by Kelex
“He killed two shifters and nearly killed a third,” Declan said. “He’s a threat.”
“Because his serum levels were too low. He should be stabilized in a few days.” Killian turned to Kai. “And I’m assuming we’ll be releasing him to his mate’s care, so he’ll be looked after.”
Declan turned to look at Royce. They shared some silent conversation with their eyes before turning back to Kai.
“I do have something else I wanted to talk to you about, Kai,” Declan said. “Privately.”
“I’m going to go check in on our patient,” Killian said before excusing himself and entering the room.
Kai turned to Declan. “What’s up?”
“How much of Benny’s business were you involved with?”
Kai frowned. “I helped all over at Benco. Filled in the gaps wherever Benny needed me.”
“At Benco?” Royce asked. “But not elsewhere?”
“Elsewhere?” Kai asked. “Where else would I work?”
“The illegal gambling parlors? The whorehouses? Drug running? Racketeering? Any of that ring any bells?” Declan asked.
Kai’s eyes widened. “No… No. Benny has a chain of clubs and bars. Strip joints, actually. A few adult bookstores that sold toys, but the focus has always been on the clubs. He’s always had an affinity for females, and he used that to open them up. I know it’s all a bit seedy, but his motto is sex sells. Human males do tend to think with their dicks.”
“Do you really think the clubs do so well that they could’ve supported the kind of lifestyle Benny lived?” Royce asked.
“Most of the clubs do really well financially,” Kai said.
“Because they’re laundering money from his illegal ventures,” Declan said. “Mostly drug money, but some from the prostitution and illegal gambling, too.”
Kai opened his mouth to argue, but stopped. He remembered Benny’s words about the darker side of his operations… and how the man had wanted to open up the curtains and show him more. “I didn’t know,” Kai said. “But he hinted that there was something else going on and he wanted to bring me into it. One of our last conversations before I left Chicago was that he thought I was like him. Strong enough to make the hard decisions that would need to be made to keep his business running into the next generation.”
“Sounds like you got out at just the right time,” Royce said. “I wish I’d never suggested Benny as a safe spot to send you guys. Maybe you would’ve been better off here.”
“You knew the side of Benny he showed you,” Declan said to Royce. “You couldn’t have known.”
“How’d you find all this out?” Kai asked.
“Had my hacker dig it all up. I can let you look it over,” Declan said.
“I want to see it all,” Kai said.
“From what I can tell, Jack ran most of the illegal stuff. Benny was the face of the legitimate side,” Declan said. “I’ve got it all on a file on my computer. You can come over later and look at everything he found.”
Kai nodded.
“Just know—any of that kind of operation isn’t welcome in Bear Mountain,” Declan said.
“I said I wasn’t involved,” Kai cried.
“I know… it’s just been a lot of years and shaky ground between us. I want to believe you. My gut says I can. I just want to make sure the den stays safe.”
“Before we left, Benny showed me a little of his violent side. He hurt a man, simply because he could. It made me physically ill—and when he said I was like him, it only made me sicker. We came home because of Lane’s papa… but I was ready to put distance between me and Benny.”
“Good,” Declan said. “That’s good to hear.” He glanced at Royce before looking back his way. “As long as you take full responsibility for your mate—I suppose we can give you and Lane a chance to care for him. If anything seems off, odd, out of sorts—you drag him back to the hospital without question,” Declan said.
“Agreed,” Kai answered. “We want him well just as much as you do.”
Declan sighed. “I just hope I don’t regret this.”
“You won’t,” Kai said, smiling.
Declan shook his head before pulling Kai into his arms. His brother hugged him tight. “Welcome home, little brother.”
Kai hugged Declan back before stepping away. “Thank you.”
His brothers turned to leave. “Hey… Benny will likely look into getting some kind of vengeance. In time.”
“Considering we have Benny and his brother bear on camera defacing Gregor’s monument, added to the fact we have a mile-long list of crimes, I’d say he’d better be damned careful if he tried to step foot inside Bear Mountain again,” Royce said.
“The wall doesn’t let anyone in who wants to harm the residents here,” Declan said. “We’ll just have to hold out hope it keeps him out. As long as you can keep your mate here, you three should be safe.”
Kai released a breath, thankful for their magical wall. “Good.”
Once his brothers headed out, he returned to Turi’s room. Killian was heading out. He and Lane had been friends with Killian and Finn before they’d left the valley. “Thanks, man.”
Killian smiled. “Don’t mention it. I owed you one, I believe. You saved my ass from being kicked by Gregor.”
Kai smiled in the doctor’s direction. “Was a long time ago. We were just kids.”
Killian nodded. “Glad you guys are home. Don’t be a stranger.”
The doctor clapped his arm before heading out and leaving them alone.
Turi sat at the edge of the bed, glaring at him.
“I want answers.”
Kai sighed.
* * * *
“What did I do?” Turi demanded.
Kai and Lane looked at one another, but said nothing. Something was in their eyes. And he needed to know.
“Tell me!”
“You said Benny shot you. He and his guys took you back to your house. We don’t know everything, but from what we can assume—you went wild. Killed Benny’s men and nearly killed him,” Kai answered.
Turi gasped.
“You were defending yourself,” Lane said, taking his hand. “They backed you into a corner, and you defended yourself.”
“I murdered two men! Almost three!”
“Benny shot you and kidnapped you—I’d say they got payback for a bad decision,” Kai said.
Turi calmed a little, but hated the thought of the blood on his hands. He rose from the bed and looked out the window. “What if I was to hurt either of you?”
“You won’t,” Kai said.
Kai drew Turi into his arms. Lane moved in and wrapped around Turi’s back.
“You’ve got nothing to worry about anymore. We’ve got you,” Kai whispered before pressing a kiss to Turi’s forehead.
Turi closed his eyes, trying not to let this latest news shatter him.
He leaned into their strength—just as they’d asked him to do—and let them hold him up.
Hoping the weight of his pain wouldn’t consume them both.
Chapter Twenty-One
Four weeks later…
Turi raced up the side of the mountain, the snow cold on his paws. He wouldn’t change a single thing, though. While the cat part of him preferred warmth, the bear within loved the cold. Craved it. The higher they raced, the more he loved it.
Once at the summit, he looked out at the purple-gray sky and watched the flakes coming down hard. Below, the valley was covered in white, only the occasional green of a fir tree or the slate of a roof peeked out.
The glimmer of lights twinkled here and there, too. White and colored lights covered the edges of buildings and homes. Christmas was coming to the valley.
His bears finally made it to the summit and stood at his side. Both let out a roar, likely letting him know they were angry he’d left them behind again. He smiled. His panther side liked speed… and he liked beating their asses to the top even more.
Both male nuzzled h
im on either side and he closed his eyes, purring at their warmth being added to his own. He loved their touch… but since his return to Bear Mountain, they’d not yet pushed for more than a hug, quick kiss, or a tender caress.
He both loved and hated it at the same time.
Turi wanted to be wanted… but he appreciated them giving him space and time to heal.
After a moment, he turned and began to slower trek down. His mates followed him down carefully. With the snow, they were at risk of sliding down, gravity and momentum propelling them.
An hour or so later, they reached the cabin they’d commandeered as their temporary abode. No long-term decisions had been made or even brought up. Another thing he both loved and hated.
They weren’t pressuring him about a future.
But was it because they weren’t sure they had one?
It’s not like I’ve given them any reason to think I won’t run again.
He’d discussed it all with Dr. Banyon. It was time to bring them in. Let them see all his scars and see if they stood strong or walked away.
His stomach knotted at the thought.
It was do or die time.
Once they were inside the cabin and shifted back to human, warming themselves by the fire, he turned to his mates. “I have somewhere I need to go… and I need you both there. Will you come?”
“Of course. Where are we going?”
Turi evaded the question some. “I have a map.”
“Is that all you’re going to tell us?” Lane asked with a smile. “Is it a surprise?”
Turi couldn’t voice where they were going… he didn’t have the strength to say it out loud. But it needed to be done.
He needed to face some of his demons.
And he needed them to see what they were getting themselves into. “A surprise? Sort of.”
Lane and Kai stared, looking a bit concerned. “It’s not a bad thing, I promise.”
Jeez, I hope I’m not lying. It could be terrible.
Not long after, they were dressed warmly and driving along the mountain pass in their SUV. He sat in the passenger seat, navigating for Lane while Kai sat in the back, a silent presence. He could feel their apprehension mounting, but his own anxiety grew, too.
They reached the long dirt lane made muddy by snow. “This the place?” Lane asked.
“I think so.” Turi looked down the lane at the white farmhouse clad in strings of Christmas lights. A tree was partially visible in one window.
Turi struggled for air as Lane turned onto the drive. The SUV bounced over the divets as it rolled closer. A big red barn came into view behind the farmhouse.
It reminded him a little of the house he’d grown up in as a child. Although, this seemed to be a working farm. His childhood home had been at one time, but his fathers hadn’t been farmers.
“Where are we?” Kai asked.
“There’s someone I need to meet,” Turi whispered.
He climbed out of the SUV once it came to a stop without looking at his mates. He was too wrapped up in the past and his fears to look at them. He didn’t want them to see how afraid he was.
Of a child.
The back door of the farmhouse opened and a man appeared, pushing open a squeaking screen door. He was an Indian, his long silky black hair down around his shoulders. He wore an inquisitive look. “How can I help you?”
Turi stood there, his mouth opening and closing, but no words came out.
A scent hit his nose, and he turned to see a large man and a cub exit the barn behind them. Turi spun to eye the child. And then he looked up to the big man with familiar eyes.
Familiar eyes filling with tears.
“Cal? Who is this?” the other man asked.
Cal. Turi had never known his name.
The cub began walking closer, and Turi took a step back, hesitant. But the boy quickened his pace and Turi ran out of room.
The boy’s arms went around his waist. The cub clung to him, squeezing tight.
Turi lifted his stare to Kai and Lane—who stood there looking stunned.
And then he looked back down to the cub.
“Who is this?” the native man asked. “Cal—who is this?”
Cal said nothing.
The Indian man rushed down the few stairs and looked at Turi, tears in his eyes. “Cameron is your son.”
Cameron. Turi looked down at the boy who looked up at him and smiled. He let go of Turi before going to the native man and holding his hand.
“No. I’m your son,” Cameron said to the man before he looked to Turi. “Turi is the man who helped give me life.”
“I never… I never said my name.” Turi felt tears stinging his eyes as Cameron looked his way.
“I’m Samuel… Cal’s mate. Cameron’s been living with us after we learned he was Cal’s son.” Samuel smiled, also teary. “You’ll have to excuse Cameron. All that stuff Zed did to him gave him some unique gifts. He can see images… sometimes what you’re feeling. It’s hard to get used to at first.”
Cameron moved closer again. “Don’t worry. I have all the fathers I need. We can be friends, can’t we?”
Turi knelt in front of Cameron, stunned by the boy’s words. “Friends?”
Cameron lifted his hands to Turi’s cheeks. “You’re allowed to be happy, you know?”
“Oh?” Turi asked, fighting back tears.
Cameron nodded. “You want to be. It’ll chase away the darkness if you let the happiness and love in.”
Tears burned the backs of his eyes, and he couldn’t stop the flow. They slid down his cheeks, and he felt a gasp from his lips.
“They’ll make you happy,” Cameron whispered, nodding to Lane and Kai.
He turned and saw both his mates were there, within hand’s reach. They’d moved closer.
Not farther away.
Cameron smiled and let go. “Want to stay for dinner? Papa’s making stew. It’s pretty good.”
Turi looked up at Samuel, unsure what he should say.
Samuel nodded. “You’re welcome here—any time. Any day. You’re family.” Samuel turned to Cal. “Right, babe?”
Cal walked closer to Turi. “I don’t know how to tell you how sorry I am. I can only beg you for forgiveness.”
Turi looked at the hulking man, a man who looked ready to crumble from his guilt. “They forced you… just as they forced me.”
A lone tear slid down the big man’s face, along with a single sob. Cameron walked to his father and wrapped his arms about the big man. “It’s okay, dad.”
Cal looked back to Turi. “I appreciate it, son. But there’s only one man’s forgiveness I can take.”
Turi shivered and then felt two sets of arms wrap around him and hold him tightly. “I don’t blame you, Cal. There’s nothing to forgive you for.”
Cal looked down, his jaw clenched. When he looked back up, his eyes shone with unshed tears. “Thank you.”
He got up clumsily and followed his family inside through the squeaky screen door.
Turi turned to Lane and Kai.
“Now you see the reality of my truth,” he said grimly. “There are possibly two more out there in the valley. They’re combing the records now, trying to figure out if my children survived and if they’re here in Bear Mountain. This is who I am. I was used… tortured… but I made it out alive. And I want to live. I want to do more than survive. I want a life with you both.”
Kai and Lane dragged him tighter into their arms. He was smothered by their kisses.
Surrounded by their love and affection.
The snow began to fall again, and a hush settled over them.
Turi clutched his mates close, drawing from their strength, thankful they were there at his side.
Cameron peeked his head out. “Supper’s ready! Come on!”
“You heard him,” Lane said. “Let’s go.”
Turi smiled, knowing the meal wouldn’t be easy for any of them.
But it was a first step in truly hea
ling.
* * * *
Kai glanced into the rearview mirror, meeting his brother bear’s stare. They hadn’t said much after leaving Cal and Samuel’s home. Turi had remained quiet—and Kai feared pushing too. Pushing led to running and if anything was going to make their omega run it was the events of the night.
The dinner had been tense at first, but it had slowly warmed. Kai had struggled to sit across the table from the man who’d put a child in their mate—yet seeing how torn up Cal was about it and feeling the guilt coming off him in waves had helped still the beast within. It had also helped seeing how much in love Samuel and Cal were. Their little family was an odd one—a bear without a brother bear yet able to have a child with his human mate—Cameron now had a little half-brother born just months before.
Odd as it might be, they seemed happy.
“Cameron was an interesting little fellow,” Turi said as he stared out the passenger window.
“Interesting? Absolutely,” Kai said with a smile.
“He seems content,” Turi murmured. He paused, a moment of silence fell between them. Turi then turned his head. “If Cal and Cameron can find a way out of that darkness, I guess there’s hope for me.”
Kai smiled and met Lane’s stare in the mirror again before glancing at Turi and then the road. “There’s always been hope for you. You just needed to believe in it.”
“I do,” Turi said. “I do now.”
“Why do I feel like tonight was some kind of test?” Lane said.
“Because it was,” Turi answered.
“Did we pass?” Kai asked.
“I think so.”
Kai chuckled. “Do we win a prize?”
“What would you like to win?” Turi asked.
Heat flooded Kai at that moment. What he wanted was Turi—and he was fairly sure Lane felt the same way. Lust came at him in waves, but he remained silent.
Turi needed to be ready.
Absolutely ready.
After the reminder of his past that night, Kai wasn’t sure their omega could handle too much more.
“No answer?” Turi asked, looking at Kai and then turning to look at Lane.