Alpha Bear by Bianca D'Arc Read Free Book Online

the speaker.
    “Nonna, it’s me, Urse. I’m in the Grizzly
Cove town hall with the mayor, John Marshall, and you’re on
speaker, okay?” She tried to speak clearly. Nonna’s hearing wasn’t
as good as it used to be.
    “Oh! You’re with Johnny,” Nonna replied,
sounding for all the world as if she knew the mayor already, though
Urse was pretty sure she’d never laid eyes on him in her life.
“Good. So. You have a problem up there, si ?”
    “Nonna…” Urse wasn’t sure how to tackle this.
Nonna often knew more than she should. Then again, she was a
powerful and very old strega . Who knew what sorts of gifts
she really had? Nonna hadn’t revealed everything to her
granddaughters. Not yet. “I was attacked today…”
    “By the leviathan,” Nonna said knowingly.
    “I beg your pardon, ma’am,” John broke in,
“but how could you know that?”
    “Just as I saw your face, Johnny, I saw the
creature that haunts your coast. It is why I sent my granddaughters
to you,” came Nonna’s mysterious reply.
    “You saw this?” Urse was shocked. Nonna had
occasional bouts of clairvoyance. It wasn’t her greatest gift, but
when the visions came, they were strong and eerily accurate.
    “ Si. You cannot defeat the leviathan
yourselves. Neither you nor your sister. But you can protect those
innocent people on the land…and some of those in the sea. Your
spells will help the land dwellers, but your sister must seek a way
to assist the sea creatures. All creatures who serve the Light
suffer when the leviathan is near.” Nonna paused, and Urse met
John’s gaze. She was glad he looked as stunned as she felt. “Three
will come to fight the leviathan. They will each play their role,
but it will be the unexpected that finally banishes the creature
from our realm again. Watch for them. They will come when the time
is right, and not before.”
    “Nonna. Did you just give him a prophecy?”
Urse could hardly believe it. She knew for a fact that her
grandmother didn’t just hand out prophecies lightly. Usually, it
involved all sorts of rigmarole—probably because it didn’t happen
often.
    “I did,” her grandmother confirmed. “And you
can just lift your jaw up off the floor, Ursula. Things have
changed in the world. Dark times are coming. We must all band
together to help one another at such times. This feuding and
distrust between our races must end, or else we’re all doomed.”
    Urse gulped. “Doomed?”
    Now, she knew her granny had always had a bit
of a dramatic flair, but this was going above and beyond. Never
before had she said anything so dire.
    “ Si, figlia mia , doomed. It is
no less than the truth.”
    “Wow.” Urse slumped where she was sitting.
She’d never heard anything like that from her grandmother before.
This was bad. Really bad.
    “ Si. Now you understand.” Her
grandmother paused before continuing to speak in her
heavily-accented English. “Now listen well. You will need all your
skill and strength to do what must be done. And you must do it
soon. Prepare tonight for the breaking dawn ceremony of Light. You
must do this tomorrow. Continue the day after, at noon, and the
following day at sunset. You will be at your strongest when the
Light shines upon you. Unfortunately, it is winter now, and the
days are short, but there is still hope, for the moon will be at
its fullest in four days’ time. You must conclude your part in
protecting the town with a full moon ceremony on that last night.
It would be best if you can get some of those brave bears to watch
over you while you work, and perhaps lend some of their strength,
if they are willing, to enhance your wards.”
    “Oh, I don’t think it’ll be any problem to
get at least one of them to watch my back. The mayor has already
informed me that he’s not willing to let me do magic without his
supervision.” Urse was still annoyed by the mayor’s insistence.
    “ Si. That is good. You will need the
Alpha bear behind you if this is