by Celia Kyle
The shakes attacked him again, vibrating his veins and rattling his heart. He’d almost lost her. The thought kept repeating. It didn’t matter that he could reach out and touch her and run his fingers over her bruised skin.
Each recitation of the events scared him a little more, put him more on edge and nearer to losing control. A yellow-eyed man behind the wheel, but she couldn’t describe him. The eyes kept her attention. Blue SUV. Van hadn’t bothered to check for a license plate when it fled the scene, he’d been too focused on Lauren and Mia.
“Van?” He looked to his mate. “Are you ever going to talk to me?” She squirmed and her worry reached him, but it wasn’t enough to override the terror plaguing him.
He wanted to open his mouth, tell her how much she meant to him, how his fucking heart stopped when he didn’t think he’d reach her in time.
Ty saved his ass for the two hundredth time in the last couple of hours. “Give him time, Lauren.”
His brother cuddled his own mate close, keeping Mia snuggled in his lap.
Van wanted to do that with Lauren, but with his emotions spinning out of control, he wasn’t sure he could resist squeezing her to reaffirm she was okay; that she was alive. Would he hold her too tight though? Hurt her in his attempts to confirm she still breathed.
Couldn’t risk it.
The heavy stench of pain, emotional pain, reached out to him, wrapped its wicked arms around his chest and clutched him. Her pain. He was hurting her. Hurting her without touching her.
“Okay. Okay, sure.” Her voice was so small. So tiny compared to her usual confidence and attitude. Had he done that? Or the accident?
A fleck of blood clung to her cheek, evidence of a scrape. How many more were there? That internal question brought her other injuries to mind. Ones hidden by clothing and obscured from his gaze.
The bear perked up at that, the angry roars turning into concerned huffs and chuffs. They hadn’t done very well taking care of her, had they? They’d nearly lost her and now they hadn’t bothered getting her cleaned up.
Mia had suffered a few scratches, but her bear blood had them nearly healed. Lauren… Lauren didn’t have any hint of animal to help her.
Making a decision and damn his Itan for asking them to stick around, Van pushed to his feet. “I’m taking Lauren to the den.”
“Van, we need to let our officers do their jobs. You know as well as I do, who was behind that wheel. Even if we don’t have proof.” He hated it when Ty was logical.
Bastard.
Lauren shifted in her seat, and he noted the wince she tried to hide.
“No,” he shook his head. “She’s hurt and I’m taking her home.”
His home. His den. The bear purred at the idea. They could protect her on their lands. The number of guards were increased after the interloper. They’d never identified the intruder beyond the fact he was a wolf shifter. They hadn’t conclusively recognized the animal as Morgan. Damn it.
A soft knock against Ty’s office door preceded a werebear cop’s entrance and the newcomer waved a handful of pages in Ty’s direction. “Itan, I have news for you.”
“One moment.” Ty focused on Van once again. “It’d be best if you two stayed here.”
“She’s human, Ty. She needs rest. I’ll take her home, get her cleaned up, and—”
The other officer cut him off. “I can take her to the human hospital down the street. Police escort and all. I don’t have a problem with humans.”
Van slowly turned to look at the interfering male and noticed the waggling of his eyebrows. The man had a death wish.
Carefully, moving leisurely toward the door, he lessened the distance between him and the cop. With equal care, he slid the pages from the man’s hands and then he did his own bit of grasping. He wrapped his fist around the man’s shirtfront, grabbing and twisting the fabric to strangle him. Then he lifted and pinned the male to the wall with a snarl.
“Mine.” The cop gasped and Van shook him. “Say it. Mine.”
“Y-y-y—”
Another jiggle. “Mine.”
“Y-y-y—”
“He can’t answer if you’re choking him,” Ty drawled.
True.
He lowered the man until the tips of his shoes touched, giving a tiny bit of leeway. “Now. Mine.”
“Van.” Lauren’s soft whisper of his name cut through his focus like nothing before. The single syllable, pleading and exhausted, called to his bear. “Put him down.” He growled. He didn’t want to listen. Wanted to make the other bear say the word. “Van?”
He huffed and let the man stand. He didn’t let him go, though. Instead, he jostled the guy a little more. “Say it.”
“Yours, Enforcer. Yours.”
Van glared at him a little longer, curling his lip in an additional threat.
“Van.” Lauren’s anger snapped at him and he released the officer, pushing him toward Ty’s desk.
“Now that Van has finished pissing all over the floor,” Ty sighed, “what news?”
“The mayor reported a vehicle missing.” His brother sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, the hand stroking Mia’s back stilling. “And?”
“And it’s a 2012 blue SUV.”
Fuck. That just cast more suspicion on the mayor and Morgan both. That nod they’d shared in the lobby… A missing SUV and a wolf behind the wheel… It wasn’t looking good for Bryson Davies. Van hoped he’d get to visit a little clan justice on the human male and wolf.
“Great.” His brother sighed. “Leave the mayor be for now. Spread the word amongst the neighboring shifters. Let them know the make, model, and year.”
“Yes, Itan.” The man eased back into the hallway, his attention flitting between Van and Ty, though Van noticed it lingered on him a hair longer.
Good, the man should be afraid of him.
The moment the door clicked shut, he turned to his brother. Plans had changed. “I’ll get Lauren to my den and safe, and then I’ll kill the mayor. I should be home for dinner.”
It wouldn’t take long to handle, and then the threat to Lauren and her friend, Anna, would disappear in one swoop. Nice and tidy. Then he’d deal with Morgan. If he hadn’t been the one behind the wheel, he’d know who’d been driving.
“No.” At Ty’s single word, his smile fell.
“What d’ya mean no? He tried to kill Lauren. Again.” Anger stretched his skin, the bear pushing the emotion outward.
“We don’t know that. Not for sure. Dealing with humans is delicate, Van, humans are different.”
“Humans.” He spat the word, the syllables rotting on his tongue. He’d met those types of humans. Before Bryson Davies crossed his path. Back when he looked at the world through innocent eyes.
And then remembered who sat feet from him. He winced and the bear snarled inside his head. He was a dumbass. “Lauren…”
Shock coated her features, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. “Van?” She shook her head. “Is that how you really feel? I mean, the way you said ‘humans’… Is that…?” She gulped and pushed herself standing. Her arms trembled, legs shaking, as she stood before him. “That’s why Martin and Keen were so surprised, isn’t it? You,” she drew in a sharp breath, pressing a hand to her chest. “You hate them, us, don’t you?”
“Not you, Lauren. Never you.”
She didn’t believe him. He saw it in every broken line of her expression, in the way she held her body stiff and wrapped her arms around herself. Pain, betrayal, heartache. All of it was plain to see.
Lauren tore her gaze from him and turned to Ty. “I’d like to go home, please.”
Pity filled Ty’s features. “I can’t let you go back to your apartment.”
She looked at Van. “I don’t even know how you mated me. Why you mated me. If you hate us so much…” She focused back on Ty. “I can’t stay with Van.” Her voice was filled with steel even if her body shook with the effort of standing.
His heart broke with those words, pi
eces falling and crumbling inside him. The bear whined, and it took everything in him to keep that sound within. He wanted to plead and beg, but now wasn’t the time. He had to convince her to come home with him, to return to his den. She wouldn’t be safe in that decrepit building.
Mia leaned over and whispered something to his brother, the words so low he couldn’t hear them. Finally, his brother brushed a kiss across his mate’s forehead and turned back to Lauren.
“You can stay with Mia and me.”
“Thank you.”
No. The word lingered on the tip of his tongue, but he held it back. The last thing he wanted to do was alienate her further. She’d be safe.
Not in his den, but still safe.
* * *
Dinner had been quiet and quick. Ty scarfed his food, Parker played with most of his, and Lauren picked at hers. It wasn’t that the food was terrible. It was because she didn’t have Van with her.
She didn’t feel safe.
Even after Ty introduced her to the half-dozen guards surrounding the house for the night, she still felt vulnerable.
Six guards on the immediate perimeter and another six in the forest. All of them shifted, all of them waiting for a wolf or a human to try something. They’d received the same veiled order; bear maulings seem to be on the rise, imagine that. Well, that was the “suggestion” for humans. Wolves were simply to be killed on sight. Apparently, the Redby Alpha was on board with that order.
After dinner, Lauren retreated to her assigned room. At first, she’d been surprised to find her belongings in there, all neatly folded and put away.
Keen again.
She forced herself into loose pajamas, refusing to look at the new bruise on her side. She definitely didn’t look at the nearly healed mating bite.
Mating. Heh. Van mated to a human. Apparently Van’s aversion to “skins” was only a surprise to Lauren. She shook her head and eased beneath the sheets. She wondered if there was a way to break the mating. If there was some magical way to make it disappear. There had to be something that made them shifters, right?
She hoped she could free him from a life of being mated to someone like her. Someone human. Hell, she’d been so worried about being two steps above trash when she should have been concerned with the fact she didn’t grow fur.
Tears stung her eyes and she blinked them back. She wasn’t gonna cry. Nope. Lauren Evans wasn’t a crier, she was a doer. She didn’t let shit get her down. She got down on shit.
Okay, gross.
But she knew what she meant. She’d shovel her way out of a bad situation. She’d done it before, she’d do it again. How many times had she eaten Ramen for dinner or gone without electricity? How many nights had she and Anna huddled together for warmth because it was insanely cold?
Anna. She hadn’t seen Anna in a couple of days, though at least she’d spoken with her best friend. She was deliriously happy with Martin, couldn’t wait for her new life to start, and had begun divorce proceedings. Ty also assured her Martin was notified of recent events and he definitely was not a human hater.
He’d then gone on to try and talk to her about Van, about how he’d changed since Ty mated Mia, but she’d brushed him off.
Sometimes a leopard couldn’t change its spots and a bear couldn’t suddenly sprout neon pink fur.
Ty told her not to be so sure about either.
She snorted and wiggled deeper into the bed, snuggling the pillow and tugging a free one to her chest. She may not have had sex with Van, but she had become used to sleeping in his arms.
She’d miss that the most.
No, his kisses. She’d miss those more than anything. She sighed.
But then there was the way he…
Lauren tore her thoughts from heading in that direction.
For now, and the foreseeable future, a pillow would have to do.
She raised her head and glanced at the digital clock on the end table. It neared midnight. She was on hiatus from her job while Ty and the police figured out Bryson’s end game. They also hunted the wolf who’d driven the SUV. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t get up and help in some way. Gigi, the den house’s cook, made breakfast for all of the guards, incoming and those going off their shift.
The least Lauren could do was help out.
She reached over and fiddled with the alarm, setting it for seven since shift change was at nine. That’d give her two hours to wake up and also assist the older woman.
Plan in place, she relaxed against the soft mattress with a gentle sigh. A few hours of sleep and everything would be better in the morning.
Except…
The snap of a twig echoed off the walls, slicing through the silence. Her eyes snapped open and she stared into the darkness. There were bears outside, guarding the house. Was it one of them? Of course it was. No one would take on six shifted bears. The men were massive, heavily muscled, and dangerous as hell. No, she was safe. Safe.
A scrape along the outside of the home reached her, a long, dragging sound that seemed to also dig into her spine.
Lauren gulped. Safe.
It was one of the bears. Had to be.
She stared at the room’s window, gaze fully centered on the rectangles of glass, the one portal to the outside world. She strained to see into the darkness, see if one of the guards lingered nearby. And yet all she found was a big old nothing. No moon shone in the sky to cast a glow over the land or make a hint of a shadow visible.
A grumbling growl reached out to her.
Oh god, it sounded so close.
She should race for Ty. But that subconscious part of her, the bit that never made a bit of sense, yet held her childlike ideas, told to stay put. Bad things couldn’t break through blankets. As long as she was covered on the bed, she was safe.
Right. Totally a kid throwback.
But the fear… the fear held her immobile.
She was so kicking her own ass in the morning. Especially if it was all in her mind.
Another scratch right outside her window, and then a wet nose pressed against the glass, leaving a slimy trail in its wake.
“Fuck.” She hissed at the guard. “What the fuck are you doing? Peeping asshole!”
The bear huffed, blowing warm air across the barrier, fogging it up with moisture.
“Dick. I’m so telling Ty.” She did her best to yell and whisper at the same time.
Now the fear was replaced with all out anger.
The familiar snap of bone reached her, and she strained to watch the impending shift. It’d be even better if she had a name to place on the dickhead who’d scared her.
The bear’s face slowly transformed into his human shape, fur receding, skull reshaping, and teeth sliding away. With each crack, more of the man’s true self emerged.
Brown eyes, light brown hair, that small bump along the ridge of his nose, and hints of the scars he’d endured during his fight with the hyenas…
Asshole.
“Van.” She glared at the man and stomped to the window.
He flashed her a smile the moment his shift was complete, the grin growing the nearer she came to him. He could save it, his sexy smirk did nothing for her.
She reached up and snared the curtains, yanking them closed in one heave. He could keep his Peeping Tom ass out there and keep his eyes to himself. She didn’t need him. Ever.
Lauren squeezed her eyes shut and wondered if she’d ever believe the lie.
The screech of the bedroom window being slid open tore her attention to the hidden portal once again.
No.
Hell no.
Undoing her work, she jerked them open to reveal a nude Van crawling through the opening.
“No.” She snapped her fingers. “You are not coming in here.”
He eased the rest of the way in and rose to his full height. “Too late.”
She shook her head and stepped back, putting space between her and a deliciously naked Van. Damn it, why did she still want him?
>
Oh. Right. They weren’t separated because she didn’t want him. It was the other way around. He was a human hater. A speciest is what Ty called it. And then, once again, he assured her Van wasn’t that way anymore. He had his reasons, but he really was working hard to let them go. Every one of the Abrams brothers had negative feelings toward humans when they were younger, when they’d been exposed to the worst the species had to offer. They got over it, but Van… He reminded her once again, Van wasn’t like that anymore.
Lauren focused on “anymore.”
Could she make a life with a man who’d dislike her best friend because she wasn’t able to shift? Or their children? Sure, if she and Van were fated mates, their kids could shift. But what if they weren’t fated mates? What if the kids were “skins?”
She wasn’t sure when the hatred would lash out and when it wouldn’t.
That, more than anything, worried her.
“Van, you need to leave.” She held out a hand to halt his approach.
It didn’t work. “No.” He shook his head. “You’re here, so I’m here.”
“Van…” She kept backing up, kept easing toward the bedroom door over a dozen feet away.
“Lauren, baby, five minutes. Just gimme five minutes.”
She shook her head. Nope, because then he’d convince her she hadn’t seen hate on his face or heard it in his tone. It was something else. “Not happening. Just stay back.”
“Lauren,” he sighed, running a hand through his short hair. She focused on his head, on his face, on anything but his nude body.
Then again, she knew what she’d see. The pale scars, the carved muscle, the dusting of hair on his chest and the bit surrounding his cock. It was thick, heavy, and firm in her hand when she stroked him. The memory brought forward others. The way he tasted her, slipped his fingers inside her, begged her to come for him.
Despite her anger, a hint of arousal blossomed inside her, desire unfurling and stretching its ethereal muscles. Parts of her still wanted him, craved him.