by Jane Jamison
“I want you to have children. You deserve to be fathers.” She smiled, trying to ease his anger as much as her pain. “You’re going to make great dads.”
“Damn it, baby. Get the fuck over it.”
Seriously? Why was Case being so mean? “Look, I’m smart enough to recognize an impossible situation when I see it. You need children and I can’t give them to you. It doesn’t take a genius to know we can’t be together.”
“Fuck having kids.”
“Don’t say that, Brennan.” Was it bad luck to speak ill of future children? Even ones who’d never exist?
“You have to understand, Nic. Case and I want you. We don’t care if we can’t have kids. You’re the only one we’ll ever want.”
“Listen to my brother, baby. Sure, we’re disappointed we can’t have any children with you. I would’ve loved to see you fat and happy, carrying our child.” Case cupped her cheek. “We’ll be disappointed, yes. But without you, nothing else matters.”
“But—”
“But nothing, Nic. Case said it all. We want you. With or without kids.” Brennan shrugged. “Besides, who wants to change a bunch of diapers anyway?”
She hadn’t realized how stiff she’d gotten. Relief swept over her, ridding her of the tension. She leaned against Case and held on to him for support. Brennan rubbed her back and kissed her shoulder.
“Are you sure? Please don’t say it just because you feel you have to.”
“Wow. Werebears are more stubborn than werewolves.” Brennan chuckled and kissed her neck. “Even more stubborn than Case. And that’s saying a hell of a lot.”
They stood together, her between them as she was meant to be. She believed them. Not only because they’d said so, but because she could feel it in the way they held her, speaking soothing words to comfort her.
“Nicole Mary Monroe, get the hell out here! Now!”
Shock filled her at the sound of her father’s voice. She was still stunned, unmoving as Case and Brennan hurried to tug on their jeans and boots.
“Here, baby. Better get dressed. We’ve got company.”
Case’s smile didn’t help much as held out her clothes. She took them, numb inside. Her mind moved slowly, trying to grasp what was happening. “How’d he find out where we are?”
Brennan moved to the window and peeked between the blinds. “Someone probably saw us, but it doesn’t matter now. He and a group of werebears are outside.” He chuckled, but the sound lacked any mirth. “Looks like they’re loaded for bear. Or should it be wolves?”
Case scowled at his brother and strode to the door. “Nicole, stay where you are. We’ll handle them.”
Before she could argue, Case threw open the door and, followed by Brennan, marched out on to the porch. A breath rushed out of her. At last, she forced her legs to move. “There’s no way in hell I’m going to let you face them without me.” She was talking to an empty room, but it didn’t matter. Saying the words gave her the courage to follow them.
“Mr. Monroe, you and your friends need to leave.” Case’s voice rang out over the growls of the werebears.
“Get out of my way, dog. Where’s my daughter?” Her father’s gaze hardened when he saw the men without their shirts.
“I don’t think you understand. You need to leave,” added a stern Brennan. “Before things get out of hand. We don’t want any trouble, much less a war between our pack and your clan.”
“You should’ve thought about that before you messed with my daughter.”
“I’m right here, Dad.” Nicole came to stand between her men.
Her father’s scowl immediately sent back to her younger years, making her forget she was a grown woman. She was his little girl and he was the father she’d always respected and loved.
“Girl, come here.”
For a moment, she almost did what her father had ordered her to do. Then, after taking one look at each of her men, she shook her head. “No.”
“What the fuck do you mean no? You’re coming home with me and that’s all there is to it.”
“I’m sorry, Dad, but I’m not going with you.”
Growls and snarls erupted from the five other men standing with her father. She knew them. Had seen them in her home. Many of their children were her friends. Vaguely, she wondered how many of them would still be her friends later.
“Nicole, you’re making a scene. Come with me before it’s too late.” Hurt mixed with fury on her father’s face.
How could he not know? Unless he was only pretending, trying not to acknowledge that she’d already been with Case and Brennan. She hated to hurt him, but she had no choice. “It’s already too late.”
Her father remained stoic. His friends, however, growled again, their disgusted expressions making it clear what they thought.
“Mr. Monroe, I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but we love your daughter.”
Case’s voice was calm, reasonable, but she could sense the tension flowing out of him. She wondered how close his inner wolf was to the surface and prayed he’d be able to stay in control. Shifting wouldn’t help.
“We felt the connection with her, too. I don’t understand how it can happen between werewolves and a werebear, but it did.” Brennan slipped his arm around her waist, a sign of both possession and love.
The noise her father made wasn’t human or animal. Its low pained tone ripped into her. “I won’t let this happen.”
In the next moment, fur spread over his chin. His face widened. His nose changed, elongating into a muzzle. Fangs sprang from his mouth and claws grew from his fingers. His clothes started shredding as bones broke and reformed.
“No, Dad. Please don’t.” Two men were no match for six werebears. Even if her men shifted, they’d be outmatched. To her horror, her father’s friends started shifting, too.
Case turned to her, snagging her by the arm and shoving her back inside the cabin. “Stay inside. And don’t shift. That’s an order.” He slammed the door closed before she could get a word out.
It took a moment before her mind cleared enough for her to realize what he’d said. “That’s an order?” Where did he get off telling her what to do? Especially since she was the one in the middle, stuck between the men she loved and her father.
The roar of fighting scared her, but she wasn’t about to back down. Flinging the door wide, she stomped out onto the porch and abruptly came to a stop. Her worst fears were coming true. “No,” she whispered.
Werebears surrounded the two werewolves. Her two werewolves. Blood ran down the side of one of the wolves. The other one, which she guessed was Brennan, limped badly. They stood together, one facing half of the werebears while the other faced the rest of them. Their mouths were curled back in snarls and their tails hung low.
Her father, shifted into his werebear form, took a step forward into the ring of werebears. He growled, then lifted up on his hind legs. The only hope her men had was to attack her father at the same time. Maybe if they took out her father, the rest of the clan would back off.
But Case and Brennan didn’t move. They crouched, looking as though they might spring at her father at any moment. And yet she knew they wouldn’t.
They won’t attack him. They won’t hurt my father.
Fear clutched at her as the rest of the truth hit her.
They’re ready to die before they’ll hurt him. Yet they’re ready to protect me at all costs. But how can they do both?
“Dad, please stop!” She hurried down the steps. Shifting wouldn’t help. Like her men, she’d be overwhelmed by the others. She had to reach her father. Had to make him relent. If her men had any chance of surviving, that was it.
“Dad, please!” She was breathless, trying to breathe through her fear. Lowering her voice, she put all her energy into whispered words. “I’ll never forgive you if you hurt them. Even if they’re gone, I won’t come back home.”
Unlike her shouts, her whisper caught his attention. Her father, his massive bear
face turning toward her, snarled. It was a warning, one she’d heard throughout her life, but this time, it wouldn’t work. He could attack her, swiping his huge paw out to break her neck, but she wouldn’t stand down.
He plopped onto all fours, then shook his body so that his fur danced. Snarling, he shook his head, then advanced toward the wolves.
“No. Please, no.” She had to do something. Her father would lead the charge to kill Case and Brennan.
“Leave my boys alone.”
Just as her whisper had caught her father’s attention, Carl Cagle’s snarled warning did the same. She whirled around to find their father standing at the edge of the yard with four werewolves along with him.
Her father and the other werebears swung their heavy bodies around, growling and ready to fight. They’d give as good as they got.
“No. Everyone, please, don’t do this.” She stood between werewolves and werebears, her arms out, palms up. She had no real chance of stopping either side, but she had to try.
She could’ve been talking to the wind for all the good it did. One moment she was standing between the two groups. In the next, she was knocked off her feet and lying flat on her back. The world around her spun, making her sick to her stomach as the wild ride continued. The clamor of the fight grew louder, howls mixing with growls as clan and pack fought.
When the spinning finally stopped, she rolled over onto her side and stared in horror. Two werewolves lay bleeding on the ground. A werebear crawled away from the fight, dragging his left rear leg behind him. She searched for Case and Brennan, and her father, but the blur of bodies made it impossible to pick them out from the group.
I have to stop them.
If only she knew how.
She struggled to get onto her knees, then had to pause to catch her breath. Pushing up, she staggered upright, determined to throw herself into the middle of the fight.
The blast of a shotgun had her ducking. Both sets of shifters stopped fighting to find out where the shot had come from.
Standing at the edge of the yard was her mother, several men she didn’t recognize, and Jackson Carr. Jackson hefted the shotgun to his shoulder and pointed it at the crowd.
“Everyone, if you don’t want a hole through your fur coat, you’ll stay where you are.”
“Mom.”
Her mother’s gaze shifted to hers. “Nicole. Oh, thank God, you’re all right.”
She hurried to her mother and fell into her arms. “I couldn’t stop them, Mom. Dad wouldn’t listen.” She kept her head against her mother’s breast and, for the first time since meeting the Cagle brothers again, she wished she could go back to being a little girl safely wrapped in her mother’s arms.
“It’s okay, honey. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“Leave it along, Carr. You’re not a part of this.”
“The hell I’m not. Werewolves and werebears fighting makes it my business.”
She pulled away from her father to see that he’d shifted back. Although it wasn’t uncommon to see other shifters in their nude human forms, she was relieved to see that everyone had shifted back and was hurriedly getting dressed.
Even more relief washed into her as she saw Case and Brennan, bloodied but still alive, standing together. “Case. Brennan.” She pulled away from her mother and ran to her men.
Snarls erupted and fangs flashed as her men met her halfway, then pulled her along with them back to the porch. They protected her, putting her slightly behind them as they faced the entire group.
“Everyone needs to calm the hell down.” Jackson lowered the gun. “And stay in your human bodies. We can talk this out.”
“Bullshit.” Mr. Cagle paced toward the porch and lifted an accusing finger at her. “She’s the cause of all this. Damn werebear bitch should’ve stayed with her own kind.”
Her father slammed into him, throwing Mr. Cagle forward. Whirling around, he rushed back at her father, fangs once more slipping out.
Another shot rang out. “Damn it. Grab them and pull them apart.”
It took a moment before either side did as he’d ordered. At last, two werebears grabbed her father’s arms while a couple of werewolves took hold of the men’s father.
Jackson stalked over to stand between Brennan and Case. “I know our people have had bad blood for years, but I’m not going to let anyone start a shifter war.”
“He killed my brother.” Carl Cagle struggled against the men who held him.
“The fuck I did. Human hunters shot him. I didn’t have anything to do with it.” Her father tried to get free from the men holding him.
Jackson shot off another round. “Shut the hell up! We all know the story. Gaither was out running in bear form when the hunters who were after him crossed paths with Jeb. They decided a wolf’s hide hanging on their wall was as good as a bear’s. It was ruled an accident by both of our peoples a long time ago. I’m not going to start all that up again.”
“He killed my brother and I’ve had to live with it.” The men gave Carl his freedom but stood by in case he tried to jump her father. “But I’ll see you and anyone else in hell before I stand by and let my boys end up with some flea-bitten bear.”
Her mother stalked past her, heading straight for Mr. Cagle. The crack of her slap striking his face was almost as loud as the previous gunshots. “Don’t you call my daughter a flea-bitten bear. Don’t you call her anything.”
Nicole stepped in front of her men. Her mother was always calm and reserved, rarely raising her voice. To see her mother so upset had her stomach in knots.
“Don’t you men understand what’s happened? I didn’t like it any more than you do. At least, not at first. But I do now.” Her mother pointed her way. “My daughter and these two werewolves, these two men, are in love. They felt the connection.”
Silence filled the space as her mother turned slowly around, looking at each man. “Yes, they felt the connection. No one denies the connection when it comes. No one. And I’m not going to stand by and let you assholes tear my daughter and the men she loves apart.”
Assholes. Her mother had never said anything remotely that bad. Or awesome.
“Evelyn, you’re not thinking straight.”
Nicole waited, expecting her mother to obey her father as she always had. Instead, her mother delivered yet another surprise.
“Shut up, Gaither. I’m not through talking.”
Nicole couldn’t have been more shocked if her mother had declared herself to be a Martian.
“Listen to your husband, woman.” Carl Cagle’s glower fell on her mother, but he didn’t make a move toward her.
“Now there’s a first. Carl Cagle agreeing with Gaither Monroe. Maybe we’re getting somewhere.” Jackson Carr grinned at her mother. “Go ahead. You’re doing fine.”
“This rift between werewolves and werebears is hurting all of us. I’m not thrilled my daughter’s with the Cagle brothers. But if she’s happy, then I’m happy.” Her mother sought her out. “Are you, honey? Are they really what you want?”
Nicole felt everyone’s attention shift toward her. “Yes, Mom. I’ve never been happier. I love them with all my heart.”
Case and Brennan each took one of her hands. “And we love her,” declared Brennan.
“We’ll do everything in our power to keep her happy, too. We can promise you that,” offered Case.
The grumbles and low murmurs weren’t encouraging. One of the werewolves was the first to call out. “And what about their children? What are they going to be? Werewolf? Werebear? Or”—his angry gaze met hers—“monsters? I don’t want any abominations living in Shatland or Forever.”
Carl Cagle stepped forward. “Sons, don’t do this. Don’t ruin your lives because you’re horny.”
“Don’t make this sound cheap or sordid.” The fury in Case’s tone could’ve melted steel. “Get it straight once and for all. She’s our mate and we love her.”
His father shook his head. “No. I’ll never acce
pt this.”
“Neither will I.” Gaither Monroe stalked as far away as he could, coming to a stop at the far side of the yard.
“Tell them, Nicole.”
She met Jackson’s gaze and understood. Telling the others tore at her. It wasn’t any of their concern, but if it would keep them from fighting, it’d be worth it.
“We love each other, but you don’t have to worry about any ‘abominations’ being born. Werewolves and werebears can’t have children. It’s not possible.” The truth was hard enough to stand, but having to publicly say it ripped her apart. Nonetheless, she held her head high and dared them to say anything.
The men looked at each other as though trying to access what the others might be thinking. Her father, however, left no doubt as to his feelings. “Good. At least we’re saved the misery of knowing our grandchildren will be mutants.”
“Right, Dad.” Anger and sarcasm mixed in her tone. “So now that you don’t have to worry, go away and leave us alone.” She didn’t need to check with Case or Brennan. She knew their answer. “I love you, Mom, and I love you, too, Dad, but I’m going to do what makes me happy. I’m moving in with the men love. I don’t care if you or anyone else likes it.”
“Then you’re no daughter of mine.” Her father spun on his heel, disappearing into the night before she had a chance to say anything.
Her heart broke, knowing she’d lost her father. “Mom?”
“I love you, honey. Please, be happy. But I have to be with your father. Take care of yourself.” Her mother blew her a kiss, then followed after him.
She couldn’t speak, couldn’t think of anything else. She’d lost her father’s love and doubted she’d ever seen either one of her parents again.
“Sons, don’t bother coming to see me.” Carl Cagle shook his head sorrowfully.
“We understand, Dad, but we hope you change your mind. If you do, our door’s always open.” Case straightened up. Brennan nodded, agreeing with his brother.
With one last hard look, their father strode away. The werewolves who had come along with him stayed at his heels.