“Shit!” The word was out of her mouth before she could stop it. Courtney sat up and looked around. Except for her, the bedroom was empty. The twins were not there. “Ya’ll dirty, rotten, stinking bears. I wasn’t dreaming. You bit me!”
Courtney jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. She flipped the switch located on the wall just inside the door. Bright lights immediately flooded the area. Courtney blinked against the blinding glare. She leaned closer to the mirror, peering at her reflection through her barely open eyes.
She carefully touched one shoulder, then the other. Anger rippled through her. A bite mark decorated each shoulder at the base of her neck. The twins had given her twin bites!
“Todd! Harrison!” Courtney grabbed her robe as she stomped out of her room. “Where the hell are you?” She looked around the living room and kitchen.
They were not in the apartment. Even their clothes were gone.
“You two are not bears. You are huge chickens.” Courtney closed her eyes and shook her head. Last night was the most fantastic sex she had ever had. She wanted so much to be their mate, but it was too dangerous for them to be tied together.
But, did anyone listen to her?
“Argh! I can’t believe this is happening.” She stomped back into the kitchen to turn on the coffeepot. She needed coffee…lots and lots of really, strong coffee. She grabbed the bag of ground coffee and a mug out of an overhead cabinet. With the items in hand, she turned to the coffeemaker. She stared at it for several minutes. Slowly she set down the mug and the bag of ground beans. She picked up the handwritten note and opened it.
My Dearest Courtney,
I am sorry I wasn’t there this morning when you woke up, and I can honestly say the same thing for Todd. Neither of us wanted to leave you. You are the most special person in our lives. Without you, are lives are meaningless.
Todd left earlier this morning. As soon as he finishes the paperwork, he will come back. I was called in to cover a shift for another paramedic who called in sick. It will be later this evening before I get off. Don’t make any plans without us.
I realize you have to work in the bakery. Just don’t go outside for any reason. Scott will be there later this morning and Joy is opening the diner as I write this.
Yes, Todd and I marked you. You belong to us, and we belong to you. You fill my heart with joy.
Harrison
Courtney read the note again. A smile slowly softened the frown that covered her face since she discovered the bite marks. Todd and Harrison had not walked out while she was sleeping to avoid her and the fallout of their actions. Their jobs were the reasons they left without telling her goodbye.
Courtney’s blood pressure dropped a few degrees. She was still angry with the twins, but the sickly feelings of being used and abandoned were subsiding. She put down the note and got the coffeemaker going.
I’m going to have to get used to them getting calls at all hours, especially Todd, since he is the sheriff after all, she told herself as she leaned against the counter waiting for the coffeemaker to finish brewing. “Oh crap,” she muttered when she realized how easily she had accepted the whole situation. “My brain must be on vacation.” She berated herself for giving in to the mating stuff so easily.
The coffeemaker gurgled and hissed as the last of the water heated and was forced through the ground coffee. Courtney poured herself a mug of the dark brew. She added sugar and cream before she took her first sip. A moan of pleasure slipped from her as the liquid caffeine slid down her throat. Courtney drained the mug in a couple of gulps and poured herself another mug of coffee.
She took a deep breath and let it out. “Okay, we need to re-evaluate our thinking.” Her attraction to Todd and Harrison was even stronger this morning. “Am I just strongly attracted to them or is there something deeper that I’m afraid to admit to?” Courtney rolled her eyes. She knew the answer before she even asked the question.
She loved Todd and Harrison, and it scared her.
Everyone she had ever loved, had left her, and she had Jared stalking her. The first part made her extremely reluctant to let anyone close to her again, because somehow they would die. Courtney was tired of being alone.
And then there was the Jared problem.
She did not even wish this nightmarish problem on her worst enemy, and now the twins were a target because of Jared’s unhealthy obsession. Courtney sighed. She wanted to protect them, but in the same breathe she wanted them bond to her…heart and soul.
“Get a grip and quit lollygagging around. They belong to you and you belong to them. You have their marks on your shoulders. How much clearer does it have to be?”
Courtney smiled.
The twins were hers.
They wanted her.
The knowledge warmed her heart and sent tingles of joy rippling through her body.
Courtney rinsed out the empty mug and put it in the sink. She had work to do in the bakery to get it ready for Saturday. She glanced at the stove clock. It was a little before eight. In an hour, the first of several interviews was scheduled. She had already discussed the applicants with Joy, so Courtney had some knowledge of the people she had scheduled to come in. she had a busy day in front of her.
Fifteen minutes later, Courtney was showered and ready to start her day. She thought about calling Todd and Harrison but quickly decided against it. As much as she wanted to hear their voices, she did not want to disturb them while they were working, and she did not want to say anything about the bite marks on her shoulders…at least not over the telephone. That discussion needed to be a face-to-face one.
Courtney made sure she locked the front door and the coffeemaker turned off. She grabbed her cellphone and went down the stairs to the bakery.
The first interview went great. She looked at Bailey Turner’s application. The woman was a couple of years older than she was and had no experience in a bakery, but she had a great personality, which would be perfect for the front counter.
From what Joy had told her when they discussed the applications, Courtney knew Bailey moved to Bryant Station about a year ago, didn’t have any close friends, kept to herself for the most part, and had a glowing reference from the temp agency she was working for. Courtney liked the woman. She had a good aura around her soul, but Bailey had a secret, and something told Courtney the woman needed help, whether she wanted it or not.
Courtney attached her notes to the file and set the papers aside. She picked up the next application and glanced at the clock. Brenda Martinez was due in a few minutes. Courtney was excited about this applicant because she had experience as a baker, but she did not want to appear too eager. She decided to work on the inventory while she waited for Brenda.
Sometime later, Courtney walked out of the main storage and frowned. She glanced at the clock. Brenda Martinez was over thirty minutes late. Courtney pulled her cellphone out of her back pocket.
No phone calls.
No text messages.
The phone was not on silent either.
Courtney grabbed Brenda’s application off the counter. She punched in the contact number Brenda had written down.
The phone rang and rang, but no one answer it. Courtney waited for it to go to Brenda’s voicemail, but it never picked up. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Courtney put down her cellphone. She picked up a pen and made a note on Brenda’s application.
“You shouldn’t have run.”
Icy chills went through Courtney. Her hands shook. The pen clattered when it hit the metal countertop and rolled a short distance away. No! It can’t be, her mind screamed.
“There is no place you can hide that I won’t find you.”
An oily blackness wrapped itself around her and squeezed. Her lungs burned. Courtney gasped for air but could not get enough into her lungs. The oily blackness would not let her lungs expand enough to suck in the oxygen it desperately needed.
“You belong to me.”
Courtney slowly
turned around. Her eyes widened. “No.” The word sounded more like a strangled moan.
Jared grinned at her. “And I was worried you wouldn’t remember me.” He took off the dark sunglasses covering his eyes.
Courtney stared. She could not speak. Cold, black chunks filled the space where his eyes were supposed to be. Courtney blinked. Black spots filled her vision. The oily blackness tightened its grip, and she felt herself sinking into it. She grabbed at the counter as she swayed.
Jared’s cold laughter filled the room. “It’s time.”
Courtney fought against the blackness, but she felt herself slipping farther and farther into it.
“You belong to me.”
The words echoed in her mind. A tear escaped from the corner of her eye as the blackness closed around her. Courtney’s mind cried out to Todd and Harrison as the oily black totally engulfed her, blocking out all light and warmth.
Chapter 8
Scott went straight up to the apartment. He did not want to talk to anyone. He was more than a little mad at himself for letting his cellphone’s battery go dead, and not having a charger with him. It was a rookie mistake and he knew better. Thankfully, Todd and Harrison were with Courtney.
He plugged in his cellphone and went to take a shower. He did not even have to sniff too much to smell himself, but what did he expect. He had not exactly been talking with completely civilized people, and he had spent the night in the back wood sections of the county.
He sighed.
Humans had their seedier elements, but the shifters he went to see made the worst human dregs of society look like angels. Even in their human form, they were more animal than human. In their world, there was only survival.
Because they existed outside the normal, they heard things others could not or would not hear. They were the best source of the information he needed.
Scott turned on the water, setting the temperature to the hottest he could stand, and quickly stripped. By the time he was completely naked, steam rolled over the shower stall. He stepped in and let the hot water cascade over him.
What the Others had told him, scared him more than he cared to admit. Courtney was one of the extremely few females demons could mate with and produce offspring…offspring that could easily destroy not only the shifters but the Great Mother Bear too. The Others also told him there were only two ways they knew of to stop this from happening. Kill the demon that was going to create the monsters or kill the female.
Scott knew killing Courtney was out of the question. He asked how he could kill the demon, but no one said anything. Finally, the oldest of the Others told him to not even try to kill the demon because it could not be killed with claws or teeth. Only the blade of a god could kill the demons. The male Other told him to just kill the female. Not only would it save her from the horrors of the demon’s mating, but it was the only way to save all shifters.
“How can you kill an innocent female? She is a victim.” Scott questioned the Other.
Those gathered growled their disapproval at Scott’s perceived defiance. The elder male held up a hand and all growling stopped. “It is not something done lightly. It is done with a heavy heart and in reverence to the enormity of the sacrifice the female is making by giving her life to save all.”
Scott shook his head. “But what if she is a mate?”
The Other stared at Scott for a long time. No one in the gathering made a sound.
Scott swallowed nervously. Even his bear was on edge. It did not help that Scott had to look up to the man, and Scott realized he was dealing with a very intelligent man, not the animals he had been taught the Others were.
The Other’s features shifted, and for a few minutes, a prehistoric cave bear towered over Scott. The cave bear shifted back to a man. “Sometimes a mate must give up what he cherishes the most. It is better to see the life leave her eyes than to watch her become a hollow shell because of the demon’s forced matings.”
Scott felt the male Other’s hurt and sadness. Scott’s mind whirled with everything he had learned. His sister-in-law had managed to kill a demon in the basement of the building she had been hired to renovate. He frowned. Skylar, his brother, had mentioned a skeleton had been found in the basement along with several pictures of a woman resembling Abby.
“You will do what is right to protect the shifters.” The man turned and started walking away. The rest of the Others followed him.
“They found her remains. What was her name?”
The male Other whirled around. A fierce snarl emanated from deep in his chest. He slowly clenched his hands into fists. “Who dared disturb her?”
“My brother’s mate was hired to renovate the building. She found the skeletal remains.” Scott took a deep breath. “From what I’m told, it looked like the demon created a shrine around the body.”
The male Other closed his eyes.
“She was your mate.” Scott did not know how he knew, he just did.
“Yes.”
“Why was the demon hanging around the building?”
“Demons become obsessed with what they desire. Even in death, he refused to leave my mate alone.” Anger, sadness, and longing filled the air.
“The demon that took your mate is dead.”
“How?”
“My brother’s mate managed to kill it when it attacked her and my brother. She almost died from her injuries.”
The male Other closed the distance between him and Scott. “I would like to meet your brother’s mate. She must have a great strength.”
“My brother is very protective of her. She carries their first cub.” Scott did not think Skylar would be too happy with him if he endangered Abby or their unborn cub.
“I do not wish to harm her. I wish to honor her for doing what I wasn’t able to do.”
“I will tell her.” Scott held out his hand. “As soon as I deal with this new demon, I will make the arrangements for a proper burial for your mate in the old Bryant Station cemetery.”
The male Other shook Scott’s hand. “I am Eric. My mate was Abagail Sarah.” He and the rest of the Others vanished into the dark woods. Several minutes later, a lone, anguish filled roar ripped through the night, sending chills down Scott’s spine and causing his bear to whimper.
Scott grabbed the soap and lathered his body. Somehow, he had to figure out how to kill the demon before it got its hands on Courtney. He thought about his visit with Skylar and Abby. He had a gut feeling they had not told him everything. Several important details were missing. If demons were so hard to kill as the Others said, how could Abby have killed a demon when the Other, Eric, could not do it?
Scott rinsed off and got out of the shower. He grabbed a towel off the counter and quickly dried himself. Using the towel, he wiped the steam off the mirror. He leaned against the counter and stared at his reflection.
If the Others could not kill a demon, how we kill? His bear pushed against his skin.
They said only a blade of the gods could kill a demon.
Have claws. No blades.
Scott chuckled. And I have guns, but I don’t think they will do much good either. We only have two options.
His bear growled. We protect sister, not hurt. Not kill.
I have no intention to kill Courtney. Scott ran his hand through his damp hair. He needed to find Courtney and the twins so he could tell them what he found out from the Others. I’m worried what Courtney might do to save everyone else.
His bear grunted.
Scott walked into the closet, grabbed some clothes, and quickly dressed. He went to the kitchen. As he reached into the cabinet for a glass, he saw the note next to the coffee maker. Scott picked it up and read it.
“Shit!” He crumpled the note. “Courtney, where are you?” He yelled as he sniffed the air. Her scent was too faint. She was not in the apartment and hadn’t been for hours. “Fuck!” He hoped she was in the bakery or with the twins.
Scott opened the door leading down to the bakery. He ran
down the steps, taking them two at a time. “Courtney!” He yelled as soon as he cleared the stairs.
Silence greeted him.
Scott rounded the corner. He skidded to a stop. The smell of sulfur hit him. His heart pounded in his chest. Under the sulfur odor was Courtney’s scent. It was faint, but it was there.
His bear growled and rammed its massive head against Scott’s sternum.
Settle down. We have to find Courtney. Scott rubbed his chest.
Demon has her. I hunt demon. I kill demon.
Maybe he doesn’t have her. Scott said the words though he really did not believe them. He barged into the diner. Joy was at one of the booths, talking to some customers. Scott grabbed his sister’s arm and dragged her away from the booth.
“What is your problem?” she growled at Scott as she jerked her arm out of his grasp.
“Is Courtney here?”
Joy stared at him.
“Is Courtney here in the diner?”
Joy frowned. “She’s conducting interviews.”
“Where?”
“In the bakery.”
Scott ran a hand through his hair.
“What’s wrong?”
“Jared has Courtney, and the worst part is he is a demon planning to use Courtney to destroy all shifters.”
Joy’s jaw dropped. She shook her head. “Courtney’s in the bakery. I saw her about an hour ago.” Joy shoved her brother out of the way and ran into the bakery. “Courtney?”
The smell of sulfur filled the room. Joy’s bear shoved itself to the surface.
“Joy.” Scott stopped a few feet from his sister. “Control yourself.” He really did not want to have to deal with Joy’s bear. It was one of the biggest and meanest one’s he had ever seen, until he saw the Other’s cave bear. He raised an eyebrow.
“I’m in control. I’m pissed.” She whirled around and glared at Scott. Her eyes swirled silver and gold.
“Joy?”
Joy closed her eyes. She took several breathes through her mouth instead of her nose. When she opened her eyes, the swirls of silver and gold were gone. “We have to find Courtney.”
Saving Courtney (Bryant Station Curves Book 4) Page 8