Bear's Strength

by J. L. Madore

  His square jaw flexes as he grits his teeth. “That’s all well and good, but does it have to be every five minutes?’

  “She had the urge and I had the time.”

  “And isn’t it nice for you that you don’t have any other demands on your time?”

  I see it then, what comes off as territorial jealousy is rooted in fear. Hawk had sex with Calli once to mate her, but he has no faith in the mating. I’m spending my time showing Calli what we can be, and he doesn’t see it.

  He sees himself getting left behind.

  “Hawk, this isn’t a case of may the best man win. We all win here. It’s Musketeer time. All for one and one for all. Aligning as mates isn’t us with her. It’s all five of us.”

  He stiffens and my cat growls long and low.

  “Dammit, avian. We won’t mount you the moment you let your guard down. You’re not open to male-male with us. You’ve made that clear. Despite what you think, you’re not all that. We can resist you.”

  Hawk’s attention flickers to the SUV pulling away and snaps back into CEO mode. “Now’s not the time.”

  He steps off, but I match his move and grab his wrist. “I’m just sayin’, let us become what we’re meant to be as mates. Friends. Partners. Maybe lovers in the sense that we all focus on Calli. Just don’t isolate yourself.”

  He glares at my grip on his wrist and I release him. I get that he’s only a team player if he’s the captain and the coach, but that won’t work here. There are two alphas in this mating, and we need to work that dominance shit out.

  “You don’t know me or what motivates me.”

  I nod. “Agreed. And if you keep up your bullshit, we never will.”

  Hawk

  When the reinforced titanium gate hums shut behind the truck’s bumper, the one in front of us releases and begins a slow swing to allow our entry. The Portland compound I rented for our stay boasted state-of-the-art security features, a seven-bedroom main house, a four-car garage with three-bedroom loft above, and a nine-acre treed lot trimmed with hotwire and alarms.

  “Wow.” Calli’s eyes pop wide as we drive up the winding lane. “Look at this place.”

  Brant snorts in the shotgun seat beside me. “Bribing our female won’t win you any congeniality awards. avian.”

  I shoot him a sideways glare. “And if the decision was left to you, where would you house the phoenix savior of the Fae Realm, the Prime in Waiting, and the Prime Princess? A Super 8? How about a Day’s Inn? I hear they’ve got a complimentary continental breakfast bar.”

  “Har-har,” Brant says, making a face. “This is ursine territory. My point is that I can get us housing anywhere along the Pacific coastline without drawing attention.”

  “I didn’t draw any attention. I simply rented a house. In my circles, there is nothing odd or out of the ordinary for a wealthy male and his entourage to move into a compound while they’re in town. Trust me, Bear. I’ve built my empire in information security. I know how to do discrete.”

  We round the last bend of the drive and face the glass and stone house head-on. It’s a stunning monument to organic architecture with fluid lines and natural materials. It’s large enough for our group, private, and secure.

  “This will do nicely.”

  Brant busts out laughing. “Yes. It’s very discrete.”

  I shift the truck into park, shut off the engine, and bail out. It’s close to dusk and the gas lamps lining the walkways have lit. Pressing the fob on the keychain, I pop the back hatch and meet everyone at the back tailgate to grab our bags.

  Jaxx grabs his and Calli’s duffels and they head across the paved courtyard toward the house. Brant is still grumbling as he pulls his bag from the back and lumbers off. Kotah slings his bag over his shoulder and presses a hand to my arm.

  The kid’s smile tightens when he registers my reaction and I curse inwardly. It’s a reflex I need to work on. “Thank you for taking such good care of our group, Hawk.” A rush of calm and warmth tingles into my system from his touch. “For the house, the security arrangements for my sister, and the lengths you go to for our well-being… all of it.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Despite what Jaxx said, I’m not isolating or being an ass. I’m doing my part in this mating like him. I’m just not doing it with my dick.

  Kotah’s smile widens and I have an idea of what’s coming. The guy keeps hugging me, even after I told him to stop. I think I manage to bury my instinct to back away… it doesn’t matter. Right when I think he’s going to move in and get personal, he pulls back and pats my arm. “We’re lucky to have you. Thanks for all you do.”

  Kotah peels off, leaving me anxious and feeling weird. Am I off-kilter because I thought he would hug me or because he didn’t? Fuck me. This mating shit is confusing.

  I shut the truck hatch and curse myself.

  I thought accepting the mating with Calli would set my head on straight and I could put this chaos behind me. It helped with the insanity of a throbbing perma-erection, but that’s it.

  Dammiiiit.

  I swing my duffle higher onto my shoulder and follow the others. Lukas is smoking with his team beside the garage and I lift my chin in greeting. “Give me five minutes inside and then we’ll see where we are.”

  “Take your time,” Lukas says. “We’re waiting on intel. Likely closer to fifteen before I have answers.”

  I nod and head inside.

  The side entrance opens into a breezeway mudroom and I sit on the wooden bench to unlace my boots. Once inside, I take my bag up to the second floor to see where everyone is staking their claims.

  “We’re in here,” Calli says, gesturing for me to join her in one of the secondary bedrooms.

  I follow her inside and frown at her bag on the queen-sized sleigh-bed. “This isn’t the master. The master has a king. Why wouldn’t you guys pick the biggest room?”

  “Oh, they did. When I said we’re in here I meant we, us, you, and me.” She rushes forward as I step back. “Don’t bother arguing. Jaxx and I make and take time whenever passion strikes. Kotah and I will be here getting him sorted on his Prime duties while you and the FCO gang are out on missions. Brant wants to wait and romance me without a crowd. That leaves you and I setting aside time.”

  I’m about to drop my bag on the bed but remember how she snatched it up and held me for ransom during another bedroom argument much like this one. “We can’t sleep together, Calli. The last time we did, you woke up choking and fighting for your life.”

  “No, that was the first time we did. The last time, you took one of your pills and nothing happened. I got to snuggle into you for the night. Then, in the morning, you got up, kissed me goodbye, and went to work.”

  “You make it sound so domestic.”

  “Other than there being five of us in this marriage, us being fae wildlings, and one of us being the next king of the realm, we’re totally run of the mill.”

  I laugh. “You should set yourself up with Jaxx and Kotah. They’ll be better company.”

  She shakes her head and the light catches the growing copper streaks in her golden hair. “I need this, Hawk, and I think you do too. I need to feel like we’re growing closer together not further apart.”

  “What about Brant? You haven’t even mated him. Save the seduction speech and shift your focus. There are enough bedrooms in this place to woo him and make it official.”

  Closing the distance between us, she takes my bag and tosses it on the floor. Then, she pushes me back to sit on the bed. I expect her to climb into my lap but instead, she straddles my thighs and rests her arms over my shoulders.

  The warmth of her body melts the coldness inside me like it always does. She wriggles closer and we’re pressed together from our groins to our chests to our lips. She bites my bottom lip and it’s unapologetically rough.

  When she releases the tender flesh, she brushes the sting with her kiss. “This is our room—yours and mine. You get to be the boss out in
the field. I get to be the boss of whose bed I’m in. I’m not a prize or a treasure to be bartered. I’m a person and I have my own ideas about who I want to sleep with and why. Got it?”

  My cock pinches in the confines of my pants and I groan. Desire has a way of convincing even the most dominant male to submit. I’m so close to buckling and letting her control me it’s astonishing. I can’t. It’s not safe for her or me. Still, I’m not going to win by turning her down either.

  “If I agree, will you let me go?”

  “For now, yes.”

  “Okay, yes. Though, I think the danger to you is—”

  My argument is blocked by her tongue in my mouth. I’ve never been a fan of bottoming, but it’s different with Calli. Jaxx is right about one thing. She’s finding herself, exploring her strengths and her wants. For some reason I can’t explain, she wants me… even knowing who and what I can be.

  Her passion is a heady thing.

  She’s solid and warm and unapologetically aggressive.

  And then, she’s gone. I blink up and see her rolling to her feet and putting distance between herself and the edge of the bed. As she backs away, her bosom rises and falls in a breathless attempt at control. I’m glad I’m not the only one who gets carried away.

  I swallow. “Abandoning ship?”

  She chuckles. “Keeping my word. I said I’d let you go, so consider this me setting the stage for later. Be safe out there, broody. And while you’re searching for missing kids and mired in lies and hostility, know I’m waiting for you to come home to me.”

  I rise from the mattress, my biological hunger for my wildling mate unsated and noticeable against the front of my pants. I think about Jaxx’s comment about her needing to feel our acceptance to grow into a fully transitioning phoenix and give the jaguar credit.

  He’s more than a pretty face.

  Stepping up to her, I clasp her hand and press it firmly against the bulge behind my fly. Leaning close, I brush her cheek with mine and whisper against her neck. “You up for a little sexplay, Spitfire?”

  She grinds the heel of her palm against my cock and suddenly, my life outside this room seems far less important. “Anything you’ve got in mind.”

  Fuck she’s trusting. “While I’m gone, work on your hand-to-hand and shifting with Kotah—no sex. Then take a nap. When you wake up, text me and I’ll give you further instructions.”

  “Will they be sexy Dom instructions?”

  “They will. Now, workout, nap, and then text. Show me how obedient you can be if you try.”

  “Will you punish me if I’m bad?”

  I arch a brow. “No. I’ll rescind the offer if you’re bad. You want me to punish you. I will only reward you if you do as I ask.”

  Her smile is nothing I deserve. “Sir, yes, sir.”

  Fuck me. I’m in serious trouble with her.

  Brant

  The delivery label Hannah found in the dumpster led us back to a home-builder bulk store. The run of the mill purchases didn’t get us anywhere and neither did the FCO corporate card because it expensed everything in Hawk’s name. Where we did luck out was that the purchaser of the lumber, drywall, wire, and light fixtures used the same corporate card for all his local purchases.

  While Hannah tracks the number down looking for our bad guy’s identity, delivery addresses, etc. Jaxx puts his hacking skills to good use and tracks the locations of all the purchases in the area so we can get an idea of their home base.

  “Got it.” Doc comes into the office unfolding the corrugated flaps of a map. My closest friend from my sleuth, the ex-military medic turned bodyguard has been my rock through this mating chaos. He knows me and isn’t afraid to step in and voice his concerns if he thinks I’m losing focus.

  I need that sometimes.

  I point to the empty meeting table and we set ourselves up. This mansion has a fully equipped office and despite me talking smack to Hawk about showing off and over-doing it, his foresight always seems to come in handy.

  “How stupid can this guy be?” Jaxx asks.

  I scan the monitor screen over Jaxx’s shoulder and smile wide. “Honestly, I won’t complain. The Black Knight might be strong and mysterious, but his minions’ overconfidence works in our favor. Doc, grab some colored pens, and Jaxx, print that off for me. Let’s get an idea where this guy is.”

  The laserjet hums to life and I snag the sheet of paper as it spits out. “All righty, now we’re cooking with gas. First point, Starbucks 122nd Avenue where it meets Airport way.”

  Doc traces a finger over the map and makes a green dot.

  “Next one, Costco. 4849 NE 138th Avenue.”

  It goes like that until we exhaust the list and are looking at a cluster of dots along the Columbia River near Hwy 205 where it crosses over into Canada.

  Ding.

  “Hello, there,” Jaxx says, hustling back to the desk. “Okay, I put a flag on the card. It just got used at a public storage on 136th.”

  “Good enough,” I say, grabbing my flack vest from over the back of the chair and slinging it on. “Forward the directions to me—”

  “Screw that,” Jaxx says straightening from the desk. “I’ve transferred it to my phone. Let’s go.”

  I’m about to argue when Hawk joins us. “Go where?”

  Jaxx and I rush past him and head toward the breezeway to grab our shoes. “That credit card just pinged. It’s not far and I’m going. You might need EMS for those teens.”

  Hawk grabs his boots and gets with the program. “You can go if you stay in the truck until the scene is cleared.”

  “Fine. As long as I go.”

  Boots on, Jaxx tucks his soul crystal into his shirt and gives Calli a quick kiss. “Love you, kitten. See you soon. If we’re not back, wish Kotah luck with his call to the Palace.”

  Hawk finishes with his laces and squeezes her hand. “Remember what I said, Spitfire. Workout, nap, text, reward.”

  Calli bites her lip and nods. “Yes, sir.”

  Okay, ew. I have no idea what that’s about but am so focused on rescuing those kids I don’t care. As I pass her, it hits me. The other mates are working to advance their relationships while I’m holding out for the perfect moment and looking in the opposite direction.

  I bend down to brush her lips with mine. “I’m sorry I’m so preoccupied, beautiful. I’ll do better, I promise.”

  Calli cups my jaw and then runs her fingers into the wavy lengths of my hair. “You’re doing fine. Be safe, Bear. The lives of strangers aren’t worth yours. Not to me, anyway.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Kotah

  “First round we’ll do shirts against skins,” I say, returning to the grassy lawn at the back of the mansion. Straight from the kitchen, I hold up our weapons. Doc and I are the attacking force while Calli and Keyla are the defenders in training. “Each of us will fight until a mortal wound is struck.”

  I offer them four rubber-ended baking spatulas in different colors. “Choose your weapon wisely my friends for they are the only thing between you and your enemy. We’ll consider the handles neutral but the ends both cut and burn. A straight stab to a vital organ is a kill.”

  Keyla arches a brow and chooses first. “Red, the color of spilled blood.”

  “Well, then.” Doc snorts and reaches forward. “Black, the color of death.”

  Calli is next. “Orange, the color of raging fire.”

  I look at the one in my hand. “That leaves me with green the color of… frogs. Don’t ask me how that’s an advantage. I can’t think of a good one and frogs are cool. Fun fact. They can jump over twenty times their body length. That’s like a human jumping more than ninety-eight feet.”

  “Okay, that is impressive.” Calli laughs, pointing her orange spatula at me. “You’re going down frogman and as for death,” she shifts to Doc, “I’m a freaking phoenix. Death doesn’t scare me. I will rise again.”

  Doc laughs and we all face off and drop into first positions… “Rea
dy… Go!”

  Over the past weeks, one of my truest joys has been to work with Calli each day and witness her skills develop. She’s gone from a reactive scrapper to a strategic sparring partner.

  She’s not ready to take on a gang of hostile drow on her own yet but she could hold them off longer now than she did that first day we met her.

  The four of us parry and swipe and jostle for supremacy, settling into a rhythm. This is fun. More fun than I’ve had in a lifetime of people either judging me or pandering to me.

  A red spatula slices through the air by my ear and I duck and shift my footing to keep both Calli and Keyla in view. My sister is classically trained as I am, but, “Palace life has made you soft and slow, little sister.”

  Keyla laughs catching my arm with the tip of her red rubber. “Sizzle sizzle, brother. That’s going to leave a scar.”

  “Doc, where’s my backup?”

  “Flaming stab wound to the base of my spine,” Doc shouts from where he’s lying on the grass. “Death is paralyzed until the next round.”

  The girls are closing in, so I dive roll into an open spot and regroup.

  “Fancy frog moves won’t save you, my love.”

  I catch Calli mid-air as she dives full-bodied at me. Cushioning her descent, I roll, absorb the hit of our bodies colliding with the ground, and lay her gently on the grass. The spatula to the spine seals my end. “Who’s soft now, big brother. We knew you’d fall for the heroic save routine.”

  I laugh, pressing Calli into the grass to claim a kiss before rolling to my feet and pulling her up. “But you sacrificed one of your own.”

  Calli giggles. “Shirts still won. Go, girls.”

  Doc joins us looking abashed. “Yep. Chivalry did me in too. Wolf. We obviously need to suppress our more gallant instincts when sparring with these two.”