by Cecilia Lane
“Um, hi.” Everly barely lifted her hand to wiggle her fingers. She wasn’t sure what one was supposed to do when greeted by a clan of kidnappers.
“But we’re going to fuck up the person who hurt her, right?” Gray asked with a hand raised.
Cole nodded. “He at least needs the same, unless you already took care of that.”
She shook her head and Nolan jumped in. “Then that’s settled. All in favor of kicking this dick’s ass?”
A chorus of ayes howled around her. Despite herself, Everly felt a tiny smile tick up her lips. Mike wouldn’t stand a chance against all of them. Even Wade would back down from his claim of her.
Thinking of Wade killed her momentary good mood. It didn’t matter what Sawyer did or how the others wanted a piece of Mike. Wade wanted to mate her, and the Oracle sanctioned it. She belonged elsewhere.
Inside, her panther hissed.
“Sawyer?” Callum asked softly. “This isn’t like you.”
A look passed between them that she didn’t understand. Sawyer dropped his eyes. “I couldn’t let her go. The same as the rest of you. She’s mine.”
There was that absurd mates explanation again. She thought of denying him, then thought of how that conversation would play out. Best not to say a word about Wade. She didn’t want to trigger anything more possessive than what Sawyer already claimed to feel. There would be zero chance of slipping away if he knew he had competition.
“I should just leave. I want to go home,” Everly said.
She took a peek at all the others and found pity and sadness on every face. There was a healthy amount of doubt in their scents, and some anger, too. Her inner cat paced under the scrutiny and the uncomfortable feelings that they thought she was the crazy one. Her! When it’d been Sawyer that pushed her into his truck without a choice!
Screw them all. Sure, she mouthed off at the wrong times and took some licks for it. And yes, she didn’t like feeling less than any of the males of her pride. But that was just something she had to deal with. And she did it without abducting anyone.
Callum’s eyes found hers, with barely a trace of his animal to them. “No doubt you want to leave. But you’re lying about wanting to go home.”
“She’s mine,” Sawyer growled again.
Stupid cat pushed her to reach for him and calm the anger building in him. Everly fought to keep her hands still.
He stole her off the side of the road! No matter how much she yelled at her panther, the cat simply watched the bear and flicked her tail.
Leah pouted. “But what about what I want? I was planning on Rylee cooking me up some new beasties in the lab…”
“Leeeaahhhh, that’s not what I said.” Rylee rolled her eyes.
“You said you could isolate the genes that made us who we are. So I say isolate me a whole herd of ferrets to tear the dicks off these assholes who are willing to let others stay in trouble when they could help.” Her voice went hard, and the others quieted around her. She rounded on Callum. “I’m queen here—”
“Alpha’s mate,” he ground out.
“Yeah, we’ll see who the alpha is mating for the next thousand nights if he continues thinking he’s okay sending anyone back to where they get beat. Need I remind you of the hell some of us have gone through and where, exactly, we found ourselves at the end of that suffering?”
Everly froze. No woman talked back to a male without suffering for it. Blood would be spilled for questioning the decision of the alpha. She slid her eyes to the side without moving her body. She needed to figure the best way out of the carnage before it started.
But nothing came of it. Callum didn’t put his mate in her place or show the rest of the clan that he was on top. He looked toward the sky, hands on his hips, and shook his head. Then he lowered his gaze and focused on her. “What did you do in your pride?”
“I was—am—the midwife. And doctor, sort of. I set bones after brawls and deliver babies and make sure everyone stays healthy.” Everly snapped her mouth closed. She said too much. Realizing where she looked, she lowered her eyes. Just because Leah could raise her voice didn’t mean she could.
“Midwife, huh?” Nolan scratched at his chin. “Becca doesn’t like the doctor we’re seeing. It’s been difficult finding someone else.”
Gray snorted. “You mean she’s been difficult.”
Becca glared and rubbed a hand over her stomach. “I am being as picky as I need to be. I’m the one carrying twins, remember.”
Leah stepped up next to her and matched the glare. “She’s bringing life into this world. She gets to decide who helps make that happen.”
“Did I not just say that? Did no one else hear me say that?” Nolan scrubbed a hand down his face and wagged a finger at Leah. “You think you can replace me, but you don’t have the parts needed. You’re just temporary. Remember that.”
Becca smiled serenely. “Oh, honey. That’s what strap-ons are made for.”
Leah laughed and pointed at them all. “You should see the looks on your faces.”
Everly felt a reflection of how the others looked: amused and shocked. They were insane. She’d landed in the middle of an asylum.
“By the Broken,” Callum growled under his breath. “Leah, why don’t you take Everly and the others to our cabin. I need to talk with Sawyer.”
Everly’s throat worked. She hadn’t felt it before, but a wave of power washed over her. The man was strong and the animal he housed in him stronger. How she kept upright was beyond her.
And Sawyer stood stiffly at her side. She almost felt sorry for the pain that he’d be in as soon as her back was turned. That was the only reason she could see for Callum to hide her away. Sawyer wanted to pretend they weren’t as savage as her pride, but he was about to take a punishment like the kind Wade doled out.
“No. Don’t hurt him.”
The words were out of her mouth before she realized she spoke. All eyes turned to her, but the only ones that mattered belonged to Sawyer.
“He just tried to help me. He shouldn’t be punished for that. Sure, it wasn’t conventional and I’m still not sure how I feel about it, but he saw someone who needed help and stepped in. That doesn’t deserve punishment.”
Gah, she was doing it again. Being willful and speaking out of turn and making demands above her station. And she couldn’t stop. Not when it was Sawyer on the line. Her heart ached at the idea of him bleeding, or worse, dead, because of her.
With a day of pain and confusion, that was the one solid grasp on reality she had, and she wrapped both hands around it.
“He just wanted to help.”
Callum stared at her for a long moment. “What he did was wrong. That can’t be allowed.”
With a jerk of his chin, Leah stepped forward. The woman wrapped an arm around her middle and Everly forced herself to move from Sawyer’s side. She glanced back to find the men hadn’t moved a hair. The other women followed them toward one of the cabins.
“They’ll be fine, believe me,” Leah reassured her. “And I want to pick your brain about baby stuff.”
“First time as an alpha’s mate?” Everly asked to take her mind and nerves off what would soon happen. Leah nodded. “It’ll pass once the babies are born. You’re riding high on instinct right now. It calms down once you have children of your own.”
Leah yelled over her shoulder, “You hear that? I can’t have kids or I’ll eat theirs!”
“Woman, I grew up with shifters! You will not eat the cubs!” Callum roared.
Leah and the others snickered and shut the noise outside the door.
“Right.” Leah shuffled her toward a couch and pushed on her shoulders gently until she sat back. “What trouble are you bringing us?”
Everly tried not to listen for the sound of pain outside, but the silence got the better of her. Where were the yells and growls?
Becca carefully lowered herself next to her, with Rylee on the other and Meghan perched on the arm. Leah paced in front l
ike a general ready to spit out orders.
“I don’t know. Is he going to be okay?” She glanced around, but none of the windows let her see into the clearing.
“He’ll be fine,” Becca waved a hand. “They just need to talk it out and pretend they’re not getting in touch with their feelings.”
“I should be getting back. I don’t want to cause more problems,” Everly insisted. Oh, her cat hated those words. Back was not next to Sawyer. Even a wall separating them was too much.
The strong reaction was hard to rein in. She wasn’t supposed to feel that way for anyone other than her mate. Sawyer was a bear and couldn’t be her mate. Wade would be hers, as soon as he claimed her.
And there went her cat again, clawing up her insides and clenching her stomach. Everly didn’t blame her. She didn’t want to think about it, either.
“You know, you could stay. Just for a few days. Let things cool down at home before you head back into that hornet’s nest,” Leah said.
“Yeah,” Meghan agreed gently. “Sometimes it’s good to have a couple days away to figure yourself out. Being here did me a world of good when it felt like my life was falling apart.”
Maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea. A few days away would be nice. A whole new experience, too. She’d hardly been allowed anywhere without a chaperone. She wouldn’t need to see Wade and contemplate her future or Mike and wish she could kick him where the sun didn’t shine.
“You’d let me do that?”
“Well, yeah. I mean,” Leah shrugged, “Sawyer already did the hard part by picking you up. You’re ours now, lady. For as long as you want to stay.”
The bears continued to surprise her, from the moment Sawyer bundled her into his truck to finding herself sandwiched between women who thought it just fine to voice their opinions and take a break from the hard bits of her life.
She liked them. Just a few minutes she’d known them, and she liked how they acted around one another. They had an easy way with one another. There was respect and love instead of deference and caution. They lived in a way she thought impossible and certainly wasn’t how the pride interacted.
Bit by bit, she relaxed into the idea of staying. Just for a few days. Simply to figure herself out, like Meghan said. She could wait until her bruises healed up, let the pride see how much she was needed, and let the dust settle.
Maybe she’d stay away long enough to miss her deadline with Wade. Then she’d have an entire month to convince him she wasn’t the one he wanted as a second mate.
Leah looked up as Callum barged through the front door. Sawyer trailed behind him, looking unscathed, admonished, and stubborn.
Her cat immediately perked up, and she barely quieted the purr in her throat. He’d done her a favor, and she was glad to see he wasn’t bleeding.
“We’re keeping her,” Leah announced.
“Does she even want to stay?”
Sawyer’s eyes, brown with just a hint of gold, bored into her. It took everything in her to keep from rising from where she sat and go to him.
She killed the urge, scared and unsure of what it meant for her future.
He couldn’t be her mate. He was her kidnapper. The one who provided her with a safe harbor. Easily the most attractive man she’d spent more than five seconds with. He made her cat purr and her stomach flip and her mind stutter.
Callum sighed. “I won’t stop you from leaving or staying. It’s your choice, no matter who picked you up or where. You’re free to do whatever you want.”
“Yes,” Everly answered, unable to tear her eyes away from Sawyer. “Just for a few days. I’m staying.”
Her cat purred.
Chapter 5
Everly clumped up the steps behind Sawyer. Even though he was her escort, others lingered nearby. She cast them a glance over her shoulder before leaning across the threshold and peeking past the cabin door he shoved open.
A tiny growl rattled in his chest. “You can stay here.”
Her eyes adjusted quickly to the low light inside. It looked comfortable from where she stood, but she hesitated in taking a step inside. “Is this yours?”
“My den. Yes.” He must have seen some uncertainty on her face because he added, “I’ll find somewhere else to sleep. I just need to grab a change of clothes.”
He brushed past her with obvious caution. Everly cocked her head and followed him inside. He claimed they were mates, then avoided touching her. The contradiction intrigued her, and her panther twitched her tail.
She turned her head this way and that, taking in the details of Sawyer’s life. They were quiet and hidden. She didn’t spot any pictures of family or art on the walls. The dish towels hanging from his oven were folded neatly, and nothing dirty remained in the sink. The counters were bare except for a coffee maker, a toaster, and a knife block. The living room was as neat and bare as the kitchen, with a patchwork blanket halved over the back of the couch.
She stopped herself before entering the darkened bedroom. She could hear him inside. “Why did you take me?”
Sawyer stopped in the doorway, a stack of clothes in his hands. He rubbed at his chest. His eyes turned from a deep amber brown to pure gold. “You’re mine. I couldn’t let someone hurt you. I couldn’t let you slip away.”
Silence stretched between them until she broke his gaze. “I can’t be yours. You know that, right? You’re a bear and I’m a cat. We’re not supposed to be together.”
In her head, her cat tried to maul her.
Sawyer moved in a flash, dropping his clothes on the couch and catching her around the waist. Her breath heaved out of her lungs.
The same sparks she felt when he touched her on the side of the road, and the exact jolts along her nerves when she pressed her hand to his arm, rolled through her. Part of her wanted to push him away. Instinct wanted to press herself even closer.
What was wrong with her?
Sawyer’s lips brushed against the shell of her ear and a shiver worked its way down her spine. “Tell me you don’t feel this.”
“I don’t feel anything.” The breathless whisper of her words betrayed her.
The arms around her waist began to move. His palms flattened against the small of her back. One dragged around to her hip while the other slid up her spine. Fire burned through her objections and a tiny whimper lodged in her throat.
Sawyer pressed his forehead to hers. Liquid gold eyes filled her vision, and she didn’t stop him when he wrapped his fingers around her wrist. She couldn’t. She was entranced by the man and the beast under his skin.
He pressed her palm over his heart. The rapid beating matched her own and made her head swim.
“Tell me you don’t feel this,” he said again, quieter than before.
Her cat felt something. Terrible things. Dirty, delicious things.
But the woman was in control.
Everly forced herself back a step and smoothed the wrinkled confusion from her brow. “I don’t feel anything. We’re not mates.”
Sawyer stiffened. From his jaw to his shoulders, tension radiated off him, but he didn’t pursue her again.
“What made you stay?” He looked down his nose at her, and she ignored the jump in her stomach. “There’s more to the story, isn’t there?”
“There’s more to everyone’s story,” she quipped. He opened his mouth, no doubt to ask her to explain, but she raised her hand to cut him off. She needed to put space between them. He already tested her too much. “You don’t get to ask me that. You bundled me into your truck without any say. You have no right to my life.”
Anger filled her nose and mingled with disappointment and rejection. “Stay here and keep lying to yourself, then.” With one last huff, he gathered up his change of clothes and passed through the door and shut it hard behind him.
The silence rang in Everly’s ears like he’d smacked her in the head. Her cat raged at her and her stomach knotted with surprising hurt. She wanted to cry and yell and stood frozen when she coul
dn’t settle on one.
Her reaction to her kidnapper just underscored the problems at her center. She was different. Broken. Confused. She couldn’t be trusted alone, especially not around Sawyer.
When she forced herself to move again, Everly was drawn toward the noise outside. She paused with her hand on the doorknob before whirling away. She’d chosen to stay and catch her breath, but that didn’t mean she had to fully integrate.
Or go anywhere near Sawyer.
She planted herself on the couch and peeked through a tiny parting of the curtains. She could watch the clan from the window and see just what sort of mess she got herself into.
A flurry of activity took over the bear clan, plus their human. They were hard at work rolling out the party she’d interrupted. Listening to the words thrown around, she put together the pieces that Hudson had been away for a bit of time and, while they were excited to be reunited, it was as good excuse as any to get together.
They weren’t what she’d been led to believe. From the moment she was marched into a cabin with all the mates and saw them interact, the truths she heard her entire life went out the window.
A human was the mate of a bear and it made no difference in her standing. Leah’s shiny scar on her leg told a story of a bitten shifter acting as alpha’s mate. As for the the other bitten shifter, she was making a lot of noise in the media. Everly finally recognized her as the one the males in her pride referred to with rude words for daring to speak about their kind. The pregnant one shouted orders, and everyone, male and female alike, obeyed with varying degrees of snide comments, acceptance, and reassuring touches.
The food itself was even served differently. Callum didn’t demand the choicest selections. He was halfway down the line once Nolan made the call to eat up and even filled a plate for his mate instead of making her serve him.
Through it all, she tracked Sawyer. He lingered at the edges of the crowd, never quite taking a step away or into the festivities. She thought she understood, and it simultaneously endeared and confused her all the more.
