by Anya Nowlan
There were so many things she wanted to ask him, even as her gut was telling her to run as far away as he could from the man. Curiosity got the best of her, though.
“Do you know where Rachel is? Please, if you know what happened to her, you have to tell me.”
She could almost keep her voice level. Almost.
Her heart was beating so fast she thought she might pass out. This was it, this man could have all the answers she had been so desperately looking for. She could finally find out why her sister left Lana and went off the map.
The man laughed, the sound harsh and grating.
“Yeah, I know where Rachel is. She’s in the hole I dug for her. And you’re about to join her unless you tell me where the kid is.”
Jessy staggered back, her hand flying to cover her mouth. Her world was shattering around her and she couldn’t even try to hold onto the pieces.
“No,” she whispered, her voice cracking.
Even though she thought she’d made peace with the possibility of Rachel being dead, being faced with such a blunt confession from her murderer hit her hard enough to make the ground sway under her feet.
“Hey, are you listening? I said, where’s the kid?” the man snarled, taking a step closer.
Panicking, she turned away from him, ready to run for her life. She only managed to get in a few steps before thudding against the body of another unknown man, moving quickly into her path. He was a squat, mean-looking guy, dressed in all leather and sporting a ponytail.
“That’s my friend, Saddle. You don’t want to get on his bad side, isn’t that right?”
“That’s right, Zane,” Saddle replied, giving her a nasty smile.
Caught between the two men, Jessy did her best to keep her fraying wits about her. They were standing in the middle of a mostly empty parking lot, so there wasn’t a lot of foot traffic around, but it was still a public place. They weren’t going to hurt her here, in broad daylight, where potential witnesses could walk by at any moment.
Right?
Zane took a step closer, crowding her personal space. She’d never felt tiny, unless she was next to Colt, but she felt almost insignificant with these two brutes hovering over her.
“I’m only going to ask you one more time. Where’s the kid?” he demanded, lips peeling back in a snarl.
The growl in his chest and the way his eyes turned from green to black for a split second had her reeling. Not only was she faced with her sister’s killer and Lana’s father, it was now evident he was a shifter, as well. Probably the same one Colt had been warned about.
As if things couldn’t get any worse. He can rip me to shreds in an instant.
Straightening her spine, she stared back at him, determined not to let her fear show.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Cut the crap. I saw you and that bear go into the diner with a child. She has to be mine. Start. Talking.”
He grabbed the front of her jacket and pulled her to him. She could smell the stale cigarettes on his breath. Fear bubbled over into anger as tears sprung to her eyes. She wasn’t going to cower to this bastard, no way.
“What do you want with her? You already murdered her mother, you sick fuck, leave us alone!”
He grinned at that, like he was remembering a fond memory.
“Like you said, I’ve already erased one mistake. Now it’s the brat’s turn.”
Jessy’s insides turned cold as she struggled to wrap her head around what Zane was saying. He was there to murder his own daughter. It was incomprehensible. Bile rose in her throat as he stared at him, dazed and appalled, trying not to vomit.
The sound of car doors slamming shut and people laughing and chatting shook her out of her shocked stillness and she pushed herself into motion, feinting to the left just as Zane was starting to grab her tighter, leaving the man clutching at air.
She ran and ran with her vision blurry with tears, not looking back until she made it to the fountain she was supposed to meet Colt and Lana at, breathless and hysterical.
Eighteen
Colt
It was dark out and Lana was safely tucked in bed, but Jessy was still shivering, wrapped in comforters on the couch. Colt was pacing around the room, hands balled into fists, as he tried hard not to lose control and break everything he could get his hands on.
He’d just put the house together, it wouldn’t be wise to take it apart in a fit of rage.
He had managed to keep it together in front of Lana, but now, he could feel his rage taking over. Jessy had been downright frantic when he found her huddled near the fountain with her face wet with tears.
It was an image he never wanted to see again.
His bear had almost burst out of his skin when he saw her so afraid, and the feeling only intensified when she told him what had frightened her so thoroughly.
No one is going to touch a hair on my little girl’s head. If Zane wants to get to Lana, or Jessy, he’s going to have to go through me, first.
“Colt,” Jessy called out weakly, gesturing for him to join her on the couch.
Pushing his fury aside, he sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
“What is it, babe?”
“Did you know Lana’s father might be a shifter?”
“I had a feeling,” he admitted, wishing he had brought it up earlier.
There was always so much to talk bout with Jessy, he had never found the right moment. Yet he knew he should have taken the time to explain his doubts to her. It was another mistake he wasn’t going to repeat.
“I had my suspicions from day one, but I didn’t have any concrete proof. But then you came around, and I could see it was more than likely that Lana was one of us.”
Jessy looked slightly confused, working something over in her mind.
“I can see you have questions,” he urged, in case she felt her queries were dumb or intrusive.
“I heard somewhere that shifter firstborns are always male,” Jessy started, her brow furrowed.
“That’s true for Alphas like me, Zane must not be one.”
“I still don’t understand why he’d want to harm his own child…”
“I think I know why he’s doing this,” he said, gritting his teeth.
The thought had been milling around in his head since Jessy had explained what had happened. It didn’t feel any more palatable now that he had to say it out loud.
“The fact that he was able to have a child with Rachel means they were mates, making them forever bonded. If Zane found out about the baby and decided he didn’t want Rachel as his mate, he could have killed her to get another shot. Some of us are not so different from wild animals, sometimes…”
It was an entirely despicable thing to do, but it seemed Zane wasn’t above something so repulsive. Now Lana was the only loose end left for him.
Jessy covered her mouth with her hand for a moment, shaking her head in horror.
“That’s horrible. I thought finding your mate was a big thing among shifters and that you were lucky to meet yours?”
“Every group has their share of bad people. It’s no different with shifters. I can’t imagine what his reasons are, but… These things happen. Rarely, but they do. Shifters not happy with what fate gave them, shifters who think they’re not worthy of it and take it out on the mate… I’m just sorry your sister happened to run into him in the first place.”
“And I led him right here,” Jessy sighed, shaking off her blankets.
Colt exhaled deeply. She wasn’t wrong. That was probably what had brought the men here. He couldn’t bear the thought of her thinking she was to blame, though.
“Zane must have figured keeping an eye on Rachel’s only living family would lead him to her daughter. It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have done anything differently.”
“I know, but I still feel guilty,” she whispered, eyes downcast.
“Come on, it’s okay,” Colt tried to soothe
her, pulling her in for a hug.
She sighed against him, her heartbeat evening out as he held her. Having her so close calmed him as well. She always seemed to have that effect on him, though.
But he couldn’t enjoy the tender moment for long, as a rustle from outside immediately put his bear on edge.
What now?
Leaping to his feet, he moved to the window, peering outside as his hand instinctively reached to where his holster would be. But he was no longer the sheriff and he hadn’t brought any guns to this house, thinking it would be safer that way for Lana’s sake.
I sure as hell regret that decision now, he thought with a growl.
Nevertheless, he still had one weapon: himself. And his bear was more than ready to come out and play.
“Colt?” Jessy whispered, tiptoeing to his side. “Is someone out there?”
The smell hit his nose even before he saw a flash of fur beyond the nearby treeline. There were shifters out there, no doubt about it.
“Zane somehow sniffed out who I am. It’s no secret that the Hennessy’s cabin is back in use, he must have gone through all the nearby cottages until he found us.”
“If he’s here, then Saddle must not be far behind,” she warned, her eyes darting around the darkness outside.
It was obvious Jessy was afraid, even though she was doing her best to put on a brave face. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he caught her gaze and put on his most reassuring voice. He had it down to a science by now, with all his experience in consoling victims. It wasn’t quite the same when the person afraid was his mate, however.
“I will keep you and Lana safe. That’s a promise, okay?”
She gave him a tense smile and nodded, visibly bracing herself for what was coming next. She looked like a true mama bear, ready to do anything it takes to keep her cub out of harm’s way.
Snarls and roars echoed through the night air, filling the space between cricket chirps. Jessy stiffened, but her determined expression didn’t falter.
“Go and make sure Lana is okay. I’ll handle this.”
Before he could blink, she had her arm around his neck and was hugging him tightly.
“Be careful,” she whispered, before half-running to the nursery and closing the door behind her.
“I will be,” he said, mostly to the closed door, but partially to himself as well.
He had a mate and a child to come back to. He had to come out of this alive and he couldn’t forget that, couldn’t take too many risks. This had to be fast and efficient, for all their sakes.
Rolling his shoulders, Colt walked over to the door. Heavy steps padded towards him on the other side, and he could detect two distinct smells.
Two against one. Not a problem.
Claws raked across the outside of the door as he let the change take over him. Muscles tensed and loosened, realigning around the bones cracking and shifting beneath his skin as his animal side took over. Feeling his face contort into a muzzle, he let himself fall on all fours, teeth bared and fur bristling.
A huge grizzly stood in the middle of the room now, with barely enough room to even turn around. Not wanting to get surrounded, he took a preemptive strike and lunged at the door himself with a roar, knocking it off its hinges and onto the two beasts on the other side.
From Jessy’s description of the men who harassed her, he could conclude that the bigger grizzly was Zane and the stockier one Saddle, not that it really mattered which was which. They were both in for an overdue ass-kicking.
I’m going to make you regret threatening my family.
The two bears were momentarily stunned by him breaking down his own door. Colt didn’t let the element of surprise go to waste, pushing off his hind legs and crashing into Zane. His claws raked across Zane’s body as he pushed him down, looking for an exposed piece of flesh to sink his teeth into.
Zane howled in pain, trying to use his massive paws to shove Colt off but having little luck. Seeing red, Colt made the mistake of letting his anger take over as he dug his claws even further into Zane and forgot all about his buddy for a moment too long.
Sharp teeth clamping down on his hind leg made Colt shoot up with a yelp, abandoning Zane bleeding on the ground. With a savage roar, he turned around to swipe a heavy paw at Saddle, still gnawing on his flesh.
Saddle went flying back under the force of the blow, but the distraction allowed Zane to get back up and charge at Colt.
Slamming into him with considerable force, Zane tried knocking Colt to the ground. Yet he managed to stay on his feet, digging his paws into the soft dirt and bracing himself against Zane’s assault. He could feel his fur grow wet with blood as Zane raked his claws across his shoulders, trying to get him to go down, but he didn’t let that slow him down.
You messed with the wrong bear.
With his teeth bared in a snarl and the moon and the quiet forest as their only witnesses, Colt pushed the pain aside. He fell on top of Zane, letting his body mass overwhelm the smaller animal until his opponent staggered back and hit the ground.
In a flurry of motion, Colt ripped at Zane, pummeling him like a ragdoll, until he was little more than a bloody heap in the dirt, Zane’s roars turning into whimpers and then quieting entirely.
Looking around him, Colt saw Saddle was still unconscious from the blow he received earlier and was already morphing back to his human form, limp and bloody. The shift released Zane as well, who was now heaving heavily in a tangle of crimson limbs.
With one last victorious roar, Colt let his skin ripple and reform, doing his best to ignore the gashes and bites stretching along with the process.
The bear pulled back, letting Colt straighten his spine and get back on two feet. His teeth were too big for his mouth for a split second, before his muzzle disappeared, sinking back into his skin. The slices on his torso burned a little as he limped back towards the cabin.
Zane and Saddle no longer posed a threat, so he didn’t rush to call the authorities. Breathing heavily and cracking his sore joints, Colt quickly checked on both of the men to make sure they were still breathing.
Should have killed them, he thought with a bit of remorse.
But he knew he couldn’t do that, not when he had a way to avoid it. Jessy had a right to see Rachel’s murderer put behind bars, to find out where her sister’s body was buried. Death was too easy of a solution for scum like him.
“Jessy!” he called out, his voice still a bit growlier than normal. “It’s over.”
She ran out of the house like it was on fire a second later, sparing a glance at the maimed bodies behind him before leaping into his arms. Her body felt soft and sweet and reassuring against his, even if he had to wince from her brushing against some of his wounds.
“Are you okay? You’re hurt,” she whispered, taking care to be gentle with her hug when the initial moment passed.
“I’ll be fine. How’s Lana?”
Jessy pulled away, shaking her head incredulously.
“She stirred a little when the door came crashing down, but then she just went back to sleep! You weren’t kidding when you said she’s a heavy sleeper.”
“That’s our girl,” he grinned, holding Jessy’s face in his hands.
Suddenly, Jessy became teary-eyed as she looked like she was gearing up to say something she was afraid to. Colt gave her time to settle her thoughts, softly brushing his thumb over her cheek as he waited. It was uncanny how he felt like he could read her. The fact that he was the same kind of open book to her didn’t escape him either.
“I want to stay here, with you and Lana. And not just for now. Forever,” she whispered
She looked at him, hesitant and vulnerable, searching his face for a reaction. Colt’s wounds were forgotten as he lifted her up in his arms and claimed her mouth in a hungry kiss, swallowing the gasp on her lips.
It was all he ever wanted to hear.
Rachel might be gone, but her little girl was going to get a real family. If there was one th
ing Colt was sure of, it was that there was no one he would rather raise Lana and spend his life with than Jessy.
“Forever,” he affirmed, feeling like the luckiest man on the planet.
Epilogue
The sun was streaming in through the windows, the leaves outside starting to change color, as Jessy waddled from the kitchen to Lana’s room. Massaging her back with one hand, she peeked inside to see the little girl playing on the floor with a row of toys in front of her.
She spotted Jessy immediately, huffing as if she’d caught her mom spying on her.
“I’m playing nice, mommy,” she said, all innocence as she batted her eyes at Jessy.
“Okay, carry on.”
Smiling to herself and shaking her head, Jessy left the door ajar and went back to the kitchen. Lana’s insistence she could be left to play on her own would be a little more plausible if Jessy hadn’t found her drawing on the walls the last time she turned her back on her daughter for more than a minute.
And then there was the whole oatmeal and jelly incident… And the unsanctioned shifts when her daddy wasn’t around…
Lana’s definitely Rachel’s daughter, alright, she chuckled to herself, leaning over the stove to check on dinner.
The thought didn’t make her as sad as it used to. She still missed her sister and thought about her every day, but she chose to focus on the good memories. With Zane and Saddle rotting behind bars, a chapter of her life had ended. The uncertainty and dread she’d felt searching for her sister was behind her.
She had done all she could for Rachel, she knew that now. At first, her head had been filled with what-ifs and all sorts of fantasy scenarios, but after a while she was ready to accept there was nothing she could have done differently.
At least her sister could have peace now, resting next to mom and dad back in Portland, with her daughter safe and loved in sweet Sweetwater. The thought gave Jessy peace, as well.
You make do with what you get, she thought, a twinge of sadness going through her heart as usual at the thought of her lost sister.