by R. E. Butler
“I’m fine.”
“I know, but humor me. We’ll handle things from here. I’ll stop by later today and see you.”
Row straightened and seemed to wobble slightly before he let out a gruff growl and moved past Fayar, toward home. Kammie whined softly and licked Row’s throat, and he hugged her close.
* * * * *
Row didn’t bother gathering their clothes from the chamber. Fayar would handle everything. All he wanted to do was get Kammie home so Tessa, the sleuth doctor, could help her. He knew that wolves healed fast, but the cut on her shoulder was still bleeding even though his hand was pressed tightly to it. He strode naked through the woods until he reached his home. Tessa was waiting on the back porch, a medical bag in hand.
“I called your mom and she’s on her way over. I wasn’t sure how long it would take you to get here.”
“Thanks. I walked as quickly as I could without jarring her.”
Row led Tessa into the house. He tugged a blanket from the back of the couch and stretched it over the cushions, then laid his sweetheart on her undamaged side. Her paws flexed and she whimpered, the sound tearing through him like the knife that had struck her. “I’m so fucking sorry,” he whispered, kneeling beside her.
Tessa inspected Kammie’s wound. The front door opened, and Row looked up to see his mom rush inside. “Oh, honey,” she said, stopping next to the couch. “What happened?”
“Hector showed up with three bears from his sleuth and pulled Kammie from my arms. While I was tangling with his three friends outside, Hector cornered Kammie in the cave. I was lucky I could force myself back into my human form, because my bear couldn’t fit through the opening.”
Her eyes flashed and she growled in the back of her throat. “Tell me they’re dead.”
He nodded sharply.
Tessa spread the fur aside to get at the wound on Kammie’s shoulder, and squeezed a thick liquid into the cut. Kammie snapped her jaws together as she snarled.
Row bared his teeth at Tessa for hurting Kammie.
She rolled her eyes. “It’s just a liquid bandage. It’ll stop the bleeding and hold the edges of the wound together as she heals. It’s a deep cut, but it should heal without scarring after she’s able to shift back into her human form.”
Row stroked Kammie’s head. Her bright amber eyes stayed on his as Tessa closed the wound. When Kammie was taken care of, Row let Tessa examine him. His ankle ached and he was pretty sure he’d broken a couple of ribs, but aside from several claw marks, he hadn’t been badly hurt. Considering that the three males had advanced on him at once, he knew he could’ve easily died on the ground outside the chamber, leaving Kammie at their mercy.
When Row was bandaged up, Tessa said, “When Kammie shifts back, the wound should be healed. If it starts to bleed again or if it doesn’t heal, give me a call. She looks exhausted, so let her sleep and stay in her shift as long as she can.”
“Wolves heal better in their shifts, right?”
She nodded. “Particularly bad injuries sometimes require shifting back and forth over the course of a day or two, but Kammie’s wound isn’t that serious.”
“She bled so much.”
“But she’s going to be fine.” Tessa put her hand on Row’s shoulder, and Kammie growled. Tessa lifted her hand quickly and smiled. “Sorry, Kammie. Be well, and call if you need me.”
Tessa, who was his mother’s age, walked with her to the front door and they spoke quietly for a moment. Row tweaked Kammie’s ear. “Is my little wolf jealous?”
Her lip curled and she huffed.
“There’s nothing to be jealous of. She’s like an aunt to me. Her and my mom have been friends for a long time, and her son and I were good friends in school. The sleuth is like a big family, and we all watch out for each other. One time, Tessa came to school to pick me up when my mom wasn’t able to come get me. I’d been in a fight and gotten sent home. Tessa dragged me from the principal’s office by my ear and gave me a good talking-to before she took me home. Then my mom did the same thing.” He grinned.
Kammie’s lip lowered and she whimpered. He kissed her muzzle and stood. “I’m going to clean up. Mom?”
She turned around after waving at Tessa and shutting the door. “Yes, honey?”
“Would you grill up a few steaks for us? I’m sure Kammie would like to eat something, if she doesn’t fall asleep first.”
“Will do. Are you okay?”
He glanced at the couch where Kammie was watching him intently. “I am now.”
His mom nodded and he headed to the shower to clean the blood and dirt from his skin, careful to avoid the bandages Tessa had put on. By the time he came out into the family room, Kammie was chewing on a thick steak while his mom watched. She gestured to the coffee table and Row’s stomach growled as he picked up a plate with a steak on it.
“Feel better?” his mom asked.
“Definitely.”
“Good. It’s not the best way to start off your mating, but I’m actually thankful that it happened.”
His mouth fell open. “What?”
“Oh, no! I mean, I’m not happy you and Kammie were hurt, I’m just glad that Hector is dead, and his cronies with him. I always wondered if he might come back for retribution.”
Row nodded. “I expected to see him again at a battle at some point. It never occurred to me that he’d come after me this way. I feel like I let Kammie down because I wasn’t prepared for this. We were entirely vulnerable in the mating cave, and I trusted I could keep her safe.”
“The mating cave is sacred; there was no reason for you to anticipate that someone would attack you there. And only a coward attacks in a group like that.”
Row agreed. Hector was a good fighter, but he wasn’t a good person. Row had no regrets for ending his life, or the lives of the three males who’d come with him.
His mom sat with him until he finished eating, and then she left, promising to stop by later. He lifted a sleeping Kammie into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. The liquid bandage had done the trick and sealed the wound. He couldn’t scent any more fresh blood on her. He stroked her fur. She was beautiful – gray and brown mottled fur, with a white belly and paws. Settling around her, he rested one hand on her stomach and closed his eyes, willing himself to stop thinking about how close he’d come to losing her. He didn’t want to envision a life without his sweetheart in it.
Chapter 10
Kammie woke up and found herself back in her human form. She’d shifted while she was asleep. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been out of it, but her wound had healed completely without leaving a scar. She sat up and rubbed her fingers over the place where Hector had struck with the blade.
Row touched her back and she looked down at him.
“Are you okay, Adara?”
“Yeah. No scar.” She twisted to show him her skin.
“I’m glad, but it didn’t matter to me. I would rather you have a scar from him and be alive than the alternative.”
“Me, too. Are you all right?”
“I’m still healing, but I’m fine.”
She inspected the bandages that covered his claw marks. She growled, and he cupped her cheek. “You and I are both alive. That’s what matters the most.”
“If they weren’t dead I would kill them.”
“My fierce mate.”
She leaned over him and planted her hands on either side of his body. She gazed into his eyes. “You’ve changed me completely.”
His brows lifted. “What?”
“You charged into my life like a wrecking ball. Now I’m like a wrecking ball.”
He laughed. “How so?”
“When Hector came into the cave, I knew he wanted to hurt me and kill you. There was a part of me that wanted to curl up and let him do his worst, but I knew I couldn’t live without you. It’s strange to think of myself as standing up to someone so scary, but I did. I attacked him.”
Row sobered. “You could’v
e been killed. I would’ve preferred that you run.”
“Never,” she swore, baring her teeth.
He curled his arms around her and pulled her against his chest, sighing deeply as he brushed his lips over her forehead. “I’m sorry that my past came back to haunt us. I’m sorry I didn’t keep you safe. I’m especially sorry that you had to defend yourself. I never wanted you to have to do that.”
“It’s because of you that I had the courage to stand up for myself. You’ve taught me a lot in a short amount of time. I don’t want to be a doormat. I sure as hell wasn’t going to let an asshole with a grudge rape me and pass me around like a party favor.”
He growled, his whole body vibrating. Then he hugged her tighter. “I’m thankful you’re in my arms now, Kammie.”
She lifted her head and smiled. “I don’t want to keep being angry about what could’ve happened. I want to let it go, the way I’ve let go of a lot of things since I met you.”
“Like your insistence on wearing clothes?”
She chuckled. “Old habits die hard, but you’re worth making new habits for.”
His fingers crept down her back slowly, and he cupped her ass and ground her into his erection. “Let’s make it a habit to make love every morning.”
“And at night too?”
“Of course. I can’t sleep right without you naked and satisfied in my arms.”
“That sounds like a great habit.”
* * * * *
Kammie passed the grape jelly to a female bear named Desendra who sat on her left. “I was thinking about learning how to make jelly,” Kammie said.
“I have a great recipe that uses grape juice, it’s super easy. Unless you don’t like grape jelly, then it’s just a time-waster,” Desendra said, laughing.
“It would be fun to give out jars of jelly as a gifts.”
“I’ll teach you. I also like to make strawberry jelly the old-fashioned way. It takes a hell of a lot of work, but it’s delicious.”
Kammie and Row were seated at a long table in a big building in the sleuth territory. Kammie had thought it was for storage, until she found out it was used for gatherings of the sleuth and had a commercial kitchen in the back. Because she and Row were interrupted on their mating night and they’d both been injured, the sleuth pushed their celebration breakfast to that night, and Kammie had looked forward to getting to know the bears.
Row’s mom sat across from them, next to Gloria and Fayar, who sat at the head of the table. “I love Desendra’s cherry preserves. She sells them at a local market in the summer and makes a killing.”
“The jellies fund my shoe addiction.” Desendra pointed to the floor, where she tapped the toe of a pair of lavender suede boots. “If you want to learn how to make jams and jellies, I can teach you. We can work together, and split the profits.”
“I’d really like that,” Kammie said.
Row squeezed her thigh, and she glanced at him. “Are you ready to stand up in front of everyone and promise to be the best mate to me in the world? Give me a blow job every morning and rub my feet?”
All the females at the table snarled, and Row laughed. “I’m just kidding,” he said, putting his hands up in defense.
His mom stabbed the air with her fork. “You better be.”
“I am, I promise. I’m the one vowing to be the best mate, because Kammie deserves the best of everything.”
“And the blow jobs?” Desendra asked.
Kammie blushed as Row’s mom laughed.
“I don’t think that’s what they’re called when it’s the guy on the girl,” Gloria said. “Maybe you could vow to lick her really good every morning. Now that’s an excellent way to start the day,” she said, winking at Fayar.
Kammie’s blush deepened. “Oh my gosh.”
Row leaned over and kissed her cheek and then whispered in her ear, “Every morning.”
“Only if you let me return the favor.”
He wiggled his brows.
“I need to find a mate,” Desendra said. “One who will lick me a lot. I like the idea of daily foot rubs, too.”
Fayar said, “Before we end up with a laundry list of things the males will be doing for the females…”
“Doing to the females,” Gloria said.
Laughing, Fayar continued, “Right. Let’s get to our ceremony. We’ve got a fierce female to bring into our sleuth.”
The bears clapped and cheered as Kammie and Row stood, following Fayar to the center of the building. Tables ringed the empty area, and Kammie could feel everyone watching them. There was a time in her life when she would’ve hated for people to be staring at her, but now she was reveling in being with her mate and joining the group.
Kammie unbuttoned her long-sleeved flannel shirt and tied it around her waist. She was wearing a tight-fitting teal cami that displayed the scars on her arms and chest. Row took her hands in his and looked down at her in adoration.
“My fierce, beautiful mate,” he whispered.
Fayar spoke loudly. “Once upon a time, shifters stayed within their breed groups. Wolves mated wolves, bears mated bears, humans stayed the hell away from us.”
The bears chuckled.
“Now, we welcome any and all mates. Finding a truemate is an event to be celebrated. We don’t look at these two and see a bear and a wolf – we see two people who love each other deeply enough to kill. There is no greater love than that of truemates.” Fayar placed his hands on Kammie’s and Row’s.
Row said, “I vow myself to my truemate, Kammie. I swear to be the best mate for her. To treat her with the love and respect she deserves, and to always think of her first. I welcome her into my life and my heart.”
Kammie repeated the vows to Row, her eyes filling with tears as she spoke.
“As king of this sleuth, I welcome Kammie into our group as a member and a treasured mate. If any object, let them raise their voices now or remain silent forever.”
Kammie’s heart pounded as she waited to see if anyone would say she didn’t belong. Row squeezed her hands gently and smiled.
“I declare Kammie formally a member of the sleuth. Welcome!”
The bears lifted their heads and roared. The sound was so loud that the building shook. Kammie howled as Row joined in, and she felt, for the first time, that she was finally, truly home. The bears had opened their arms to her as if they’d been waiting all this time for Row’s mate. She hadn’t known a shifter group like the sleuth, and she was deliriously thankful to be one of them now.
Fayar squeezed their hands and said, “Welcome, Kammie. May your union be blessed.”
Row pulled her into his arms and kissed her as the bears cheered.
“I can’t wait to hunt with you,” Row said as he lifted from her mouth. “The next full moon is going to be amazing.”
“Maybe I won’t let you catch me this time,” she said.
“Oh, I’ll catch you,” he said, his voice husky. “Again and again.”
* * * * *
The following morning, Row walked Kammie to the gathering building, where Desendra waited to begin her first lesson on jam and jelly making. It was Row’s first day in his new position on the training team. He wore a black, long-sleeved shirt and dark jeans with hiking boots. The shirt fit him so snugly that she could see the outline of his abs, and she wanted to lift the fabric and explore him.
He tweaked her chin. “If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to be late for my first day of work.”
“I can’t help it that you’re so lickable.”
“I’m not sure that’s a word,” he said, laughing, “but I like it. You’re lickable, too.”
“Oh man, I need to get a mate!” Desendra said from the open door of the building.
Row kissed Kammie on the cheek. “I’ll be back to get you in six hours. Have fun, Adara.”
“I’ll take good care of her,” Desendra said.
Kammie waved at Row and entered the building. Desendra pulled the door shut
behind her, and Kammie stamped the snow from her boots and took off her scarf and jacket, hanging them over the back of a chair. “I can’t wait until spring.”
“Me, too, although my bear does love snow. When I’m outside in the cold, all I want to do is find a cave and take a nap. I think it’s because regular bears hibernate and there’s a part of me that wants to do that. Could you imagine sleeping for three months? I’d definitely need a bikini wax when I woke up.”
Kammie laughed. “Fall makes me feel like that. Like I should be finding someplace warm to curl up.”
She followed Desendra into the kitchen and washed her hands. “We’re going to make an enormous batch of grape jelly. After we get that done, we’ll use peaches I froze from last summer’s harvest and make preserves. They look so beautiful in the glass jars. Are there any kinds of jelly or jam that you’d like to learn to make specifically?”
“Row likes blackberry jam on toast for breakfast.”
“There are wild blackberries in the woods, but they’re such a hassle to pick because of the thorns. We can buy them from the grocery store.”
“They make thornless bushes; maybe we could plant some?”
“Great idea. See, I knew we’d work well together!”
As Kammie and Desendra worked, they talked about the sleuth and females’ roles within the group. As Row had explained, the sleuth had no true ranking like the pack, but the males understood their place and did their jobs. Only Fayar had a rank, and his youngest son was poised to take over when he stepped down.
“Is Fayar’s son mated?”
“No. He’ll take a mate before he takes over kingship. The females need a leader of their own, someone who can speak on their behalf to the king. Gloria is a wonderful mate to Fayar and a good leader for us.”
“Row said that Fayar doesn’t show affection to Gloria in public because he doesn’t want her to be taken from him in an attempt to get him to step down.”
Desendra nodded. “The king before Fayar was his father. His mate, Fayar’s mother, was kidnapped and tortured by a small group of male bears who wanted to take over the territory. By the time his father found her, she was dead. He slaughtered the males and vowed to never mate again. I think Fayar doesn’t want anyone to know how much he loves Gloria, but the sleuth knows. It would be impossible to hide that kind of love from people who know each other well.”