Unexpected Bride: 7 Brides for 7 Bears

by Moxie North

  There was a snort from Zion. “Wonder why. Give him time. Humans struggle with the idea of knowing for sure. If they can’t touch it, it doesn’t have to be real.”

  “Are you that confident that you’ll know when it happens?” Eden asked, truly wondering. Before she wouldn’t have said she would have been confident at all that she could be so certain.

  Zion shrugged. “I trust the Great Mother. I trust what I’ve seen so many times before. Two people going from strangers to lovers in barely a heartbeat. How can anyone deny what we all know is true?”

  Eden wished she’d had that confidence. Wished she hadn’t been so shocked when she heard the call. She also wondered if she should have just told him in the moment. She knew that Van and Anson didn’t delay their claiming of their mates. Then again, they both had the finesse of a steamroller.

  “Keep an eye on him. He’s special.”

  “Like I’m blind. You go; I’ll protect your mate.”

  Eden slapped him on his bicep in a friendly gesture. “Thank you. I’ll bring back food for later.”

  “No frilly food.”

  Eden shook her head. “Meat and potatoes, got it,” she said throwing her hand up in the air as she walked down the hallway.

  She didn’t care if she had to take her mate on the run. He wasn’t going to jail for a crime he didn’t commit. Her mate wasn’t going down for this. There was no walking away from her new future. In fact, for the first time in her life, Eden felt more like running towards it.

  Chapter 13

  As she crossed the road Eden did a visual sweep of the area and noted the type of people that were walking down the street. It was easy to spot something out of the ordinary now. Life had a rhythm, different places had a formula. Each street could be different and once you learned what to expect from an area, you could spot when something was off. Most people were too caught up in their daily lives to really see each other.

  The usual people were moving through the street. Delivery drivers, people walking to work, people going to or returning from lunch. There were also the people that spent most of their days on the streets. They didn’t look out of place either, sadly.

  Eden was looking for those that didn’t belong. Looking back to the building, she counted up to the windows that would be the apartment they were staying in. The curtains were closed.

  As she entered the coffee shop, the smell of ground coffee and cinnamon hit her first. She could imagine Kellan coming in every day, ordering the same thing out of habit. It was warm in the shop and the interior buzzed with people waiting in lines, pretending to not eyeball the dessert case. Most of them wouldn’t order a treat, not wanting to risk adding a pound. Eden felt sorry for them. She always ate dessert.

  She assessed the room with the assorted tables and high counters, and saw most people were either on a laptop or looking at their phones. Headphones in, checked out of the world around them. One lone man sitting in the corner was reading a newspaper and Eden almost smiled at the rarity of such a sight.

  Eden joined the line and looked over the men and women behind the counter. The cashier was a smiling brunette. She had shorter curly hair that bounced when she talked. Another woman in her forties was manning the espresso machine, while a younger man was finishing the orders before calling them out. A third woman was facing the back counter and although Eden couldn’t get a good view of her, she noted her blonde hair and that she appeared younger.

  She memorized their faces just in case she needed to recognize them later.

  “What can I get for you?” the woman at the counter chirped when Eden got to the front of the line.

  “I’ll have a sixteen-ounce peppermint mocha, extra whipped cream.”

  “Yum! That sounds good,” the woman said over-enthusiastically.

  “Quick question, do you recognize this guy?” Eden asked, pulling up the photo from the file King had given her before she left Seattle.

  “Looks familiar. Sonny, you know this guy, right?” she asked the man on the end of the counter.

  “Like I look at faces,” the man scoffed.

  The barista glanced over. “Rings a bell. Shelly, don’t you know him?” she asked the blonde woman with her back still turned.

  “Why are you asking?” the barista asked before Shelly could turn.

  “He got really sick. I was hoping to find someone that knows him. The doctors are having a hard time figuring out what made him sick. We’re looking at any changes in his behavior, things like that. I work for the hospital and he mentioned this was somewhere he liked to go. He’s a bit of a medical mystery, right now,” Eden said. She kept her tone hushed as though she was letting them in on a big secret.

  “Shelly?” the barista asked again.

  The blonde glanced over her shoulder and her eyes barely touched Eden’s phone before she said, “Nope, don’t recognize him.”

  “Really?” the brunette said, not believing the woman. “I only recognize him because I think he’s on your day at the register. Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned to you that he was a hottie before.”

  “Nope, I see a lot of people in here. I can’t remember all of them. Sorry, I can’t help you,” she said, dismissing Eden and turning her back again.

  Eden glanced at the rest of the staff and they clearly didn’t believe their coworker. “Well, thank you,” Eden said, accepting the drink from the man at the end of the counter.

  She left the shop and turned down the street, but walked into the first alley so she could circle around to the back of the building. Two dumpsters flanked a service door marked Bean There, Done That and Eden took up a crouched position behind the dumpster nearest the door. She sipped her mocha and waited.

  The door finally opened and she heard the flick of a lighter.

  “Can you believe that animal coming into our store?” She recognized the voice instantly as belonging to the blonde woman from behind the counter, Shelly. Eden froze.

  “What the hell? Why do you care? We get Kindred in the store all the time.” Another voice she recognized, Sonny, piped up.

  “Why can’t they go to stores run by their own kind?”

  “She was trying to help that guy out. You knew him, didn’t you?”

  There was the sound of a long drag on a cigarette. “I knew him at the shop, if that’s what you mean. He works for them, you know. Like high up in a Clan. He probably wants to be one of them. Disgusting,” Shelly said, her voice full of venom.

  Eden waited until the sound of the door slamming shut echoed in the alley before she stood up. She brushed off her pants, tossed her cup in the dumpster and walked out of the alley. She flicked the screen of her phone on and touched the contact button for King. He picked up on the first ring.

  “Eden,” King drawled by way of greeting.

  “Any news?”

  There was a long sigh before King spoke. “I heard back from that Grey guy from the hospital. He’s got some balls, by the way.” King sounded impressed instead of annoyed at the human.

  “Good to know, and?”

  “The toxicology came back on the syringe. It wasn’t the compound.”

  Eden frowned. “No?”

  “Don’t go off half-cocked after I tell you this,” he warned.

  “King, I’m a professional,” she growled.

  “You are. But this isn’t a client, it’s your mate. Different rules apply.”

  “Fine, I’m in control,” she said through gritted teeth.

  “The syringe had a solution of potassium chloride. It would have killed him.”

  Eden let out a growl that caused a few passersby on the street to stumble and look around.

  “Eden, you shouldn’t be surprised by this. The guy still isn’t talking. They’ve had him in interrogation since they picked him up but he hasn’t budged. So far he hasn’t shown up on any of the watch lists.”

  “Kellan is not leaving my sight until this is handled.”

  “Agreed. I’ve
spoken with Ritch. He’s still paying for the coverage on Kellan. He feels that if someone is trying to kill him, it’s bigger than the missing money. He now feels that he has to keep what happened with Kellan quiet for the sake of his Clan. It didn’t sound like he fully believed Kellan wasn’t part of all of it, but at least he’s open to hearing other possibilities. I also convinced him to hold off on getting the human authorities to file charges, explained it could bring bad PR.”

  “Finally, for fuck’s sake,” Eden ground out.

  “Still, no unnecessary movements. I will let you know if anything new comes up.”

  “I do have something for AJ to find out for me. He can hack into the national ID database, right?”

  “I’m supposed to say no…” King drawled.

  “I checked out the coffee shop Kellan goes to. One of the employees claimed not to know him, but I heard her later talking shit about Kindred. I don’t think she’s a fan. She also knew that Kellan worked for a Clan. That can’t be coincidence.”

  “Name of the shop? I’ll have AJ get on it. What does the employee look like? Maybe he can match it up to driver’s license photos or passports.”

  “Bean There, Done That. It’s on Fifty-Sixth. Employee is young, twenties, first name Shelly, blonde hair. I’d guess around five-foot-five, one hundred thirty pounds.”

  “I’ll get him on it. Also, Luca checked in, it’s been quiet in LA. Nothing to worry about. I think they’re afraid to make a move with him there.”

  “Good, I can’t focus on that right now.”

  King assured her, “We have it handled.”

  “Thanks, boss.”

  King hung up and Eden took a second to know that her mate wasn’t facing jail anymore. It was a relief and she knew it was the lesser worry, but she was going to take the little victories.

  Running by a local kebab restaurant, Eden picked up enough food to cover them for the evening. Zion wouldn’t even complain.

  Eden felt the urge to rush back to her mate. She missed him; she could feel the distance between them even if it was only a few blocks.

  Her mate was still in danger and Eden wasn’t going to be settled until he was free and with her.

  Chapter 14

  She looked up and down the hallway to make sure she was alone before entering the apartment. Zion was snoring on the couch, and to anyone else it would seem like he wasn’t covering the client. But Eden knew that, snoring or not, Zion’s bear was on duty. Listening, smelling, ready to come awake at a moment. At least that’s what she was telling herself so she didn’t kick him for not keeping an eye on her mate.

  Eden locked the door, walked into the kitchen and put the food she’d bought on the counter. Everything was still hot, and she figured the smell might wake Zion up, but Kellan might need a little more coaxing.

  She followed her nose to the larger bedroom, pushed open the door, and walked in with quiet steps to find her mate asleep on top of the bed covers. She could smell that he had taken a shower and changed out of his old clothes. The track pants and clean t-shirt he now wore were most likely the result of a delivery from Nadia. She smiled briefly and made a mental note to thank KSI’s greatest asset for her help. Nadia would shrug it off, but Eden knew the whole place would fall apart without that human at the front desk.

  Kellan was frowning in his sleep and his head moved as though he was dreaming about something unpleasant. She sat down on the bed next to him gently and placed a hand on his chest to calm him. His eyes shot open and for a split second he didn’t recognize her.

  “Eden?” His voice was worried and he looked confused.

  She leaned forward, “Shh, I’m here. You’re okay.”

  “Fuck,” he said rubbing his hands over his face. He pushed himself up on his forearms. “That dream sucked.”

  “Can you tell me about it? Was it a memory?” she pressed. Anything he could recall could only help and she knew his future could depend on it.

  “I’m not sure. I was trapped in that dark fog again. I felt someone holding down my arms. Maybe more than one? They were strong. My biceps hurt from straining against them. That felt real, not like a dream.”

  Eden pushed his hair back from his forehead and spoke softly even though her bear was pacing in her mind. “Anything else?”

  “There was a woman?” he said, shaking his head like he was trying to break something loose. “No, it was a woman. The voice I heard was female. I could see her hair, but her face was gray, like it was blurred out...”

  Eden had to wonder if that was something they had suggested to him. It would be smart. They could just tell him he couldn’t see their faces. Under the influence of the drug, the suggestion would be enough to wipe their features out of his memory.

  “Is there anything about her you can remember?”

  “Her hair, it was blonde. Like fake blonde... Maybe it was a wig…” He sounded unsure and Eden wanted to pull him into her arms. “They wanted something. They wanted… numbers?” Kellan paused. “Shit. Fucking shit!”

  “Kellan, were they asking for the account numbers?”

  He rolled away from her and leaned over to rub his palm over the back of his neck, squeezing it tightly at times. “Did I give the account numbers to them? I would never do that. I didn’t even have them written down! I memorized them. My systems were triple-encrypted. It would take a genius to find their way through all the fail-safes. Was I so messed up that I just handed over the numbers?”

  Eden could see the pain her mate was in. His career, and his pride, was tied up in his job and his ability to do it successfully. He wouldn’t willingly hand anything over to someone just because they asked, even if they’d demanded it. She had to wonder what lengths he would have gone to just to protect the Clan that wasn’t even his.

  “Kellan, it’s okay. The chemical they fed you, it was designed to work on trained soldiers. Men and women that have gone through psychological conditioning and rigorous training to never give up any information to the enemy. They used that on you. It doesn’t mean you’re weak, it means that they didn’t care if they killed you to get what they wanted.”

  “I’m still the one that gave it to them, didn’t I? However they got it, I was the one that allowed them to get away with the Clan’s money. I can’t repay that. I’m definitely out of a job now. I have savings, but what financial company in the world would hire someone that was in the middle of a scandal like this?”

  “We’ll figure something out,” she assured him. Eden didn’t think it was the right time to suggest he just come to Seattle to live with her. It was the easiest solution. He was her mate. She would look after him. She made enough money that he wouldn’t need to work. But that probably wouldn’t help how he was feeling, so she kept her mouth shut.

  Instead, she slid her arms around his shoulders and leaned her head against his back. “You didn’t steal from the Clan. These people hurt you to get what they wanted. They could have killed you. Today they tried again.”

  Kellan’s head shot up. “Today?”

  “The results came back from the lab. It wasn’t the X141 like I’d expected. What was in that syringe would have killed you.” The bear inside Eden wanted blood for that now. She’d been mad before learning the results, now she would go through anyone that tried to hurt her mate again. It was a good thing she wasn’t the one doing the interrogation.

  “This just keeps getting better,” Kellan moaned. He dropped back on the bed and threw an arm over his eyes.

  Eden didn’t question her instincts and lay down beside him. She draped her arm over his chest and rested her head on his shoulder. His arm came down over her and pulled her close. It was a move that felt different, but completely natural.

  “How can something so good, come out of something so shitty?” Kellan pondered.

  “Good?”

  “I should be consumed with proving my innocence, figuring out how to make it back to the Clan. Now I have to add the fact that someone is still trying to kill
me! But instead, my mind is slipping to spending the rest of the day and tomorrow lying in bed with you. That’s all I want. My life is in shambles, but if I leave everything outside that door,” he said pointing to the closed bedroom door, “my life is pretty good. A woman that is the sexiest, most beautiful person I’ve ever met has told me she wants to spend the rest of her life with me. That’s not something you just ignore. As soon as you came in, I was able to wake myself out of my nightmare, because I knew it was you. Even when I was asleep, I felt you. I wanted to wake up to be with you. Is that crazy?”

  Eden rubbed her hand over his heart gently. “Not at all. It’s the reason I rushed back here. Every step I took away from you felt wrong. As soon as I could hear your heartbeat from the other room, I felt more settled. Now, well, I’m one happy bear.”

  “I keep forgetting that. You’re really a bear. You could probably kill me in one swipe.”

  Eden didn’t deny it. “Not that I would.”

  She felt a chuckle through his chest. “Good to know.”

  “I could never hurt you, no matter what form I’m in. It would kill me to hurt you.” Eden was as sure of that fact as she was sure the sun would rise. She had never been so certain of anything in all her life.

  “Is that a Kindred thing?” he asked, looking down to her.

  She lifted her head to look at him. “It is, but I think even if I wasn’t Kindred, I’d feel the same way about you.”

  “How can you be sure? What if you don’t have a choice in this?”

  “Kellan, this is how it’s always been. I’m surrounded by happily mated couples. No one is ever regretful of their mates. It doesn’t work that way. We are grateful for the gifts that are our mates. Why overthink it? Who we are, deep down, is what we both need.”

  “You’re so sure. I feel bad for doubting. And I’m not doubting it. I feel more like I’d be greedy accepting it. The bonding, that’s permanent. Say I want that with you. You could never change your mind.” She couldn’t believe he was questioning her desires. If he only knew the depth of her feelings. Her need to be as close to him as possible.