Ella and the Beast Read online

  At the bottom of the stairs, he saw his father patiently waiting to escort Ella. For a brief second, Ty’s gaze locked with his dad’s. In his father’s eyes, Ty saw pride and happiness for the small cub that had grown into a man. A shiver of awareness ran through Ty when he realized that one day, it was quite possible that he would be standing in that same exact place, waiting for his son or daughter to come down the stairs. Just the thought of that day caused his own throat to close with emotion.

  “I’m proud of you, Ty,” Art said, stepping forward and placing a matching red carnation in Ty’s lapel.

  Ty drew in a shaky breath and glanced at where Van and Peterson had stepped aside to give father and son some privacy. The two men were talking in a low voice. He could see them glance in the other room where Martha fussed over a flower arrangement. To one side, Ben stood waiting as well, talking to the judge who was a friend of the family and would be sealing their commitment.

  “What if I can’t keep her safe, Dad? What if I can’t make her happy?” Ty muttered in a hoarse voice, briefly glancing at his father before looking away.

  “I had the same fears about your mother, Ty,” Art admitted in a gruff tone. “It’s natural.”

  Ty looked back at his dad. “What did you do?” He asked.

  “I saw her and knew that I had nothing to fear. She’s my world, just as Ella is yours, but even a rose has its thorns, Ty, but that doesn’t make it any less beautiful,” Art explained, resting his hand on Ty’s shoulder. “They are there for a reason. Someone who loves them knows how to hold them without getting hurt. Ella is a fighter. She will stand proudly beside you. She has the heart of a grizzly. Love her each day like there is no tomorrow and you will find that all the rest will take care of itself.”

  Ty swallowed and nodded. “Thank you,” Ty murmured, drawing in another deep breath.

  “Any time, son. Any time,” Art replied, turning to look up the stairs. “Go in the other room. I’ll bring your mate to you.”

  Ty nodded again. He stepped into the small den. Turning, he waited. Early this morning, he had held Ella in his arms and quietly described their marriage ritual to her. She had listened carefully. They would make one addition to it – a human tradition from her clan.

  “Ty,” Ben murmured under his breath, staring at the doorway. “You are one, lucky grizzly bear.”

  Ty’s gaze locked on the doorway. Rhyanna, his mother and sister parted and walked over to stand next to where Martha was standing, tearfully sniffing into a tissue. His throat tightened. While he had seen Ella upstairs, it still hadn’t prepared him to see her standing in the doorway with her hand on his father’s arm. He watched as his father slowly escorted Ella to him.

  “Ella, do you accept my son for all time as your mate?” Art murmured in a clear, but somber voice.

  “I do,” Ella whispered.

  “Ty, Ella has accepted you. Do you accept her for all time as your mate?” Art asked, turning to his son.

  “I do,” Ty replied, taking Ella’s hands in his.

  “Let this union be legally acknowledged between Ty and Ella Bearclaw,” Art stated, turning to the judge.

  The judge waited as Ty and Ella turned to him. He stared in fascination at Ella before he cleared his throat and began reading the law that sealed the bond between a shifter and his mate. He stumbled for a moment when he glanced at Ella and changed shifter to human.

  “In accordance with the law, I recognize the legal standing of this union. Is there anything else you wish to add?” The judge finished.

  “Yes,” Ella murmured, turning to Rhyanna. “Thank you.”

  Ty watched as Ella tenderly pushed back the sleeve of his jacket and shirt to bare his wrist. She carefully placed a leather band around his wrist, tying it so that it wouldn’t come loose. When she was finished, she reached for a second one. This one was smaller than the first. She held the matching bracelet to Ty.

  “I give you this as a sign of my commitment to you. We are bound by the laws of life. Together we will forge a new one. I stand as your partner to love and protect you. I love you, Ty Bearclaw,” Ella said in a clear voice, lifting her chin and staring up at him with wide, shimmering eyes filled with emotion.

  “I give you this as a sign of my commitment to you, Ella,” Ty repeated, his deep, rich voice clear and strong. “We are bound by the laws of life. Together we will forge a new one. I stand as your partner to love and protect you. I not only love you, Ella Bearclaw, but I adore the hell out of you.”

  “This is the part where we kiss,” Ella whispered, leaning closer to him.

  “I know,” Ty chuckled, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her off the floor as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I can’t wait until we get to the part where I take this damned dress off you. It is driving me insane.”

  Laughter filled the room, surrounding them as they sealed their lips in a kiss filled with joy. Ty held Ella tightly in his arms, unwilling to release her even when he felt Ben clear his throat and tap on his shoulder. It was several more seconds before he reluctantly drew back.

  “Well, I thought they’d never come up for air,” Martha muttered. “I have a cake in the dining room. Whatever is left, we can throw at those damn nosy newsmen.”

  “I swear I want to steal this woman from you, Art,” Judge Woolman chuckled.

  “Not a chance in hell,” Art replied.

  Ty slowly lowered Ella to the floor, holding her close as Rhyanna, Martha, Tracy, and his mother came over to talk to her. Their wedding had been small, but for him, it had been perfect. He nodded when Judge Woolman motioned for him to sign the documents that made their union official. Ella slowly signed her name on the line next to his.

  “My life has changed so much,” Ella murmured, her hand trembling as she handed the pen to the older man standing next to them.

  “You don’t regret it, do you?” Ty asked in concern.

  Ella glanced up at him with eyes filled with tenderness and shook her head. “No.”

  “Ella, come look at this! The Secret Service is chasing another weasel!” Tracy laughed, staring out of the front window.

  “Oh, I want to see!” Ella laughed, turning and hurrying toward the window. “Oh, my goodness! He’s a fast one!”

  “I thought you guys had security set up,” Ty growled at Van and Peterson. Both men had white frosting around their mouths and on their fingers. “Shouldn’t you be out there monitoring it?”

  “No,” both men mumbled, each giving Ty a sugary grin.

  “Ella was having too much fun watching the local and federal guys run around after them. We thought we’d give her some entertainment,” Peterson explained with a wink.

  “Yeah,” Van agreed. “We made sure no one can get in the house.”

  “You two are idiots,” Ty muttered with a shake of his head. “How does Tracy put up with you?”

  “For a fee,” both men laughed.

  *.*.*

  The smile on Ella’s face slowly faded as she stared outside. Snow had begun to fall again. Her gaze turned upward and she watched as it fell. She couldn’t help but wonder how bad it was in the mountains.

  “What’s wrong?” Tracy asked, touching her arm.

  Ella turned her face to Tracy for a brief second before she shook her head. Releasing a long breath, she returned her gaze to the sky. She bit her lip before she spoke.

  “I was thinking of my people,” Ella finally admitted in a barely audible voice. “The winter has come early this year and I worry about them. I feel guilty about being warm and fed when I know they are struggling.”

  “Do you know where they are?” Tracy asked, stepping closer.

  “Yes,” Ella whispered.

  Tracy glanced behind her before she gently turned Ella to face her. Ella saw the intense expression in Tracy’s eyes. She blinked when she saw the other woman’s lips tightened in determination.

  “Tell me,” Tracy demanded.

  “I can’t,” Ella replied, shaki
ng her head.

  “Ella, the weather will only get worse and so will the hunt for them. If you tell me where they are, I’ll make sure they have enough supplies to make it through the winter and keep themselves safe,” Tracy murmured.

  “I can’t tell you where they are, Tracy,” Ella insisted, glancing out the window. “What happens if other shifters find them?”

  “They are guaranteed to find them if your people aren’t aware that they are being hunted,” Tracy pointed out.

  Ella’s face turned stubborn. “They already know about Ty. They will be careful,” she said.

  “The other humans aren’t ready for what is to come, Ella. They don’t understand the technology that we have. Now that word is out about your existence, there will be shifters combing the world for them,” Tracy insisted.

  Ella’s lip trembled and she bowed her head. She jerked when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. Tilting her head back, she gazed up at Ty’s thunderous face. He looked like he was ready to kill his sister.

  “Tracy,” Ty growled in a deceptively calm voice. “Today is my wedding day. I do not want my mate upset, ever, but especially today.”

  “I’m sorry, Ty,” Tracy replied with a sigh and looked apologetically at Ella. “He’s right. Today wasn’t the day to bring it up.”

  Ella glanced out the window. She could see a small group of men struggling to carry the man they had caught across the lawn. The snow was now coming down in fat, thick flakes. Her mind swirled with everything that had happened to her from the day she had first met Ty until today.

  “The mountains that are in your painting,” Ella murmured, turning to look at Tracy. “They are in the mountains. Go to where Ty’s campsite was and start from there. Mitchell told me to go two days to the northwest. They will be at the foot of the tallest mountain. Just follow the river and you’ll find them. I’ll give you my lance to show that I sent you, but you must find Mitchell and Jayden. Mitchell is the leader of the clan. Jayden is a dear friend of mine who is more like a sister. They are the only ones who will give you a chance once you speak to them.”

  “What if they think I stole the lance?” Tracy asked with a frown.

  “Tracy, it is too dangerous. I learned the hard way just how resourceful they are,” Ty warned.

  Tracy released a dry chuckle. “You don’t know half of the dangerous places I’ve been, little brother. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine,” she assured him.

  “I will carve a message into the lance. Mitchell and Jayden will know that the message is from me,” Ella whispered. “I just ask one thing, Tracy.”

  “Anything,” Tracy promised, reaching out to grip Ella’s hands in hers.

  “Protect them,” Ella pleaded.

  “I will. I swear I will. You won’t regret trusting me,” Tracy vowed, leaning forward and hugging Ella. “I promise I’ll protect them.”

  “I know you will,” Ella replied with a tender smile. “Find Jayden and Mitchell. Make sure they don’t see you coming. If you are spotted before you have a chance to speak, my people will disappear.”

  “Mitchell and Jayden,” Tracy excitedly repeated. “I love you, Ella. This is like a dream come true!”

  Ella released a soft laugh. “You might not be so excited once you meet them,” she warned with a shake of her head. “You have to remember that they wanted to kill Ty.”

  “They’ll love me,” Tracy retorted, biting her lip. “Everyone loves me.”

  “No, generally everyone wants to strangle you,” Ty dryly interjected, pulling Ella back into his arms. “Now, can we forget about finding the rest of the humans for a few more hours and celebrate the one that has changed my life?”

  Ella and Tracy burst into laughter at Ty’s rueful look. Their amusement soon drew the attention of the others. Ella’s heart swelled when she felt Ty’s hand move lower to protectively rest over her stomach. She laid her palm over his and squeezed it in reassurance.

  “Are you okay?” He murmured in her ear.

  Ella’s gaze swept the room, briefly touching on each person’s face. Was she okay? Her life was so different than it had been just six months before. She no longer saw a future that was bleak and frightening. Now, she saw one filled with love, hope, and a family. She believed Tracy when she said that she wanted to help the other humans. Perhaps, there was a place in this world for them. It might be hard at first, but they were used to a hard life.

  “Yes. Yes, I am,” she finally said, turning in his arms and wrapping her arms around his neck. “I love you, Ty Bearclaw. I am proud to call you my husband.”

  Ty glanced around the room before he bent his head to whisper in her ear again. “I won’t mind if you want to call me your beast,” he murmured. “I find it kind of sexy.”

  Ella chuckled and shook her head. “You, beast, are a very, very strange man,” she softly retorted. “I’m glad you didn’t eat me that day.”

  Ty’s lips curved and his eyes glittered with desire. “I’ve heard humans are pretty tasty,” he suggested.

  “I guess you’ll just have to find out,” Ella retorted with a giggle.

  Warmth flooded her when Ty bent and captured her lips. Her arms tightened around his neck and she held him like she would never let him go. The sounds of the others in the room faded as she and Ty became lost in their own world – a world where anything was possible, including a shifter finding an extinct human and falling in love with her.

  To be continued…. Mitchell’s Untamed Mate

  Mitchell discovers some beasts refuse to be tamed when Tracy Bearclaw comes searching for him and his clan in the wilds of the Olympic National Park.

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  Additional Books by S. E. Smith

  Short Stories / Novellas

  For the Love of Tia (Dragon Lords of Valdier Book 4.1)

  A Dragonling’s Easter (Dragonlings of Valdier Book 1.1)

  A Dragonlings’ Haunted Halloween (Dragonlings of Valdier Book 1.2)

  A Dragonling’s Magical Christmas (Dragonlings of Valdier Book 1.3)

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  Excerpts of S. E. Smith Books

  If you would like to read more S. E. Smith stories, she recommends Abducting Abby, the first in her Dragon Lords of Valdier Series. Or if you prefer a Paranormal or Time Travel with a twist, you can check out Lily’s Cowboys or Indiana Wild…