by Marla Monroe
“From what we’ve been able to piece together by talking to your parents,” Creed began.
Serenity gasped. “You’ve talked to my parents? When?”
Unease replaced the shock with a cold oozing pain that they’d gone behind her back to talk with her family. Had her Rufus not already known where she was, their contacting her family would have instantly alerted him of her location. They were under a compulsion by him as their Rufus to report her whereabouts anytime they found out. It was why she didn’t tell her brother where she was, only that she was okay and what was going on in her life.
“I’m sorry, precious,” Shayne said. “We found out that it was your old Rufus who’d sent the hunters after you and needed to find out how best to protect you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to talk to them?” she demanded. “I would have loved to talk to them.”
“I’m sorry, honey. At the time we were so upset and shocked that a shifter would send hunters after one of their own that we panicked and started trying to find out what we could before we realized it would hurt you to go behind your back.” Creed looked genuinely sorry and distressed over what they’d done, but at that moment she couldn’t think straight. All she knew was that it hurt.
“Once we’d found out about the prophecy, we planned to tell you all about it, but you were gone,” Shayne said.
“That’s not entirely true,” Creed said looking over at his brother.
She looked from one to the other again. She realized that Creed planned to be completely honest with her even if it looked poorly on him. Shayne sighed.
“I decided to talk to the other shifter leaders to find out what they knew about the prophecy. I’d never heard of it before, but I haven’t been a leader long. My father hadn’t passed it down to me, so I don’t know if he didn’t know about it or if he just didn’t believe it. Either way, it was something I didn’t feel comfortable asking about over the phone. I went to talk to them before I came to look for you.” Creed’s expression appeared contrite and worried.
“Once we realized you were missing, it hit home that we should have told you from the beginning and allowed you to be right there with us as we learned everything that we did,” Shayne said.
“Why didn’t you?” she asked.
“I think we were subconsciously protecting you, kitten. To begin with, we weren’t sure if your parents were in on it or not. We had no idea what your relationship was with your parents at the time. Plus, we didn’t know if having you back home wouldn’t make them feel better knowing you were safe from other, outside forces. This prophecy will bring down not only other shifters, but the humans as well. Without the need for hunters, their legalized sport of hunting shifters will no longer be allowed or tolerated,” Creed said.
“Regardless of the reason, baby, we were wrong to keep it from you and are sorry. We never meant to hurt you. We only wanted to protect you. It’s part of who we are as bears and as your mates,” Shayne told her.
She watched both males knowing they truly hadn’t meant to hurt her and were only looking out for her best interests. Still, it bothered her that they would do something like this again. She wanted to be sure they knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to keep things from her.
“I have to be able to trust the two of you not to keep things from me. I can’t be in a relationship where I am always wondering if you’re telling me the truth or hiding something from me. I’m not a child or a fragile human. Don’t do this again or we’re going to have a problem with our mating,” she said in a quiet voice. From the look on their faces, she didn’t think it would be a problem in the future.
“Never again, mate. I promise you we will never hide anything from you again,” Creed said.
“Except for maybe birthday parties or gifts,” Shayne said in all seriousness.
Creed popped him over the head and growled.
“What?” he asked rubbing his head. “I don’t want there to be any questions. I’m going to get her surprises and so are you.”
“Shayne, you are certifiable,” she said laughing. Then she sobered and turned back to Creed. “How am I related? I don’t remember there being any felines in the royal family except in the beginning. After a few hundred years, only wolves ruled.”
“That’s true, but right after the royals stepped down and the throne was disassembled, so to speak, the young prince met his true mate, your great, great, great grandmother, and a lynx. The story is that she was actually a descendant of the last original member of the last lynx in the royal family, but we don’t know that for certain,” Creed explained. “What we do know is that you are the result through your mother.”
“Why wasn’t mom considered to be the one?” she asked.
“She only has one mate,” Shayne reminded her.
“But she could end up with another mate at some point in the future,” she argued.
“True, but our thoughts are that she is no longer able to have kits and that is what triggered the prophecy to be revealed. Without asking your mother that question, we won’t know for certain if that is why or not, but we think it might be.” Shayne watched her closely.
“She had a lot of trouble when she had me and I’m the youngest. My youngest brother is less than a year older than I am. I was a surprise,” she admitted. “So, it is a possibility. But how did my old Rufus find out about it? Why would he have even put me into the equation in the first place?”
“We don’t know. It’s one of the mysteries we need to clear up. Our first priority though is taking care of you through your heat and keeping you safe. That is why Locke will never leave us. If not him, then Otto. One of them will always be close at hand,” Creed told her. “So get used to it. They are your guard, though the entire sleuth will protect you with their lives.”
“I don’t want anyone to get hurt protecting me. I can fight for myself,” she said, narrowing her eyes.
Shayne spoke up before his brother could. She had a feeling she wouldn’t have liked what Creed had to say anyway.
“We know you can, but remember, you will have cubs to watch out for. You’re priority is to stay alive and take care of them,” he said.
Her eyes few open. Cubs? Kits? What?
“Um, honey. You do realize that there is almost a hundred percent chance that you will become pregnant during your heat, right?” Creed asked with a half-hidden smile.
“Um, yes. I guess I just hadn’t really thought about it,” she said.
She yawned and stretched, her back arching as she did. Suddenly she was exhausted and with everything she’d just learned, her mind was just as tired.
“Looks like nap time, baby.” Shayne began picking up the trash and leftover food from the bed.
Creed scooped her up in his arms and shoved back the blankets before depositing her in the middle and covering her back up again. She pried her eyes open to frown up at him.
“Shhh, we’ll be right back. Shayne’s putting up the food and I’m going to check in with Locke to be sure everything is okay back at the den. We’ll both be right back, kitten. Sleep.” Creed kissed her cheek then her nose before standing up to look down at her. It was the last thing she remembered before she slipped into sleep.
* * * *
By the time her heat had passed, Serenity was ready to climb the walls. They had spent three entire days and nights at the hotel in the bedroom. She’d rarely even made it out of the bed, taking long relaxing baths and eating being her only reprieves from either fucking or sleeping. Now, she felt much better, more herself without the heat riding her nonstop. She prayed she didn’t have to deal with it again for several more years.
Then she thought about the fact that she was probably pregnant and wondered how she was going to adjust to that. In that moment, she desperately wanted to see her mother. It pulled at her so hard that she turned to Shayne as they descended in the elevator of the hotel with tears in her eyes.
“What is it, baby?” he asked pulling her into his arms.
“I want to see my mother,” she confessed.
“Shhh, baby. We’ll get you to see her. Relax and let’s get home first. Then we can make plans for that.” Shayne hugged her tight.
When the doors slid open, they all got off after Locke checked around them. The quick trip outside and across the parking lot was made without incident. Yet Serenity had a feeling that there was someone there watching them. She started to say something to her mates, but the feeling disappeared and they were rushing her into the truck. With Shayne kissing her as he buckled her in, she quickly forgot that she had anything to say.
While Creed rode up front with Locke to discuss security changes, Shayne cuddled with her in the back. Despite all the rest she’d gotten, Serenity was still tired. She suspected it had more to do with the heavy burden she felt resting on her shoulders than having just come off her heat cycle.
The fact that she was going to bear the sons who would one day restart the royal ruling families scared her a bit. Maybe most shifters would celebrate the fact that they would produce the ruling family, but all Serenity could see was the constant worry and fear for her children’s safety and happiness. How could they grow up content and normally if they were always going to be at risk? All she had ever wanted in her life was to be normal and have a normal family like any other shifter.
From the very beginning she’d known the way they lived hadn’t been right. She just hadn’t known how it was wrong. Now, she had found her mates and had a chance at a family of her own and the past had come back to bite her. Instead of the overbearing cruel Rufus of her den dictating every part of her life, she was going to have two mates who were bears trying to keep her and her children safe in a world where both shifters and humans might want them dead.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” Shayne asked her sometime later.
She sighed and closed her eyes for a few seconds. “I just can’t believe that after everything in my past, I’m still going to have to look over my shoulder to be sure no one is waiting to grab me or our offspring. I’d hoped for some semblance of a quiet life.”
Shayne grinned. “Quiet? With you? Never. You’re full of fire, baby. You would never have been able to lead a quiet life if you wanted to.”
“Shayne’s right, honey. You’re a fighter. With me as one of your mates, there would have always been fireworks in our den.”
“I’m looking forward to the makeup sex,” Shayne admitted without shame.
“You don’t get to participate in makeup sex if you didn’t participate in the fight, little brother,” Creed said with a twinkle in his eye.
There was a choking sound from the driver’s seat. “Did you just tease Shayne?”
Creed frowned at Locke. “What?”
“It’s just that I’ve never heard you tease like that before. It caught me off guard,” he said.
“Get used to it, Locke, our Ursus has learned to relax a bit, thanks to our Ursa,” Shayne told him.
“I can’t wait for the others to hear this,” Locke said with a snort.
“Just as long as you don’t forget that I’m still in charge,” Creed rumbled loud enough that the hair on the back of Serenity’s neck stood up.
“Hey! Tone it down some, bro. You’re upsetting our mate,” Shayne protested, shaking himself.
Creed didn’t look the least bit apologetic to his brother, but he looked over at Serenity and grinned before returning to his earlier conversation with Locke. It touched her that he had wanted her to know it wasn’t aimed at her so much as it was for the others’ benefit.
She began to recognize some of the landscape thinking that it felt as if she’d been gone forever and not less than a week. Creed had been on the phone almost nonstop since they’d left the hotel, actually needing to plug in his charger about an hour ago. She felt guilty that they’d gotten so far behind with whatever businesses they had because of her running away.
I just didn’t think I had an option though. I never dreamed my lynx would back down with the help of my heat. Of course my heat had never been as intense as that before either.
“Looks like we’re almost home, baby,” Shayne said pulling her close to him once more.
“Shouldn’t we duck down or something so they won’t know that I’m staying with you?” she asked, looking around as they entered the main part of town. She remembered the feeling she’d had earlier and worried that she should have said something to the men.
Creed looked back at them, holding the phone over his chest to mute his words. “Don’t worry about that anymore, honey. I sent a message to your old Rufus that you were mated and protected by us and that any further attempt at taking you would be met with force all the way back to his territory.”
She gasped, her eyes, as well as her mouth, flying wide open at that. “What do you mean? When did you do that?”
He smiled. “I mean just what I said. We’ll kill anyone who threatens you and if necessary, we’ll go to the source of the danger and take care of him as well. I don’t think anyone in your old den would mourn his loss. Do you?”
She just stared at him as he returned to the phone. He hadn’t answered her question of when he had contacted the Rufus of her old den. Had it been before or after they’d talked? She turned her narrowed gaze to Shayne and lifted one brow.
“Well?” she asked.
Shayne looked puzzled for a second then understanding dawned and he sighed. It was obvious that she wasn’t going to like the answer one damn bit. Where had their promises gone to not make decisions that concerned her without talking them over with her first?
“While you were soaking and we were catching up with Locke. He wanted to be sure there was no danger when we went back home again. You have to understand, Serenity, that if it involves your safety, we’re not going to delay something to talk to you first,” Shayne said.
“You didn’t even talk to me afterward!” she snarled back.
“Serenity. That’s enough, honey. You’re bleeding all over poor Locke while he’s trying to drive,” Creed said with an indulgent appearing smile.
“What?” she asked, having no idea what he was talking about.
“Your power, babe. You’re making it hard for him to concentrate because you’re upset and all he wants to do is make it okay again,” Shayne explained.
“I don’t have any power,” she protested.
“Yes, you do,” Shayne and Creed said at the same time.
“You’ve always been a very strong alpha female, but now that you’re our mate, you have the power of being Ursa of the sleuth as well,” Creed told her, then nodded at Shayne to finish as he returned to his call.
“It will take you a while to learn to temper it so you don’t bleed power into everyone every time you get upset or excited or anything. It’s how the others will know that you need them and how you can control them if or when they get unruly or are going to do something you don’t think they need to do,” Shayne explained.
She sat still for a few moments thinking about what Shayne had said and what it meant. Then she just concentrated on feeling and being aware of everything around her. She hadn’t felt any different since their mating was complete, but now that she was concentrating and searching, she could feel the other bears as if they were right there in the truck with them. She couldn’t hear their thoughts or anything like that, but she felt their energies and some of their feelings as well. Each of them had a different energy signature so that once she got to know them, she’d know who was who just like that. It was a little disconcerting.
“Okay. We can talk more about that later. Right now, I want to know what is going on with my old den and we’ve got to come to an understanding about anything concerning me. I won’t just lie down and let you control my life, Shayne,” she said making a great effort to keep her tone and emotions as even as possible.
The big
goofball grinned widely at her. “Very good! You barely sent out power at all that time. Keep practicing.”
She popped him on the back of the head and growled, focusing her power solely on him. “Don’t patronize me or ignore what I’m talking about.”
He chuckled, but winced, obviously feeling her ire. “I’m sorry, baby. You’re just so cute. Wait!” He threw up his hand to stop her from focusing on him again. “You’re right. We should have talked to you about it after Creed made the call, but you were exhausted and we didn’t want to overwhelm you.”
Serenity sighed. “Please talk to me about anything that concerns me. Don’t make snap decisions without at least telling me what you plan to do. I’m going to have to learn to accept that there are three of us and not just me now, you both have to learn that as well. Three, not two. Got it?”
“Got it. I love you, babe. I only want you to be happy,” Shayne told her.
“I love you, too.” She kissed him, putting as much warmth and affection into it as possible.
Shayne groaned against her mouth and moved her hand to cover his now engorged cock, straining against the material of his jeans. She chuckled. It looked like she could use her powers for more than calming the sleuth. She might just enjoy being the Ursa after all.
Chapter Twenty-One
As Serenity followed Creed into the house, a familiar scent had her stopping in her tracks.
Family.
Who was there? The scent let her know it was her youngest brother, Aaron. She tried to push past Creed, but Shayne wrapped his arms around her and Creed didn’t budge.
“Move out of my way, Creed!” she screeched, jumping up and down, trying to see around him.
Shayne’s chuckle as he tried to hold on to her still made her want to hit him. “Easy there, babe. Let Creed be Ursus and lay down the law first.”
“He’s my brother. You’re not laying down the law to him, Creed. Move out of my way!” she demanded.
She could hear Aaron laughing on the other side of the big stubborn bear.