Eye of the Beholder

by Dana Marie Bell

  Immediately Travis dampened his light, his eyes returning to normal as he took in the condition of his woman. She was wounded, but she was healing before his eyes. “You didn’t kill her. Grimm did.”

  “C’mon, c’mon.” Travis turned to find Logan crouched over Mancinelli. Her blood was rapidly soaking the floor beneath her. Nik was standing over him, his fists clenched at his sides, his silver eyes glued to the woman rapidly bleeding out under Logan’s hands. “Work, damn it. Work.”

  Travis ran over to find Logan holding his palm over the wound in the detective’s throat. Her wide eyes stared up at him as she struggled for breath.

  And then she stopped struggling.

  Logan sat back with a weary sigh. “Where’s Grimm?”

  “And he just disappeared?” Jordan was fiddling with her earring again. Never a good sign in her older sister. Jordan was still pissed as hell at being left behind, but she’d set that aside once she heard what Grimm had done.

  “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.” Travis was stroking his hand up and down Jamie’s arm. He hadn’t let go of her since she’d leaned against him in the hallway at Grimm and Sons, sobbing over having killed a woman.

  She was still freaked out over what had happened. Everything was going to be just a little bit different now. She had no idea how those changes would affect her family.

  “It’s time for me to go.” Nik stood, his expression tight. “There are other things that require my attention.”

  Travis nodded while Uncle Val shook the other man’s hand. “Thanks, Nik.”

  Nik smiled that cold, cynical smile of his. “Not a problem.” He walked over to Detective Mancinelli and cupped her chin in his hand. “Stay out of trouble.”

  “Excuse me?” The detective’s hair was still damp from the shower they’d convinced her to take. She was bundled up in Jordan’s robe, her clothes currently in the wash. Jamie wasn’t sure if all of the blood would come out.

  “You’re playing in the big leagues now, little girl.” The smile left his face, his expression becoming intent. “Stay out of trouble.”

  She gave him the finger.

  Amusement crossed his face before he stood up. “Right.” He shook his head. “I’ll make sure to keep my eye on you then.”

  Jamie choked. The last person in the world she wanted watching her was Heimdall. He was…creepy.

  “Just what every girl wants. Their very own supernatural stalker.” Mancinelli was rubbing at her throat again, but she didn’t seem to realize it. Not even a scar remained. Like Jamie, she’d gotten Logan’s ability to heal. What that meant for the detective Jamie didn’t know, but from the way Nik had watched her the entire time she’d been with them she bet they hadn’t seen the last of her.

  Nik sighed. “Tyr. Make sure she doesn’t get her ass killed.”

  Mancinelli’s brows rose. “Again, you mean?”

  Nik returned her look. “You didn’t die. And have you ever heard of the words thank you?”

  Everyone ignored the detective’s growl.

  Travis’s hand drifted down to Jamie’s ass. “Where are you off to?”

  Nik tsk’d. “Sorry, need to know.”

  “I don’t need to know?”

  Nik grinned. “You’re not the leader of the Vanir anymore, remember?”

  “Are you going to give Kir your allegiance?” The sudden tension in Travis’s shoulders worried her.

  Nik waved on his way out the front door. “It’s been nice talking to you all.” He sent Mancinelli one last warning look before walking out, closing the door gently behind him.

  As soon as the door clicked shut the detective was on her feet. “Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going on? Why am I not dead? Who are you people?”

  Travis tugged on Jamie. She was more than willing to go along with him. “I think that’s our cue to go. We’ve been over this before.”

  Logan groaned. “Oh no, Lefty. You’re not leaving me alone to explain this one.”

  “Sorry, hothead. I have to make sure all of Jamie’s new bruises are gone.” Travis grabbed her hand and began dragging her behind him.

  Logan snorted, but he didn’t try to stop them as they headed for the front door. “I’m sure you do.”

  Jordan took a deep breath. “Okay. It all started when Kir and Logan walked into my office…”

  Jamie shut the door and let Travis tug her back to their condo.

  Toni Mancinelli grimaced as her boss gave her hell. Not only was her new partner missing, but the labs had concluded that Grimm’s blood was, in fact, pig blood and that Travis and Val had never even been in the fun room, let alone killed anyone there. The only one whose blood still existed on the scene was Jamie’s. The samples had somehow been compromised, because the tests had come back that something else had been on that cross two days ago, not Jamie Grimm.

  Jamie Grimm had agreed with the test results, claiming she’d been in her condo making love with her fiancé all night, just grateful to have him back in their new home.

  If she thought about how the group of freaks had managed that she’d probably go insane. How in fuck was she supposed to explain to her boss that good old Danny-boy actually was Oliver Grimm, aka Odin?

  Yeah. Pension plan, meet shredder. That was if she was lucky. If she was unlucky they’d desk her ass and psych her out of her detective’s shield. Either way she’d never work in law enforcement again.

  So the lunatics were safe. For now.

  She tried to focus on the window behind her boss. Rain poured down, darkening the sky. She couldn’t help but wonder if Kir was pissed off, or if this was a natural storm. And then she saw them. They’d haunted her dreams. Stunning silver eyes that seemed to be everywhere she went.

  Niklas DeWitt, aka Heimdall. Gee, I sure know how to pick ’em. She dreamt of him nightly. When she was awake she would swear she saw him around corners, or in the mirror behind…her…

  She whipped around, but he wasn’t there. Just the reflection of those eyes in the window.

  “Mancinelli. Am I boring you?”

  Yup, supernatural stalker alert. She shook her head. “No, sir.”

  “Good. Then I expect you to…”

  She did her best to pay attention to what her boss was saying, right up until DeWitt winked at her. Then she had to bite back the screams.

  Grimm shrieked at the top of his lungs. Again they’d eluded him, but damn it, this time it was his own fault. He’d allowed his temper to get the better of him, and so allowed them to get the better of him.

  No more. Rina stood behind him, her blonde hair whipping in the wind, watching over him. Guarding his back. In her hand was a deadly combination of rifle and bayonet.

  The bayonet she’d crafted was of mistletoe.

  He panted, his fury finally fading. He looked around at the carnage he’d wrought. Ice, an inch thick, covered every surface visible in the park.

  In his stupidity he’d allowed them to know that Gungnir couldn’t hurt him. Now they’d be on the hunt for something that could.

  He’d be ready for them.

  “They’re going to go for Fenris.”

  He turned, staring at his lover. “Fenris?” He thought of the prophecy. “Fuck.” He headed back toward the car, pleased beyond measure when she stepped beside and slightly behind him, the gun cradled professionally in her arms. He climbed in, watching as she got straight into the passenger side. She knew he always preferred to drive, even when his life was endangered.

  “My love, how would you like a trip to Norway?”

  She held up her cell phone. “Sleipnir is ready, our passports in order. We have just enough time to pack.”

  I think I might actually love this woman. “Remind me to thank you properly somewhere over Edinburgh.”

  Rina grinned and blew him a kiss.

  Epilogue

  Jeff was ready to collapse. It had taken them days to get here. He was tired, filthy and desperately i
n need of a caramel mocha frappuccino.

  If the two lovebirds didn’t stop playing snuggle-bunny in front of him he was going to puke.

  But damn it, they were here. In Norway, land of his ancestors, freeing a creature of myth and legend he prayed would kill his grandfather before he could hurt anyone else in Jeff’s family ever again.

  According to Travis, Old Man Grimm was right on their tails, no pun intended. The only thing that had saved them from facing him yet had been the necklaces Logan had given them. They’d masked their presence from his insane grandfather. Whatever else Logan had done to delay the Old Man’s progress Jeff didn’t want to know. Let his brother-in-law play around with the woo-woo stuff. Jeff was a lot more straight-forward.

  He just wanted to kill the bastard and end this nightmare.

  They’d found the cave where the wolf was bound, freed him, and now… now he was practically humping Jeff’s leg. In fact, the only one of the three of them he’d allowed near him was Jeff. Jeff had pulled the sword from the wolf’s jaws, muttering quietly the whole while about snot and drool, but damn if the whimpers the creature had issued at the sound of his voice hadn’t touched his heart.

  Jeff watched as the wolf—Fenris, let’s be honest here—growled at Travis. Blood still dripped from its jaws where the sword had been.

  Travis, his eyes wide, pushed Jamie behind him. “Could you repeat exactly what you said to him?”

  Jeff tried to move around Fenris to get back to Travis and his sister. The wolf responded by backing into him, pushing him further into the cave and away from Travis. “Jeg er din forlovede , behage spiser ikke meg. Og spiser ikke Tyr , den ville ergre din ny moder.”

  Travis coughed back a laugh. “I thought you spoke some Norwegian.”

  “Bits and pieces only.” His eyes narrowed. He knew the word for mother, moder, and eat me, spiser meg. What else had he said? “What did my dickhead brother-in-law teach me to say?”

  “Roughly? I’m your mate, please don’t eat me. And don’t eat Tyr, it will piss off your new mother.”

  Jeff blinked as Fenris rubbed against his thigh, nearly knocking him on his ass. The wolf’s fur was matted with dirt, blood and debris, and he smelled to high heaven. Now, damn it, so did his jeans. Jeff gritted his teeth and prayed his fear and anger didn’t show. “Remind me to thank him when I get home.”

  Wait.

  “New mother?” Jeff threw back his head and laughed. Jordan was going to have a field day with that. “Never mind. I won’t have to do a thing.”

  It was great. Right up until the longest, wettest dog tongue he’d ever had the displeasure to see swiped a long wet line up his cheek.

  Blech. Why oh why does this shit keep happening to me? He lifted his shirt to wipe away the slime.

  “Meget pen.” A rough hand petted his stomach.

  Jeff jerked back and pulled his shirt down. Before him, crouched on his haunches, was a hot, naked, extremely dirty and smelly man. “Travis? What did he just say?”

  “That you’re very pretty.”

  Oh. Shit. What had Logan gotten him into?

  That man stood and grabbed Jeff’s hand. Dark, feral brown eyes bore into him. “Mine.”

  Jeff gulped. Goodbye Dysfunction Junction. You will be sorely missed.

  About the Author

  Dana Marie Bell wrote her first short story when she was thirteen years old. She attended the High School for Creative and Performing Arts for creative writing, where freedom of expression was the order of the day. When her parents moved out of the city and placed her in a Catholic high school for her senior year, she tried desperately to get away, but the nuns held fast, and she graduated with honors despite herself.

  Dana has lived primarily in the Northeast (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, to be precise), with a brief stint on the US Virgin Island of St. Croix. She lives with her soul mate and husband Dusty, their two maniacal children, an evil, ice-cream stealing cat and a bull terrier that thinks it’s a Pekinese.

  You can learn more about Dana at: www.danamariebell.com

  Look for these titles by Dana Marie Bell

  Now Available:

  Halle Pumas

  The Wallflower

  Sweet Dreams

  Cat of a Different Color

  Steel Beauty

  Only In My Dreams

  Halle Shifters

  Bear Necessities

  The Gray Court

  Dare to Believe

  True Destiny

  Very Much Alive

  Coming Soon:

  The Gray Court

  Noble Blood

  To hold onto his love, he must release his beast.

  Bear Necessities

  © 2010 Dana Marie Bell

  Halle Shifters, Book 1

  Once a Bear sets his mind on a mission, it’s best to stay out of his way. Alexander “Bunny” Bunsun is that Bear. Something’s not right with his cousin Chloe, and he’s come to Halle, PA, to sort it out, turn his Harley around and head home to Oregon. Until an enticing scent lures him into the local tattoo shop.

  There she is. An inked, Southern-drawled she-Wolf with lime-green hair. His perfect mate.

  Tabitha Garwood’s rotten day just got worse. Her Outcast status makes her a target for harassment with alarming regularity. And now, in the middle of a root touch-up, looking like a half-melted Skittle, she’s met her destined mate. The only upside? She finally has a protector in the form of a huge, tattooed, shaved-head Bear who vibrates with carefully restrained power.

  When Chloe is left for dead and Tabby is threatened, only Alex can keep his growing family safe. Giving Tabby the loving home she needs, though, could come at a price—Alex must give up the control he’s worked a lifetime to attain.

  Which means someone could die at the hands—and claws—of his beast.

  Warning: This novel contains explicit sex, graphic language, a hunky Bear named Bunny and… Yes. I said a Bear named Bunny. I don’t know about you but I’m not brave enough to make fun of it.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Bear Necessities:

  “Ohmigod, ohmigod.” Tabby pulled her hair, staring into her closet. It was six forty-five and her mate would be here any minute, she didn’t know his name and she had nothing to wear.

  “Little black dress.” Cyn stuck her head in Tabby’s bedroom, grinning at the pile of clothing around Tabby’s feet. “Can’t go wrong with a little black dress.”

  “Guh.” The panic was threatening to tear Tabby apart. She stared at the three black dresses hanging in her closet, her hand moving between them like a demented butterfly.

  Glory’s head peeked in from the other side of the doorway. “The sleeveless one.”

  “Uh?” She held up her sleeveless black dress, the one with the red belt and matching shoes.

  Two heads bobbed in agreement.

  Tabby stripped, more than used to being naked in front of her roommates. Hell, when she’d first moved in with them, they’d been shocked at how easy she felt being nude. Glory had actually asked her if she was gay and trying to tempt them to “the dark side”. She’d giggled and said that she might be susceptible to temptation if the dark side had chocolate. Tabby had just shaken her head and put some clothes on. She’d spent so long as a Wolf, she’d forgotten some of the basic parts of being human, like pants. The first time she’d used a toilet after so many years had been an interesting experience, something Mrs. Anderson still chuckled about.

  When Cyn and Glory had found out what she was, they’d freaked a little. They hadn’t accepted her immediately. In fact, there’d been another girl, Brit, who’d worked at Living Art. Brit had left, refusing to believe what she’d seen the night Tabby, drunk off her ass for the first time in her life, let her Wolf loose in the middle of the apartment. She’d gone so far as to quit her job when Glory and Cyn refused to fire her or kick her out of their apartment. But Glory and Cyn, after the initial shock had passed (and after, they claimed, they wiped up the dog drool), had ac
cepted her without reservations. Hell, they’d mocked her once the hangover had passed. There was still a huge bag of Kibbles N’ Bits in the pantry the bitches refused to throw away “just in case”.

  If she thought they’d take it, she’d make them Pack in a heartbeat. She missed having that connection, the knowledge that there were others for her to rely on without a shadow of a doubt. Part of her wondered if her dipshit ex had ever told his father the truth, or if he’d shrugged and let it go. Let her go.

  Tabby shook her head and reached for her hairbrush, smoothing down her hair. That didn’t matter now. Her mate would be here any minute. She slicked on some berry gloss and stared at herself in the mirror. Then she stuck out her tongue and made a face. She was so nervous, her Wolf was whining. She slipped her feet into the red high heels, grabbed her favorite purse and headed for the living room. “Well?”

  Cyn circled her finger. “Twirl.”

  Tabby twirled.

  Glory wolf-whistled. “See you at work tomorrow.”

  Cyn snickered and threw a bunch of condoms at her. “You’ll need these.”

  Tabby swallowed. “I’m gonna throw up.” Nausea roiled in her belly. She bent and picked up the condoms just as the doorbell rang.

  Glory had the door open before Tabby could hide the packets. “C’mon in!”

  In stepped the hottie from the store. He wore a green shirt that really emphasized his hazel eyes, dark wash jeans that looked painted onto his thighs and thick-soled black boots. Now that she was upright, she could see how tall he was. He towered over her, the top of her head barely reaching his upper lip, even in her four-inch heels. She’d hit his chin in her bare feet. His bald head gleamed, his jaw clean-shaven. She could see the tattoo that circled his biceps and her fingers itched to trace the design. In his hand, he held a daffodil.