Chloe banged her head on the table. “Kill me now.”
Glory bopped her on the back of her head.
“Hey, now. Brain damaged, remember?” Chloe rubbed the back of her head and glared at Glory.
“You’ll love the dresses I picked out.” Glory reached into her purse and pulled out her tablet, swiping and tapping like a crazy woman. In a few moments she was showing Chloe an absolute horror of tulle and peach.
“I knew it. Your theme is hippie goth gets axe murdered by banjo-wielding redneck aliens in tights.”
Glory stared down at the dress and bit her lip. “You don’t like it?”
Chloe stared at her in disbelief.
“Fine. What about this one?” Glory picked up the tablet, did the tap-swipe-tap thing, and set it back down to—
“Oh hell no,” Chloe gagged.
“What’s wrong with it?”
Chloe shuddered. “It looks like an episode of When Sister-Wives Attack.”
“Don’t like florals, huh?”
Chloe was fine with florals, but florals mixed with poufy sleeves and high necks? “Where have you been shopping, eBay?”
Glory yanked the tablet out of Chloe’s hands, practically snarling her order at the poor waitress who had the bad timing to arrive at just that moment. “Fine. What about this?”
Chloe took a moment to give her own order, smiling sympathetically at the waitress as the poor girl practically ran from the table and the unstable hippie sitting across from Chloe. “This what?”
She turned back to see…
Huh. It wasn’t the worst dress Glory had shown her, that was sure. “Retro Minnie Mouse.”
Glory’s brows rose. “You don’t hate that?”
“It’s different, and for someone else it would be perfect, but I’m not sure it’s you.” Chloe took the tablet and began her own search. “You want retro and floral, I want not hideous…Ah-hah! What about this?”
The dress was A-line, the floral print subtle, the sleeves fluttery. It was a much more subdued version of the violently red, white and purple sister-wives dress, but had a lower, squared neckline and hit the model just above the knee instead of being floor-length. The flowers were a pale blue, almost an exact match for Glory’s hair. The model had belted a blue belt around her waist, but that could be changed out easily for a metallic one, or left without a belt at all.
“Maybe.” Glory tilted her head. “I’ll add it to the list.”
“Have you picked your dress yet?” That might help in picking out the bridesmaids’ dresses.
Glory winced. “Not yet. I wanted all of you there when I do, but with Tabby’s due date so close I wanted to wait until the bun burst from the oven.”
“I’d do it sooner rather than later. Once the kidlet pops out she’s going to be even more grumpy and tired.”
Glory shuddered. “Please don’t tell me that.”
“And if she’s breastfeeding? No coffee.” Chloe picked up a cheese fry and happily munched away as Glory toppled over in a shower of bangles and blue hair.
“Ugh,” Glory moaned.
“No alcohol.”
Glory whined.
“No spicy food.” Chloe bit into her burger, humming happily at the cheesy, meaty goodness.
Glory glared at her from under the powder-blue cloud of her hair. “You are so wearing a sister-wife dress.”
Chloe cackled evilly and continued to eat her lunch. Picking on family could sure raise a person’s spirits.
Jim opened his front door to go to work and stopped dead in his tracks.
There were a crap-ton of Bears and Foxes on his front step, and all of them looked way too happy to see him. He put his hands in the air. “I didn’t do it!”
Barbra Bunsun laughed. “We need to talk, Mr. Woods.”
Wait. Wasn’t he supposed to see them all at dinner on Sunday? “Why are you here?”
“Just what my mate said.” William Bunsun took a step forward. “We wanted to talk to you.” He smiled, and Jim shivered. “Can we come in?”
Jim barely had a second to step back before his home was inundated with Chloe’s family. “Make yourselves at home,” he muttered. With any luck they wouldn’t take too long, because he had to be at work by one. He had been planning to grab lunch on the way, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen.
At least all he had to do was check on the animals, feed and water them and make sure they’d done the business they were supposed to do. Irene was doing the Saturday half-day the clinic was open, and Phil had agreed to stay in the clinic during the night. He’d told Jim he needed the peace from his roommates so he could do a big report, and Jim had happily given him the overtime.
He watched as Steve and Laura Williams, Ryan and Chloe’s parents, nodded to one another before seating themselves at his dining room table. Will and Barbra Bunsun headed straight for the kitchen and set about ordering enough pizza and soda to fill the bellies of a bunch of Bears, Foxes and one lone Wolf.
Ray and Stacey Allen, Chloe’s uncle and aunt, were watching Spencer watch them.
After a few moments of silence between the three, Spencer wheeled himself forward. “You must be Chloe’s family, right?”
Jim hoped he was the only one who could see how nervous Spencer truly was. His brother wasn’t used to a large family, and the Bunsun-Williams clan was not only big but boisterous. If they made Spencer uncomfortable in any way he was going to have to throw them out.
But they surprised him. Stacey embraced Spencer and welcomed him into the family, while Ray shook his hand and thanked him for knocking some sense into Jim’s thick skull.
Jim rolled his eyes and turned, only to find William Bunsun standing in front of him with a huge grin on his face. “Let’s talk.”
“I have to be at work by one.” But Jim allowed himself to be steered toward the dining room table. When William Bunsun wanted you to move, you moved.
“We called the clinic and told the nice lady who answered that you’d be late due to a family emergency.” Will pulled out a chair for Jim and gently pushed him into it. Not surprisingly, it placed him in the middle of the table, directly across from Steven Williams.
Steven smiled serenely and steepled his fingers. “So. I hear you took my baby girl on a date.”
Laura Williams sat next to her husband and gave Jim an encouraging smile. “Now, Steven. Just because, after waiting four years for her mate to claim her, he finally took her out to dinner, doesn’t mean he won’t do right by our girl.”
Ah. Now it made sense. The beating he’d expected from Ryan and Alex wasn’t going to be physical. It was going to be verbal, and delivered by the elders of the clan.
“Of course he will.” William patted Jim on the shoulder so hard he heard the chair beneath him creak. “He knows how much Chloe means to us.”
As one they beamed at him, freaking him the hell out.
“Chloe’s a special girl.” Laura’s sweet smile didn’t fool Jim for a moment. “She knew from a young age she wanted to work with animals.” The sweet smile turned devilish. “Probably because she was used to dealing with wild ones all the time.” The look she turned on Will and Barbra Bunsun was filled with merriment.
“And she’s always known how she wanted her life to be.” Steven’s smile had faded completely. “You’ve been the most important part of that equation since the moment she met you.”
He sighed. The guilt was eating him alive. “What do you want me to do? I know I fucked up big time, and I’m thrilled she’s giving me another chance. I’ve promised her I’m going to do everything in my power to make things right between us, and I’ve already apologized.”
The pair glanced at one another while the rest of the family looked on in silence. That alone scared the crap out of him. The Bunsun-Williams clan wasn’t known for their reticen
ce.
It was Steven who finally spoke. “We want to know one thing. Did you use your brother’s situation as an excuse to deny our daughter?”
“No.” He couldn’t quite believe they were asking him that.
“But you did use her age and her supposed relationship with Gabe. I’m sure you can understand why we’re skeptical now.”
“Hold it right there.” Jim held up his hand. “From what I understand, even you thought Gabe was her boyfriend.”
“Mate.”
“Whatever. The relationship between them almost broke Gabe and Sarah’s mating. Can you honestly tell me that Chloe is completely innocent in why I stayed away from her for so long?”
“Chloe’s young, and let her jealousy over your relationship with Sarah color her reactions.” Steven looked him dead in the eye. “Which, I might add, was also responsible for almost breaking Gabe’s mating to Sarah.”
Jim sat back. “I know, and it’s something I’ll regret for a very long time.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Why did you send me a message that she was all right? Alex and Ryan told me recently that she nearly died. By the time I got to the hospital she was up and speaking.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Steven scowled as his claws came out.
Laura’s lip curled up in a snarl. “That’s not what happened.”
Oh no. No, no, no. “What do you mean?”
For just a second, sympathy flashed across Laura’s face. “We couldn’t get ahold of you, so we got Emma to give us your parents’ number. We talked to your mother and told her that Chloe was in the hospital and in bad shape, and that she needed you.”
Jim felt like he was going to pass out. “What?”
Laura nodded. “She told us she’d pass the message, and when we called to make sure you were on your way she told us you were.”
Jesus. Fucking. Christ. “She lied to you.” The mumbling of the rest of the clan was barely audible over the buzzing in his ears. “She did call me and tell me about Chloe, but she said she was fine. Then we fought about Spencer and I didn’t speak to her for two weeks.”
“Why would she do that?” Laura sounded horrified.
“To punish me.” He rubbed his hands over his face wearily. “My parents are going through a very contentious divorce. At the time, I’d just found out about Spencer and I was trying to get him to come to Halle with me. I was also dealing with the arguments, the lies and the sheer hate the two of them were spewing at each other. I wouldn’t back down on Spencer being family, so it was probably her way of trying to hurt me the way she was hurting.” And if Chloe had died he never would have forgiven her.
Laura snarled, the sound barely human.
“Shh.” Steven reached across the table for his wife’s hand. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, sweetheart.”
“We will.” Will stood with a nod to the others, who quickly followed suit. “Don’t do anything until we give you the okay.”
Jim stood as well. “I’m going to claim Chloe as soon as she allows it.”
“Good.” Steven’s stiff posture relaxed. “You’ve got our permission for that.”
“And if your mother gives my baby a hard time, call me.” Laura’s smile wasn’t cheerful anymore, and her fangs were showing. “I’d love to show her the error of her ways.”
Damn. Jim was glad he’d made nice with her. “Yes, ma’am.”
Laura laughed and patted his arm. “We’re going to get along just fine.”
He did the only thing he could when a female predator was facing him with that expression. “Yes, ma’am.”
Chapter Seven
Chloe shivered, unsure why she was so uneasy. Nothing seemed out of place, and she couldn’t scent anything wrong, but her Fox was about to jump out of her skin.
She dragged the trash bag to the dumpster, dropping it in with a metallic clang. It was a bright, beautiful day out, sunny and warm, the kind of late spring day she used to love before the attack. She’d go to the park and just lie on the grass, breathing the air while children played all around her and other college students chatted and laughed.
Today all she wanted to do was curl up in her apartment and hide from everything, and for the life of her she couldn’t figure out why.
Chloe checked all around the dumpster, but she couldn’t find anything amiss. The scent of the garbage kept her from scenting if anything was getting close to her. If she shifted into her Fox her senses would be sharper, but she wasn’t willing to take the risk that she’d be seen.
Besides, whatever was making her Fox antsy couldn’t be so close that it could grab her. She’d smell it otherwise, even over the garbage. She began walking back to the front of her apartment building, rubbing her arms as the chill intensified.
What the hell was going on? Chloe took a whiff of the air, but all she could smell was…
Cat?
Just as she was about to give in and run, something streaked past her, a golden blur that knocked her off her feet. She landed with a pained grunt, the asphalt cutting into her palms. “What the…?” Glancing up, she saw a pair of golden eyes glaring at her before the cat took off once more. “Fuck.”
Chloe stumbled to her feet and dashed toward the door to her apartment building. After what she saw, though, she knew if the cat wanted her it would have her.
A Cheetah. In Halle. Fastest of the shifters, it could move at speeds of up to seventy miles per hour. No wonder she hadn’t scented anything. It had probably stood far downwind. Why it had chosen to show itself to her and then run away she didn’t know, nor did she care. All she knew was it had the same scent as the cat that had attacked Cyn and Tabby behind their old shop.
She managed to get inside and slam the door shut, but something slammed into it a half second later. She shrieked, aware that if she’d been a fraction of a second slower she’d be staring at teeth and claws instead of cracked linoleum.
“Chloe? What’s wrong?”
Oh, thank fuck. “Julian?”
“I sense your fear.”
Duh. Chloe was terrified the person behind the cat would try and force the door open. “I got fun down by a Cheetah.”
Super Bear was silent for a moment. “Cyn and I are on our way.”
She gasped as something slammed into the door again. “Hurry.”
“Call Jim.”
She nodded even though she knew Julian couldn’t see her. She fumbled her phone out of her pocket as the door shuddered behind her a second time. “C’mon, c’mon,” she chanted, listening to Jim’s cell phone ring and ring.
“Halle Veterinary Clinic. Dr. Woods speaking.”
She’d never been happier to hear Jim’s voice in her life. “Jim!”
“Chloe?” She could hear the sounds of his practice, the yips and cries of the animals he loved so dearly. “What’s wrong?”
“Help!” She screamed again as the door almost gave way.
“Fuck! Chloe, what’s wrong?”
The door banged again, drowning out the sound of her mate’s yelling.
“Who’s after you?”
She whimpered, her mind blanking, her voice deserting her. She croaked out a series of “ums” as she pushed back on the shaking door, bracing her feet on the linoleum and praying her weakened body didn’t betray her. The last time she’d been this terrified…
Well. She tried not to think about that night if she could possibly help it, but with a Cheetah pounding on the door and roaring in rage it was hard not to.
“Stay on the line, I’m on my way.”
She croaked again, nearly in tears.
“Just breathe, Chloe. I hear you, okay?” She could hear Jim starting his car, the squeal of tires as he took off from the clinic. But his tone remained calm as he spoke to her. “Is there a way to bar the door?”
“Nn.
” Chloe couldn’t even say no, damn it. But she could sure as hell scream when the door moved under her. She dug in her heels, praying desperately that the Cheetah would just give the fuck up and go away.
“Chloe!” Through the earpiece she could hear the blast of horns. Jim must be driving like a bat out of hell to reach her before the Cheetah broke through the door. “Get the fuck out of my way, asshole!”
Chloe jumped as a fist banged against the door in response. The Cheetah must have shifted. “I smell you, little Fox,” the Cheetah crooned. “Let me in.”
Not by the hair of my chiny-chin chin. Chloe did the only thing she could, considering her voice had deserted her.
She blew the loudest, wettest raspberry in the history of spit.
The Cheetah sighed before he began pounding once more. “I don’t want to hurt you any more than I have to, Fox. Just open the damn door.”
Apparently the Cheetah thought her name was Gull E. Bull.
“I’m almost there, Chloe. Hold on.” Jim’s voice was no longer calm. If anything, he sounded pissed as hell. “Keep him out as long as you can.”
“Ta. Ta.” Chloe whimpered, the tears she’d been holding back breaking free. If she died here she’d never know Jim’s kiss, the feel of his teeth sinking into her as he claimed her, the feel of holding him while he slept. She’d never have the children she’d once dreamed of, with her red hair and his beautiful, clear hazel eyes.
If she lived through this she was biting the hell out of his ass. They’d need the jaws of life to get her fangs out of him. Fuck waiting until his mating instincts kicked in. They’d kick in big time when her hormones played patty-cake with his dick.
The snarl of a Wolf echoed oddly in both her ears. It seemed Jim had arrived, and he was pissed that the Cheetah was still trying to get in the door.
“Get away, Wolf. This is between me and the—”
Whatever the Cheetah had planned to say was cut off by a loud thud, the door shuddering under her back. “Mine,” Jim snarled, his voice barely human.
“You think you can fight me? You’re so new you still smell human.”
“This human has a few tricks up his sleeve, asshole.” A grunt of pain, followed by a feline yelp, had Chloe sagging in relief. “Now get away from my mate.”
Figure of Speech (Halle Shifters) Page 7