Rocky (Tales of the Were) Read Online Free PDF Page A

top of the hill in the forest behind his cabin was a circle of stones—like a miniature version of Stonehenge. Maggie never would have believed it if she hadn’t seen it for herself. The place was beautiful in a woodsy way. It was overgrown with moss and vines that seemed to part to let the people through.
    Maggie saw animals of all kinds surrounding them, both within the circle and without. Betina and Allie walked to the very center of the circle where a slab of stone sat like an altar. That gave Maggie pause, but deep in her heart she knew Rocky would never put her or her babies in any kind of danger.
    “Do all these people turn into bears?” she whispered to Rocky as he put her down and they walked the last few steps together. Betina and Allie handed the babies back to her and Rocky while they went about some sort of preparations near the altar. Maggie and Rocky stood back, a few feet behind them.
    He chuckled at her words, the deep rumble sending warmth through her. “No, Maggie. Only me.” He paused to stroke one large finger over the baby’s chubby cheek. “And the cubs.”
    The night was chilly, but inside the circle of stones it was comfortable enough. It seemed as if the energy of the place kept things warm and comfy, while a soft dusting of snow fell to earth outside in the forest. A snow owl hooted and all within and without the circle quieted while Betina began to sing in the loveliest voice Maggie had ever heard. Allie joined in and the thrum of power amplified through the stones so that even Maggie could feel it.
    She knew she was surrounded by magic, but she had no fear. For one thing, Rocky was standing firmly by her side. For another, she didn’t feel the same fear, the same warning in her bones that she’d felt for the past months whenever the Venifucus drew too close. The savage killer who’d been following her was evil. These people, by contrast, had none of that taint.
    Betina motioned her to stand in front of the altar-like stone and she moved forward, glad of Rocky’s solid presence beside her. The ceremony was beautiful, the song ringing through the stones and echoing back into the circle. Allie stood behind Betina, flanked by two identical men, both handsome as sin and both quite obviously protective of her. She wondered, looking at those twins, if someday her sons would have the same proud bearing, the same quiet strength.
    Betina’s song stopped and she spoke a few words about the earth, air, water and fire, then a few other things Maggie didn’t quite follow. She caught the part about giving thanks to the Lady, just before her babies decided to wake up and claim all her attention. Squirming, they began to fidget and wiggle so much she almost dropped the one she held. Jumping forward, she used the stone slab for support, mortified when the baby climbed right out of her arms and his swaddling to tumble naked onto the stone. She reached for him, but Rocky’s gentle grip held her back as he deposited the other twin next to his brother.
    She looked up, blushing heatedly to see a beatific smile on Betina’s face. When she looked down again, her babies were no longer human. They were two tiny bear cubs, barely able to stand on their own…paws.
    She nearly fainted.
    Her children had paws .
    Rocky caught her shoulders, offering her his immense strength. She needed every bit of it at that moment.
    Betina was speaking again and the twin men stepped forward. Each reached out one hand to one of her babies—cubs—touching them gently. Almost immediately a hum of energy pulsed through the clearing and bright swirls of rainbow light moved like a benign whirlwind through the circle, spreading out into the woods all around, lighting up the faces of many animals and people. Many more than she would have imagined. The woods were teeming with creatures and people, all of whom had come to celebrate this event, and were now smiling at the spectacle that seemed to originate from the two sets of twins by