Healing Their Mate (The Love of a Shifter)

by Evans, Bryce

  River was asleep as Jonas held her in his arms. Mary could tell that Jonas loved her and treated her as if she was the most precious gift he ever had.

  Chapter Sixteen

  River blinked several times before she realized Reece was staring at her. She looked around and found that she was lying in her bed at the Lodge. She felt the warm arm tighten around her waist as she looked down seeing another arm hugging her. She could feel Jonas behind her as he stretched. She glanced down to see if she had clothes on and blew out a breath, realizing her clothes were still on.

  Reece laughed as he watched River check her body to make sure she had clothes on. “We wouldn’t take advantage of you, baby, when you were passed out. However, I did rub on you all night long.”

  River couldn’t help but laugh at Reece’s teasing. He arched his eyebrows up and down making her laugh louder. She had never seen Reece like this. He was relaxed and kidding her. He was always so serious, but now he was funny. She loved this Reece too. The playful one.

  River hit Reece on his arm. “You probably did.”

  “I did, my love, and you were so warm. You make these little sounds when you sleep that make me want to do wicked things to you.” Reece looked down at his crouch so he could let River see what he was talking about.

  “Reece.” River pushed the laughing man away from her.

  Jonas pulled River back, laying her flat on her back then leaned over and lightly kissed her on the mouth. Her hands grabbed hold of his hair, pulling him closer to her. This was no ordinary kiss. This kiss said ‘I want to fuck you hard’.

  Out of instinct, Jonas pulled River under him as he licked the inside of her mouth until she couldn’t breathe. His hands were strong as they gripped her face. Sliding his fingers into her hair, angling her head so he could taste every inch of her. His tongue licked down her jaw to her neck. Nipping at her skin then licking and kissing it until the pain evaporated. “You drive me crazy,” Jonas whispered into her neck as River groaned.

  “Then take me,” River moaned out. She couldn’t think properly but she knew she wanted Jonas and Reece. Before Jonas could rip her shirt open someone knocked on the door. Jonas stopped and looked over at Reece who was enjoying watching River come unraveled.

  Jonas rolled off River, allowing her to lean up. “Yes, who is it?”

  “It’s me, Ash. Mary is asking for you.”

  River was up and off the bed before Jonas or Reece could grab her. “I will be there in a few minutes. Is she okay?” River asked, concerned as she leaned against the door.

  “Yes, but I think she wants to see you. Take a shower and get ready. I will sit with her until you get there,” Ash replied through the door.

  Leaning her head against the door, River muttered, “I won’t be long.” Pushing off the door, River looked back at her mates who were still lying in bed staring at her like she was the last loaf of bread on the shelf during a blizzard.

  “I need to get ready and go see Mary.” She waited for them to get mad and start pitching a fit about leaving them but no response came. From the door she was leaning on, she looked back and forth from Reece to Jonas who were smiling. “Why are you both smiling at me like that?”

  “Just admiring the view, baby,” said Reece grinning.

  River wondered when they would start trying to tell her what to do, but they just stared at her and smiled. “Okay. I will only be a minute.” River walked toward the bathroom when Jonas reached out and grabbed her, pulling her onto the bed with them. Jonas and Reece looked down at her.

  “Later. We will pick up where we left off.” They waited until River nodded. Then Reece softly kissed her on the lips then Jonas kissed her. The kiss only lasted a few seconds but their kisses promised more was yet to come. Jonas picked her up and carried her into the bathroom. “See you in a few, baby,” then he closed the door.

  River stood still until she heard the door close to her room. They were so sweet to her. They didn’t push her to mate with them. They just loved her. Helping her get to Mary was something that brought more trust to her than anything they could have ever done. The fire she felt for these two men was becoming unbearable. River’s body shook as she thought about making love to her mates. Taking off her clothes, she knew that whatever happened would blow her mind.

  *****

  Ash opened the door before River could knock on it. “Hey. After you heal her more, we will go downstairs and eat so she can rest more. That’s what Jansen said you needed to do. Unless you tell me different.”

  River walked into a room filled with flowers. Beautiful flowers were sitting in vases all around the room. “Wow. These are beautiful.” River walked over to the beautiful wild flowers sitting on the table.

  “Can you believe all of this, River? They have been coming in all morning from the clan and packs.”

  Quickly, River jerked around as she looked from Mary back to Ash. She feared that someone would try to hurt her if Mary knew too much.

  “Oh, dear, I have known about shifters and vampires for a long time. I had a childhood friend who was a werewolf. We lost touch when her parents moved from the Island when we were ten years old. She taught me so much before she left. It was fascinating to hear all the stories,” Mary told them.

  River finally took a good look at Mary. She looked so much better then she did yesterday. She had some color in her face now. Her voice wasn’t strained in pain. She looked relaxed now as she lay in the bed. “You knew…you knew that vampires and shifters existed. You never said anything to me.” Mary held out her hand to River. She came and sat down beside Mary on the bed.

  “I knew you were trying to protect me and I didn’t want to pry if you didn’t want to tell me so I just let you think that I didn’t know. I wanted to tell you that I understood, but I didn’t want you to worry any more then you already were.” Mary placed her hand on River’s cheek. “You’re not mad at me are you?”

  River smiled as she took Mary’s hand. Shaking her head no, River choked out, “I could never be mad at you. You are my family. I just wanted to protect you from them. I would never forgive myself if they would have hurt you to get to me.”

  “Oh, dear.” Mary grabbed River’s hands and kissed them then rubbed circles over them trying to calm her.

  River nodded then placed her hands on Mary’s stomach. “Are you ready for me to finish healing you? We have so much to catch up on and do.”

  “Yes, dear, I’m ready. But don’t exert too much energy. I won’t have you sick to fix me.” Mary glared at her. She knew that look. Mary would never let River hurt herself to help her.

  “Okay. Ash can you open the window for me please.”

  Ash frowned, wondering what River was going to do with the window open. “Sure.” Ash walked over to the window and opened it then the cold air rushed in.

  “Tell me, Ash, what is on this part of the building? Is it concrete or grass and dirt?” River asked.

  Ash stuttered but looked out the window to check. “It’s the back of the lodge where grass and dirt is, but right now it is snow.”

  “Great. Thanks,” River replied.

  Ash moved closer as River placed her hands over Mary’s stomach. Ash’s eyes widened as River’s hands glowed. She moved closer trying to see what River was doing.

  River concentrated harder as the white magic glowed brighter surrounding the black mass. Twisting her hand, River pulled the white magic up, taking the black mass out of Mary. She got up and went to the window. Ash was right beside her when she threw the black mass outside the window. Ash gasped as the white magic scattered to the ground dripping down into the snow. Ash looked back at River then back down at where the magic seeped into the ground.

  “You just took that out of her,” Ash stuttered out. River smiled and nodded then went and sat down beside Mary again.

  “How do you feel so far, Mary?” River asked as she rubbed her arm.

  “I feel wonderful, River. It’s like a weight has been lifted from my body
.”

  “Well I’ve got one more mass then you should be cancer free.” River placed her hand over the area she saw the last mass. Closing her eyes, River concentrated as the magic flowed more freely out of her hands surrounding the black mass. Without skipping a beat, River slowly pulled the mass out like she was pulling a rope up. Grabbing the glowing magic, River walked to the window then threw it out into the snow.

  Again Ash was standing at the window watching in awe as the magic seeped into the ground. “Amazing, River. You are simply amazing.”

  River stopped and stared at Ash. “Nobody has ever said anything like that to me. I guess it helps when you can do stuff like this. Your compliment means a lot to me.”

  Ash grabbed River and hugged her. “You look like you need a hug. Amazing people need hugs too.”

  River smiled into Ash’s shoulder as the woman hugged the breath out of her.

  “Hey, you need to rest.” Ash released River then walked over to where Mary had gotten off the bed.

  “I have spent too much time in a bed. I want to get up and explore this Lodge. I want to eat some good food and have a little fun.” Ash and River laughed as Mary gave them her list of things she wanted to do. “It’s my bucket list except I’m not dying anytime soon. So I’m not wasting one more minute sleeping or lying in bed.”

  “Well then let’s go eat some breakfast then. The lodge has great breakfast,” Ash advised as she opened the door for Mary and River to walk out. Mary grabbed her pocketbook and skipped out of the room. Ash and River watched as the older woman actually skipped to the elevator. They watched as she stopped long enough to look at herself in the mirror, fluff her hair, then give herself a wink. Laughing as they watched the older woman, Ash and River walked toward the elevator. “She is great, River.”

  “Yep, she is. She has been my everything since I met her. She was my mother, sister, and friend all wrapped up into one tight bundle. If I had lost her.”

  “But you didn’t, you saved her. Be proud at what you can do, girl. You are so special. Live it and own it,” advised Ash.

  Ash and River walked out of the room watching Mary take her life back.

  “Woe, that really took it out of me. I need to eat something,” River said as she grabbed the pole on the side of the elevator.

  “Are you okay, do you need to lay down?” Ash asked concerned. She grabbed hold of River’s arm in case she fell to the ground.

  “No. Just need to eat and eat a lot so I can regain my energy. It takes a lot of energy to heal,” River explained.

  “Let’s go eat,” Ash said as she stood next to River watching her to make sure she didn’t fall down.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Prime, a scout called and said that a girl fitting River’s description was seen working at a diner on Route 31.” Paddock looked up from the paper he was reading at his second Rick Johnson. “He said before he could investigate any further, the girl left the diner out the back door.”

  “Let’s go check it out. I will know if it was River or not. I don’t want to let anyone else do this.” Rick bowed as Paddock got up from the chair. Paddock was getting tired of waiting for information to trickle in about River. He needed to find her before the unit came looking for him.

  Rick smiled at him. “What are you smiling about?” Paddock asked.

  “I have a surprise for you,” Rick answered.

  Paddock didn’t smile as he lowered his paper back down to the table. “Oh yeah. What kind of surprise would that be?” Rick went over to the door and knocked on it. Rick stood back as the door opened and two of Paddock’s men walked in carrying Jacky Boy. They had his hands tied behind his back. His face had been severely beaten. His head was hanging down as he tried to stay conscience. He got up grinning as he walked over to the side of Jacky Boy. Grabbing his hair and jerking his head back, Paddock smiled when Jacky Boy looked at him through one eye. The other eye had been beat so much that it was swelled shut.

  “Well look who we have here. If it isn’t my old friend, Jacky Boy. Where you been, Jacky Boy? We have missed you so much. Tommy has really been missing you. When he woke up, he asked for my forgiveness for letting River slip through his hands. So…” Paddock leaned down in front of Jacky Boy. “When I beat him until he just about died. I decided then that I would let him live long enough to pay you back,” Paddock whispered the last part as Jacky Boy trembled with fear. “You see, Jacky Boy, I plan on having a lot of fun with you. But first, we have some things to talk about. Where is River?” Jacky Boy swallowed hard as he tried to stay calm. They could smell the fear on the boy as he stayed silent.

  Jacky Boy didn’t say anything as Paddock continued to stare at him. Jacky Boy was so scared he didn’t know how long he would last. The only good thing was he really didn’t know where she was. That was the plan in case he was caught. He would never tell him where she was. Paddock was known for getting what he wanted. He was a master at torture and loved inflicting pain on people. Even the men who worked for him have felt some of his pain. That was how he led his clan, through fear and pain.

  “Well let it not be said that I didn’t give you a chance to help yourself out.” Paddock straightened up then went and sat back down. He picked the newspaper up and stayed silent for a few minutes letting Jacky Boy sit there to think about what he was going to do. Five minutes had passed before Paddock spoke again.

  “Rick, let him experience just a taste of what I plan on doing to him until I get my answers.” Paddock never stopped reading the paper.

  Rick smiled as he took off his jacket and placed it across one of the chairs. Jacky Boy watched as Rick rolled up his sleeves on his shirt. The other two men walked over to the door and stood as Rick slowly continued to roll his sleeves up. The silence was deafening in the room as he watched the killer prepare to punish him. Then without even a hint of what he was going to do, Rick kicked Jacky Boy right in the face, knocking him back against the wall.

  Rolling over to his side, Jacky Boy could hardly breathe when he felt his nose crack. Blood flowed freely down into Jacky Boy’s mouth. Laughing after he did it, Rick walked over to where Jacky Boy was laying in the floor.

  With his eyes wide, Rick leaned over to whisper in Jacky Boy’s ear, “Hurts like a motherfucker doesn’t it?” Everyone in the room laughed except Paddock who continued to read the paper. Not one time did he look up from his paper.

  Jacky Boy rolled over trying to move away from Rick. “Where you going? I’ve only just started.” When Jacky Boy leaned over, Rick kicked him in his side, launching him against the wall, putting a crack in the dry wall. Jacky Boy started wheezing trying to breathe as he fell to the floor. His ribs had been cracked from the kick. His vampire body was strong, but it would take a lot of time to heal this much damage. Continuing to torture him, Rick picked Jacky Boy up then hit him in the stomach. The air swooshed out of Jacky Boy as he fell to the floor and passed out.

  “Take him downstairs to the basement and hang him up. Wake him up with water or whatever it takes, but wake him up every hour then go at it again. I have plans for him, but I want that information, Rick,” Paddock ordered without looking up from the paper.

  *****

  “Mary, how would you like to eat dinner with my mates and I tonight?” River looked up. She was happy that Ash was helping Mary out too. “We would love to talk to you about your friend. Maybe we could find her and get in touch with her.”

  “That would be great, dear. I would love to have dinner with you and your mates. You don’t mind do you, River?” Mary looked like a kid. She was excited about life now. River was happy for her. It seemed that both of them would get a new life.

  “No, ma’am,” River answered.

  “Great, then you can spend some time with your mates,” Mary said with a smile.

  River looked surprised that Mary wasn’t judging her for having two mates. River was shocked Mary was pushing her toward two mates. She grew up during a different time period where a woman would settle
down and marry her high school sweetheart not mate with a werewolf and a vampire. Life was changing for River. What she thought her life was going to be about was changing. She had a choice, she could run and continue to run for the rest of her life or she could take that chance and stay here and try to make it work. Allow the unit a chance to bring Paddock to justice. She had a lot to think about, but River knew she wanted that chance to see if it worked. Fear was holding her back.

  River showed Ash and Pelton the computer program she was working on that would help log paranormals they talk to. If they spoke to them or if someone mentioned them, this computer program would bring up when, where, and who brought their name up. All their identification and pictures would be pulled up with this program. The program would also look into other databases to search out the people in question.

  “You are amazing, River. This is great. We will be able to log into the Vampire Council and the Alpha Council then plug that information into this program, allowing us more information than anyone,” Ash praised River as she watched her over her shoulder.

  “It really is great, River. The FBI would pay you good money to work for them and come up with these types of programs. Most likely the government would want to hire you so you wouldn’t break into their data base.” Ash laughed as Pelton described how the government would hire River to break into their system and show them their flaws.

  “Well it is just to get you guys started but I can add to it as we continue on building. That way I can see what type of information you will need to get. I can find where people live and work. It is really sad how much information is out there on the web floating around everywhere waiting for someone to tap into it. I have setup a lot of security for this program and will need to continue to put more in. That way nobody can get into our system. We need codes so if someone did then they wouldn’t know what the codes meant.

  “For example, like Jansen Vega being a wizard and a gun freak.” Everyone turned to see if Jansen was listening. He smiled but never looked up at River as he cleaned his guns, causing everyone to laugh.