by Sophie Stern
“Shut your mouth, cat,” I say.
“Come on now,” he pouts, crossing his arms over his chest. “Don’t be like that. I don’t walk around calling you a teddy bear.”
“You literally do,” I point out.
“Oh yeah,” Lyon smirks. “Look,” he says, pointing out the window. “There it is.”
The Riverdale Apartments building is three stories of garbage. Seriously. The entire place is run-down and worn-out.
“He wants custody of his kid in this dump?” Casa peers out the window and shakes his head. “I’m not even a father yet, and I can tell you right now, I wouldn’t take my kid anywhere near this place.”
I park the car and we all get out and look around.
“Broken bottles on the ground,” Joyce points out. “Watch your step.”
“She said she thinks he’s on the first floor.”
“Let’s split up,” Lyon says.
“Haven’t you ever seen a horror movie?” Casa glares at the tiger. “We go in groups of two. You and Joyce go that way,” he points to one side of the building. “Fee, you’re with me.”
“Hey, that rhymes.”
“Fuck off.”
Somehow, Joyce manages to stride in her stilettos. She and Lyon disappear around the corner of the building and Casa and I head to the main entrance. The entire building smells like smoke and poor decisions.
“Let’s go to the left,” I say, and we head down a hallway. We pause at each door, listening. I know Blake’s scent. When we’re close, I’ll be able to smell him from the hallway: no knocking required. The first few doors are dead ends, but when we reach apartment 1E, I know we’ve got him.
“Here?” Casa mouths, and I nod. He steps back to allow me the honor of breaking down the fucking door, which I’ll do, but first, I shift into bear form.
I should take off my clothes first, but I don’t, and they rip and tear as soon as I shift. The sound alone should be enough to alert Chester to my presence, but something tells me he’s not going to be paying much attention to his visitors.
He’ll be more focused on the fact that he just got away with kidnapping his own son.
Then again, he was fucking stupid enough to come home. If I was going to take my own child, I’d take them far away where no one could bother us. I wouldn’t go back to my own home like a fucking moron.
I growl and kick in the door. It’s made of flimsy material that collapses when I kick, and I step easily into the studio apartment. A man is standing in the center of the room facing the door. He’s got Blake in his arms.
“Back off,” Chester says when he sees me. He looks neither scared nor surprised to see me here.
I just glare at him.
“This is my kid,” he says.
“Really?” Casa steps in the door behind me. He didn’t shift, so he can still speak to the fucker. “Because last I heard, you have a custody hearing in two days, and things aren’t looking good for you, so let’s try again. Hand over the baby and this won’t be a problem. We won’t file kidnapping charges or have you locked away for child neglect.”
“Fuck you,” Chester spits, and I growl uncontrollably. I hate this guy. I hate knowing what he put my Tina through. I hate knowing he hurt her. I hate knowing he’s still causing her pain and grief after all this time. I hate it.
And now he’s holding Blake, the child I consider to be part of my family, and he’s not backing down.
“Put the baby down, Chester.”
“Or what?” He sneers. “You’ll sick Tina on me? Dumb bitch doesn’t want to pay up? Well, I’ll make her pay up. You know she’s been sneaking around with some guy? Her lawyer,” Chester rolls his eyes, and I realize he doesn’t recognize me in bear form. Of course not. He doesn’t know I’m the guy he’s talking about. “What a slut.”
“Watch your mouth,” Casa is losing control and I know he’s only minutes away from shifting on impulse and taking out Chester. We need to get the baby away from him, though. We need to get Blake to safety, and then I can kick this guy’s ass.
“You gonna tell on me? Really? Because I’m planning on telling the judge at the hearing all about her indiscretions: how she cheated on me while we were married, how she broke my heart, how she planned to keep our son away from me.” He tears up a little and wipes at his eyes. He’s quite the actor.
“No one is going to buy that,” Casa says. “Especially after the stunt you pulled today. Tina is going to get her baby back. The cops are on the way now and there’s nowhere to go. You need to hand over the kid.”
“He’s the only leverage I’ve got, fucker,” Chester says, yelling. “He’s mine! And the bitch is going to pay. She thinks she can just keep my kid from me and not pay me alimony? Child support? Forget that. She owes me. I took care of her for years while we were together. Now it’s her turn to take care of me. She’s a whore who’s going to get what she deserves.”
Casa shakes his head. “Wrong thing to say, fuckface,” he looks at me and says, “on three.”
“What?” Chester looks confused.
“One.”
“What the hell are you counting for?”
“Two.”
“Are we in Kindergarten?”
“Three.”
Casa dives for Blake and grabs the infant from Chester’s arms, rolling away safely and easily. I know Blake won’t be hurt at all with Casa’s perfect aim. Chester doesn’t seem to know what happened because he’s looking down at his empty arms, and then at Casa, and then back down at his arms.
“What the-”
But he doesn’t have time to finish because I throw myself at him. Just before impact, I hear the telltale sounds of Chester’s clothing ripping.
He’s shifting, too.
And it’s on.
Chapter 11
Tina
As soon as I hang up the phone, I realize the cops aren’t going to be able to help me. I can hear the sirens in the background and know they’re on the way, but Chester is a shifter. I know Landon thinks he can handle it, but he doesn’t understand what happens when someone can literally change their body into that of a huge animal.
I’ve seen Chester shift.
I’ve touched him in shifter form.
He’s huge, and beautiful, and terrifying.
The thought of Chester taking my child makes me sick to my stomach and I feel like I might throw up, but even worse is the idea that Chester might hurt him. What if Landon gets there and Chester hurts Blake just to prove a point? What if he hurts Landon, too? What if this all ends and I’m left with nothing, with no one?
What will I do then?
I grab Fawn’s arm as she walks by.
“I’m so sorry,” she says again, shaking. Tears are streaming down her face.
“You didn’t know,” I say for the millionth time, trying to keep it together. I’m devastated, but I can’t really blame Fawn. She did her best, and she didn’t know Chester wasn’t supposed to be able to get to Blake. Honestly, the thought that he might try to take my son never even crossed my mind, so I didn’t specify that when I signed Blake up for daycare.
I should have told every damn daycare employee that my son was only allowed to be picked up by me, but I didn’t.
I screwed up.
I messed up royally and now a monster has my baby and my boyfriend.
“Listen,” I tell Fawn. “When the police arrive, tell them to go to the Riverdale Apartments complex, okay?”
“Why?” Fawn asks, eyes wide and blinking. “Why can’t you?”
“Because I have to go save my baby, Fawn. Just do it.”
I turn then and walk away. Aside from Fawn, no one seems to notice I’m leaving the area. I shouldn’t be going. I’m supposed to wait for the police. They’ll want me to give a formal report of what happened and file paperwork and give a statement, but I don’t have time for that.
When it comes to my son, every second counts, and I’m not waiting another one.
I get in
my car and head straight for the apartments where Chester lives. The asshole moved into a cheap, dingy place that isn’t fit for rats: much less people. I don’t know why he picked such a terrible place to live. He’s got a job. He should be able to afford a real house or at least a livable apartment. Then again, maybe this is part of his ploy to get me to give him money.
Anyone will assume that someone living at Riverdale doesn’t have any money and needs financial help. Is this part of his plan to get the judge to rule in his favor?
I scream as I drive, and I hit the steering wheel out of pure frustration.
“Please,” I whisper. “Please let Blake be okay.”
Just before my stomach gets the best of me, I arrive at Riverdale and park my car. I get out of the vehicle and look around. Which apartment is Chester in? I know he lives on the first floor, but which room?
I don’t have to wait long because I hear a growl.
I hear a loud, terrifying growl, and I know it’s not Chester.
Jaguars don’t sound like that.
Bears sound like that.
“There’s another shifter here,” I whisper, looking around, and I get even more scared for my son. Where the hell is Blake? Is my baby okay?
“Tina!” A familiar voice calls my name and I turn to see Joyce running across the parking lot. How the hell does she run so gracefully in those damn heels?
“Where are they?” I ask. I know my face is red and my nose is snotty from all the crying and screaming I did on the way over. “Where’s my baby, Joyce?”
“I think Landon found him,” she whispers. A man appears beside her: one of Landon’s colleagues. Lyon, I think.
“Oh, he found him.”
We turn toward the sound of the growling.
“My baby,” I whisper, and take a step toward the building, but I needn’t have bothered. Just then, we hear a loud crash and the sound of wood splintering and breaking. Two animals come barreling out of the side of the building, completely destroying the wall. They both appear to be uninjured and unharmed, totally ignoring the way they just tumbled out of the apartment building.
One of the creatures is obviously Chester. The jet-black fur is a dead giveaway. Even though he’s completely evil, completely terrible, it doesn’t take away from the fact that as a shifter, he’s beautiful.
The other is a bear who is far more beautiful than Chester. He’s far fiercer. He’s much bigger.
And I know without a doubt in my soul that the bear is Landon.
It has to be.
“Landon is a shifter?” I whisper, not quite understanding what’s happening.
“I’m surprised he didn’t tell you sooner,” Joyce says. “I knew you’d be able to handle it.”
“Maybe he was scared of rejection,” Lyon pipes up, but I ignore them both and watch the way Landon and Chester are fighting in the parking lot. Chester growls and scratches at Landon, but Landon barely seems to notice. He’s got size on his side, and strength, and after some tumbling and growling, he quickly pins Chester to the ground.
It doesn’t take long at all.
“Aw,” Casa appears next to me. “That fight was over before it even started. Not fair. I was hoping for some fun. I at least wanted time to get popcorn while we watched the fight.”
I hear a cooing and turn to see Blake in his arms.
“My baby!” I take Blake from Casa and hold him, smell him, touch him. I count his little fingers and his tiny toes and then I just hold him close to me. “You saved him,” I tell Casa. “Thank you.”
Casa holds perfectly still as I give him a hug. It’s a small gesture, a small offering for everything he’s done for me.
“It was Landon, really,” Casa says, and I turn back to where my bear still has my ex pinned on the parking lot pavement. People from the apartment building have come out to stare. Several people are taking pictures with their cell phones and a few are on the phone, undoubtedly calling the police about a disturbance.
As I watch, Landon finally pulls his eyes from where he has Chester pinned down and he sees me. Our gazes connect across the parking lot, and I realize that I want to spend the rest of my life with Landon.
I want to spend the rest of my life loving this bear.
I want to spend the rest of my life by his side.
And the realization makes my heart sing.
Chapter 12
Landon
By the time we get back to Tina’s house, it’s late. After being interviewed by the police, answering questions, filling out paperwork, and getting checked out by the paramedics, it’s nearly midnight when we get back to her house.
I help her tuck Blake into his bassinet, and then Tina and I sit on the couch together.
“You don’t have to be worried anymore,” I tell her.
“I guess the custody hearing is off, huh?”
“Seeing as Chester will be in jail for a long, long, long time, I think that’s safe to say.”
“You don’t think he’ll come after me when he gets out?”
“Not if he knows what’s good for him,” the idea makes me pissed. “I won’t be as gentle on him next time.” I should have killed him tonight, but I couldn’t bring myself to. Besides, the paperwork on that would have been even more of a nightmare.
“You saved my son, you know.”
“No,” I whisper, kissing her forehead. “I saved our son.”
Tina looks up at me, her eyes wide. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“What do you think I’m saying, princess?”
“That you…that you love me,” she whispers. “That you love us. That you want us to be a family. That you want us to all be together.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying, beautiful. I love you so much, Tina. I wanted to take things slow because I know your divorce is still so recent. I didn’t want you to feel like I was rushing into anything with you. The idea of hurting you breaks my heart. I just wanted to take care of you. Now I realize I should have told you that first day how I felt. Fuck being crazy. I should have told you that I want to love you forever, that I want to marry you, that I want to help you raise this sweet little boy, that I want us to have more babies.”
“Maybe that would have scared me off,” she whispers. “I think you did just fine, Landon. I think you did just fine. Although,” she adds with a smile. “I was surprised to find out you’re a bear.”
“I’m surprised I didn’t notice your son was a shifter,” I admit. “I should have noticed his scent the first day.”
“Were you overwhelmed by his total cuteness?” She asks, taking my hand. “I know I am.”
“I think I was overwhelmed by his beautiful mother,” I say, and then I kiss Tina. “It’s been too long since I held you in my arms,” I tell her, touching my forehead to hers. “It feels like a lifetime.”
Tina kisses me again, wrapping her arms around my neck. She strokes my cheek and runs her hand down my jaw as she shows me how she feels about me. My heart fills with joy in this moment because Tina is incredible.
I don’t know how I’ve made it a lifetime without her.
Now I can’t stand the thought of being apart from her.
I can’t stand the idea of not being near her.
“Marry me,” I whisper.
“What did you say?” She asks.
“Marry me,” I say again. I’m not going to shy away from the question, from telling her what I want. I’ve spent weeks being careful, being reasonable. I’ve spent weeks coming to terms with the fact that Tina is my mate.
She’s the woman I love.
I’m going to love her forever.
“I want to spend my life worshipping you. I want to spend the rest of my days taking care of you and Blake. I want to help you raise him. I want to be by your side. I want to honor you, Tina. I want to love you. Please, tell me you’ll be mine.”
“I’m yours,” she whispers without hesitation, and she kisses me again. “I’m yours, Landon.”
The way Tina opens her heart to me without fear is incredible. The way she accepts my offer without making excuses about how she’s scared or needs more time or just isn’t sure is amazing.
She’s perfect.
And I want to show her this in a way that’s much more intimate than kissing.
“Come upstairs with me,” I whisper, and that’s when Tina hesitates. “What’s wrong?” I ask.
“It’s just that…” She takes a deep breath. “The reason I sleep on the couch is because Chester…Chester cheated on me upstairs,” Tina says, and I hate the way her voice trembles a little bit as she says it. I hate the way she sounds scared, worried. “I’m nervous about sleeping in that room. I haven’t slept in there since he moved out.”
“What Chester did to you is terrible. He’s a world class asshole.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s just that…I hate knowing I wasn’t good enough. He’s such a huge idiot, you’re totally right, but I can’t help feeling that it’s my fault.”
“Tina, what happened isn’t your fault. You’re incredible. You’re the most fantastic woman I’ve ever met in my life. You’re brave and bold and sweet. You’re lovely. You’re beautiful. Chester has already taken so much from you. Let’s not let him take this, too.”
I stand up, and I take her hand, pulling her to her feet.
“Will you come with me upstairs?” I ask her. “Will you let me reclaim your bedroom? Let’s not let him ruin what we have, baby. Let’s take back that room for us. Let’s claim your house as our own. Let’s do it together.”
“What about…what about Blake?” She looks at the bassinet where her infant is sleeping peacefully. “We can’t leave him down here.”
“Does he have a room upstairs?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a baby monitor?”
“Yes.”
“Come on, princess.”
Carefully, gently, I lift Blake from the bassinet and hold him to my chest. Tina leads the way upstairs to Blake’s bedroom and I lay him down in his crib. We set up the baby monitor, make sure Blake is comfortable, and carefully sneak out of the room to the master bedroom. Tina sets up the baby monitor receiver on the dresser, and then she turns to me.
