Damaged Daddy Bear (Shifters of the Aegis)

by Leela Ash

  Something sailed down the stairs and landed with a metallic rattle. “Cuffs. For the Witch. Backup’s coming. I’ll let you know when it’s safe to leave.”

  Why wasn’t Rex telling her that? Where was he? She heard the Wolf retrace her path with slow, pained steps. But no heavy tread joined her. Nothing that could belong to a Bear.

  Don’t panic. Lily said he’s alive. Help’s coming.

  Fighting back her own fears, she cuffed the Hare’s arms around a stair board and retreated back to Jake.

  Fifteen minutes later, roars filled the air. Motorcycles. A lot of them. Lily’s sharp, high howl rang out—and a dozen answered her. The bass howls of the male Wolves and quite a few soprano ones as well.

  Lily’s Pack had arrived. And, as she said, they all came. Men and women, from Alpha to Omega.

  Still, she caught no hint of Rex in the confused welter of shouts, voices, and engines. Boot heels clicked across the floor and when the door opened this time, a strange man’s voice called down. “Miss Hall? I’m Aaron King. Lily’s father. May I come down?”

  “Yes!” Jake pressed himself close against her and she gave him a hug.

  A slender man with a salt and pepper ponytail descended, dressed heel to chin in black leather. As he passed the unconscious Hare, he murmured, “You’re not fooling anyone, woman. I know you’re awake. I’ll deal with you in a minute.”

  Paige gulped. Actually, the Hare had fooled someone: her. Silently, she blessed Lily for giving her the handcuffs.

  “Is Rex okay?” she asked him, fighting to keep the fear from her voice.

  “Yes.”

  Oh, thank heaven! Paige closed her eyes, weak with relief.

  “He’s been shot four or five times, but−”

  “What?” she squawked. “How can you call that ‘okay’?”

  Her outrage startled the Wolf and his lips wrinkled back in a brief snarl before he composed himself. “I say it because I know Bears and how hard they are to kill. Your Mate will be fine.”

  Mate. There was that word again. He assumed she meant something to Rex. That they were more than casual lovers. She ought to correct him, to assure him that the Bear didn’t love her. But she couldn’t.

  Because that title felt too good. Full of love and promise. Mate. A fierce, uncivilized word that tied her to Rex’s wild life.

  Let them think she’d earned it, even if that wasn’t true. It made her feel a part of this strange new world.

  “We’re getting him in the van now. Do you want to ride with him? One of my Pack can take your boy.”

  The very hint of that sent Jake into a panic. “Mommy, no! Don’t leave me!”

  “I won’t, sweetheart. I promise.” After a quick kiss, she asked, “I think it would be better if Jake rode with him too.”

  The Alpha Wolf shrugged. “Sure. As long as he doesn’t mind the sight of blood. A lot of it.”

  Uh, no. That would be a problem. “Why don’t I follow you in Rex’s Jeep, then?”

  “Because it’s stuck halfway through the living room wall.”

  Oh, right. That huge crash… “Could I ask one of your Pack for a ride to the hospital?”

  “Sure. Are you two hurt?”

  “No. For Rex.”

  Again, the ghost of a smile made his lips twitch. “We’re taking Rex home, not to a hospital.”

  “After being shot a half-dozen times? You’ve got to be kidding!”

  “Miss Hall.” King crouched down before her, gazing up with a gentle amusement. “I understand you’re a new Mate. You need to remember that you don’t know anything about us. You don’t know what punishment a Bear can take or how fast they heal. So, trust us. We’re Fairburn’s friends. We’ll take care of him, the Shifter way. Okay?”

  Though it broke her heart, she nodded. Slowly.

  And promised herself she’d find a way to make him pay if he was wrong.

  Paige and Jake rode back to Rex’s house in a motorcycle sidecar. A trip that Jake enjoyed a lot more than she did. Aaron King was extremely careful. The driver picked them up behind the house and whisked them away quickly, before her son caught a glimpse of the devastation and blood. When they pulled up to Rex’s house, King strolled over. “Miss Hall, could you tell the babysitter she can go?”

  Oh, right. Judy was still here, minding the Fairburn children.

  “And tell the kids to go to their rooms. I don’t think they need to see their father like this.”

  Not after the losses those poor little souls had already suffered, no.

  Holding Jake’s anxious hand, she shooed the kids upstairs and left her son to give them a G-rated version of the story. Then, she hustled Judy out.

  Her neighbor eyed the seedy-looking band of Wolves. “Um, hey. Paige? Mr. Fairburn knows they sell weed in dispensaries now, right? You don’t need to deal with, uh, certain people, anymore.”

  “They’re not drug dealers,” she assured her. “They’re his friends.”

  “Uh huh.”

  Judy didn’t sound persuaded. Probably thought Rex was after something a little ‘harder’ than marijuana.

  Whatever. She didn’t have time for foolishness now. “We’re fine.”

  “Uh huh.” Her neighbor edged toward her car, biting her lip.

  “You’re not going to do anything silly, like call the police, right?”

  Her friend shot her a wounded look. “Dude, no! I would never narc on someone. You know that.”

  “Good. Because everyone’s friends here. We’re cool.”

  “Cool. Okay.” Lips pinched, eyes clouded with doubt, Judy drove off, gazing sadly into the rear view mirror as she pulled away.

  Once the babysitter was gone, the Wolves got to work. The back doors of their panel van flipped open and Lily hobbled out. Right arm in a sling and sporting a bandage that ran from her nose to her ear. Paige’s stomach flipped at the sight. But when Lily spotted her, she still managed a bruised smiled.

  “Heya, Omega. Hanging in there?”

  ‘Omega’, not ‘Puppy-Girl’. It seemed she’d been promoted. “I guess so.” Paige sidled close, trusting the Wolf Princess to give her an honest answer. “How bad is it?”

  “Serious but not critical. Hang onto your undies, though, because if you haven’t seen busted up Shifters, it’s gonna look way worse than it really is.”

  Four Wolves clustered around the rear of the panel van. Slowly, they hauled out a stretcher.

  Rex lay upon it, stripped naked. Gauze wound about his shoulders, head, chest, stomach and left leg. Every inch of skin not covered in bandages was spattered with blood.

  How could anyone survive that? A high ringing tone filled her ears and the world grew hazy. She should never have let them bring him home. He needed a hospital, a doctor. She had to get him away from these nutcases.

  As her fear reached a panic pitch, one of his eyes flickered open. A low, menacing growl rumbled from his chest.

  Aaron King was at his side in an instant. “You’re home, Fairburn. You’re safe. It’s over.”

  Rex swatted him away weakly. “Paige? Where is she?”

  One word was all it took. Fear vanished, washed away by joy. “Rex, I’m here.” She, too, hurried to his side and caught that bloody hand.

  Brown eyes, dark with anguish and worry, searched her face. “Jake?”

  “He’s safe. We’re fine. You saved us.”

  His hand went limp in hers. Paige held it, and kissed his fingertips.

  “Bone-Dog will get you settled and cleaned up,” King said. Rex didn’t seem to hear. His eyes fluttered once then rolled back in his head and his body relaxed into a frightening stillness.

  One that seemed wrong to Paige. “Did you give him morphine or something?”

  “Nope. That’s his Bear.” King drew her aside, giving the bearers space to move the stretcher. “It’s a good sign. Now that he knows his family is safe, he’s… well, I guess you can think of it as ‘hibernating’.”

  “In summer?”
/>
  “For Shifters, it’s not a winter thing. Bears pull into themselves when they’re hurt. They sleep—for days, if needed—and all their energy goes into healing. Wish I could do it,” the Alpha grumbled. “Getting laid up sucks.”

  Four Wolves carried Rex gently into the house. Paige hovered nearby as they washed him and settled him in his bed. Then they left, leaving an unsettling quiet behind them.

  King paused on his way out. “You got this?”

  She nibbled her lip. “I’m not a nurse.”

  “He doesn’t need one. Watch him. Give him water or soup if he wakes. Other than that, leave him be. Can you do that?”

  “Yes.” And the children would probably feel better once the house wasn’t full of strangers.

  “Good.” He offered her a scrap of paper. “My number. Any worries, any problems, you call.”

  With that, the Wolves withdrew.

  Leaving her with a wounded Bear and five frightened children.

  Chapter 14.

  An old Tom Petty song claimed that ‘The waiting is the hardest part’. This time around, Paige didn’t agree. Memory hurt more than anything else.

  Hers woke her in the middle of the night with dreams of Room 415. Dreams where Novak shot her, or Jake. In one, she leaped from the window to escape him and fell, on and on, endlessly. Screaming.

  Yet, her torment paled beside the children’s. Their suffering, their pain, made her forget her own misery.

  Every one of them had lost a parent. Every one of them knew that sometimes, there was no happy ending. People died. Parents were ripped from your life, never to return. The thought that this might be happening, again, filled them all with a panic that dwarfed her fears.

  She helped in every way she could. By holding Eden while she sobbed. By promising little Sam that yes, if Rex died, he could come live with her. By holding them, hugging them, loving them with all of her heart.

  Jake’s memories haunted him too. The first night, he woke in a panic, screaming, sure he was back in the basement, and it took her far too long to run from Rex’s room to his side. After that, Paige built a ‘fort’ out of sheets and chairs in the sickroom. All six of them slept together, in a nest of blankets and sleeping bags. No one would wake alone until this was over.

  During the day, chores helped. Paige found little things the kids could do to ‘take care’ of Rex. Sam, Nate, and Jake picked flowers for him. Eden cooked soup with her and waited, lukewarm broth in hand, for any chance to feed her dad. Together, they made cookies, a sugary morale boost all the children loved. Only Micah, at age ten, proved a problem. He wanted ‘real’ work, ‘adult’ tasks. When she learned that the house had a security camera, Paige assigned him to watching it. Silly though it was, the little Bear-to-be reveled in the idea of protecting his family. He sat before the screen for hours every day, scanning the land around them for enemies.

  In the evenings, they huddled together, watching tv bundled under blankets. Cartoons lulled the children while Paige sat comforting them with her presence. Always alert for any sound, any sign, that Rex stirred.

  All day, Paige was there for them. Only at night, in the darkest hours, could she let herself grieve. She would slip out from the tangled nest of sleeping children and pull a chair up to Rex’s bed. There, holding his hand, she could finally let her own tears fall. Silently, with no sobs to disturb the children she needed to protect. Each night, those tears wore down her grief. Softening its sharp edges. Dulling it. Until, at last, she could wipe her face and return to the blanket fort, strong again for the little ones.

  For the most part, they were alone. The Donnellys stopped by to check on Rex—and to tell her that Novak was ‘taken care of.’ Paige didn’t ask what that meant. The Hare had cooperated; Finn would share her information once Rex was awake. Only the nameless Rat, the ‘fixer’, remained at large. That news infuriated Micah and sent him back to his vigil at the security cameras.

  Bone-Dog, field medic for the Sand Pack, also visited daily to check on Rex’s bandages. Each time, he assured them that all was well. He listened patiently to the children’s tales of how they ‘helped’, and praised the work of their little ‘Pack’. Those visits left the kids glowing with pride, and Paige cherished that almost as much as the Wolf’s nursing.

  For three days, they waited and grieved, each in their own way. The weekend passed, Monday dawned. Then, while Paige carefully trimmed the crusts off a half-dozen sandwiches, a little shriek split the air.

  “Mom!” Eden screamed. “Dad’s awake!”

  What had the girl called her? But even as Paige noticed that telling word, it slipped from her mind. She was running, sprinting, stumbling down the hall, to Rex’s room.

  When she burst through the doorway, the Bear was sitting up in bed. His daughter sat beside him, arms around his chest, hugging him with all her strength.

  “Eden, careful!” she gasped.

  Rex pulled the girl close, a big, pain-free smile splitting his broad face. “I’m fine. Good as new.”

  The boys spilled in now, drawn by their sister’s cry. They leaped on the bed, scrambled across the ‘wounded’ man, hugging him. Shocked by his sudden return to health, Paige could only stare. Jake held back too, shy, until Rex spotted him and waved him over. “How you doing? Are you all right?” he asked, as he ruffled the boy’s hair.

  Jake allowed that touch, nervous but happy. “Uh huh. We rode back in a motorcycle car.”

  Rex beamed at her over her son’s head, a sight that set her heart hammering. “Bet that was fun.”

  When she could finally pry the kids off their father, she took them away for lunch. Rex held back. “I need to shower and get these bandages off.” He frowned down at his chest. “Not looking forward to that. Bone-Dog, that dumbass, used too much tape. I’ll have to pull half my chest hair off.”

  Sam dissolved into giggles. “Dad said ‘ass’!” he announced. In case anyone had missed it.

  Paige shooed them to the kitchen. As they ate, a few startled, irate yelps echoed down the stairs. Each one set the kids snickering. Fifteen minutes later, Rex joined them, rubbing his chest.

  “Scalped!” Micah teased.

  “Eh, shaddup or I’ll scalp you,” his father grumbled.

  She’d made more sandwiches. Good thing, because Rex began to gobble them down at a pace that would make a Wolf proud. Paige couldn’t stop staring at him. He was fine. Healthy, happy, whole… looking no worse than he had Friday, in her house.

  Rex caught her staring and washed his sandwich down with a gulp of lemonade. “King did tell you Bears heal fast, right? Because I will have words with him if he forgot.”

  “No, he told me. It’s just….” She waved helplessly. “It’s hard to believe. Until you see it.”

  With their dad’s return, the kids were full of plans. They should go to the mall! They should play video games! Together! Everybody! They should go swimming, at Totten! (The Attack of the Amoeba Monster had ruined Sweetwater for them, and as for the Olympic pool in their back yard…) “I don’t even know why I built the damned thing,” Rex sighed to her. “Nobody uses it.”

  Paige loved it all. The sight of the family, together. The way the children swarmed around their father, adoringly. The love that lit his face as they came to him with their crises and complaints.

  Yet, even as the balm of the Fairburns’ love melted her heart, a gentle pain arose.

  “Jake and I should probably head home,” she told him. “We’re eating all your food.”

  “No.” With a chop of his hand, Rex killed that idea. Dead. “You two need to stay here until it’s safe.”

  “But….”

  “No. Out of the question.” He killed the idea again with another chop. Deader this time. “You’re not going out there where the Fangs could grab you or your boy. It’s safer here with me. I’ll take care of you, I promise.”

  “I know you will,” she told him, her voice soft. “You proved that.”

  “Then you’ll st
ay?”

  “Sure. As long as you want me to.”

  Paige gulped in shock at her own words. That sounded…odd. Too open-ended. Like she was fishing for an invitation to move in permanently. Yet Rex simply nodded and said, “Good. I called the Donnellys. They’re heading over now to give us a briefing on what happened.”

  ‘Us.’ Not ‘him’. Pride made her heart swell. “Great. I’ll, uh, bring my combat flashlight.”

  Rex chuckled, eyes sparkling. “You didn’t ditch that stupid thing? It looked like it weighed a ton.”

  “Are you kidding? Nobody’s taking it away from me. Heck, I plan to be buried with it! That ‘thing’ saved Lily’s life! And I broke a spell with it!”

  That was news to him. And so, while they waited, she told him her version of Jake’s rescue.

  By the time she finished, their guests had arrived. Kids were banished to the tv room and the four adults shut themselves in Rex’s office.

  “Let’s start with the bad news,” Finn said. “We didn’t catch that Rat. We know his name is ‘Freeman’ but that’s about it.”

  So, Jake’s kidnapper is still at large. Paige shivered, glad that Rex had offered her shelter.

  “I nailed Novak, the Wolf. He grabbed one tote of artifacts and took off, but I caught him.”

  Nobody asked what had happened to him. Paige didn’t care. The man was vile and sadistic.

  Bree leaned forward and caught her eye. “Paige, did you see the artifacts they kept in Room 415?”

  “Yes. I was trying to take some pictures when I got caught.”

  The Hare beamed with delight. “Oh, I was hoping you’d say that. Do you know what was in the top totes?”

  “A couple dozen Zuni fetishes. Little stone animal carvings,” she added, when the Witch frowned. “And a bunch of Ancestral Puebloan pots.”

  “These ones?” Bree whipped out a phone and scrolled through a series of pictures.

  “Um…no. I didn’t see those things.”

  As Finn whooped with delight, his wife explained. “See, Novak only had time to grab one tote. Either he took the top one, or….”