by Sammie Joyce
Marcel didn’t seem concerned by it but it troubled me endlessly.
Morris’ arrival that early morning just confirmed what I already knew; they were still going strong and that Charlie’s friends were a part of it all.
“He needs to get to surgery STAT,” Dr. Kimball declared. “Book an OR.”
I backed up to make the call and stepped aside as they wheeled Morris through toward the elevators.
“Wow, girl,” Gloria murmured. “You’ve come a long way, hm?”
I turned to look at the EMS worker with confusion.
“What do you mean?” I asked, wiping the blood off my hands. Rachel still stood by but she hadn’t participated in Morris’ care at all.
Not that I blame her. But I wish she wouldn’t look at me like that.
She was trying not to shoot me a baleful look but she wasn’t very successful.
“Seems to me that the last time we had one of those mangled victims come in, you almost fainted yourself,” Gloria said. I thought back to when she meant and realized it was the time that I had been called in for review.
“Yeah…” I smiled. “I got help for that.”
“I can tell. Good therapist?”
“He’s the best,” I chuckled. “I’ll get you a card if you’re looking.”
“I might just take you up on that,” Gloria said. Her partner waved at her from the sliding doors and she grunted.
“Duty calls,” she said. “See you later, Viv.”
I watched her wander away before turning to Rachel who refused to meet my eyes.
“You’re mad because I treated Morris,” I sighed.
“No,” she lied quickly. “I get it.”
“It’s your job, Rachel. You’re going to meet a lot of unpleasant types in this line of work but it’s your duty to treat every one of them—even if they want to murder you.”
Rachel scowled and jerked her head up defiantly.
“But he wasn’t trying to murder you, was he? He was trying to murder your mate.”
She didn’t give me a chance to respond before storming off, leaving me wondering if I’d done the wrong thing after all. She was right—Morris had tried to kill Marcel, not me. I was still standing in the same place when Marcel came by at six to pick me up.
“Morning, sunshine,” he said brightly. I looked at him blankly, slightly surprised to see him there.
“I have to tell you something,” I blurted out. “I treated Morris today.”
Confusion colored Marcel’s face and he looked at me blankly.
“Who?”
“Morris. He’s Charlie’s friend. He was there….”
I cleared my throat and looked away.
“Oh.” Out of the corner of my eye, I studied Marcel’s face, waiting for him to show his disapproval.
“Is he okay?”
The question took me by surprise.
“Yes—well, no…I mean, I’m not sure. He went in for surgery but he was alive when I last saw him.”
“Then you did good, didn’t you?” Marcel said quietly. I stared up at him, love for him swelling inside me.
“You’re not upset?” I asked.
“Upset because you’re caring and compassionate and doing your job? No, darling, I’m not upset. I’m proud of you and I would never expect you to sacrifice you commitments for me.”
I exhaled in a whoosh of breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding in.
“Were you really that worried I’d be mad?” He asked, sounding skeptical.
“Rachel said something…” I muttered and Marcel groaned.
“I think we both need a little bit of a Rachel hiatus,” he grumbled. “That woman has an opinion on everything.”
I kissed his cheek and grabbed my pursed, slipping around the counter to link arms with him.
“After tonight,” I reminded him. “We still have the barbecue.”
* * *
The cookout had been Inigo’s idea and even though I was exhausted, I had agreed to help Addy with the groceries.
“I’d ask Van but she’s so busy with Cronin these days,” Addy grumbled. “It’s like I don’t have a life and boyfriend of my own.”
“I’m happy to help,” I replied and I meant it. The last few months had been a learning experience for me in more ways than one.
Yes, I’d learned about the shifters and their capabilities but I had also learned that I wasn’t the only human mate among them.
After Rachel, Inigo and Cronin were the next two shifters I met. Cronin I could completely see being a shifter but Inigo had surprised me. Landon had surprised me more.
“How many of you are there?” I had asked in awe.
“A lot,” Marcel replied dryly. “But I’m only introducing you to the ones I know for sure we can trust with our relationship.”
“How do you know you can trust them?”
“Because their mates are human too.”
Almost overnight it felt like I had developed an entirely new circle of friends. I had real girlfriends for once, outside of work, even though Rachel often joined us on these outings. At least once a month, someone pulled together a party of sorts and invariably, I would offer to help. I loved the bond we had formed and while there was nothing supernatural about us, I suddenly understood why the Protectors were so solid in their group too.
“Is that your potato salad?” Christina demanded, grabbing the bowl from my hands as I entered the yard.
“Do I ever bring anything else?” I laughed.
“If you do something well, why knock it?” Vanessa said, ambling toward us. Cronin stared after her wistfully and I waved at him as Addy sauntered toward us.
“There you are. I was worried you had fallen into a post-midnights coma,” Addy sighed.
“And miss a chance to drink with my girls? Not a chance,” I replied. “Is Rachel here yet?”
“She texted. She’s going to be a while. Something about another trauma coming in last minute.”
I tensed but before I could speak, Addy shook her head.
“Nope. No. You’re not at work, not anymore. Let the shifters work their shifter magic or whatever it is they do. You’re done for the day.”
I smiled weakly and nodded.
“Do you think they actually have magic?” Vanessa asked. I found my eyes traveling toward Marcel who sat by the grill with Inigo and Cronin. Landon flipped burgers as they discussed something I couldn’t hear.
“They must if they can turn into animals,” Christina said, almost rolling her eyes.
“No I mean like… can they cast spells or it just like a trait they have, like being able to roll your tongue?”
“What the hell are you going on about?” Addy laughed. “Are you drunk already?”
“No,” Christina said slowly. She darted her gaze toward the men to ensure they were still out of earshot and we all leaned in to hear what she had to say. “I’m just wondering what it would take to become like them.”
“Oh not this again,” Vanessa groaned, taking a swig of her cooler.
“What?” Christina protested. “You can’t say you haven’t thought about it at least once!”
“Just stop it. I have no interest in becoming a big, furry bear,” Vanessa insisted, shaking her head.
“Maybe you could be a cute leopard like Rachel or a wolf—” Christina tried again but Vanessa held up her hand.
“Lalalala I’m not listening to this nonsense again. You’re ruining my buzz.”
I admitted, it was an interesting question but I didn’t want to encourage this kind of drunk conversation when the night was still young. We’d been down this road before and it never ended up well.
“You’re so boring!” Christina grumbled and I knew I had to intercede before a friendly chat became a silly argument.
Especially when it’s a completely hypothetical situation.
“I’ll tell you what,” I offered, leaning down to grab a cooler for myself. “Forget about becoming shifters. Let’s
create our own group. We don’t need to be something we’re not, right? I mean, if we’ve learned anything from these guys, it’s that we shouldn’t have to hide, right?”
“I like the sound of this already,” Vanessa cheered. “Girl Squad United.”
“Women Squad,” Christina corrected and we laughed.
“Mortal Women Squad United,” I joked and they giggled, raising their respective drinks for a toast.
“Hear hear!” they chanted. We took long sips and our mates ambled toward us like they were on the prowl.
“What’s going on over here?” Inigo asked, slipping his arm around Addy’s waist.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Vanessa jeered, dropping a kiss on Cronin’s cheek.
“I wouldn’t,” the bear shifter replied and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You going to tell me?” Marcel whispered in my ear but Christina overheard him.
“What happens in Mortal Women Squad stays in Mortal Women Squad!” she bellowed.
“I’m suddenly sorry I asked,” Marcel chortled, his lips finding the base of my neck.
I sank back against him, enjoying the curve of his body against mine. It didn’t matter what we called it or how we joked. The bottom line was we were all in this crazy process together and I had never been happier.
Life was good and I owed it all to Marcel. We were in it for the long haul.
* * *
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Abiding love honors the past and provides a legacy that will live on forever.
Aspen, a bear shifter, is happy running through the woods with her best friend, Locklear. The wolf shifter loves her with all he has and ever will be. One day as they run through the forest together, they meet a stranger. Soon this stranger becomes important to them both.
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About Sammie Joyce
Paranormal romance is Sammie’s favorite sub-genre of romance. She loves shifters of all sorts. Protectors. Those who need protection.
Falling in love and finding love together. Realizing that your mate is standing right in front of you. The magic in those moments. These are some of my favorite parts of romance!
Writing is one of Sammie’s great loves. Paranormal Romance is her passion.
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http://sammiejoyce.com
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