Bears in Blue Shifter Romance Box Set

by Mia Taylor

  “Fair warning, though,” Paul called out. “If Brynn wants you gone, you’re going.”

  “She’s not going to want me gone. She’s my mate—even if she doesn’t realize it yet.”

  ~ ~ ~

  After he was shown to his room, he called Lena.

  “What the hell is going on?” his sister hollered in his ear. “You left so fast, I didn’t get a handle on anything and I’ve been calling your phone ever since.”

  “It’s a long story,” Mal sighed. “But I found Brynn.”

  The silence was almost deafening.

  “What do you mean? Her body?”

  “No, Lena. She’s alive… and in Chicago.”

  The pause was even longer this time.

  “I can’t explain it right now,” Mal rushed on even though he knew that he could trust his sister with what he knew about Brynn. His main concern was spending every spare moment with Brynn until the trial.

  “Is she okay? Where has she been? Are you okay?” Lena’s questions came at him like a thousand bullets and he cringed at every one.

  “I promise I’ll call you later and explain what I can,” he vowed. “But I have to go, all right?”

  “Mal…”

  “I’ll call you.”

  He hung up and tossed the cell aside, not wanting to be interrupted by another call while he was speaking with Brynn.

  After wandering through the massive estate, he found her in the kitchen, staring blankly at the stove.

  “You know, it helps if you put something on the stove to cook it.”

  She whirled and gaped at him.

  “Y-you’re still here,” she breathed. “Stella said you were leaving.”

  “No,” Malcolm said quietly. “I’m not going anywhere without you, Brynn.”

  Misery clouded her eyes and she hung her head.

  “There’s no point in you being here, Malcolm,” she murmured. “It’s exactly like they said. I’m not the same woman you knew before. I’m… a freak now, a memoryless freak.”

  “Hey!” he said sharply, striding toward her to cover the distance between them. “That’s not true. Whatever happened to you was not your fault.”

  Guilt flooded him.

  It’s mine. I let them take you. I let them do this.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Brynn sighed. “We can’t go back to the way things were before anyway.”

  “No, maybe not,” Mal told her urgently. “But don’t you at least want to remember who you were? What we were like together?”

  There was a sudden stabbing in his chest when he thought she might say no, but her lower lip quivered slightly.

  “What’s the point?” she muttered. “Nothing will change if I remember. I still can’t go out into the world without a pack.”

  Mal tensed.

  Is her pack seeking her out as we speak?

  Suddenly, he realized there were more problems than he had anticipated.

  “Brynn, please look at me,” he begged her and she reluctantly raised her head.

  “I have honestly searched everywhere for you. Even when I came back from Belize, I never stopped looking. I changed my field to take out traffickers, Brynn. I kept hoping that I’d find you somewhere, somehow…”

  He paused to inhale deeply.

  “I should have sensed you so close,” he said mournfully. “You’re my mate and I should have known you were here.”

  Brynn’s face hardened and she leaned back to narrow her eyes slightly.

  “No,” she snapped bitterly. “I’m not your mate, Malcolm. Maybe then I was but I certainly am not now.”

  Before he could muster a response, she spun and hurried from the kitchen, leaving him dumbfounded.

  “Tsk, tsk, I told you she’s not going anywhere,” Paul jeered at him from the entranceway.

  And Malcolm somehow managed not to knock him unconscious.

  Chapter Five

  To Go or Not to Go

  Why did they bring him here knowing what they know? Brynn thought furiously as she made her way back to her room. What good could it possibly do for either of us?

  She realized that she had okayed the idea but Brynn hadn’t been prepared for the profound effect that Malcolm Barnes would have over her.

  How can I feel that strongly about someone that I have no memory of knowing?

  She thought about his proclamations that she was his mate but that couldn’t be true, not when she had been turned into a wolf. Brynn knew from Paul and Stella that there was a longstanding feud with the Lycanthropes, one that would not ever be resolved.

  “There simply can’t be an intermingling of bears with wolves. There is just too much animus,” Stella had explained in those early days when everything was still so confusing and new to her. “I am not keeping you here for fun, Brynn. Having you here could result in serious consequences for Paul, Bailey and me. You are free to leave anytime you want but you go at your own risk.”

  Brynn had only half-believed what Stella had told her. There was no reason to question her. There were no locks on her doors, no chains on her feet. They paid her for her work and didn’t charge her rent in the house.

  Yet Brynn had always wondered why, if there was such a risk, they would keep her there. It couldn’t be such a big deal, could it?

  Still, the idea to leave never appealed to her. Where would she go? Back to the mortal family whom she couldn’t tell about her newfound abilities, a bunch of people she didn’t know? If she didn’t know them, how could she trust them?

  She reasoned that she could have gone to set up on her own, but why? She had everything she needed with Paul and Stella, even if Bailey sometimes bothered her. She had a job, shelter, food. What else could a past-less woman require?

  It wasn’t until Malcolm had confirmed what Stella had said that Brynn suddenly realized how much danger she truly was in. Sure, she’d never wanted to leave, but now knowing the option didn’t exist, she began to feel like a trapped rat.

  There was a knock at her bedroom door.

  “This isn’t a good time,” Brynn grumbled, but to her surprise, the door swung inward and Bailey stood in the doorway, his eyes flashing.

  “Are you okay?” he demanded, stalking forward uninvited. “I heard what happened. I just want you to know that I knew nothing about this, Brynn. I wouldn’t have let them bring that man in here.”

  “That man has been looking for me for half a decade,” Brynn replied snidely. She didn’t know why but she felt the need to defend Malcolm.

  It’s the least I can do for him. I just broke his heart with the reality that he and I will never be.

  “He’s looking for the old Brynn,” Bailey reminded her as though she hadn’t told herself the same thing a thousand times. “You’re not the same woman he knew.”

  “Bailey, I’m off tonight. If you need something, find Jasmin.” She was in no mood to have a heart-to-heart with Bailey Lapierre.

  “I am here to make sure you’re okay,” Bailey whined in his petulant way which made Brynn cringe.

  “I’m great. Thanks.”

  She turned her shoulders meaningfully, but to her dismay, Bailey stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. Brynn knew it was meant to be comforting in some awkward way, but it only angered her. Why couldn’t everyone just leave her alone?

  She whipped around to throw his hand off but before she had even fully turned, Bailey was sent clear across the room with a snarl of fury.

  Her jaw dropped and a massive bear ambled into the room, his paws swiping maniacally as he roared with fury.

  Bailey barely had time to shift himself when Mal was on him again, tossing him to the side.

  And suddenly, Brynn was somewhere else.

  The walls melted away to show the dusky evening over a glittering body of water, but that was only a background to what was happening before her.

  A huge bear took on four wolves, each dog coming at him from a different direction. The bear seamlessly shook them off, batting at e
ach one like they were gnats.

  She opened her mouth to scream but she was on the ground, staring up into a set of glowing, amber eyes.

  “Make a sound,” the wolf hissed, spittle falling off his lips, “and I’ll kill you.”

  Just as soon as she’d been transported out, she was back in her room as two bears fought to overpower the other.

  “ENOUGH!” Paul boomed from the doorway. They took their time falling back but his voice was enough to calm them down enough.

  “What is this about?” Paul hissed, glaring at Mal, who towered over Bailey.

  “He attacked me, Paul!” Bailey sniveled and Mal snorted, slowly returning to his mortal form.

  “He was accosting Brynn,” Mal barked. “He’s lucky all I did was knock him down.”

  “I wasn’t accosting her!”

  “Looked that way to me,” Mal snarled, advancing on him. Bailey balked.

  “Stop it!” Paul snapped, turning to Brynn. “What happened?”

  “It was a misunderstanding,” she murmured, her eyes fixed on Mal.

  Was that a memory? Did I remember the evening I was taken?

  Her pulse was racing and Paul scowled.

  “You haven’t even been here an hour and you’re already causing destruction!” Paul snapped. “This is not going to work.”

  “I’m not going anywhere without Brynn,” Mal retorted. “So save your speech.”

  “This is my house!” Paul yelled.

  “No,” Brynn said suddenly. “I want him here. Don’t kick him out.”

  All eyes turned to her and she blushed with embarrassment.

  “I want to try and remember my past,” she went on quickly. “And he’s the best hope I have for doing that, isn’t he?”

  “Brynn, are you sure you want to even go down that road?” Paul insisted and Bailey nodded in agreement.

  “It won’t change anything—”

  “I know it won’t!” Brynn yelled. “But it’s my past and I deserve to know about it!”

  Paul and Bailey clamped their mouths closed but Mal cast her a small smile.

  “I’m going to help you,” he vowed. “Even if it takes years to recover.”

  “She needs her rest,” Bailey grumbled. “Let her rest.”

  “I am not your child, Bailey,” Brynn bit back. “If I need to rest, I will say I need to rest. You can go. I’d like a few minutes with Malcolm.”

  Again, jaws dropped, but to her relief, Paul and Bailey shuffled toward the door, leaving it open as they left.

  “Can you close that?” Brynn asked and Mal rushed to oblige.

  “What made you change your mind?” he asked quietly. “About your memories?”

  She raised her head and met his gaze, feeling a frisson of heat surge between them.

  Another strange flash swept through her but it was gone before she could capture it.

  “I’m not sure,” she fibbed. “I’m sorry I was rude to you. This is just… a little hard to process. I’ve been here for five years without a peep from anyone and suddenly…”

  “I understand, Brynn. Know that if I could make this any easier for you, I would.”

  She gave him a weak smile.

  “So… where did we meet?” she asked and he perched beside her on the side of the bed.

  “College,” he replied. “You were doing a B.A. in Humanities and I was doing my Criminal Sciences degree.”

  “Did we ever use our degrees?” she asked, laughing at the idea of having a college education. “You said something earlier about changing your field to take out traffickers.”

  Mal’s eyes shadowed.

  “You were a teacher,” he reminded her gently. “Grade One and Two. I’m a cop.”

  Her eyebrows jutted upward in shock.

  “You’re a cop?” she breathed, panic overtaking her face. “H-how… I mean… don’t you worry you’re going to be found out?”

  Mal grew even more perplexed.

  “Stella hasn’t told you anything, has she?” he murmured.

  “About what?”

  “About her plans for the Chicago Police Department?”

  Brynn shook her head and laughed lightly.

  “Despite all the theatrics today, Stella still considers me the help. I’m just a housekeeper, Mal. She wouldn’t confide in me about business.”

  His brow knit.

  “And what is her business exactly?”

  “I’m not entirely sure,” Brynn replied honestly. “I assume something illegal—”

  She broke off abruptly and looked nervously at him.

  “I’m not going to arrest her, Brynn, don’t worry,” Mal chuckled. “That ship has already sailed.”

  Brynn bit on her lower lip.

  “I know I don’t remember you, Malcolm, but I feel like I know you. I wonder if that’s not a lot of old memories resurfacing.”

  “I hope so,” he told her tenderly, their eyes locking. “You loved me very much once upon a time.”

  There was an unmistakable sadness in his eyes and she exhaled. So badly she wanted to tell him what he wanted to hear but it was impossible when she didn’t know which way was up.

  “How long will you stay here?” Brynn asked quietly and he lost his smile.

  “A few days. I need to be back in the city for Monday morning. There’s a court case where I need to testify.”

  “Four days, then,” Brynn mumbled, looking down at her hands. “Doesn’t seem like a lot, does it?”

  “We’ll make the most of it,” Mal assured her. “And who knows? Maybe if you’re feeling comfortable enough, you’ll come back to the city with me.”

  She moved her head back so fast, she was surprised she didn’t get whiplash.

  “I can’t! You said yourself—”

  “I will never let anything happen to you, Brynn,” he interrupted, reaching for her hand. For the first time, she didn’t pull away and the feel of his fingers twining with hers sent shockwaves through her body.

  “No matter what happens, I won’t fail you again,” Mal told her huskily and Brynn had never felt more reassured in her life.

  “You never failed me, Mal,” she murmured. “You fought with everything you had.”

  His eyes bugged as her words filtered into his mind and she gasped when she realized what she had said.

  “You remember!”

  Brynn swallowed nervously and her eyes darted uneasily around his face.

  “I-I just had a memory or something,” she faltered lamely. “I didn’t before you went after Bailey.”

  Mal released a low laugh and squeezed her fingers harder.

  “Why didn’t you say something before?” he demanded. “I would have kept on him.”

  Brynn laughed and returned his squeeze, her face warming as she realized that maybe, just maybe, Malcolm was onto something.

  Love overcomes all, doesn’t it? If he is my mate, he might be able to piece my past together.

  She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but beneath his penetrating stare, it was hard not to.

  Maybe my past isn’t gone after all. Maybe my past and my future are sitting right beside me, holding my hand.

  Chapter Six

  The Day’s Work Is Never Done

  It was difficult to tell if Paul and Stella were deliberately sabotaging the time she had with Mal or not, but it seemed to Brynn that she was overwhelmed with work she hadn’t previously had.

  When she complained to Stella, citing the limited time she had with Mal, the woman shrugged.

  “Why do you think there’s so much more work?” she asked pleasantly. “There’s an extra body kicking around.”

  Mal did his best to keep her company, but inevitably, Paul would appear and declare that they had “business” to discuss, whisking him away until the day was done.

  “What business do they have with you?” Brynn asked on the third day. “How do you even know these guys?”

  “I don’t know them and the business is still a mystery to me
. There is something going on with Paul and the leader of the bear cops in Chicago. I don’t know what happened but they’re planning something.”

  “With the police?”

  Mal shrugged.

  “I can’t be sure,” he replied. “But that’s what I’m guessing. I think they’ve been gathering all the bear cops they can as allies for whenever they make their move.”

  Brynn cocked her head to the side and studied him.

  “Are you their ally?”

  “Are you?” Mal replied, shrugging. “I’m in the same boat as you are, Brynn. I’m only here with you because of them, but I don’t trust them.”

  “Yeah,” Brynn sighed. “I know what you mean.” Her brows knit. “Is that why they brought you here?” she asked, a sinking feeling forming in her gut. “To get you on their side?”

  “Who cares their reasoning, Brynn? The point is, we’re together now and nothing is ever going to break us apart again.”

  She wished she shared his optimism, but it was difficult when the looming threat of death was on her shoulders.

  So badly, she wanted to enjoy their time together, but between her work schedule and the feeling of eyes on them everywhere, it was impossible to relax and let herself feel safe with Mal.

  Especially when I know he’s going to leave me soon.

  She refused to let her mind go there. They were making progress, or so she thought. More and more, she was getting fleeting images of the time they’d had, all those years ago, but capturing them was a whole other matter.

  “Don’t look so distraught,” Mal told her tenderly. “We can’t rush whatever is going to happen. If anything, stress will set it back.”

  Brynn nodded and eyed him.

  “What if…” she murmured in a voice so low, it was almost inaudible. “What if I decided to come with you?”

  Mal sat straight up and gaped at her.

  “You mean it?” he whispered, eyes skirting around the kitchen as if he worried someone might be listening in.

  “No,” she replied quickly. “I’m just thinking aloud.”

  “That’s fair,” he agreed, trying to keep the excitement from his face. “What were you thinking about?”

  “Well… how would we do it, Mal? Where would I go? How are we going to avoid the bears and the wolves and—”