Bear's Strength

by J. L. Madore

  I chuckle and stack the towels on the dryer. “Riley would’ve loved to see that.”

  He nods. “How you doin’ on that front? Have you been hearing her still?”

  I shrug. “A few words in my head now and then, but nothing like the convo I had with her when I fainted at the palace. Maybe it’s not real and I’m crazy or maybe it’s my subconscious burping up what I need to hear when I need to hear it. I have no idea.”

  “Meh, whatevs. Who are we to judge, right? If hearin’ her pearls of encouragement makes things a little easier in the worst moments, what does it matter what it is?”

  I don’t even bother trying to tame the fitted sheet, so I ball it up and plop it on top of the towels.

  Jaxx chuckles and snatches it out of the basket, before doing a spectacular job of folding it straight and flat.

  “Hello? Are you related to Martha Stewart or something? How’d you do that?”

  “Mama taught me when I moved out on my own. She said no son of hers would be livin’ like a college frat boy. I might be a bachelor, but one day knowin’ how to keep a proper house would impress the right girl.”

  “Score one for Mama. Color me impressed.”

  “Mama’s rarely wrong,” he says. “And you didn’t answer my question. Riley? How is your heart healin’?”

  I inventory my emotions. “I’m still a work in progress. It will be five weeks tomorrow since I found her in that alley. In some ways, I can’t believe it’s been that long. In other ways, I’m incredibly thankful that I’ve had you four and the whole transitioning into a firebird to focus on. The past three weeks have flown by.”

  “Are we good to head out now?” Hawk asks, his bag slung over his shoulder. “Our ride should be here in the next few minutes and we still have to drive up to the main house and say our goodbyes.”

  “We’re ready,” Kotah says coming to get us. “Sorry for the holdup.”

  I wave that away and make a note of thanking Brant for putting that smile on Kotah’s face. Whatever they shared washed away all the ‘back to the palace’ tension he’d been carrying since the plan was made. “Don’t apologize, sugar. Nothing is more important than us getting ourselves sorted out. If that sounds selfish, I don’t care. Fuck the world. If the foundation of our quint is flawed our love won’t withstand the tornadoes.”

  Jaxx snorts. “Well, considering you’re headed to Kansas to face the Fae Council and the Prime and Prima, I think it’s a safe bet we’ll be headed into a twister or two.”

  The helicopter ride to the private airstrip in Oregon takes less than an hour. Lukas arrives with Doc, Keyla, and her two security officers shortly after that. Hawk said their drive from the new rental property would take them twenty minutes, but he wasn’t sure where they were staying because he had nothing to do with situating them. Unsure what was being tracked, he had Doc research and book the second property, so nothing tied back to him or his accounts.

  Kotah bolts from the hangar the moment they arrive and hugs his sister. She looks as sad and emotional as her brother. It doesn’t matter that they have shitty parents, death hurts.

  “Hey, girlfriend,” I say, once they come inside. “I’m so sorry about your father and all this falling on the two of you.”

  Keyla sighs. “We knew it was coming. It’s been nice though, getting away for a bit.” Her gaze travels across the hangar toward Doc and the smile that blooms tells me all I need to know. I tilt my head toward where he’s standing with Hawk and Brant. “That good is he?”

  Kotah follows my gaze and frowns. “What? You and Doc? When did that happen?”

  Her blush is too cute. “It hasn’t—yet. He says it’s hands-off until he talks with you. Can you believe that? My brother gets a say in whether or not he’ll fool around with me?”

  “Well then, no,” Kotah says matter-of-factly. “The answer is no.”

  I snort and wave that away. “You can’t summarily decide your sister’s love life.”

  “Why not? If the question is mine to answer, why can’t I keep my sister young and innocent forever.”

  Keyla laughs and leans close, drawing a deep breath. “You’re a year older than me and wear the mark of your quint. If you get four lovers, why can’t I have one?”

  “I’m guessing, ‘Because I said so,’ won’t work here?”

  I laugh. “No. I don’t think it will.”

  After Kotah pounding Brant in the face and the two of them declaring their love, I’m the last person who claims to understand what goes on in a man’s head.

  Still, I try to offer Keyla something to cheer her up. “If Kotah and Doc both care about you, and I have no doubt about that, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Right, Kotah?”

  Kotah is still scowling at Doc across the room when he takes Keyla’s hand. “I’ll speak to him later. Right now, I want to know how you are. Was Mother decent to you?”

  She nods. “Yeah. I think she’s too panicked about Father to engage. You, on the other hand, she’ll likely come at either with both barrels blazing or laying on the saccharine sweet support to try to win you over.”

  “Neither will work.”

  “No. And that’s good. I didn’t mention the micro-chipping on the phone. I figured we’d drop that bombshell together when you guys think it’s most effective.”

  “Lukas mentioned you were chipped too. Are you all right? He said you wouldn’t let him get rid of it.”

  She pulls a locket out from under her blouse and opens it up. Nestled inside are three tiny square slips of silver. “I didn’t let him get rid of the others, either.”

  “Why is that?” I ask.

  The locket clicks when she shuts it and she drops it back into her blouse. “Because with us heading back to the palace, it makes no sense. If Kotah and I are at the palace, people will know. If our tracking devices aren’t registering there, we lose a tactical advantage. We should keep our discovery of them a secret for as long as we can. Then we can use it to our advantage in a crunch.”

  “I told you I saw great things in her,” Hawk says smiling. He steps behind my hair and kisses the top of my head. “Well thought out, Keyla. Lukas studied them and figures they’ve got a range of about a mile, give or take, so yes, by all means, take them with you. Then we’ll all be accounted for should somebody be looking for us.”

  “But you’re not coming to the palace?” she asks.

  “No, Brant, Lukas, and I are headed to California to catch up with my team tracking down the gifted kids.”

  Keyla frowns. “I wish we didn’t have to split up all the time. I feel better when we’re all in one place.”

  “Preach,” I say, holding up my fist for a bump. “And how do I train at the palace without anyone realizing I can transform now and fly?”

  “You can’t,” Hawk says.

  “You can?” Keyla asks, lighting up. “When did that happen? You got air?”

  “After I got kidnapped. Car explosion. Phoenix flight. Crash and burn. The decimation of a wheat field. I’ll fill you in later. Hawk has to train me to land, but my take-off and flying are going good.”

  “And it’s an absolute secret,” Hawk says. “Nobody can know how close she is to being able to open the portal gate.”

  Keyla blinks. “Why do I feel like I’ve missed a lot?”

  “Because you have,” Kotah says. “But we’ll catch you up on the flight.”

  Jaxx lets off a whistle across the hangar and waves for us all to gather. “Load up, people. The plane’s ready to roll. Our destinies await.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Kotah

  Keyla, Doc, and her two security guards, FitzGibbons—Patrick Fitz and Mark Gibbons—board the plane and leave the five of us in the hangar green room, not wanting to say goodbye… again.

  “No one walks the halls of the palace alone,” Hawk says. “We don’t know who we can trust so we trust only us, got it?”

  Jaxx nods. “I’ll take care of them. I promise.”

  Brant frowns
. “Be safe, you guys.”

  I hug him. It’s funny, he’s got a full foot of height and more than a hundred pounds on me, but it feels like it’s me crushing him. “You too, Bear. Find those kids and then we can put at least one part of this mess behind us.”

  He pulls back and his gaze falls to my lips. Indecision wars in his whiskey-colored eyes. Yeah, the others know what went on between us back in the tunnel of the bunker, but that was private. “May I?”

  I meet his lips and he grips my braid at the nape of my neck. His tongue makes a lazy sweep into my mouth and tastes of chocolate. Ha! I knew he snagged the last brownie. Expecting a quick goodbye, I’m surprised when he lingers.

  When he pulls away, he swallows. “Thanks for loving me, Wolf. I’m bound to piss you all off more often than not, but I want this. I’ve wanted it from the first moment.”

  I kiss him again. “Come home soon.”

  While he moves to say goodbye to Calli, I shift to Hawk. I hug him without invitation and smile when he doesn’t stiffen for the first time. My gift tingles over my skin and it’s amazing how much more at peace he is now. “The matings agree with you.”

  He dips his chin. “I’m beginning to think you’re right.”

  Now it’s me who’s awkwardly staring at Hawk’s lips and I repeat Brant’s question to me. “May I?”

  Hawk’s kiss is nothing like Brant’s. Our avian is dominant and I submit to what he’s willing to offer. It’s short and then it’s over. “Be careful, Wolf. Stick with Calli and Jaxx and let them watch your back. You’re entering an enemy camp. Don’t forget that.”

  “I won’t.”

  Hawk’s kiss with Jaxx is about the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. They each cup the jaw of the other and lock their lips with a force of passion I yearn to share one day. Watching them stirs my cock in my pants but I can’t look away.

  “This,” Calli says, staring at the same display.

  “This,” I repeat, knowing exactly what she means.

  “Keep that dance card close at hand, avian,” Jaxx says, a throaty purr rolling from this throat. “We’ve got a date, for round two, yeah?”

  Hawk’s eyes flash with the wildness of his animal. “Yeah, we do. Looking forward to it.”

  “Okay, you two,” Calli says, breathy. “You’re killing us, over here. Either we gotta move or we gotta get naked.”

  Hawk chuckles and comes over to kiss her goodbye. “Be safe Spitfire. Try not to kill anyone until I get back to bury the bodies, ’kay?”

  “No promises.”

  Calli

  We leave Hawk and Brant standing outside the hangar and wave while we taxi off in the Gulfstream. With heavy hearts we land five hours later in Kansas, get into the shuttle car, and make our way to the palace. “It’s crazy, eh? How a few days can change the dynamic? I feel like we just tore half our heart out and left them behind.”

  “Same,” Jaxx says.

  “Same,” Kotah agrees. “Although, that kiss you shared with Hawk might keep me warm for a few nights at least. Holy hell, Jaxx.”

  I bark a laugh. “Right?”

  Jaxx snorts. “You two are hilarious.”

  I wave that away. “Ohmygod, Jaxx. Do you honestly not realize how smoking hot the chemistry is between you two?”

  Jaxx chuckles and sits deeper in his seat. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

  “Oh, but we want to… don’t we Kotah?”

  Kotah grins and rubs a palm across the fly of his pants. “More than anything. Now, however, might not be the time to be envisioning such things. I should at least attempt to keep up appearances as the son in mourning, shouldn’t I?”

  Jaxx laughs. “You mean the next Fae Prime shouldn’t run around with an impressive party ragin’ in his pants?”

  “No. I think it would be considered poor taste.”

  Knowing that Kotah abhors the idea of facing a crowd head-on, I lower the privacy window and lean forward and speak to the driver. “Could you drop us off at the west entrance, please?”

  The man’s brow tightens as he meets my gaze in the rear-view mirror. “His Highness should be greeted at the main entrance, as is proper, milady. I was instructed to take you there by the Palace Liaison.”

  I look at Kotah and he frowns. “Raven. She must have her reasons.”

  “But you’re the one with the crown, aren’t you?”

  He nods. “Good point. The west entrance if you will. I’d prefer to avoid the fanfare in my time of grief. My mates and I are tired and simply want to get inside and settle before we face what is to come.”

  “Yes, Majesty.”

  Brant

  Our helicopter ride to Northern California is uneventful and Lukas, Hawk, and I take the time to go over what each of us knows about the continued search for the missing teens. Not one of the four who were recovered in Oregon were one of the kids I took into custody. I’m sure it’s partly guilt for my part in their life’s upheaval that has me obsessed, but the bigger part is being a kid with a wiped out past and knowing how bad it sucks not to know who you are or who your parents were.

  “And you were able to speak with Hannah and confirm that she’s alright?” I ask.

  Lukas closes the file in his hands and passes it back to Hawk. “Yes. She’s fine. The call to you was accidental but seeing as how it got everyone mobile and moving, we’ll consider it divine intervention.”

  “Okay. As long as she’s okay.”

  Hawk’s brow arches. “If you care about this one and we’re at a place to share advice, I’ll warn you to tamp that down in front of Calli. After being on the receiving end of her wildling’s flaming fury, I wouldn’t wish her possessive rage on anyone I care about.”

  “Jayne escaped unharmed though, yeah?”

  Hawk chuffs. “I said anyone I care about. I would’ve served Jayne up to get burned to a crisp if it wouldn’t have hurt Calli more. Instead, it was poor Lukas here who bore the brunt of that battle.”

  He chuckles. “Living the adventure one day at a time.”

  I scratch my head. “I wish I hadn’t been so out of it for that. Sounds like one helluva scene.”

  “Hawks right. It’s nothing you want to revisit.” Lukas gets up and heads up to the cockpit to check in with the pilot.

  “More to love is more to lose,” Hawk says, staring out the window as the clouds wisp past. “My nanny once said that to me, when I asked her why my dad didn’t love me. I never really understood it until that moment when Calli went limp in my arms.”

  “You never risked love until her?”

  He shakes his head, still staring off. “I never risked anything of myself until this mating. Funny, eh? People looking at me from the outside, thinking I had everything life could offer. There were times I would’ve agreed with them…”

  “But not now?”

  “No. Not now.” He pulls his attention from his musings and smiles. “Sorry. I’m getting a little too introspective. Where were we?”

  “We were building a list of people in your company who have the clout to pull something like this off.”

  “Right. Jayne Trenton, my PA, comes from old money and plenty of power. She has the run of the company. Hunter Gable, my Director of Operations, is a coyote shifter and always seems to have his fingers in everyone’s assholes. I’ve got an eight-person executive team. They have influence but report to Jayne, so if there’s collusion, they could be involved.”

  “Me,” Lukas says, sliding back into his seat. “If you’re making a comprehensive list, I should be included. I have all the clearances and respect within the company to get people to do what I ask without raising suspicion.”

  Hawk raises a brow. “I’m not concerned about you.”

  He shakes Hawk off. “Put me on the list. We don’t want any blind spots.”

  I jot him down but agree with Hawk that it’s a waste of ink. “Who takes over if a non-confidence gets leveled against you by the Fae Council?”

  “No one. It’s my company. No
board of directors to answer to. The company lives or dies by my hand.”

  “Okay, then who succeeds you if you drop dead from a heart attack or you know… get shot twice and bleed out?”

  Hawk waggles his brow at that. “Hopefully that was a one-time deal. Thank you, by the way. Jaxx told me you took on some nasty guard dogs and kept me from getting chewed.”

  I shrug. “Score it as a point in the win column for me for later. I’m sure I’ll do something to piss you off soon enough.”

  “I’m sure,” Hawk says, chuckling. “Up until the mating, my successor would’ve been Byron Maass. He’s been with my company for almost two decades and helped me put together the Fae Council. He knows all the players and how the FCO works.”

  “Until the mating? That changed?”

  He nods. “Of course. In the event of my untimely demise, everything transfers to my four mates equally. Did I forget to mention that, Bear? You’re a multi-millionaire.”

  I blink as that sinks in. Even with all the bad blood, he thought of me that way? Yeah, I truly am a tunnel-visioned meathead. “Well, hot dayam. I guess I can afford the new transmission for my old truck after all.”

  Hawk chuckles. “I guess you can.”

  Jaxx

  “Welcome back to the Timber Trail suite,” Kotah says as we let ourselves into the same door we were kicked out of not that long ago. “Home sweet home.”

  Calli and I look at each other and snort. “Not!”

  Although, once we step inside, I wonder about that. “What the hell happened in here?”

  Gone are the bedroom doors on either end of the suite with a living room in the middle. The place has been gutted and completely remodeled, including opening the ceiling so it’s now a two-story space with exposed wooden beams, a beautiful staircase, and a wood and glass railing above. The entire space bursts with the warmth of honeyed-pine construction, slate floors, ruby and gold accents, and welcoming energy.

  Kotah smiles. “Do you like it? I was very specific about what I wanted. I’m supposed to take the royal suite, but I hate it there. This is the only place in the palace other than the kitchen courtyard and gazebo that means anything to me. And I couldn’t let them paint over that.”