by Suzie Ivy
Low grumbles echoed through the trees as already tightly strung he-bears heard every word she said to their alpha.
The Kodiak’s arm came slowly forward and he tipped Mandy’s chin to the side. “My brother marred your skin. Dmitri, my liege, would you take care of my son’s mate?” For the first time she heard his voice soften and he looked at her with something besides impatience.
Mandy turned to Honey and noticed Dmitri continued to hold him back. “I’m okay. The cat didn’t hurt me.”
She didn’t hear what Dmitri whispered into her mate’s ear, but the vamp was suddenly by her side. She tilted her head back and gave him access to her neck, though she never took her eyes from Honey’s as the vampire fed.
Honey walked slowly toward her and then leaned down to pick her up when Dmitri finished.
“No, please carry Patreous,” she pleaded.
“I will carry my son,” Tyboll shouted.
The Kodiak’s voice boomed louder than Tyboll’s. “I will carry him and you will go back to your cabin and wait for word on his condition. If you leave, I will consider it a challenge and though I would hate taking the right away from my son, I will kill you.”
Mandy released Patreous and Honey picked her up. “I can walk.”
“Too bad.” His nose sank into her hair and she heard him inhale deeply.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Honey trailed his father to The Kodiak’s cabin knowing Mandy wouldn’t leave Patreous until the boy woke up. Sonora waited with hot tea and immediately poured a cup for Mandy after Honey brought a chair so she could sit next to the bed the young cub lay on.
“He followed me,” she said softly.
Honey stood behind the chair and circled his arms around her neck placing one hand over the beat of her heart. “Who followed you?”
“Patreous, and his father will punish him.”
“No, he won’t.” Honey kissed the top of her head.
A long sigh left her throat. “Was the entire property searched for other cats?”
“Yes, my fierce she-wolf, and we are posting additional guards.”
“Thank you.” She leaned her head back against her mate’s stomach.
“We owe you the thanks, Mandy. Patreous will survive.” Honey’s gruff voice held conviction.
“Yes, I think so, too. His color has returned, but please can I stay until he wakes up?”
“Yes, we’re staying.”
Honey stood behind her for two more hours and didn’t let go.
“What happened?” Patreous’s question startled them both.
Mandy’s hand went to his cheek. “A very bad cat shot you with an arrow.”
A huge grin broke out on his face. “Cool.”
She laughed and Honey expelled a relieved breath. He wanted his mate happy.
“I followed you.” Patreous’ gaze turned fearful as he looked around the cabin, probably searching for his father.
Mandy’s soft voice soothed, “I know, but that’s okay. Please don’t worry about it.” She rubbed his cheek with her thumb.
“I’ll be punished.” His voice quivered.
“No, you will not.” The Kodiak had walked into the room. “Taking an arrow is enough punishment.”
Patreous’ body shook when he looked up at The Kodiak and then quickly looked back to Mandy. “I was protecting you so nothing happened while you went running.”
“You are very brave and I thank you.”
Patreous’ eyes grew fearful. “What happened to the cat?”
“He’s dead,” The Kodiak spoke up again.
“Did you kill him, my alpha?” The cub’s voice trembled.
“No, Mandy took care of him and saved your life.”
The shock on Patreous’ face was actually comical and everyone laughed.
Honey joined the conversation. “I know she doesn’t look like much, but she did manage to kidnap me, survive an attack by three cats, and then kill the cat that shot you. I think my she-wolf deserves your thanks.”
The boy’s gaze shot to Mandy. “You kidnapped Honey?” This obviously seemed the most incredible of the three situations.
“Yes, he is one stubborn bear and I needed my mate one way or another.”
“Cool.”
Laughter broke out from everyone.
“Honey, take your mate home so she can clean up and rest.” The Kodiak’s voice was back in full force. “Then come back here so you and I can talk.”
“Yes, sir.”
Mandy leaned forward and kissed Patreous’ cheek, though his hand came up and wiped the kiss away. “Yuck.”
“Rest or I’ll kidnap you and force kisses on you every hour.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He ruined the words by sticking out his tongue.
Honey took her hand and they left the cabin after Mandy thanked his mom for the tea. They took a shower together and he cleaned the blood from her skin with soapy hands. She returned the favor, slowly smoothing her hands over his stomach muscles and then wrapping her fingers around his erection. What was supposed to be a quick shower took longer than he expected.
“Will you be okay for an hour or so?” he asked after they dried off.
“Yes. I need to search some things on the internet.”
“That’s always dangerous.” He couldn’t help his grumble.
“You know you enjoyed the nurse’s uniform.” She laughed and gave him a quick kiss much like the one she gave Patreous.
“Yes, I really liked the nurse’s uniform.” His grumble turned into a soft growl as he pulled her close.
She smiled as she tilted her head back. “Go do your duty, oh son of The Kodiak.”
“When I return, I will show you my true duty.” He looked into the front room. “After I nail the door shut.” Now his grumble was back.
“I impatiently await your return.”
***
Mandy stayed put for ten minutes and then set about her mission. She found a backpack in the closet and filled it with the supplies she needed. Containing her anger in front of Honey was difficult, but she’d managed. The last item she removed from the closet was the tranquillizer gun. She stormed from her cabin with a single purpose.
She held the gun at the ready and pounded on another cabin door. The door suddenly swung open and she was ready. The dart found its target. Dragging, grunting, and not caring what she hit his body against, she pulled Tyboll onto his bed. She removed the rope she’d brought from the backpack and quickly secured him spread-eagle to the four posters. She smiled with a feeling of déjà vu while filling a bucket with cold water and then dumping its contents on the idiot he-bear.
As soon as she sat the bucket down, she covered her ears, but his loud roar still nearly burst her eardrums. She calmly waited for his attention. Finally, the last echo sounded and she lowered her arms and looked into her seething captive’s eyes.
“You and I need to talk and solve a few problems.” Her gaze remained steady. He didn’t blink, and if looks could kill, she’d be saying her last blessings to the goddess. “I think you and I got off on the wrong foot and I’m here to fix that.”
His muscles bunched and he struggled to get out of his bindings.
“If you think you’re bear enough, call your liege and I’m sure he’ll help you.”
His roar filled the cabin again. At one point, she thought the bed would break because of his struggling, but it held. She had no more darts, but Tyboll didn’t know that, so she picked up the gun and aimed it at him until he calmed again.
“Now, where were we?” She studied him for a moment before continuing. “I want to tell you a story.”
Mandy then poured out her soul. She spoke about her father, Malcolm the rapist. She told him about her childhood and the loneliness she felt. Then, told of her brother and his struggles to feel accepted. Large tears rolled down her cheeks when she explained about Emily coming into their lives. Her story ended with kidnapping Honey and all that happened until they arrived in bear territo
ry. Tyboll’s head and eyes were turned away from her by the time she finished.
“I didn’t tell you about my true father so you could feel sorry for me. I wanted you to understand. I will not stay away from your son and I refuse to be afraid of you. I have no wish for Honey to kill his uncle or, if it went the other way, for me to kill you.”
The bear’s head and eyes turned back to her. “You think you could?”
“I know I could. I won’t play fair. That’s gained me nothing in this life. I wanted Honey, so I took him. I know I have a lot to learn about your clan… my clan, but I also have a lot to give. So do you have an interest in telling me why you constantly act like you have a thorn in your paw? I’m a good listener.”
“Why do you care?”
“Because you are Honey’s family. I want to fit in. There was always something missing in the wolf clan, and, though I love them, I belong here.”
“You’ll never fit in here,” he said with a rumbling growl.
“I could if I had help.”
He changed the subject with a low, not-so-nice snarl. “You really want to know why I dislike you?”
“Yes, but I think it goes deeper than that. I’m going to untie you and then make us something to eat. We can finish this discussion at your table.”
Tyboll shook his head, but Mandy could see the very tip of his lips curve up. She removed a sharp knife from her bag and systematically cut his bonds. She walked from the room, leaving the gun behind, and began searching the cupboards for food.
A few minutes later, Tyboll walked in carrying the gun and handed it to her. “You might need this. My temper explodes now and then.”
“I’m out of tranquilizers, so it does me little good, but I will bonk you in the nose if you get out of hand.”
Tyboll looked at the gun and then back at Mandy. He grinned and then his grin turned into laughter until he couldn’t stop. Finally, he sat down at his table and wiped his eyes. “I refuse to like you.”
“That’s okay.” She cut up some vegetables and began heating a pan. “I don’t plan on stopping until you love me as you should love the mate to your nephew. Now, tell me why you are such a grouch.”
He looked away. “You won’t want me anywhere near you if I tell you the truth.”
“I told you the truth. It wasn’t always pretty and I’m far from perfect.”
He didn’t look at Mandy. “I refused to let my mate have a child and she was too afraid to come back after she got pregnant. A few years later, she sent Patreous here and I’ve never heard from her again.”
“She left you?” Mandy couldn’t believe what she heard.
“Without a backward glance.”
She stopped her food preparations and walked over to Tyboll. She gently placed her hand under his chin and turned it so he stared at her. She ignored his look of complete shock. “Then she was not your true mate. I could stay away from Honey like I could leave a leg behind. Honey is my other half. He frustrates me. I want to hit him over the head at least once an hour, but he’s part of me. That bear was… not… your… mate.” She removed her hand and walked back into the kitchen. “Did you ever search for her?” Mandy said when she turned back his way.
“No.”
“Is that why you treat Patreous as you do?”
Tyboll’s fist hit the table. “He is my son and you will not comment on my treatment of him.”
“Okay… I’m shaking in my boots over here. Improve your manners so we can finish this discussion.” She gave him her fiercest she-wolf look.
“You are an exasperating female,” he growled and shot her a disgruntled sneer.
“Patreous needs you and I have no doubt you love him. You could have given him to another family to adopt, but you kept him.”
“He reminds me of her.”
“So you punish him for what she did?”
The chair Tyboll sat in crashed to the ground as he jumped up, but he didn’t go toward Mandy, he paced the room while grumbling and snarling. When he calmed, he walked a few feet from Mandy. “I don’t punish him. I want him to be stronger than I and never go through the torment I’ve been through.”
Mandy gave him a sympathetic look. “But, you can’t stop that. My adoptive father loves me. He was strict but fair, though I always knew he loved my brother more than he loved me. Do you love her more than you love Patreous?”
Tyboll sighed then walked over and picked up the chair and sat back at the table. “I thought the hole in my heart from losing her would never heal, but it did. Patreous fills that space. His mother was spoiled horribly and she never helped the women or learned her place. Patreous is like her. His imagination takes his mind off the things he should be doing or learning.”
Mandy’s voice softened. “He could have died today.”
“Yes, I know.” Sadness coated his words.
“Regardless of who his human father is, Patreous can be the best of your mate and the very best of you. He disobeyed you so he could see to my safety. I’m sure that wasn’t easy for him, so that makes him doubly brave. I still don’t believe that she-bear was your true mate, but she gave you a son and maybe you need to forgive her and celebrate what you have.”
Tyboll stared at her for a long moment. “Maybe you’re right.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Honey returned to his cabin two hours after he left. Dmitri and The Kodiak were on the same page as Honey when it came to their part in the coming beastkind war. The cats could bring it on; they did not want to fuck with the bear clan. One of theirs shot a juvenile and the bears were now a bigger part of the war. Honey’s hunger beat out his exhaustion as he opened the door and fervently hoped Mandy had cooked dinner.
Silence.
He walked into the bedroom and noticed the closet door standing open. He looked inside and immediately noticed the missing tranquilizer gun. “Where the hell are you?” He sent the message through their mate bond.
“Shh, stop yelling in my head. Dinner is prepared and we’re eating with Tyboll. Take your claw out of your ass, calm down, and come join us.”
Panic thrummed through Honey. “I’ll redden your ass until you can’t sit for a week.”
“Promises, promises. Now hurry up, because Tyboll is eating like he’s never had a home-cooked meal. If he eats everything before you arrive, it’ll be your fault.”
Honey closed the connection and raced out the door. He could just imagine Tyboll tied to the chair and Mandy hand feeding him. He had no doubt she shot the crazy bear with a dart. He really would be killing his uncle because it was the only way he could guarantee Mandy’s safety.
He didn’t take a single step up to the cabin’s porch, just leapt to the door and threw it open. Mandy and Tyboll turned their heads and then his uncle returned to eating.
“I’m glad you could join us. You won’t get seconds, but I told Tyboll I’d never cook again if he didn’t leave you something to eat. He agrees that you’re grouchy when you have an empty stomach. Go wash your hands and then hurry back.”
Honey stared for a minute, shook his head, and then did as his mate ordered. When he returned, he looked at the seat across from Tyboll. He thought it would be better that he sat between his mate and the temper-prone bear, but Mandy just pointed to the far chair, so he sat.
“I was just explaining to Tyboll that he can bring Patreous to dinner tomorrow night. The child needs a carefree sleepover tonight with The Kodiak and deserves a little spoiling from Sonora before he comes home.”
Honey looked back and forth between the two. Tyboll continued eating and just lifted his eyebrow at Honey’s look. Honey expelled a long breath. “She got to you, too, didn’t she?”
A loud grunt was Tyboll’s answer, but Honey understood.
“I fear, uncle, that I need the entire clan to guard her and save her from herself. I’m overpowered, out maneuvered, and frankly scared to death most of the time.” His gaze locked on the tranquilizer gun and then returned to Tyboll. “Are you wi
th me or against me?”
“You think you’re so funny, mate, but of course he’s with you.” Mandy laughed, taking no offense.
Honey continued to look at Tyboll until the other bear stopped eating long enough to make a short statement.
“She removed the thorn from my paw and I think you need to have proper respect for your mate or you and I will have words.” He resumed eating.
Shaking his head, Honey filled his plate and joined them.
***
“I cooked, so the two of you are doing the dishes.”
They didn’t complain, just stood, and followed orders. Mandy took Honey’s hand when they left the cabin and she carried the gun in her other one. After they walked inside their cabin, Honey grabbed the hammer and began pounding nails into the front door. “I ordered another one and we need to go pick it up tomorrow. I’ll buy the metal bars, too, and have them set up by the end of the day. Should we reinforce the windows?” He looked over his shoulder at Mandy.
Her laugh rang out. “We should just grow accustomed to the interruptions.”
“Never. You have until the count of three to get naked and wait for me in bed. One.”
She turned and ran, her laughter trailing behind. After tickling, lovemaking, and sighs of pleasure, she stood on her head with Honey beside her. Finally, he righted himself and pulled her down. She burrowed into his side and closed her eyes.
Sunlight shone brightly into the room and Mandy held her breath for a few minutes. She pulled back the covers and inhaled. Nothing. No change, no pregnancy, no baby. Honey lay beside her breathing evenly. She couldn’t stop the tears, but thought she managed to muffle her sobs.
Warm fingers pulled the hair from her face. “Shh, what are these for?” He wiped the trail of wetness from her cheeks.