And one of the few allowed on Earth. Most people, including Mathis, thought he was a human witch who controlled only one element. Jean-Paul helped to foster that misconception since Fae were here secretly. Only their pointed ears gave them away.

  JP added, “Turning into a wolf or polar bear could be considered magical.”

  “From a human viewpoint it is.” Susan nodded. Jean-Paul pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. She smelled like peaches on a summer day.

  “What happened that you think you need the help of a magic user?” JP asked Ujarak, hard pressed to turn his attention from the woman on his lap.

  “We were hunting on Hudson Bay for seal,” Ujarak began. Jean-Paul motioned him to a chair at the table. Ujarak sat with a disgruntled huff. “My uncl
e, Itigaituk, found something in the ice. He dug it out and slipped it into his pack. No one thought much of his actions. After that, strange things started happening.

  “My father fell through the ice into the water. We had to fish him out so he wouldn’t freeze. The ice should have been over a foot thick where he was standing. Then the meat we caught went bad, as if it had been exposed to heat. Remember we are in the Arctic Circle. It should have been impossible for those things to happen.

  “We made our way back to land. One of the dog sleds started to slip through the ice. We were all pretty spooked by then. My uncle started spouting strange words. A golden light surrounded him. My father went up and shook him and Itigaituk woke up like he’d been in a trance. After that, my uncle wouldn’t speak to any of us. He took his sled and went home leaving us with the rest of the hunting gear and the small amount of meat that wasn’t ruined.”

  “So you think whatever he found in the ice caused the accidents and spoiled meat?” Susan asked.

  “Something caused it. Now that we’re home, there’s been no snow. The wind is warm and the ice is melting on the bay. I don’t think its global warming,” Ujarak said.

  “He’s right,” JP said. “Your uncle found a powerful magic ring called the Gryphon’s Eye. I met with the former owner and she has requested I find and return it to her. That’s where I’ve been for the last few weeks, Susan. I’m sorry you couldn’t get in touch with me.” JP liked having her in his arms where she belonged. His Destined One was a gift and all soft woman. He gave her a little squeeze.

  “I’m glad you’re okay. Mathis said you wouldn’t have left me if you’d known of the consequences. I’m so glad you’re back.”

  The most beautiful emerald colored eyes gazed at him. His chest warmed, it must be the lycan mating bond. “I won’t leave you again, Susan. I promise.”

  “This is all very sweet,” Ujarak said with a sneer. “What’re we going to do about this magic ring before it melts the Arctic?”

  “We’re going to convince your uncle to give it to us and I’m going to return it to where it can’t hurt anyone.”

  Ujarak laughed and hit the wooden table with the flat of his hand. “You don’t know my uncle. He’ll never willingly give us something he thinks is valuable.”

  “Then we’ll find a way to steal it,” Jean-Paul suggested.

  §

  “The ring is very dangerous in the wrong hands,” Jean-Paul said. “It could melt the polar ice cap and flood all low lying areas, not to mention the global damage that would result. It could cause the extinction of the human race.”

  Susan leaned into JP’s arms; her wolf loved the feel of her mate holding her. For some reason, Susan wanted to turn her head and sink her teeth into Jean-Paul’s neck where it met his shoulder. Her mouth watered and her canines grew sharper. The prickly sensation of fur running under her skin warned that she was close to shifting. Her mate’s scent flooded her senses. He smelled like green growing things and she really wanted a taste.

  “Susan, did you hear me?” Ujarak’s voice intruded into her thoughts. “Susan! Are you all right?”

  She sighed and pulled back from where she nuzzled JP’s neck. “What did you say?” She turned around to look at her friend and blinked.

  “I asked if you were up to making a trip into the Arctic,” Ujarak said. “It’s freezing and right now the farther north we travel, the less daylight there will be. Plus, there is the danger of taking you to the polar bear village. There are still those who think the lycans want to steal our territories, my uncle included. They could try to kill you. I think you should stay here out of harm’s way.”

  “I can’t stay here. I’m afraid of what might happen. Where JP goes, I go. I need to be with him.” Susan knew she sounded pitiful, but her wolf rode her hard. She couldn’t lose Jean-Paul again after finding him.

  “She comes,” JP said.

  Susan was glad he backed her up. Esme, her lycan sister, waited six months for her mate. Susan didn’t think she could do it.

  “I can’t guarantee her safety,” Ujarak protested.

  Susan winced. There was no telepathic bond between her and JP. The last three weeks had felt like he was dead.

  “She said she needs to be with me. Mathis told me the same thing,” JP explained.

  Susan squeezed his knee in thanks. The lycan mating bond that ran from her heart to Jean-Paul’s, a thin thread of golden light, was the only thing connecting them. It wouldn’t grow into the rope like thickness until it was cemented into place. Susan would drag JP to bed if she must. The bond would be completed.

  “Ujarak, please,” Susan begged.

  “Suzy-Q, I want you to be safe. I don’t know what will happen when we confront my uncle. He’s a bitter, paranoid man and there are several other Nanuk shifters that follow him.”

  Susan smiled, happy that Ujarak worried about her, but she couldn’t let him convince Jean-Paul to leave her behind. “If you don’t take me with you, I’ll follow you.”

  Ujarak swore and rose from his chair so quickly it crashed to the ground. “This isn’t a game. I’m trying to protect you!”

  Susan flinched. Jean-Paul stiffened beneath her, his arms holding her tightly. “I believe it is my privilege to protect Susan. She needs to go with us and she will. Let’s stop arguing about it and make our plans to leave. If the ring is causing the bay to melt, we need to get it away from your uncle. It’s his anger and hatred that feed the magic and causes the heat.”

  “Is everything all right in there?” a musical voice called from down the hall.

  Susan turned toward the sound and watched a tall willowy woman walk into the room. She was astoundingly beautiful, her skin a flawless porcelain, her dark hair falling to her waist. She wore a long silver velvet dress.

  Susan rose from Jean-Paul’s lap and brushed her hands down her sweater and jeans. This woman made her feel totally inferior. No wonder JP hadn’t answered any of her calls. Susan ground her teeth when Ujarak stared in fascinated rapture at the woman. Susan placed her hands on JP’s shoulders. Her wolf would fight to keep her mate. It was bad enough Ujarak acted like a besotted fool. A low growl of warning rumbled in Susan’s throat. Jean-Paul patted her hand and then rose from the chair. He wrapped his arm around Susan and pulled her close.

  “Susan, this is my half-sister, Marguerite.”

  Chapter Two

  “My father met his Destined One when he came here to Quebec thirty years ago. My mother gave me to my father to raise and wished him well.” Jean-Paul said. “Marguerite, this is Susan, my Destined One and her friend, Ujarak. He’s a polar bear shifter.”

  “We call ourselves Nanuk.” Ujarak offered his hand to the young woman with a winning smile.

  Susan rolled her eyes. Ujarak was certainly a lady’s man. At least she didn’t have to worry about JP. She grimaced about her jealous reaction. Did Jean-Paul know? He hadn’t said anything.

  Marguerite smiled and walked to them. She took Susan’s hands in hers. “I’m so happy to meet you, Susan. We’ll be sisters-in-law. Jean-Paul has told me so much about you.” Susan smiled, but was afraid it came out a grimace. Why did JP’s sister have to be so nice?

  “I’m sorry about growling earlier,” Susan whispered.

  Marguerite leaned forward. “It’s okay,” she whispered back and squeezed Susan’s hands. “Why don’t I put on water for tea? My parents will be returning shortly and they’ll be delighted to meet you and Ujarak.”

  Marguerite moved to the sink and picked up a teakettle. Ujarak got up and fetched cups and saucers from the cupboard. Susan sighed. Now she had to meet Jean-Paul’s family. She wasn’t really prepared for this. A small part of her thought she’d find JP had left town to get away from her. He gave her waist a squeeze like he knew what she thought.

  “Can you read my mind?” she asked.

  “Not yet, that will come with the bonding, right? Mathis tried to explain it to me.”

  “Then how do you know what�
��s going on in my head?”

  “You’ve a very expressive face, sweetheart. You’re not that hard to figure out.”

  “Oh,” Susan said disappointed.

  “Don’t feel bad. Now that I know about the lycan reaction to separation, I won’t leave you. We’ll work everything out.”

  “Okay.” Susan tried not to give in and hoped he was right. Her life didn’t work that way. Something bad always seemed to happen. Her inner wolf gave a little wiggle, happy to be in Jean-Paul’s arms.

  Ujarak’s phone rang and he reached into his pocket to dig it out. Looking at the caller ID he frowned and answered.

  “Hey, is everything all right?” Ujarak asked.

  Susan could hear a woman’s voice talking quickly over the phone, but couldn’t quite understand what she said.

  “Right. We’ll leave as soon as possible,” Ujarak said, finishing the call.

  “What’s going on?” Susan asked. Why did they need to leave now?

  “There’s been several fires in the village. My uncle’s house was destroyed. Instead of helping to fight the fire and get his young wife out of the house, my uncle took off. My father fears Itagaituk somehow started the fires. He’s headed north into the Arctic.”

  “That’s terrible,” Marguerite said. She patted Ujarak’s arm.

  “Your uncle’s anger started the fires,” JP said. “He must be wearing the Gryphon’s Eye. He may not have done it on purpose. We’ll need to go after him. I’m sorry, Susan, looks like our bonding will have to wait.”

  “As long as I stay with you, I should be okay,” Susan said.

  “Now that we’re in Quebec City, it’ll take us hours to get to my village. Mathis said your kind has a way to travel faster. Can you help us out?” Ujarak asked.

  “I can port us to Mathis’s house. I’ve been there several times, but I’ve never been to the polar bear village, so I can’t use magic to take us there,” JP said.