by Marla Monroe
As soon as Locke pulled into the parking lot, Creed was out of the truck heading for the office. Locke stopped him but lowered his eyes.
“Please let me do the talking, Ursus. You’re worried about your mate. You’ll scare the human and he’ll clam up on us or call the police. Let me try to learn something first,” the bear pleaded.
Creed drew in a deep breath knowing Locke was right. He could feel Shayne’s anxiety and something else. He stilled and quieted the normal feelings in his head. A faint link to his mate remained and through it he could feel her exhaustion and discomfort, but that was all. He nodded at Locke.
“See what you can find out. We’ll be quiet while you talk.”
His Ruka sighed before leading the way inside the little office. A young male of about twenty-five or so stood up from where he’d been sitting on a chair at with a laptop on his lap. He set it on the seat cushion before approaching the desk with a bored expression.
“Can I help you?”
Locke smiled and leaned on the counter. “We need a couple of adjoining rooms. Decided we were too tired to keep driving tonight.”
“Um, I’ve got a couple of rooms with two double beds each around back,” he said.
“Is it quiet?” Locke asked. “Don’t want some crying kid waking us up in the middle of the night or a couple of teenagers partying next to us.”
“Oh, the only other person on that side is a lady and she won’t be bothering you I don’t think. She wasn’t feeling too well. She’s right next to you, but like I said, I doubt she’ll bother you,” he said.
“Sounds good. We’ll take them,” Locke said turning a triumphant smile in their direction.
Creed had to admit the male was good. He wouldn’t protest anytime the other bear wanted to tag along on a trip like this. He just hoped there wouldn’t be another one anytime in their future.
As they filled out the required information and paid for the rooms, all he could think about was that both the store owner and the motel manager mentioned that she had looked ill. It worried him. Knowing that she’d been running while sick bothered him. Since shifters rarely got sick unless poison was involved, Creed hated waiting around while the manager performed his job and checked all the paperwork before handing them their keys.
“Wow, real keys. I didn’t realize anyone still used actual keys anymore,” Locke mumbled as they cl back into the truck to drive around the building.
“Okay, we’ve got rooms 116 and 117. She’s going to either be in 115 or 118,” Shayne said as they pulled up in front of their rooms.
“We should be able to scent which room she’s in,” Creed said, climbing out of the truck.
“She’s going to know we’re here the minute our scent reaches her,” Locke reminded them.
The three bears advanced on room one eighteen, nostrils flaring as they worked to find a hint of her behind the door. Creed figured they looked like drug-crazed idiots if anyone saw them sniffing at the door. Locke seemed to have the same thought since he started looking around them while he and Shayne walked down to one fifteen having failed to pick up their mate’s scent at the first room.
Even before they stood in front of the poorly painted door they knew she was there. Her lynx’s distinct aroma had Creed’s bear flexing his claws to tear down the door. Retaining control was becoming increasingly more difficult.
“I take it from the looks of your claws that she’s inside,” Locke said with a pointed look at Creed’s paws and extended claws.
“Knock on the door for me,” he said in a growly voice. “My fucking paws are useless and until I can see her and touch her, I’m not going to be able to control this.”
Locke wisely didn’t say anything to him about it. Instead, he knocked on the door then stepped back. They waited for a few seconds, then Shayne stepped up and banged with his fist. Even with their enhanced hearing, they couldn’t hear a single noise from the other side of the door. Shayne beat on the door again, this time louder. Still no sounds of anyone moving around.
“Something’s wrong. Even if she didn’t want to answer the door, there would be some type of noise for us to hear. If she was asleep, Shayne’s knocking should have woken her up. Hell, I’m surprised the damn kid from the office hasn’t shown up.”
“I agree,” Shayne said. “We need inside. Stand back and I’ll kick the door in.”
Locke stepped in front of him. “I’ll pick the lock. If she has the chain on, we can break that without doing as much damage to the door. Someone will call the police if we break in like that.”
“He’s right,” Creed said, looking at his brother. Then he turned back to Locke. “Hurry, or I’m going to kick it in myself.”
He watched as Locke hurried back to the truck then returned a few seconds later with a small black case. He opened it and started to work on the lock as Creed and Shayne stood over him, blocking what he was doing from anyone who passed by on the street behind them. As much as he hated waiting even one minute, Locke was right. They couldn’t afford to attract the attention of anyone.
Just let her be okay. I won’t be able to handle it if something’s wrong with her.
After what felt like an eternity he heard Locke’s triumphant grunt and then the pop of him breaking the chain holding the door closed.
“Okay, we’re in.” Locke stepped aside to allow him and his brother to rush inside. A broken chair lay on its side next to the door, but his attention was snagged by the sight of their mate and his brother’s tortured cry.
“Serenity!”
Chapter Seventeen
Shayne’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of their mate curled into a fetal position on the bed and unmoving. He could barely discern her chest rising and falling as she breathed. Even as he listened for her heartbeat, it was so soft and slow that he worried it would cease to thump in her chest.
Creed’s growl warned him that his brother, already on the edge, was about to lose it. He turned and growled back at him to get his attention.
“Hold it together, Creed. We’ve got to get her help and if you lose it, we’ll lose her.” Shayne turned from his brother and cl up on the bed.
He felt the bed dip behind him and the next second, his brother, back in control brushed Serenity’s hair from her face. Pale skin accented by dark circles beneath her eyes gave her a haunted look. What little hope he had almost left him. What was wrong with her? Had someone poisoned her? Shifters didn’t get sick. They didn’t even have allergies or cold sores.
“What’s wrong with her, Creed?” Locke asked from the doorway where he stood guarding the door.
Creed looked up, worry lining his face. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like it. She’s comatose and barely breathing. We need to get her home and find a healer.”
“I have her bags. Bring her out whenever you’re ready,” Locke said crossing the room to pick up Serenity’s bag and pack.
“I’ll carry her,” Shayne said. “You need to find a healer. The wild dogs should know or have one.”
Creed nodded but helped Shayne settle their mate in his arms before leading the way for him as he carried her to the truck. His brother opened the door and helped him climb into the back with her in his lap.
“What about the chain on the door?” Locke asked. “Do you think they’ll notice it when they go to clean the room?”
“I doubt it, but if they do, they won’t do anything about it. There’s no evidence of a struggle or anything. We’ll handle deal with the fallout later if anything comes of it,” Creed told him.
Shayne kept Serenity close to his chest. He inhaled her sweet scent and prayed she would be okay. So far she continued to breathe and heart kept a steady though slow beat. She appeared uncomfortable to him. She didn’t seem to be relaxed in the least despite being unconscious.
While he looked down at her pale features, he could hear his brother talking to someone on the phone. He hoped they had access to a healer and would be able to help their mat
e. He remembered part of the conversation they’d had with her family concerning her heritage and what it might mean.
The prophecy said she would bear the sons of her mates who would one day rule over all shifters to assure their continued existence in the new world around them. Her sons would create the new ruling family and put an end to the need for human hunters.
They had speculated on what that meant, but in the end, it hadn’t really mattered. All that mattered was how they felt about her and how she felt about them. She meant everything to them no matter who she was to the rest of the shifter community. As the last surviving female relative of that family, she would be in great danger from both the shifters and the humans who didn’t like shifters. They would have to make keeping her safe at all times their number-one priority.
Something had triggered the prophecy. Had it been their meeting and beginning the mating process? He felt like that had something to do with it, but the hunters had already been there for several weeks before that. Plus they hadn’t officially met when the hunters first approached her in the parking lot of the grocery store.
“The wolves have a healer that will help us,” Creed said a few minutes later. “Locke, we’re going home. The healer will meet us there. I’m calling the others to let them know what is going on so they let the wolf into the den.”
“I don’t like the alpha, Creed. You know he’s going to be there with his healer when we get back.” Shayne was fairly sure Wren didn’t want to have anything to do with that wolf and if he wasn’t mistaken, two of their bears were fighting their instincts when it came to the wild dog female.
“Neither do I, but our mate comes first. We can tolerate him for as long as it takes for his healer to help Serenity,” Creed reminded him.
“How much longer, Locke?” Shayne asked instead of saying anything more on the subject.
“We’re still three hours out,” Locke said, “and I’m pushing ninety as it is. If we get pulled over, they’re going to know something is wrong with your mate like she is.”
“They know what we are, Locke. I’ll explain what is wrong and pay any fine.” Creed’s temper was flaring again.
“Don’t go any faster, Locke. If we tell them what we are, they might decide to detain us and separate us from our mate. You and I both know what will happen if they try that,” Shayne met their Ruka’s eyes in the rearview mirror.
Nothing was said for the next thirty minutes but the tension in the truck was suffocating to Shayne. Creed’s bear was so close to the surface now that Shayne was having trouble keeping his bear under control. The possibility of losing a mate would turn any male crazy. Their being alphas increased the possibilities of disaster exponentially.
Without warning, Serenity’s body bucked in his arms as a low moan filled the cab of the truck. Shayne struggled to keep her sequestered in his arms so she wouldn’t hurt herself as she jerked in his arms as if she was convulsing.
Fuck! She’s been poisoned. That’s the only explanation.
“Creed! We need help now,” he yelled.
His brother had his cell phone at his ear before Shayne had even finished speaking. Heat wrenching whimpers had his bear ready to tear something or someone apart for causing his mate such pain. His hands burned and itched as pain sliced at the tips of his fingers with the need to change. He willed them to remain human, reminding his bear in an almost chant that he couldn’t take care of her with paws and claws. That would come later when they had someone to focus on.
“Locke, how far are we from Missoula?” Creed demanded.
“Um, maybe twenty minutes. Where do I go?” he asked.
“Mojave said there is a wild dog pack there he knows. He’s calling them and will call us back.” Creed put the phone back to his ear after scrolling through the numbers.
Serenity finally settled some in his arms, but her body was soaked with sweat and she whimpered with almost every breath she took. He could no longer feel her as he’d been able to before. Shayne could hear Creed telling someone that they appreciated it but they no longer needed them. That would be the alpha’s healer. They couldn’t afford to wait until they made it all the way back home. Secretly he was relieved. He didn’t think it was a good idea to trust the wolf’s leader.
A few seconds later, Creed’s phone rang. His brother answered it on the first ring. He could tell by the slight relaxing of the other bear’s shoulders that it was good news. The wild dogs were going to help them, help their mate.
“Okay, as soon as you reach the city limits, start looking for county road 1452 on your left,” Creed told Locke.
Shayne breathed a sigh of relief. He kissed Serenity’s forehead and whispered that she was going to be fine next to her ear in hopes she could hear him. In that moment, he would have given his own life to know that she was going to be fine.
* * * *
Serenity felt as if she’d gone over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Every single inch of her body ached. What had happened to her and why couldn’t she get her eyes to open?
Slowly she became aware of the strange scents surrounding her. When she identified those of her mates and what smelled canine, she relaxed slightly, believing she was back at Creed and Shayne’s home and the dogs had come to visit.
That’s not right. I left. They didn’t need me and my cat’s problems. I don’t think they were even real certain about mating my any longer. I left. Why can I smell them so strongly?
Serenity forced her eyes to open to mere slits. She felt swollen for some reason. When she finally focused it was to find herself in a small bedroom she didn’t recognize. How had she gotten here and where was here anyway?
When she tried to sit up, it was to find that her body was sluggish. The slightest movement irritated her skin. It felt as if she were rubbing it across sandpaper. Then it all came back in a warm rush of heat. She’d been going through her heat—a crazy supped-up version of it, but she was sure it had been her heat. Serenity had decided during one of her reprieves from the pain and burning sensations that having started the mating process and not finished it she’d screwed up and was paying for it. Was she over it now? How long had she been out?
As much as she wanted to get up and find out where she was, Serenity couldn’t make her body obey her. She was just about ready to call out when the door suddenly burst open and both Creed and Shayne raced inside.
“Serenity?” Creed’s voice almost broke.
“Thank God,” Shayne said as cl on the bed near her feet. “How do you feel, baby?”
“What happened? Where am I?” she asked instead.
“We’re at the home of the Missoula wild dog pack’s healer. She’s been kind enough to help you when it was obvious you weren’t doing well enough to make it all the way back home,” Creed told her.
“You came after me? How did you find me?” she asked.
“Of course we came after you. You’re our mate!” Shayne all but snarled.
“Locke is good at finding people, honey. There was no way were going to just let you run out like that.” Creed had pulled back from her some once he’d been assured she was okay. It worried her.
This was one of the reasons she’d left. They’d seemed so different after it became obvious that her cat wasn’t about to submit to their mating needs. Nothing had changed so why had they still come after her?
“Why did you go?” Shayne asked her.
“Because it would be easier now for me to leave before we imprint then if I waited until you’d gotten tired of trying to deal with my lynx. She isn’t going to change her mind about this,” she told them, closing her eyes to keep the tears inside.
“We aren’t going to get tired of you or your cat, honey. You’re our mate. Nothing will ever change that. For us it was instant and there’s no going back.” Creed ran a hand through his hair. She’d noticed that he did that when he was agitated.
Her lower belly began to cramp again. She swallowed a moan but the two males seemed aware of her discomfort. Th
ey both tensed then looked at one another before returning their heavy stares to her.
“What?” she asked as she fought the burning sensation beginning in her skin all over again. Hunger bloomed in her gut as if she hadn’t eaten in days.
“Serenity, the reason you were unconscious was because your body couldn’t take the pain and stress you’ve been going through any longer. If you continue denying what you need, it will happen again.” Creed stepped closer to the bed once more.
She stared at him. He must know she was in heat. “What do you mean?”
“You’re in heat, honey. The healer believes that we’ve messed up your normal cycle by starting the mating process but not completing it. She thinks that we need to finish it or you’re just going to get worse.”
“Are you listening to me? My lynx isn’t going to allow it. I’m all for forcing her, but you and I both know if we do she’ll reject you for good and I’ll have to fight her all the time,” she said on the verge of crying. “I don’t know what to do.”
“We can mate your lynx the way she expects, Serenity. Bite her but without the anal sex,” Creed told her.
“That won’t complete the bond for you though.” She didn’t see how they could do that and it be enough for her lynx and the heat if they weren’t tied to her.
“It’s the only option we have right now. From the way you’re sweating again, I don’t think we have much time left to come up with a different plan.” Creed looked over at his brother. “Here or do we find a hotel close by?”
“Here. I’ll go tell them we’ll take care of any damage.” Shayne stood up and walked back to the door and opened it.
“W–what are you talking about?” Serenity was pretty sure she knew.
“You’re going to start hurting again and you and both know our bears aren’t going to be able to stand your heat. We’re going to have to fuck you, honey. It’s the only thing that will stop the pain and discomfort.” Creed began to slowly remove his clothes. “From what the healer has told us, it’s a good thing there are two of us since she says cats are nymphos when they are in heat.”
