Ursa Unearthed (Scourge Survivor Series Book 2)

by JL Madore

  Galan inclined his head. "My deepest pleasure. Blessed be, Mika. Jade and I will prepare your accommodations and look forward to your arrival."

  I reached up onto my toes and pressed a kiss to Galan's cheek, his ivory skin soft as silk. "Thank you for everything."

  He winked and strode back toward the hustle of the military base with an elegance I'd never encountered before.

  Bruin's healthy male glow had returned to his swagger and also to his cheeks. "I leave for twenty minutes and you're taking romantic strolls and kissing my sister's husband?"

  I jerked back to look at him. His eyes were turquoise and calm. "Well, Galan is extremely attractive, not to mention charming."

  Bruin growled a long, teasing rumble.

  I popped my fists on my hips. "You know, Galan and I spoke all that time and he never growled at me once."

  Bruin lifted me against his chest, wrapping his arms tight around my waist. While his bristled cheek skimmed up my neck, one of his hands slid down my backside and cupped my ass. His hips rolled sensuously against my belly. "I remember you liking when I growl for you."

  I swallowed hard and fought the almost overwhelming urge to wrap my legs around his waist while he carried me into the forest. Communing with nature never seemed so appealing. "Growling for me maybe, but not at me."

  He chuckled, deep and throaty in my ear, and pinched the skin of my neck between his teeth. "I stand corrected."

  Releasing me, he clasped his palm against mine and headed back into the thick of the chaos. After properly introducing Bruin to my Grandfather and assuring myself he was okay, we said our goodbyes and made a beeline for my Humvee.

  "Kobi, Cowboy, and Savage you're with us." Bruin strapped on a shoulder harness, checked the gun that was handed to him, and pocketed a replacement phone.

  "I'll drive." Kobi held out a hand for the keys.

  I snorted. "You wish." After the looks he'd thrown me, he was lucky not to be tied to the roof. Hopping into the driver's seat, I buckled up and turned over the ignition. The beefy rumble took the edge off my mood . . . but only a little.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Even though the back seat and the truck bed beyond was wide and open, to wedge the three of them in, they practically needed a shoe horn. Good. Let them feel uncomfortable for a change. Kobi shifted in his seat and lifted my computer bag.

  "Careful with that. My life is in that bag," I said.

  Scowling, he slid it over to the cowboy who'd drawn the short straw and had wedged himself in the back-back.

  "What's our plan?" I asked.

  Bruin climbed in beside me, a dozen emotions darkening his gaze. "We'll swing by your grandfather's place for his personal things, then drive to Vancouver. You'll grab what you need from your place, then we'll head to the Gatehouse. If all goes well, we'll be through the Portal and be home before Elora rings her mighty dinner bell."

  A low, collective rumble of appreciation filled the truck.

  "Wow, that's quite an itinerary."

  "What can I say? I'm a planner."

  "And what's a Portal?"

  "The passageway between our realm and this one."

  "Can't we just poof?"

  "No." Amusement rang in the baritone of his voice. "Without Castian's help, we can only Flash within one realm or the other. To travel between the two, we use a Portal gate. Besides, you want your stuff, right?"

  He shifted closer and my body reacted before my mind could weigh in. God, he smelled good. His nostrils flared and I recognized the look in his eyes.

  I swallowed. "Mhmm, definitely."

  He winked. "Then the Portal gate it is."

  Kobi cursed. "If you two are finished with the eye-fucking, we're wedged in back here. A breeze would be nice."

  Bruin rolled down his window and gave Castian a wave. As we pulled out, he started the introductions. "Mika, you remember Kobi from the other night. Well, the tattooed sonofabitch beside him is Savage, and the pansy-ass with the drawl and the Garth Brooks hat is Cowboy."

  I nodded toward the rear-view mirror then caught sight of my grandfather disappearing behind us. "So Castian will take my grandfather to your home to meet us?"

  Bruin squeezed my shoulder. "I guarantee nothing will happen to him while he's with Castian and Reign. He couldn't be in safer hands."

  Kobi pierced me with a scarlet glare in the rear-view mirror. "You on the other hand better watch your pretty little ass. You almost got our boy killed, threatened our friends, and shot at our boss. You're lucky you're still breathing, Mundie."

  Life seriously needed an undo button.

  "Actually, I uh . . . didn't shoot at him. I fired a warning into the cave wall beside him." That didn't seem to help.

  "You won't win friends by making jokes." Cowboy said.

  I breathed deep and winced. Reign may have held back when he grabbed me but between my ribs and my throat, I was in for another layer of bruises. "I didn't mean . . ."

  Bruin's eyes flashed a level of compassion that took me by surprise. "No. Don't apologize. You did what you could. You'll learn the hierarchy of things in time."

  In time. I sighed. Three days ago, my life was my own, now I was sucked into a vortex of the unbelievable. What would happen in three more days? I wasn't sure time was really on my side for that one.

  Bruin reached to the steering wheel and took my white knuckles to his lips. "This is only your first taste of our world, baby. Trust me, it'll get easier."

  Kobi leaned forward. "This is a sweet ride. You sure you don't want me to take the wheel? If we run into trouble—"

  "I can handle it." I gripped my steering wheel tighter. "I've been in 4x4 rallies, all-terrain courses and a dozen weekend warrior events. My truck and I are a team. Nobody touches him."

  Bruin did that growlly thing again, low in his chest. It vibrated something inside me like a tuning fork to my sex drive. Our eyes locked briefly and his gaze reached into me. "Mika, you are the sexiest thing alive."

  Bastard. He knew exactly what affect he had on me. Man, I was in trouble.

  Kobi's curse broke the moment. "All right, Bear, this isn't the Stanley Suites and unless you're sharing, we don't need to be included."

  I paid more attention than necessary while we bumped back onto the main trail. It hadn't rained up here in a while and the hard-packed ground threw whirls of dust in our wake.

  Bruin patted my thigh and then flipped the backseat a one-fingered salute. "Watch it boys, I've sat through enough of your female sexcapades to not only even the score, but bury each and every one of you."

  Sitting cramped up in the way back, Cowboy tapped the blue-green stone centered in the medallion of his bolo tie. "How long till we get where we're going, Alpha?" The guy's thick Southern twang filled the back of the truck. He was all Oklahoma ranch-hand meets Channing Tatum. Nice to look at, but with that same, 'snap-someone's-neck-without-a-second-thought' vibe that Bruin had in the parking garage.

  In front of him sat a skin-head with tats on his skull. Savage. Apt name. Black, lifeless eyes fixated on me, sizing me up . . . for a nightmare. His brow arched, shifting the piercings over his eye which matched the two labret hoops that contoured his chin.

  "Pretty, ain't he?" Cowboy said, his stare hard. "Not much of a conversationalist, but if you like the artwork you should see the rest of him. He's a fucking masterpiece."

  I returned my gaze to the road ahead.

  Bruin adjusted his seat backward so he could turn to look at them. A long, menacing rumble filled the truck. "Enough. You three will give Mika the courtesy my mate deserves or we will have a problem. Cowboy, you especially."

  "She says she's not your mate, Alpha. That means she's not my Ursa."

  I'd always considered my truck to be spacious, but with these boys and their massive warrior attitude it was more than a little claustrophobic. I drove along, waiting for the staring contest to end and the tension to dial down. "Does Castian seek out humungous men to be warriors or does being warri
ors make you humungous men?"

  "The latter," Bruin said. "Though some of us were physically perfect even before becoming enforcers."

  The stone-faced men in the back started to crack.

  "Awe, pour some more sugar in my Dixie cup, Alpha. Who's more of a hunk than you?" Cowboy asked.

  "Any one of us," Kobi answered.

  Cowboy took off his hat and fanned himself batting his sandy lashes. "The way your muscles shimmer in the sun, Alpha, y’all blind me with your manliness."

  "And don't get us started on your skill with a sword," Kobi added.

  Bruin gave them the finger again. "Yeah, yeah, yuck it up boys, but I'm still the guy who pulls your charbroiled asses from the fire."

  Kobi laughed. "That's because you're the only one who will take our calls."

  I shook my head. "Are you guys always like this?"

  "Worse," Bruin said. "None of the Highbornes are here to really get them going."

  I raised a brow and slowed to make the turn into the reservation proper. "Galan seemed perfectly well mannered."

  "Galan maybe, but you haven't met Tham or Iadon." Bruin laughed. "They can shovel shit better than anyone and convince you it smells like night-blooming roses."

  Cowboy nodded. "Aust is tough to get out of his shell, but when you do, watch out."

  Bruin shook with laughter. "True. It's that damn Highborne charisma they all ooze. Women follow them across the grounds, tucking panties in their quivers. It's disgusting."

  Cowboy removed his hat and drew his forearm across his brow. "That's why we scope women in the Modern Realm—Elves aren't allowed here. Sadly, Castian doesn't allow guests to be brought into Jade's house, so our options are severely handicapped."

  "You all live in Jade's house?"

  Bruin nodded. "I told you it was large."

  Large yes, but was it a house or a city? Buckingham Palace? Vatican City? I had no interest in my seventy-four-year-old grandfather living in a giant frat house filled with oversexed warriors. Man, I regretted dragging him into this.

  The gravel crunched as we pulled up beside his old truck. I reached to quiet the rumble of the engine when a cross breeze welcomed us home. All four men stiffened.

  Lightning-quick, the camaraderie vanished. Military focus replaced easy humor.

  "Comm's." Bruin commanded.

  Each warrior dropped a small arm from their earpiece and touched a button by their ears. Four beeps chimed as they drew weapons.

  Bruin halted my hand on the ignition. "Leave the engine running. Savage you have point. Cowboy . . . perimeter. Kobi you're with Mika and me."

  Savage and Cowboy rolled out, moving soundlessly toward the surrounding trees and the side lawn. I tried to follow their movements, but within seconds they were gone, disappeared before I could make sense of what was happening.

  "You said this truck is bullet proof, right?" Bruin's voice was hard, but his eyes were gentle.

  I nodded.

  "Good. Stay here. Lock the doors. If anyone other than one of us comes toward you, hit the gas and run this tank over their ass."

  "Is it jackals?"

  Bruin nodded. He and Kobi slipped out opposite sides of the vehicle and scanned the tree line along the side of the driveway. Their search didn't take them far, never more than forty or fifty feet before they circled back.

  "Clear," Kobi said returning to the truck. Pulling out a package of Parliaments he tapped the end and retrieved one. "How d'you want to play this, Bear?"

  Bruin stood at my open window looking across at his friend. "The scents are old. Our visitors are vapor. Cowboy stay with the truck. We'll take her in, grab what we need and be out before you even have time to miss us."

  "I'll try to control myself," Cowboy deadpanned, approaching silently from behind.

  Kobi flicked his thumb against his index finger and his thumb caught fire. He held his cigarette to it and drew a deep inhale. When Cowboy reached across with his own, Kobi lit his too. Who or what was he? I closed my mouth and tried not to stare.

  On the floor, between the front seats, I punched the code into the keypad of my console and revealed the jackal guns from the parking garage. Bruin's eyes widened.

  "What? I put these in the gun-safe in case we needed them."

  Bruin chuckled, grabbing another handgun. "Where did you come from, mystery lady?"

  Kobi exhaled a stream of smoke. "More important . . . do you have a sister?"

  Savage returned and flipped a few hand signals.

  "All clear," Cowboy said. "Your mate is safe to enter."

  I frowned at Bruin. He frowned back and shrugged.

  Hopping out of the truck, Savage led the way while Bruin and Kobi closed in on me like heavily armed bookends. Tight to my ass and guns raised, we entered Grandfather's house.

  "Oh. My. God." My eyes burned as I shuffled through the carnage. "Grandfather will be heartbroken." I picked up what was left of a carving he'd been given from the Mi'kmaq chief in Nova Scotia. A lifetime of working to strengthen our people. Every piece of furniture, every pledge on every shelf was part of him. I set the kitchen chair back on its legs and scanned the destruction. We were in dumpster territory.

  A warm hand squeezed my shoulder and turned me. Bruin was quick with the tissue and brushed my cheeks dry. "I'm sorry, Mika, but we have to keep moving. Grab what you need and we'll head to your place. The important thing is that your grandfather is safe."

  Kobi made a sweeping gesture in the kitchen and hung a louie down the hall. As he passed through the house the vibration of the air changed and the devastation disappeared. Everywhere I looked things were back in order.

  "What's he doing?" I asked Bruin.

  "He's throwing up a glamor in case any neighbors come by and look in the windows." He read my blank expression. "It's a magical illusion that changes the appearance of things so if anyone stops by before we get things sorted out, they won't call the Mounties."

  Grabbing a pile of clothes from the laundry room and a few things from the front closet, I stuffed Grandfather's old leather duffle. When had our lives become an episode of CSI? "You guys think of everything, don't you?"

  Bruin crossed his arms over his broad chest. "Sadly, we've had decades of cleaning up these messes. We'll need you to tell a few of your grandfather's and a few of your neighbors the two of you are going away for a bit. Odds are whoever did this ransacked your place too."

  My hand flew to my mouth. "Bruin, I need you to poof us to my place, now."

  "What's wrong?" Bruin touched the side of his communicator. "We're moving."

  "I don't live alone," I choked, my heart in my throat. "What if they hurt Orville?"

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Bruin flashed us onto my back porch. It took a minute for the buzz-saw in my head to stop whirling and skin to stop crawling, but while it did we waited for the other three to arrive. "How do they know where we went?"

  "They'll follow my energy. It's basic once you get the hang of it."

  Oh, of course. "So, how did you know?"

  He sighed his gaze narrowing. "Reign pulled together a dossier on you as soon as he learned who you were. Your address is basic info."

  I was about to go off about violation of privacy when a burst of black smoke brought Kobi into focus. A second later Savage appeared. Bruin flashed some hand signals and they held their position. Cowboy Flashed in beside us, holding up my backpack.

  Thank-you Cowboy.

  After setting it on one of the Adirondack chairs, he nodded to Bruin's silent command and disappeared over the railing. Savage slipped behind my hedge and headed up the side of the house, gun drawn. I hoped Mr. Griffiths wasn't watering his herb garden. An armed, tattooed mountain of leather coming at him might just give the old guy a coronary.

  "Do you smell jackals here?" I whispered.

  "The place is rife with their scent. Older than at your grandfather's. It begs the question, 'how the hell did they find you so soon? There's no way they could have t
racked your scent to your identity so fast'." Bruin tapped his comm at his ear and nodded to me. "We're clear."

  I reached to the top of the wooden door frame and plucked the hide-away-key.

  Bruin frowned. "That is your security . . . a key sitting above the door? Unbelievable."

  "No one ever tried to kill me until you came along." I matched his scowl and turned the key as quickly as I could. The ransack hurricane had hit here too. All my stuff ruined. Glass and ceramics crunched under my feet as we tromped over my shattered and shredded life.

  Kobi strode into the kitchen, his gun lowered flat against his thigh. "There's no sign of the roommate. Maybe this Orville wasn't home when they came?"

  "He's not my roommate." I pushed into what was left of my living-room, scanned the debris and listened. "Orville. Orville baby . . . mommy's here. Come out."

  "Mommy?" Kobi swung a look toward Bruin, who missed his bizarre expression because he was already staring at me wide eyed.

  "Stop your growling. I can't hear a thing." I broke away from the two of them and tried not to focus on how infuriatingly hot he was when he got possessive. "Orville, baby. Come out."

  The scrabbling of claws against hardwood had me bolting down the hall towards my office. I swooped down and scooped Orville into my arms. I examined him from his crazy whiskers, over his long, stocky body, right to the end of his bushy, prehensile tail. It didn't look like he’d been hurt. Nuzzling my face into his fur, I breathed a sigh of relief when he wrapped his tail around my arm and squeezed. "There's my boy. Did those stupid jackal men scare you?"

  Kobi snorted. "Okay, I'll say it. That's the f-ugliest dog ever."

  "He's not a dog." I brushed Orville's wiry grey fur from his face while they all laughed. "He's a binturong."

  "A what?" Bruin tried to hold a straight face, but struggled.

  "A binturong. And I'd think that you being a loner in the animal world would respect that I'm his only family. Don't make jokes at his expense."