Figure of Speech (Halle Shifters)

by Bell, Dana Marie

  Prejean glared at Barney. “Seems like we got different orders.”

  “Sure does.” Barney bopped the Cheetah lightly on the head. “Why did you attack Cyn?”

  “She’s also wanted.”

  Barney scowled. “She wasn’t a Bear when you almost killed her. She was human.”

  “I wasn’t trying to kill her, just bring her in, as ordered. But the Wolf interfered.”

  “Is Tabby on your list?” Alex’s voice had become gravelly, fangs sprouting in his mouth. The possibility that his mate and unborn child were being threatened was driving his Bear even closer to the surface.

  “She is now.” Prejean smirked. “And so’s her kid.”

  Alex roared, his back hunching as fur sprouted on his arms. If he changed now there would be no stopping him from killing the Cheetah.

  “Down, sugar.” Tabby put her hand on Alex’s shoulder. Her Georgia drawl was thick with worry. “I need you to stay calm for the baby.”

  Prejean sighed. “If you think I’m the only one watching and waiting, you’d be wrong. We will bring in the Senate-declared rogues as ordered.”

  Ryan scowled. “I thought…” He glanced at Barney. “We can sense rogues, right?”

  “Yes.” Barney snapped his fingers under the Cheetah’s nose. “So. Who in this room is rogue?”

  “The Fox—”

  Barney made a buzzing noise. “For the love of little green shifters, use the senses the spirits gave you, boy.” He leaned forward until he and the Cheetah were nose to nose. “Who. Is. The. Rogue?”

  The Cheetah opened his mouth to respond, then slowly began to frown. “I…”

  Barney began to hum the Jeopardy theme song.

  “You’re an ass.”

  Barney finished his little song. “Well?”

  The Cheetah lowered his head. “There are no rogues in the room.”

  “Ding ding ding! We have a winna! Give this kitty some nip!” Barney patted him on the head.

  “Wait.” Chloe held up her hands, confused as hell. “Why would bey declare me vogue if I’m rot?”

  The Cheetah stared at her in confusion, but the others, used to her speech by now, figured out what she really meant.

  “That’s my question.” Ryan exchanged a glance with Barney. “There might be more than one reason this area has so many Hunters in it.”

  “The Senate is up to something, but what?” Julian scowled, exchanging his own look with Cyn. “I mean, they have no reason to go after any of us.”

  “That’s my question.” Barney sat back, playing idly with the tape again. “None of you have done anything that would warrant arrest, let alone a dead or alive order.” Barney stared at the Cheetah. “Who did your orders come from?”

  Prejean went limp, his defiance completely swamped by confusion. “The usual source.”

  “Who is the usual course?” Chloe needed to know if the whole Senate was after her or just one Senator with a grudge.

  But again, who would have a strong enough grudge against a college student that he ordered a beating so severe Chloe was handicapped for life?

  Jim pulled Chloe back against his chest. His warmth seeped into her, calming her. She hadn’t even realized how badly she was shaking until he took hold of her.

  Barney and the Cheetah exchanged a glance. It was the Cheetah, surprisingly, who answered. “Vaughn Clark.”

  “Is Vaughn Clark one of the Senators?” Jim tightened his hold.

  “No, he’s the Hunter liaison. He gets the order and passes it on to us.” Barney began unwrapping the Cheetah’s wrists. “We need to find out who gave him those orders and why.”

  “Agreed.” The Cheetah…no, Francois, sat up and rubbed his wrists. He shot Barney an absolutely evil grin. “And I know just the people to help us.”

  Barney actually paled. “You don’t mean…”

  “Yup.” And Francois laughed, the sound so wicked Chloe shivered in fear.

  The big, bad Barney looked like he’d rather swallow tacks than deal with them. She just hoped Halle was ready for whoever it was that made the brash Hunter so afraid.

  “All right. I want some answers from you.” Ryan, Chloe, Barney and Francois the Cat were busy in the living room, discussing whatever the hell they were planning. Jim had decided to take this opportunity to get some answers of his own, so he’d dragged Julian away from the rest of the group. “Tell me about this bond you and Chloe have.”

  Julian sighed. “You might want to sit down for this.”

  Jim settled at the small dinette set Chloe had squeezed into her postage-stamp kitchen and waited for Julian to sit across from him. Julian grabbed two bottles of juice from the fridge before sitting down, opening one and handing it to Jim. “Well?”

  “Has anyone told you about Spirit Bears?”

  Jim blinked. “I know they call you Super Bear, and that Bears can heal little things like headaches and paper cuts, but that’s about it. I also know you did something that helped Chloe, but you weren’t able to heal everything.”

  Julian winced, cradling the juice between his palms. “Spirit Bears are the level sixty versions of normal Bears.”

  “Excuse me?” Jim had no idea what the hell Julian was talking about.

  “Guess you don’t play video games.” Julian chuckled.

  If only Julian knew. Video games were one of Jim’s guilty pleasures.

  “Look. We’re…amped up. We’ve got healing powers far beyond those of normal Bears. So when Chloe was hurt, I felt the pull of someone who was close to death and arrived to find the paramedics getting ready to code her.”

  Jim glanced into the living room. He couldn’t help himself. Part of him needed to see her, whole and talking and laughing, to prove to himself that she was right there, safe and sound.

  “I healed her enough to get her on the ambulance alive, and once in the hospital I did…more. But she was in a coma and they didn’t think she’d wake up.” Julian’s expression turned apologetic. “The price a Spirit Bear pays for having our ability to heal is that we’re compelled to heal. Being in a hospital is sheer hell for any of my kind, so trying to take care of Chloe was difficult.”

  “But you did it anyway.” And for that, Jim owed him big time. “Spirit bear. I’ve heard that phrase before. You’re a Kermode.”

  Julian grinned, looking tickled pink that Jim knew exactly what kind of Bear he was. “Yup.”

  “I thought they were all in Canada.” The Kermode, or spirit bear, was a species of black bear whose fur was creamy to white instead of black. They were an endangered species that roamed from Princess Royal Island to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, on the coast, and inland toward Hazelton, British Columbia.

  “The rest of them are. I’m currently the only one living in the US.” Julian took a sip of juice. “Anyway, Chloe wasn’t waking from her coma, and her family asked if there was anything more I could do.” He shrugged sheepishly. “I would have done it anyway, but I had to warn them that she’d be a little bit different when she woke.”

  “The white fur?” Jim sat back, the juice bottle sweating cold water between his palms.

  “That, I admit, was an unexpected side effect, and not one I’ve seen before.”

  “So you’ve never heard of a shifter’s fur suddenly turning white?” Jim was confused. He’d thought it was a side effect of what Julian had done to save her.

  “Nope. Not once has a Spirit Bear saved someone only to have them turn white.”

  “Huh.” Jim rubbed his chin. “Are you sure about that?”

  Julian opened his mouth, then closed it with a frown. “You know what? I’m not. It seems there’s more going on here than any of us thought, so I can’t say for sure. All I know is I’ve never heard of it.”

  “Yet something else we need to look into.”

  Julian no
dded thoughtfully. “I agree. Add in the link Chloe and I share and you’ve got one hell of an unusual situation. Also, she can contact the spirit world in a way other shifters can’t, enabling her to talk to Fox the way I talk to Bear.”

  “So I can’t talk to, say, Wolf?” And didn’t he feel odd even thinking about contacting some sort of shifter guardian spirit?

  “Nope. Only Kermode can, or those who attempt to become Kermode through a changing or mating bite. Even then, the Bear doesn’t get the ability to speak to the spirits forever.”

  “Wait.” Jim held up his hand, confused. “So when you turned Cyn, she was able to talk to Bear, but she can’t now.”

  “Correct.”

  “But Chloe can talk to Fox.” He wasn’t sure this made sense to him.

  “Yes. One of the things she can do is spirit walk, so we’ve been working on making sure that she’s safe when she does so.”

  “And that doesn’t seem odd to you at all?”

  “I thought it was our link that allows it. Now, I’m not so sure.”

  “What else does your link allow?”

  “She can also talk to me in my head.” Julian stared him right in the eye. “She saved my life when Cyn was hurt. If Chloe hadn’t snapped me out of the healing spiral I would have died healing my mate.”

  “Then explain to me the white fur.” Jim leaned his elbows on the table, his juice forgotten. “She was a red Fox before the accident. You healed her, and suddenly she’s a white Fox with the ability to contact the spirits.”

  Julian blinked. “Yes,” he drawled.

  “And you have a mind link, why?”

  “To wake her from her coma, I had to travel into the spirit world and pull her back from death.”

  Jim shivered. “Okay. So that’s how she got her link to the spirit world, but…why did her fur change color?”

  Julian shook his head, frowning. “I have no idea.”

  “Has this sort of thing happened before?” Because the mystery of Chloe’s fur might be why the Senate was so interested in his mate.

  “I’m not certain. I don’t think it has. I know my leader, Tai Buchere, hasn’t heard anything about it. If anyone would know it would be him, but when I asked about it he was as mystified as we are.”

  “Could the Senate know something we don’t?” Jim found himself staring at Chloe again, surrounded by Hunters and family. “If they’re after her because of the unusual fur change that at least gives us a half-assed reason they might want to study her.”

  Julian cursed softly. “That does make a twisted sort of sense. But Francois’s orders were to bring her in dead or alive. How can they study her ability to access Fox if she’s dead?”

  “Good question.” Jim picked up his juice and downed half of it in one gulp. “Maybe I’m on the wrong track, then. Maybe it has something to do with someone else in her family. Didn’t Francois say that he has orders to bring in Tabby as well?”

  “So why not Glory or Cyn? If they’re after those two, why wouldn’t they want them as well? What’s different about both Tabby and Chloe?”

  Julian eyed the people in the other room before leaning forward, speaking softly. “Gabe told Alex that there have been mysterious deaths among shifters who happen to be crossbreeds.”

  “Like Chloe?”

  Julian nodded. “And Tabby’s child.”

  “Then there has to be a reason why.” Jim tapped his fingers on the bottle. “We need answers before one of the girls is seriously hurt.”

  “We’ll need the help of the Hunters for that. Gabe, Ryan and Barney are on our side.”

  “Maybe we can get Francois as well. I’m not sure he liked being lied to.”

  Julian began to laugh.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing. Maybe I should call some Coyotes for a visit, that’s all.”

  Jim tilted his head. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “Coyotes can sense lies.”

  Oh. “Like Bears heal, Wolves have their Pack strength and Foxes hide their scent? That would come in handy.” If Francois was lying to them, a Coyote would be able to ferret that out in a heartbeat.

  “The only way to trip up a Coyote is if the person they’re speaking to believes what they’re saying is the truth.”

  “So if Francois is agreeing with us simply to get close to Chloe…” Jim grinned. “I like it.”

  “I’ll give my friend a call. Maybe he’ll send his Omega for a little visit.”

  And Jim knew enough about shifters now to know that an Omega could sense emotions. While the majority of Omegas could only sense the emotional well-being of their Pack or Pride mates, some Omegas were strong enough that, with some effort, they were able to sense the emotions of those who did not belong.

  “We’ll need to let Max know a Coyote will be in his territory.” Julian grimaced. “I can’t wait to explain all of this to him.”

  “Tell Emma.” Jim smirked. “Then she can tell Max.”

  Julian grinned. “You’re evil. I like that about you.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Car.” The therapist pointed to her lips. “Ca-ca-ca-car.”

  Chloe watched the way the woman’s lips moved and tried her best to imitate it, but her brain just couldn’t make the connection. “Bar.”

  “Relax and try again. Ca-ca-ca-car. Car.”

  Chloe frowned and licked her lips. “Ca-ar.”

  “Good!” The therapist smiled. “Much better. Now, what do you put in the car?”

  “Gas.” It sounded like a very stupid question, but the therapist wasn’t checking her intelligence. They both knew she could understand what was being said. She just didn’t speak what she wanted to say. Even in her own mind the words she spoke sounded correct, but weren’t. It was why she was still in speech therapy after almost a year.

  “Excellent.” The therapist smiled, letting her know she’d spoken correctly. “Now. I want you to tell me where you would go in a car.”

  “The breach.”

  “Beach.”

  Chloe made an exasperated face. So close, yet so far away. “B-each.”

  “Good! Now, make sentences for me. Tell me how you’d get to the beach.”

  “We get into the car and put on our treat belts.”

  “Seat belts. Ss-ss-seat.” The therapist exaggerated her lip movements, hissing the s sounds out like a snake.

  “Seat?” When the therapist nodded, Chloe grinned. “Seat belts and start the car.”

  “All right. What next?”

  “We start the car and put it in clive.”

  The therapist blinked. “That would hurt.”

  Chloe rolled her eyes.

  “Drive, sweetie, not Clive. Clive might sue you if you put your car up his bum.”

  Chloe giggled, the vision of some poor schlub named Clive having a VW Beetle-butt just too much for her.

  “All right. Let’s start again.”

  Chloe got her giggles under control and spoke slowly, focusing on the therapist’s lips. “We start the car and put it in drive.”

  “And what directions do you use?”

  Chloe described how to get to the beach, correcting herself when the therapist pointed out where she’d gone wrong. When she was done, she had a mild headache, but that was to be expected. She was attempting to retrain the language centers of her brain, but she hadn’t seen much improvement in the last few months.

  “You’re doing well.” The therapist went through her notes. “You’ve improved a great deal since I first saw you.” She tapped the paperwork, lining it up together neatly before putting it in Chloe’s folder. “I don’t think you’re going to get much better, however. We need to discuss how you wish to proceed.”

  Chloe grimaced. She’d been expecting this topic to come up sometime soon. �
�I know the insurance only covers one beer of—”

  “Year. Y-y-year.”

  “Y-ear. Of therapy.” She sat back, thinking. “Do you see my condition improving burger, or should I call this good?”

  “I think, with continued therapy, you can improve slightly, but you’re always going to have problems. At this point, it is truly up to you, but you’d have to pay out of pocket and there are no guarantees you will get any better than you are now.” The therapist stared at her for a few moments before sighing. “Do you want my honest opinion?”

  Chloe nodded.

  “As much as I hate to say this, and as much as you’ve improved, I think you should take what you’ve got and run with it. The last two or three months I haven’t seen anything that would make me think you’ll get back to where you were pre-accident.”

  Chloe tried to clench her left hand and failed. “I see.”

  “I’m sorry. I can teach someone else some of the techniques we’ve been using, if you like. You can continue the lessons on your own with a partner. At this point it’s more a matter of exercising your brain, making the paths we’ve established stronger.”

  “Tank you.” Chloe stood and held out her hand. “For everything.”

  “You’re welcome.” The therapist’s face was filled with sympathy. “I wish I had better news for you.”

  “It whiz what it is.” Chloe shrugged. “What are you gonna do?”

  The therapist laughed. “I wish you the best, Chloe.”

  “You too, Brenda.” Chloe picked up her purse and followed the therapist out of the tiny office, waving good-bye as she made her way into the reception area.

  Chloe still had physical therapy and her sessions with both Sarah, the Halle Pride Omega, and Julian to get through this week, but for today she was done. She decided to head to Jim’s veterinary practice to say hello to everyone, but mostly to see her mate and let him know she’d been released from speech therapy.

  Gods, her mate. Chloe shivered in delight. She’d finally claimed her man, and damn if she wasn’t thrilled about it. She could hardly wait to see him again, despite the fact that he’d left her bed at o’dark hundred to get to work, kissing her sweetly before departing for the day. They’d promised to see each other later that week, mostly because of Jim’s work hours and Spencer’s doctor’s appointments, but Chloe just couldn’t wait that long.