Prowling the Vet

by Tamsin Baker

  She stalked up to her front door, took a deep breath, and wrenched it open.

  On her doorstep stood her two powerful men, her night and day, the moon and the stars of her world…and at least one was a bloody cheating bastard.

  “I have nothing to say to either of you. We’re done, and I don’t want to see you again.”

  Brandon’s eyes grew impossibly wide and Tyler actually put a hand over his heart as though she’d shot him with a bullet to the heart.

  Laura tapped her foot, then threw her hands up in the air. They looked pathetic standing out there.

  “Fine, come in!”

  She turned and stomped into her living area, standing in the middle of what had previously always felt like a cozy room, and crossed her arms over her chest.

  The men walked in and Tyler came at her first, his gentle eyes pleading with her.

  “Sweetheart, I don’t know what’s going on. We were at the bar having a great time, and you just disappeared. We’ve been calling you all night.”

  She knew that. They’d left dozens of messages which she’d snuck peeks at through her long night alone. She’d ended up switching it off and sobbing through the remaining hours of darkness.

  “I know, and I’m sorry I ran out on you, but I couldn’t cope.”

  Brandon leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms while Tyler walked closer.

  “Was it because we left you alone, beautiful girl? Brandon and I knew we shouldn’t have taken you to a place like that. You’re better than that.”

  Laura laughed—what else could she do? But even to her own ears the sound was bitter and almost cruel.

  “Yeah, I am, it’s never a good move to take your girlfriend out, then abandon her—but that’s not the point. Get out, both of you.”

  Laura pointed at her front door and glared at her men, the men she loved with all her heart, the men she thought would always protect her, care for her, and love her. Where had they been last night when she was being attacked by all those bitchy women?

  “Laura, I don’t know what’s happened…” Tyler, her beautiful, sweet man stepped forward again so that he was within arms reach, and Laura backed up three feet.

  “Ask your brother.” She threw a dirty look at Brandon and watched as shock registered on the handsome face.

  “Me? What’d I do?”

  Laura groaned and crossed her arms over her chest. “I know you were with Simone Friday night. She told me. I heard nothing but stories about you guys all night. The women you’ve slept with, the legions of broken hearts you’ve left behind.”

  Brandon growled a little, the sound causing the hairs on Laura’s arms to stick up.

  “What? Simone? I was not with her.”

  “Then where were you?” she shot back. “You didn’t get home until three a.m.” She remembered because she’d woken when he’d slid back into bed and looked at the clock.

  “I was running. I shifted after dinner and needed to get out.”

  Really? That’s the best excuse you can come up with?

  “Bullshit. You’ve fought this three-way mating thing from the start. I know you don’t really want me, or the commitment I require.”

  Brandon began to shake his head, hissing angrily as he paced her wooden floors.

  She waited for him to correct her arrogant presumption, but he didn’t.

  I knew it.

  “And you.” She rounded on Tyler. “Every woman in that bar knew what you were like in bed. Did you leave a single ass unturned, or were you trying to break some sort of record?”

  Tyler’s mouth fell open and gaped like a fish. Didn’t they have any idea what it felt like to know that her men had groped probably a hundred women, the same way they’d touched her. It made her feel dirty, common, and completely unloved.

  “Like I said. Get out!”

  “Laura, it’s not like that.”

  Heat and pain exploded inside Laura’s head as angry tears gathered and slid down her face.

  “Get out! Get out! Get out!” She screamed, marching over to the door and throwing it open. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she was struggling to breathe.

  The men finally moved, Tyler looking hurt and lost, while Brandon was making wild cat noises and prancing like he was in heat.

  As soon as they’d both stepped over her threshold once again, Laura slammed the door and slid home the bolt, collapsing on the floor in massive, heartbreaking sobs.

  Didn’t they understand? What had she done wrong to deserve such treatment?

  She pulled herself into a ball and let the misery consume her. Hot, salty tears rolled down her face, choking her, and making her gasp and wheeze for breath.

  She could never love them enough to get over this. Never make love to them the same way.

  How could she kiss their lips, feel their hands against her, take them inside her body and her heart, knowing that none of it was special to them.

  Laura stayed on the floor until her ass was numb and she was utterly exhausted, then she rolled onto her side and fell asleep.

  It was Sunday, her one day off in the week. There was no need to get up.

  ****

  “Brandon, I swear to God, if you’ve stuffed this up for us…”

  “That fucking bitch lied!” Brandon roared at his brother as he ran to the car and threw open the door. That stupid, lying mole Simone!

  He could feel his lion rising like a flood. Heat prickled over his skin and his eyes shifted so that his sight was cleared and more distinct than a human’s should be. He pressed down with his diaphragm and exhaled. He didn’t know if he could hold him back, but he was going to try.

  “Shit!” He roared, knowing they weren’t in a safe place. He didn’t even know the quickest way to the mountains from here.

  “Brandon. Look at me, brother.”

  Brandon forced his eyes to Tyler’s, who was staring at him hard. It gave him something to focus on while he pushed his animal down, just by the proverbial skin of his teeth.

  “We can fix this. I know we can. You weren’t really with Simone Friday night, were you?”

  Brandon growled and shook his head, panting and pacing alongside the car.

  “No, of course not! I tossed her aside months ago. Fucking her was like being with a cadaver.”

  Brandon shuddered as his mind conjured up the memories of his times with Simone. Like most of his lovers, they expected him to do everything. As a general rule, he didn’t mind since he loved to have sex, but they gave nothing back, and he had gotten sick of it months before he’d even met Laura. It was hard work keeping his cock hard sometimes when they did nothing but lie there and use him like a dildo with hands.

  “Then why did she say you were?”

  Brandon took a deep, calming breath and let it out slowly, not sure how or why the woman would do such a thing.

  “Because she’s a bitch.”

  Tyler frowned, obviously not happy with that simple answer, but Brandon really didn’t have a better one. She had nothing to gain from breaking them all up.

  Tyler’s eyes went wide and his face turned a sickly pale grey.

  “Hang on. Did Laura just break up with us?”

  Brandon growled. “Yeah. She did.”

  Tyler wheezed next to him. “Wait. I…she can’t do that.”

  Brandon agreed, she couldn’t. They were meant to be. Sure, he’d fought it a bit, who wouldn’t when they lost their carefree lifestyle basically overnight, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want her. Red flushes of pain crashed over him in waves.

  Brandon stopped pacing and stared at the house where he could still hear quiet sniffling noises coming through the door. She was crying, the silly woman.

  “What the fuck do we do? We can’t leave her like that!”

  He pointed toward the house, glaring hard. He didn’t really want to go in and deal with her tears, they’d break his heart. But this was worse—feeling impotent and lost.

  Tyler looked back o
ver his shoulder, then opened the car door.

  “We’ll make it worse, Brandon. We’re in way above our head here.”

  His baby brother slid into the car and Brandon followed suit, a massive pain in his chest blossoming over the anger and consuming him.

  Brandon couldn’t breathe right.

  “Let’s go.”

  Tyler’s voice was firm and authoritative, which was perfect for Brandon, because he could not have fought himself out of a paper bag at the moment.

  “Where are we going?” he asked as he pulled the car onto the road and headed out of Trenthy.

  “Mum and Dad’s. They’ll know what we should do.”

  Brandon groaned but did what he was told. His head was clearing now, their path getting clearer.

  “You sure about that? Mum’s always looked down on us for partying the way we have. She may be on Laura’s side.”

  Tyler sighed and shifted in the chair next to him. “Yeah, but if there’s anyone who can help, they can.”

  They stayed quiet for the rest of the car ride before finally pulling up in front of their parents’ home.

  Brandon sighed and dragged himself out of the car, his chest still aching like he’d been shot through with a heavy bullet.

  ****

  “Laura! Help us! Please!” The urgent shouting broke through Laura’s misery as she stared at the bright computer screen, trying to do some research for a much-needed holiday.

  She ran to the front door, her heart pumping wildly. She wrenched open the door and gasped in shock at the sight in front of her. Brandon and practically his whole family were parked outside her house, an old pickup she hadn’t seen before behind her car.

  “Tyler’s been shot!”

  No! Adrenaline surged into Laura’s blood and she bolted across her lawn, headless of her bare feet and no bra. She grabbed hold of the side of the pickup and stared down into the tray.

  There was Rosalie holding white gauze to the side of a magnificent mountain lion, with cinnamon fur and black-tipped ears that she knew belonged to one of her men.

  “He can’t shift back, or he’ll die. Please.” Rosalie’s voice cracked with pain and tears rolled down her puffy cheeks.

  Autopilot checked in and a stillness crept over Laura, calming her muscles and heart.

  “I need to go get my keys, but follow me to the clinic. I don’t have enough equipment here.”

  She turned and fled, quickly grabbing shoes and her keys before bolting to her car.

  “Renee. With me!” she called out. She was grateful when the redhead jumped into her passenger side without question and they took off.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  “Well, I only got there after Ty had taken off, but from what I was told, the boys came to mum and dad for help with how to get you back, and Ty got so upset he shifted and ran off.”

  Laura nodded, but she refused to allow her heart to register anything other than the bare facts. Now was not the time to get emotional. But blame would be waiting for her she knew, like luggage left at the bottom of the stairs after a holiday.

  “When he didn’t come back, Brandon and Dad shifted and took off to find him, only to return carrying him. He’d been shot by some hunter and was barely breathing. Mum knows enough to patch us up, but she didn’t want to even try this time. We just loaded him up and came straight to you.”

  Laura swung her car into the clinic car park and turned off the engine. “She did the right thing. Let’s go.”

  She stepped out, feeling the panic fleeing in front of the clinic’s imposing façade. This was her domain and if anyone could save him, she could. She unlocked the door and moved into the staff room, tying up her hair and pulling on her clean lab coat with short, sharp moves.

  She opened all the doors and began ushering people through like a traffic director. “In here, on the operating bench. I need two sets of hands, preferably Renee and Rosalie—the rest of you wait somewhere else.”

  She turned to wash her hands and focused on nothing but her knowledge of mountain lion anatomy. They weren’t so different from any other large cat, but this wasn’t just a normal four-legged feline. He was hers.

  She shook her head to clear the thought. No point in remembering too vividly who was lying on her table.

  “Renee, is there any special physiology that I need to know about or can I treat Tyler like a normal mountain lion?”

  She turned back to the room, now empty of all the men except for Tyler.

  Renee shook her head and lay her hands on Tyler’s hind legs while Rosalie stroked his head and murmured to him.

  “No, I don’t think so. Mum?”

  Rosalie shook her head avidly, tears beginning to leak down her red face once again.

  “Okay. Now, I need to remove the bullet and repair the wound. I’ll gas him to keep him unconscious and give him some painkillers and antibiotics when he wakes up.”

  Both women stood straighter and nodded, seemingly gaining strength from the instructions. Laura pulled over the silver tray of newly disinfected instruments and set up the anaesthetic gas.

  She set the dial and reached down to attach it to Tyler’s snout. She had thought he was already unconscious, but he groaned softly as she lifted his head.

  “Tyler, if you can hear me, I want you to know that you have to stay strong and survive this! Okay? Do you understand? I’m still mad at you two and if you die, you won’t be able to make it up to me!”

  A strange purring noise came from his chest and Rosalie burst into tears.

  Laura settled the mask onto her patient and stroked his head with her hands.

  “Sleep well, beautiful boy.”

  Tyler’s body began to relax and Laura pinned the two women opposite her with the hardest stare she could muster.

  “Listen. I can handle this on my own. If you can’t be in here, I totally understand. But I need your undivided attention and concentration if you’re staying.”

  Rosalie started to back toward the door. “I don’t think…I…”

  Laura smiled down at the beautiful mother who could barely look as her baby went under the knife.

  “I understand completely, Rosalie. Now, would you close the door behind you, and Renee and I will be out in about an hour.”

  Rosalie disappeared and Laura turned back to Tyler’s sister. “You okay with this? There’s going to be a lot of blood.”

  Renee stalked over to the sink and began scrubbing at her hands. “I’ve seen more of Tyler and Brandon’s blood over the years than I care to mention.”

  Water ran in the sink and Renee finally turned back, her green eyes hard. “Where do you want me?”

  Laura pointed to the top of the table. “Here. Watch his breathing, make sure the mask stays in place, and hand me items when I ask for them.”

  She carefully shaved around the area so that his fur wouldn’t interfere with the surgery, then put the razor down. You can do this.

  Laura took a deep, steadying breath, picked up the scalpel, and set it to the bloody mess that had once been Tyler’s beautiful shoulder.

  “Here we go…”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Brandon paced the pavement so many times his feet ached, and he was afraid if he looked down he’d be able to see the path he’d worn in Laura’s front drive.

  “What the hell’s taking so long?”

  His mother sniffed and lifted her watch for the hundredth time.

  “It’s only been forty-three minutes and she said she’d be an hour. That bullet could have gotten lodged anywhere. If Tyler dies because of something I said…”

  Brandon tossed up his hand and made a disgusted noise in his mother’s direction.

  “Mum! If there’s anyone to blame, you know it’s bloody me! Or fucking Tyler! Seriously! He’s never learnt to control his lion and just because Laura dumped us doesn’t mean he had to go running off into the woods in the middle of the day. How stupid can he be?”

  His parents’ eyes shi
fted to the space behind him. Brandon whirled around to see Laura standing in the doorway, blood covering her coat and her shoulder keeping the door open.

  “He’s in recovery.”

  “He all right?” Brandon asked, swallowing the lump that had risen up when he saw the woman that was meant to be their mate.

  Laura nodded and stood up straighter, that strength he admired shining through.

  “I’m just going to clean up and I’ll come back out. I just wanted to tell you ASAP that he’s alive and doing well.”

  She turned and walked back into the clinic and Brandon’s heart began to thud with sickening, slow thumps. His knees weakened and he staggered to a park bench next to a street lamp.

  Renee came bolting out of the front door, her eyes wide and a little crazy.

  “Oh my God, she is amazing! I’m in love with her! How did she do that? I have no idea! And that was with knowing that it was Tyler on the table. I would have been a complete mess.”

  Words were flying out of Renee’s mouth so fast Brandon wasn’t quite keeping up. He blinked at her and took a deep breath, hoping to stop the rapid whirl of blood around his body. His head was spinning.

  “Did she get the bullet out?” his dad asked, taking Renee by the hand to calm her down. It was pretty obvious adrenaline was still pumping through his sister, whereas Brandon felt like shit.

  “Yeah, it was touch and go for a while. The bullet was lodged in some plexus where all the nerves and blood vessels go. She got it out without too much blood. She is so amazing!”

  Renee squealed and Brandon dropped his head into his hands. His brother could have died. He gulped at the air as heated emotions swamped him.

  “You fucking idiot.” Tears dripped down his face and he wiped them away angrily. He wasn’t sure who he was talking to—probably himself.

  Laura walked out of the clinic once again and Brandon shot to his feet, his need to touch her scary in its intensity. His fingers itched to reach out and his cock twitched in his pants. He needed to claim that woman before she got any more silly notions in her head. Once they were mated, the connection between them would be too strong to ever break.