by T. S. Ryder
Smith wheezed. Tyrell didn’t let up. He felt bone crushing beneath his jaws and held on with everything he had. Smith’s paws batted his sides, he thrashed above him. Then, all at once, he went limp.
The weight crashed down, pinning Tyrell to the ground. He could feel his own heartbeat mingling with Smith’s. Both ran wildly. Then, one slowed. One stopped.
Tyrell released Smith, everything shades of black around him. He gasped for breath but the deadweight on his chest wouldn’t let him. He was sinking into oblivion but he fought it. Fought it for Tamara, for Cynthia, for Ruby. For everyone who’d be hurt if he left them behind.
The pressure eased slightly. He heard Cynthia’s voice, heard a cry of effort. He lifted his head, snarling at the unseen enemy that was making her cry out.
Smith’s body half-slid from his own and then Cynthia was there. Her scent enveloped him. Her hands pressed against his body and her tears fell on his lips. It took effort, but he managed to shift back into his human form and look up at her. He blinked blood from his eyes.
Tears streamed down Cynthia’s face as she pulled him tightly against her chest. At that moment, all he wanted to do was kiss her. He smiled, opening his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. The blackness finally took him and he knew no more.
***
Tyrell woke lying in his bed. Every inch of him was sore, some parts worse than others. Light streamed in through the curtains and he looked around. He knew from his aches that the fight hadn’t been a dream. But what happened?
Something shifted next to him and he turned to see Cynthia curled up next to him. Her eyes were open, staring at him, and a relieved smile broke across her face as he turned to her. Her hand cupped his face and she let out a breathy sigh.
“Finally. I was starting to think you would never wake up.”
Tyrell gave her a half-grin, then grimaced. “I’m starting to wish I hadn’t. Not for a couple days, at least... What happened?”
“You got beat up.”
“I mean after that.”
Cynthia shivered, but her voice was strong and sure. “Smith is dead. The alphas found Rex, and he admitted to letting him out. It was just like Smith said. He believed that Smith was trying to help him. The idiot. He’s officially renounced any rights to me.” Here she snorted angrily, then curled in closer to him. “Smith must have had it planned this way. He didn’t care if you or Rex won that fight. He just knew it’d end up with you both so badly injured that he could…”
He could kill her. Tyrell’s gaze darkened. He had never taken a life before but found that he couldn’t regret taking Smith’s. Not when that monster had been threatening what he loved the most.
“And Rex?”
“He took off. Apparently, he ran all the way to the docks, took his boat and left. Not sure where he is, or if he’s intending on coming back.”
Tyrell grunted. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling. Relieved, for sure, that Rex’s lunacy was over. But he also remembered the look on Rex’s face. Surely, he had been horrified by how far he had gone?
He pushed those thoughts away. Rex needed help. Serious, professional help. “Are the alphas going after him?”
“I don’t know.” Cynthia moved a little closer and brushed her lips against his. “I don’t care. I thought Smith had killed you. I thought you had died saving my life.”
The memory of her on the kitchen floor, bleeding, returned to him and he snarled. He reached for her, eyes wide with worry. “He hurt you.”
“It was nothing.”
“He hurt you. I’m sorry, I should have—”
“You saved me. And you know what that means, right?” She twined her fingers into his at his questioning look. “Now, you have to marry me.”
Tyrell’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Marry me.” Cynthia frowned. “Wait, do bears get married? Or is it just that your mate is your mate?”
“We get married.” He smiled, wanting to drink in everything about her. Her eyes, her smell, her steely spirit. “And sure. I’ll marry you. Make an honest woman out of you.”
Cynthia laughed. “An honest woman, huh? Well... in that case, maybe in the meantime you can make a dishonest woman out of me...”
Tyrell was more than happy to take her up on the offer.
Chapter Nineteen – Cynthia
Bright, colorful Christmas lights were strung up everywhere around the large wooden platform built over the fine black sand. The high tide rolled in merrily, but the sound was drowned out by music. Cynthia spun in circles, laughing as she danced with abandon.
After everything that had happened, first with Rex, and then Smith, she deserved this. To party, to celebrate life without having to think of the death it took for her to win this right. Even though nobody blamed Tyrell for Smith’s death—if anything, they blamed Smith for going after her life that—she just wanted to forget that he ever existed. Now with the music and lights and laughter around her, she could. Her hair whipped around her face as she lifted her hands above her head.
All around her, people were also laughing and dancing. Many of them had drinks in their hands—none of them alcoholic, not yet at least. There were still children running around, darting between people’s legs and laughing. A huge smile burst over Cynthia’s face as people kept pressing in to congratulate her. She nodded at them, warmth bubbling in her chest. To think that she had ever seriously considered leaving the island!
The modest diamond on her finger sparkled as she moved toward the drink table. Her throat was parched, though she was having so much fun she didn’t even want to stop to have a drink. She had been to engagement parties before, but this was by far the most fun. People weren’t here to be polite to her and Tyrell, they were here because they were genuinely happy and wanted to have a good time.
As she filled up her glass from the punch bowl, she spotted someone lurking in the shadows cast by the colorful lights. As that someone stepped a little closer, her heart dropped. She immediately put the drink down.
Rex kept his hands in his pockets, his shoulders hunched and a mournful expression on his face. He looked at her, and she turned away. She hadn’t seen him since that fight two months ago. She hadn’t even known he had returned to the island! The last she had heard, he had set up some sort of camp on one of the outlying islands.
If he was back to cause trouble, he had another thing coming. She quickly found Tyrell, who was spinning Tamara around in circles with Ruby.
“Can I steal my fiancé?” she asked with a sweet smile. Her heart pounded but she didn’t want Tamara to be afraid. She looped her arm through Tyrell’s and pulled him away as Ruby made catcalls after them. As soon as they were out of earshot, she whispered, “Rex’s here.”
Tyrell’s face darkened. His nostrils flared as his head swung around. He bared his teeth in a snarl. Cynthia pulled him to the refreshment table. Rex was still where she had left him. Still with his hands in his pockets, still hunched. He kicked the sand when he saw Tyrell, but his expression didn’t change.
Tyrell growled softly under his breath and touched Cynthia’s arm. “I’ll deal with him.”
She nodded but stayed near the table as Tyrell marched toward Rex. The bigger bear dropped his gaze to his feet and tensed up, but didn’t move. There was movement beside her and when she glanced over her shoulder, she saw Noel and Ricky both there, with the other two alphas nearby, dancing with Diana.
“It’ll be fine,” Noel told her under his breath. “Although I do wish he hadn’t decided to crash the party.”
Tyrell faced off with Rex, his shoulders broad and head held high. Rex shuffled, his posture looking cowed as they talked. Their voices were too quiet for her to hear and she chewed her lip. What would she do if they started fighting right here?
After a moment, Tyrell nodded tersely. He glanced back and gestured her over. Cynthia started in surprise. For a moment she was certain that her eyes were playing tricks on her, but Tyrell gestured again. She slipped
off her sandals and hopped down from the platform to join the two men. Rex didn’t look at her as she walked up to them.
“He’d like to talk to you,” Tyrell said. “If you don’t want him here, I’ll throw him out.”
She gave Rex an appraising look and finally shook her head. She could talk to him at least. The regret on his face looked genuine.
“Don’t try anything funny, Rex,” Tyrell warned, then kissed Cynthia lightly and headed back to the dancing platform.
Cynthia folded her arms and waited for Rex to speak.
Eventually, he looked up at her. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“Sorry… for everything. I behaved… like a creep. There isn’t really any excuse for that… I don’t know what happened. I never...” He trailed off and started to pull a hand from his pocket but when she tensed, he stuffed it in deeper and stepped back, putting more space between them. “I didn’t realize what I was doing. And I know that’s not an excuse, and I know that I frightened and hurt you. So, I’m sorry.”
She waited for him to make excuses and tell her that it wasn’t really his fault, but he didn’t. Her stance softened a little bit. She wasn’t ready to forgive him, but she nodded. “Thank you for apologizing. This doesn’t change things, but I appreciate the apology.”
He let out a soft breath and finally looked up at her. There was relief in his eyes, as though he hadn’t even been expecting that. “Thank you. This whole thing… it’s made me realize that there is something wrong with me. When I met you, I saw a woman I thought would heal me. I convinced myself you were my mate because… because I’m just so damn tired of being alone.”
Cynthia frowned at him.
“I don’t mean that as an excuse,” he continued softly. “I know it isn’t. I know that I have to be punished for what I did. Trusting Smith… If something had happened because of that—”
“Something did happen,” Cynthia interrupted. “I nearly lost my mate.”
Rex flinched. “Tyrell was right. All this time. To keep Tamara away from me. I’m going to start seeing a therapist. Maybe if I recognize my issues, I’ll be able to work through them.”
“Good.” She hesitated a moment, then decided to just go ahead and continue. “Look. There is someone out there for you. Your one true mate. She wasn’t me, but there is someone out there. The thing is, you can’t expect her to just fall in your lap and that’s it. You have to be worthy of her.”
Rex nodded seriously. Then he glanced at the dance platform again. She looked over to find Tyrell still standing on the sand, watching the two of them. The alphas stood near the refreshment table in such a way that they blocked the scene from people who came to the table.
“Cynthia...”
She arched a brow and nodded for him to continue.
“There is something that I have to know.”
“Go ahead.” His stops and pauses were making her wary. If he was going to start demanding an explanation for why she didn’t choose him, heaven help him. After his behavior, if he had to ask then it only showed that he didn’t understand diddly squat about what he did, no matter what he said. She started to glare at him, although that only seemed to make him more hesitant. “Rex, I don’t have all night.”
“It’s… it’s hard.” He took a deep breath and stepped back again. That he kept insisting on putting more distance between them was a good sign, right? He pushed his hands even deeper into his pockets. “It’s just that… that night that I came and… I think I proposed—”
“You did propose. What about it?”
He met her eye again, wariness and despair in his gaze. “Did you really think that I would… hurt you? That I would… force myself on you?”
She could see his eyes pleading with her to deny it. But if she lied about this, then how was he meant to fully understand just how bad it had gotten? “I was afraid you might try. Or that you might and not even realize what you were doing. You have a habit of ignoring me when I tell you no.”
Rex flinched. He backed away another step. “I’m so sorry. I would never have—”
“Rex. Every time I told you no, or when I set a boundary and you crossed it, you showed me that you didn’t care about what I wanted. You can’t tell me what you would never have done when your actions proved otherwise, again and again.”
He flinched.
“I’m not telling you this to try to hurt you,” she continued softly. “I’m saying this because you have to understand.”
Rex nodded. “Thank you. I don’t want to be that kind of man. I want to be a good man. I want… I want to be a good uncle to Tamara. But I don’t suppose that will ever happen.”
Cynthia stepped forward, putting her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t give up hope just like that. Wanting to change is the first step to actual change, Rex. Don’t let yourself get discouraged. Even Tyrell thinks that you were a good man once. You can be a good man again.”
“Thank you,” he said again, softer this time. “And I want to… to congratulate you. On your upcoming wedding. I wish you and Tyrell all the happiness in the world.”
“Thank you.”
She watched him walk away, her arms folded across her chest. His apology had felt genuine, but she simply wasn’t going to forgive him at the snap of the fingers. Not after everything he had done. She needed to see the change, and not just hear about it.
With a sigh, she turned back to the party. Tyrell gave her a tense smile and she returned it. They climbed back onto the platform and quickly found Ruby and Tamara again. It took a while, but she soon got back into the swing of the party, especially when Tamara’s favorite son came on and they all danced with abandon.
With Tyrell’s hand on hers on one side and Tamara’s in the other, Cynthia couldn’t imagine being happier. The music blared, the lights beamed, her feet ached and her throat was dry from laughing so much. She gazed at her mate and new daughter and couldn’t stop grinning. This was it. Her family. Her home. Everything she had ever wanted and more.
Eventually, as the night wore on and people started disappearing with their children, Tyrell pointed out Tamara, curled up under the platform and fast asleep. There were also beers starting to appear. The alphas, with Diana and their baby, made their way over to the two of them. Ricky and Diana hugged them both, while the others settled for handshakes.
“We wish you all the happiness in the world.” Diana beamed at them. “And Cynthia, I know that it can be intimidating, being a human on an island of bears without knowing much of their culture. But if these lugs ever try something like that fight again,” here she shot her sheepish-looking mates a glare, “let me know. I’ll straighten them out.”
Cynthia laughed, her voice coming out husky from all the use it had been getting. “I will. Thank you.”
The alphas took their leave then, and once Cynthia and Tyrell had thanked everybody for coming, they did as well. When Cynthia looked back, she saw Ruby making out with a couple of guys and shook her head. That woman. She certainly lived a life that Cynthia didn’t really understand.
Once they got home, Tamara wanted to talk about the dance for another hour before they finally got her to get to bed. Every other word was punctuated with a yawn, but she still protested she wasn’t sleepy until she was snoring. Cynthia, aching from all the dancing, ran up a warm bath in the giant claw foot tub and invited Tyrell to join her. They settled in together, content to just hold one another.
Tyrell absently ran his hands up and down her arms as she leaned back against him. She twisted to kiss his chin, which was the only part she could reach without serious contortion. “What’s on your mind?”
“Uh… nothing.”
“Don’t give me that.” She tapped his knee under the water. “Tell me.”
Tyrell waited for a moment before he sighed. “What if I said I didn’t want to talk about it?”
“Then I’d stop pressing,” she promised. She slid her hand into his and cocked her head to one side. “Bu
t if you want to talk about it, I’m all ears. Besides… I think I have a fairly good idea what you are thinking about anyway.”
Tyrell kissed the back of her neck. “Rex.”
That was what she had thought. She leaned against his naked chest and nodded at him to continue talking.
“There were supposed to be people watching out for him. To make sure that he couldn’t crash the party. I was afraid he might cause a scene… glad he didn’t. Actually, I was surprised that he was so reasonable about the whole thing. I hope that this means that he finally got some sense knocked into his head, but when it comes to Rex… I just hope it sticks.”
Cynthia nodded. “You can’t get too mad about him being there. After all, you’re the one who encouraged me to talk to him.”
“I guess I just thought he was sincere when he said he wanted to talk. I wanted to be a good man. Give you that choice yourself.”
Cynthia moved around in the tub, water splashing dangerously close to the lip so that she could straddle him. The new, intimate position made wicked thoughts come to the forefront of her mind, but she pushed them aside to smile at her mate and fiancé. He was so handsome, but that wasn’t why she loved him. His heart was so big and pure, his love and devotion for his daughter so deep. Hardworking, generous, kind.
“You’re a good man,” she told him. “A great man. And a great father. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“And I can’t wait to spend my life with you.” He kissed her, making heat flare in her core. “Mmmm… you taste so good. Hey, remember what you told me in the barn, that you wanted me to get you pregnant?”
Cynthia laughed. “Oh, yes, I believe I do.”
“Well…. Wanna try some more?” Tyrell waggled his brows suggestively.
Warmth flooded her chest and her heart did a little fluttering thing. A grin crossed her face as she giggled. “Oh… well, actually I wanted to talk to you about that. I don’t think it will do much good to try to get pregnant right now.”
His brow furrowed. “What do you mean? If you’re having your period, I’d—Oh!” His eyes widened at the smile she gave him. A smile burst over his face and he laughed. “Oh! I see what you mean. You’re already pregnant, aren’t you?”
