Chapter Twenty-four
"Where are you parked?" Elsa asked. They had both dressed quickly and were now hurrying through the woods to the gatehouse.
"In the driveway," Howard replied.
She winced. It would have been better if he'd parked along the main road and taken the shortcut through the woods. He'd done that before in order to keep their picnics secret. "You parked next to my aunt?"
"I have nothing to hide." He glanced around. "We're being followed by deer on both sides."
"I know. They're worried about me. I can hear them."
"They're talking to you? They warned you about the birds?"
"Yes." She jumped over a fallen log. They were still saying Danger. Run. She looked back. Howard had stopped and was staring at her. "What's wrong?"
"Two weeks ago you were afraid of the animals. Now, look at you. You're . . . connected to them."
She gave him a wry smile. "Stranger things have happened. I'm in love with a were-bear."
"You're amazing." He stepped closer and took her hand. "I'm sorry I hurt you."
"You were hurting, too. I'm so sorry about Harry."
He nodded. "I was . . . drowning in regret. I didn't want to cause you regret - "
"You won't." She tugged on his hand. "Let's go."
They jogged to the back of the house. The sound of screeching electric saws and pounding hammers emanated from the building.
Good, Elsa thought. The workers would be too busy to notice them sneaking around outside. She led Howard to the right. "Okay. This is the plan. You take the shortcut through the woods. I'll have one of your cousins drive your SUV to the main road to pick you up. Okay? Give me the keys."
"No. I'm not hiding from your aunt." He strode toward the front of the house.
"You have to!" Elsa ran after him. "She has a shotgun!"
"Then don't stand too close to me."
"Are you crazy?"
"Maybe." He gave her a wry look. "Time to meet one of my future in-laws." He rounded the corner and strode toward the driveway.
"What?" She followed him. "Was that some sort of proposal?"
"You're my mate. I'm not letting you go."
She halted with a huff. "That's about the most unromantic - you're supposed to ask, you big - " She gasped when Greta pumped her shotgun.
"Hold it right there!" Her aunt leveled the gun at Howard.
He lifted his hands.
"Greta, stop!" Elsa moved next to him and he shook his head at her, frowning.
"Step away," Greta demanded. "My birds know a predator when they see one. He's the berserker, isn't he?"
"He's not dangerous!" Elsa insisted.
"I can speak for myself," he muttered. "How do you do? I'm Howard Barr."
"Barr?" Greta lowered her weapon, her eyes narrowed. "You're a bear berserker?"
"I'm a descendant. My family's from Alaska, far removed from the ancient Nordic curse. I have no desire to harm your niece."
Greta snorted. "We can never trust a berserker."
"I'm in love with Elsa," Howard continued. "And I would be greatly honored if she would consent to marry me."
Elsa's heart lurched. "Oh." She turned toward him. "Howard."
He gave her a wry look. "Was that romantic enough?"
"Step away from him!" Greta shouted. "You can't trust him."
Elsa gasped as Greta raised the shotgun. "No!" She jumped in front of Howard.
"Elsa!" He grabbed her around the waist to shove her aside.
"No!" She dug her heels into the gravel driveway, skidding as she fought to stay in front of him.
"Dammit." He lifted her up and planted her to the side. "I won't let you get hurt."
She latched onto his arm. "Don't you see, Greta? He's trying to protect me."
Aunt Greta lowered the shotgun. "You poor child. He has you completely fooled."
"He would never hurt me," Elsa insisted. "He's a sweet and wonderful man."
"He's an animal," Greta muttered. She glared at Howard, then jerked her head toward the other cars. "Leave. Before I change my mind and blast a hole in you."
Howard moved slowly toward his SUV. "I realize it will be hard for you to accept me, but - "
"Go!" Greta shouted.
"As you wish. Till we meet again." He nodded at Elsa. "I'll talk to you later."
"Of course." She watched him climb into his SUV and start the engine. "Thank you for not shooting him, Greta. I know you'll like him once you get to know him."
She snorted. "I don't want to know him. I only let him go because you were in the way. I was afraid I'd shoot you."
"Oh, come on." Elsa waved at Howard as he drove slowly past them. "Couldn't you see how nice he was? He was trying to protect me."
"He will betray you." Greta closed her eyes. "I have to kill him before he can kill you."
Elsa gasped. "Don't say that . . ." She looked up as the sky turned suddenly dark. Hundreds of birds were circling overhead. Dozens of black crows gathered along the roof of the gatehouse. It was an army, waiting for their orders.
Her skin prickled with goose bumps. "Greta. Please don't do this."
"You wouldn't let me shoot him." She lifted her hands to the sky. "I have another way."
"No!" Elsa watched, stunned as a thick wave of birds moved across the sky, headed for the main road. "Call them off!"
Greta ignored her, keeping her eyes on her birds.
Elsa glanced around and spotted keys in the nearby convertible. She jumped in and started the engine.
"No!" Greta shouted.
"I'm going to him, so call them off!" Elsa yelled at her, then gunned the engine, spraying gravel as she zoomed down the driveway.
She turned onto the main road, racing after Howard. It didn't take long to catch up with him. He'd slowed to a crawl, his SUV entirely covered with birds. The cawing and shrieking sounds were deafening. Large hawks dive-bombed his vehicle, slamming into the roof as if they wanted to rip their way through. Black crows crashed into the windows and tried to drill through with their beaks.
She leaned on the horn, but the honking blast didn't faze the birds. Howard's SUV came to a complete stop. Maybe he could see her, though she wasn't sure he could see anything with his windows covered.
She parked on the side of the road and searched the interior of the car for anything she could use as a weapon. An empty glass bottle on the floor. She picked it up. Bleer? What was that?
It was better than nothing. She stepped out.
"Shoo! Go away!" She waved the bottle, but the birds didn't budge. She didn't want to throw away her only weapon, so she pulled off a work boot and threw it.
It hit the back of his SUV with a thud, dislodging a dozen birds and wounding a few that plummeted to the road.
She took off her other boot. A dark shadow fell over her, and she glanced up. Birds were circling overhead.
Oh no. She was totally exposed. They spiraled down toward her. She shouted and threw her boot at them.
Hooves clattered onto the road as a herd of deer ran toward her. She frantically waved the bottle overhead and managed to whack some of the attacking birds. The deer surrounded her, and she ducked down, letting them shield her. She winced as the poor animals were pecked and clawed. One of the deer kicked her bottle, and it rolled to the side of the road.
"Elsa!" Howard shouted.
She gasped as she saw him running toward her. His arms were raised to protect his head, but birds were bombing him, tearing at the bare skin on his forearms. "Howard, stay in the car!"
A screech of brakes sounded behind them. Greta had followed them. She climbed out of her car. "Elsa! Come with me."
"Call off your birds!" she yelled back.
"I won't let them hurt you." Greta approached. "Just come with me."
The birds ceased their attack on Elsa and the deer and flew high into the air.
She straightened. The deer sidled up against her, pressing their sides against her. Thank you for protecting me. Her heart squeezed at the sight of blood on their backs.
"You poor things." She ran her hand along a deer's back, then gasped when a sudden surge of heat shot down her arm from her birthmark. The heat gathered in her hand till her palm glowed. She skimmed her hand over the deer's wounds, and they healed.
She pivoted, quickly touching all the deer.
"Elsa, hurry!" Greta cried. "Come with me!"
She glanced up. The birds were now flying straight toward Howard. "No!" She ran toward him, the deer following.
"Elsa!" Greta shouted. "Come with me, and I'll stop them!"
Howard grabbed her by the shoulders. "Go with her so you'll be safe."
"I don't - " She hesitated. Was this the best way to make her aunt stop and to keep Howard safe? "Okay." She retreated, moving slowly toward her aunt.
With a great screeching sound, the birds shot away from the SUV and zoomed across the sky.
She glanced back at Howard. "Are you all right?"
He nodded, even though blood dripped down his forearms and trickled from a wound on his forehead.
She watched him trudge toward the SUV and climb wearily inside. He looked so forlorn. Did he think he had lost her?
"Come on!" Greta walked back to her car.
Elsa glanced at Howard's SUV, then her aunt's car.
The deer watched her expectantly. Go!
Go where? She asked them.
Go with your heart.
She ran to the SUV and wrenched open the passenger-side door. "Let's go!" She jumped in and closed the door.
Howard's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. Go!"
He stepped on the gas.
She buckled up. "Is she following us?"
He glanced in the rearview mirror. "No. Your buddies are playing defensive linemen."
"Huh?" She twisted to look out the back window. The deer had formed a line across the road.
"You healed them." Howard glanced at her. "I saw it."
She turned her hand over to study her palm. "I didn't know I could do it. It felt so strange."
"You're coming into your power really fast."
She winced at the blood dripping down his forearms. "Maybe I can help you." She touched a wound, but nothing happened. "Oh, I'm sorry." Apparently it only worked on woodland creatures, and Howard was currently human.
"Don't worry about it. I'll heal as soon as I can shift. I would shift now, but the bear is a lousy driver."
"You let him drive?"
"Only on Sundays."
She snorted. Humorous Howard. It was good to have him back. She pulled some tissues from a dispenser on his console and dabbed at his arm. "I'm sorry about my aunt."
"So am I. She tried to kill me."
"She doesn't know you."
He drove for a while, frowning.
Elsa bit her lip. "Please don't tell me you're having second thoughts again."
He sighed. "I don't want you to have to choose between your family and me. You would regret losing them, and I would be the cause of your regret."
"I won't lose them. And I don't want to lose you."
He pulled to a stop as the main road came to a dead end at a crossroad. "If I turn left here, we could go back to Cranville. I could drop you off at your hotel. And continue to court you."
She nodded. "We could do that."
He shifted in his seat to face her. "If I turn right, I'll take you into the mountains to my cabin."
"You have a cabin?"
"I'll make love to you."
She swallowed hard.
"And you'll be mine. My mate."
Her pulse speeded up. "What does that mean exactly? Do you expect me to become a . . . a bear?"
"Only if you want to." He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "I'm not sure you can, since you're the Guardian. I can't predict the future, other than the fact that I will always love you and protect you and cherish you for as long as I live."
Her heart melted. "That's a fact?"
"Yes." His eyes glittered an intense blue. "And it won't change whether you choose left or right. I'll always love you."
She touched his face. Dear, sweet Howard. "Turn right."