Grayslake: More than Mated: A Little Bit Squirrelly (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Nova Carlyle

  Four

  Pain exploded from his bones but he refused to let it out. That pain belonged nowhere but inside of him. It had been his company these past sixteen years. His family when no one else would have him. There wasn’t anyone or anything he could trust more than the pain. It spoke only the truth.

  And it knew Clementine couldn’t be his.

  The echo of a door shutting reverberated down the quiet street. Bryce gravely studied the houses around him. It was early enough in the evening that lights still backlit the cozy windows. Human families were all going about their days. They barely ever noticed him. It was so much different than being around other shifters. The humans acted natural when he was near, giving Bryce his first real glimpses at what family life was like. He spent an inordinate amount of time trying to imagine himself as a father. As a husband with a wife who’d sit at the same table with him for dinner every night and share his bed every night. Naturally, Clementine had been the woman he imagined.

  Here in his outcast life among humans.

  How on earth would she ever fit? She was a woman of the world. Even if she did believe they were mates, that wouldn’t take away the sting of the world’s constant rejection of him.

  But his wolf wondered what if?

  What if being his mate was enough for her?

  He scrubbed at the lingering hollow ache in his gut. No, as much as he wanted things to be different, they weren’t. Clementine would leave. And he’d be alone again.

  It was as it should be.

  Forcing his feet to move, he walked the perimeter of his property until the sound of a car he didn’t recognize moved closer down the lamp-lined street. Sticking to the shadows, Bryce eased back to the front of the house. It stopped at his curb and a woman that smelled of pissed-off panther climbed out. She slammed the door, stalked to the trunk, yanked a handful of bags out and slammed it shut too. Bryce met her at the bottom of his porch.

  She grunted at him and stomped up the stairs. “Where’s our winter fruit?”

  “Inside.”

  Before he could stop her, she shoved the front door open and stepped into the small, unused foyer.

  “Clementine! Delivery!” Rae didn’t go further than the entry. She just plopped back against the wall and stared at him, the bags dangling from her hands. “You like living amongst all these humans?”

  “There are worse places to live.” He mimicked her position on the opposite wall. “Did you get anyone to back you up?”

  Her mouth hardened. “Only jerk left tonight. Nico.”

  “Where is he?”

  She tipped her head towards the open door. “If you look closely, you’ll see a figure sulking out by the car.”

  “Why is he sulking?”

  “I wouldn’t let him drive.” Her annoyance materialized as an undercurrent of growl in her voice. “I still can’t figure out why the little rich boy wants to work for the Agency.”

  Bryce didn’t have anything to say to that. He wasn’t aware Nico was rich. And he was hardly a ‘little boy’ as she put it. So silence seemed like the best response.

  Her eyes dropped to his collar, Bryce knew she was looking for his shades. If they weren’t on his face, they were within easy reach.

  “They broke,” he answered her unspoken question.

  “Your eyes are bigger than I expected.”

  “What?”

  She shrugged. “I sort of thought maybe part of why you wore the glasses was because you had tiny little mole eyes or something. Happily, I was wrong.”

  “Happily,” he retorted drily.

  She fidgeted with the bags. “Why are you carrying around a bottle of booze?”

  “Because he’s in denial,” Clementine answered as she joined them. A half-empty bottle of beer dangled from the end of a finger she had plugged down into it.

  “In denial of what?” Rae asked.

  “I’m not. It’s nothing,” he answered quickly, but Clementine waved him off with her new amber colored digit.

  “We’re mates.”

  Rae’s brows disappeared into her hairline and her bad mood seemed to evaporate with it. “No shit? You going to bite her?”

  “What? No!” Bryce batted her congratulatory handshake away. “We’re not—she’s distressed and rebounding from a bad break up.” And she was slowing driving a knife through his heart. Couldn’t she see what this was going to do to him?

  “Oh, yeah, you got me there.” Clementine threw the last of her beer back. “My exhole tried to kill me on Valentine’s Day so I’d say I’m taking home the award for bad break up of the century. But rebounding? Not so much. Rejoicing?” She twirled the bottle with a cheeky grin that had his heart lurching. “Damn skippy, I am.”

  “It is so hard to find a good man,” Rae said. “Bryce isn’t the most social wolf, but he’s solid.”

  “I know. He’s wonderful.”

  “And he’s standing right here. Rae, stop encouraging her,” he growled, still unable to even take his eyes off Clementine. The idea that she could truly want him was too foreign. No one ever had. And she was more amazing and beautiful than anyone who’d ever walked away from him before. This couldn’t be real.

  The panther shrugged. “Like anything I say or do is going to sway her.” She popped her arm up, extending the bags she held out to Clementine. “Take these. I followed your new dress code as closely as I could, given the circumstances and what little we keep at the Agency. Also, your fathers send their love and said to tell you they’re sorry they doubted you.”

  Latching on to a subject change and a chance to give himself a break from the constant battle between self-doubt and selfishness, Bryce pegged Clementine with a stern glare. “You want to fill us in on why the exhole wants you dead?”

  “Oh, so,” she tucked a curl behind her ears, “a month and a half ago, these big ugly wolverines show up on a photoshoot I was doing in Monaco. Total bad asses in leather and studs, honest to God, it was like something from a Mad Max movie. I’ve never met wolverine shifters before, so I totally wasn’t prepared for their smell—have you ever met any?”

  “No. Let’s focus on Grant. What do wolverines have to do with Grant?”

  “Apparently he owes them a shit ton of money.”

  Rae hissed softly. “Wolverines are nasty about their money.”

  “Exactly. So you can imagine what lengths they’re willing to go to in order to make sure he pays them back.”

  Bryce figured calling wolverines nasty was like calling an F-5 tornado an inconvenience. Rumors abounded that the wolverines were the worst sort of loan sharks. Failing to pay them back wasn’t death. It was being dragged off to work off the debt in the massive gem mines the wolverines owned in North Carolina.

  Anger prickled at the back of his throat because Grant’s motives were starting to take a shape that pissed Bryce off, but he needed the whole sordid explanation from Clementine. “That still doesn’t answer why the exhole is trying to kill you.”

  She folded her arms against her stomach and his shirt rode high up over her thighs. “My dads loved Grant. Possibly more than I thought I did. You’ve both met them, I think it’s pretty obvious how in love my dads are. And the only thing they want is for me to have a love like theirs—and to them? Grant was that. So they convinced me that I needed to create a will a month or so after our engagement, something that would ensure Grant would be taken care of in the event of my death.” Bitterness pulled at the edges of her mouth, tipping it down. “They wanted him to be their son. And he just wanted me to be his cash cow.”

  Grant was an even bigger idiot than Bryce previously thought. He threw away not only Clementine’s love, but the opportunity to be a part of her family. What kind of person wouldn’t give anything and everything to have all that?

  “Oh, I hate him even more and I didn’t think that was possible.” Rae absently patted the gun holstered high on her side. “Did you tell your dads about the wolverines?”

  “Ugh, no.” Clementine
’s nose scrunched. “Daddy and Teddy would have been angry with Grant, and they would’ve been seriously disillusioned, but they would’ve paid his debts off. Grant doesn’t deserve that.”

  “We won’t let them do that,” Bryce promised softly. “I swear, I’ll help you make sure they don’t.” It was a simple vow, but one he would honor through bloodshed if he had to. Her fathers meant the world to Clementine, and Bryce would do whatever it took to keep them safe.

  She met his gaze, warmth pooled into the gold of her irises and filled him from the soles of his feet up. “Thank you, Bryce.”

  He nodded, captivated by the affection in her smile. It wasn’t going to last long, not once she really understood why he didn’t belong in her life, but for this one amazing moment, Clementine not only accepted him as her mate, but she trusted him. She liked him. And he made her happy.

  “I think we can reasonably assume that when Grant’s attempt to kill you on the sly failed, he turned to kidnapping. That explains why he came in guns blazing today. He was going to ransom you.”

  Clementine’s nose wrinkled as she considered Rae’s words. “You think?”

  “Oh, yeah. We’re pretty familiar with those tactics at the agency. Grant’s getting pretty desperate. But you don’t need to worry about him anymore,” she said. “We’ll find him.”

  “Honestly, Grant doesn’t worry me. The wolverines, though, they’re pretty scary.”

  “They’re not going to bother you again either,” she assured her.

  “Well, if they get paid they won’t. But they’re coming after me if they don’t. So. I probably should be prepared for that.” Her brow puckered in thought.

  Bryce sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Wolverines have threatened you and you didn’t think that was something to tell your bodyguards?”

  “Oh.” Her eyes rolled up in thought and then she tapped her chin with a finger. “Well, it wasn’t an outright threat and I just did tell you. And don’t frown at me. That detail seemed to slip my mind once my mansion got blown up. I haven’t exactly had the best day, you know. And someone, I’m not naming any names, but Bryce, took my Sambuca away. Forgive me if I’ve been too distraught to remember all the little details.”

  “You don’t need the Sambuca.”

  “I do. I need the Sambuca and you need some serious cuddles. And I’ll totally sit in your lap sans Sambuca, but I imagine you’ll take to it better if you can pretend it’s just because I’m tipsy rather than it’s the perfect place for your mate to be.” She leaned towards Rae, blocking his view of her mouth with a hand. “He’s having a hard time coming to grips with this.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Rae whispered back. “Is he a good man? Yes. Is he stubborn? Fuck yes. You might have to just railroad him. ”

  Clementine nodded sagely.

  “Alright, you two.” He purposefully moved between them and broke them apart. “Rae, you’ve got a job to do.”

  Rae ignored him, leaning around to Clementine again. “That old adage about the way to a man’s heart being through his stomach? You should try it. He’s got a soft spot for saltwater taffy and cherry coke.”

  “Rae, knock it off,” he said a little gruffer than intended, but the sudden speculation in Clementine’s expression made him nervous and uneasy.

  “Okay, okay.” She straightened and tagged his shoulder with a swift fist. “I’m just saying this is good for you. And you deserve this.” Her sharp squawk melted into a laugh. “I’m going, I’m going, stop pushing me.”

  He dropped his hands and Rae straightened her jacket, poised on the threshold. “With any luck, we’ll have Grant by morning.

  “Find him, but don’t initiate contact. Clementine’s going to be the one to take him down.”

  “Oh?” Her mouth opened then shut and Rae shifted on her feet. “And you’re okay with that?”

  He nodded.

  “The sword again?”

  He nodded.

  Clementine’s grin stretched into those devil horns that should’ve worried Bryce, but his heart tripped and lust stirred in his gut. “Trust me,” she assured Rae. “I’ve got this.”

  “The client gets what the client wants, I suppose. I’ll keep you updated on whatever I find out.”

  “Whatever we find out.”

  Rae jumped into the air, letting out a prehistoric hiss. “Nico! Stop sneaking up on me!”

  “I won’t anymore.” He held the keys up. “Got what I need.” His attention switched from Rae to Bryce and he reached automatically for the empty place his shades normally sat. When he came up empty, panic made a slow roll through his gut.

  Nico’s lip lifted in a show of dangerously white teeth. “McCabe.” There was more bear than man in his voice.

  Tension spilled into the air, spoiling the cold night’s calm.

  A crude mixture of relief and despair wormed through Bryce. Nico was reacting normally. And that’s what Clementine needed to see firsthand. This was what he did to shifters. This was why it would never work and she’d be better off without him.

  The sound of glass breaking startled Bryce and he whipped around. Clementine held her crude weapon with the same fiery confidence as her sword, her stance that of an angry and avenging goddess. An absurd amount of desire filled him until even his fingertips ached with it.

  “Wipe that look from your face before I do it for you!” The angry snarl rattled in her throat.

  Rae hooted and clapped. “Protect your man, girl!”

  Bryce started to tell her to knock it off, but Clementine shot forward. He dodged in front of her, grabbing her waist and lifting her up onto her feet.

  “Put me down!” She kicked at the walls and squirmed in his grasp. “You apparently didn’t hear me when I said this wasn’t going to happen anymore, Bryce! Let me at him!”

  “You can’t attack Nico—” She swelled under his arms and he swore. “Damnit! You can! You can attack him but you shouldn’t.”

  Clementine puffed, relentlessly squirming in his hold. Aware that the shirt she wore was riding up high on her legs and that the nothing else she wore would soon be very visible, he spun his back to the door.

  She squealed, her legs still cycling in the empty air. “I don’t like the way he’s looking at you!”

  “Everyone looks at me like that.”

  “Then everyone is stupid and I’ll kick all their asses!” She shoved at his arms. “Where is my sword?”

  “Rae, you didn’t mention she was nutty,” Nico said under his breath. “I should’ve guessed. Because, you know—”

  “Squirrel,” she interrupted. “So original.”

  “Oh, you just watch how nutty I can be!” Clementine spat hotly and one second Bryce had his arms full of her and the next he was grasping at thin air.

  Her squirrel nimbly popped out of his hold. He grappled after her, catching her with one hand only to have her slip up and over it. It was like trying to hold onto a wet bar of soap. He fumbled all over the foyer, trying to detain and block the she-squirrel who was dead set on getting to Nico.

  He laughed from the doorway, but what disturbed Bryce was the genuineness of it. Nico wasn’t baiting them, he wasn’t being a dick, he just thought this shit was funny. For the first time ever, another Canidae shifter was laughing around Bryce and it wasn’t aimed at him.

  But getting Clementine to see that was a different story. Her squirrel crawled up the ancient wallpaper, her nails left ragged edges behind as she exorcisted her way towards Nico.

  Bryce jumped, grabbing her as carefully as he could, bringing her down towards his chest where he tried to pin her. Her teeth chewed down the length of his hand. Not hard enough to hurt, just enough to make him wince and loosen his grip.

  She dropped to the floor and made a beeline to the bear who squatted down and grinned. “She’s so cute.”

  Nico had no fucking idea what his mate’s squirrel was capable of. Bryce wasn’t entirely sure he did either, but he knew it would be just as sp
ectacularly savage as her.

  Bryce dove for her, careful not to grab her tail, but to wrap his hand entirely around her middle. He landed at Nico’s feet and the bear reacted instantly. Hair sprouted off his skin and his teeth elongated dangerously. A deep growl ripped from him. Bryce had been at the mercy of enough bear teeth before to recognize the sound for exactly what it was. The warning of imminent agony.

  Shoving Clementine under his arm, he mentally prepared himself for the bear’s ‘spider smash’. But Rae’s feet filled his field of vision and the scent of pissed off feline raked across the overwhelming odor of the bear’s aggression.

  “Clementine’s right. Stop being such a dumb, prissy bear!” Rae punched Nico’s shoulder, knocking him out onto the porch.

  Bryce climbed to his feet, no longer holding onto Clementine as she perched on his shoulder, tail wrapped around his throat. She chittered wildly, and he guessed she was either cheering Rae on or chewing Nico out.

  “If I can tolerate him, you damn well will too,” Rae snarled. “Get in the car before I lose my temper.”

  “Easy, pussy cat.” He danced out of her reach.

  “Call me pussy cat one more time.”

  Nico rolled his shoulders, movingback into the yard. But he stared up the porch, eyes glinting in the dark. “You’re not half bad from twenty feet, McCabe. It’s nothing personal.”

  “I know.” He did. And now he also knew that Clementine wasn’t going to be easily turned off by the rejection of other shifters. She was just going to get pissed and raise hell.

  His mouth went dry and he struggled to understand the implications of that.

  “Listen.” Nico scrubbed the back of his neck. “With wolverines in the area, Miguel may have to turn this over to the Itan and his Enforcer. It’s one thing for the Agency to ship us out to other territories, it’s another if we’re fighting battles in Grayslake. If it ends up in their lap, you know what that means, right?”