Christie nodded. “Exactly. I mean, I’m glad. The stuff that happens in this place, it’s a good thing they’re hardy. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Her words prompted Toni to ask, “You were saying though… about why there have been problems with gangs and such.”
“Well, when Mars took over as Prez, he cut ties with the cartel, and the MC raided their warehouse and stole a shipment of girls. They housed them here for a while, but most of them left on their own volition. There are only a few still around, and the woman who drove you to the hospital tonight? Mischa? She’s one of them, and she’s Kiko’s mate. He’s the second-in-command around here.
“So, the cartel’s allies are against us, plus there’s the issue with the gang that wanted to use me to transport messages into jail for them… It’s just a shitstorm, really. The guys are trying to make the MC more legitimate, and so much is working against them. They’re working hard though, which is why Justiss got attacked today.”
Toni’s curiosity pricked up. “Why?”
“Well, Justiss was kind of badly treated by the old President. He’s forward thinking, according to Mundo. He had a lot of business ideas for the MC, but Jefferson just wanted to stay as they were—more outside the law, than inside it, you know? So, when Justiss came up with all these ideas, Jefferson just blanked him, kind of exiled him, but without making him leave the Clan.
“Problem is, when Mars took over, Jefferson still had his supporters. As with anything, there are the good guys and the bad guys. There are some who don’t want to go the legal route, and they basically congregated together and are stirring up shit in the MC. To stop it, the council decided to challenge Jefferson’s supporters. Problem is, challenges are to the death, and mated Shifters can’t take part in them unless it’s an honor thing.” She paused a second, tapped a finger against her lips, and said, “In fact, it’s more than that I think. Because Mars challenged Jefferson when he’d just mated Annette. I guess the rules change when a mate’s in danger or has been endangered by another Shifter. I’ll have to ask Mundo if that’s right, but anyway, the council decided to ask a few men to challenge Jefferson’s pals in their stead, and Justiss was one of them. He won today, and as a result, gets a seat on the council. That obviously didn’t go down well with some people, and we know what the end result was.”
Toni sucked in a deep breath. Christie’s chatty tone made it hard to remember that this was real life. She was talking about it like someone would discuss the plot of their favorite show, but all of this had happened. Hours before, Justiss had been lying in a pool of his own blood somewhere in this building, and today, undoubtedly out in the yard, a challenge had taken place and her mate had murdered another bear.
Jesus, what had she gotten herself involved in?
She sank back a deep gulp of beer and felt the yeasty tang untangle a few knots in her gut. It was a temporary solution, but it helped for now.
Christie seemed to understand how overwhelmed she felt, and said, “I probably shouldn’t have told you any of this. It’s a bit nuts.”
“A bit?” Toni breathed, incredulity effervescent in her words. When Christie bit her lip nervously, Toni shook her head. “Look, don’t worry about it. Thank you for telling me. I guess I needed to know all this.”
“Your mates should probably have been the ones to fill you in, but to be honest, I wish someone had just laid it all down for me like this, you know? It would have helped me find my balance right from the start. Annette tried to help, and she’s great, she really is, but she’s the Prez’s mate. Do you know what I mean? She doesn’t mean to, but she’s so busy all the time, and I hate going to her for anything.” She grimaced. “I think she’d feel badly if she knew that, but you can’t help how you feel, right?”
“No, you can’t,” Toni agreed. “I’ve only barely met her, but she went off straight away to sort out a place for us to sleep. She seemed nice, like you said. But it does make a difference when someone’s mated to a leader. They’re on a different level.
Christie sighed with satisfaction. “You understand. Thank God. I felt like I was alone, because Mischa and she seem to get on great, but then, that’s probably because they’ve spent a lot of time together. Annette’s a reporter, and she’s been working on a human trafficking story, so Mischa has been helping her out with that.”
Toni shook her head at the insanity of life in this place. She wasn’t sure if she appreciated the deluge of information, but she could tell that Christie had meant well by it. She hadn’t offloaded the whole shitstorm with any malice, just a desire to clear the air and make Toni understand the way of life here. That way of life seemed more and more crazy, so she wasn’t sure how well Christie’s plan had worked. But regardless, whether she detested the MC or not, it hadn’t changed the connection she had with her mates. That wasn’t going anywhere.
“Jesus, there’s so much going on in this place. You’re right. They need their own reality-docu show.”
Christie chuckled. “You bet they do. It’s nuts, but hell, it’s becoming the norm now. The craziest shit happens, and I’m getting immune to it. Although, I’ll not lie, I’m pleased as hell they’re going legitimate. It just helps me sleep better at night, and now Justiss is on the council, the legal route should be cemented in place.”
Toni smiled at that. She could see Justiss being the voice of reason, making sense out of the insane. Graver had been quieter tonight, less open, and more uptight, which made perfect sense after what had happened today. “What’s Graver’s story then?”
“Oh, well, he’s only a baby in the Clan. He’s really young.” She laughed. “He’s only fifty or something.”
They shared a chuckle. “God, that’s a baby, huh?”
“Yup. So, he’s got a lot of people who respect him simply because he had two brothers who died on MC business.” She shrugged. “From what I can gather, the Graver family was a popular one. Their dad might have been involved way back then, but he got out.” She took a sip of her ice tea, swirling the liquid around so the ice clinked and tinkled against the glass. “He’s new, but they don’t treat him like that. Not really. They don’t treat Mundo like that either. He’s young as well, but he’s on the council. I think Mundo said they want Graver on the council too, but now he’s mated to you, I’m not sure how that will pan out. Graver was one of the guys the council wanted to challenge Jefferson’s supporters.” Christie must have seen her panic, because she held out a hand. “Don’t worry, Toni. I’m sure that’s not going to happen anymore anyway. What Moses did to Justiss will change the lay of the land. A lot. Things are changing here, and I’ll not lie, you’ve picked a hell of a time to join the fun.”
Toni scrubbed a hand over her face. “This is batshit crazy.”
“Yep.” Christie reached over and patted her on the shoulder. “Will you be my OB/GYN?”
The out of the blue question had Toni snorting, because for some reason, Christie was acting like they’d known each other longer for far longer than thirty minutes.
“I shouldn’t enable you,” she chided. “You need to leave the clubhouse at some point. What about buying all the baby’s stuff?”
“Amazon delivers, you know? It’s kind of their thing.”
“You’re going to be stubborn about this, aren’t you?”
For some reason, Christie seemed pleased by her assessment. “I think we’re going to be friends.”
“You do, huh?” Toni couldn’t help but grin. She hadn’t had a friend in… Christ, she didn’t know how long. The notion wasn’t too displeasing, and she liked Christie’s openness. Even in the face of parting with bad or discomforting news, she’d spilled out the truth and left Toni to deal with the consequences of that.
It was refreshing.
Not many people liked the truth, but Toni lived by it. The reason she had no real friends was because they couldn’t handle her bluntness, but she got the feeling Christie wouldn’t mind. She might even enjoy Toni’s sharp wi
t when it came to doling out her honest opinions.
“I don’t advise it. I’m a trauma specialist, not a new human specialist.”
Christie shrugged that off. “It’s better than nothing, right?”
She shook her head. “No, it’s not. Not when you don’t have to settle for ‘better than nothing.’ Don’t you want the best for your baby?”
“Yeah, I do, and I figure overdosing him or her with cortisol because his mama is stressed as fuck every time she steps foot outside the clubhouse isn’t the way to give them the best.”
Toni conceded that by pursing her lips. She narrowed her eyes at the other woman, took a final sip of her beer, then negotiated, “I’ll treat you, handle your bloodwork, make sure you’re okay… But, when you reach the second trimester, you have to see an OB/GYN for a sonogram. And, we need to arrange a shrink to come to you to help you get over your fears.”
She was well aware that she was being a hypocrite, chiding Christie on her fears when Toni’s phobia ruled her life and had done so for decades. But she was in doctor mode, and her patient needed help. Plus, the baby needed to be scanned.
Shifter pregnancies developed differently to human babies, and there had been a short segment of her training spent on that development, but it had been another specialty. She’d just focused on trauma as that was where her talents lay.
“Okay. I agree. I know I need a sonogram, but I would just like to wait for as long as I can.”
“I understand that.” She rubbed her chin. “There are course materials I could send for, things that would help me help you. I trained in Shifter healing, but I only specialized on trauma, not this. I guess it would be useful for the future to know about this shit.”
Christie leaned over for both of Toni’s hands and squeezed them. “Thank you, Toni. I really appreciate this. You’ve no idea how much.”
No, Toni really did know, but she wasn’t going to let on just yet about her own phobia. It might have been a great time to share, only the truth was, she didn’t want to discourage Christie from seeing a shrink. If she’d divulged the truth about her own fears, Christie might have questioned the point of seeing a psychologist, and that wasn’t an option. Not when the health of her child was on the line.
So, for the first time in her life, Toni withheld the whole truth from a patient.
And as she did, she had to wonder how else the MC would forge her and what her new mates’ influence on her nature would herald.
The truth was, however, she was way too tired to do much more than ‘wonder’ about those things. And when she saw her mates stepping forth from the darkness, the faint lights from the terrace gleaming over their bare forms, thoughts in general were wiped from her brain.
Christie’s chuckle had her turning to face the other woman. Toni watched as Christie scraped her chair back and got unevenly to her feet. “I’ll leave you to your mates.” She winked. “Very pretty. We’re very lucky ladies, aren’t we?”
Chapter 4
Justiss let out a yawn as he peered around his new suite of rooms. They were a blank canvas, but the bed was big enough. There was a decent sofa and a large screen TV. For the night, it would do, but he knew that would be another matter entirely for his mate.
He watched her study the room he’d scanned in less than five seconds, saw, and was amused by her dismay at the stark surroundings. She was definitely roughing it here. There was no other way to describe it.
She screamed ‘country club’, although he didn’t think she was the kind to enjoy that kind of venue, even if that was her place in the social strata.
No, there was definitely a question mark hovering over his mate, but he didn’t mind that. He quite liked puzzles. Probably a damn fine job because he had the feeling Toni was, in her own way, going to be one big riddle. The folk who seemed so all fired straight on the outside usually were the most complex.
As his mother had often said, ‘It was the quiet ones you had to watch out for.’
His lips twitched at the thought, and he was pleased to be thinking of his mother on a day like today, when his entire world was changing. It had been a long time since she’d graced his thoughts, but maybe it fit. She and his father had died when he was in his forties—younger than Graver was now—in a goddamn train accident, of all things. But she’d been like Toni, from a better walk of life than her mate, and used to the finer things in life.
Sadly, for Justiss’s father, he hadn’t been able to afford those kinds of luxuries. But his son could, and he intended for his mate to be content, no matter what it took or how much it cost. He’d beg, steal, and borrow to make her happy. She was his priority—a priority he’d been seeking out for his lifetime.
Now he had her, he sure as hell wasn’t going to fuck it up.
“It’s only for the times we stay at the clubhouse,” he murmured, intent on assuring Tonia that this really wasn’t a permanent solution for them. “We won’t be staying here all the time.”
“It’s not that bad,” Graver immediately chided, shooting them both a look.
“It’s just very minimal,” Toni replied then raised her hands to cover her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I don’t want you to think I’m a snooty bitch or anything. It’s just, this doesn’t seem very comfortable to me.”
Justiss smiled, amused by that even though he knew she’d meant it utterly earnestly. He truly understood the hashtag, #firstworldproblems now.
They had shelter, a place to sleep, and food for their bellies. Back when his folks had passed, he’d considered himself fortunate to have that. Now was not then, however, and his mate deserved her comfort. It would prick his pride if he couldn’t give her what she’d managed to provide for herself all these years without him and Graver, so he’d do his damnedest to get her everything she needed.
“It’s okay, Tonia,” he told her when her cheeks continued to burn hotly.
“No, it’s not,” she admitted with a sigh. “I know I must seem horrible. This is very pleasant,” she added, trying and failing to be positive.
“It doesn’t matter. Your comforts are your comforts. You work hard, and you deserve to be content with your surroundings. This is just until we can make alternative arrangements, okay?”
His words didn’t ease her anxiety though, and she plunked down on her bed with a groan.
Aaron stared at him with a questioning look, but Justiss was as lost as Graver. He tilted his head toward him, indicating he should try to figure out what was wrong. Aaron approached her with the caution of a man nearing a volcano close to eruption.
Hard-pressed not to smile, Justiss maintained his distance, watching Aaron and Tonia as they interacted on the bed. It surprised him when Aaron put an arm around her shoulder and she turned into his hold, resting her head against his throat and pressing her hand to his thigh. The move indicated an intimacy none of them had reached yet, and he was further surprised to realize that he wasn’t jealous.
Graver was an extension of himself; at least, that was how his bear felt. And the man? Well, he just wanted Tonia to be happy. If Aaron could achieve that, then it was all to the good. Jealousy seemed to have no place here, and he wasn’t about to quibble that.
“What’s wrong, sugar?” Aaron asked, his voice a gravelly rumble that had Toni nuzzling her forehead against his throat a little more. The gentle touch hit Justiss bang in the chest. It was a touch that spoke of long term intimacy, and both the bear and man craved that. They wanted her to belong to them as they belonged to her.
“I don’t know. I think I’m just overtired.” She knuckled her eyes and blinked blearily.
“Do you want a shower?”
She nodded.
“Well, you go clean up. I know this place might not be to your fancy, but it’s clean, and by being here, we could both shift. I know I feel better for it. Don’t you, Justiss?”
“I do. I’m tired and a little weary, but my bear is back on track. Like today never happened.”
She peered up at him. “
You promise that?”
When he’d returned from the yard, she’d asked him how he was feeling and had made him promise it, too. So, he knew she had trust issues, as well as the naïve belief that promises meant something.
To himself, he vowed to maintain that naivety, to never break a promise to her. If that was all she needed to feel secure, then he’d feed that and never let her down.
“I swear it,” he told her easily. It was the truth. His blood still fizzed a little, and he figured it was wont to do that when a Goddess or Goddesses had been messing around with his body. It wasn’t in a bad way… more in a healing manner. He should ask Annette if she’d felt the same after Mars had saved her life.
At his words, she sagged a little with a relief that touched him, then murmured, “Yeah. I’m going to get a shower.” She propped herself up using Aaron’s leg for support then licked her lips. “I-I’m too tired for anything e-else.”
Justiss immediately wafted a hand in front of him in dismissal. “Sleep is all any of us want.”
She chuckled a little. “Well, that’s stretching the truth a bit, I think.”
He winked. “Wanting you is like breathing, Tonia. But we can control ourselves for a night or two, can’t we, Graver?”
Aaron placed his hand over hers. “Of course. We want you to be happy, Tonia.”
She smiled. “I feel that. And I feel happy.”
“Even though you don’t like your digs?”
Another chuckle escaped her. “Yeah. Even though I’m not keen on my accommodation. I’ve slept in worse, and you’re right, it’s clean, and not permanent.” With a yawn, she got to her feet, patted Aaron on the shoulder, and headed toward the bathroom with a sleepshirt the Prez’s mate had handed her for the night. Even though he was on the other side of the room, she made a point of coming to him and trailing her fingers over his arm before retreating to the shower.
Both men watched her departure then turned to look at each other the minute the door closed.
Justiss And Graver (MC Bear Mates Book 4) Page 7