by Aja Foxx
Could have been either one.
"Can you get Bug to go upstairs and fill Harry and Jefferson in on the story Henry fed the cops? If they go up and question them, they need to be on the same page or this shit show is going to go south really fast."
Bear chuckled. "Already did."
"Good." I just hoped the cops didn't decide to question Harry. The man really did need his rest. Without the medications the doctors were feeding him, he'd start to get sick again, but if he didn't get the drugs out of his system, it would take longer until he would be able to shift, which would cure him of his illness.
If that wasn't the biggest fuck you, I didn't know what was.
"Here they come," Bear murmured. "Keep your cool."
Yeah, right.
That was all I was doing.
I clenched my fists then shoved them in my pocket to keep from reaching for the moron staring at us like we were dirt beneath his shoe.
I hated cops, mostly because they took one look at us and automatically assumed we were the dregs of society. They knew nothing about us, how hard we worked or how devoted we were to the brotherhood we shared. I doubted they even understood what that meant.
"I have some questions," the officer said.
"Ask away," Bear replied. "The Soldiers of Fortune always likes to assist the fine officers who serve our city."
I slowly panned to look at Bear. He was laying it on a little thick. I understood we needed to cooperate with the police right now, but there were limits, and I had just about reached mine.
"I'm going to go check in with Butch."
I walked away before the officer could stop me. If I stayed one more second, I was going to deck someone, preferably the officer. I walked over to stand next to Butch, who was fuming as he leaned up against the bar, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Anything?" I was hoping he'd overheard the cops talking and figured out what in the hell was going on. I felt clueless. It was not a feeling I liked.
Butch shook his head. "As soon as they are gone, I want some of the guys to head out and check the area. Someone seems to know just a little too much about what goes on in our clubhouse.
"Have any of them gone upstairs yet?"
"No," Butch replied, "but I'm expecting them to try. I'm hoping Henry will warn them off."
"You really think he will?"
Butch shrugged. "He seems to be trying to get the cops out of here. I don't think he wants them here anymore than we do."
"I don't think he wants to be here either."
Butch glanced across the room to where Henry stood. The man's posture was still pretty rigid, but he wasn't scowling anymore. That had to be good, right?
"I think Henry hasn't had time to process anything. Given time, he'll be okay."
"That's kind of what Bear told me." I just wasn't feeling it.
What I was feeling was frustrated. My bear and I were in perfect agreement that we wanted to go over, wrap Henry up in our arms where he'd be safe, and protect him from the world.
What I was doing was totally different.
Fuming was a good description. Restraint was another. Longing was almost overwhelming me. All of them were emotions I was learning I had a whole lot more of than I'd ever imagined.
I wasn't overly thrilled to be feeling any of them.
"How much longer?"
"It shouldn't be too much longer," Butch said. "I can see the sergeant giving me the evil eye."
I glanced over and started to laugh at the loathing on the police officer's face. I quickly covered the sound with a loud cough when the man looked at me with a deep glare. He probably wouldn't have laughed at Butch's words so there was no sense in him hearing them.
Still, it was all I could do not to burst out laughing again when he strode over like he was big shit and he was in control of the room.
If only he knew.
"Dr. Nash has assured me that he was not kidnapped," the sergeant said once he reached us, "but I have to wonder if something else is going on around here."
The officer paused as if he expected me or Butch to protest or something.
We didn't.
There was something going on here. Just not a kidnapping.
"My men and I are going to leave now, but we will be keeping an eye on you."
Yippee.
Butch smirked. "You have a good day, officer."
I doubted he meant it.
We both stood there leaning against the bar counter as the police left. Butch didn't say anything or move for about five minutes, but when he did, he started barking out orders.
"Bear, take some guys and scout out the area. I want to know for sure those assholes have left and I want to know if anyone is watching the clubhouse. Someone go up and check on Harry, and Henry, I want you in my office. Now!"
Henry's eyes narrowed.
Butch ignored the man's ire and stalked across the room to his office, going inside. Butch hadn't given me a specific command so I followed after him. I wanted to know what he was going to say to Henry, and I wanted to know what Henry was thinking.
The man was obviously pissed, and I was pretty sure I knew why.
There just wasn't anything I could do about it.
As soon as Henry walked into the office, Butch gestured toward the door. "Close it."
Henry shut the door then turned and stared at Butch. He didn't even acknowledge me.
That was like a stab in the chest.
"You lied to the cops," Butch said. "Why?"
"Do you really think I want to get my ass locked up?" Henry snapped. "I'd lose my medical license for sure if I started spouting off about people shifting into bears."
"You saw Gunner shift. You know we're not lying."
Henry snorted. "Did my mother know about this?"
"I doubt it," Butch replied. "Your mother wanted one thing from me, and it wasn't conversation."
Crude, but probably true.
Henry seemed to agree if the grimace on his face was anything to go by. "Why are you telling me?"
Butch sighed. "Because you're my son and you have a right to know. Because, once the drugs are out of Harry's system, he will shift, too. Because I need your help to keep him alive until he can shift. I could give you a hundred more reasons, Henry, but what you need to hear is that I didn't know about you two days ago, but once I did, I told you the truth."
Henry's shoulders slumped before he pushed a hand through his hair. "You get how insane this all is, don't you?"
"I can imagine, but having been born a shifter, it's not something I've experienced before. What I have faced was a lifelong knowledge that most humans cannot know what we are. The fallout would be catastrophic."
Henry nodded. "Being in the medical field, I can tell you it wouldn't be pretty. Scientists would go insane to get their hands on your DNA."
"Which is one of the reasons why I couldn't get tested to donate my bone marrow to Harry. It's not too bad if it's just a regular blood test, but when they start looking into the actual DNA, things get dicey."
Henry snorted. "You must have shit your pants."
"I wasn't thrilled, no, but after you gave me Harry's symptoms, I was pretty sure I knew what was going on with him."
"What is going on with him? I mean, if he doesn't..." Henry swallowed tightly. "If he doesn't have leukemia, why is he so sick?"
"The symptoms you listed, the sore muscles, tiredness, always being hungry, but never gaining any weight, those are all symptoms of someone going through their first shift. It usually hits us when we reach puberty."
"Does it ever go away?"
"It does." Butch nodded. "After we shift for the first time, those symptoms start to fade. It's kind of our body's way of preparing us to shift. It takes a lot of energy, it hurts a little, and we're constantly starving because we're using up so much energy."
"That part is still true," I added on. "Any shifter you meet will eat his weight in food on a regular basis."
"Is food.
..all you eat?"
I snorted because the question was just so ridiculous. "Naw, we got a room out back where we hack up humans so we can roast their body parts. They go great with a little honey and some ripe berries."
"Gunner!" Butch shouted.
"Seriously, Butch?" I glanced at the man before waving a hand at Henry. "He wants to know if we eat humans."
Butch shrugged. "It's an honest question under the circumstances."
Was not.
"Fine, whatever." I was done with this, and Henry. I should have stuck with my decision to not pursue him in the beginning. It might have kept me from feeling like my chest was caving in. "I'm going to go help Bear scout out the area."
"Don't you think you and Henry have something to talk about?" Butch asked.
I firmed my jaw before looking across the room at my mate. The handsome doctor might have had his shoulders squared and his back straight, but I could see the slight trembling in his hands that he was trying so hard to hide.
Henry was scared, and I was pretty sure he was scared of me. That right there told me all I needed to know. No matter how much I wanted it, how much I craved it with every fiber of my being, Henry wasn't ever going to be our mate. It was best to save us both a lot of heartache and confusion and just walk away.
The words would gut me to say and leave my bear snarling, but I knew I was making the right choice. "No, we have nothing to discuss."
Chapter Sixteen
~ Henry ~
"He's so angry," I whispered as I watched Gunner storm out of the office, slamming the door closed behind him.
Butch sighed before opening a drawer on his desk. He pulled out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. He gestured to one of the seats in front of his desk. "Why don't you sit down? There are a few more things about shifters you need to know."
Why did that sound so ominous?
Apprehension knotted up in my gut as I sat down and took the drink Butch held out to me. I wasn't usually much of a drinker, but I was pretty sure I was going to need it.
"Have you and Gunner had much time to talk?"
"Um...No." That wasn't exactly what we had been doing. I just wasn't going to admit that to my father.
God, my father. How weird was that?
"We talked a little, but nothing about shifters." And there really hadn't been that much talking.
"Are you a pull the bandaid off all at once kind of guy or do you want little bits of information at a time so you can process it?"
"Oh, um, I guess I'd like to know everything up front."
"You're Gunner's mate."
I blinked at Butch. "I'm sorry. I'm his what?"
"Shifters have mates. They're like the human version of a soul mate, although for shifters, it's much more intense. We know them by scent. It calls to us. Don't get me wrong, just knowing who your mate is doesn't make the relationship automatic. It just gives you a starting point. That being said, now that Gunner has smelled you and knows you are his mate, he knows no one else will ever be as good for him as you will."
Yeah, no pressure there.
"That doesn't mean you have to accept him. You're human. You won't feel the same pull that he does."
I wasn't so sure of that.
"What does being a mate mean exactly?"
"Like I said, it's the human equivalent of a soul mate. If you accept his claim, he will bite you during sex and bind you together, and that part is permanent so think carefully before you say yes or no. Once you're mated, there is no divorce. That's a human concept."
"But, I barely know him."
My protest was weak even to my ears, but it was something to consider. We'd know each other just a handful of days. In my experience, that wasn't a good basis for a relationship, any relationship. It didn't matter how long it was.
"You're thinking in human terms."
"Yeah, well, I am human."
I think.
"Gunner is an asshole. He's opinionated, stubborn, and he can be a complete bastard on occasion, but you couldn't choose a better man to have your back if you're in trouble. If you accept his claim, he'll spend the rest of his life seeing to your happiness and protection."
"And if I don't?"
Butch shrugged. "Then you don't. You go back to your life and Gunner goes back to his. End of story."
I rubbed my chest when I felt a sharp pain at the thought of never seeing Gunner again. "And he'd accept my decision?"
"Gunner will accept your decision no matter what it is. Granted, I'm pretty sure he'd like you to accept him, and everything that comes with being the mate of a bear, but he would never force you to be his mate. He wants your happiness, even if it's not with him."
That was a lot to consider.
"Is that why he's so angry with me?"
"I think he's angry at the situation," Butch said. "You seemed pretty upset when the cops were here."
"I was pissed that someone reported that I had been kidnapped. I hate it when people mess with me, especially when they're doing it to cause trouble. I hate bullies."
Butch's eyebrows lifted. "You weren't upset when you learned we were shifters?"
"I wasn't thrilled, but that's like saying I'd be upset if you were gay. There are some things you are born with that you have no control over."
"I'm bi-sexual, if that means anything."
It didn't, not really. I didn't want to think of my biological father in sexual terms. I didn't even like thinking about the fact that he'd had to have had sex with my mother in order for me and Harry to be here. Not a direction I wanted my brain to go in.
"One of things you need to remember is that even though we are shifters, we live in a human world and we're subject to the same prejudices that everyone else is. We're looked down on because we're a motorcycle club, because we disdain law enforcement, and because we tend to not take bullshit off of anyone. Frankly, Gunner doesn't think he's good enough for you."
My eyes widened. "He...but he's so..."
A smiled curved up one side of Butch's face. "I take it you don't agree?"
I shook my head. If anything, I wasn't good enough for Gunner. I was a boring nerdy doctor who was more comfortable in a bowtie, dress shirt, and slacks than anything else. The jeans and sweater I was currently wearing were not the norm for me.
My idea of a good night was curled up in bed with the latest article from the American Journal of Medicine. I wasn't a smoker, not much of a drinker, and before my ride with Gunner, I'd never even been on motorcycle.
I had nothing that would interest a ruggedly handsome biker like Gunner, at least not for long. And that's what scared me about this so much. It had nothing to do with the man being a shifter.
Well, almost nothing.
I'd be lying to myself if I said I wasn't willing to pursue every avenue for a cure for my brother, even if he turned into a bear. Furry was better than dead.
I hope he didn't shed.
"I think you and Gunner need to sit down and talk."
He wasn't wrong.
"I'm not sure he wants to talk to me," I replied. "He seems really angry."
"I think he is less angry and more resigned. He doesn't believe you are going to give him a shot." Butch sat forward and clasped his hands together around his glass. "Are you?"
I shrugged, unwilling to commit one way or the other. "I don't think we have a lot in common."
"You can learn."
I cocked my head to one side. "Why do you care?"
"Gunner is one of the best men I know. He's had my back for over fifteen years. I want him to be happy. The other side of that is that I just discovered I have two sons I knew nothing about. I have a lot of years to make up for. I want you happy as well."
"And you think Gunner and I can be happy together?"
"I think you'll regret it if you don't at least try."
That's what I was afraid of.
"Why don't you go up and check on your brother. I'll go see where Gunner's head is."
I
nodded as I stood. "Thank you."
"If you have questions about anything at any time, I hope you'll come to me, Henry."
I nodded again. "I will."
"I know this is all a lot to take in, but it's not a bad thing. I promise you. Just as soon as it’s safe for Harry to shift, you'll have your brother back again, happy and healthy with just a few odd quirks."
A few odd quirks?
"You don't shed, do you?"
Butch chuckled. "Only in the summertime."
My eyebrows shot up. "Really?"
"No." Butch laughed. "We shed just as much as any other human while we're in human form and shed like a bear while we're in bear form."
"Oh."
"We're no different than normal bears with just a couple of exceptions. We can change into a human and vice versa. We still love salmon and honey, we like to walk through the woods, and, while we don't hibernate in the wintertime, we definitely tend to stay indoors more."
"Yeah, but that could just be because it would insane to ride a motorcycle in the wintertime."
"There is that." Butch smiled as he waved his hand toward the door. "Go talk with your brother, make sure he's doing okay. I'll be up after I talk with Gunner."
"Could you please let him know I want to talk to him? I'm not saying I'm ready for this, but..." I shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt for us to talk."
"I will, yes."
As soon as I walked out of Butch's office, I searched the main room for Gunner. My shoulders slumped with frustration when I didn't spot Gunner. I wasn't sure why I was upset, but I was.
My chest hurt.
I headed for the stairs and walked up to the second floor. There was a man I hadn't seen before standing in front of the door leading to Harry's room. When I stopped in front of him, he moved to one side and opened the door for me.
I stepped inside and then turned to say, "Thank you."
The man merely nodded before shutting the door.
"Master Henry," Jefferson said as he stood from his chair next to Harry's bed. "He's sleeping. Is there something I can do for you?"
"No, thank you, Jefferson. I just came to check on him."
Jefferson nodded and stood back, but not too far.
"Has he been in any pain?"
"A little bit, and he keeps...I don't know, twitching? He seems almost restless, even in his sleep."