Her Enemy Protector Bear by Cynthia Wilde
Chapter 16
The Bear Show was over for the day. Nick sat in his dressing room, dressed in his after-hours attire, which consisted of a pair of worn-out jeans and a t-shirt. Between his show, organizing Zoe’s protection, and a quick call to Rafe about the latest developments he hadn’t found the time to talk to Zoe herself at all.
From what he had been told, Zoe and Zelda were getting on all right, which was great. Despite her displeasure at being caught in one of Zoe’s traps and carted off to the rescue previously, she had agreed to help guard her. Zelda found him on her break and told him that Zoe was as safe as a bug in a rug. Between herself and the warlock cat Pasqual that was shadowing Devon, he felt confident they were okay.
"The look on her face when I held up that jar, and she realized I'd eaten them all was priceless," said Zelda, laughing. "She's a sweety really. I could tell she wanted to say something but didn’t to spare my feelings." Then she looked at Nick curiously. "Took everything I had to keep a straight face!” She composed herself for a moment. “Are you sure she's not a witch? I really think those treats are spelled somehow. I wouldn’t be surprised, I guess, I mean, of course, you know about her son, right? His Zoolingualism is spot on. He knew right away that Pasqual was a warlock come to protect his mom."
Nick thought about Zelda's comments for the rest of the day after that. What was that word she had used? Zoo something? Devon told him that he could talk to the cats and that he knew some of them were not cats at all. He also considered Zelda’s question about Zoe. Could she be a witch? Zelda also informed him that she and Pasqual hadn't seen any other cats hanging out near the booth, and Rafe's kids would be with Devon for the day, so all bases were covered with his family. His family. The thought filled him with a warmth he had not felt in years, and he smiled contentedly before returning to his thoughts about the cats and Zoe.
A feeling of uneasiness crept back over him. He sensed this was just the calm before the storm. Something was coming for them. Everyone on the team knew it, and they were all on edge. They were just waiting, and the pressure was getting to all of them. Aurora had been personally patrolling the immediate walls and borders around the Void every day since Zoe's accident. Rafe was now checking in with her regularly as well.
At the same time, Red and Alec were still on high alert when someone mentioned a stray cat; they were always ready with cages and nets. They also had taken to bringing a Fae along on their patrols after Nick had talked with Rafe about whatever it was saying it “had her”, as well as the possible links to the strays. It wasn’t clear if a Fae could help, but it definitely helped morale. They had to at least tried to cover all bases. The possibility that Chell was lost to them hung heavy over everyone that loved and knew her. A demon, or what sure seemed like a demon, had claimed he had her, and then nothing. It was hard on all of them. The fact that the demon could possess Devon had put them all on high alert. The stakes had been raised substantially.
Nick hoped all of this was just bad timing, and it had nothing to do with Zoe. But no one had seen Furdi since he'd put her and Devon up at his house all those weeks ago. Somehow he felt like Furdinand was the key to everything, he just didn’t know how. It had to be a demon, almost certainly from the Void. If they could catch him, they could draw him out and get him to talk. Maybe Devon could help with the capture, if he could guarantee his safety.
Nervously running his hands through his hair, Nick knew he had to focus on what needed to be done. Nick knew he had to tell Zoe that he was a bear, and he had to explain about the cats and witches. It was becoming a matter of her safety. She needed to know what was going on around her. And besides that if they were going to move forward she had to know the truth about everything. He hoped she would be able to accept him for all of him.
Nick stuffed his wad of cash tips into his backpack, laced his sneakers, and headed over to her booth. He stopped at the rose seller, buying what she had left over from the day: five yellow roses, a blue one dipped in gold and three red ones. Hopefully, a bouquet of flowers would soften Zoe before he spoke with her.
When he got there, she was bustling around, finishing up a final sale for the day. Devon was on the stool next to her, with Pasqual the grey cat on his lap. Her face was serene as she packed up the beautiful white laced chemise, blue bodice, and blue skirt. Nick watched Zoe as she thanked the customer, handing over the carefully wrapped items in a logo-stamped brown bag. She turned and headed to the register, tallying what she owed Zelda for the day. “See you later, Z. Thanks so much for all your help today, you are a godsend.”
Zelda noticed Nick and nodded at him, squinting her eyes questioningly.
"Good luck," she mouthed as she walked past him with a wink. Zoe still hadn't seen him. She was busy taking down items and packing them away in bins while Devon set the cat down on the floor and helped her.
Though ostensibly they were competitors, he loved seeing her having success too. It sure felt a lot better then when they had first met.
Walking towards her quietly, Nick knocked on one of the wooden beams that held up the room. "Hello," he said, smiling, holding the flowers out to her.
"Oh, Nick, they are beautiful!" Zoe exclaimed as she kissed him heartily on the mouth. "It's been quite the day," she said. "The booth did great. Zelda is a wonder. Please tell Samantha thank you."
"I will," said Nick. "Zoe, I have to tell you something."
"Oh," said Zoe, interrupting as if she didn't hear him. It seemed to be a rather busy day for her. "By the way, I saw the Bear Show. I know you have some pull around here. How in the world does this faire get away with treating that poor thing like that? Bears should be in the wild, not riding tricycles and being subjected to being whipped. Even if it is just for show. It's a disgrace. I’m thinking of calling animal control or something on Monday."
"Please don't," said Nick slowly. "I have to tell you something, Zoe, and it's about the bear, and it's about all the cats. It might even be about your orange cat, too."
"I caught a lot of the cats around here, you know that," said Zoe, sounding proud of herself. "I didn't see any around here today, except for the gray one." Zoe looked around the room. "Where did he go?"
Devon shrugged but then made eye contact with Nick. The boy knew exactly where the cat went. Devon nodded once, seeming to encourage him to continue.
"Zoe," Nick took her hand in his and kissed it. "I want you to listen to me. That bear you saw today," Nick paused a moment, then sighed. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest. He had to tell her now. "That bear you want to save, well, Zoe, I'm that bear."
Zoe blinked at him, taking her hands out of his. She glanced over at her son, who was staring back at her, watching carefully. "What? Enough with both of you. So you've been putting these ideas into Devon's head? And now you are trying to put them in mine. You’re a grown man, goddamnit." She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.
"It's true, Mom," said Devon, cautiously walking over to her. "If we'd been on time to the show, you would have seen Nick change. He’s a bear! Or I mean he can be a bear when he wants to." Zoe put her hands up as she backed up a step, struggling to take in the situation.
"There's more, Zoe," said Nick, pushing through his fear. It was now or never. No turning back. She needed to hear this, whether or not she believed him. "Those cats you caught yesterday with your special cat treats, they were witches. I had to pick them up from the animal shelter. You saw me there, remember? One of those cats was Zelda. Do you want to know why she ate all of the treats you had in the jar?"
Zoe inhaled sharply. "I can't believe this," said Zoe angrily. "I can’t totally blame a child for such stories, but to hear it from you is something else entirely. How can you believe this nonsense, Nick? This whole place is fantasy, and I think you’ve been here too long if you think it’s real. You think they’re really jousting? You think the fairies are real too? Oh my god. Devon, get your things from the back." Nick helplessly watched as Zoe gathered her from behind the counter.
"We will not be staying at your house tonight," she said. Her voice cracked as she snapped at him. "If it works for you I’ll get my things from your place tomorrow night after the faire. I don't think this is working out. I cannot fucking believe this. I can’t believe I fell for the whole thing, the knight in shining armor who believes in the damn fairy tale."
"Wait," said Nick. "Just please listen to me. It's real, and you may be in danger. I thought it might be too soon to say all this, but you need to know. I need to know you are safe."
"I don't need you to protect me," said Zoe. "And We don't need another man spinning stories to us. I've had enough of that for one lifetime, thank you very much."
"Zoe, you don't understand," Nick held his hand out to her.
"I understand perfectly," her eyes flashed at him. "We need to close up now, I have nothing more to say."
The boy looked crestfallen as he gave Nick an apologetic look.
“Very well,” he said. It was clear nothing he said now would be heard anyhow. Nick began to make his way down the lane with a heavy heart. He was completely gutted. It had gone a thousand times worse than he’d imagined. He would have shifted right then and there in front of her if he didn't think it would have made things even worse. How could it be worse though?
"Pasqual," Nick called out over his should, hoping the cat shifter would hear him as it lounged at the corner of the booth nearest to him. The gray, striped cat lifted it’s head. Zoe and Devon were distracted so after looking around the cat hopped of the counter it was on and came over. Nick simply said, "Can you follow her?" The cat nodded at him, understanding. "Don’t let any harm come to them. Any sighting of that orange cat and you’ll need to sound the alarm."
The cat nodded again. He then turned tail and ran back and leapt up onto the counter again before anyone in the booth even noticed.
His head hurt as well as his heart as he gave Zoe a last look. He wasn’t about to go to his own booth now. He needed to walk. At least for now, they would be okay. Pasqual was an accomplished warlock, and if anything tried to come after them tonight, he would be there to defend them. Nick felt helpless. He knew that Zoe wouldn't listen to him at this point. All he could do was hope that tomorrow she would let him tell her all the things he needed to, before it was too late.