by Marla Monroe
“Declaw you? Are you serious?” Shayne sounded appalled.
“Yes. They will declaw a feline they feel is dangerous if they feel like that feline is still needed in the den. As a female, I was considered a breeder, so my life would be spared but I would be made helpless so that I had to depend on my mate to keep me and our cubs safe. I’d rather die,” she spat out.
“I can’t imagine anyone being that cruel,” Wren said, shaking her head. “Is a chain what you call your den? We just use den to describe ours.”
“Yeah, as a group we are considered a chain and we live in our dens.”
“You can get off the floorboard now. I’m sure it’s not very comfortable,” Creed said.
Serenity sat up and stretched before settling back on the seat and fastening her safety belt. Looking around, she recognized that they were close to Echo Lake already. They were going to take her there after all. She relaxed.
“Do you mind if I call my brother and let him know where I am?” Wren asked. “He’ll get worried if I don’t show up at home soon.”
“Go ahead. If you need me to talk to him, I’ll assure him that we will keep you safe,” Creed said.
“It’s good.” Wren pulled her cell out of her back pocket and pressed a button, holding it to her ear. “Hey. I’m fine. Remember that conversation I overheard at the bar Saturday night? Yeah. I found the shifter they were talking about and warned her. That’s where I am right now. I just wanted to let you know I’m safe.”
Serenity could tell from Wren’s expression that her brother was fussing at her. All males were alike, thinking females had no abilities outside of cooking, cleaning, and spitting out young for them to brag on.
“I’ll call you once I know where we’re going to stop. Yeah, we’re on the road right now. We’re not alone. Her mates are with us.”
Serenity started to dispute that, but the look on the wild dog’s face had her relenting and letting that pass for now. It was obvious she was trying to keep her brother from going off the deep end.
“They’re bears, so I think we are pretty safe, Roco. They’re probably six and a half feet each and huge. Um, yeah. I said mates. She has two. I don’t know. It’s none of my business. Look. I’ll call you later. Just tell everyone I’m fine.” She pressed the end button and sighed, sticking her phone back in her pocket.
“Everything okay?” she asked the female.
“Yeah. He’s my oldest brother and tends to baby me. It’s good.” The wild dog settled back in the seat and looked out the window.
“When we get to where we’re going,” Creed began, “you can let your brother know, and he can come pick you up. We won’t be going back right away.”
Serenity’s eyes shot to where his watched her from the rearview mirror. What did he mean they weren’t going back right away? She chided herself over jumping to conclusions. They needed to talk, and obviously they couldn’t with Wren there. She slowed her breathing and jerked her eyes away from Creeds to stare out the side window, much like Wren was doing.
After what felt like forever, they finally pulled into the little community outside of Echo Lake. She wondered what Creed planned to do until he pulled up outside a mom-and-pop motel. It looked pretty run down, but beggars couldn’t be choosy. She could sleep in her lynx form if the place was terrible, but she hated the idea of setting up her computer equipment in a nasty place.
“Stay here. I’ll be back in a minute,” Creed said.
Shayne didn’t budge, so she wondered why he’d bothered to say anything. With his brother watching over them, they weren’t likely to attempt to run off. Besides, they did need to talk. The sooner they got that over with, the sooner they could all go on with their lives. Well, once she got the damn Rogue Hunters off of her tail.
Creed returned much sooner than she would have believed, making her wonder if they were full or just not open any longer. Once he had cl back behind the wheel, he turned to look over the seat at them.
“They don’t really rent rooms out much anymore. They just keep them up for when family is in town. They aren’t expecting any until next month, so they said we could camp out for a few days.”
“That’s fine. It will give me time to decide where to go from here,” she said with a defiant look at Creed then Shayne.
Neither male said anything, but a nerve ticked at the corner of Creed’s mouth. For some reason, Serenity had the urge to lick it until it relaxed. She shook all over like a wet dog then cast a quick glance in Wren’s direction. She hadn’t meant that as an insult. Thank God the other shifter couldn’t read her mind.
Creed drove the Jeep around to the back of the building and parked in front of a faded orange door with the number fourteen on it in just as faded black numbers. Creed shook his head to stop them all from getting out except Shayne, who took the key from his brother and eased out of the vehicle. It was obvious that he was going to check the room to be sure it was secure. What were they expecting, that the hunters had already set up shop there waiting for them? They had no idea where they might have headed.
Shayne returned after propping the door open with a chair. He walked over to the driver’s side, and Creed rolled down the window.
“It’s not bad at all, just musty. If we leave the door open for thirty minutes or so, it should be okay. We can unpack everything, and by the time we have her computer set up, it should be fresh enough to close it again.”
“Fridge?” Creed asked.
“Yeah. Apartment size, not dorm size, so it’s got a little room.”
“Unload the perishables and food. Wait on the computer and clothes just yet,” Creed told him. Then he turned to look back at them. “We might not stay here. We’ll unload the computer a little later if we decide to stay.”
Serenity wasn’t going to argue with him at this point. She respected the need to be careful, and if he wasn’t satisfied with where they were, she would trust him and his instincts on this—for now.
I might as well face it. I want to trust them with more than my safety. Refusing their mate claim isn’t as easy as I thought it would be.
Ours, her lynx whined. Safe. Strong.
She and Wren stepped down from the Jeep and followed Shayne inside as he carried several bags of food. She took them from him when he stopped next to the refrigerator and put away the milk, eggs, cheese, and meat she’d bought. At least they hadn’t brought any of the frozen things with them. She watched Wren set the bags of nonperishable items on the little table that was probably intended as a dining table. When she looked around, she noticed that there wasn’t a desk anywhere around that she could use for her computer anyway. There was no way her computer would fit on the table. Besides, the piece of furniture wasn’t strong enough to hold it up anyway.
“There’s no desk.” She stated the obvious, pissed at how aware of the two bears her body was.
“Don’t worry,” Creed said with a feral appearing smile. “We’re not staying here too long.”
“Then where are we going, and why did we even bother stopping here?” she demanded.
“We’re taking you home, to our den, where you belong.”
Chapter Five
“If you were going to take her to your place, why did you bother driving all the way out here and get a room?” Wren asked when all Serenity could do was open and close her mouth.
“We live next door to her, so taking her right next door with them so close wouldn’t have helped us at the time. Now we are safe and can make plans to go back,” Creed said.
“We have den brothers back home who can help,” Shayne explained.
“What can they do?” Serenity asked, finally able to speak again.
“For one thing, they can watch to see what the hunters do and find out if they are following us,” he said.
“Is that who you were talking to earlier?” she asked.
“Yeah. They were already wondering why Shayne and I hadn’t shown back up with cream for the coffee,” he said with a rueful
smile.
She frowned. “Who takes cream in their coffee?” Was there a female bear over there? And why did that possibility make her angry?
Not her. Her cat.
Bitch!
The lynx was jealous and had no reason to be when they weren’t keeping the damn bears in the first place. She wanted to swat at the feline, but she knew it was impossible. She’d only have to endure the vindictive feline’s tricks if she tried something.
Shayne chuckled. “That would be Otto. He’s from Russia and a little, um, different.”
She frowned. “Why do you have a bear from Russia as part of your den? Is he related to you somehow?” she asked.
Creed had stepped away when Shayne had first spoken up. She could hear him talking low to someone over the phone. She ignored him and concentrated on what Shayne was saying instead.
“Sit down, and I’ll tell you about the others.” Shayne indicated the small living area where there was a love seat and two chairs, one on either side of the loveseat. She chose a chair while Shayne sat on the side of the loveseat closest to her.
When she looked around for Wren, it was to find that the other shifter had disappeared. Before she began to worry, she noticed that the bathroom door was closed where it hadn’t been a few seconds ago. More than likely she’d gone in there to give them all some privacy, or for her own privacy while she called her brother again.
“Serenity?” Shayne’s voice snagged her attention once again.
“Sorry. You were telling me about why you had a Russian shifter in your den,” she prompted.
He smiled, a slow grin that told her he had a very mischievous streak and was probably thinking naughty thoughts.
Don’t go there, Serenity. You’ve got enough going on without steering your mind in that direction.
She forced herself to concentrate on what he was saying and not what his expression made her think of instead. He was telling her about finding the house and knowing that was where they were supposed to be because it was perfect for them.
“Why?” she asked, even though she already knew what he would say. It had a nearly finished full basement, which was something her cat and the bears would both appreciate.
“One reason was because it had plenty of bedrooms for us if we shared,” he said winking at her. “The main reason was because of the huge basement. We like to den underground as much as possible.”
“Yeah, so do we,” she said before she could stop herself. She frowned.
To his credit, Shayne didn’t push her to reveal more, choosing to let it go and continue with his explanations.
“There are ten of us in our sleuth. We’ve chosen to call it the Talmadge Sleuth and are claiming the area as our territory. Creed is our Ursus, our leader much like your Rufus, though yours in particular is a worthless asshole. I’m the Zashchita, Creed’s second,” Shayne explained to her.
“You and Creed are the leaders of your sleuth?” Panic clawed at her throat, threatening to choke her on the realization that they could very easily force her into a mating with them. She didn’t want that—to be forced. She wanted to choose her own mate when she got ready to.
Not only that, but they would never allow her to do anything on her own. She’d be surrounded by guards all the time and rarely allowed out of their eyesight. It would kill her, suffocate her to be forced to live that way. No. She had to get away from them. Her sanity, maybe even her very life, could depend on it. The one thing she knew beyond all doubt was that confining her would drive her insane.
“…introduce you to all of them when we get there,” Shayne was saying.
She nodded absently, her mind in turmoil over finding out that her predetermined mates were not just bears, but the leaders of their sleuth. The odds were unimaginable, yet there she sat with one of them right next to her and the other one merely across the room. No wonder her cat hadn’t put up much of a fuss. They made her feel safe, and she was starstruck. Female cats looking for a mate never settled. They would search for years until one that instilled a sense of safety and the knowledge that their genes were superior to others could be found. Cats tended to be slightly snobbish when it came to continuing their bloodlines where wolves could care less about bloodlines as long as the potential mate was strong and able to protect them and their pups.
Serenity looked back toward the bathroom. She didn’t know what wild dogs did or thought when it came to mates. She’d never been around one before. The only thing she knew about them was that they could be crazy when riled and were fierce in a fight. They were about the only shifter group that would willingly attack and fight a hyena or jackal clan. Now they were crazy.
“Serenity? Are you okay?” Shayne’s voice slipped into her thoughts, confusing her for a moment until she realized he’d spoken out loud and hadn’t spoken to her in her head like it had sounded.
“Yes. Sorry. I started thinking about something and stopped listening.” She smiled to soften the insult of not paying attention to him.
“Yeah, well, ancestry and such is really boring. Suffice it to say that because our home sleuth’s bloodline was beginning to weaken from all of the inbreeding, it was time for some of us to break off and form our own. Two of our brothers went toward the New England states around Maine. Personally, I’m thankful we chose here. It’s similar to home, while still offering a little nicer weather more often than home.” He grinned and touched her cheek before she realized what he was going to do.
The calluses of his fingers and the pads of his hands rubbed not uncomfortably against the softer skin of her cheek, stimulating a need she’d never felt before. Serenity wanted to roll against his body, cover him in her scent while taking on some of his at the same time. Her lynx stirred at the sudden change in her body temperature, sniffing to determine what had aroused her in more ways than one.
“More importantly, though, it’s where we found you, our mate. Nothing is better than finally locating our other half and becoming whole. Until that happens, we’re incomplete and restless. Our mates still that wanderlust in our soul and keep the wilder side that is always just beneath the surface a little calmer. You give us control that we don’t normally have,” he said.
She scoffed at that, breaking the spell he’d somehow weaved around her with his touch. She’d felt warm and safe for a minute with his hand gently caressing her face. All of that flew away like a butterfly on the wind in the face of that one word, control.
“Obviously it only works on one mate, not two. Creed is anything but in control as far as I can see. He’s growling at me anytime he talks to me,” she nearly snarled.
Shayne burst out laughing. It pissed her off that he’d laugh at her. She started to get up and stomp to the bathroom and ask Wren if she could come in, but Creed walked over, shoving his phone into the case attached to his belt.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
Shayne had gotten up when Serenity had. Now he blocked the path to the outside door while his brother stood in the way of getting to the bathroom without brushing past him. She wanted to yowl in frustration.
“She thinks you’re out of control because you keep growling at her when you talk,” Shane explained between chuckles.
Creed frowned deeper and spoke to Shayne without removing his gaze from her. “What have you been talking about that my being out of control would even come up?”
“He was telling me about why you were in Montana and picked the house next to mine. Then he said some crap about how important it was for bears to find their mates. They help settle you down some, help you control the bear.” She smirked at him, daring him to try and tell her it was true.
His mouth slowly widened into a smile, one that reached all the way to his eyes, turning them into warm chocolate brownie orbs that twinkled. They actually twinkled with laughter. It captured her in his spell so completely that she didn’t hear the bathroom door open, nor did she notice the female wild dog walk up behind Creed.
“Shayne’s right. M
ates are like a mild dose of a tranquilizer. They calm the raging beast that lurks in all of us. Of course not even a mate can calm one that senses danger to their other half. They’ll fight to the death to keep their mate and young safe,” Wren said matter-of-factly then plopped down on the love seat and propped her bare feet on the coffee table.
And they were big feet, not so much wide as long. Serenity stared at them trying to figure out why she was angry. Then when it hit her, she glared at the other female.
“You’re not in this conversation. I’ve never heard of mates calming each other before. I’d think someone might have mentioned that to me if it were true.” She scowled at all three of them before brushing past Creed to stomp toward the bathroom.
No one tried to stop her, which was fine with her. She needed to think and that wasn’t going to happen around them. How had she managed to end up stuck in a hotel room with two bears and a wild dog anyway?
I made the mistake of thinking I could outrun fate. I guess this is payback.
It wasn’t like the two bears weren’t good-looking men. Hell, they were hot! Just being near them kept her breasts tingling and her clit throbbing for relief. Still, it was the principal of the matter. She hadn’t wanted to be forced into a mating. This—this pull she felt was just another type of force. There was no way they loved her after only one day. Hell, she wasn’t sure she even liked them, much less loved them. Okay, maybe that wasn’t quite true. She did sort of like Shayne. He had a sense of humor and wasn’t nearly as overbearing as Creed seemed to be.
But mate both of them? I might as well throw away my career and everything I’ve worked for if I give in to them.
Did she have a choice? She had run away from her old den, and could have run away from Creed and Shayne as well if it weren’t for one small issue. The mating heat. It had them from what she’d noticed so far. Their scent was slightly different than it had been in her front yard from the night before. Had it only been that morning she’d become aware of them for the first time? If she left now, they could and very probably would go insane hunting her down. They would be dangerous bears to anyone they thought might be in their way.
