In Her Bears' Arms

by Rebecca Airies

  “No, but they did talk about perhaps selling their half to the bears. Apparently, the bears might have a vet moving to the area and approached them.” Penny shrugged.

  “So, it’s not a sure thing. I know you’re overworked and that you’ve had trouble keeping even the temporary vets.” Dixie grimaced. “That sucks.”

  “Nothing is certain, but if it does eventually happen, I’ll be happy. Right now, we’re doing well, and I’ve made some good contacts at a few of the vet schools.” Penny shrugged.

  “Have you heard from Maggie lately?” Leslie took a drink of her beer.

  “Yeah, last week. Busy at work and speaking to someone.” Penny nodded.

  “That’s good. Do you think she’s found her mate?” Chloe asked.

  “No, she would have said something if it was her mate.” Penny shrugged. She took a drink and lowered her eyes.

  Dixie tilted her head. Was Penny hiding something about Maggie? Leslie touched her arm and shook her head.

  Must be something private or that Mags hadn’t wanted public yet. Dixie nodded. She’d wait. It was probably something they’d find out later. And to be truthful, she had a lot on her mind. Would she ever get to be with her mates and could they be happy?

  Chapter Six

  Micah strolled down the hallway. A blue pattern swirled across the white tile. The bitter scent of antiseptic wafted around him. A little stronger than usual. Someone probably just cleaned, but that was normal for the hospital.

  Dixie was on duty today. He should get to see her. Two long days. He hadn’t been at the hospital for two days, and she’d been on duty at least one of them.

  A headache throbbed low in his temples, and the muscles of his back pulled tight. Every nerve sizzled, making everything sharper and louder. A rising irrational need to hunt her thrummed through him. He clenched his fist. Was it the fever?

  He’d taken the test yesterday. The results should come back sometime today. If it was mating fever, he’d have to stop seeing his patients and coming to the hospital until they claimed her. They’d have to stop the fake dates to catch the attacker. Once they brought her into their home, that couldn’t continue.

  He strolled onto the ward. A few nurses strolled along the hallway, but he didn’t see the golden head and sweet face of his woman. Maybe she was with a patient.

  He stopped by the nurses’ station to get an overview from the charge nurse before heading in to see the first of his patients. Maybe she’d be back by the time he finished. He checked on the woman who’d been admitted with pneumonia. Lung sounds were improving. Her progress was good, and as long as she continued to heal, she might be discharged in a few days.

  He left the room and walked down to the nurses’ station. He put his tablet down and looked at the woman in charge, Shelly.

  “Have you seen Dixie today?” Micah looked down the hall.

  “Dixie’s not here and won’t be here. She transferred to another ward.” Shelly shrugged.

  “Which ward?” Micah straightened. His heart pounded against his chest, and his muscles tightened. Not good. A wildness rose in him. He had to find her.

  “I don’t know. We were notified yesterday that she wouldn’t be here and that a new nurse would be taking her place.” Shelly picked up a chart.

  Micah clenched his fist and took a deep breath. Fuck. This was the last thing he needed. Now, she was out there, and he had no contact with her. Was she all right? Was she safe? Had someone attacked her again?

  “Mrs. James is improving, and your other patient, Mr. Thompson, has also made some progress.” Shelly leaned forward. “The infection in his wound is looking much better. Tough man. He didn’t even wince when we cleaned it.”

  “Yeah, he’s tough.” Micah rubbed his jaw. Add stubborn as a mule to that description, too. Thompson should have come in weeks ago and maybe this infection wouldn’t have become so bad he almost lost his arm. “I’ll let you get back to work and check in on Mr. Thompson. See if he needs to stay on the current meds or plan another course of treatment.”

  “Donna was planning to go in there to change his bandage. You can check his wound, and she can clean and change that then.” Shelly waved to one of the nurses.

  “Sounds like a plan to me.” Micah nodded. Just breathe. Get through this patient. Do my job, and then see if I can learn anything about where she went. There was still work to be done. He had to go back to the office and finish with his patients as well as get the results of his test.

  * * * *

  Micah pulled to a stop in the driveway. He dropped his head down to the steering wheel. Fucking shit, the last few hours had been hell. Trying to discover where she transferred to was a bust, and after he’d finished with his patients, he received the test results. He was in mating heat. No choice of waiting for a safer time now.

  He needed to find Dixie. But where was she? They’d deliberately made sure they had no idea where she lived. If they had any idea, the temptation to go to her would have overwhelmed them. She’d be in their lives regardless of the danger if they had that much access to her.

  He shoved the door open and got out. Better stop wasting so much time. He straightened his shoulders and exhaled. First, find out if Maddox was home. If he was, they all had to talk.

  He closed and locked the car before trudging over to the side door. Damn, this wouldn’t be easy. It wasn’t the ideal situation, but ideal went out the door when he kissed her.

  He walked through the kitchen and into the living room. Gable sat on the couch with his laptop open. Probably looking over property listings for his business. He still hadn’t found a building for his business in Casworth.

  “How did your first property viewing go?” Micah stopped at the end of the couch. Maddox had taken the bike, and that was stored in a small shed until the garage was built. “Is Maddox home?”

  “He’s on his way home.” Gable smiled. “And the property viewing sucked. Nothing suitable. There were a couple buildings big enough for the company, but not in any kind of neighborhood or condition to work.”

  “Oh, are you switching realtors, or did he just not understand what you really wanted?” Micah dropped onto the couch. Questions would at least keep him occupied until Maddox arrived.

  “I’m not switching realtors yet, but he has one more chance. If he can’t find something more suitable this time, I’ll find another one.” Gable closed his laptop. “So what’s up? And don’t tell me nothing because I can scent the worry rolling off you.”

  “Better to get all of this out when you’re both here because it affects all of us.” Micah dropped his head into his palms.

  “That bad, huh?” Gable chuckled. “I’ll get you a beer.”

  “Thank you. A beer would be good after the day I’ve had, but you and Maddox need to stay sober.” Micah balled his hands into fists. Well, at least one of them did—someone might have to drive.

  “Well, that doesn’t bode well.” Gable nodded and walked away. He returned with a beer and a glass of water. He handed the bottle to Micah.

  Micah took a gulp. Cool liquid slipped down his throat. A distinct thud resounded, and a small set of beeps followed. That had to be the side door and the alarm resetting. Maddox was finally home. Micah stiffened. Now, to explain everything.

  “Hey.” Maddox walked into the room. He still wore his leather jacket, jeans, and riding boots. “Ooh, a beer sounds good.”

  “No, Maddox, Micah has something to tell us, and he said we need to be sober.” Gable rose from the black couch.

  “Damn, is it about that kiss between you and Dixie?” Maddox dropped onto the couch.

  “Yes, I ran the test yesterday, because I have a strong urge to go find her and bring her home. I knew if it was the mating heat, that it was just the beginning and I could get dangerous to others if they were between her and me.” Micah ran a hand through his hair.

  “You got the answer today?” Maddox ran his palm over his shaved head.

  “Yes, but I don�
��t think it would be to this point if it hadn’t been for other things.” Micah swallowed hard. Not knowing where she was during the day when before he could rely on at least being assured of her location during work hours.

  “What was the result?” Gable clasped his hands together.

  “I’m in mating heat.” Micah exhaled heavily. And all their plans to keep her as far away from the situation had to end.

  “What else is making it hard?” Gable rose to his feet.

  “Dixie isn’t on the ward anymore. I don’t know where she’s working in the hospital.” Micah’s knee bounced. He put his hand on it. Hopefully, he could hold it together until they found her.

  “Damn, when did this happen?” Gable asked.

  “Yesterday, I think. But with the fever, I cannot go to the hospital and not see her. Hell, even seeing her probably wouldn’t be enough soon. It’s too dangerous. We need to call John and get him to help us find Dixie.” Micah clenched his jaw. Hopefully, they could keep her safe until they could catch the man. “Drawing our attacker out hasn’t worked. We don’t have any more time.”

  “All right, you relax. I’ll call John and get him to come over. I don’t think this will be a simple ask-and-receive thing. We’ll have to explain.” Gable rose to his feet.

  “While he’s doing that, I’ll change clothes and get into something comfortable and clean. If we’re going after my mate, I don’t want to do it smelling of grease, dirt, and oil.” Maddox rose and strode down the hall.

  Micah sat back and waited. They’d get it done. It was all a matter of time. But every moment’s delay would feel like hours.

  John arrived fifteen minutes later. Gable led him into the living room. He was still in uniform.

  “All right, I’m here. What was so important that I needed to come over now? And how does it involve Dixie?” John sat in the chair and waited.

  “We can’t go on with this effort to draw out the person after us anymore. It’s not working anyway.” Gable took a deep breath.

  “I accept that, but do you want to tell me why all of a sudden you can’t continue?” John tilted his head.

  “It’s not sudden. We had doubts from the very first.” Maddox shook his head. “But things have changed very definitely.”

  “How have things changed?” John leaned forward.

  “A while back, Dixie and Micah got into an argument. He kissed her.” Maddox glanced toward Micah. “He ran the test, and he’s in mating heat.”

  “On top of that, Dixie suddenly changed the ward she working in, and Micah can’t see her at the hospital, which helped keep him grounded. He’s riding the edge here.” Gable sighed.

  “I’ll need to see those results. I can’t take you to her without them.” John rose to his feet.

  “It’s in my car in my computer bag.” Micah leaned his head against the chair’s cushion. He’d focused so much on talking to Maddox and Gable, he’d just left it there.

  “Toss me your keys. I’ll go get it. The sooner we confirm this, the faster we can go get Dixie.” Maddox rose and held out his hand.

  Micah dug in his pocket and pulled them out. He pitched them to Maddox. Anything to hurry this up. Dixie needed to be here. Maddox left the room.

  “You should have told me that you kissed her. The stress and wait to get results probably made the fever come on faster.” John rolled his shoulders. “I would never have suggested trying to draw him out if I’d known.”

  “There was no guarantee that it would cause mating fever. It was a single kiss. Not even that long.” Micah shook his head. Yes, any type of intake, from sweat or saliva to a more intimate taste, could start it, but the chances were still small with a short contact.

  “I know a bear who just licked his mate and ended up with the fever. The length of the contact doesn’t matter at all.” John threw up his hand. “The last thing you need is to be worried about your mate being alienated by something you’re doing or staying away from her.”

  “We all wanted this finished.” Gable shrugged. “We wanted to be able to claim her without dragging her into the potential problems.”

  “There’s never a guarantee that the problems you’re facing would be solved with catching just one person. Even if someone had shown up, you couldn’t be certain that they were the one unless that person confessed to everything. And that’s very rare.” John tugged at the sleeve of his shirt. “But I do understand about trying to keep your woman out of it if possible. If I could, I would have made sure danger never touched Leslie, but that wasn’t an option.”

  “I don’t think she’ll be happy about this.” Micah rubbed his temple. A dull ache throbbed through his head.

  “Look. Yes, she’ll probably be mad and might have a few doubts about you. I’d say given the situation, that’s understandable, but I know Dixie. She’s one of the most cheerful, positive people I know.” John smiled “She’ll adjust as long as you work through the problem and are honest with her.”

  “We intend to be honest with her. I think we should have talked to her about the attacker and why we wanted to keep our distance when we met her.” Micah ran his hand through his hair.

  “It might have helped her understand, but once you begin talking with your mate, it’s hard to back away.” John lifted a shoulder.

  “Here’s his bag.” Maddox came back in carrying the computer bag.

  “You could have pulled the paper out.” Micah sat forward and grabbed the bag by the strap.

  “Like I’d know what one of those reports looks like or what it’s supposed to say. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have Mating Hormone test right across the top.” Maddox rolled his eyes.

  “No, it doesn’t.” Micah chuckled. It had been days since he’d felt like laughing. He needed that.

  He reached in and pulled out the file he’d stuffed the test in. It should have been on top, but it wasn’t. He searched, discovering it in the middle of the stack. How had that happened?

  “Here, I ordered it, but I had another doctor at the hospital actually do it and had no contact with the technicians.” Micah extended the paper.

  Maddox took it and passed it to John. He looked it over.

  “I had to learn to read this without the help of a doctor. Well, interpret it really, because some of this stuff, I have no idea what it means.” John glanced at the results again. “All right, who’s going with me?”

  “Maddox and I will.” Gable stepped up and smiled. “Hopefully, she hasn’t suffered through mating heat, too.”

  “I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure that she would have told one of her friends.” John lifted his shoulder. “I would have heard from my wife. By the way, just so you know, she has a network of friends. They meet at least twice a month for girls’ nights. So prepare to drop her off at the Wild Beat and spend some time with the other men while they talk to each other.”

  “As long as I get a few dances with her, she can spend as much time as she wants.” Micah took a deep breath.

  “You’ll probably get some dances if she’s not still angry with you.” John rose. “Let’s go. I’ll drive you there, introduce you, and drive you back.”

  Micah took a deep breath. As if that was all there was to it. Getting her here would be the easy part. They had to explain and reassure her that they wanted her. Maybe she’d let them hold her close. Hopefully, they could protect her until that asshole was caught.

  Chapter Seven

  Knock. Knock. Dixie’s head snapped up at the hard rap at her door. She tilted her phone up. Only seven, a reasonable hour for visitors, but no one had called. None of her friends had said anything about coming over. Most of them were probably home with their mates.

  She rose from the couch and strode to the door. She peered through the peephole. John and two men stood on her porch. Definitely not Archer and Judge beside him. One of the men had a bald head. She opened the door. What did John want?

  Without the distortion of the peephole, the blond with shaggy hair and the bal
d man were instantly recognizable. She gasped. Her stomach tightened. What were they doing here? Why would John bring them?

  “John. Want to tell me what’s happening?” She clutched at the edge of the door. This couldn’t be good. One of them was Maddox and the other Gable, but which one was which?

  “I’ll tell you. Let us inside, and I’ll explain everything.” John stepped forward.

  John could be trusted, but none of this made sense. Those men had avoided her since she’d seen them at John’s house. Hell, Micah only saw her because he had patients in the hospital she worked at.

  “All right, if you’re here, I’m sure this important.” She nodded and stepped. “Come on inside. Go into the living room. I’ll join you when I finish locking up.”

  John led the way. He disappeared into her living room. The bald-headed man waited in the hallway. She secured the deadbolt. Irritating man. As if she’d run out of her own house.

  “You know I won’t disappear. This is my home.” She smiled at him.

  “I know. I’m just a little protective at the moment with everything that’s happening.” The bald man smiled, flashing white teeth. His brown eyes were solemn, a little flat.

  “Well, I'm sure I’ll learn what that is as soon as we get into the living room. If John brought you here, it’s important.” She nodded. Was there more danger, or had they arrested someone? But if they arrested someone, would John be here? And wouldn’t Mr. Protective be a little happier if they had?

  She walked in and eased onto one end of the couch. The blond man dropped down next to her, leaving the bald man to take the seat at the other end. Well, this was closer than either of these two had been to her before.

  “So what did you come to tell me?” She clasped her hands together.

  “Have you kissed one of your mates?” John asked.

  “Yes, I kissed Micah, a while back. Why did you want to know?” She frowned.

  “Micah said he’d kissed you, and that he’s in mating heat. He had himself tested.” John steepled his fingers in front of him.