by A. B Lee
“Yep.” With steely determination she decided that she was going to make this fast. In, out, and no stopping for the niceties in life. She didn’t want to make friends, just say a thank you to the shifter that had brought her daughter home to her.
She knew that she owed him a lot more than a damn pie.
“Do you think Chance will let me stroke his bear?” Darby asked with a level of excitement in her voice that unnerved Rebecca.
“Over my dead body.” Rebecca muttered to herself. “I don’t think it works like that, Darby.” Rebecca hoped it didn’t.
If that man got his bear out, she was out of there on fast legs- that was if she didn’t drop dead of a heart attack first.
“Can I ask?” Darby had such hope in her voice.
“No.” Rebecca squashed it. “We’re just going to give him the pie, say thank you, and go. I have work to do.” That work thing usually ended the conversation, and the huff from behind her said it had done the trick this time as well.
Darby was still excited, but she wasn’t fidgeting in her seat anymore to get out to where they were going fast. Rebecca pulled up beside a couple of pickup trucks and sighed again as her eyes flicked to the covered pie on the seat next to her.
Maybe she could just leave it on the ground with a note; he was, after all, a bear and could sniff it out.
“Let’s go, mummy.” Darby’s excitement was back again and she bounced around in her seat like a jumping bean.
“A quick thank you and goodbye, Darby. I mean it.” Rebecca warned her daughter, but there was a light of mischief in those big brown eyes that made her want to groan out loud.
Reluctantly; she pushed open the door and climbed out. This was not how she envisioned her day going.
~^~
“Well would you look at that.” Alex’s motioned with a nod towards the new arrivals. A mother and child carrying a covered dish- Alex didn’t have to think too hard on who that could be for.
“That’s not good.” Marcus growled as he shook his head from side to side.
“Oh, don’t be such a killjoy…” Alex offered back with an elbow to his ribs that made him grunt.
“Marcus is right.” Jackson winced at the sight. It was bad enough that Chance’s mate had turned up, but to bring the child… “This could go badly wrong.”
“Will you two stop?” Alex groaned. “It’s his mate, and he didn’t eat the kid, did he?”
“Not yet…” Marcus bit out to another elbow from Alex.
“Shame on you.” Alex growled up to him and Marcus sighed.
“Hey, it’s not my funeral.” Marcus shrugged. “You sure you want it to be theirs, Alex?”
“That’s not fair.” Alex scowled up at him.
“It might not be fair, little momma, but it’s a possibility.” Marcus offered back to her. His eyes took in the way that the woman held on to the child’s hand in a death grip as the girl bounced and bounded in her stride, grinning like the innocent that she was.
“Hi!” Alex called as she separated herself from the naysayers.
“Hi, we’re looking for Chance.” Rebecca didn’t sound too sure or too happy to be there.
“He’s in his man cave.” Alex offered with a grin and saw the women almost trip over her own feet.
“Darby wanted to say thank you to him for rescuing her and bringing her home earlier.” Rebecca held out the pie as she came to stop in front of the pregnant mate. She was kind of hoping that her job here was done and that she’d be turned away.
“Marcus, knock on the door and ask Chance to come out.” Alex knew that the man would have heard every word with his hearing, she just guessed that he needed a little prod in the right direction to come out and face his mate.
“Alex…” Marcus started, but he bit off his protest when Alex’s head spun around on her neck like a psychotic owl and she glared at him.
“Marcus.” She offered in return as she narrowed her eyes on him.
Marcus sighed as loudly as possible for her benefit. When he turned on his heels towards Chance’s cabin his eyes met Jackson’s.
“Be ready.” Jackson warned him and the big man nodded in return. He strolled up to the door that had been pushed closed after he’d kicked it in earlier and sighed again.
“Chance. Company.” Marcus growled.
“Go away.” Chance growled back for all of them to hear.
“Well, here’s the pie.” Rebecca thrust it at Alex, grateful that the man was as rude as sin.
“But, Mummy!” Darby protested and Rebecca winced.
“The man is busy, honey. Just call out thank you.” Rebecca smiled her encouragement. In some respects she was more than relieved, but somewhere deep within her she was spitting nails that the man could disappoint and upset her daughter like that.
“But I wanted to see him.” Darby looked downcast and it irked Rebecca.
“Maybe next time…” Rebecca lied. There was no way in hell that she was ever going to let that happen.
“But…” Darby started.
“Let’s go, Darby. Say thank you.” Rebecca took on her mother persona with a stern look. Darby caved.
“Thank you, Chance.” Darby sighed long and hard and kicked a tuft of grass. There was no reply from inside the cabin.
“Maybe…” Alex started hopefully, but the warning look in Rebecca’s eyes said not to continue. She turned her attention down to the child. “I’m sure he’ll love the pie, Darby. I’m Alex…” she held out her hand and the child had no concerns about shaking it.
“Darby, and this is my mummy…” she turned her eyes upwards.
“Rebecca.”
“Nice to meet you, Darby, Rebecca.” Alex motioned behind her. “The one on the left is Jackson, and on the right is Marcus.”
Darby lifted her free hand and waved to the two men. Both men waved back with big, stupid grins on their faces. Alex rolled her eyes- pushovers.
“Well, we have to be going.” Rebecca tugged on Darby’s hand, but the youngster was staring straight at Marcus.
“You have a bear too, right?” She asked with excitement. Marcus grinned harder.
“Sure do, Darby.” Marcus chuckled.
“Can I see it?” Darby got the words out before Rebecca could stop her.
“That’s not…” Rebecca shook her head.
“Your mum’s right. Bear’s aren’t puppies, Darby.” Marcus saw the relieved look on the woman’s face and chuckled again.
“Ok.” Darby looked downcast again as she dropped her eyes to the grass on a sigh.
“Let’s go, baby.” Rebecca tugged the girl’s hand again and this time she allowed herself to be turned and walked away.
“Bye, Alex, Marcus, Jackson…” Darby gave a small smile. “Bye Chance!” Darby yelled over her shoulder.
“Don’t get lost again.” Chance growled out from inside and Darby’s face lit up with a smile.
“He heard me.” She whispered up to her mother.
“I’m sure the whole town heard you.” Rebecca offered back as they strolled away.
“Now what?” Marcus looked to Jackson, but it was Alex that stalked right up to the cabin door, pie in hand, and thrust the creaky wood open.
“Alex…” Chance growled the warning.
“You… coward.” Alex accused him and saw Chance’s shoulder’s come up and back as he narrowed his eyes on her. “Here’s your damn pie and I hope you choke on every mouthful.”
Alex thrust the pie out into his hands and Chance scowled at it. His nose twitched at the smell, but he never said a word as Alex turned on her heels to leave, and stomped off.
Jackson and Marcus watched her go. Marcus turned his attention back to Jackson to find the alpha watching his mate walking away.
“Shouldn’t you…?” Marcus shooed him with his hand to follow her.
“I know enough not to.” Jackson informed him. “I like my head on my shoulders.” He turned to look at Chance’s cabin and then sighed.
“N
ow what?” Marcus asked.
“I don’t know man. This is not good.” Jackson didn’t want any of this. In a way he guessed it was coming; not the finding his mate part, but the ending his days part. Chance was a loose cannon and the man’s bear couldn’t be tamed.
“I’ll keep an eye on him.” Marcus offered and he nodded his head back towards Alex.
“Yeah.” Jackson sighed again. He didn’t want to deal with Chance right then or his mate. It kind of made him wish for the days before this mismatched clan had formed, at least then he’d only have Alex and the cub to worry about. He set his shoulders and started off after her.
“You gonna share that pie?” Marcus called into the cabin and got a growl in response. “Didn’t think so.”
~^~
“Someone needs to look out for my mate.” Chance stood at the far end of the group as they sat around the fire. Eating was the last thing on anyone’s mind. Discussing Chance’s death had been too hard to swallow in itself without adding food to the mix.
“Shane’s there now, and after you’re gone we will continue to watch over her, you have my word.” Jackson looked Chance square in the eye and the man nodded in understanding.
Jackson’s word was more than enough for Chance, but having the alpha say those words while looking into your eyes, a way to judge what was in a man’s soul, Chance was content.
“I can’t…” Alex pushed up to her feet, but Jackson caught her wrist within his hand and stopped her from walking away.
“This is the clan, Alex. This is what you signed up for when you became my mate.” Jackson informed her.
He could see the tears welling in her eyes, and he knew this wasn’t about baby hormones. Alex and Chance had a rocky start to their relationship within the clan, but that had ended the day that Alex was hurt.
He could tell that a part of her was dying at the thought of what came next. He could feel it in her heart.
“I signed up to the clan, all of the clan. Chance is a part of that…” Alex bit down on the raw emotions that were eating at her.
“It’s how it is, Alex.” Chance informed her without an ounce of emotion within his tone. “I have to keep my mate safe.”
“How do you know, Chance…?” She turned pleading eyes on him. “How do you know that this is how it is when you haven’t even given yourself…?”
“Because I know, Alex.” Chance rounded on her. “If I could be normal don’t you think I would?” Chance growled and Jackson pushed up to his feet. “Point made, Alex. Even Jackson doesn’t trust me with you… How can I trust myself with a mate and a kid?”
“Jackson doesn’t trust me with myself…” Alex snorted.
“He trusts Marcus.” Chance growled back.
“Only as far as he can bloody well throw him, and we’ve all seen Marcus…” Alex absently motioned towards the man who was now on his feet. He sensed that Chance was close to losing his bear just as Jackson did, and with the females present, including his own mate, Marcus wasn’t about to sit idly by and let things go from bad to fucked up.
“You need to calm the hell down and pull it back, Chance.” Jackson reached out and put Alex behind his back. The sound of her cursing and grumbling didn’t mean a hill of beans to Jackson if Chance lost it.
“We need to end this, Jackson…” Chance growled.
Jackson had pretty much come to the same conclusion. Chance was a man on the edge and his bear was starting to take over. It wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when and how the man let that happen.
Jackson felt gut sick. It sat like a knife in the pit of his stomach, but he knew it was what needed to happen. He opened his mouth to agree when Shane’s voice came through the clan’s telepathic link…
‘Jackson, it’s the damn kid. It’s missing again!’
CHAPTER FIVE
Jackson saw the change in Chance. It was immediate. Clarity- something that normally Chance wasn’t known for, took over, and the man pushed his bear back within him with ease; the bear cooperating.
“Darby…” Chance growled out as he turned on his heels and started away from the gathering.
“What the…?” Marcus growled out; trying to settle his own bear from what he was sure was going to be a fight to the death with Chance. “Did you see that?” Marcus started after Chance on fast feet, Jackson right beside him.
“Yeah. He controlled his bear.” Jackson felt a surge of hope. Maybe it was his mate being in trouble and needing his help… maybe it was Darby being missing again- whatever it was- it was a good start.
~^~
“Darby!” Rebecca had searched the house. Everywhere that she could think of where Darby might hide or go to play. Nothing.
She pushed through the backdoor, and with the death grip on the torch in her fist; she shone it around the immediate area. Gone again. Twice in one damn day!
Night had a hold on the area, and this wasn’t the city with street lighting and shop windows blazing light out onto the pavements. This was the countryside and it was pure black out with barely a moon to illuminate the area.
Rebecca could have cried in that moment at the momentous task that spanned out in front of her. How the hell did you search everywhere in the thick of night with only a damn torch to find a child?
She’d put her to bed with the kind of tension in the air that could have been cut with a knife. Darby didn’t understand why she couldn’t go to visit Chance the next day to see if he liked the pie…
Chance… the shifters. Oh my God… no.
Bears… bears in the woods, doing what damn bears do… eating people. Eating Darby if she’d gone in there and come across one…
What do I do?
Rebecca rounded the side of the building and almost ran straight into Shane’s chest. The appearance of the man had startled her, but the sheer size of him made her heart jump into her throat, and she lifted the hand with the torch and tried to strike him before she even considered what she was doing…
“Hey! Whoa…” Shane reached up and grabbed her wrist, halting her attack before it had even begun. His reflexes were just too fast for her. “I’m here to help you.” Shane growled as his bear pushed forward; sensing trouble from the woman.
“Where’s Darby?” Rebecca brought the other hand around, making a fist and trying to hit him with it. Shane caught that wrist too. He’d give her ten out of ten for trying though…
“That’s what I want to help you with…” Shane growled, trying to sooth the woman, and failing miserably.
“Let go…” she kicked out at him and Shane felt that one connect. Her boot into his knee made him growl some more, but he released her wrists and gave her a little push backwards at the same time, just enough to make her out of reach so he didn’t have to go through the whole capture and release thing again.
“I heard you calling for her… I guess you lost her again…” Shane hadn’t meant that to sound so much like an accusation, but when Rebecca’s eyes came up to his, red rimmed and watery, he knew he’d screwed up.
“Help me…” she pleaded. She didn’t know what to do or where to turn. She knew what this man was; the same as the others. She didn’t know why he was on her property, but if he could sniff out Darby…
“The rest of the clan are on the way. We’ll find her.” Shane tried to sound reassuring, but the woman seemed a lot more frantic now that she had a sounding board, she’d lost her way and her purpose.
“She was in bed…” Rebecca lifted her hand and ran it through her hair, pulling and tugging as it went. She didn’t notice, Shane did.
“She was supposed to be asleep…” Rebecca fisted the torch harder and it seemed to jerk her back to the realisation of what she’d been doing before she encountered the shifter.
“I have to find her…” Rebecca started off again on fast feet and Shane didn’t have the heart to try to stop her.
“Chance is on his way and…” Shane stopped walking and talking the moment that Rebecca whirled back towards hi
m, her eyes were wide…
“No!” She shook her head fast. “No, she wanted to see Chance.” Her eyes couldn’t seem to hold to one spot. As her mind whirled so her eyes searched for the solution. “She might try to get to him…”
“The females are on our land. If she turns up there…” Shane assured her.
“Why are you…?” She didn’t care why he was there, her chain of thought skipped. She needed to find her daughter.
“Calm down and think logically…” Shane heard the burst of hysterical laughter that came from her and saw the humourless smile on her lips. He bit down on his frustration.
“Yeah…” she scoffed and started to walk off again. He followed, scenting the air for Darby… Human kid, how hard could it be?
“Ok. Try to think of somewhere she would hide…” Shane was trying to get her to focus. An irate female was no help to him…
“I…” Rebecca shook her head as she stalked on. Her mind couldn’t concentrate on one thought long enough to make a chain of them. She wanted Darby- it was cold, dark, and that meant bad things- all of those bad things were swirling within her mind.
“Try to concentrate…”
“Try to fuck off and let me find my damn daughter!” Rebecca turned on him.
He wasn’t helping… the pressure to try to find an answer was overwhelming with its magnitude. If she couldn’t find the answer her daughter could die… If she couldn’t find her daughter- she could die.
Darby could die. It was that simple. She hadn’t done her job and now her daughter could die…
“Rebecca…” Shane grabbed her shoulders and tried to get her to focus on him and him alone. Rebecca shrugged and twisted to try to break free of his hold. He was stopping her searching for Darby…
“Let go… let go… let me go!” Rebecca screamed out into the night, into the chaos in her mind…
There was a roar that seemed to cut through everything else and still it all for a long moment. Her head turned to see Chance coming at them. Her eyes took him in; looking fit to kill…
