by Eve Langlais
She gaped at him.
“You’re right. Both. At the very least. I will give her anything she wants when she comes back to me.”
“Why would she come back to you?”
“Because she’s mine.” His eyes flashed, hinting of yellow and perhaps a touch of insanity.
Freaky. “You won’t get away with this. Let me go.”
“I can’t and I would add that we wouldn’t have to do this if you’d tell me where Ruby is. I need to see her. At once.” It should have sounded imperious, but it emerged more as a plea.
She hardened herself against him. “Ruby doesn’t want to see you. So why don’t you crawl back to your fiancée?”
“I’ve already told you I am not engaged anymore. I called it off the day Ruby and I met. But it took time, to make it sink in, especially since Merina and her family fought it.”
She snorted. “You don’t really expect me to believe that?”
His piercing blue eyes pinned her. “I knew Ruby was mine the moment I met her.”
“You say something psycho like that and you expect me to tell you where she is?” Jade laughed. “You are out of your freaking mind. And just wait until Ark finds me.” He’s going to eat you. Maybe. She wasn’t too sure what shape-shifting bears ate, but she would wager it was some kind of meat.
“Ah yes, Arkadios.”
“You know him?”
“Quite well in fact. How entertaining that I managed to steal his paramour right from under his nose. I do hope he pays a visit. It’s been a while. Did you know we attended the same college? The good old days. He never could beat me when we played against each other, and now it seems history will repeat and I will get to beat him again.”
“Obsess much? Is it me or do you have a hard time letting things go? First Ark, then my sister … You need help.”
“I just need Ruby.” His features tightened. “She shouldn’t have left. I was planning to propose. To show her I meant it when I said she was my mate.”
There was that word again. Mate. Ark used it too. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say I’ll bet you’re some kind of shape-shifter.”
“Was it the teeth that gave it away?” He smiled widely. Big. White. And …
“Are you like a polar bear or something?”
He recoiled. “That’s rude, and if you weren’t Ruby’s sister, I’d probably kill you for the insult. I come from much more majestic stock than that.”
“Moose?”
His glare narrowed.
“Rabbit? What,” she exclaimed. The man appeared ready to explode. “How am I supposed to know what kind of freakish animal you turn into?”
“I am a white tiger. We are very rare.”
“A good thing. I don’t think the female population could handle two psychopaths at once.”
“You are twisting my actions into something ugly.”
“Maybe that wouldn’t happen if you backed off.”
“Ruby cares for me.” Did he say it to convince Jade or himself?
Problem was Jade knew Ruby loved this guy. For a moment, Jade took pity on him. “She did, but she had more than one reason for leaving.”
“You know why she left?” He froze her limbs with his laser-like eyes. “Tell me.”
“If she wanted you to know, she would have told you.”
“She will speak with me if she wants you back.” With that threat, Xavier turned away from her and ignored her the rest of the flight. She would have preferred they continued arguing so she could forget how high above the earth she was. High enough to land and splat like a bug.
Gulp.
Her nails definitely left some crescent moon scars in the leather when it began its descent and the plane landed with a bump and whistling scream of the engines.
Her fingers only trembled a little as she undid the seat belt. Now was not the time to turn into a girl freaking out. She’d survived her first plane ride. She’d survive what came next.
“Let’s go.” The man with the strange platinum hair pushed her toward the opening in the side of the plane.
“Where are we?”
“A private airstrip outside of Los Angeles. We were rerouted.”
She emerged ahead of Xavier onto the top step of a staircase, where she froze upon seeing a sea of eyes. Wild, glinting eyes set in very ursine faces. The many big brown bears let out a very big roar. Jade could handle a lot of things. She truly could. Blood, stitches, overcooked food. But that many carnivores in one place?
She promptly fainted.
CHAPTER 13
His grandfather handled the blah blah part of the threats. Ark had eyes for only one person. Jade. Alive, appearing unharmed, shocked at the greeting he’d arranged.
Overjoyed, she fainted the moment his sleuth said hello.
It took him too long to reach her, and when he did, Ark cradled Jade’s limp body and growled at anyone who got too close. Perhaps he’d calm down—doubtful—once he got over his fear from when he realized she’d been taken.
Someone had taken Jade. My Jade. His. Did they understand how badly they trespassed?
Sharing was for others. He wanted Jade for himself.
In those first few moments in the woods when he realized she was gone, he’d panicked. It wasn’t pretty or manly. It involved the punching of some trees. The drinking of some moonshine—an unexpected surprise found in a shed in the woods.
Once Stavros found him, it was Ruby who gave him his first clue as to who might have her.
“Do you think Xavier did this? The Boudrion family has got the kind of money to send guys after me.”
His head almost spun a hundred and eighty degrees. Which would have hurt. Good thing his body spun with it. “What did you say?”
“Do you think my ex did this?”
“Before that. The name. Did you say Boudrion? As in Xavier Boudrion? The feline scourge of Hollywood. He is the one stalking you?” He couldn’t help raising his voice.
She crossed her arms and glared at him, much like Jade would. “Don’t you raise your voice to me. I am stressing a little bit right now, which isn’t good for the baby. That means you’re going to tell me why you’re saying Xavier’s name like he’s some kind of super villain.”
“Because he is a villain.”
“I thought he was a businessman,” Ruby retorted.
“He is, and he’s been dipping his toes into the honey business. Trying to steal our clients. Totally unacceptable,” Ark roared.
“He’s a villain because he’s giving you competition?” Ruby snickered.
“The man is also an ass. Arrogant. Cocky.”
“You speak like you know him.”
“Unfortunately, I went to school with him,” Ark grumbled. Back then, Ark had size, but lacked finesse, and so Xavier constantly taunted him. “I can state with confidence that Boudrion is an asshole.”
“Says you. He was always rather sweet to me. For a two-timing jerk.” Her lips pulled down. “Then again, I’m one to talk about honesty given I was pregnant at the time.”
“Will he think it’s his?” Ark eyed Ruby’s belly.
“I never told him I was pregnant even after I dumped him. I didn’t see the point. So I guess if he saw me, he’d probably wonder.”
“Are you aware he’s like me?”
“As in changes into an animal?” Ruby shrugged. “I knew there was something different about him. He had the same kind of wild energy that the guy I slept with at that Halloween party did.”
“Did he ever call you his mate?”
“Xavier said a lot of stuff. Very macho and possessive claims. Which is the reason why, when I found out about his fiancée and then the baby, I thought it best to break things off.”
A man like Xavier would snap if it turned out Ruby was his mate and she carried another man’s child. He might even harm them, which meant there would be no trade. Ark had a duty—a need—to save Jade, but he also had to keep the sister safe.
Xavier Boud
rion, you stupid son of a kitty. You just opened up a huge jar of sticky honey.
Such excitement happening in his life. He made a few phone calls. More than a few people owed him a favor, and those that didn’t, he threatened.
In some cases he plied the guilt, ranting and raving how Mother didn’t love him until she agreed to make him his favorite dessert. He’d need something sweet to calm his adrenaline after he got Jade back.
Apparently, he did his job well because he met the plane holding his mate—registered to MeoX, Xavier’s company—with at least a hundred bears. He got there first because a buddy in the control tower delayed Xavier’s landing for a few hours, before diverting the plane to a smaller airport to refuel. Guess who was there to meet them?
Grawr.
When a hundred bears roared, it brought a shiver. Really it did, because it vibrated the very air.
The show of strength was meant to intimidate Xavier. Instead, Ark’s welcoming committee scared Jade, and dammit all, when she fainted, Xavier, that slick jungle cat, kept her from falling. Xavier touched Jade when he caught her and now Ark would have to wash the smell from her because it bothered him.
“Hey, Ark, are you going to need some pants?”
Grrrr. Translated: Go away. He hugged her tighter.
“Is he gonna eat her?”
Probably. After he washed the stink of cat from her skin and burned her clothes.
“Auntie sent a text and said they just put some ribs and potatoes on the ’cue for when we’re done.”
Ribs? Grumble, the tummy kind.
“He’s got the girl so I say we’re done. There’s a store with cold beer on the way home.”
Home. Good plan. Take his mate to his home, where she would be safe from dirty cats and they could be fed. She’d probably need food to keep her strong for when he locked her up in his fucking room. To keep her safe. Because I don’t like it when she’s not safe.
Didn’t like it at all. Grawr.
“I think he’s going to rampage.”
No, because I have more control than that.
Deep breath. Another. It didn’t calm his bear down, which was why he rode in the box of his brother’s pickup truck, his furry body wrapped around Jade. At least she didn’t scream when she woke.
However, she did growl. “About time you came for me. I’ll find you he says. Nice job finding me. You let a psycho kidnap me and put me on a plane. Do you know how high those things fly? And then, as if I’m not already traumatized, you bring the whole Bear-y Bunch to the rescue. Next time warn me so I pack extra underwear.” She harangued him, but she snuggled closer. She might vent, but she knew she was safe with him.
The quiet moment didn’t last.
The truck pulled to a halt in front of the farmhouse, his grandparents’ he should add. His family had owned the place for a few generations now, the original structure long buried as they added on to the main house. The freshly painted white clapboard gleamed, as did the white pickets containing his grandmother’s flower garden, protecting it from roaming chickens—and the pounding feet of cubs as they ran through screaming, playing a game of … It didn’t have a name, and the rules consisted of yell and run and tackle each other until someone screamed for mercy or an ear got yanked by an adult.
Good times.
Lots of great memories were made on this farm and even better food came out of it. Something delicious came wafting his way. Lifting his head, he scented the air, almost able to taste the roasting ribs. Rubbed with a blend of spices and brown sugar that caramelized onto the meat.
His mouth watered. Rumble. That was his belly insisting it needed sustenance. But his grandma wouldn’t feed bears.
“Never feed the wildlife,” she’d told him when he was but a cub, not even waist high, with a slap of her wooden spoon on his hands. He’d shrugged and mouthed, “Sorry, Grandpa,” to the black nose pressed against the kitchen window. Grandma showed no sympathy for his hairy hungry grandpa as she said, “He knows the rules.”
If Ark wanted to eat, he’d have to change.
So unfair.
The staggering notes of plucked strings filled the air. The haunting sound went well with the rhythmic clap of hands. The music came from the backyard, but he didn’t have time to make his escape. His aunts poured out of the house, his grandmother in the lead, his mother part of the invading posse.
How nice of them to provide a welcoming party. He could have smiled—but his muzzle wasn’t built for it. He prepared himself for a few hugs, only to gape when they ignored him.
“There she is. Let’s get her inside before these vlakas frighten the child again.” Yiayia spoke, offering Ark a glare as her minions of darkness in their aprons scurried to obey. The women arrived in a swarm and departed with a dazed Jade in their grips, his grandmother pausing only long enough to pat him on the head and say, “Good boy. About time you settled down. Get changed and find some pants.” But it was the “The ribs are ready” that got him moving.
CHAPTER 14
Jade tried a few times to peek over her shoulder and catch a glimpse of Ark. My big ol’ teddy bear. While a little late, he’d come for her—with an army no less—and taken her from Xavier, only to turn coward and let a bunch of women kidnap her. Worse, they seemed determined to judge her.
“Nice teeth. Do you brush?”
“Yes. And floss,” she answered without thinking.
“Can you cook? Ark is a growing boy. He needs his food.”
“And meat. Lots of meat. He loves my ribs best.” One of them beamed smugly.
“He would ditch your ribs for my pie in an instant.” A retort by another woman.
“Unless it’s my cake with that buttercream frosting. I don’t know how many times I slapped his paw for sticking his fingers in the bowl as a boy.” The reminiscing gaze refocused on her with laser intent. “You didn’t answer, girl. Do you cook?”
“Yeah, I can cook but—” As if they’d let her finish a sentence.
A rotund woman with her hair cut short and trendy in a dark bob halted in front of her and held out her hands about waist height. “She has good birthing hips. Good thing because she’ll need them. I still remember Ark’s big head when he was born.”
“Not as much as his mom Eudora does,” snickered another.
Exactly how many women surrounded her? Hard to tell because they kept changing places as they herded her along to the house.
“Excuse me. Um, can we slow down for a second?” Jade tried to interject, but they simply spoke over her.
“I’m thinking she needs Grandma Alicia’s.”
A woman tapped her chin and eyed her neck to toe. “Maybe, although I would have said Annalise.”
“Can’t. It didn’t survive Sofie’s wedding night.”
“Men!” They all hmphed together.
“I think she’d go perfect with Kalienta’s.”
“Oooh.” Nods all around.
She managed to squeeze in a “Who is Kalienta?”
“She was Ark’s great-aunt on his father’s side. You’ll look perfect in her dress.”
“What dress?” She blinked as her confusion grew.
“Wedding dress, of course.”
“Should we have her IQ tested?” someone whispered. “Seems a little slow to me.”
“It’s on account she’s not Greek” was the sage reply. Again, heads nodded all around.
In that moment, Jade quite felt like Alice. She’d fallen down a hole of some kind, a bear hole with crazy ladies smelling of baked goods at the bottom. “Can someone explain what is going on? And who are you?”
Bright blue eyes, peering from an ancient face, caught her gaze. “I am Ark’s grandmother. You may call me Yiayia.”
“And I am his mother, Eudora.”
More names were tossed at her: Athene, Lydia, Nerine, Reah, Titaia, and those were just his aunts. Once they started tossing the female cousin names—Mabel is the one about to get married, about time too, her parents have their
eye on a condo for sale by the beaches. Kloe is going for her masters. Smart as her mother that one. Then there’s Julia …—Jade was lost. The size of this family boggled the mind. It made her want to hide. It also fascinated her, given the apparent complex relationships floating around.
This was a family that stayed together. A family that celebrated. She’d never had that. Her mother’s family lived scattered, and they never spoke, much less saw each other. Jade did her best to keep in touch with her siblings, but their diverging paths meant the only one she saw with any regularity was Pearl.
Thinking of her sisters made her think of Ruby. No one had really said what happened to Ruby. “Where’s my sister? Does anyone know where she is and what’s happened? I haven’t seen her since the train and—” She stopped talking for a second as she reached the door to the house. Less door, more a portal made of wood and at least eight feet in height with a curved top. The door had a medieval feel with its chiseled etchings, a beautiful rendition of Greece, the coliseum peeking from the edges, bears roaming the streets on two and four paws amid the eclectic buildings. She no sooner stepped past the fabulous carvings than she noted Ruby ensconced in a chair, her feet on a stool, a blanket over her belly. A plate of food balanced on the baby bump and she held a glass of lemonade—with an umbrella and straw!
Meanwhile, Jade was pretty sure she looked wretched and smelled even worse. Still, though, she didn’t resent her sister because she looked the most content Jade had seen her in weeks. Okay, she maybe resented the lemonade a little, and she coveted the cookies.
“Hey, sis. About time you got here.”
“Don’t you sass me. I was so worried.” A chastisement that promptly turned into tears, which led to a very naked Ark rushing into the house, eyes wide and yelling, “Who hurt her? Who dies?” He paused, legs slightly bent, fists held upraised in a pugilistic ready pose. His cheeks turned a lovely shade of ruddy crimson as many sets of eyes perused him.
“The pregnant one did it,” Reah said with a smirk and pointed finger.
“I’m okay, Ark,” Jade said to reassure him with a swipe at her eyes. “Just so happy to see my sister.”