by Rosanna Leo
“It’s not him. It’s my lynx.” Her voice hissed out an urgent whisper, as if the beast were standing in the room with them. “She won’t leave me alone. She makes me want to do…wicked things.”
“Oh.” Not knowing how to respond, but starting to get an idea how Marci felt, Gioia pulled her in for a hug. “It’s okay. You’ll sort things out for you and your lynx.” She patted her back and looked at her. “And hey, I wouldn’t worry about the whole virginity thing. I’m sure you’ll take care of that soon enough. What man in his right mind could resist you?”
Marci shook her head. “This is so hard. I serve a male patron at the customer service desk, and I start picturing him naked. I talk to customers on the phone, and as soon as I hear a male voice, I have to bite my tongue so I don’t talk dirty to him. Ryland will surely fire me if this keeps up.” She put her hand over her closed eyes. “The other day, I almost asked one of the janitors to lick me.”
Gioia stared, hearing the pain in the other woman’s voice. “Oh, Marci. Don’t ever ask strange men to lick you, because they will.” She tried to drum up some sort of advice, feeling like a mother figure to the young woman all of a sudden. However, she’d never had to counsel anyone in heat before. “Maybe you could talk to Ryland. He does mentor shifters.”
Marci’s lips stretched into a pathetic grin. “Yeah, I suppose I should do that. It’s just awkward asking your boss if he’ll talk birds and bees with you.” She frowned and cupped Gioia’s cheek and gazed at her. “You just mated with Soren, didn’t you?”
“That’s kinda personal.”
Marci laughed. “No, it’s wonderful. I just realized I can smell him on you. Your scents smell good together, like strawberries and cream.” She paused. “Are you feeling okay?”
Gioia’s eyes widened. “Better than ever, but also kind of shaky. I get nervous when he’s not around. And for a woman who’s had to be independent much of her life, I hate that I just said that. I don’t know if I’m getting stronger or weaker.”
Marci tilted her head and smiled. “You’re just in love. I hope I have that one day.”
“You will. You’ll see.”
The two shifter women regarded each other for a moment as a new friendship was forged, and then Marci walked to the door. “If you ever want to talk about the shifter thing, Gioia, I’m here. And again, I’m sorry I got naked in your man’s bed.”
And because life was too short to hold grudges, Gioia expressed her thanks and saw Marci out into the hallway.
* * * *
Soren watched, trying not to grumble as Gioia and her recently dead husband talked to Gunnar. They’d all promised to play nicely and behave, but if truth be told, he still was in no way happy about Paul being here. He didn’t trust the man, plain and simple. Call it jealousy, call it small-mindedness, he didn’t care. He didn’t want to be figuring out a way to include Paul in Gioia’s life.
He wanted her to himself. His only consolation was the fact that his scent was now plastered all over his mate. And Paul knew it. Every so often, he’d lift his head and inhale, frowning at Soren.
And yet, as much as he enjoyed baiting Paul, he had to admit there was a part of him, a small one, that sympathized with the man. It wasn’t his fault he got sick, even though Soren didn’t approve of his methods for handling the situation. If he had been in Paul’s position years ago, he would have dragged himself away from his family for fear of hurting them. Soren knew, without a doubt, that if he’d suffered from the same sickness, he would have gladly died alone in a hole rather than subject Gioia and Gunnar to even a second of torment.
Paul shouldn’t have stayed. And then again, who was to say what anyone would have done in his position?
Feeling a little guilty for his open hostility, Soren let out a deep breath. They were all seated by the lake at one of the picnic tables. While Gunnar and Paul talked quietly, Gioia turned to him.
“Are you okay?” she whispered, rubbing his thigh.
He draped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close so he could drop a kiss onto her forehead. “Yeah. You?”
She looked at him, her dark eyes shining from their mysterious depths. “I have you, don’t I?”
He laid his forehead against hers. “Always.”
Paul cleared his throat, and they withdrew from each other, but just by an inch or so. Her heat enveloped him still.
“So,” Gunnar asked, “does this mean I have two dads?”
Soren spoke up. “Paul is your dad, Gunnar. Nothing will ever change that, but I’d like to be part of your life too.”
Fuck. Why did it hurt to say that out loud? Maybe because it was an out-and-out lie? Maybe because Soren realized he wanted very much to be a father to the little dude? He’d grown accustomed to his sullen ways and dirty fingernails. Well, he supposed his desires weren’t the most important consideration in this case. Gunnar needed his dad, but Soren would make sure to stick around just in case Paul ever fucked up. And then he’d mop the floor with him.
“So,” Gunnar continued, more talkative than Soren had ever seen him. “Are we all going to live together? ’Cause that’s just creepy.”
A tense laugh traveled between the adults at the table. Gioia looked at Soren. “I think we still have to work out the logistics.” She gazed at her son, her eyes full of love. “You and I will return to Calgary at the end of our stay here, and we’ll take it from there.”
No. Soren clutched his chest as pain bounded through him. No, that plan didn’t feel right at all. He wanted them to live with him. He didn’t want to be even a moment without her. Still, he couldn’t very well bring Gioia and Gunnar back to his bachelor pad in New York. It wasn’t really a kid-friendly kind of place. And where did Paul fit in?
Shit, this was giving him a headache. He just wanted Gioia and Gunnar with him in a place that made them happy.
Right at that moment, a mother duck decided to waddle by their table with her six babies in tow. As she quacked at them to keep up, Gunnar let loose a humungous laugh, taken by the amazingly cute sight. Gioia ran over to his side of the table, and they giggled and pointed, whispering about the duck family.
Soren smiled. They were happy here. They loved it on Gemini Island; Gioia had said so herself.
Maybe they could stay…
Soren made up his mind to talk to Ryland about the possibility of creating a position for an in-house percussionist. Fuck, he could almost hear the deranged laughter now. Still, if it made his mate happy, he’d put up with his sanctimonious brother.
While Gioia listened as her son prattled on about the significant adorable-factor surrounding the runt of the duck’s litter, Soren nodded at Paul, feeling he should extend an olive branch to the other shifter. If they were going to make this work, he needed to be civil, even though he was still pissed at the dude for smashing his drums. “So, do you have a place to stay in Calgary?”
Paul stared into the distance, his eyes glazed over and unblinking.
“Paul?”
After a moment, he snapped out of it and turned to Soren. “Did you say something?”
Feeling a prickle of unease, Soren repeated his question.
Paul just looked past him, his eyes focused on the grass. His gaze was so intent he could have burned a hole in the lawn. “Stop asking me so many goddamn questions! Can’t you see I’m thinking?” He gave his head a frantic shake. “I have a headache. I’m going back to my room.”
Gioia and Gunnar looked at him, concerned. They all watched as Paul beat a hasty, but shaky, retreat toward the cabin area.
“Is Dad okay?”
Gioia ran a hand over her boy’s hair. Her face was pale. She turned to Soren and her inner voice spoke to his. “Not again…”
Soren gritted his teeth, very much worried the sage tea was wearing off.
Chapter 14
That evening, Gioia finished her packing, with Lia for company. As Gunnar packed his own bag in his room, she and Lia polished off a bottle of much-need
ed merlot. Normally she preferred beer, but tonight just felt like a get-sloshed-with-the-help-of-fine-wine kind of night. She organized her tops in the suitcase while Lia poured her another glass. Their time was coming to an end at the lodge, and she needed to return Gunnar to some sort of stability. Even though the idea of spending any time away from Soren hurt, they needed to sort out their future plans and couldn’t hide away at Ryland’s resort forever. Besides, she knew Soren had work to do too. They’d just have to find some kind of arrangement that worked for all of them.
“I’ll miss you guys,” Lia said over her glass rim.
She turned to the woman who’d become more of a sister than a friend. “I’ll miss you too. You and Ryland have been so good to us.”
Lia walked over and kissed her on the cheek. “You’re family now.”
Gioia smiled and sighed. “I don’t know how I’m going to work this out with Soren and Paul. I don’t want to go back home. I just wish I could stay here with Soren. I’ve been happy here.”
Lia gripped her hand. “You know you’re welcome anytime. You and Gunnar.”
She let her gaze drift toward the window but didn’t really register many of the details in the darkening sky. She just saw a haze. “Paul had that look in his eye again today. I want to believe he’s better, just for Gunnar’s sake. I know we don’t have a future any longer, but I don’t want either of them to suffer.”
Lia just held her gaze, and her kind smile did more to console her than any words she might have spoken. She really did love the Snows, all of them. And she experienced a significant thrill every time she pondered joining Soren in his family. They just had to work out how and when it would happen.
“I hope everything is going well for Paul and Soren. I don’t know what it was that Paul wanted to talk to Soren about so badly,” Gioia mused. “I hope he doesn’t flip out on him.”
Paul had sought out Soren a while ago, looking disturbed, declaring he needed to share some information with Soren. Away from Gioia’s ears. Intrigued, Soren had gone with him, and Ryland had accompanied him in case they needed a referee. They’d been gone for an hour, and Gioia’s mind was whirling and racing. What on earth could they be discussing? She didn’t want the two bear men to rile each other up again but didn’t put it past either of them.
“I’m sure Ry will make sure they stay on the straight and narrow,” Lia added.
Gioia took a long sip from her wine, enjoying the little head rush that followed. “I hope so.” She stifled a tiny burp, and they both started giggling.
Gunnar opened the adjoining door and walked into her part of the suite. “Mom, can you wash my vest? I wanna wear it tomorrow.”
Gioia gawked at him. “No way, Jose. You’ve worn it since we got here.” She reached for the garment and held it away from her face between two fingers. “This is getting packed now, and I’ll have to soak it for a month when we get home just to get the boy smell out of it.”
Lia laughed some more and poured more wine for both of them.
Gunnar smirked. “You mean man smell, Mom. I’m not a boy anymore. Soren said so.”
She rolled her eyes but grinned anyway. “Yeah, well, Soren says a lot of things.”
There was a sharp rap on the door. Gioia almost ran to it, eager to let Soren in so she could hear how things went with Paul. She wrenched open the door.
But it wasn’t Soren.
“You,” she whispered.
She didn’t have time to say anything else. The visitor quickly shot off a tranquilizer gun. Gioia watched, stunned and terrified, as the darts quickly lodged themselves in Gunnar’s and Lia’s necks. They promptly fell.
The third dart whizzed as it hit her at close range, sinking into the soft flesh of her own neck. She reached for the shooter, trying desperately to claw the person’s grinning face, but her vision clouded over.
The last thing she remembered was the cold, hard embrace of the floor as it rose up to slam against her body.
* * * *
Soren watched as the pub waiter set down a second round of beers in front of them. Like him, Ry just stared at Paul, uninterested in the beer. “Excuse me for being blunt, Paul, but I didn’t come here to clink glasses with you. What do you want to say to me? You’ve been skirting the issue for almost an hour now, and I could care less about talking sports and weather.”
Paul sucked back half the glass in one, thirsty gulp. “Shit, I missed beer. It’s been a while since I’ve had one.”
“I’ll buy you a six-pack. What do you want?”
Paul put his glass down and stared at Soren. The foggy look from earlier was gone from his eyes, and he could tell his mind was clear. For the moment. Soren watched and waited, not quite ready to relinquish his suspicions.
“I learned a lot when I was staying with the Mercier brothers,” Paul began. One of the brothers was a farmer, like I said, but the other one was a medical practitioner. Raoul Mercier studied ancient medicine, everything from First Nations to Chinese to Mayan. He knew every herb and plant out there, and what they could do.”
“This is fascinating,” Soren deadpanned, losing patience. “What does this have to do with anything?”
Paul’s jaw clenched, but he carried on. “Raoul performed a lot of tests on me while I was with them. He noticed an interesting cocktail of drugs in my system, ones that took a long time to wear off and that had a detrimental effect on my brain. None of the drugs were illegal and were all derived from various herbs, stuff you might find in a garden. But combined a certain way, they were hallucinogenic. At least, that’s how they worked on me.”
“Someone drugged you?” Soren asked on a breath.
Paul looked him right in the eye. “What I’m saying is, I don’t believe I was sick at all. Raoul didn’t either. Today, thanks to Raoul’s work, I feel just fine. I do believe I was drugged and that the symptoms made me appear like I was losing my mind.”
Soren narrowed his gaze on him. “But even today you looked hazy, as if you weren’t all there.”
Paul let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, I’m all here. It’s just when I think about the unfairness of the situation, I get a little distracted. Especially when I think about the person who did this to me.”
“Who do you think drugged you?” Ryland asked.
“Let me share an interesting coincidence,” Paul said, his voice still hiccupping with sour laughter. “One of the things I appreciated about my cousin Wes was his ability to help me clear my head. We did a lot of things together. Drinking, working out at the gym. He was my bench press spotter, and a good one too. Always had his eye on me.”
Soren didn’t like where this was going. “Go on.”
“Did you ever hear what Wes does for a living?” He waited for their response, but they had none and shook their heads. “He runs a supplement store. That man knows vitamins like the Pope knows Catholics.”
Soren’s bear lurched, and he didn’t even try to control the stabbing pain. Gioia…
“I believe Wes drugged me over a long period of time. I believe he wanted my bear to erupt from me in anger. I believe he wanted to instigate the sort of tragedy that happened when Gunnar attacked me. It fit right in with his plans.”
Soren dropped his head into his hands as a white-hot agony sliced through his tendons and muscles. He stifled the roar that was threatening to explode from him.
“But why?” Ryland demanded, his own brow creased with worry.
“Wes always used to tease me about Gioia, you know, telling me she was too good for me. How lucky I was to have her. Sometimes I’d catch him staring at her with this odd look in his eye. A…covetous look. I thought it was my imagination. I mean, he’s my cousin, for Christ’s sake! He’s family. So I put it out of my head. But now, when I piece things together, it makes sense. My memories have come back to me more and more each day, and in every one he’s there…staring at her. Wanting her. I was just too drugged to notice it before. I don’t want her to go home and become involved with him in
any way.”
Soren pushed away from the table, spilling all three beers in the process. “He was here! The sick bastard was here on the island! And he already attacked her once. We thought it was her pheromone driving him nuts.”
“Pheromone?”
“I’ll explain that later,” Ry mumbled. He looked at Soren, his face already etched with agony. “The girls are alone with Gunnar right now.”
“Shit!” As his bear pounded his rib cage, crazed from fear, Soren sprinted out of the pub. Ryland and Paul were hot on his heels.
As the three men raced to Gioia’s suite, Soren endured the horrible crashing in his gut. He struggled to make contact with his mate telepathically, crying out for her, but there was no response. Not a hum, not a crackle of energy.
She was in trouble.
If the fuckwad hurts her…
He didn’t waste any more time pondering Wes’ fate. He knew what he would do. If he found him with Gioia, he’d kill him.
Chapter 15
Gioia woke up in the darkness on a soft bed of moss. As her tired lashes fluttered over her eyes, she shivered. The night was cold, and she needed Soren’s touch for warmth. He was so warm…She rolled over and whispered his name.
A hand grabbed her arm, and she thought it was his. No. Soren wouldn’t grab her like that. Her eyes flew open, even as they fought not to close again.
“Soren’s not here, sunshine. Just me.”
“Wes,” she whispered.
He ran a finger along her cheek. “Aw, you look so pretty in your sleep, but I really want you awake for what I do next.” As a growl rumbled in his chest, he slapped her across the face. “Wake up, bitch!”
She did, scrambling away from him. As she crab-crawled away from him, she heard a muffled noise in the near distance. She turned her head and saw Gunnar gagged and bound to a tree. He made frantic noises from behind the gag, and his eyes were wet with terrified tears. She just knew he was shouting, “Mom!”
It all came flooding back to her. Drinking with Lia, packing her clothes. “Oh God,” she whispered. “Where’s Lia?”