Shanna hugged her again. "You are so strong. Dad always underestimated you." She heard the sound of a car braking outside. "They're here. Let's go."
Darlene stepped out onto the front porch and smiled. "Now that's a sight. A vampire husband driving a van filled with children."
Shanna's heart filled with warmth. She was so blessed. She had a wonderful husband, two adorable children, and two parents still alive, or semi-alive in the case of her father. She had a brother and her sister, Caitlyn, and her family. And then there was the big extended family - shifters, Vamps, and mortals like her dear friend, Radinka. She was surrounded by people she loved.
Poor Howard. He'd lost his father, his girlfriend, and his best friend. "I feel so terrible for Howard."
Darlene nodded, her eyes growing misty. "I'll never forget the sound of his roar. So much pain. I thought his heart was breaking."
"We have to help him," Shanna whispered. She took a deep breath to steady her resolve. Somehow, she would convince Elsa Bjornberg that Howard was the perfect man for her. Even if he occasionally turned into a bear.
Chapter Twenty
"What a lovely family," Aunt Greta whispered to Elsa on the front porch.
"Yes." Elsa smiled as she watched Tino and his little sister scamper around the driveway. The floodlights had been turned on, and the children were pretending they were in a spotlight, with Tino singing and Sofia dancing.
She glanced at the proud parents and grandmother who stood nearby, smiling as they watched. It felt good knowing such a nice family would be living in the house.
Aunt Greta had instantly become friends with the grandmother when Darlene had admired her knitting. Apparently, Darlene also knitted and knew the best local places to buy yarn.
Elsa was more curious about Roman, the scientific genius. He was obviously a doting husband and father, but there was something . . . different about him. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. He'd been very interested in the structural changes in the basement, but like any wise husband, when it came to the kitchen, he'd let his wife make all the decisions.
Elsa turned to lock the door. Alastair and Oskar had left a few minutes earlier to join The B Boys in Cranville for dinner.
"Excuse me." Shanna joined her on the front porch. "Before we go, could I have a word with you in private?"
"Sure." Elsa opened the door. "You want to go inside?"
"Yes, thank you." Shanna stepped inside and strode across the foyer toward the kitchen.
"This will just take a few minutes," Elsa assured her aunt. She knew Greta was eager to return to Cranville to have supper with Great-aunt Ula.
"That's all right," Greta assured her. "I need to find out where I can buy more yarn." She headed toward Darlene.
Elsa followed Shanna into the kitchen and turned on the temporary battery light that she'd installed in there earlier to show off all the samples. "Did you have any more questions about the house?"
"No, I think you're doing a fabulous job." Shanna paced around the kitchen.
She seemed nervous, Elsa thought. Or agitated. "Is something wrong?"
"A few things." Shanna stopped in front of her. "I owe you an apology. Tino told us about the incident with the feral pigs. He should have never come here alone like that. He - he put your life in danger. I'm so sorry - "
"He saved my life," Elsa interrupted. "I'm grateful to him."
"I appreciate how understanding you are, but he took a terrible risk. He's not supposed to teleport without our permission. And to teleport you with him - " Shanna winced. "That must have been . . . disconcerting."
"To say the least." Elsa's curiosity got the better of her, and she wondered how much she could get Shanna to reveal. "You warned us to stay away from the school, not because the kids are juvenile delinquents but because they're all special like Tino?"
"Yes." Shanna nodded. "We're trying to give them normal lives and protect them from anyone who would want to study or exploit them. I hope we can trust you to keep our secret."
"Yes, of course. I won't say a word to anyone."
Shanna heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you. That was our main concern with letting your show renovate this house. We could never forgive ourselves if we endangered the children."
"Are the other kids like Tino?"
"Not all of them, but soon we'll have more hybrids like Tino and Sofia."
Hybrids? "They run on electricity?"
Shanna chuckled. "I don't know where they get all their energy. Roman thinks they suck it out of the adults. In that way, they're probably very much like normal kids."
"I suppose." It was one of the things Elsa really liked about Tino. His superpowers hadn't gone to his head. He still acted like a normal little boy.
Shanna resumed her pacing. "There's something else I need to talk about. Howard had to go to Alaska. He won't be here for a while."
"Oh." A wave of disappointment swept over Elsa. She would miss him. She caught herself mentally. What was she thinking? She'd decided just that afternoon not to see him again. This should be good news. Now that he was gone, she wouldn't have to go through the pain of rejecting him. But already she missed him. A part of her wanted him back, and that part was growing fast.
Shanna stopped in front of the kitchen sink and stared out the window. "Something awful happened today. I didn't want to talk about it in front of the children."
A chill prickled Elsa's skin. "Something happened to Howard?"
"His best friend . . . died."
Elsa's breath caught. Was this the friend he'd talked so fondly about that afternoon? "You mean Harry?"
Shanna turned to face her. "You know about Harry?"
"Howard told me they were best friends."
Shanna grimaced. "Harry was killed this morning with a car bomb."
Elsa gasped.
"I know. It's horrible."
Elsa pressed a hand against her chest. "Harry was . . . murdered?"
"Yes, the poor man." Shanna sighed. "Howard has lost so many loved ones."
Elsa winced inwardly. Howard had confessed his love to her that afternoon. It would be cruel to reject him now and cause him more pain. But how could she stay with him? She didn't know what to do, but she hated to think about how badly he was hurting. "Why would someone murder his best friend?"
Shanna shook her head. "I don't know all the details, but apparently there's a nasty guy in Alaska who hates Harry and Howard."
And Howard had gone back to Alaska? Elsa's heart raced. Was Howard in danger?
"I'm sorry." Shanna patted her on the shoulder. "I'm afraid I'm screwing this up. I meant to reassure you, but I'm just scaring you."
"I'll be okay. I'm still getting used to all the supernatural stuff." Not only was she adjusting to Howard being a berserker but she could also feel herself transforming into a guardian who communicated with animals.
"You're concerned about Howard being a were-bear?" Shanna asked.
"I would say it warrants some concern, don't you think?"
Shanna gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sure you were shocked at first. But the shifters are very much like humans. There are good ones and bad ones. Howard is definitely one of the good guys. Look at it this way. If you were under attack, wouldn't you want someone like Howard on your side?"
"Well, yes." But could he always control the beast? He was, after all, a descendant of berserkers, who were famous for their lack of control.
"He's been our daytime bodyguard for years," Shanna continued. "He's family. My kids adore him. He's so sweet, gentle, and shy - "
"Shy?"
"Yes. I always thought he was a bit - " Shanna's eyes lit up. "You mean he's not shy around you?"
"Not . . . really." Elsa's cheeks grew warm as she recalled him pinning her to a tree that afternoon, then kissing her and unbuttoning her shirt - she shoved the vision aside before her face could combust in flames.
"Wow." Shanna's eyes widened.
Elsa had a strange feeling that Shanna was imagining a similar scenario.
"This is wonderful!" Shanna clapped her hands together. "I was afraid he would be too bashful. Do you know he was smitten with you for months, but he had all the DVDs of your show hidden under his bed? If I hadn't arranged to bring you here, he could have gone on for years, admiring you in secret and too shy to tell anyone."
"You brought the show here just so Howard could meet me?"
Shanna winced. "We really did need the house renovated. But yes, my main purpose was to fix you up with Howard."
"You thought it was perfectly acceptable to fix me up with a were-bear?"
"Howard's a great guy!"
"He's a grizzly!"
"He's a sweet honey bear," Shanna insisted. "I trust my children with him. We trust the entire school with him. You won't find a more loyal and trustworthy guy than Howard."
Elsa sighed. "He's still a grizzly. It's not that easy to accept."
"I understand how hard it is. I was afraid to fall in love with my husband, too, at first."
Elsa gasped. "Roman is a were-bear?" She'd known there was something different about him.
"No, he's . . . something else. You should meet my sister, Caitlyn. She's married to a were-panther named - "
"What?"
"Carlos. He's a were-panther from Brazil. They have the most adorable twin babies."
"She married a . . . cat?"
"A were-panther," Shanna clarified as if it were a common daily occurrence. "They're extremely happy. And I know you could be just as happy with Howard if you could please give him a chance."
"It's not that simple." As if dating a were-bear was a simple matter. "Howard is what my family calls a berserker, and there's a curse that has been passed down my family for centuries. According to the curse, Howard . . . might . . ." She couldn't bring herself to say the words.
Shanna touched her shoulder. "You're afraid he'll hurt you. That he'll lose control and . . ."
Elsa nodded.
Shanna squeezed her shoulder. "There was a time when I was afraid Roman would lose control and attack me. But I love him, and I've been blessed with a wonderful marriage and two beautiful children. Roman loves me, and he would never hurt me."
Elsa's eyes grew misty with tears. "You think I can trust Howard."
"I know you can. He's a dear, sweet man, who would never hurt you."
Elsa nodded. She'd always felt deep down inside that she could trust him. And in her heart, she wanted to love him. She wanted to grab on to his love and never let go.
"I know it's hard," Shanna whispered. "But with love, sometimes you have to take a leap of faith."
A tear ran down Elsa's cheek. "He said he loves me."
"Then you can believe it. You can trust him."
Elsa nodded. "I'll try." When Howard returned from Alaska, she'd continue to see him. Even though he was a were-bear. Even though it meant she would fall deeper in love with him.
Howard paced across the hotel room as if he could escape reality if he kept moving. Stuck in airports and on planes for the last several hours, he'd thought he would go crazy. His mind had raced, imagining a hundred different scenarios till he'd found one that kept him momentarily sane.
Harry was a smart guy. He would have known about the bomb. And he would have let it explode in order to fake his own death so he could continue the mission in secret. Any minute now, he would contact Howard. They would meet and have a beer like old times, laughing at the way they had fooled Rhett.
Harry hadn't called.
And Howard was the fool. All his damned strategies he'd thought were so clever: they had gotten his best friend killed.
He clenched his fists. The bear inside him wanted to rip the hotel room to shreds. His body shimmered, demanding to shift. For the first time, he understood the power of the berserker blood that flowed through his veins. How easy it would be, how tempting it was, to let himself go berserk and destroy everything in sight.
His hands turned into bear paws with long, lethal claws. What was he doing here? Why stay in Anchorage to attend Harry's memorial service when he should be driving to Rhett's house so he could slaughter every werewolf he could find.
When his cell phone rang, the grating noise jerked him back to his senses. He wasn't a berserker who went on murderous rampages. That was Elsa's greatest fear. He couldn't prove her right. He seized control and forced his hands back into human form.
Meanwhile, the phone had stopped ringing, so he checked the missed call. Dragon Nest Academy. He tossed the phone onto one of the beds and resumed his pacing.
After arriving in Anchorage, he had headed first to the office of Northern Lights Sound Bites. Harry's friends there were devastated. They were holding a public memorial service for Harry the next afternoon. Howard suspected it would be a media circus, that the owner of the small tabloid newspaper was using Harry's death to publicize the paper.
A small group was traveling from the Bear Claw Islands to attend the memorial service and collect the small wooden box containing what they believed to be Harry's ashes. Howard had booked them rooms at the hotel where he was staying. And he had called the school to make sure Phil had arrived to take over his duties.