It didn’t seem like Blake was interested in settling the matter peacefully, though. He lifted the gun and pointed it at Typhoon’s head. “You have been getting soft. Everybody knows it. Twister's only the last in the long line.
"And I saw your eyes when you attacked me. I felt you drinking my blood. So, what are you: a vampire lover or a vampire yourself?”
Typhoon was silent for a long moment. What was he supposed to say to that?
Mia found herself stepping forward. She clenched her hands as she stepped up beside Typhoon. Maybe all of it was crazy, and it was all happening too fast, but she wasn’t about to just give up on it. Her mouth felt dry, but she gathered her courage, mustered all the authority she had, and put her hands on her hips. Several of the shifters behind Blake glanced at her nervously. Stephen was there, looking like he wanted to tell her to stay out of it.
“We don’t know what happened with Typhoon,” she said, trying to infuse her voice with confidence despite her words. “He came to me after you attacked him, and he drank your blood—”
Please let that be what happened, she prayed.
“And we were about to start some tests to see what was going on. As you know, Typhoon has been bitten and infected by vampires many times.”
He'd never been bitten. At the very least, he'd never been infected. Was he, as a half-vampire, immune to their venom?
“I suspect that might be a contributing factor. I don’t appreciate you coming into my clinic and waving a gun around like a barbarian. We're dealing with the situation, so please, leave.”
Blake turned to her just as she was finishing her spiel. He glared at her for a long moment before something sparked in his eyes. Blake shook his head, though he kept the gun pointed at Typhoon.
“I don’t want to see you get hurt, Mia. I’m sorry for what I did before—I lost my head—but I'm not leaving while this… creature and his pet vampire are on the loose. You need to leave now, before things get bloody.”
“If you think I’m going to just walk away and let you kill people, you’ve got another thing coming.”
The muscles in Blake’s jaw worked. “You’re a doctor, not a fighter.”
“Yeah, I am a doctor, which means I know anatomy. I also know how to fight. I’m a doctor who is consistently in the line of danger because of who I treat. If you try anything, I know how to take you down. And if you hurt my mate, my…husband,” she quickly corrected, heat rising in her cheeks (even that seemed too…intimate a term), “then believe me when I say that you'll regret it. The next time you need my skills…”
She trailed off, letting the threat hang.
“Leave, Mia,” Blake said again. His eyes narrowed, and a growl filled his voice. “You don’t know the danger this thing poses for you.”
“Typhoon's not a—"
“Mia.” Typhoon interrupted. He turned slightly, his gaze capturing hers. “You need to leave.”
She gaped at him.
“I don’t want you here,” he continued. “Blake, here, is clearly out for blood, and I don’t want yours to end up being spilled. You could easily get caught in the crossfire, and your son needs you, not mine.” Typhoon glared at Blake. “He’s not my son; he’s half-human.”
Was that his way of trying to protect Jasper when his own heritage came out? Mia didn’t speak; she didn't know what to say.
Typhoon’s father shifted behind them. Mia glanced back to see a torn expression on his face, and she wondered if he was deciding if he should chance running? Or…she thought about how she'd feel if it was Jasper instead of Typhoon beside her, and she was the one standing at the back of the room, her son in danger because of her presence. She’d be torn between wanting to divorce herself from him—for his sake—and wanting to launch herself at the people threatening him.
And that must have been exactly what Typhoon’s father was feeling.
She swallowed hard and looked back at Typhoon. “Look…I didn’t want you to have vampires as informants. I said you couldn’t trust them, and I hold to that, though there are some decent vamps out there, like Queen Guinevere. If it weren’t for her, we’d have lost a lot of men,” here, she turned to glare at Stephen, “you, included.”
He shifted from foot to foot, ducking his head.
Mia glanced back at Typhoon. “I’m not going anywhere. I have to stand for what I think is right, and right now…” She narrowed her eyes at Blake. “Right now, that means helping you take this punk down. But I do ask that you try not to kill him.”
“Dammit, Mia!” Typhoon moved, as though trying to shield her while Blake growled. “Don’t you see what’s happening here? Someone's about to die here, and I won’t let it be you!”
“And I won’t let it be you!” She whirled on him, putting her back to Blake even though her tiger snarled and clawed at her chest, telling her she was an idiot for doing it. “You are the most boar-headed, stupid, stubborn man I've ever known, but if I walk away and let you die without trying to stop it I'd never forgive myself…I love you.”
Typhoon’s eyes widened.
Mia laughed at her own dramatic confession. What a time to say it. What a time for her to realize it. Tears blurred her eyes. Her heart clenched at the thought of anything happening to him. “Fuck you. I never wanted to fall in love. Fuck you and your smile and your voice and the way you never let anybody see your soft side! Fuck you for showing me parts of you that made me fall in love with you! Fuck you!”
There were some murmurs and whispers from Blake’s men. Typhoon's father stared with a slack jaw from behind them, but Mia didn’t look at any of them. She didn’t care about any of them. Her heart beat shallowly, her confession hanging between them as though it were a tangible thing, as though telling Typhoon she loved him would stop Blake from shooting them both.
“Mia…” Typhoon reached out. He touched her cheek and grasped both of her shoulders. “You are one crazy cat.”
He lifted her, even as she hissed in anger. Her hiss became a shriek as he threw her in the air, and she skidded over the top of the receptionist’s desk and fell heavily behind it.
The gun went off. The crack of the shot echoed around her, making her stomach clench. There was a grunt followed by a cry.
The gun went off again. This time, the bullet hit the wall, just over her head. She threw herself sideways and out from behind the desk.
Typhoon and Blake wrestled, the gun clasped in both of their hands while Blake’s men fanned out. Several of them went for Typhoon’s father while a few of them jumped in and beat on Typhoon.
A snarl rose from her chest. This wasn’t happening—not if she had anything to say about it!
Mia flung herself forward, bringing her tiger forth as she did. Her clothes shredded from her body, and she tackled the two men at once. Both of them cried out as she brought them down. Her claws raked across one of their backs, and she closed her jaws around the other's shoulder and wrenched her body. The shoulder snapped; the shifter gave a cry of pain.
She turned to the other and broke his arm before leaping off and onto the back of one of the shifters attempting to punch Typhoon’s father out. The shifter dodged, but he wasn’t fast enough to avoid her claws.
Pain spiked through her hindquarters, and Mia whirled, slapping at the wolf who had sunk his teeth into her flank. Her paw hit him with her claws extended, sending a burst of fur into the air. The wolf let go, caterwauling in pain. Mia sprang on one of her back paws as another wolf rushed her, head-on. She came down on its back, clawing along its sides and snapping every inch of his body within reach. It yipped and rolled in an attempt to get away from her.
A bear suddenly appeared in the room and swiped at Typhoon’s father. Mia dodged, seizing it by the armpit, and it turned a huge paw on her. She wasn't able to release it in time, and the blow knocked her over, sending her rolling until she came to a stop near Blake and Typhoon’s feet. She took the opportunity to slash at Blake, but he jumped aside.
There were a good fo
ur more men who were helping him fight Typhoon. The gun had disappeared; where it was, Mia didn’t bother to find out.
She threw herself between Typhoon and two of his attackers, forcing them to retreat and give him some breathing space. His massive fist crashed into one of their faces, and the shifter crumpled to the floor and was still.
The bear went after Typhoon’s father again. His father had broken the leg off a chair and was using it to wedge the bear’s mouth open, preventing it from biting down on his head. Another shifter came up behind him and punched him in the ribs.
Mia sprang over to them and yanked the feet out from under him with her teeth while clawing at the bear’s face. Typhoon’s father grunted as he attempted to duck under the bear’s paws only to be clipped on the side of the head. He went down, prompting Typhoon to let out a strangled shout.
Blake laughed in triumph. Mia turned to find him holding the gun once more. Three shifters had Typhoon. One of them kicked his feet out from under him as Blake aimed the gun at Typhoon.
Stephen lunged from the side, knocking Blake over. The gun went off, the bullet flying wildly. Mia sprang onto the bear's back, tearing its neck as it turned while Blake and Stephen wrestled on the ground and Typhoon managed to throw off the shifters holding him.
The bear roared as Mia hit a nerve through its thick hide, causing its whole body to shudder.
Blake elbowed Stephen in the face and went for the gun.
Typhoon lunged.
There was a crack.
The bear threw Mia off, and she hit the wall hard. Several cries rang out and then there was silence. Typhoon’s father panted for breath. He was sitting at an awkward angle, clutching his leg.
Mia scrambled to her feet and shifted back into her human form once the fighting had ceased. Everybody turned to stare at Blake’s limp body.
Typhoon panted for breath as he leaned against the wall, lifting his dark gaze to glare at his would-be attackers. "I don’t want any more death here,” he growled. “And you can be assured the human police have been called. Get out now, and I might give you a chance to run.”
There was a moment of stillness before the vast majority of shifters dashed for the entrance. They helped those who couldn’t walk, but they left Stephen and a couple others behind. It wasn’t until Typhoon helped them stand that Mia realized that the ones left must have turned to help him.
“The police will be on their way, won’t they? That busybody next door would've called them.” Mia looked around the bloody, ruined waiting room and shook her head. “They’re going to shut me down.”
“You wanted to quit anyway.” Typhoon walked over to his father and lifted him into a chair.
Mia couldn’t argue with that. She went over to check on his father and grimaced to see the leg had been broken so badly.
“I’ll be fine,” he rasped, sweat dewing on his brow.
“I should still splint that. You’re awfully human right now.”
Typhoon’s father grimaced.
Typhoon stood and headed into the back. He returned a little later with a set of scrubs and thrust them at Mia’s chest without looking at her. “We need to get our story straight.”
She took the clothes, her heart sinking. Even after she dressed, Typhoon wouldn't look at her. Her confession from before the fight seemed to hang in the air, and she could almost kick herself because of it. What had she been thinking, telling him that? The only thing he wanted less than a child was a mate to tie him down.
Maybe they should've had the "us" talk, she thought bitterly as she took care of the injured few left behind. Maybe then she wouldn’t have been so stupid as to tell him that she loved him, but she would have eventually. And she knew she would have because it was true.
Chapter Twelve
Typhoon
“I never thought I'd would ever do this.” Typhoon stood next to his recently-fixed bike, fiddling with the edges of his leather jacket so they'd cover more of his tattoos. He glanced up briefly at his father, then dropped his gaze again.
“I never thought you would, either.” His father let out a slow breath and just as slowly, reached across the space between them to put a hand on his shoulder. “I know that my words don’t mean anything to you, but I’m proud of you, Robby. I’m proud of the man you've become. Your mother would be proud, too.”
Typhoon shook his head. She wouldn’t be proud; she’d be hurt that he was so cut off from everything in his life except for violence and the Brotherhood. From that point on, though, he would live a life that she would be proud of. Protecting people but allowing softness and love into his life as well. Allowing forgiveness.
He sucked in a deep breath as he looked up. Guinevere’s posse, a collection of hummers and jeeps, was visible down the road. Typhoon didn’t have much time to say what he needed to. “It’s not your fault.”
His father’s brow furrowed.
“What happened. Mom. How off the rails I went. It’s not your fault.” He made his gaze meet his father’s. “It’s not your fault. It was just…circumstances.”
His father’s grip tightened. Typhoon could see that he wanted to argue the point, to say that it was his fault, but Typhoon shook his head. They needed to have much more of a talk than could be shared at that moment. Right then, he just wanted a moment where maybe he and his father weren’t so very different, after all. The tightness in his chest eased just a little bit, and a weight he hadn’t known he was carrying sloughed off his shoulders.
“I love you, Dad,” he whispered as Guinevere’s cars pulled to a stop next to them.
“I love you, too,” his father whispered back.
They stepped away from one another. Guinevere left her car, looking very pixie-like next to the hulking figures cut by her bodyguards. Her gaze swept around and her brow furrowed when she saw it was just the two of them. She strode forward and nodded to Typhoon.
“Alpha. What can I do for you?”
Typhoon gestured to his father. “This vampire was a contact in Cromwell’s kingdom, but he was discovered, and I need a safe place for him to go to now.”
Guinevere’s eyes widened slightly. She inspected his father for a moment before smiling. A true vampire queen, she wasn’t about to let an opportunity in which the Savage Brotherhood would owe her a favor go by. “I would be more than happy to take him in, then.”
His father nodded his thanks. He got into the hummer with Guinevere and glanced back at Typhoon to give him a small smile. Typhoon returned it, suddenly wishing he'd told his father that he could call anytime. Then again, maybe it had that been implied.
He stood there, watching them go until the posse was out of sight before climbing onto his bike with a sigh. That had been taken care of, but there was so much more to deal with. He already knew that his “decision” to have a vampire contact would have a backlash. How could he show mercy to them without allowing Twister his place among the gang?
He was alpha, and he would weather it. There was something far more important for him to sort out at that point in time.
Mia's clinic had been briefly shut down, due to what had happened there lately, but Hurricane came in with his lawyers and his money and got it open again. Even so, Mia took a few days off to figure out what she wanted. Luck was with her in that there had been no further disasters, meaning she could actually have those days without worrying about stitching people up after another vampire attack.
With that in mind, Typhoon headed for her house. He found her sitting outside on the bench-swing, sleeping baby cradled in her arms, her Kindle in hand. She watched him walk up the path, and a small smile flashed on her face. Mia remained stiff otherwise.
What felt like a ball of snakes fought in his stomach. He envied people who wound up with nothing more than butterflies when facing a nervous situation. He wasn’t at all certain how he was meant to go from there. Mia's admission of love rang in his ears with every step he took. He'd thought about it every night since Blake’s death. He'd avoided Mia
during that time, not wanting her to say that she had just been talking as she tried to put Blake off.
Now that he was there, he had a few things he wanted to say himself.
“Typhoon,” she said coolly when he reached her. “I’ve been trying to call.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry. I’ve needed some time to think.”
“You said as much in your text.”
“Yeah.” Typhoon knelt at her feet. His gaze turned to Jasper. “I've been thinking, and first off, I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for running away like I did when I found out that Jasper was my son. I don’t know how to explain it, other than I was…terrified about what my heritage would mean for him. Not to mention how you'd react once you'd found out about my father.”
Mia stroked Jasper’s head and sighed. “I can’t blame you for that. And it was unexpected, so…thank you for your apology. I want to apologize, too, for not telling you. So that you had to find out with Blake.”
“Could've done without that, but I know why you didn’t.”
Mia nodded, the stiffness of her smile fading a little. She blinked rapidly, and he thought he saw tears on her lashes.
“I want to say something: I know that you want to be free of all of this, free of the danger, free of the uncertainty, free of the Brotherhood and vampires and all the violence, but I’m the alpha. I have a responsibility. I've wanted there to be another way for a long time, and now I'm in a position where I might be able to find another way.
"I can’t leave now. I'll be a target as long as I’m alpha, from outside the Brotherhood and within it. If there is an us, you'll never be free of danger.”
Mia nodded. “I know.”
Typhoon waited for a beat before pulling in a deep breath. “With that in mind, I…I don’t know what the future is. I can’t promise I'll be able to protect you.”
Mia reached out and pressed a finger to his lips. “I’m holding the future.”
Once more, his gaze was drawn to the baby.
“Jasper is our future, if, that is, we have a future together. I know there'll be danger, and I can’t promise I’ll always be good with that. I also can’t promise I won’t have doubts when it comes to the Brotherhood, but if you’ll have me, I can promise I'll never have doubts about you and your place in my life and my heart.”
Typhoon Page 9
