“I DIDN’T MEAN TO GROWL when you touched him.” Geno didn’t know what else to say. He knew Wynter didn’t want an overbearing male who would try to control every aspect of her life, but he couldn’t be anyone other than who he was. The male he was brought up to be needed to protect his mate and cherish her. He only hoped she would soon come to understand that and love him anyway.
“Yes, you did.” Wynter glared at him through narrowed eyes. “But I think I understand why you did it. I know you want to protect me, but you have to realize there is a big difference between protecting those you care about and bossing them around. I can understand and even tolerate your need to protect me, but I won’t allow you to boss me around. Get it?”
“Got it.” He nodded and turned his attention back to the screen. Instead of typing in the commands, he decided to voice them so there would be no perceived secrets between them. “Computer, medical evaluation requested.”
A transparent tube appeared from thin air and slid over Gregor, enclosing him in the med-bed.
“Medical evaluation commencing.”
Wynter remembered the female voice of the computer and wondered if it had a name. Birgit’s car named itself Sierra. No doubt, after the name of its model, though, it was spelled differently.
“Regulating the environment around the male subject.” Four needles appeared injecting Gregor in his main arteries.
Wynter closed her eyes, silently thanking Geno for sparing the big shifter the trauma of the many injections.
“Adult male shifter, blood pressure one-twenty over seventy-two, blood pressure normal. Temperature one-hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Temperature is possibly normal. Excess body hair noted.
Terran gorilla DNA found, human DNA found, dragon-shifter DNA found, chimpanzee DNA found, polar bear DNA found, grizzly bear DNA found.”
“Oh, my God. The poor guy. No wonder he was more beast than man.” Tabby’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hands.
“Attempt to recover primary deoxyribonucleic acid strand failed. The subject has been too long in the new form. Attempting to extrapolate an original bear-shifter genetic code from the Zolon database.
“I am facilitating counteractive therapies, using bear-shifter chromosomes from the Zolon database, and removing excess body hair. The patient’s height will remain at the current standard. Additional bone growth is not reversible. I am now restoring the patient to full health.”
The tubes attached to the needles glowed and changed colors as the computer healed her patient. The familiar whirring sound came from within the enclosure while the holographic monitors over the tube blinked, showing the repair of Gregor’s internal organs and the restructuring of his DNA.
“Diagnostic is complete. Healthy bear-shifter male. Height seven-feet three inches. Weight three-hundred and twelve pounds. All physical scars removed. I have repaired the bear-shifter genetic material with that from the Nozert planet of bear-shifters from the database. I recommend someone continues to monitor the subject until he is apprised of his new situation. New abilities are possible.”
The med-tube opened with a hiss and the dome raised into the ceiling where the replication device would reintegrate it into the ship’s plant-based energy storage unit.
“This is how you healed the boys and me, isn’t it?” Wynter’s eyes were wide, her voice breathless. “That’s amazing.”
“Thank you.” The computer’s voice sounded smug.
“You’re welcome, but don’t think I’ve forgiven you for poking me in the ass with that needle.”
“Don’t start.” Geno glared up at the monitoring camera. “I don’t need you two going at it now. We need to find my sons. They should have been back by now.”
“They’re walking up to the entrance now.” The computer paused for a moment and then continued, “If their expressions are any indication, they didn’t find anything, either.”
“What-what happened?” Gregor sat up and rubbed the back of his neck. The computer had removed every bit of extra hair, including some of the length from his head, exposing a series of intricate tattoos over his chest, upper arms, and back. His face was clean-shaven, his arms and legs free of the long hair that had given him the appearance of a sasquatch, and the horrible stench was gone. In its place was the scent of masculine-smelling body wash.
“Wynter?” He turned to look behind him. “There you are.” Gregor stared down at his arms and legs for a moment, then peered under the thin gray sheet over his hips before shifting his attention to his feet.
“I’m still too big.”
“The computer couldn’t change your size. She could only change some of your genetic material and remove the excess hair once she got your DNA sequence back to somewhat normal.” Geno moved to the bed and wrapped his arm around Wynter. The sooner Gregor knew she wasn’t available, the better.
“She? You refer to your computer as she?”
“Why shouldn’t he? I’m no first-year Kyper model, you know,” the computer replied. “I am a sentient, Zangier ten-thousand.”
“That means nothing to me.” Gregor appeared confused as he held the sheet in place and slid off the med-bed. “I’m still a damned giant.” He sighed and looked at Geno. “I don’t suppose you have any clothes I can borrow?”
“We can have some made for you.” Geno waved his arm toward the door.
“Whoa! Who’s this?” Reno blocked the door and gave Gregor the once-over.
“I am Gregor Armstrong. Your...” pausing, he glanced at Geno. “Brother? Father?”
“Father,” Geno supplied.
“Your father and mother found me. They have restored me to health, and I am indebted to them.”
“I’m not his—“
“I see,” Reno replied, not bothering to correct Gregor’s misconception. “I hope we can count on your help.” He grinned. “Once you’ve gotten a few new sets of clothes, that is.”
“My help?” He glanced at Wynter. “Are you still going to search for your friends?”
“As long as there’s hope that they’re still alive.”
“Then, I pledge my service to you and yours until you no longer need me.”
Great. Now, Wynter had a personal champion, damn it. Geno wanted to kick Gregor off his ship, just to get rid of his damned oath.
“That’s not necessary, Gregor, though I appreciate the thought.” Wynter didn’t look comfortable. Not comfortable at all. Geno wanted to grin.
“It is necessary. I spent over fifty years hiding in those caves. I can’t thank you enough for bringing me here and returning me to my old self.”
“That’s just it. You’re not really your old self. The computer couldn’t identify your primary DNA. The scientists added too much genetic material from too many animals and shifters to fully repair your cells.”
“I don’t understand. How did you manage to remove so much of the animal from me? I feel like myself again. The beast in me has receded, and I am once again in control.” Even his slight Scottish accent had gotten a bit thicker.
Geno handed Reno a tablet with the information of Gregor’s spliced genetics. “Will you explain this to him?”
Turning back to Gregor, Geno added, “The computer found genetic markers from bear-shifters from the planet Nozert. She extrapolated what she thought would be close to your DNA from that material and changed your cells to that. You might have more or fewer abilities depending on what you had before. However, the important thing is you no longer appear to be a bigfoot, and from what I can see, you have regained most, if not all, of your cognitive abilities.”
“And for that, I am grateful.” He turned to Wynter. “I thank you for your trust and your help. All of you. And, as I have said, I am in your debt.”
He glanced down at the thin gray sheet that barely covered his hips and genitals. “If you don’t mind, I would appreciate some clothes.”
“Follow me, brother. I’ll have you fixed up in no time.”
“Brother?” Gregor raised a brow
.
“Why not? I already have five brothers, what’s one more?” Reno grinned up at him. “As the oldest, it’ll be nice to have a big brother for a change. How did you get to be so large, anyway?”
Gregor followed Reno through the doorway. “I could tell you, but it’s a long story.”
“Ramble on, big brother. We have all the time in the world.” Reno’s voice faded after that.
“So, what’s next?” Wynter stared up at Geno, her eyes filled with something he couldn’t name. “After we see the boys, of course.”
“Dinner?” he rubbed his stomach. “I could do with a meal. How about you?”
“Food sounds good.” Her cheeks reddened, and he wondered if she were thinking of their kiss.
“I’m going to go find my husband.” Tabby waved from the doorway. “See you two later.”
“Well, now that we’re alone, maybe we could talk about dinner tonight. Would you consider letting the boys eat with one of my boys and his mate?”
“I don’t know.” She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, and every muscle in Geno’s body clenched.
One of these days he was going to show her exactly what that did to him.
“They haven’t seen me all day.”
“They are fine, Wynter. Believe me. Boys do not need to see their parents every minute of every day. Time apart only makes them appreciate you more when you’re around.”
“You’re sure?”
“Ask them.” Geno shrugged. “Ask them if they would like to have dinner or even spend the night with Reno and Birgit, or Ceno and Sela and see for yourself.”
“I’m not sure I could impose like that.”
“They won’t mind. I’m sure of it.” Geno wanted to close his eyes and pray to the goddess for help. Perhaps he should call on one of his sons while Wynter visited the twins. How could she refuse an invitation, and how could Reno refuse his request when he knew Geno needed some time alone with his takana? “Why don’t you go to them and see for yourself?”
“Okay.” Wynter strode to the door.
“Can you find your way?”
“Of course, I can.” Her chin went up as he knew it would. It seemed as though his takana could not resist a challenge.
As soon as he knew Wynter was out of earshot, he called Reno on his portable communications device.
“What’s up?” The sound of the replicator humming bled through the connection, almost drowning out Reno’s voice.
“I need you and Birgit to take the boys for the night.”
“Take them where? You know what big pains in the ass those two idiots are.”
“The young ones, not Ronin and Rowen, you fool.”
“Oh, sure! I can do that,” he said with a laugh. “Birgit would love having them over. I’ll call her and suggest it right away.” He paused for a moment. “That is what you want, right? Like before Wynter shows up?”
“Of course, that’s what I want. Why are you wasting time talking to me?”
“Right.” Reno disconnected and, with luck, immediately called his mate.
Now that he had that taken care of, he needed to find a romantic place to dine with his second chance mate.
Chapter Twenty-three
“MAMA!” NICKY AND NOAH cried when Birgit opened the door. They ran to her, throwing their arms around her waist.
“Did you have fun?” Nicky asked as he noted her disheveled appearance.
“Did you fall down?” Noah was usually more observant than his brother. “You look like you fell down the mountain. Why didn’t Papa catch you?” He frowned at that.
“Geno was in front of me, leading the way, trying to protect me from the bad people.” Wynter tried to keep the explanation as simple as possible so the boys could understand it. “He didn’t see when I fell down the mountain, or I’m sure he would have caught me.”
“He should have kept you beside him.” Noah puffed out his chest. “Daddy always said he kept our real mama by his side.”
“I’m sure Geno wanted to do that, but he was afraid the bad men might hurt me if they saw me before he saw them.”
“Oh.” Nicky’s thumb moved toward his mouth.
She noticed a few days before that he sucked his thumb whenever something worried him or reminded him of their time in captivity. Her eyes burned, and her throat grew tight every time she thought of the ordeal the boys had endured in their short lives.
“Are you going to ask her?” Birgit said as she held the door wider in an invitation.
“Ask me what?” Wynter shifted her gaze between the boys as their faces lit up. She followed them into the small apartment and waited for them to stop chattering with each other.
“Reno said we could spend the night here and play video games with him. Can we, Mama, can we?” Noah clapped his hands together and batted his eyes.
“Can we?” Nicky pulled his hand away from his face, his thumb forgotten in the excitement of spending time playing video games with someone they admired.
“How do you feel about this?” Wynter glanced at Birgit.
“I think it’s a great idea. They need time to be kids, to feel normal. What’s more normal than a sleepover?” Birgit grinned.
“Nothing, as long as it’s with kids their own age. A sleepover with an adult is a little weird, don’t you think?”
“Not if the man in question could become their older brother in the future.”
Wynter’s face heated at the other woman’s intimation. Why were all of them always pushing her and Geno together?
“I suppose you’ve got a point. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“What’s to mind? We were planning to sit around watching movies anyway. If Reno is busy with the boys, it means I get to watch what I want instead of some action flick or a war movie.”
“Guys will be guys, huh?”
“You got it. No matter what universe they’re from, they all seem to get off on action and war. Go figure.” Birgit grinned. “So, is it a yes?”
“Please, Mama,” the twins begged at the same time.
“Okay.” She knelt and gave each of them a hug. “You two be good for Birgit.” She glanced up. “I should go get some of their things.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll make something up for them using the replicator. Why don’t you go and have a relaxing night?”
“Relaxing?” Wynter shook her head and smiled softly. “I don’t think relaxing is what Geno has in mind.”
“You’ll be spending the night with Geno?”
“Oh, don’t play coy with me. You knew Geno wanted time alone with me. Why else would he call and put all of you up to this? And just so you know, asking the kids if they wanted to spend time with Reno before asking me was a dirty trick.”
Birgit smiled. “Watch out. I have an idea that Geno is full of them.”
“He’s full of something, all right,” Wynter said with a laugh. “I’m just not sure all of it is dirty tricks.”
Wynter took her time preparing for Geno’s arrival. If she made him wait for her, all the better. She would begin as she intended to go on. She refused to put herself at another man’s beck and call ever again. It was almost time for him to arrive when she walked into the bathroom to apply her makeup.
It took forever for her to figure out how to use the replicating device to make a real mirror. She couldn’t put on eyeliner with one of those three-dimensional things. She’d tried and almost poked her eye out for goodness sake.
When she set up the lighted makeup mirror, she closed her eyes and steeled herself for what she’d see. Geno was right. She hadn’t really looked at herself since she’d escaped. After all that she’d been through, her eyes once only marred with fine lines, probably had wrinkles deep enough to divide a highway.
Taking a deep breath, she gathered the courage to look at her eyes and apply the liner.
“What the hell?” She stared at her reflection, turning her face this way and that. “I look, I look...”
&nbs
p; “You look beautiful.”
“I look twenty.” Wynter turned to Geno and then back to the mirror. “Hell, I don’t think I even looked this good at twenty.” Her appearance had shocked her so much she barely thought that she should have said something about him entering her room without knocking. “How did that happen?”
Why did she ask that? Did she really care about how it happened? She was gorgeous, and she’d never before been anything more than passably pretty in her life.
“You’re a shifter now. And shifters generally live longer, healthier lives than humans.” Geno smiled. “I told you I was older than you.” He put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the door frame.
“I didn’t really think you expected me to believe that.” She tried not to breathe too deeply. The way he smelled was almost intoxicating. She loved whatever cologne he wore.
“Do you finally believe that I’m not younger than you are?”
“Yes. Now, I realize that you’re much too old for a young chick like me.” She almost laughed at his expression. “I’m kidding, of course.” What in the world was she thinking? The last time she’d teased a man, she’d gotten a black eye for her trouble.
“I had hoped so.”
“Where’s Gregor? Has he settled in?” She clasped her hands together to hide her trembling fingers. He hadn’t said anything about her teasing. Perhaps she’d gotten off lucky, or maybe he’d told her the truth when he said he wasn’t anything like Ben.
“He has. Reno and Ceno replicated some clothing for him and put him in a room. I believe he’s sleeping. Either that, or he’s brushing up on world news and movies. The boys seemed to think he was very interested in the TV.”
“I’ll bet. I’m sure the largest TV Gregor has ever seen is a thirty-two inch if he’s even seen one that big. He went into hiding over fifty years ago, Geno. He was hiding in that cave longer than I’ve been alive.” She tried to blink back her tears, but they fell anyway. It was a good thing she didn’t wear much makeup. Tears would have left tracks in her foundation.
“Sh... love. It’s okay. He might have been in that cave for years, but he’s a shifter. He’s resilient, and he has much more time ahead of him.”
Wooing Wynter Page 16
