by Bianca D'Arc
She’d missed the touch of a man. She hadn’t been with anyone since seeking the solace of the ocean five years ago. She’d had a man on shore before then, but he’d turned out to be a louse. A cheater who thought it was all right to sleep with her…and any other woman who caught his fancy.
Sirena had sought the peace of ocean life and hadn’t gone back except to visit friends on the occasional holiday. She’d told them she was traveling—which wasn’t a lie. Life under the waves was constant motion, constant going from one place to the other, seeking better fishing or calmer waters.
There weren’t that many men in the colony, and most of them were mated, raising young families. All in all, Sirena was happier without any male involvement in her life. Or so she’d thought.
But now, she was here, in the middle of Bear City, USA, where almost the entire population was male. Male bear shifters of various kinds. Most were grizzlies and black bears, but there were a few Kodiak bears, polar bears, some kind of giant Russian breed of bear, even two pandas and a koala, she’d been told. Although, she figured they were joking about the koala. And to be fair, the pandas were both female. A mother and daughter from China who had come into the office yesterday when the little girl had taken a bad tumble out of a stand of bamboo.
Sirena had seen the little girl named Daisy when she’d peeked into the room, curious as all six year olds. The mother, Lynn, had come after her and apologized for Daisy’s curiosity, but Sirena hadn’t minded at all. It had been something to break up her monotonous day.
Oh, members of her hunting party came to visit, but since she’d begun to stay awake more during the day, there were long hours filled with boredom. They’d hooked up a television for her, but other than the documentary channels, she wasn’t really interested in human news or politics, and their entertainment was somewhat moronic when she knew what was waiting out there in the ocean. How could she laugh at some farcical comedy show when there was evil poised just off shore, looking for any opening to decimate the town and all its people?
The doctor’s hands supported her as she began to slide backward, her strength ebbing quickly, as it had since her injury. Then, she felt him sit on the bed behind her, his muscular butt wedged up against hers, keeping her in place while he worked on her wounds.
“Sorry, ma’am,” he said gently. “This’ll just take a few minutes more. It would be better if we could get you off your back for a bit. Maybe you could sit up in a chair or even walk around a little, if you’re feeling up to it. All this lying on your back is causing the wounds here to take longer to heal.”
She wanted to cry. How was she going to stand when she couldn’t be sure when her strength would give out? She’d felt reasonably stable until he’d asked her to roll over. She’d held the position for a few minutes, but then, the weakness had come, and she felt as shaky as a wet kitten. No stamina.
“Don’t call me ma’am,” she managed to grumble.
“No? Don’t like that, eh?” the doc mused. “How about Sirena?” Her name sounded like a caress in his deep voice. “But I’ll only call you by name if you’ll do the same. I’m Sven.”
“Sven? Seriously?” She almost laughed. “Next, you’ll tell me you were a ski instructor or something.”
“Ski Patrol, not instructor,” he replied, sounding confused.
Sirena rolled her eyes. Of course he was some kind of Olympic skier. With a name like Sven, what else could he possibly be? Maybe a masseur? Now that idea brought up all kinds of naughty possibilities, but she ordered her mind to definitely not go there. Nope. No siree, Bob. Or Sven, as the case may be.
“I’m not surprised,” she finally answered. “Where are you from originally? Norway? You don’t have an accent.” She kept the small talk going to distract herself from the discomfort of holding the awkward position. At least, that’s what she told herself. It had nothing to do with him touching her. Not at all.
“I’m from Alaska, actually, though my dad is of mostly Norwegian descent. Mom is American and a little bit Inuit.” He paused to focus on her injuries, but spoke again a moment later. “What about you? California girl?”
“Nah. Seattle.”
She could’ve gone into more detail, but she was used to playing her cards very close to her vest. Being mer meant being secretive. Also, her back hurt like a son of a bitch, so she really wasn’t up to holding a detailed conversation.
“This hurts a lot more than you’re letting on, doesn’t it?” he asked softly, surprising her. “I’m almost done, but let’s reposition you. I think if you sit up, it won’t hurt as bad.”
She hadn’t sat up yet. Not on her own. The only near-sitting-up position she’d achieved had been courtesy of the electronic bed that allowed her to raise and lower her feet and head.
“Are you sure that’s wise?” she asked, not totally embracing the idea.
Her abdomen was still a mess. The muscles there didn’t really want to work right now, not with all the stitches, scabs, nascent scars and bruising.
“I think we should at least try it. Come on, lean on me.” He moved slightly, letting her slide onto her back, then guided her arms up to his shoulders so that she was almost hugging him. His hands supported her at the sides of her waist—the only spots on her midsection that hadn’t been cut up by the creature’s jaws. “I’m going to put my hand between your shoulder blades and lift you upright. Just hang on to my shoulders.”
Without giving her much more warning than that, he lifted her up into a sitting position. She wasn’t actually supporting herself. She was more or less draped over him, her head resting against his hard shoulder as she gasped, catching her breath.
Holy shit! That had hurt. But as the pain faded to background, she realized he’d been right. Having the weight off her back felt good.
“Okay?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah, it’s better this way, but I can’t support myself yet.” She hated admitting to weakness, but it was very obvious. If she could’ve held her own weight, she wouldn’t be hugging him. Though…she had to admit, hugging him was a very nice place to be.
“That’s all right. It’ll come in time.”
She was very aware of the thin fabric separating them. Her hospital gown gaped open in the back, and he had his arms around her waist so he could continue working on her wounds. He’d already cleaned and treated them. Now, he was just bandaging her up again.
“Even just sitting up in an easy chair takes a bit of the weight off your back and might help speed the healing,” he said, his deep voice so much closer now that she was leaning against him. “As your energy comes back, so will your healing ability. I’ve seen it before. You’re on the mend, Sirena.”
“It doesn’t feel like it,” she groused. “I hate this.” And she hated the little hitch in her voice that almost sounded like tears.
His touch changed then. He finished with her wounds, and one of his strong, capable hands went to the back of her head, stroking her hair. He was soothing her. She’d heard land shifters liked the reassurance of touch, and she hadn’t really understood it…until this very moment.
“It’ll be okay. I promise.” His murmured words and soft touches helped, in some indefinable way, to make her feel better. Stronger.
“If it’s all right with you, I’d like to ask Gus, our shaman, to come and take a look at you. He was here right after we patched you up, but you wouldn’t remember. You were out cold.”
“What does a shaman do, exactly?” Mer didn’t have shamans. They had power places deep in the oceans, sacred to Poseidon.
“Well, Gus can give me an evaluation of your magical levels. The leviathan and its smaller friends—as near as we can figure—drain shifter magic. It had its hooks in your friend, Grace, not too long ago, and I’d like to make sure there isn’t some residual link between one of those monsters and you. Gus checked a few days ago, like I said, but I’d like him to check again. Just to be sure.”
“So he’s a magic user? Is he human?”<
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“Gus? No. He’s a spirit bear.” Sven said the words like they were a title she should recognize, then shrugged. “It’s a Native thing. He helps out on the reservation to the south and also serves our community. He lives between the two in a lot of different ways.”
“He’s an Indian?” The image was coming a bit clearer in her mind, but she’d never met an Indian shaman before.
“Yeah. Part, at least,” Sven answered.
“And a shifter?” She was still skeptical.
“Yep. The only one like him in our community. He’s a good man.”
“All right.” She didn’t want to second guess the doctor.
He’d been so good to her—and her people. All the bears had been nothing but helpful. It was her own damned fault she was feeling so suspicious of everything and angry with the world for being injured.
“Good. Now, let’s see if we can sit up the bed as far as it’ll go. Then, I’ll get the easy chair in here and set it up for when you’re ready.” Neither of them moved. She felt too good, being held by him. “Uh…you’ll have to let me go, though, honey.”
“Oh!” She withdrew her hands from around his shoulders. “Sorry. Guess I got too comfortable there for a minute.”
Could she be any more inane? Sirena tried to hide her embarrassment with humor, but it wasn’t that convincing. She’d just felt better than she had in days, and it was all due to the nearness of this…this…annoying Norwegian-American-Inuit polar bear who made her want things she just couldn’t have. Things she didn’t believe in anymore.
Sven reached past her to hit the control that raised the bed. The motion brought their torsos in contact again, and she was ultra-aware of the hardness of his chest against her breasts—bare under the thin hospital gown. She felt the bed moving under her as he gently lowered her.
She didn’t have far to go. He’d raised the head of the bed all the way. It wasn’t quite sitting up, but it was higher than she’d pushed the bed until now.
When he pulled back, she was sorry to lose him. He was so big and warm. Comforting in a way she hadn’t been comforted since she was a small child. He felt so safe. As if he’d never let anything hurt her ever again.
After the shock she’d had—fighting a being not of this world, and losing—she had thought she’d never feel safe again. She’d been wrong. Sven represented safety to her right now. Hopefully, in time, she’d find her footing again and regain the confidence she’d lost in that encounter with the creature straight from hell.
She wouldn’t rest easy until that damned thing was banished to the farthest realm.
“How does that feel?”
For a moment, she didn’t know what he was referring to. She’d been lost in horrible memories and anger.
The bed. Her back. He’d been asking about the position he’d put her in with the head of the bed up as far as it would go.
“It’s okay. Thanks.” She tried to refocus her mind, but just that little exertion had knocked her out. Her energy levels were at an all-time low.
“I’m going to ask Gus to come up here and check on you,” Sven said as he headed for the door. “Sit tight.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she mumbled as he left, feeling what little energy she had left desert her as she fell into a light doze that must have lasted more than an hour.
The next thing she knew, a stranger was knocking politely on the partially open door to her room. His skin had a beautiful Native American tone to it, his features sharp and his eyes somewhat mystical.
“You must be the shaman,” she said, opening her eyes fully and blinking a few times, trying to wake up.
“Guilty as charged, ma’am. I’m Gus. How are you feeling?”
“Like a sea monster’s chew toy,” she grumbled. To her satisfaction, Gus chuckled.
“If you don’t mind my saying, you look a lot better than you did the last time I saw you.” He moved into the room, and Sven was right behind him, watching all but saying nothing. “Of course, you were unconscious then, and bleeding a lot. Your magic was drained in a way I’ve never encountered before.”
“Is it any better now? Can you tell just from looking at me?”
She almost didn’t want to believe in the shaman’s power. It was disconcerting to know how close to death she had been and exactly what the evil creature had been doing to her—absorbing her magic, feeding on her energy.
“As Sven must’ve already told you, you’re doing a lot better. It’ll still take some time for you to regain what was lost, but I have high hopes that you’ll be back in fighting form in a matter of weeks.”
“Weeks?” That sounded uber-depressing to Sirena. As a powerful mer creature, she was used to healing the very worst wounds in days—not weeks.
Gus chuckled again. It was a warm sound, but as handsome as the shaman was, he didn’t do it for her like the doc. Sven’s slightest smile sent shivers down her spine and tingles to her lady parts. Gus, while attractive, didn’t have quite the same effect. Not by a long shot.
“Don’t knock it. Weeks is good, considering how far gone you were just a few days ago. And if your spirit is as strong as I suspect, it could be a little sooner.” Gus pulled over the guest chair and sat at her bedside. “Now, if you’ll allow me, I can do a small ceremony that might help. A blessing, if you will, though I’m pretty sure the way you practice your faith underwater is a little different than what we do on land. What do you say?”
“You serve the Goddess?” Sirena wasn’t sure. Most land shifters served the Goddess, but didn’t Native Americans have different beliefs?
Gus nodded. “The Mother of All. The Great Spirit. The divine power of the universe is known by many names. All creatures of Light serve that spirit, and I am but one more humble servant.”
That sounded kind of beautiful. Poetic, even.
“All right then,” she agreed softly, closing her eyes. She was still feeling wrung out from the doctor’s earlier ministrations.
The shaman began to chant. Low at first, the masculine sounds thrummed through her, leaving energy in their wake. Pure energy. Goddess-blessed and good.
It gave her a little boost, though she was still very weak. It was enough, though, to ease some of the constant pain and allow her to drift into the first really deep, natural sleep she’d experienced since the attack.
Chapter Three
Gus walked out of Sirena’s room looking a bit pale, but moving all right, if Sven was any judge. He’d seen the shaman give of his own energies before and knew the signs.
“How bad is it?” Sven guided Gus to a chair in the waiting room, well away from Sirena’s partially open door.
“Me or her?” Gus asked with a crooked smile as he collapsed into the chair.
“Both?” Sven stood over his friend, trying to assess his overall health without being too obvious about it.
“I’ll be fine in a minute. She’s going to take a bit longer. You were right about something feeding off her magical energy. It took her down to almost nothing. In fact, like I told you when I first saw her, I’m amazed she survived at all. Never mind the physical injuries. The damage to her spirit was substantial. But she’s strong. She’s slowly beginning to bounce back.” Gus took a deep breath and shut his eyes for a moment.
Sven took that opportunity to reach into the small refrigerator he kept in his office. He brought a sandwich he’d been saving for a snack over to Gus and handed it to him. The shaman took it gratefully and wolfed it down. When you used up a lot of energy, sometimes food helped.
“I don’t think she’s linked to the creature any longer,” Gus said, pausing in between bites. “As far as I can tell, she got away clean, though her energy is so low, it’s hard to really tell. I guess the creature thought it had drained her and had no further use for her. It would cost it a bit of its own energy to maintain an open pathway. I think it opted to just let her go, thinking she was already dead. Or would be soon. Only, your Sirena is more of a fighter than it thought.”
“So there’s no residual connection?” That was vital. Sven could watch over her physical injuries as they healed, but if the leviathan’s friend still had its hooks in her somehow…that he couldn’t handle on his own.
“From what I can see, no. Her energy reserves are still very low and hard to discern, but she’s beginning to bounce back, magically speaking, and I can’t see any obvious drains on that. It’s just going to take time.” Gus stood, rolled up the sandwich wrapper and chucked it in the trash. He then stepped over to the water cooler and drank several cups of the spring water Sven kept on hand. Gus was looking better, Sven was pleased to see. “I’ll help in any way I can, but I think the best thing for her right now is just what you’re doing—letting her rest and rebuild her strength gradually.”
Sven held out his hand to his friend. “Thanks, Gus. I’m grateful for you coming over here to check on her.”
They shook hands, and Gus nodded and smiled faintly. “Glad to be of help. Will you still be able to do clinic hours on the reservation tomorrow?”
Gus was the main go-between with the Indian reservation that bordered Grizzly Cove to the south. He cared greatly for the people there, many of whom didn’t have access to regular medical care or the usual amenities of modern everyday life.
“I’ll be there. Wouldn’t miss it,” Sven replied. “As long as there aren’t any emergencies.”
“Of course.” Gus backed away and headed for the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
As Gus left, Sven heard a bit of commotion from Sirena’s room. He went back to check on her and found her trying to sit up on the edge of the bed. She’d thrown her legs over the side and was struggling, pulling at the sheets, trying to lever herself upright. At a glance, it looked like she was winning the battle, but Sven rushed to her side anyway, not wanting her to reopen any of her wounds in the fight.
“Hey, sweetheart, what do you think you’re doing?” Sven asked her in what was meant to be a cajoling tone but came out a bit accusatory despite his best efforts. He wasn’t the best with patients. Something about being a bear made him impatient when dealing with non-shifters or shifters who were slow to heal.