The Bear's Mate

by Vanessa Devereaux

  If he set off the alarm it wouldn’t take long for someone from law enforcement to arrive. He didn’t know where to look for the vial of blood, so there was a good chance he’d get caught red-handed. The headlights of a passing car grazed over him, and he knelt behind a bush until it was gone.

  It was getting cold out here so he’d better decide what he was going to do before he froze. Most likely it was an alarm that went straight to the police department. He’d have to be quick, not waste a second locating that vial of blood, take a few drugs, and then get the hell of there.

  He turned his face away from the pane of glass behind him, bent his arm and shoved his elbow through the window. It shattered and now all he needed to do was tap away the rest of the shards, and he could climb safely inside.

  Having better vision at night than day was a big asset as Aiden made his way through the clinic searching for the lab. No flashlight needed. On his way, he stopped by the medicine cupboard, pulled out some bottles, scattered them on the floor and then slipped a few into his jacket pocket. That would make it look more like a real break in.

  He hurried across the hallway, realizing this was the exact spot he’d first seen Charlotte standing there in her thong. He raised his head up; the smell of her scent still hung in the air. Her light perfume invaded his nostrils. He also remembered the kiss in her office. Sure he had a motive for doing it, but it hadn’t been much of a hardship on his part. It had been fantastic. He wouldn’t mind doing it again and again. A jolt of electricity passed through him right down to his toes. He tried not to think about her has he headed farther down the hallway, but she was too damn sexy not to.

  He opened a door at the end of the hallway and sighed of relief when he saw some test tubes sitting on the countertop. He’d found the clinic’s lab. For a minute there he’d thought he’d have to leave empty handed.

  The sound of police sirens wailed in the background. Yeah, just as he’d thought, silent alarm system. He needed to hurry.

  Aiden walked over to the countertop and searched through the contents. There were vials, but every single one of them was empty. He searched around like a mad man. It had to be here. He’d seen her take Christopher’s blood and put it into a vial with a bright blue cap.

  Sweat broke out on his forehead. Of course, why hadn’t he thought of the obvious? Some clinics sent their specimens to an outside laboratory.

  Shit, now what was he going to do? He tapped his fingers on the desk nearby as the sound of sirens got closer. He had to find what lab Charlotte used. That meant seeing her again or at least speaking to her, and all without raising any suspicions.

  Judging by the sound, the police car was only a few blocks away now. He sprinted down the hallway and then out the back door. Aiden managed to get into his car and was half a block away before he passed the first police car.

  Fuck, he thought that would take care of everything, but if he couldn’t get that blood back they might all be finished.

  Chapter Five

  Charlotte pounded at the alarm clock button with her fist, but the damn thing wouldn’t die. The shrill sound continued to fill her bedroom. She finally admitted defeat and flopped over on her back. The room was pitch-black. Peeking at the gap in the drapes, she noticed it was still dark outside. That was strange because her alarm was always set for 7:00 a.m. and at this time of the year it was usually lighter than this in the morning. She flopped on her side again looking at the object in question. It was just past midnight, and the sound wasn’t coming from her alarm clock, but the phone next to it.

  Whoever was calling wasn’t giving up or in the mood for leaving a message on her voice mail. The clinic didn’t offer after-hours emergency service, so it wasn’t connected to that. Anyone needing medical assistance past 6:00 p.m. was told to go to the nearest ER. Charlotte sat up, flipped on the light and squinted while reaching for the phone, saying a silent prayer that everything was okay with her dad.

  “Hello.”

  “Dr. Delaney?”

  “Yes, speaking.”

  “I’m the deputy sheriff Brenner of Outlook Valley, and there’s been a break in at the clinic.”

  Shit. She ran her hands through her hair. Had she said that out loud or just thought it? Hard to tell at this time of the morning.

  “If it’s not too much trouble, we’d like you to come to the clinic and tell us what’s missing. We assume this is drug related, but we want to be sure.”

  “You mean right now?”

  “It could wait, but the alarm’s been set off and probably you need to reset and arm it.”

  So much for crawling into bed for a nice long sleep.

  “Okay, give me about twenty minutes and I’ll be there.”

  ****

  Charlotte was thankful for one thing. She’d actually found a coffee shop open at this ungodly hour. She took a sip before getting out of her car and heading up the path to the clinic. If it wasn’t for the caffeine making its way through her system, she’d been dead to the world right now.

  “Dr. Delaney.”

  A man in his upper fifties with thinning hair and a pouch of a belly with a muffin top held out his hand to her.

  “Yes. Are you Deputy Brenner?”

  “Yes, ma’am and so sorry to call you out at this hour of the morning.”

  “No problem. So what would you like me to do?”

  “Could you check if anything’s missing? Looks like the drug cabinet was opened so maybe you could start there.”

  Charlotte walked along the corridor noting that the lab door, that she distinctly remembered closing before she left, was now wide open. However, she didn’t think it was worth mentioning because it didn’t house anything that you could sell or get you high. She walked down on the hallway to the drug storage cupboard and straight away she could see that several bottles were missing.

  “Yes, looks like they broke in for some drugs,” said Charlotte the deputy standing behind her.

  “Yeah, the usual thing. No alarm system seems to deter them these days. We’ll give you a police report to give to the insurance company. And if you want to have a quick look around and see if anything else is missing, that would be appreciated. Some of them take stuff to sell and use the money for more drugs.”

  Charlotte nodded. She walked back into the supply room and kitchen. A cold draft drifted her way, and she could see whoever had robbed the clinic had smashed the store room window. She looked around but couldn’t see anything else missing or maybe it was, and she was just too tired to notice right now.

  “No, looks like they took just the drugs.”

  He nodded. “If you do come across anything else, here’s my card.”

  She took it and slipped it into her raincoat pocket.

  “You think you’ll catch them?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “Doubtful, but then again the person may not get so lucky at the next clinic they hit.”

  ****

  Aiden whisked the eggs, while hearing Christopher finely moving around in the bedroom. He’d decided to stop by and make him breakfast.

  “Good morning,” said Christopher putting both of his arms in the air and yawning.

  His hair was ruffled, and he looked like their grandparents used to when they’d hibernate for the winter and crawl out after months of slumber.

  “You sleep okay?” asked Aiden setting three slices of bacon into the skillet.

  “Yep, like any good bear should,” he said. “My side’s still sore and my dick throbs when I pee.”

  He sat down at the table and pulled the newspaper over to his side of the table. “Did you get the vial of blood?”

  Aiden put two pieces of bread into the toaster and turned around to face his brother. He wasn’t going to sugar coat anything.

  “Nope, I broke into the clinic, but it wasn’t there.”

  “Shit,” said Christopher running his hands through his hair. “What are we going to do? What if the doctor’s already run the tests on it?”
<
br />   Aiden raised his hand. “If she’d done that I think we’d know about it now. I’m going to have to ask her very casually where she took it and then break into another lab.”

  “You broke into a lab?”

  “Actually a lab within the clinic,” said Aiden setting down a platter of bacon, eggs and toast on the table. He sat and threw a napkin across his lap. He really shouldn’t have much appetite with all this to worry about, but strangely he was starving.

  “At least she’s very pretty,” said Christopher not wasting time with a plate or fork and instead eating the bacon from his hands.

  Beautiful would have been a better term.

  “So I guess it’s no big deal if you have to sleep with her to get the information out of her.”

  “That’s the last thing I think I’ll need to do.”

  Although the thought had crossed his mind, not once, not twice, but all night. Not the bit about getting the information from her, but the taking her to his bed part. Strange how it was a human that was stirring up his libido close to the mating season, and not one of his own.

  “Well, if you need any help just let me know.”

  Aiden came back to earth with Christopher’s words.

  “Don’t worry. It will be a piece of cake.”

  ****

  “I have a big favor to ask you.” Charlotte put the vial of blood down on the lab countertop.

  “You want me to run that for you?” Maggie spun around on the stool.

  “Would you? I’d do it myself, but I overslept and I’m running late. There was a break in at the clinic, and I was there until about 2:00 a.m. I drank so much coffee before I got there that by the time I got back to bed I was climbing the walls. I finally fell asleep around 6:00 a.m. and was so dead to the world I didn’t even hear my alarm go off.”

  “Shitty night by the sound of it. Anything taken from the clinic?” asked Maggie sliding her glasses from her face up onto the top of her head.

  “The usual thing, drugs. So how long do you think before you can run that vial?”

  “You just want the usual CBC panel or what?”

  Charlotte lifted the vial. “I’m not quite sure yet. Anything look strange about this sample?” She handed it to Maggie who then lifted it up to the light.

  “Like what?”

  “Maybe I was just tired, but yesterday it looked thicker than normal and had a blue hue to it.”

  Maggie turned on one of the lighted magnifying glasses sitting on her lab countertop and held the vial up to it.

  “Looks perfectly okay to me but you want me to run more tests than the usual panel?”

  “Yeah, let’s do that.”

  “Okay, give me a day and I’ll give you a call tomorrow with the results and then I can e-mail or fax them to you. Oh, by the way, I hear there’s a job opening in the cardiac department here…if you’re interested in coming back to work at a hospital.”

  “I’m not sure about cardiology. I’m hoping to get back into genetic research, but I guess until there’s more grant money it’s either cardiology or I stay at the clinic.”

  Maggie nodded. “I’ll keep my ears about any other openings for you. How’s your father doing?”

  “He seems to be doing okay. Still has his sense of humor, which is a good sign.”

  Maggie nodded and lifted up her crossed fingers. “I’m rooting for him. I was going to ask if you’d like me to stop and visit with him. I know he’s never met me, but I think you need a break and some social time off.”

  “Funny you should say that, my dad was saying I should take a night off. Do I really look that bad?”

  “Just the opposite, but I think we have to find you a great date.”

  An image of Aiden Renner sprung to mind. She smiled which Maggie must have seen and interrupted as I’ve already got someone in mind.

  “You’ve already met someone haven’t you?”

  “Well, not really, but…” said Charlotte. She knew she should be heading to work, but after the night she’d had she deserved time to talk with a friend. “There was this guy who brought his brother in…that’s who the blood sample belongs to. He’d been stabbed, and a woman had bitten his dick.”

  “Shit, that sounds like more interesting stuff than goes on around here. So tell me more about the hunky guy.”

  “He works with wildlife management, great looking guy and tall, but I don’t know there was something strange about him.”

  “Strange is sometimes good especially when you get them into bed,” said Maggie.

  Charlotte smacked her on the arm. “You are so bad at times.”

  “So is he single, have a girlfriend, or what?”

  Charlotte shook her head. “According to him he’s all by his lonesome.”

  “He told you that?”

  “Yeah, I asked him after he questioned me about my relationship status.”

  “Charlotte, that’s such a good sign. You should give him a call and ask him out.”

  “If he’s interested he’ll have to do the asking out bit.”

  “You are so twentieth century.”

  “I don’t even know if I’d want to go out with him. Like I said, there was something weird about him.”

  “Weird isn’t always a bad thing. Although I do remember one guy who I thought was a keeper, and the first time he slept over at my place he brought his own sheets and pillowcase.”

  “Yeah, like I always say, when they seem too good to be true, they usually are.” Charlotte looked at her watch. She could stand here talking about guys all day, but she had a clinic to open and Maggie had work to do so she could get to the blood sample.

  “I gotta go, but call me as soon as you’ve run that blood.”

  * * * *

  At least make it look like you’re working.

  Aiden had some notes to type up about a recent call he’d gone out on regarding a lady who thought she’d seen an alligator in her backyard pond. He’d chosen the job specifically so he could keep tabs on any unusual sightings in the area that might be shifters who were out on their own and needed sanctuary. Also, it came in handy when one got trapped or darted and had to be sent free. He loved the job, but today he just couldn’t concentrate on his work. He sorted through some files on his desk, unable to take his mind off Dr. Delaney and, yes, the blood sample too. He had to find out what lab she used. When he did, he’d need to intercept the vial before they did anything with it. Best way to do that was to ask her outright. Okay, not outright, but pry the info out of her. He’d invite her to lunch, sort of a thank you for taking such good care of Christopher like she had.

  He dug his cell phone out of his pant pocket was about to dial the clinic number when he had second thoughts and instead set it down on his desk. If he saw her again, took her out for a meal, he’d be tempted just like he had been at the clinic. Getting close to someone outside the group would be walking a fine line, especially with mating season on the horizon.

  He tapped a pen on his desk. Oh, how he wished she was the ugliest woman in the world. Grabbing the phone, this time he didn’t give it another thought and plugged at the numbers.

  “Flathead Free Clinic, how may I help you?”

  “I’d like to speak with Dr. Delaney, please?”

  “Can I ask who’s calling?”

  “Sure, it’s Aiden Renner.”

  “One minute and I’ll see if she’s available.”

  Some country music drifted over the line as Aiden doodled and sketched an alligator on the notepad in front of him. If the lady had seen one, it definitely wasn’t a shifter.

  He finished the sketch. It seemed like he’d been holding forever. The longer it dragged on the more he lost his nerve and was tempted to just put the phone down. However, he was sure whoever had answered the phone had probably already given his name to Charlotte.

  He tapped the pen again, this time in a steady beat similar to the song he’d heard on his car radio when he’d driven to work earlier that day. Maybe she di
dn’t want to speak with him, and that’s why she was taking her time. Maybe thinking up some excuse not to talk to him after the kiss and his abrupt departure. However, maybe she thought he was calling about Christopher and that something was wrong with him.

  “She’s just finishing with a patient and will be right with you,” said the receptionist.

  Hearing that made his heart flutter in his chest. He swallowed, hoping not to be tongue tied when he finally heard her voice again.

  “Hi Aiden, this is Dr. Delaney.”

  “Good morning. I just wanted to thank you for taking such good care of my brother yesterday.”

  “Like I said, it’s what I do. So how’s he feeling today?”

  “Good, and yes, he’s taking his antibiotics.”

  Shit, another lie, but he could hardly tell her they were a waste of time for them. Medication like that didn’t work on shifters. They had to leave it all to their own bodies to work some magic.

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  Here goes…

  “As my way of saying thank you, I’d like to take you to lunch.”

  “There’s really no need, like I said it’s my job to help patients.”

  “Okay, then how about I just take you to lunch without it being a thank you meal.”

  Had that come across as pushy?

  She laughed. “Okay, but I was late getting into the clinic this morning and I have patients to see all day, so lunch isn’t possible. I could probably do dinner.”

  He bit his lip. That might be too late, not to eat, but she might have given the vial of blood to a lab by then, but he’d cornered himself here. Not that he wouldn’t want to take her out for dinner. However, she’d probably get all dressed up. She’d look drop dead gorgeous and that could lead to trouble for both of them. On the other hand, he really needed to know the name of the lab without looking too suspicious. If he had to get her into bed to do it, well, he’d fuck her first, pay the consequences later.

  “Okay, tell me where to pick you up?”

  “I’ll give you my home address and shall we say 7:30 p.m.? I’ll make sure I lock the clinic doors right at 6:00 p.m. and I have to make a stop to see my dad first.”