by Bianca D'Arc
He took aim and fired through the window, at the shadow behind the junk pile. He knew he’d missed the hyena as the window exploded inward and the piles of junk shifted. Maryann was scrambling over an old dresser while the hyena shifter took aim.
That would never do. Mario jumped in through the ragged window and sprang over an old set of drawers to stand in a clear space, directly in front of the shifter.
Relying on his reflexes, Mario chopped at the man’s forearm, stunning him into dropping the handgun. Mario thought he heard the satisfying crack of bone, but he couldn’t be sure because in the next moment, a three hundred pound grizzly bear tackled the hyena shifter from behind, pushing him to the floor and snapping his neck in one quick move.
Mario leaned back and looked at his mate, a smile stretching across his face.
“Oh, my love. You were indeed, made just for me.”
Ty, Van and the rest of the shifter contingent of the Grayslake police department arrived moments after Patty took action. She couldn’t say she was sorry to have killed the hyena. Her bear had been thirsting to spill some blood since her sister bear had been found. This kill satisfied the bear’s bloodlust somewhat, though it still wanted to see Greg bleed under its claws.
Still, a fast death was preferable when death was required. Patty wasn’t sadistic. She hadn’t killed often, but in the line of duty—and in her fur—it was sometimes required. As a dominant female, she would do anything she had to, to protect the weaker members of the clan. It’s what made her chosen profession such a logical choice.
She was a little afraid what Mario was going to think. He seemed to have accepted what she’d done. He’d even smiled and said something very complimentary. But did he still feel that way, now that tempers had cooled?
Patty had followed Ty’s orders, using the bathroom to clean up a bit while Ty looked after Maryann. They were going to find the stashed drugs and Van had some kind of plan to make it look like the Grayslake cops had busted a smuggling operation. The hyena had been a clean kill, so with a little cooperation from the county Medical Examiner, it could be made to look like he’d been taken out by a human. She’d leave the political maneuvering and details to the clan’s leadership. She was just happy to have Maryann back in one piece.
She rinsed the blood off herself and redressed in the clothing she’d shed on her way up the stairs. It was time to go back out there and face the music. She felt justified in killing the hyena, but it was up to Ty, as Itan, to pass judgment on whether or not it was a righteous kill.
She needn’t have worried. When she went back outside, Van intercepted her and gave her that certain nod that meant all was well. Ty was comforting Maryann as Mario and two other guys searched through the hoard of junk in the big room.
When Maryann saw her, she let go of the Itan and held her hand out to her sister.
“Thank you for coming after me, Patty.” Maryann’s voice was a lot stronger than Patty had expected.
In fact, her sister looked a lot more together than Patty would have credited, given what she’d just been through. Patty took her hand, expecting Maryann to launch herself into Patty’s arms, but must to Patty’s surprise, she didn’t. She just squeezed Patty’s hand, as if in reassurance. Had her little sister finally rediscovered her inner strength? Hot damn.
“I was worried you wouldn’t notice I was gone. He overwhelmed me, but then I realized, about halfway here, what he was. A hyena.” Maryann’s lip curled in distaste. Would wonders never cease? “I shouldn’t have been so scared of him. Bear says hyenas aren’t worth being scared of.”
“Your bear?” Patty asked quietly, aware of Ty’s intense scrutiny while everyone else in the room kept working. “Is she talking to you again?”
A big part of Maryann’s problem was that for decades, her bear had been in hiding. Reacting only on an instinctual level with fear and panic rather than communicating on a conscious level with her human side. If the bear was talking to Maryann again, she had made a significant breakthrough.
“She started coming around during our run through the desert. She didn’t like the cactus in her paws.” Maryann’s voice was filled with wonder and Patty felt tears gathering in her eyes. “She’s been very shy, but she’s getting more aware with every passing day, I think.”
“Oh, bug.” Patty crumpled, letting the tears fall. “I’m so happy for you.”
Maryann looked both pleased and a bit stunned. “Thanks. I’m happy too. Bear needs me, just like I need her.”
That was it as far as Patty was concerned. She gathered her sister into a hug, sobbing with happiness. Something good—no, it was something intensely, potently, happily magical—had come out of this mess. Thank the Goddess!
When a shout went up from a far corner of the room, Patty let the action roll around them, still hugging her sister. She was glad to know the drugs had been found, but discovering her sister was finally on the road to healing was something even more important. Something she’d been waiting and hoping for, for a long, long time.
“Are you two okay?” Mario’s voice whispered along her senses, and Patty finally found the strength to let go of her sister. She smiled at her mate, knowing she looked pretty strange with tears running down her cheeks and a grin on her lips.
“We’re better than okay,” she told him.
Maryann moved out of Patty’s arms, for the first time in a long time, being the one to end a hug. Maryann was exercising some of her newfound independence and Patty couldn’t be prouder.
“Thanks for coming to get me,” Maryann said in a clear voice to Mario, so different than the whisper she’d used for so many years. “I owe you.”
“You are family now,” Mario said kindly. “You are my sister too.”
Maryann’s eyes narrowed for a moment, a smile playing around her lips. “You know? I really like the sound of that, big brother.”
Van broke the moment by touching Maryann’s elbow. They needed to ask her about the drugs, to be sure they had them all. Patty could see everything was wrapped in space-age, air-tight containers, which was why none of the talented shifter noses up in that room could locate them on scent alone.
When Maryann went off with Van, Patty turned to Mario, stepping close so they could talk quietly. “Are you really okay with what I did?”
“Woman, are you kidding? You are the sexiest, most badass she-bear I have ever met. I like your dominance, and I love that you protect your own with extreme prejudice.” He let the back of his fingertips whisper over her cheek. “I am no boy scout, my love. I always knew I needed a strong mate and the Goddess has granted my wish. I can do no other than love you and everything that makes you who you are. I only pray that you can be as generous in overlooking my much more…ah…colorful exploits.”
His grin was pure deviltry and she reached up to kiss him, noting vaguely that the treasure hunt was on in the room behind them again. Apparently they’d only found half the drugs on the first try. Greg must’ve been a little more creative in stashing the booty than they’d thought.
But she didn’t really care about the drugs, or even Greg, for that moment out of time. She only cared for the man who was everything to her. Her mate. The most amazing man in the world, who had been created just for her.
“If you can put up with me…” she whispered against his lips, “…then you’re magic. And that’s all we need. Forever.”
# # #
Thank you for reading The Right Spot by Bianca D’Arc.
Want more bears? Check out the Grizzly Cove series. Visit Bianca’s Author Page on Amazon for details!
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