by Haley Weir
"I don't want that kind of power over anyone. Where's the consent in all of this?" Tilly asked.
"These pairings have been anything but perfect. You know that. They fight for each other because choose to do so. That's where the consent is. Your friends could have left their husbands long before they said their vows, but why pass up on the sort of love they've always wanted?"
CHAPTER TEN
Michael was released from the clinic the following day. His brother and closest friends were scouring the forest for any clues while Tilly and Corey draped one of his arms over their shoulders to help him home. The lift gate opened and Michael halted their movement when he noticed his front door was ajar. “Tilly, stay here.” He limped out of their arms and moved closer to the door.
Bones popped and cracked as he summoned his bear strength, feeling pain for the first time in ten years while shifting. He sniffed the air and the pungent copper scent of blood filled his nostrils. Michael heard Corey rock on his heels and knew the jaguar smelled it too. He pushed the door open further to find that his home had been demolished. Holes were punched into the walls, the floorboards pulled up, and the furniture flipped over.
Shards of broken glass peppered the floor like macabre snow. His boots crunched down on the debris as he walked through what remained of his loft. The windows had been shattered to pieces as well as the glass surrounding the bedroom platform. Papers were strewn about and his computer had been smashed up, but not before they removed his hard drive. Two attacks in three days was a bit overkill in his opinion. Michael followed the scent of blood into his once-beautiful marble bathroom.
Lying in the bathtub was the body of his housekeeper. He knelt down, careful not to touch anything, and pried a note out of her hand. Hydra wanted him to feel responsible for her death, to feel as though the reaper followed his every step, waiting to cut down those in his life. But Michael was no fool. He wouldn’t be baited by guilt anymore than he could be controlled by threats.
Michael dug around in his pocket, shifting back as he dialed the sheriff’s number. Lori’s husband answered on the second ring as usual. “Hey, Sheriff, I need you to come by the loft. There was a break in and Iota is dead.”
“Jesus Christ,” the man exclaimed. “Don’t touch anything until I get there. Do you have any idea of who it might be?”
“I know who did it, but it’s something you can’t involve yourself in.”
“Bear stuff?”
“Yeah, something like that.” They hung up and Michael joined the others in the hallway. Corey physically held Tilly back from running over to him. She scanned his body with her beautiful brown eyes and his heart flipped. Michael hated the way he felt about her, knowing that there was a chance Tilly could never feel the same.
“Sheriff’s on his way. We can leave this for him to take care of, but we need to go. The more people seen coming and going from the building, the more suspicious the people in this town will get. We can’t have them thinking our problems are a danger to their families unless we want to face off with torches and pitchforks.”
“I’m still staying with Destiny and Brock when I’m not here with you. I don’t have a place of my own or else I’d offer for you to stay,” Corey replied. “But I can dig around in Hydra’s databases to see what I can find. I’ll be careful, but we need to know what they were looking for. If you can think of anything...let me know.”
“It’s alright. I’ll probably stay at a hotel. And I have an idea of what they were after, but we’ll talk about it when I’ve had enough rest to think.”
Tilly chewed her bottom lip in the way that drove him crazy. “Won’t staying at a hotel leave you vulnerable for another attack? You’d be alone without anyone to watch over you while you slept.”
“I appreciate the concern, but I’m out of options. My loft is a crime scene and so is my office. Everyone else is married. Sapphire has a baby on the way and I don’t want to put them in danger if I can avoid it.” Michael entered the lift and pressed a hand to his battered chest. Tilly and Corey followed suit and pressed the button for the parking garage. The pain was unreal. After weeks of being cut open and having Anders’ big hands poking around inside of his torso, Michael just wanted a stiff drink and along nap.
“You can stay with me.”
Both Corey and Michael looked at Tilly as though she had gone insane.
“What?” she asked. “I have a three bedroom house for just me. The second one is used for a guest room anyway and the third bedroom is covered in school projects that the children give to me and I can’t get rid of.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Every time Michael tried his best to understand what Tilly wanted, she did something else to throw him off. “There’s no saying how long I’ll need to hide out for or if there will be another attack.”
“How bad could it be?”
Very bad, it turned out.
Three hours later, Michael stood with his back against the guest room door and his thoughts down the hall where he could hear Tilly in the shower. Her breathy little sighs and random bouts of singing drove him near the edge. He trailed a hand down his body and fisted his erection, willing it to go down so he didn’t have to explain why he was aching from nothing more than the scent of her soap in the air.
Tilly announced that she had a second date with one of her matches, so Michael flipped through his phone for notifications. Eight in total. He missed four opportunities, but replied yes to the first one on the list. Michael was in no condition to go on a date. However, the thought of being stuck in the house alone while she ran off with another man was inconceivable.
His chest finally felt better, no longer feeling as though a truck had been parked on top of him. Michael pulled on a nice pair of jeans and black button down. His hair was a bit messy, but it gave him a more casual look than he was known for and he was out the door by the time the water turned off. He sent a quick text to Tilly’s phone.
***
Tilly wiped the steam from the mirror and sauntered down the hall in her robe. The house was far too quiet. She expected Michael to rummage around the kitchen and belittle her for only having pop tarts and spaghetti o’s in the cupboards. But he was nowhere to be found. She checked her phone and a strange sinking feeling forced her to take a seat on the arm of the couch. “Michael is on a date…”
She didn’t quite know what to do with herself. Tilly just sat in silence and wondered what that meant for her. How many dates had he been on? Why hadn’t he told her before now? Was she upset? Tilly began to pace, causing droplets of water to speckle the floorboards as they groaned beneath her feet. Michael was a gorgeous man, there was no doubt about that, but would his date notice something she hadn’t?
Tilly dialed his number, but there was no answer. She hung up and called Corey. He had given her his private number in case of emergencies. This was an emergency, right? She waited for him to pick up, surprised to hear a woman’s voice in the background. “Umm...sorry to interrupt. I...this is awkward.”
“Out with it before I finish what I started with you on speaker phone.”
“Oh god,” she exclaimed. “Please don’t. Michael is on a date and I don’t know how to deal with it. I’m sort of losing my mind here.”
“Deal with it like he’s been forced to do every time you’ve gone out with someone. Suck it up and take your anger out on an inanimate object. Michael likes to box or go running when he’s upset. That all you needed?”
“Why would he be upset when I go out with someone?”
“Why are you upset that he is?” Corey countered. “Look, if you’re curious, just go see for yourself. They’re at a restaurant downtown called the Lotus. It’s a vegan place, so I don’t think he’ll be there for long.”
“Thanks, Corey.” She hung up the phone and started battling with herself. Tilly didn’t want to miss her date, but she was curious about who Michael had matched with. In the end, she sent a text to Derek with an excuse about her car and as
ked if he wanted to meet up at the Lotus. Kodiak Dating Agency relayed the message and everything was set in place once Derek agreed. When she arrived at the restaurant, Tilly glanced through the window and saw Michael sitting with a gorgeous redhead.
It made her painfully aware of her blond curls and she hated them in that moment. Derek kissed her on the cheek and opened the door. Michael’s head turned and looked at them as soon as he heard the waiter greet Derek. Tilly held his gaze and noticed how his shoulders tensed. Michael grabbed her hand as she walked by and Tilly felt his warmth sink into her skin, touching placed she hadn’t known were cold.
“I wasn’t aware your date was vegan,” he said while releasing her hand.
“I wasn't aware you were.” Her eyes took in the sight of his rustled hair and Tilly resisted the urge to lick his neck and hiss at his date. She felt strangely territorial, but so far she had the upper hand. Unlike his date, Tilly knew what Michael looked like when he lost himself to pleasure and his eyes glowed like emeralds. “You know Derek.”
Derek attempted to shake Michael’s hand, but Tilly knew Michael didn’t shake hands in general. It was a strange fact she had remembered about him from Jenny and Destiny’s conversations. He was generally opposed to any form of physical touch with anyone he wasn’t intimate with. “Yes, I know Derek.”
“Why don’t the two of you join us then? Julius wouldn’t mind, would you?”
Tilly and Derek shared a look. Michael’s date didn’t know his real name? It was then that epiphany dawned. The CEO of Kodiak Dating Agency had used his own service under a false name. Tilly sat down beside Michael as Derek sat beside Michael’s date. The tension was a bit awkward, but Tilly tried her best to be polite.
“I don’t believe we’ve met. My name is Tilly.”
“Rydan,” the woman replied. “Pleasure to meet you.”
Michael turned into Tilly’s personal space and whispered in her ear. “Julius is my middle name. I’m not here under false pretense, if that’s what you’re thinking.” The heat of his breath washed over her skin and Tilly tried not to squirm when his lips brushed her ear. Michael leaned back with a wicked grin and sparked a conversation about space as though Tilly’s face hadn’t turned several shades of pink.
Derek spoke animatedly about wanting to know more about the galaxy and Tilly remembered a set of questions from her orientation. According to Michael Adair, people often lacked direction in social gatherings and usually resorted to tangential conversations. The topic that were universally interesting, according to his research, were space, strange dreams, and unpopular opinions about movies. This research proved impenetrable by the end of the date. Michael had charmed everyone at the table with his stories, including Tilly.
Everyone went their separate ways as Michael and Tilly drove home together. She thought he would have made a scene, but had been pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to date him. Tilly shook herself, forcing that thought from her mind. She hadn’t been on a date with Michael. All she thought of for the rest of the night was how it would have felt to be the woman standing beneath the brilliant spotlight of his attention.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Niko watched Brock Wasting and Dorian Chandler as they searched for him . He did not reveal himself, for they were not his target. His only worry was Michael Adair. The bear leader was much stronger than Niko had expected. Years of harnessing his abilities had taught him well and Alexander Collier’s experiment had learned that the hard way. He still felt a rattle in his bones each time he took a step.
Logan and the last of his men thought it wise to shoot him down before he could do any damage, but the price had been paid with their lives. If the bears continued to search all they would find would be the bodies of Hydra’s fallen men. Niko lurked nearby, listening as they speculated amongst themselves.
“I know we were all sort of pissed off at you for leading the hunters here, but Tilly said something that made a lot of sense. They would have found us eventually because of Des. Her father would have come looking for her no matter what,” Dorian grumbled. “But I think it’s awfully convenient that your brother and Corey are the only ones Hydra is going after. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think Michael made himself a target on purpose. They attacked him twice, as far as we know.”
“Anders said the bruising on Michael’s body suggests a lot more. I think they’ve been the ones clearing the hunters out of the forest,” replied Brock. “Why he didn’t think he could trust us with this is ridiculous. He can’t do everything on his own.”
“This is Michael we’re talking about. The guy has a hero complex even though he complains every time he has to bail our asses out of trouble...wait.” Dorian stopped. His eyes flickered through the trees. “I think I heard something.”
Niko glanced around and sniffed the air like a canine, but he didn’t sense anything. He growled low in his chest and put some distance between himself and the bears, still staying far away from town. People never reacted well to his appearance. Niko loved the fear that caused their faces to turn ashen. He loved to hear their pulses quicken as they wondered if they should have ran for their lives.
His camp wasn’t far from the old hunter’s grove. He used his satellite phone to call Alexander. “You told me this wouldn’t happen. When I agreed to your little experiments, you told me that I would be enhanced. I’m...experiencing difficulties.”
“Like what, Niko? Don’t be cryptic.”
“My senses are muffled. I can’t use more than two at a time lately. At first it was just blurred vision, but now I have to choose to hear and see, but I cannot scent danger at the same time. It only goes away when I start to shift.”
Alexander rustled with papers. “I think the different mutations infused in your body might be rejecting one another. One might become more dominant than the others. You’re supposed to have the best of four different predators, Niko. Do not fail me now.”
“It’s your science that would fail you, not me.”
“How is the most recent transplant?”
Niko lifted his shirt and traced the healing scar with the tip of his finger. “No problems so far. But this issue with my senses will hinder me in a fight.”
“Return home for a week and I’ll have the doctors examine the issue. Let the bears feel comfortable for a little while. Then get back to work or else I’ll deactivate you.” Alexander’s threats of deactivation were just a fancy way of saying he’ll make the undead dead again. Niko had once been a hunter like Corey. Obedience had been instilled in him at a young age.
But then betrayal landed him in a ditch with six bullet wounds and a concussion. He crawled toward Sector A in time to find one of the doctors. They patched him up and introduced him to Alexander. Three months of testing and he was told that he was the perfect candidate for an experimental trial. One that was rumored to create super soldiers. Niko had agreed, but only if Alexander helped him get his revenge.
And he had. However, only days after the trial had begun, Anders McKinny had destroyed the old facility with Niko still inside. Four years in a tank and he suddenly awakened with a newfound vigor. The experiment had worked. Of course, things had to be monitored and Niko wound up back in the tank for adjustments from time to time, but dying had been all too real. The horrors of it had kept him company through everything.
He had learned defiance from Alexander, a gift from his new father. Rebirth had done wonders to his mind and even parts of his body, but Niko’s organs had to be exchanged with the organs of compatible shifters in order to retain his abilities. He was a chimera, a hybrid of creatures that nature had never intended to exist.
Niko climbed to the highest point in the forest and adjusted his vision. His hearing and sense of smell lessened, but he was able to watch Michael Adair from where he stood as though he stared down the scope of a rifle. Courtesy of the eagle shifter that Alexander used to enhance Niko’s sight. Michael Adair appeared to have no real weakness outside of his brother and frien
ds. Physical pain could be managed, but…
He had never seen the woman before. She glared at the bear before stomping into the food market. Niko watched as Michael made childish facial expressions behind her back, but something else lingered in his eyes. Something his annoyance could not hide. Michael Adair had claimed his mate...the perfect Achilles heel.
***
If Matilda Riker wasn’t such a beautiful woman, Michael knew he would have killed her a long time ago. The woman was absolutely insufferable. Everything had to be done her way and there was no room for compromise. He meant to go after her, to tell her that adults required more than frozen chicken nuggets to survive, but he paused as his hand touched the handle of the door. Michael felt eyes on him and looked around.
Tingles shot up his spine.
“Hey,” Tilly said as she opened the door. She took one look at his expression and her attitude dropped. “What is it? Are you alright?”
“Yeah...it...it passed, but I could have sworn I felt someone watching me.” He walked into the market and clutched her elbow. “Just stay close to me just incase.” It was hard to think with her so near. Her lush curves pressed against his side, but Michael tried to see through the haze that she invoked with each movement. If anyone knew just how much she affected him, his enemies wouldn’t hesitate to use her against him.
“So, if chicken nuggets aren’t an acceptable food group, then what is?”
“How about chicken that isn’t battered and deep fried in grease?”
“You’re no fun.” She pouted adorably and Michael followed her around the shop like a puppy. Every time she put something questionable in the cart, he put it back on the shelf. “Are you trying to tell me I should lose weight? I hardly eat as it is.”
“Honestly? I’d probably revolt if you lost any of your curves. They may not be mine to enjoy beyond a few stolen glances, but if a man can’t appreciate you...all of you, then he shouldn’t be in your life. I’m trying to make sure that you’re healthy.”
