Lucy was silent for a while, her eyes gazing dazedly into space. Her water bottle started to tip, but she’d drank enough that it didn’t bother me. When she finally did speak up she sounded confused, and her brows came together to marry with the downturn of her lips.
“I don’t really remember… I was home and I started to feel really sick so I laid down. After that it’s just a blur, or completely black.” My expression mirrored Lucy’s, and a grunt bubbled up in my throat. That was another thing that happened during the first shift, memory loss.
The blacking out was worrying, though.
“Okay. So, whe—” Staring at Lucy, my eyes narrowed on the cloudy glaze that coated her chocolate brown orbs before they rolled back. Her water bottle fell to the floor to spill onto the carpet, but my mind disregarded it. Leaning over as she fell against the back of the couch, a heavy sigh flowed out of my nostrils.
It was a safe bet she wouldn’t make it home.
“A nap it is, then.” My grumble was loud in the silence, and I carefully laid Lucy down on the couch cushions. The coffee brewing in the kitchen slipped from my mind as I got myself comfortable on my side, but I was still close enough to feel good. If she woke up or shuffled, or anything at all, I could feel it clearly. Closing my eyes, I let my beast rise up a little higher. Half his attention was on his mate, and half of it was on our surroundings.
That meant all of my attention could be plunged into the vortex that called to me so sweetly.
The sound of a car stopping in the driveway woke me up, and I lifted my head to glance around blearily. Sitting up straight, I pushed the butts of my palms into my eyes and shook my head hard. A clock on the coffee table in front of me read 11:53 a.m., and I blinked hard at it.
Turning to Lucy, my heart jumped into my throat before I saw her chest rise and fall slowly, steadily. Her hair had dried into a frizzy mess, and I carefully reached to push some of it from her face.
She’s a good girl. And to think we only met a few weeks ago. Sighing softly, I stood up with a groan as my mind turned. Bear shifters did things pretty slowly by other supernatural standards, although it wasn’t as slow as humans. Wolf shifters, for instance, marked and mated right then and there, no matter where they were or who was around. Certain cat shifters didn’t even have permanent mates and prowled the countryside looking for potential mates to produce strong offspring.
Shuffling toward the coffee pot, my nostrils inhaled the scent of the hot brew as I took a mug from an overhead shelf. It never ceased to amaze me how lucky I’d gotten to live in a place like this, even if it wasn’t for long.
“You look like shit.” Halting my black, unsweetened drink halfway to my lips, my spine straightened at the voice that spoke out casually behind me. For a moment, I couldn’t think, couldn’t move, as indecision tore at my mind. Instinct warred with logic; this wasn’t my land, but I was allowed here for a time.
Finally, I turned, and my eyes drank in the large male that leaned against the kitchen island. Taking a large, burning gulp of my coffee, the bitterness made me bristle, and I let out a hiss before speaking up.
“Yeah, well, I had a long night. Where were you? You should’ve known this was happening way before she ended up here at 2 a.m.” Accusation bled into my voice, and Ryan arched an eyebrow. Averting my gaze, a grimace tugged down my lips.
“I did know, but Lucy needs to learn that there are consequences to everything she does as well as what she doesn’t do. Just being afraid your beast will take over doesn’t mean you can neglect it the way she has, Jon. You know that. Now Lucy has to deal with the backlash.” A low, harsh rumble of displeasure burst from my chest at Ryan’s words, and my blood started to boil.
Consequences my ass.
Chapter Thirteen: Lucy
“Jon, how did you learn to do this stuff?” Staring at my hand as Jon gently massaged it, I squeezed my lips together to keep from sighing in pleasure. He sat on the floor, and I laid on the couch in sluggish satisfaction. Over the past hour he’d rubbed my feet and up to my knees, and I’d never felt so nice.
“I’m a licensed masseur and a massage therapist down in California. I own three studios, so I haven’t done it in a while, but I’m glad you like it.”
Blinking heavily, my eyes flickered to Jon’s face as shock jolted my chest. It never occurred to me before to ask what he did for a living.
“So, you must like it a lot if you made a career out of it, right?” Kneading the dip between two of my knuckles, Jon nodded absently as his own sigh slipped from his throat.
“Yeah, it’s nice. To be honest, I almost quit early on in my relationship with Claira. She didn’t like that my job included touching other women. It was her own problem, though, and I’m glad I didn’t give it up for her.” A smile lifted Jon’s lips, and I licked my own as a tinge of jealousy stained my heart. Against the base of my skull my inner beast prickled, her fur standing up at the mention of that woman. It still baffled me how someone could treat another person so badly, especially when they were mates.
Ryan would bend over backwards for Sylvia, but she was a good enough person to never ask him to. They teased each other a lot, but I don’t think they’d had a big fight yet. Theirs was a relationship I wanted, and I licked my lips before parting them.
“Are you glad you two broke up?” Heat flushed into my cheeks when Jon swung his gaze up to me, his smile replaced with a thoughtful expression.
“At the time I wasn’t, but I have great friends. Paul, my best friend, helped me through a lot of it. It was his idea to come here. They decided to go camping in the woods out back, but your shift affected me so I didn’t go.” Furrowing my brows, guilt spread like a fog in my mind even as I sank deeper into the couch. I was lucky, I realized; if Jon hadn’t been there, I probably would’ve died. My fingers twitched as he massaged my palm, but I didn’t let myself dwell on it.
“And Paul, he’s a human, right? Does he know that she was your mate?”
“Yeah, he does. He was there through my first shift. We were on a camping trip for school when it happened. Even before that he knew what my family is, but ever since then our friendship has been a lot closer. He’s more like a brother to me than a friend.” Caressing up to the tips of my fingers, Jon spoke with a fondness that only gave me more to envy. “So, what about you? You don’t have any friends here, or from before you moved up here?”
Pulling my knees up a little higher, I shook my head against the small throw pillow that supported me.
“No, not really. People say ‘hi’ to me in the bar or whatever, but that’s about it. I had this friend before, a girl at the school I went to. But it’s been more than a decade since we talked… Her name was Hailey. When we were 12, I remember, Ryan took us for ice cream and I learned that she lived with her grandparents because her parents had died in a car crash. I told her about my parents, and we got really close at school. Three months later Ryan moved up here. It all happened so fast I couldn’t even say goodbye.”
It had been so long since I thought about Hailey, but her bright, Irish coloring still flashed in my mind’s eye. Her face had so many freckles that she got teased for it, but I always thought she was beautiful. She had flaming red hair that her grandma made her wear in a braid, but it was too thick for any other style. She’d been slight and quiet, but her green eyes were so expressive; all throughout elementary and middle school I felt so special because I was the only person that could read them.
“That’s nice that you had a real friend, Lucy. For shifters, too much focus is on mates. It’s easy to forget that a life exists outside of that.”
For a long time we were silent while Jon worked up to my elbow, and the peace was nice. It was so peaceful, just us together. My bear lounged in the background of my mind, and for the first time in years I didn’t feel heavy and uncomfortable when she rustled.
“My bear… did—did she look… okay?” Fear tinged my voice, and I bit down on my cheek as Jon met my gaze. I could see the s
hadow in his eyes, and a sad frown painted my face before he even offered a reply.
“No, Lucy. She wasn’t okay. She was very skinny and sickly, and you coming here didn’t help her. But you can fix that now, okay? I’ll be with you for as long as you need me, but it has to be you that does the work, right? I can only do so much.” Releasing my hand, Jon cupped my cheek in his warm palm with a sigh. Closing my eyes, I relished his touch in that moment and ignored the thoughts that swarmed around my brain.
He was always touching my face, as if it was an irresistible compulsion.
“You’re so nice. I wish you were my mate.” Mumbling softly, the words flew from my mouth before I could really process them. But it’s the truth, and there’s nothing wrong with the truth.
“Rest now, Lucy. You’re going to need it, okay?” I felt Jon’s closeness like a gentle prickling on my nose and cheeks, and my bear released a pleased grumble. She liked having him so near, so tender and attentive. Cracking open my eyes, I held my breath as his face became distorted.
Jon’s lips were feather soft on mine, and my eyelids popped from the warmth that radiated from him. It was a gentle kiss, nothing more than a tentative meeting. Tensing slightly, a shuddering breath escaped my nose before every muscle in my body relaxed. My eyelids drifted shut and my mind went blank to everything but his touch.
Just as quickly as it began it was over, and Jon stroked my face tenderly.
“Rest. I’ll watch over you.”
Chapter Fourteen: Lucy
I was mesmerized by Jon’s lips, the movement of them blocking out the words that spilled forth. Tingles spread along my tongue and the roof of my mouth, even invading the bridge of my nose. My mind refused to notice anything else.
Jon hadn’t brought up our kiss, and I bit the inside of my cheek as worry turned my saliva sour. There was so much I wanted to ask him, but none of it ever breached the lump that would form in my throat.
“-ucy… Lucy, are you listening to me?” Blinking hard, I shook my head as Jon’s question broke through the wall of my thoughts. He wore a slight smirk, his eyes bright with amusement before reaching to tug on a lock of my hair. “I said you should shift again soon. You need to be ready after what happened last time.”
Even though I heard him this time, Jon’s words fell into the background as my own question burst from my mouth.
“Why did you kiss me the other day?” My body went rigid, eyes widening as heat threatened to burn the skin from my cheeks. Watching Jon’s smirk fall instantly, I clenched my hands into fists in my lap. My heart started to beat harder, and I took a huge lungful of air only to hold it.
The silence seemed to stretch on for longer than a few short seconds, and my stomach flipped from anticipation when Jon finally opened his mouth.
“You still don’t feel it, do you, Lucy?” Scooting closer to me, Jon heaved a sigh as he cupped my flaming cheeks, a sad glint in his eyes. “We’re potential mates, and the bond is strong. I wanted to wait until your bear was stronger and you started to feel it for yourself.”
“M—mat—mates?” It sounded so foreign rolling off my tongue, and Jon nodded slowly. My lower lip trembled, my mouth opening and closing a few times before I managed to sound out words. “…Wh— I… You—why didn’t you… tell me?”
“If I told you before, you would’ve pushed me away, Lucy. You would’ve thought I was trying to force you into something you didn’t want, to be someone you didn’t want to be. You were and still are unwell, and I didn’t want to add to that stress.” In the back of my mind my bear huffed, her fur standing on end as waves of pleased satisfaction radiated from her. She must’ve sensed it… that’s why I shifted the other night…
Reaching up to rub my chest, my fists shook and my eyes watered.
“B—But how… why don’t I—there’s… there’s nothing… there.”
“Lucy, you’re sick. You’re not going to feel the bond until you’re better.” I could hear the strain in Jon’s voice, but his hands were gentle on my skin. Shaking my head, I couldn’t breathe past the aching tightness of my throat.
No wonder Jon was so good to me.
The thought rang like deep church bells in my mind, and I choked on it. My lungs finally heaved in a harsh, shuttering breath, my eyelids batting away the tears that welled between them.
“I’m sorry. I know I should’ve told you earlier, Lucy, but you just seemed so afraid of your animal side a—”
Cutting Jon off with my lips, a violent shudder slid down my spine as I flung my arms around his neck. Instantly his fingers slipped up into my hair, and I gasped as he held the strands taut. Pushing past my teeth, his tongue was warm and wet and goosebumps washed across my chest and down my arms. The intensity of it banished all other thoughts, and the only thing I could feel was his tongue wrapping around mine.
A soft, low groan rumbled up from Jon’s throat, and I shivered as his minty breath assaulted my taste buds. Leaning into him, I crawled into his lap as my limbs developed a mind of their own. The couch we were sitting on became impossibly small, and the smooth leather chafed against my bare calf.
Pulling back with a jerk, Jon gasped lightly while I panted for air. My lips were left cold, my mouth vacant, and I hated the loss.
“Lucy, no—” He held me back, preventing me from kissing him again, and a mix of frustration and desperation welled inside me. “I’m not going to take advantage of you.”
God, how could anyone leave him? Anyone would be lucky if he spared her even a minute.
Possession speared my heart, and my inner beast jumped to the surface of my mind. I couldn’t lose Jon; I wouldn’t survive that. My bear grumbled in agreement, licking her teeth as she eyed this male that had done so much for her.
“No! Lucy, don’t!” Jon’s loud, booming demand fell on deaf ears, and his strength wasn’t enough to hold me back. His grip ripped strands of hair from their follicles, but my body didn’t register that pain. My fingernails dug into his shoulders, forcing him forward. Inhuman teeth burst from my gums, splitting the ones I already had and causing a pool of blood to form under my tongue.
The sharp, razor-like teeth sliced the flesh on Jon’s left shoulder, nicking his collar bone and tearing through the thick sinew of his pectoral muscle. His roar, a mixture of pain and pleasure, echoed in my ears; it was a wonderful thing to hear.
Jerking underneath me, Jon sent the world into a spiral before I squeezed my eyes shut. His body was hard, stiff, and my bear marveled at it as admiration slithered into my veins.
My teeth dislodged easily from his flesh, and I drank in the sight of the deep, leaking gashes that now marred one side of him. Panting hard, a large, satisfied grin stretched my malformed face and my tongue lolled from my lips.
“Lucy—” Flickering to Jon’s face, my eyes narrowed and my ears twitched at the ragged quality in his voice. His own orbs glowed, and my beast rose up higher to meet his even as he ground out words. “You shouldn’t have done that. You’re still weak.”
Blinking slowly, I felt my grin gradually disappear at the hard edge of his tone. Sighing heavily, he flexed his fingers in my hair before pulling my head forward to rest his forehead against mine.
“Well, I guess I can’t do anything about it now, huh? But your bear needs to take a few steps back. It’s dangerous. Plus I really like feeling your breasts against my chest.” The joke jolted me from my trance, and my face ached as it realigned to human form. Heat made me lightheaded, but Jon only let out a laugh. Giggling a high-pitched sound, I felt like I was drowning in embarrassment even after he set me on my feet and disentangled his hands from my hair.
Chapter Fifteen: Jon
Staring at the pink, puckered scars in the bathroom mirror, a smirk a mile long stretched my lips and puffed out my cheeks. Lucy had ruined my shirt, but I didn’t really care. In this moment, I didn’t care about anything but the ache that spread from my wounds. Touching the newly formed flesh with careful fingertips, I winced my heart filled
with happiness.
Marking-—it was something almost exclusive to wolf shifters. Females were claimed like property, the scars meant to keep other males at bay. Wolves were quick to get violent, jealous, but bears rarely exercised such practices. Wounds inflicted by another shifter scarred more noticeably, but once a mate was found others just didn’t interfere.
After all, unlike wolf shifters we had a choice, and everyone respected that choice.
“Damn… what am I supposed to do now?” Grumbling to myself, I busied my hands with washing the sink. There were a couple of things I could do, I knew. I could go to Ryan; he deserved to know that Lucy had claimed me in a fit of imaginary jealousy.
The thought made me chuckle lightly and shake my head.
My second option was marking Lucy back. It was a more intimate act than even sex, and it couldn’t be rescinded. She would be stuck with me, and I was pretty confident neither of us would mind that too much.
Laying her down on my bed and ravishing her was my third option. My cock instantly swelled at the idea, eager and ready to consummate the bond I had with her. The fact that she was a virgin didn’t matter much, but it still made my blood boil and my heart pump hard.
But she’s probably not ready. Marking me had been a spur of the moment thing. She’s still sick, idiot.
“Okay, maybe not that bad, but it’s still bad. Jesus, Jon, you’re a frigging mess.” Resting my palms on the edges of the sink, I took a deep, hard breath and let it out in an explosion. Agitation made my muscles twitch, and I stared at the bloodied water swirling down the drain with narrowed eyes. “Damnit… this sucks.”
Squeezing my eyes shut tightly, I took a few more breaths before I finally managed to control my erection. My bear was pretty much up for the last two options, either or both. Lucy’s beast was receptive to us, and he’d waited long enough.
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