No Ifs, Ands, or Bears About It

by Celia Kyle

  Ty’s bear bristled at being called “boy,” but the man was older than him by quite a few years, and he’d taken care of Mia and her mother after what Robert’s son had done. Thomas deserved his respect.

  “Fine.” He stood, not caring about his nudity, only worrying about the drugged woman in his arms.

  His wounds stung and pulled, but the pain was nothing compared to taking care of Mia. That started with putting her to bed to sleep off the drugs she’d been slipped and ended with possibly executing the Cutler Itan. The bear was excited by the prospect of getting rid of the man.

  Ty turned toward the hallway that would take him to his room. Now that he had Mia back under his roof she’d be in his room in his bed.

  “Isaac,” he called over his shoulder. “Tell Keen to come see me when he’s done and have Van throw Robert’s ass in the basement cell and post a guard. If we find Sarah, they can share.” He strode farther down the hallway with each word, steps eating up the ground. “I want all three of you in my room as soon as possible.”

  Foot after foot disappeared in a blur, but it wasn’t until he neared a particular door that he slowed. He glanced into the room, noting the messy sheets and scattered belongings.

  Ty turned back toward the kitchen and found that Isaac, Gigi, and Thomas stared after him. “Gigi, where’s Parker?”

  By the stricken expression that overshadowed her face along with the surprise coating Isaac’s, he knew the answer.

  Damn it.

  “Have Keen inform the Southeast Itan that we’re moving on Griss and Sarah.”

  “Wait. Sarah?” Thomas raised his eyebrows. “Tall, brunette, stacked?” At Ty’s nod, the old man grunted. “Huh. If it’s who I think it is, I thought she died when Griss’s parents were killed. It was never talked about publicly, she was a bastard, but gossip is she’s Griss’s half-sister.”

  “How did we not know about this?”

  Thomas shrugged. “I don’t live in Cutler, but I still have a few friends there. It’s not written anywhere. Just one of those things everyone knows.”

  Well, fuck. That explained a hell of a lot. “No, Sarah is alive and well and we think she had Griss kill her mate. I also think she was involved in Parker’s beating, but I have no doubt she worked with the man to steal Parker.” He scented the woman all over the cub’s room, the aroma reaching out to him in the hallway. Ty looked to Isaac. “They won’t make it to sunset, Isaac. You make sure the Southeast Itan knows that.”

  “Ty, you can’t take out another Itan’s heir. Legally…”

  “Legally Parker is the heir, not Griss, and we don’t know who the boy belongs to. I never saw a will. All we do know is that he turned up in Mia’s pantry. The cub belongs to Mia, and Mia belongs to me. No one ever takes anything that’s mine.” Ty’s bear rushed forward in agreement. Even though the cub wasn’t of their blood, the animal had decided to keep the child as his own. His muscles bunched and grew, thickening and stretching. Fur sprouted, and he felt his nails sharpen and lengthen. “If one hair on his head is harmed, they’re dead. If they don’t turn him over without a fight, they’re dead. No matter what, those two aren’t seeing tomorrow. You tell the Southeast Itan that, Isaac.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Mia woke slowly, head feeling as if it were filled with cotton and mouth dry as the desert. She rolled her head to the side and forced her eyes open. Dang, she was tired. Her body felt heavy, weighted down by hundreds of pounds of mush. Her arms and legs refused to respond, remaining still no matter how much she fought her unmoving form.

  She looked around the space, noting the foreign, manly décor, and realized she wasn’t in her room. No, she would bet her last dollar she was in Ty’s. A clock with glowing red numbers displaying the time caught her attention and she frowned.

  Eight o’clock? When they’d been hauling butt back to the den, it’d been just past one. What the heck happened to the time?

  Groaning, she jerked and forced her body to roll over, putting her on her side. Another lurch and she’d managed to flop onto her stomach. Well, at least she was a foot closer to the edge of the bed. That last foot—man—that one took a lot of wiggling, grunting and moaning, but finally she was right on the rim.

  Panting, she fought against the mud holding her captive, and demanded her body respond to her commands. Before long, she was vertical, sitting upright and only slightly swaying.

  She looked to the clock once more. Dang, ten minutes had passed.

  With a deep grunt, she shoved herself to her feet, and gripped the bedside table when her balance threatened to falter. She rocked, a wave of dizziness overtaking her, but something inside her nudged her to keep going. She didn’t have time to stop. She definitely didn’t have time to whine about seeing double and feeling like she’d puke at any moment.

  Mia shuffled, forcing one foot in front of the other. It took her forever, but she finally managed to traverse the room. She was thankful Ty wasn’t a man who had a ton of belongings.

  By the time she reached the room’s door, she was panting and out of breath. The darkened hallway stretched before her, and she groaned, imagining the way she’d feel once she got to the kitchen.

  The kitchen.

  Just thinking of that one room had memories creeping forth.

  Thoughts of her father fighting her grandfather… Ty jumping between the two bears… Oh, God, the massive wound that went from her Itan’s shoulder to hip.

  So, why the heck was she half asleep and feeling like an elephant stomped all over her when she needed to be at his side?

  With every flex of muscle and inch she scooted forward, more of her strength returned. The unsteady stumbles turned into a wavering gate, but she managed to stay vertical by using the wall for support. She eased along the hallway, pausing now and again. She came to an open door and slowed—if that were possible—and peeked inside.

  Ah, Parker’s room. That meant she was halfway to her destination. She observed his room in one sweep, noticing the rumpled bed sheets and strewn toys. She’d have to teach the cub to clean up after himself.

  She stumbled past the boy’s room, but a small spot of deep burgundy caught her eye. The dark color contrasted against the lighter wood flooring, and it was definitely a stain she’d never seen before.

  Mia pushed away from the wall holding her up and lurched deeper into the room, tripping over discarded toys and little boy shoes. Uncaring of the scrapes and cuts she’d suffered earlier in the day, she dropped to her knees and reached out for the near-black spot. No, spots.

  Sticky. They were sticky… She brought her stained fingers to her nose. The color should have told her, the deep hue cluing her in on what she was seeing, but the scent left no doubt. Blood. In Parker’s room. And there was no Parker to be seen.

  A wailing scream surrounded her, consumed her, the sound filling her mind until she could think of nothing but the blood coating her fingertip and the knowledge Parker was gone.

  Then rough hands were there, large and callused and oh, so familiar. The low voice that accompanied the touch soothed her, gentled her as he had so often over the years.

  “Daddy. Parker’s missing isn’t he? It’s his blood, isn’t it? Why didn’t anyone wake me? Why—”

  He pulled her close and forced her head to his shoulder. “Hush now. Getting upset won’t fix things.”

  She swallowed past the growing lump in her throat. “What happened? I remember sitting on Ty’s lap in the kitchen and then nothing.”

  “Gigi drugged you.”

  “What—”

  “She had a good reason. Your Itan doesn’t think anything bad about her actions, so you’re not allowed to get angry.” He harrumphed, and she knew that tone, knew he believed every word he’d said and that last bit had been an order.

  Mia pushed away from her father, scooted back until she could stare the man in the eye. “What’s going on? If she had a good reason, what is it?” Her father squirmed. “Daddy?”

  “Your g
randfather—”

  “I had one grandfather and he’s buried in Grayslake’s cemetery.” She snapped off the words. The man who’d shown up here sure as hell wasn’t her grandfather.

  “Language,” he grunted. Darn him. He always knew when she cursed, even in her head. “The Cutler Itan is in the basement cell while Ty, Van, Isaac, and a few others search for Griss and Sarah.”

  “They have my Parker.” She whispered the words, but her dad heard and nodded. “I want them. I want my cub and then I want those two gone, Daddy.”

  He grunted. “Always said you were a bloodthirsty little thing.” He nudged her aside. “Come on then, let’s go see what the old man has to say.”

  Mia stumbled to her feet, leaning heavily on her father when she finally stood. “You think he has something to do with this?”

  He led her toward the door and into the hallway. “I’d be surprised if he didn’t.”

  And that just pissed her off. No, it made her angry. Fucking. Angry.

  “Language.”

  “I didn’t even say that out loud! Damn it, Dad.”

  “Language.”

  Mia huffed. “One of these days, I’m going to yell every bad word I know and then hide behind Ty.”

  He patted her hand, leading her farther down the hallway, and the light of the kitchen slowly crept over them. “You do that, little cub, you do that. Then you can patch your man up when I’m done with him.”

  “Daddy, you know it’s not fair. He’s not going to hurt you.”

  “That’s what makes it fun.”

  Shaking her head, Mia followed her dad, shuffling along until they entered the kitchen. Keen sat at the counter atop a barstool and immediately popped to his feet when she entered.

  “Itana! Should you be awake yet?” Then the man at least had the grace to wince. “I mean, uh, I…”

  She shook her head and waved him away. “I’m not happy about being drugged but it wasn’t like you were the one who did it.”

  “Nope, that was me and I’d do it again, missy.” Gigi popped right into the conversation. Her voice held just enough conviction that Mia knew she was bluffing her way through what was coming. Normally, doing anything against the Itana meant expulsion at best and death at worst.

  Taking a deep breath, she turned toward the older woman. Yes, thinking back on the panic she’d felt at hearing the Cutler Itan had arrived was overwhelming. The only choice available at that point was physically knocking her out or drugging her. She’d been too scared to think clearly.

  “Good.” She nodded to make sure the woman knew she was serious.

  Gigi narrowed her eyes. “That’s what I thought.” She tossed the rag she held onto the dark granite counter top. “Now, sit down and have something to eat. The boys,” Mia assumed she meant Ty, Van and Isaac, “will be calling in again soon. Griss and Sarah have been wily, but they’re both idiots. They’ll mess up before long.”

  Her stomach told her to slide onto a stool beside Keen and take Gigi up on her offer. But her heart screamed at her to go down and beat the hell out of the Cutler Itan. For some reason, this whole catastrophe began and ended with that aged bear.

  With a shake of her head, she nudged her father toward the door that led to the basement and the man who’d raised her piece of crap sperm donor.

  Mia trudged down the steps, gripping the banister and praying she stayed upright. Robert’s weak roars and snarls greeted her as she entered the dimly lit basement. The air in the room was stale, the heavy scent of the Itan’s blood soaking the air and the coppery tang invaded her senses.

  A guard met her at the base of the steps, his face a study of grim lines and banked anger as he moved to block her. “Itana.”

  She didn’t remember his name, but then again, she hadn’t been introduced to the entire clan, either. “I’d like to see Robert.”

  The guard huffed. “Itana, the Itan was clear—”

  “He’s not here. If you won’t let me see the Cutler Itan, you can surely let me see…” she swallowed against the bile rising into her throat, “my grandfather.”

  The words tasted vile on her tongue, but they’d been necessary. She was the clan’s Itana, yet not. Once she and Ty solidified their bond, it’d be different. For now, it was a matter of finesse.

  “Itana, I’m sorry—”

  A deep, rolling snarl cut off the guard’s words. The sound vibrated through her, pulsing and pounding along her veins and then into the poor male that stood before her.

  Dang, she loved her father.

  “Move.” A single word from her dad combined with those threatening noises had the guard jumping aside in an instant. The guard’s Adam’s apple bobbed along his neck when he swallowed hard, and Mia fought against the smug smile that wanted to jump to her lips.

  She strode past the male and deeper into the large basement, heading toward the single light that illuminated a cell against the far wall. Well, the entire wall was a cell. At least thirty feet in length and fifteen feet deep, it held a single, graying, and pissed off bear. It would have been more frightening had he not been covered in blood, limping, and missing patches of fur.

  Her bare feet slapped against the naked, concrete floor, drawing the animal’s attention. Upon her approach, he pulled back his lips, baring yellowed teeth. One fang was broken in half, the bright red root showing against the pale nub. She wondered who ended up with the missing piece embed in their flesh. Ty or her father? Either option merely increased her anger, her rage, at the male coming into her territory and interfering with her clan.

  She rounded the lone chair in front of the cell and easily lowered herself onto the seat. The last remnants of the drug she’d been given drifted away as adrenaline took its place. Her heart thumped and raced. She’d get answers, damn it. She wanted to know why and who and where and…

  “Shift.” The bear bared his broken fang, and she internally rolled her eyes. Right. Very scary. Mia leaned forward and glared at the bear. “Shift, you no good, piece of shit.”

  She didn’t miss her father’s murmured “language,” and she would have apologized had the shuddering animal before her not kept her attention.

  The familiar crack and snap of bones drifted to her, and she focused on Robert. Not her grandfather… Robert. Fur receded to reveal pale, wrinkled skin. Age spots covered every inch and his veins were easily seen beneath the near translucent surface. Before long, his face was completely transformed, the bear’s snout now replaced by a human’s visage.

  Her first thought was that he looked old. Not just old, but ancient. The bags beneath his eyes had bags of their own and his face drooped, the right side pulling down so much he wore a half-frown. When he glared at her, his right eye didn’t follow the movement, and she realized that somewhere along the way, Robert had endured a stroke.

  Good.

  He swayed on his feet, finally stumbling toward the bed and collapsing onto the thin, padded surface. He grabbed the folded blanket and wrapped it around himself, covering his aged and withering body with the thick covering.

  “What d’ya want?” His words were thin and reedy, voice cracking at the end of his sentence.

  She wanted a lot of things, really. She wanted a mother who loved her and hadn’t taken her own life. She wanted to bring her biological father back from the dead just so she could stomp on him. But most of all…

  “Parker.”

  He pinched his lips together but didn’t say a word.

  “I want Parker, Robert.”

  “I’m the Cutler Itan, you stupid whor—”

  “And I’m Grayslake’s Itana and you’re in a damned cage.” Her father didn’t bother chiding her. Good. Because she was just getting started. “I know you know where Parker is. You show up, and he goes missing? Too convenient. I want him back. He’s mine.”

  Every cell in her body screamed in agreement. That little cub belonged to her and her alone. She might share him with Ty… someday.

  “He isn’t anything to yo
u. You’re just a piece of trash.”

  “I’m your granddaughter, you stupid ass.” Mia pushed to her feet and fisted her hands at her sides. “And Parker is my cousin.”

  “You’re nothing but a bastard whelp your mother tried to shove off on our family.” Robert harrumphed, and her father’s growl filled the space. “Somehow the slut managed to get that one to take you.” The caged male waved at her dad, and she was waiting for her father to rip the bars apart and gut the Itan. She was actually surprised when he didn’t. “Griss is that boy’s uncle.”

  “Who tried to kill him,” the words burst from her lips with a whip of rage.

  “No,” the old man shook his head. “He wouldn’t. I sent him here to bring me the boy. Got to raise him right. Can’t let him die like my pussy nephew.”

  Mia took a step toward the cage, glaring at him, hoping he suffered under the weight of her anger. “What you did was send a monster to pick up a boy that stood between him and being Itan.” She kept walking until she clutched the metal bars. “And your nephew didn’t die. He was murdered right along with his wife. You need to think long and hard about who would do such a thing.”

  She stared at the tired, decrepit man and waited for the truth to dawn.

  “No.”

  “Yes,” she snapped.

  Mia tightened her hold, fighting back the emotions threatening to swamp her. She ached to scream for the guard and demand his gun, ached to kill the man before her. He was the reason her mother was no longer at her side. Him. The Itan’s son wasn’t around any longer, but her grandfather was.

  Taking a deep breath, she continued. “Yes. Parker’s parents are dead, and it wasn’t an accident. I found Parker hiding in my home in bear form. After Ty arrested Griss, Parker shifted. The boy was covered—covered—in bruises. If he hadn’t been a werebear, he would have been dead.” She kept her gaze intent on him, watching for any evidence of caring… and found none. “Now one of my people—” God she felt the truth of those words down to her bones. The Grayslake bears were her people. “One of my people is dead. Griss, and now Sarah, have Parker.”