They left the house just as dark clouds were building in the skies toward town. She would be about five minutes late for work, but Drake assured her Gaia wouldn’t mind.
When they pulled up, Gaia was already standing by the door to the diner. Tessa looked at the sky and ducked her head when she felt a raindrop hit her cheek. A rumble of thunder shook her spine as she stepped inside the diner. Her eyes landed on Gaia, and her boss looked relieved when they walked in the door. “I was getting a little worried about you.”
“We had a delay,” Tessa offered as a token of an excuse. “It won’t happen again.”
“Don’t do that again,” she scolded. “But if you do, a phone call would be nice.”
“Gaia,” Drake cleared his throat. “This was my fault. I had to talk to Tessa about something important this morning, and we were later than usual leaving my place.”
“Understood,” Gaia said, walking around the counter to start a pot of coffee. “Sit and let me make you some coffee, Drake. I’m sure this little rain cloud will disappear in a few minutes.”
Tessa walked off to gather her things, and noticed her boss and Drake were talking quietly at the long bar by the kitchen. They didn’t raise their voices, and Tessa was sure Gaia was worried for their safety and not really mad, but it did cause some unease seeing her boss act that way.
As she returned to the front of the diner, the clouds outside were gone with not a rain drop in sight and the sun was shining bright. Gaia smiled at Drake and walked away. A new customer came in and Tessa seated him at the end of the bar, as far away from Drake as possible.
The panthers entered only minutes later, taking to the corner booth in the back of the room. Drake lazily slid off his stool. Those spurs of his clanked as he crossed the floor to greet them. Savage, Noah, and Winter all stood and shook his hand. The four men spoke for a minute and Drake turned to leave. Tessa jutted her chin out, indicating he should follow her to the backroom.
“I’ll be here by noon again,” he promised as she closed the door to the breakroom.
“Okay,” she smiled. “If you need to, you can leave me at your place while you help your brothers.”
“We are back on schedule,” he offered. “If they need me, I will help them in the afternoons.”
“I don’t want to take you away from your business, Drake,” she scowled, leaning against a small table that was pushed against the wall opposite the door.
“Both you and my crops are the most important things in my world.” He smiled as he cupped her face. “Your safety and comfort comes first, regardless. If I have to spend a few extra days in the fields to get the seeds in the ground, it’ll be okay.”
“Promise me it’s okay?”
“Promise, little one,” he swore as he nodded and kissed her softly. The hairs from his short beard tickled her face, but she didn’t complain.
“I’ll see you later today, then,” she whispered.
Drake left the diner after a brief chat with the Guardians from the Shaw pride. He wasn’t going to the fields with his brothers like he’d told Tessa. Talon Shaw, the alpha of the pride, set up a meeting with the local sheriff at the werepanther-owned bar, The Deuce, before they opened. The lawman was already waiting for him to arrive.
As he parked and stepped out of his vehicle, the sheriff stood on the porch and waited for Drake to take the steps up before opening the door to let him in. Sheriff Lynch closed and locked the door behind them, taking a seat at the first table by the door.
“You wanted to see me?” he asked.
“I have a problem I need to take care of so my mate can live in peace,” Drake explained. Talon reassured him anything Drake said to the lawman, when it came to the shifter world, he would understand.
“Tessa?” the sheriff asked.
“Yes, Tessa Ward.”
“Go on.”
Drake told him everything he knew, down to the male’s name and where he’d last been seen. If the sheriff’s office could keep an eye around town for Bradley, Drake would be forever grateful. There was only so much he and his brothers could do while planting crops and watching Tessa.
“I can do a little digging on him,” Sheriff Lynch offered. “If he already has a record in the system, it’ll be easier to keep tabs on him. Remember that if he doesn’t show his face or get into trouble while he’s lurking in the shadows, there’s nothing I can do.”
“I understand,” Drake agreed. “Gaia is protecting the diner, and the cats have offered to be there for a few days for extra security.”
“Gaia is capable of protecting Tessa,” the sheriff snickered. “You don’t trust her?”
“I trust her with my life,” Drake replied. “I don’t ask much of her, but she’s taken it upon herself to protect Tessa and my family.”
“I noticed the rainstorm the other day that came out of nowhere,” Sheriff Lynch chuckled. “Who pissed her off?”
“That would be me,” Drake said, quirking a brow at the lawman. Sheriff Garrett Lynch had his own tasks with watching the panthers. He wasn’t here for the bears. The bears had their own goddess, but she wasn’t their protector.
Gaia was more than an angel, and she was his bear clan’s adopted godmother. Drake remembered the day his mother had sat him down to tell him about her boss at the diner.
“The earth is given to us temporarily. We must treat Mother Nature with respect, or she will take back what is owed to her, Drake.”
Gaia could control the earth and the elements. She was Mother Nature in human form. His mother and father didn’t know why she chose to come to this place and pretend to be human, but he was taught to never question her reasonings behind anything she did. Gaia knew what was best for everyone and everything.
“Glad you resolved that one,” the sheriff chuckled as he leaned back in his chair. “I didn’t want to have to deal with flooded roads or tornados.”
“Agreed,” Drake said, holding out his hand for the sheriff to shake. “You have my number. If you find anything, or see him, I want him brought to me.”
“Shifter law will preside,” the sheriff promised, tightening his hold on Drake’s hand. “Take care of your mate.”
“I plan on it,” Drake said, releasing the male’s hand.
As he left the bar, the breeze crossed his skin, and on the tail of it was trouble. Something was coming, and Drake didn’t like what he felt. He knew Bradley was somewhere close, waiting for Tessa to be alone, and he refused to leave her without protection. When he found the male who had harmed his mate, he would kill him and make him suffer for everything he’d ever done to her.
The next stop was to the Shaw pride and their healer, Harold Blackwell. He was the only shifter doctor in the area, and he had what Drake needed to ensure Tessa was able to get through the change without being in too much pain.
As he pulled into the driveway, two Guardians exited the small security shack at the entrance. Since the humans discovered shifters, Talon Shaw had put up a fence and added guards to his land. Drake didn’t blame him. There were too many people in his care that needed protection. Along with the Guardians, the werepanther pride held close to fifty shifters, and each one of them was loved and protected by the pride.
“What brings you by?” the Guardian, Ranger, asked as he rolled down his window. The large male leaned his elbow on the window ledge of Drake’s truck and took a casual stance. A low rumble of thunder off in the distance had both males looking to the west.
“I need to speak with your healer,” Drake announced. “I am in need of his services.”
“Give me just a moment,” Ranger said, lifting his cell phone from his pocket. He dialed up the healer and spoke to him quietly for a moment. Drake really didn’t want to go into details as to why he was needing to see Harold, but he would if it got him through the gate. It was important he had the healer’s medicine for his mate. “You can go on through. It’s the first cottage on the left past the alpha’s home.”
“Much obliged.�
�� He nodded and drove through the gate when Ranger hit the button to open it.
As he drove up the long driveway, Drake noticed how the pride kept their land similar to his own. Trees covered up the view from the road and eventually opened into a clearing where the alpha’s immaculate home resided. The driveway circled around to the left of the house, leading back into rows of cottages, all unique to their owners. The back yard was spacious, and a huge firepit was the main focal point. Across the backyard was a huge barn that appeared to have been renovated. Several cars and trucks parked in a small gravel lot behind it.
The healer’s home was easy to find, and as soon as he pulled in, Harold stepped out onto the porch. He wore a pair of dark denim jeans and a black cotton shirt. His eyebrows narrowed as Drake exited the vehicle.
“Drake, what brings you by?” Harold asked. A beautiful female stepped out from behind Harold, but quickly stepped to the doc’s back. From their body language, Drake assumed she was the healer’s mate.
“I need to speak with you about changing a human.” He sighed. “I need your help.”
“Please, come inside,” Harold offered. “Luna, could you please bring us a couple of beers?”
“Sure.” She smiled and disappeared inside the cottage.
“I didn’t know you were mated,” Drake stated.
“It’s recent,” Harold replied as a way of an answer. Drake scented the air and frowned. Luna wasn’t a panther like the healer. Harold’s eyes flashed an amber hue when he noticed Drake’s actions. “She is a white wolf.”
“A wolf?” Drake growled. Wolves were not good. They were feral and the worst kind of shifters. They caused death and destruction wherever they went, killing and maiming every shifter in their path. There was a code amongst shifters; all wolves were bad.
“A white wolf,” Harold said, his chest swelling from the threat. Drake paused and looked past the healer.
“There’s no such of a thing as a white wolf shifter,” Drake growled.
“There is,” Harold argued. “Luna is my mate, and I will protect her to the death. If you have a problem with her, then you best get in your truck and leave the property.”
“I never said I had a problem with her,” Drake sighed. “Look, I need your help. It isn’t my business who your mate is as long as she is not feral.”
“No,” Harold chuckled. “She is quite the opposite.”
“Can we get down to business now?” Drake asked, not really caring for a lengthy explanation about the male’s mate. He was there to talk about Tessa.
“Come on,” Harold said, relaxing a bit as he held his hand out for the bear to enter his home.
They walked past the two exam rooms and entered another room at the back of the cottage. Harold’s office was small but had a desk and two chairs for patients. His mate was already there, setting the beers on the desk. She excused herself and slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her.
“I’m assuming you’ve found your mate and she’s human?” Harold began.
“Yes, and she wants to be changed, but I can’t let her be in pain.” Drake lowered his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I hear you have some medication I can administer to keep her from hurting.”
“I do,” Harold replied, and rested his forearms against the top of the desk. “Have you ever changed a human?”
“No,” Drake replied, shaking his head.
“The medicine must be administered every four hours,” Harold said. “Are you certain you will be of a right mind to take care of your mate during the time when the medicine wears off?”
“I honestly don’t know,” Drake replied, taking a large swig of cold beer. Could he balance the need to care for her and his beast’s agony?
“The change is one of the worst things I’ve ever seen happen to a human, and I’ve seen males when they can’t take the agony of their mate’s distress. Is there anyone who can stand in your place if you have to be sedated alongside her?”
“My brother, Rex, might be able to do it, but he will bring her pain if he touches her,” Drake worried. “We’ve already mated.”
“I see,” the healer paused and ran a hand over his shaved head, “I can offer my service to you and your mate. I have special gloves I use when I have to care for a mated female. I have assisted in a changing several times, and the gloves keep me from causing them pain.”
“Are you sure you want to stay in the heart of bear territory during the change of one of my kind?” Drake asked, being straightforward. The male could be attacked by Drake’s bear if the bear was in distress over his mate’s pain. If Drake saw Harold touching his mate, even holding her down to give her an injection, the healer could be severely injured.
“I can bring Guardians if you are worried your beast will think of me as a threat,” Harold offered. The healer of the Shaw pride was a good male. His compassion as a doctor and a mated male was not missed.
“I will talk to my mate and set a date,” Drake grunted as he climbed to his feet. “As soon as we know, I will call you.”
“I will have Guardians on standby,” Harold added, taking a drink of his beer.
Chapter 12
A week had passed before Drake had time to sit down with Tessa and talk about the change. He’d been pulling long hours in the fields, planting corn for the season. She’d gone back to work for Tulley, but only a few days a week. She was now off work on the weekends so they could spend time together.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a weekend off since I started working back in high school.” She smiled and sunk down lower into the water in the large Jacuzzi tub in Drake’s bathroom. He was leaning against the counter, watching as the bubbles floated around on the top of the water. They were hiding her body from his view, and he wanted to rake them away but he didn’t. She needed to relax, and tonight he was going to make sure she was pampered.
“More wine?” he asked, holding up a bottle.
“No,” she giggled. “I’m doing fine. Are you going to join me? There’s plenty of room.”
“Tonight is for you to relax,” he said. “You don’t want me in there taking up all of your room.”
Tessa sat up and took a sip of wine, slipping back into the water as soon as she set the glass on the side of the tub. She stretched her toes above the water, and Drake noticed she’d recently painted them a vibrant red. Her pale leg peeked out as she bent her knee.
“Maybe next time?” she pouted, making him smile wider.
Drake’s phone rang from his back pocket, and he grunted when he saw Gunner was calling. It was late, and he’d told his baby brother to leave him and Tessa alone for the night. Whatever he had to say had better be important…more important than spoiling his mate.
“Drake, we’ve got a trespasser,” Gunner cursed across the line.
“Who? Where?” he barked, going on high alert. Tessa sat up so quickly, the water sloshed out of the tub and onto the floor.
“Drake?” she whispered, but he ignored her as his brother spoke.
“Went out front and saw a male body at the tree line toward the road,” Gunner panted. Drake could tell he was on foot, and knew it was best to get Tessa locked in the room. He didn’t waste time with leaving the bathroom and going to his door to throw the latch.
“Is it human?” Drake demanded. His bear snarled in his head to be set free to search his property.
“It is,” Gunner snarled. “Get out here and help me. Rex isn’t home.”
“I’ll lock down the house and be there in just a second. Keep tracking the human,” Drake snapped and tucked his phone in his back pocket.
When he turned to get Tessa, she was already standing at the bathroom door, wrapped in a large, brown towel. “What is it, Drake?”
“We have a trespasser,” he told her as he reached into his side table drawer to retrieve a gun. “Please tell me you know how to use this?”
“No,” she shook her head as her eyes widened, “I’ve never shot a gun.”
“Y…yes,” she stammered. “Got it.”
“I’m locking you inside this room,” he stated. “Do not come outside until one of us comes for you.”
“Drake…” she whimpered, but he silenced her with a kiss.
“Do as you’re told, Tessa,” Drake said, cupping her face. He wanted her to understand how much she meant to him, and if someone got inside his home and hurt her, he wouldn’t be able to survive alone.
“Yes, Sir,” she breathed out in a whoosh, and sat heavily on the bed when he released her.
Drake didn’t look back as he left the room, using the key on his keychain to lock the deadbolt. The door was solid and there was no way anyone could get inside unless they had a key or Tessa unlocked the door from the inside.
As soon as he stepped off the front porch, Drake scented the air. His beast rumbled in his mind at the human male who was on his land. The moon shed only a small amount of light across the yard, but Drake shifted his eyes, allowing the animal inside him to partially takeover.
Gunner was about a hundred yards to his left, searching the woods where the human scent lingered. Drake stepped off the porch and stuck close to the side of his house as he made his way toward the trees beside his home.
Once he was able to disappear into the woods, Drake eased up beside his brother. Gunner’s eyes were trained on a spot off in the distance. Drake nodded and scanned the area, not seeing or hearing any movement.
“Three o’clock,” Gunner whispered so low, his voice was almost silent. Drake took his two fingers and held them up to his eyes before pointing in the direction. Gunner nodded and took Drake’s shirt as he slipped it off his body. Within a few seconds, Drake shifted and ambled slowly through the darkness, looking for the trespasser. As soon as his bear latched onto the scent, he followed it west on the property until he reached the fence line. The human had turned north toward the road and that was where the scent faded, blending in with the putrid scent of a vehicle’s exhaust.
Mating Season (Morgan Clan Bears, Book 1) Page 11