by Bianca D’Arc
Matilda wanted to bawl like a baby. She settled for allowing her tears to escape and silently roll down her face as she hiccupped into the phone. Sam was on the other end. Her cousin, Sam. Alpha lion shifter. The biggest badass of them all. Thanks be to the Mother of All.
He was saying all the things she’d wanted to hear for so long. That the Clan had been looking for her. That they loved her. That they would help her in whatever way she needed. That he would charter a plane and come out there immediately, if that’s what she wanted. That he hadn’t forgotten her. That he would never leave one of his Clan behind. And that he was already working on avenging her and Eamon and what had been done to them.
Sam assured her that her little brother was all right. He was at the Clan Home in Texas, the safest place there was for their kind these days. He was being spoiled and cosseted. He had a lake to swim in, if he wanted, and friends his age to play with. He had family looking out for him and plenty of adult lions and selkies seeing to his safety. Thank the Goddess.
Sam was not on Clan lands at the moment, but he promised that he would get someone to Eamon as soon as possible and have him call the satellite phone. At first, Matilda wasn’t too sure about that. It was the bear’s phone, not hers, and she didn’t know if she wanted to be around the bear that long. He made her nose twitch in an uncomfortable way.
It didn’t hurt to be around him. On the contrary, he was the first person she’d been around since her escape that didn’t seem to rub her fur the wrong way. But she wasn’t sure she was ready to be around other shifters, yet. She’d been building up her tolerance to people slowly, using old Frank as her test subject. She’d been increasing her time spent with the old man, but if she allowed the bear shifter to stay, he’d be a near-constant companion, in her fur and out of it. She wasn’t sure she was ready for that. Or if she ever would be.
But everything Sam told her about the bear made her soften. He was one of the good guys, Sam promised. An ex-soldier. Special Forces. Sworn to fight for good on the side of Light and thwart evil wherever he encountered it. Sam counselled her to let the bear help protect her.
That rankled a bit, she had to admit. She’d done a fine job of taking care of herself since her escape. And she’d hurt the bear when he’d tried to sneak up on her cave, hadn’t she?
“Look, Mattie,” Sam’s voice crooned to her through the phone. He was cajoling, not ordering, which meant something. He was giving her a choice. “Everything I’ve been able to learn about Georgio says he’s a stand-up guy. He was badly injured overseas to the point where he’s pretty much permanently disabled. If you get tired of his company, you could easily outrun him.”
Matilda scowled and turned to look at the bear shifter. He was huge. And sort of…shaggy. Long-ish brown hair brushed over the tops of his ears as if he hadn’t cut it in a while. As if it had grown out from a military-type cut and he hadn’t cared to trim it in a few months. She wondered if it was because of his injury. Was that pain she saw in his brown eyes, or etched on those chiseled features? She wasn’t sure.
While she was taking stock, she had to notice that he also had gigantic muscles. Everywhere. Oh yeah, he was a bear, all right.
He was dressed in faded blue jeans and hiking boots. He was limping a bit, which was definitely odd for a shifter. As a general rule, the magic that allowed them to shapeshift, also granted them superior healing abilities.
Was he really that injured? She hadn’t actually noticed much beyond her anger at finding a bear prowling around near the entrance to her cave. Any damage to his leg would have been less obvious while he was on four feet instead of two.
The idea of this Georgio being disabled hurt her heart. No person would welcome that sort of thing—especially not a shifter.
“Is he…uh…capable of fighting, if we need to?” She didn’t want to insult the bear, but this was something she needed to know.
“Honey, he’s a bear,” Sam chuckled. “They’re brawlers. They are born fighting. His Alpha assures me that Georgio is one of their best search-and-rescue experts, but he’s also a world-class fighter, even injured as he is. He’s expert with many different weapons from his time in the service, and he knows tricks about guerilla warfare that even I don’t know. I think you’re safe with him. Just don’t ask him to run. His leg was pretty messed up. In fact, the human doctors told him he would never walk again. The fact that he’s walking at all, is probably due to his beast’s nature and pure determination. You have to give a guy like that a lot of credit. He’s beaten odds that would have stopped another man in his tracks. Literally.”
“It’s sad that he was hurt so badly,” she said, unable to censor her words. She was feeling sympathy for the bear. Her foolish heart went out to the man. A guy she hardly knew. She should be stronger than that. She was a lioness, for cripes sake. A Kinkaid lioness, of the bloodline, no less.
But she was also a woman who had been badly abused and hurt by her captors. She had been broken physically, but not mentally, thank goodness.
“What happened to him?” she asked Sam, almost against her better judgment. She didn’t want the bear around…did she?
“Blown up, is what I heard,” Sam told her in a somber voice. “Nearly didn’t make it. He was basically right on top of the explosive when it went.”
She shuddered to think of it. “How could that happen? Didn’t he smell the explosives?”
“My intel is sketchy. The Grizzly Cove guys aren’t talking about it. What little I could find out said he’d already been injured elsewhere, before the bomb. The group hadn’t been in combat for a while, but there’s a blank spot—or, should I say, yet another blank spot—in their mission records for that time. My contact at the Pentagon could only say that they’d been on a mission but couldn’t say for sure whether or not they’d been in combat, though it seemed unlikely to him.” Sam sighed. “Honestly, I’m not sure what it all means, but I know enough about Big John and his guys to trust them. We have a formal alliance, and you should know that Georgio kept looking for you on his own when almost everybody else had pulled back. Nobody sent him that far out from where you were last seen. He went there on his own initiative. He didn’t give up on you, and the last time I saw him, I knew he had made it his personal mission to find you. He’s a good man, and I trusted that he would keep looking when others had lost patience or hope.”
She was nonplussed. “He must have really impressed you,” she said finally. Matilda knew from personal experience that it took a lot to impress the lion Alpha.
“He did. No shifter goes through the kind of injury he suffered and comes out unchanged, yet his basic character shone through his outer reserve. There’s a light of strength about him that couldn’t be dimmed by mere physical injury.”
It wasn’t usually like Sam to get so philosophical or mystical. This bear must have touched a chord. Matilda eyed the bear shifter. He was leaning against a big redwood tree a respectful distance away, watching the forest. He was on guard, though he looked relaxed. Even in repose, he was watching out for threats.
She’d been too overwhelmed by hearing her Alpha’s voice and learning the fate of her little brother and her Clan’s efforts to find her. She hadn’t been thinking about possible danger. Not even from the bear.
She’d have to think about that later. Had her inner cat trusted the bear to look after them? It didn’t seem possible on such short acquaintance, yet something deep within her made her instinctively look at the bear shifter as a source of aid. As a partner. So strange.
In general, lions were very social creatures, preferring to live in a Pride, with family members all around. They lived together. Hunted together. Looked after each other.
But this bear wasn’t family. He wasn’t even a lion. Yet, he felt safe. Somehow.
“Do you want me to come out to escort you home?” Sam asked gently, snagging her attention. “I can be with you in about eight hours if you stay put. Sooner, if you work your way out of the mountains to meet up
with me, though I’m not sure that’s entirely safe. We still haven’t found those who captured you, and I don’t know if they, or others, might still be looking for you.”
Matilda was torn. She wasn’t sure what she really wanted. She needed to hear Eamon’s voice, to be sure he was okay, but she trusted that the Clan would continue to look after him while she took the time she needed to screw her head on straight, again. The captivity had messed her up. She knew that. She’d fought so hard to protect Eamon from their captors. She’d taken the brunt of the damage to allow her brother to escape torture.
Her tactics had worked. She was the one who drew all the attention while Eamon was left alone, but it had done something to her mind, as well as her body. The physical injuries were healing, but the mental effects would take more time.
“I’m not really ready to go home, yet,” she said to her Alpha, hoping he would understand.
Sam was silent a long time before finally speaking again. “Take the time you need, but I’m concerned about you being out there all on your own.” His tone was resigned, but she could hear the unease in his words.
“I just…” She searched for a way to explain what was going on in her mind. “I can’t really be around people, just yet. But I’m not completely alone. I’ve made friends with a mountain man who lives nearby. His name is Frank Peacote. I’ve been trading with him. Venison I hunt in exchange for things I need.”
“That’s good,” the Alpha said, though he didn’t sound convinced. “What about the bear? I’m pretty sure he would stay in the area with you, if I asked him. Hell, he’ll probably stay, regardless. He found you. He has a vested interest in making sure you stay safe and alive.”
Her lioness wanted to growl. Sam might be the Alpha, but lionesses didn’t take orders well. “If I want him to stay, I’ll ask him myself,” she said, holding back the growl as best she could.
Sam surprised her by chuckling. “There she is. It’s good to hear you sounding like your old stubborn self, cuz.”
Chapter Four
“For what it’s worth,” the Kinkaid Alpha went on in a casual tone, “I think you should probably have some backup. If you don’t want the bear, I can send someone else. Maybe Gavin? He’s at loose ends, and it might soothe your lion to have family around. What do you say?”
Matilda shook her head. Just what she needed. A big male who was younger than her and still learning his boundaries. He’d drive her crazy in no time. Gavin was a great guy but not what she needed, right now. She’d claw him, for sure, and she didn’t want to do that to him. He was a spirited soul who had never really seen the ugliness of the world. She didn’t want to be the one to ruin that innocence.
“No,” she told Sam in a resigned voice. “Not Gavin. I love him, but…”
“I think I understand.” Sam backed off, which helped ease her worry. “Who, then? Say the word, and I’ll make it happen.”
Matilda thought about it and realized she couldn’t face any one in her Clan, just yet. “I’ll stay in touch,” she told Sam. “And I definitely want to talk to Eamon as soon as possible, but I need a little more time on my own, I think.”
“And the bear?” Sam pushed, but she understood. It was both his nature and his duty to protect.
“I’ll consider asking him to stick around. Let me talk to him a bit more, first,” she told her Alpha.
“I can live with that,” Sam allowed. “You know, I could get someone else to you in a few hours. Not Clan, but trustworthy. Some of Moore’s men, maybe? They’re mostly wolves, so I could get a small Pack of them to guard your perimeter. They wouldn’t have to be too close, if that helps.”
She didn’t like the sound of that. It was hard enough to share her space with one person. The bear shifter had already invaded too close to the hidden opening of her den. She didn’t think she could stand knowing a Pack of werewolves—even a small one—was on her doorstep. No, thanks.
“How about you give me the time I requested, and I’ll let you know later?” she said, feeling her feistiness return. She didn’t mean to be sharp with her cousin, but it was hard not to let her raw feelings influence her words and reactions.
That was part of what she had to get under control before she would be any good around other people, again. She had to get her head screwed on straight and rekindle whatever social graces she had once claimed.
Sam seemed to realize he’d pushed her far enough. He let her go after, once again, reiterating how glad he was that she was alive and safe, and that he’d move heaven and Earth to get to her, if that’s what she wanted. She thanked him and ended the call feeling a lightness in her heart that was small, but growing. It felt like hope. Something she hadn’t experienced in a very long time.
She turned to look at the bear shifter, who was still leaning against the redwood tree a few yards away. He hadn’t moved, but his gaze was alert as he continuously scanned the area.
“Sam’s going to get my brother to call on your phone,” she told the bear, holding up his sat phone, which she still held. “Hope you don’t mind. It might take a little time to arrange.”
“Don’t mind at all,” Georgio answered easily, shifting his weight forward, straightening from his relaxed pose against the tree. “I can hang around for a bit, though I will need to call my Alpha and report in, at some point, later. He wanted to know if, and when, I found you. I’m kind of a long way from home.” His smile was disarming as he walked forward slowly. She could see it, now—a decided limp as he walked.
This bear had known pain…and suffering. For it was a given that any shifter who lost the use of a limb would suffer. Their animal spirits didn’t do well when they couldn’t move freely.
“What happened to your leg?” she asked bluntly. She wanted to know more about this strange military bear. She knew she was being rude, but how he handled her temper would also tell her things about his character.
“Got blown up,” he answered quietly, stopping his advance. He just looked at her, and she could see a world of pain in his eyes. He was thinking hard, too. She could see the moment he came to some sort of decision in his dreamy chocolate eyes. “Before that, I was like you. A prisoner.”
His words rocked her back on her heels. This powerful bear shifter had been a captive? She wanted to know how and why such a thing could occur. She wanted to know all about his experience, and how he had survived and come through to the other side. She wanted to know if his captivity had been anything like hers. She wanted to know it all…and she knew, deep down, that she had no right to that information.
Such confidences had to be earned, and so far, she hadn’t done anything to earn his trust or respect. She’d been rude, argumentative, distrustful and distant. It wasn’t in her nature to pretend to be friendly just to elicit information. She had no time for phonies and didn’t want to be one. If she wanted to know more about this bear’s experiences, she’d have to take her time to earn the right to his secrets.
That would mean letting him stay. She wasn’t sure she was ready for that. Then again, Sam had impressed upon her the need for backup. He wasn’t wrong about that. Lions hunted in groups. They lived in Prides. Her animal half didn’t like being alone, but her human side didn’t want to be around family, just yet. She didn’t want the pitying looks or conjecture about her mental state that she knew would come from them. They couldn’t help it. They cared about her.
No, what she needed, right now, was the company of strangers. People who hadn’t known her before and didn’t know how different she was now from what she had been.
In that respect, this Georgio would fit the bill to a T. He had no preconceived ideas about who she was, who she had been, or who she should be.
Georgio wasn’t sure about the way the lioness was looking at him. She’d been rude, but he didn’t mind. He’d heard worse in his time. She was a pussycat compared to some nosy bears he knew. Thing was, right now, she was contemplating him with a speculative look in her eyes that didn’t seem to have anyth
ing to do with his limp. It was more like she was wondering how far she could trust him.
He hoped she would decide in his favor, but either way, he wasn’t going to leave her here alone—even if that’s what she demanded. He’d keep watch over her from afar, if that’s what it took. The only thing that worried him was how she could disappear so completely. He’d have to figure that out before she slipped away, again.
“You did well hiding your presence. There are so many different scent trails around here, I was having a heck of a time figuring out where you went,” he admitted truthfully. He would only speak truth to her and hope for the same in return. This golden beauty wasn’t going to be lost to him again. Not when he’d only just found her.
“Sam makes sure we all have classes,” she told him, brushing a stray lock of luscious honey-blonde hair out of her face. “He wants us to be prepared for every contingency.”
Georgio sat on a fallen log and looked off into the forest. What he was about to say wasn’t easy for him, and he knew it wouldn’t be easy for her either.
“I had a lot of training in the military over the years, but nothing really prepares you for captivity.”
He let that statement just sit there between them. She could pick it up and run with it, if she so chose, but it was her call. He was just letting her know he was open to discussion, if that’s what she wanted.
“How long?” she whispered after a long moment, her mysterious topaz eyes tracking him. “How long were you held?”
“Long enough that I lost track,” he answered. “They knew what I was. They were magic users on the wrong side of the struggle. They used their magic to torture me—both man and bear. They had charms against my escape that held the bear locked away. I couldn’t get out, but I held onto the hope that my unit would come get me.” He paused to push down the emotion that threatened to overflow at the memory of that moment when Big John and the others had freed him. “Eventually, Big John and the guys found a way to get to me and get me out. They killed the ones who had held me and destroyed their compound. It was a good day, but I’d been…damaged. Magically. Physically. I was pretty messed up.”