by Moxie North
“Gingersnap, your parents trust me. Can’t you?” Wyatt said from his corner.
Turning to look at him she said, “I trust you, Wyatt. Just not sure I can trust myself where you are concerned.”
“Well, I’m not worried, and everyone else is on board. I say we go with plan A and get you settled at my house tomorrow. Then we take it one day at a time.”
Jinger had no fight left in her. She knew deep down she needed Wyatt in a way that seeing him for dates wasn’t going to be enough. She needed to stop fighting and let Wyatt’s crazy universe call the shots.
Seeing this beautiful hunky man coax her into living with him was more than her little heart could take. Ignoring her parents, she climbed off her bed and climbed straight into his lap. Big strong arms wrapped tight around her. Heaven.
She heard the click of the door, her parents giving them some privacy.
“I’m taking this as a yes?” Wyatt whispered into her hair.
“Yes,” she replied while running her hand down his firm chest. She felt a rumbling noise come out of him. She looked up in amusement.
“I liked that,” he responded, tilting her chin up with a finger to place a kiss on her lips. His tongue traced the seam of her lips, coaxing her to open for him. She did and he delved into her mouth. Tasting, sucking her tongue into his mouth.
Wyatt meant to go slow, but he’d been without her for weeks. He’d had one small taste of her honey and he missed it.
They kissed and touched, soaking each other up. For the first time in a while, Jinger wasn’t tired. She was pretty sure there were rules against sexing up your man in a hospital. But a little fraternizing couldn’t be too bad.
Jinger slid her hand down the front of Wyatt’s abs and started to slide them lower aiming for the hard bulge in his jeans.
“Wait,” Wyatt said, breaking the kiss and grabbing her hand. “We need to talk.”
Confused, Jinger started to get off his lap, but Wyatt tightened his hold.
“Stay. I want you right here. I need to talk to you about something. Something about me and my family, and I really hope you let me tell you everything and not freak out. Okay?”
“Why would I freak out? Are you some kind of circus folk? Do you have your own religion you practice out in the woods? Tree worship or something?” Jinger was annoyed that there was something so important for him to tell her, yet he waited until she agreed to move in with him to bring it up.
“No, not circus folk. They scare me, by the way. And no tree based religions. God, Cage got off easy,” he muttered to himself.
“Cage?”
“Yeah, what I’m about to tell you, Cage had to tell Sophie. But see, Sophie accidentally found out and although she initially freaked out, in the end she was okay with it. So Cage didn’t have to figure out how to tell her like I’m doing now with you,” he said all in one breath.
“Wyatt, I just told you I loved you today. I do, totally and without reservation. Whatever you have to say, just say it and we’ll work through it together, yeah?” She hoped she sounded braver than she felt.
Wyatt looked at her, his forehead wrinkled in concern. She watched him take a deep breath and braced herself.
“My family is--different. Not bad different, just not like other families. Well, that’s not true, there are other families like us. Although they are giant pains in the ass to be around. Just wait until you meet them,” he offered, clearly thinking of this mystery family.
Jinger looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to refocus.
“Sorry--so my family is different. We are so different that we have to keep it a secret who we really are. Most people wouldn’t understand or even accept the truth if they were to find out.”
“Okay, so how are you different?” How bad could it be, she thought.
“Well, we can change,” he said like he was proclaiming the secret of Area 51 and proof of alien life.
“So can I, Wyatt. You’ve yet to see my PMS,” Jinger countered.
Grumbling, Wyatt stood and carried her to the bed and set her down. He started pacing. Jinger had seen this before. Clearly pacing and ranting was how Wyatt worked through problems. Something she was going to have to get used to she guessed.
“So, my family can change. Into something else, or really someone else but that’s not the important part,” he said his hands on his hips as he paced the small space beside her bed.
Jinger watched then decided they were going to be there all night at this rate. “Change into what Wyatt? A bat? Are you a vampire? Cause I saw that movie and I have to admit, it wasn’t bad,” she joked.
“No! Seriously, vampires?” He looked at her mockingly. “Have you ever heard of…shifters?”
He stopped at the last word and turned to her.
“Shifters. Like werewolves? You’re telling me you’re a werewolf?” she said and couldn’t help the mocking sound that came out.
“What? Werewolves don’t live around here. We’re bears,” he said crossing his arms over his chest.
“I’m sorry, bears? Like grrrr bears?” She was starting to feel she was on a hidden camera show. That would be a really mean thing to do to a person with a brain injury, she thought.
“Yes, bears. All of my family are bears. Different kinds, since we don’t get to pick the bears, they pick us,” he said and sat down across from her.
“You’re telling me you can change into a bear. So can Cage and Conner and your mom and dad? Bears, like furry, giant clawed, fish eating bears?” She realized he wasn’t laughing and she was starting to panic a bit. The love of her life was insane. He thought he was a bear for god’s sake. How was she going to tell her parents he was nutters?
Seeing the panic rise in her, Wyatt stood and came over and tried the approach he used last time to convince her he was serious. He got down on his knees beside her bed and looked up to her.
“I’m one hundred percent truly a bear. Mine’s a grizzly, just like Conner. Cage is a Kodiak, but that’s just because he’s destined to be an Alpha. Mom is a black bear and dad is a brown bear. My grandparents are bears and my cousins too. We have family friends that are cougars that live in California. Shifters don’t usually mix, but since we all have the same secret it’s best to stay on talking terms,” he explained.
“I’m still me, still Wyatt, Jinger. Nothing else is different. I live a totally normal life, except sometimes I turn into a bear and run around in the woods. My bear is very bossy and needs to go out to run pretty often,” he admitted.
Jinger didn’t know if it was the brain damage or maybe she’d taken too many pain meds today, but she had the distinct feeling she was starting to hallucinate. There was no way this was a normal conversation to be having. She decided she didn’t want this in her life, she couldn’t handle it right now. She had too much on her plate to deal with a bear boyfriend and she told him so.
“Wyatt, I can’t take this. I can’t accept this and pretend that I think this is normal or hell, if this is even real. You can’t be a ducking bear!”
She saw the smirk on Wyatt’s face, and then he broke out into peals of laughter. “I’m sorry, beautiful, but you’re right. I’m not a ducking bear. I’m a fucking bear. I can’t change here in the hospital to prove it to you. But you’ve seen the yellow in my eyes before, how they almost glow. That’s him. He’s kinda a grumpy Gus, but he’s not bad. And he’s crazy about you. He wants to meet you so badly, he’s growling all the time.”
Jinger remembered his glowing eyes. They were strange, not natural. She looked at him now and saw the bright glow he spoke of.
“Watch, but don’t panic okay?” Wyatt said holding up his hand. He warned his bear this was not a full transformation and to stay in control. He let his bear stretch out and saw the look of shock on Jinger’s face as she watched his normal nails turn into long dark claws.
She hesitantly reached out and ran a finger down the length of one. She didn’t scream, or jerk away, but he didn’t want to push it so
he pulled them back and waited for her.
“Really?” she asked in a whisper.
“Really. I’m still me, baby. I still love you and want to be with you. The question is whether you can accept me for who I am? For all that I am.” Wyatt had both of her hands held tight and Jinger could feel the trembling in his.
This big strong man was scared to lose her. And she didn’t want to lose him either. She’d just seen something she couldn’t explain. But it didn’t scare her. She was confused and a little queasy about the idea of a giant bear. Not known to be the friendliest of creatures regardless of what the cartoons say. She decided she had to compromise, it was too much for her to take but she knew even if she didn’t know who his bear was, she knew him.
“Wyatt, this is a lot for me. Can we put this on the back burner for right now? I need to wrap my head around this and honestly things take a little longer for me to work out right now. How about we take it slowly and we work on Wyatt and Jinger and bring the bear in a bit later?”
A relieved smile stole over his face. “I think we can handle that. Thank you, baby,” Wyatt said and brought her hands to his lips for a kiss.
Chapter 19
Jinger moved into Wyatt’s the following day. And moved in meaning she was carried into the house by Wyatt, with her mother following behind with a suitcase she’d taken the liberty of packing for her.
Wyatt placed her into his bed and made sure she was comfy. Gave her the TV remote, adjusted the thermostat, and brought her water and her pain meds before rushing off to meet up with his brothers. Apparently their investigation into the accident wasn’t going well.
Jinger took the opportunity to take a long nap. She knew Wyatt’s mom was out in the kitchen and felt glad knowing she wasn’t alone. Although, thinking of Mrs. Rochon as a bear was making her brain go on the fritz.
But she was a charming woman, she woke Jinger up with a bowl of soup and what looked to be homemade bread.
“Oh, don’t thank me,” she said when she brought it in. “Sophie has the fridge stocked for the next month.”
The food was wonderful and Connie Rochon was a restful person to be around.
“Will you tell me about your family?” Jinger asked after she was done with her meal.
Connie had taken up a seat next to the bed and was knitting some unknown object. “What would you like to know dear?”
“Everything.”
“That’s a pretty tall order. Is there anything specific you’d like me to start with?” she asked still casually working her yarn.
“Connie, Wyatt told me some things that I can’t quite get a handle on. And I’m a little worried that if I ask him anything else, he’ll think I’m having doubts about him.”
Connie set her needles in her lap and looked to Jinger, “He told you?”
“Yes, he even gave me a peek at what he could become, but it kind of scared me,” she admitted.
“I’ll tell you whatever you want, but first I need you to understand something. Who we are, we are shifters. We aren’t human, at least not all the way. The rules, no not rules really, the forces that control our lives are different. We believe in the fates, we believe that the universe has a plan for us. And part of that plan is that every shifter has one true mate. The perfect match for not only them but their animal. When a shifter finds his or her mate, there will never be another for them. They will love and cherish that person until the day they die. They will never cheat or harm their mate. And their mate will never want for loyalty and affection. I need to know if this is something you understand?” she asked, her mom voice in full effect.
Jinger didn’t understand, Wyatt had managed to leave that part out about soul mates. But she pretended to just to keep Connie talking.
And she talked and talked. Jinger learned all there was to know about shifters. That they were of two minds, with both in control and man and beast were fiercely loyal to their families. That usually mates were both shifters and there was a bonding ceremony where they would bite each other, not only to mark the other as an outward sign to others, but to also taste the blood of their mates. Sealing them together, giving their essence to the other.
That part freaked Jinger out a bit, but she realized that this was something that Sophie had clearly already gone through and survived so it couldn’t be that bad.
Jinger sat quietly, only speaking to clarify a point. When Connie was finished, she picked up her knitting and quietly continued where she had left off.
“Well,” Jinger started, “I think I’ve got some thinking to do.”
“Sweet girl, can I offer you some advice?” Connie asked, standing and heading towards the door. At Jinger’s nod, she said, “Don’t think, just feel.” Then she walked out the door closing it behind her.
Chapter 20
Wyatt leaned over Cage’s desk and got closer to the speaker phone. His brothers were standing around the desk, their attention on the phone.
“Dax, are you telling me that you know who’s endangered not only my mate but my brother’s mate as well?” Wyatt yelled down at the phone, his bear’s voice growling out over his.
Dax Hayes was the Alpha of his family’s cougar clan from Northern California. Cougars and bears usually didn’t get along, but the Rochon family and Dax’s family went back generations. Sharing the forests ensured they usually played nice. But Wyatt was in no mood to play nice.
“No, what I’m saying, you grouchy bear, is that we’ve had our own set of troubles recently and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were related.”
Wyatt gripped the table edge and took deep breaths trying to keep his bear back. He was beyond pissed and his bear was homicidal. After he had gotten Jinger home, he’d walked out back to speak with Conner and saw that someone had spray painted the side of his cabin with red paint saying— I know who you are. This not only infuriated him, but it scared him that there was someone targeting his family because they were shifters.
His brothers, and himself included, had assumed the broken equipment and inconveniences were from some environmental terrorist group. They had always dealt with them in a civil manner. He understood their deep feelings for the environment and normally they were just a nuisance. That was until they’d almost killed Sophie and now Jinger.
Now it was clear that this was much more personal.
“We’ve had some issues on our farms. We had equipment breaking and then there was a fire that wiped out our newest vineyard.”
The Hayes family had huge wineries in California, some of the best wine in the country.
“We had no idea who it could be until one of our farmhands went missing after the fire. His name was Tony. He’d worked for us for a number of years; he came with his older brother Marcus. There was an accident a few years back and his brother was killed. It was odd, his brother fell into a wine press. But after the accident Tony started watching us, always skulking around. My brother’s theory is Marcus might have seen something that scared him and he hid in the machine.”
“Seen what?” Conner asked over Wyatt’s shoulder.
“Us,” Dax replied.
“Shit, this just gets better and better,” Cage growled, flopping down in his chair.
“Well, it’s just a theory, but I’m willing to head up there and sniff around. See if I recognize the scent of anyone I know. It might help narrow down the field of possible suspects. We haven’t had any trouble since Tony disappeared. That has to mean something.”
“Hell, it’s not like I’d be able to recognize every one of our workers. It’d be too easy for a guy to blend in around here.” Conner said.
“Dax, we’d be grateful if you could make the trip up. We have to figure out who is going to so much effort to hurt us. Next time we might not be so lucky,” Cage said to the phone, but his eyes were on Wyatt.
“I’ll make arrangements and email you the info,” Dax said then hung up.
Wyatt walked over to the wall and threw a fist into the flimsy sheetrock. Not surp
rising his hand when through the wall to the outside.
“Nice, asshole, now I’m going to have a draft.” Cage said, standing up to examine the hole.
Wyatt stomped away from the destruction he’d just caused and let his bear out to roar his frustration.
“I get it, man, but you can’t let him out in here. You’ll tear the place apart,” Cage growled, letting some of his Alpha timbre lace his voice. It was enough for Wyatt’s bear to respond and back down.
“Sorry,” Wyatt said, placing his hands on the back of a chair. He let his head drop down. He was so conflicted. He was furious, frustrated, and mostly scared. His mate’s life hung in the balance and he was unable to protect her with his strength alone.
“No need to apologize. Best bet is for you to head home, be with your mate and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Maybe when Dax gets here he’ll be able to recognize someone’s scent. That will give us somewhere to start,” Cage offered.
“You’re right, I know it. Thanks, Cage and you too, Conner,” he said slapping his little brother on the back.
Wyatt headed out the door and jumped into his truck to head home.
Wyatt pulled up to his cabin at the same time his mom was walking out.
“You leaving, Mom?” He wrapped her in a big hug. He loved his mom and the only way he was able to leave Jinger today was knowing his mom was with her.
“Yes, darling. I think you and Jinger need some alone time to talk.”
“Talk about what?” Conner asked his suspicion rising.
“She asked me to tell her about the family so I did. She knows everything there is to know. So now, it’s up to you, son,” she said patting him on the cheek and walking towards her house.
Knowing his mom and Jinger had talked and she was presumably still in his house, was hopefully a good sign.
He walked in and found Jinger sitting on the couch, a cup of what appeared to be hot cocoa in her hand.
