VEX: Valley Enforcers, #1

by Walters, Abi

  Vex stood shirtless with his back towards me. A myriad of new red scars, some scabbed and some still bleeding, marked his bronze skin. It didn’t look like he had gone through a meat grinder, but it was pretty damn close. I gasped, revealing my presence, and rushed over to him.

  “What the hell happened to you?!” I shrieked. I attempted to run my hand against his freshly puckered skin, but he twisted and caught my arms in a light hold.

  “Calm down, Acacia. It’s fine.”

  “You think that is fine? Wolverine went to town on your back!”

  “I had a bleeding tonight as part of my punishment. Can you help me put this damn ointment on? If it freaks you out I can find a way to do it myself.”

  “Only part of your punishment? Because of me?” My voice wavered. I felt disgusted with myself. I had caused the marks on his back. And from the sound of it, that was only the beginning of his torture. “I’m so sorry, Vex. I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”

  He held up a hand. “I’m tired, hungry, and sore. I don’t want to fight with you about this tonight. You didn’t do anything. This rests on my shoulders.” He stretched his arm out and attempted to hand me the unmarked jar of goop that I had used on my side. “Please?”

  I nodded and took the herbal salve. I slathered my fingers and cautiously began to paint his back. Though he made no verbal noise, his body tensed and his muscles occasionally seized. I hated that he was so blasé about punishment and mutilation. I knew there were things I didn’t understand about shifters and bear clans – though the things I didn’t understand were completely fascinating – but the aspect of bleedings was something beyond my comprehension. Vex talked about it with a lackadaisical approach that almost made my skin crawl.

  When I was finished applying the ointment Vex apologized and attempted to put a shirt on, but the image of his fresh wounds were seared into my brain. My stomach no longer growled with hunger but with guilt and empathy. Regardless of the tumultuous sea of negativity in my stomach, I still ate. The food had gone cold by the time we walked back out into the kitchen. It didn’t matter. We ate in silence and marched back into the bedroom.

  It was then that Vex put a shirt on so he didn’t ruin his sheets. Though he was holding me, I still felt like I was dealing with a fragile doll that would shatter if I moved the wrong way.

  “I’ll be okay, Acacia. I heal faster than regular people. Remember?” His voice was soft and reassuring. He was the one who looked as if he had been mauled, yet he was comforting me. “Tomorrow I’m going to leave you here and go for my second bleeding –”

  “You have more?” I whispered loudly. I turned and looked at him with wide, pleading eyes. “No. Tell your boss that I’ll bleed instead.”

  “My Alpha would never be okay with that. Shit, Acacia, I’m not okay with that. Fuck no. I’ve gone through worse. He’s banned me from shifting between bleedings, so I won’t be able to heal until my last stripping tomorrow night.”

  The tears I fought so hard to keep away started spilling, and I couldn’t get them to stop. “Two more? Vex, you won’t survive two more! I’m so sorry. This is my fault. I should have never come here. I’m so sorry. So, so sorry.”

  “Don’t you ever say that again, Acacia.” His voice was like jagged rocks slicing away at my soul. “There is still so much I have to tell you, but now isn’t the right time. I swear to you, baby, I would bleed every night if it kept you safe and in my arms. It is a small price to pay to have you. Don’t you know that I’ve waited my whole life for you? This isn’t your fault. Please don’t pull away from me. I promise that I’ll be okay, but right now I just need to feel you next to me.”

  How did he always see right through me? He read me like his favorite book. I was ready to curl inside my shell and block the rest of the world out. I was ready to run. I didn’t care about stupid shifters or the truth or anything but my own despair and how much I’d fucked Vex’s life up in less than two weeks. I was a wrecking ball. He didn’t see it yet, but he would. Everyone else did. The gold he saw when he looked at me was nothing but spray painted foil. It would peel away. It always did.

  I let him wipe away my tears and hold me, but my soul didn’t settle and sleep never came.

  Vex was pale, but that was the only indicator that he had lost enough blood to kill any normal person. We sat outside the large pole structure that housed the office for Wood Brothers Construction, which apparently was the business Vex’s Alpha and Beta (a position he sullenly told me about as we drove into the Valley) owned and operated. The office was only one building on a large plot of land. The back few seemed like they were storage, but there was an addition to the main office that held a modern and elegant sign reading ‘Designs by Alexis’.

  He left as the sun came up and didn’t return until the red numbers on his alarm read 10:04. I hadn’t moved from the bed. He wasn’t wearing the clothes he left in, and it looked as if he showered. I didn’t dare look at his back. He coaxed me out of the room with the promise of UFO shaped pancakes – which are just regular pancakes, but the thought made me smile.

  It was nearly noon by the time we made it to the Valley. We stopped at the body shop. We left a note and the keys in an envelope taped to the side of Big Betty before we rode off into the metaphorical sunset. Luckily a Bigfoot bandit didn’t have its way with her in my absence, and she was sitting in the lot behind the shop. They couldn’t work on it until the parts came in, but I was happy she wouldn’t be stuck on the side of the road.

  I didn’t know what to expect at the ‘meeting’ I was supposed to have with Vex’s Alpha, but as we walked towards the door of the office I couldn’t help but feel like we were Rebels trying to infiltrate the Death Star.

  “You must be Acacia.” I lifted my gaze from the floor and spotted a woman with beachy brown waves – though we were nowhere close to an ocean – and an incredibly chic outfit that looked like it belonged on someone’s Pinterest board. She was classically beautiful, and the smile she wore appeared genuine. She stuck out her hand. “I’m Alexis. I’m the Protector of the Stoneclaw Clan and the mate to the Beta.”

  “Hi. Uh, nice to meet you… I think.”

  I hadn’t known the name of Vex’s clan until that moment. Stoneclaw. She tossed around words that didn’t make sense to me with ease and familiarity. Mate? Protector?

  Her lips thinned slightly and she gave a tiny nod. “Dean and Deacon were conferencing with Max, but I’ll let them know you’re here and we can talk.” She went to turn, but her heel pivoted back and she looked at Vex dolefully. “I hope you feel better soon.”

  I wanted to hate her. Girls that looked like her were never nice to girls that looked like me. I hadn’t been bullied mercilessly in high school, but I received my fair share of snide comments and encounters with mean girls out for blood. Alexis looked like she could be a cold, hard bitch. But she spoke with sincerity to Vex when I expected to walk into hostile territory.

  It felt like an eternity before she returned. “Okay. We’re ready for you two.”

  We walked down a wide hallway and into the only room with the door open. It was a fairly large conference room, but the size of the men in seemed like a shoebox. I had to hold back my immediate response of the two men who were standing at the head of the table. They looked similar, yet completely different at the same time. The larger of the two had dark cropped hair and a well-manicured beard. His gaze was intimidating, and though I wanted to stick my tail between my legs, I squared my shoulders. To his right was his near mirror image – without the beard or scary eyes. His muscles were less defined and his hair a little shaggier, but there was no denying the two were twins. They dressed plainly. The bigger wore a red and grey Henley with a pair of crisp jeans; the other wore a crisp white tee under a casual denim button down short sleeve shirt and a pair of dark pants.

  “Vex. Sit, please.” The bigger, brutish one said in a demanding tone. “You must be Acacia. I’m Deacon Wood, the Alpha of the Stoneclaw Clan. This is my
brother, Dean, who is the Beta. And you met his wife, Alexis, our Protector. Sit, please. We have some things we need to discuss.”

  I gravitated towards Vex, seeking out the comfort of his nearness. Once everyone was seated there was an uncomfortable silence.

  Dean tapped his fingers on the oak table. “What were your intentions when you decided to come to Brown Bear Valley?”

  Before we walked in Vex told me to be completely honest but I still found myself hesitating before answering. “To prove that there were people that existed who turned into bears. I don’t know what Vex has told you about me but I had an encounter when I was younger. A shifter saved me and my father from two mountain lions. I’ve been trying to find proof for years, but there isn’t a whole lot of information out there.”

  “Prove to whom?”

  “At the time, everyone.” I looked at Vex out of the corner of my eye. “Now… just myself. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.”

  Deacon spoke up. “There isn’t information circulating because the existence of shifters is heavily guarded. There are special teams who get rid of people who stick their noses where they don’t belong. Do you understand that?” He didn’t even wait for me to respond before he continued. “Those same teams also take out inside threats, like shifters who go around telling humans about our existence and history. Not only did you put yourself at risk, but you put my entire clan and Vex’s life in danger.”

  In those early days Vex had tried to get me to stop asking questions. He tried to get me to leave. My stomach ached with regret. I didn’t care if they killed me, but I wasn’t going to let Vex be slaughtered for my mistakes.

  “That was never my intention. I didn’t think –”

  He interrupted me. “That’s the problem. Are you aware, Acacia, that there were cameras found on my territory? Do you have any knowledge of that?”

  “I know what Vex told me. That’s it. You have to believe me when I say that I have nothing to do with those cameras. I’m not a journalist. I didn’t come here for a story. I came here because after spending years being told I was wrong, I just wanted to feel right.” I dropped my voice and forced myself not to stare at my hands. “To be honest, I was starting to believe everyone when they told me I was crazy. I didn’t expect to find anything when I came here. I was just following a story I read about a man turning into a bear on the side of the road. I never thought I’d find the truth.”

  “And now that you have your truth?” Dean questioned.

  “I go on with my life just as I did before. Same shit, different day… right?” I joked meagerly. My tone turned grim. “Don’t hurt Vex any more. Please. Send your troops after me, but leave him alone.”

  “It doesn’t work like that, Acacia.” Vex spoke up for the first time since the meeting started. His somber voice was haunting. “I broke the rules. You didn’t. I told you, you can’t sacrifice yourself for me. You won’t live through it.”

  “Let us finish, Romeo and Juliet,” Dean said dryly.

  His brother shot him an annoyed look. “I like to deal with these issues in house, but the severity of the situation – which coincidentally is happening while we are having a security breech – would require council intervention. However. Vex has offered our clan nothing but dedication and loyalty. Mating is difficult when you are in a position of power. I know. Before I found Elizabeth, I would have pushed this through to the council… but I understand the struggle. That doesn’t mean your actions, Vex, are completely forgiven or excused because of Acacia. This is me being empathetic. Your punishment could be worse. And Acacia, being Vex’s mate is the only reason you are not dead –”

  “Deacon,” Vex growled.

  Dean rolled his eyes, as if this were a daily occurrence for him. “Seriously, man, you can’t give a heartwarming speech about being empathetic and then threaten a man’s mate in front of him. All that protein powder is going to your head.”

  “What do you mean that I’m his mate? You keep using that word, and I have no idea what it means,” I interjected.

  “You didn’t tell her about mates?” Dean choked out with a humorless laugh.

  “I was trying to keep it to the basics. There just wasn’t enough time,” Vex said briskly in an ill attempt at an excuse. I went from fearing our lives to being agitated with him. My phone buzzed in my pocket. The vibrations tickled my skin, and I regretted not turning it off completely before walking into the building.

  “You don’t think that is part of the basics?” Deacon’s voice was disapproving.

  Alexis, whose position was still a mystery to me, piped up for the first time. “You risked both of your lives over this and you didn’t even tell her why? Vex…”

  “Like the three of you haven’t done the same thing in some way. This isn’t the old days. You don’t just go up to someone and stake your claim,” Vex said heatedly. It was as if we hadn’t just been threatened by the people he was snapping at. “Answer your phone, Acacia, before I snap it in half!”

  The phone had stopped and started three times in my pocket. I didn’t have any intentions of answer it. Vex was living up to his name. My skin prickled and my mind was running too fast for my mouth to even attempt to keep up. The situation was frustrating and upsetting enough without him acting like a porcupine.

  “Calm down, Vex,” Dean ordered in a calm but commanding voice. My phone started up again and he cast his eyes over at me. “You can answer that.”

  I didn’t want to. I was silently fuming; a teapot waiting to whistle. I knew I couldn’t be brusque, so I wiggled my hand into my jeans. MOM was displayed in the white letters on the screen. Just who I want to talk to right now. I wanted to ignore the call, but she was persistent and I had four sets of eyes on me.

  “Mom, this isn’t really a good time,” I answered. I tilted my body away from the table to try to shield them from my conversation, though a bell in the back of my mind reminded me that Vex said they have sharp hearing. There was a bout of silence before I heard the sniffling. My heart dropped to the floor. “Mom? What’s wrong?”

  “Acacia, your dad…” Her voice cracked. “Something happened at work. He’s at the hospital. They told me he had a massive heart attack. He’s in the cath lab right now getting an angioplasty.”

  Her words whipped against my skin. I had no idea what an angioplasty was. Heart attack? Massive heart attack? My voice was a panicked whisper. “What? Oh my God. Why didn’t you call me sooner? What happened?” My head spun as I tried to figure out an escape plan. My vehicle was broken down, and there weren’t any Greyhound routes that went near Brown Bear Valley. Even if I did find a bus or a rental it was almost a nine hour drive to Miles City.

  “I called you as soon as I could. We won’t know anything until they’re done with surgery. Please tell me you’re coming home. Please.”

  “Why wouldn’t I?” I remarked rhetorically. “Just… just keep me updated, okay? I’ll find a way to get to you.”

  We ended the call, and forgetting where I was, I stood up and started to pace as I tapped the screen on my phone looking for a rental place nearby. I knew Parker didn’t like me, but I was willing to fork over a chunk of my savings for a vehicle. Hell, I’d hire a helicopter to take me if it meant avoiding construction and getting there sooner. I didn’t know much about heart attacks, but I knew time was crucial. I was terrified that I was going to lose my dad, and I wouldn’t get a chance to say goodbye because I traveled across the state looking for a fantasy creature that actually existed.

  “Acacia, baby, look at me.”

  Suddenly I was cemented to the ground. It had nothing to do with the hand that gently splayed across my back and everything to do with the calming voice of the hand’s owner. Vex. All of my irritation towards him melted away as I leaned into his embrace. I wanted to snap and take out my emotional turmoil on him, but I needed his strength.

  “I have to go. My dad had a heart attack.”

  “I heard. If we leave right now we can get there b
efore midnight. I know you won’t be able to see him, but we can be there in the morning.” He looked up and over to the table. I hadn’t completely forgotten that we were in the middle of a serious and possibly life threatening conversation or that I was apparently Vex’s mate. The three were looking at us with mixed expressions. “I can take her, right? If Barrel or Tucker can cover my next shift I’ll take both of theirs.”

  “We can work something out,” Dean said while his wife nodded in agreeance.

  Deacon, however, had a pinched expression. “Hold on. Vex, you’re the head of my security team. We’re in the middle of a crisis. You can’t just leave.”

  “If Elizabeth needed you, you would drop everything.”

  Alexis spoke up. “Deacon, we haven’t had any more issues with cameras. I have plenty of volunteers on deck. It’ll take ten minutes of rearranging and phone calls. We’ll be fine.”

  “There is still the issue of your last bleeding. I can’t pull back on a punishment.”

  “Let’s do it.” Vex whipped his shirt over his head. I didn’t even try to hold my gasp in. Bile gurgled in the back of my throat. A few new stripes were added to his healing back, but three long claw marks raked across his chest. It was like I was looking at stage makeup for a horror production.

  “You can’t. No,” I protested vehemently. “Do me instead. I can take it.”

  Vex narrowed his eyes angrily. “You know I’d never let anything touch a hair on your head, so what makes you think I’d let you take a bleeding for me? I told you, Acacia, my body heals quickly. I’ll be okay. Just wait outside.”

  “You can’t make me,” I retorted childishly.

  “But I can,” Deacon interjected firmly. “Your place with Stoneclaw is uncertain still, but I am leaning towards a probationary period. I don’t want your first experience to be a bleeding. It isn’t for the faint of heart, especially when it someone you love. I don’t want you to think that we are a violent species, Acacia, and if you see this it will be extremely hard for you to forget it. I won’t make you do anything, but I am asking you to go outside. I don’t ever ask, so understand how strongly I feel about this.”