Sasquatch’s Claiming (Mated to the Monster: Season 2)

Chapter 3

3

“ W here were you?”

Ben froze in his tracks as he made his way back from the portal to his cave home, high up one of the mountains near Marathon. Adam’s voice was distinct. The eldest of the seven brothers and the de facto leader of their clan since his parents passed away, but Ben was second eldest. He tried to support his brother, but now was not one of those times.

And he was not appreciative of his brother tracking him.

“Aren’t you far from home?” Ben asked.

“I am, but I came to see you,” Adam replied, and Ben knew that was a crock of shit because Adam rarely left his territory, especially now that Aoife was carrying his young.

Though really, the distance didn’t matter. Sasquatch males could easily cover long distances because they liked to have a very big area to call their own.

“Sure,” Ben snorted. “You left your pregnant mate to visit your younger brother. That’s a first.”

Adam crossed his arms. “Fine. I was tracking you. So where were you?”

“I believe that’s not your concern,” Ben replied, turning to face his brother.

“It is. You were supposed to be felling the back forty of those red pine trees that aren’t native to this forest. I went to lend you a hand and ran into Ethan. He said you were out.”

Ben was relieved that Ethan hadn’t given away his secret about where he’d gone, but he was annoyed that Adam was constantly checking up on him.

Constantly.

“I’m not a child,” Ben stated. “And I will get that back forty cleared. I needed a break.”

“A break?” Adam questioned. “You always need a break. Why do you need to go to Thunder Bay nightly? Don’t bother denying it, I know that’s where you’re going.”

“I didn’t think that this new realm had strict rules about our movements. I thought that was the point of the new government being formed. I thought we were no longer under King Tiene’s rule.”

Adam frowned. “True, but…the female.”

A low growl started in Ben’s throat. “You don’t have to remind me.”

He tried to turn and walk away, because he knew that Bernadette was off-limits and he also was keenly aware that he wasn’t following the rules at all. He didn’t give a flying fuck that he was breaking them. Not after last night with that demon attack and then being with her.

Bernadette was his.

Now more than ever.

“Ben,” Adam said gently. “We have to be careful. Please. Our realm is still under a threat.”

“Is it though?” Cillian asked, appearing out of the shadows of the forest.

Ben groaned inwardly and Adam rolled his eyes as Cillian approached them. Only this time, his presence didn’t darken the early morning light that was filtering through the trees.

For once, he didn’t completely suck the joy and light out of the space.

Maybe he was mellowing, but Ben seriously doubted it.

“Cillian, what are you doing here?” Adam asked. “I thought you had your own realm.”

“Full of goblins and all that other nonsense,” Ben added, ribbing him.

“Turning on me? Taunting my realm?” Cillian’s white eyes flashed briefly with red as he turned his gaze on him. “And after I did you a favour.”

“Favour. What favour?” Adam asked gruffly.

Ben sighed. “Fine. I claimed my female.”

“Sort of,” Cillian said. “He didn’t actually plant his seed in her.”

Ben let out another feral growl, annoyed Cillian was reading his thoughts.

Adam frowned at Ben. “What the fuck, Ben?”

“She was in danger,” Ben responded. “What am I supposed to do? Let her be claimed by another being, one that’s malicious. The moment she walked into The Lusty Kraken that night, some other beings tried to use her for nefarious purposes. I rescued her. You didn’t get that part of the story because you were too busy stuck in a love spell of your own with Aoife. Why do you get a mate and I don’t?”

“Aoife is part of this magical realm,” Adam responded. “She’s a banshee.”

“Aoife is half human,” Ben countered.

“She is,” Cillian agreed. “She has more banshee in her though, which is why I like her so much. I have other siblings I can barely tolerate. The goblins in my realm, if you want to call them that, are siblings who have displeased me.”

Ben ignored Cillian and turned back to Adam. “She is mine, Adam.”

Adam sighed and glanced at Cillian. Ben could see the distaste in his brother’s eyes, but then his expression softened as he turned back to him. “So, what’re you going to do about it? We’re not ready to be a part of the mortal world and we don’t want to give King Tiene any reason to come back to this realm and try and take it back.”

Cillian snorted. “There is blood magic protecting this realm.”

“Are you still here?” Adam asked.

“Yes,” Cillian stated through gritted teeth. “You both are fools and cannot see what’s in front of you. Blood and humans. It’s important.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “You are speaking in riddles. Ones we don’t have time for.”

“Fine. I’ll leave, but first, I’ll tell you obtuse bushmen what to do. It’s really simple. You let your brother claim his mate, or he dies. You know the severity of that mating spell. Humans and magical beings are meant to intermingle. That Tiene stopped that powerful mixing because he wanted complete control. What you and the council need to focus on is your borders. There are beings that want to cross here and not all beings should cross. Protect your portals.”

Ben glanced at his brother, holding his breath, because they both knew that Cillian was right. Every other magical being in the northern realm had said that there were others, beyond the protective border, from other realms that wanted to come through.

They wanted freedom.

They wanted to go back to way the world used to be, a long time ago, when they didn’t have to live in secrecy from the humans.

When the earth was young and the magic flowed everywhere.

When blood was spilled freely too. Ben was very aware of that. It was why so many humans were afraid of monsters and other beings. It’s why they all had to go into hiding and their movements were restricted.

The northern realm was welcome to those who wanted to live in harmony, everyone except netherworld beings.

Evil spirits had no place here and they couldn’t cross.

Adam was mulling it over and then his shoulders slumped, almost as if in defeat, and Ben’s heart began to race.

“Cillian is right,” Adam grudgingly admitted.

Cillian grinned and bowed with a flourish. “I’m so glad you see the error of your ways, dear brother. Playing politics is a tricky game, which can turn deadly if not managed properly. Every empire falls. Eventually.”

It was at that moment that Cillian vanished again. Ben hated his cryptic remarks and loathed how he seemed to want to control them all, but there was a part of him right now that was glad Cillian interfered. Something he never expected to think, yet here he was at this weird place, having sympathy for the devil.

Adam let out another deep sigh and then nodded, not saying anything else. Ben knew his brother was telling him to go claim Bernadette and make her his bride of the northern woods.

Ben wasn’t sure how he was going to convince her to come with him to his place, but he was going to stay with her and not leave her side. He couldn’t leave her unprotected in Thunder Bay. These woods were safer for her, but if she wanted to stay, then he’d live in the shadows of the city to keep her safe and make her his.

All day, she thought about Ben and the fact that monsters were real. It was really hard to focus on her work as a file clerk in the hospital. And that need, that hunger which gnawed at her, had been only slightly repressed.

As the day went on, the hours away from Ben, it only grew.

She needed him again. It was even more intense.

The weirdest thing was, as she moved around the hospital, she could see ripples of energy and sometimes, she swore she could see shadows moving. As if there was magic in the sterility of the hospital corridors.

As if there were beings around them, all the time, right under her nose. Only now she could see them clearly.

“Bernadette, can you take this to the basement?” Janice asked, holding a box of files.

Bernadette shook all those thoughts away and took the box from Janice. “Sure.”

She hated going into the basement of the hospital and into the old section. People said it was haunted and she used to brush it all off, but now, after meeting Ben and some of her memories coming back to her, she knew very well it most likely was haunted. Ben had warned her that she was in danger, that things were lurking out there and coming to seek her out.

Why? She didn’t know, but she felt like she’d rather handle a ghost over her uncle.

“You’re mine,” her uncle’s voice echoed through her head, sending a chill down her spine.

Think about Ben.

And that’s what she did. It calmed her and sent the feelings of dread far away.

As she made her way to the older part of the hospital, she passed some closed patient rooms. Rooms that were mostly used for storage and were outdated, but there was a door open and she heard a voice.

“Hello?”

It was a female voice, and it sounded frightened.

Bernadette set down the box and made her way over to the partially open door. “Hello?”

“I don’t know where I am,” the woman responded. “I’m tied down.”

Tied down?

Instantly, a weird sensation crawled over her, like bugs on her skin. A creepy feeling, like she didn’t belong here. The lights flickered, there was an electric buzz, and she froze. It felt like someone was standing right behind her.

Chills and dread raced through her veins, turning her blood to ice.

“You need to step away,” the deep voice said calmly.

Bernadette turned and came face to face with a tall man. He had greyish skin and long black hair. His eyes were almost white and glowing. His ears were pointed, with just the tips peeking through his hair which hung down to his shoulders. He was decked out in black leathers, almost like a medieval warrior. Part of him didn’t seem solid, like he was part flesh and part smoke.

“Who are you?”

The being smiled cunningly. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is that woman; she’s safe with me. I’m protecting her now. She is mine.”

“Did you tie her up? She said she’s tied up.”

“No.” The being’s eyes flashed from white to red. “She was in danger. She no longer is.”

“Why should I trust you?”

He cocked his head to the side and then smiled, but again, that grin didn’t reach his cold eyes. “Most don’t, but I do have your best interests at heart here. I won’t harm you, just like I won’t harm her.”

There was a firmness in his voice. Yes, he was scary, but she believed him in his forcefulness that he was going to protect that woman.

Bernadette took a step back, but then he moved lightning quick and grabbed her head between his hands, holding her still. She wanted to cry out, but couldn’t.

“Hush, little one. I’m fixing the errors of my well-intentioned sister,” the being responded.

“What?” Bernadette asked.

The being leaned forward, whispering, “You need to remember.”

White light flowed through her. That image of before, with Ben catching her, came rushing back. Monsters, demons, Sasquatch, ghosts in a bar by the waterfront came flooding into her mind. Everything about Ben and who he was, what they were doing, came back. She remembered his brother, the woman who looked like the being who was here now and her touching her head, snatching it all away.

Bernadette’s breath quickened and it all came right back to her. Everything that was buried, including early memories of a man and woman crying as they handed her away, but she was small and just new.

“What the hell,” she whispered.

“Indeed,” the being said. “Very interesting memories.”

“What do I do?” she asked, overcome with it all.

“You need to claim your mate,” the wraith hissed. “You need to breed with him.”

“Ben?” she whispered.

“Yes. Only Ben. Then everything will be righted. Beware of the wendigo.”

“The…what?”

And then the energy dissipated, the leather-clad being fading away. The lights came back on and she opened her eyes. It was like it never happened, except it had and she remembered everything. She spun around and opened the door where she heard the female voice, but there was no one in there.

Her box of files was exactly where she left it.

She let out another sigh of exasperation and picked up the box. She’d take this to the filing room and then she had to leave. She had to go find Ben. He was her mate, she understood that now, and he was the only one who could protect her.

She didn’t understand the cryptic warning about the wendigo, but she knew they were monsters she didn’t want to deal with.

The only monster she wanted was Ben.

As soon as she filed away the contents of the box, she feigned illness and left work. It was still daylight out. Something was driving her to head to the waterfront, as if that’s where she’d find Ben. She hoped he was at that bar again.

Of course, she was completely trusting what that being had told her by unlocking her memories.

He could completely be full of shit. Ben had warned about netherworld creatures and she had a feeling she was dealing with one of them.

Yet, there was a part of her that told her he was not leading her astray. She shouldn’t trust him, but he wasn’t lying. He gave her back what had been taken from her.

As she walked quickly downhill, she took a shortcut and instantly she regretted it when three dark figures loomed out from the end of the alley.

“I remember you,” a watery voice said, followed by two chuckles. “I just don’t think she remembers me.”

A tentacle snaked out and tried to grab her, but she knew what to expect this time and sidestepped it. This was that squid monster who manhandled her before.

“Maybe I do you big, ugly piece of calamari!” Bernadette hissed, raising her foot and stomping down on its tentacle.

The creature howled in pain and his two friends quickly dashed after. She turned around to flee and ran smack-dab into a warm, hairy wall, which was growling. Loudly.

She glanced up to see Ben standing in front of her. His eyes burning like the orangey gold hot flames of a campfire and they were focused directly on the beings that were chasing her. His lips were curled and she could see his deadly incisors. All the fur on his body was standing on end.

Ben gently moved her so she was standing behind him, but she clung to the tops of his trousers as a lifeline to keep her anchored.

“I told you before. She’s mine,” Ben growled. “Do I have to prove myself to you again?”

“No,” the wounded tentacle squid creature shouted. “She was alone…”

“And that justifies it? She’s human and off-limits.”

The squid snorted. “So, then the rule here in this realm is no different than under Tiene, eh?”

Ben snarled. “It’s different in that the humans, no matter their gender, have a choice. If I see you again or hear of you attacking a human, any human, I will have you banished back into Tiene’s realm, where I know your kind are not welcomed.”

The squid man gurgled something and he and his two friends disappeared.

Ben turned to her, his eyes still burning, but they were full of concern. “Bernadette, are you?—”

“I remember it all,” she said quickly.

Ben cocked an eyebrow. “All of it?”

She nodded. “A wispy demon guy in leather came and restored my memories.”

Ben’s lip curled over his sharp incisors. “Cillian. He’s a wraith.”

“He didn’t tell me his name, but I remember everything about that night. Every. Thing.” Her blood heated as she recalled the way his pumped into her in that garden. Just like her dreams, only this time she knew it was reality. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close to her, burying her face into the fur of his belly. “He told me I was in danger.”

“I think you are. What else did Cillian tell you?”

“You are my mate.” Her pulse was racing as she became aroused. Just being around Ben made her want him with an unquenchable need.

“Yes,” he replied. “You are.”

“How did you find me?”

“As you said, you are my mate. I can always find you.” Then he took her hand and placed it on his chest over his beating heart. “Remember. Always.”

“Right,” she whispered breathlessly.

“I came here to bring you to where I can protect you.”

“Where?” she asked.

“In the woods. We can come back here, but until I claim you, you’re not safe here on your own.”

What did she have to lose? Everything was topsy-turvy. Nothing made sense and she didn’t have any family left. Her job was okay, but it wasn’t her dream. All her life she’d been chased and pursed, never feeling safe. Except when she was with Ben and now she completely remembered all of that.

“Let’s go. We’ll take care of it and then I can come back and untangle myself from his life.”

Ben smiled at her and then scooped her up in his arms. “I’ll take you through the portal and I’ll keep you safe. Always.”

“I’m yours.”

“Yes. No one is going to take you from me.”

She sighed and buried her face in his fur. Her beast would protect her.

“Beware the wendigo.” Cillian’s warning played through her mind.

As she looked over her shoulder, red eyes glowed in the darkness of the alley.

“You’re mine,” her uncle hissed.

And all she could do was hold on to Ben for dear life.