by Terry Spear
Then he heard running footfalls in the hallway—cougar style.
The front door slammed open, and Ava charged into the bedroom, snarling, her hindleg bleeding but that wasn’t stopping her from coming to his aid.
He was cheered to see her alive, injured, but alive and her charging into the mix gave him another shot of adrenaline. He snarled a blood-curdling cougar cry and attacked the cougar as viciously as he could.
Ava attacked Benny’s flank, just as angered that the cougar would attack her mate.
The cougar didn’t stand a chance and Chet took him down once and for all, biting into his neck and killing him.
Nina was running up the stairs with Dan and Chase. Ava was lying down, panting with exertion.
Chet was surprised that the doctors would have cleared Nina to come to Ava’s aid, but Chet figured there would be no stopping her to help her sister and brother-in-law in the fight.
Chet shifted and checked Ava’s leg and hurried to tell them, “There’s a first aid kit in the bathroom. Though at this rate, I think we’ll need to refill it with bandages.” Then he said to Ava, “What happened to Xenia?”
Chase said from the bathroom where he was looking for the first aid kit before Ava could respond, “Xenia is dead.”
“She panicked when she saw me, and her bullets were scattered about me. For the most part. Nina and I used to shoot at the range and despite being just a baker, I know how to use a weapon,” Ava said.
“Thank God for that.” Chet held onto Ava’s wound until Chase brought him the first aid kit. Then Chase bandaged her leg. “Let’s get her to the clinic.”
She shook her head.
“Yeah, now you know how I felt.” Chet hugged her, but he had brand new wounds also and he was beginning to hurt all over again.
“You too, Chet,” Nina said, giving Ava a hug.
“Hell, are you even supposed to be here, Nina?” Chet asked.
Stryker walked into the bedroom, looking like hell. “No, she’s not.”
“And neither are you, doctor’s orders,” Nina said to her mate.
Leyton and Jack arrived. “We’ll take care of the mess. The four of you need to go to the clinic,” Leyton said.
Chet hurried to get dressed while Nina petted Ava.
Bridget and Travis showed up then. “Bridget’s parents are with the kids. Here we thought we would be spending all night helping everyone track down Benny and his accomplice.”
“What I don’t get is why Xenia came after him to free him,” Chet said, as he carried Ava to Dan’s car, since it was blocking his own.
“Initially, she thought he had murdered all those women. Then she was intrigued that he seemed to really like her when the other women had died at his hand,” Bridget said. “Though she didn’t realize that Benny wasn’t the one who murdered the other women. I didn’t mention it before because I never suspected she would pull something like this.”
“It doesn’t pay to commit crimes against our kind,” Jack said.
“She learned that the hard way.” Nina climbed into the car with Dan and Chet.
“I’ll go with Travis and Bridget,” Stryker said.
Then they drove to the clinic where Docs Kate and William were waiting for all their patients.
“I thought we were going to have less trouble in town with you joining us,” Kate said, making Chet strip out of his clothes in an exam room while Doc William took Ava into surgery.
Even the vet, Vanessa Vanderbilt, showed up to help with the surgery while Mandy monitored Nina and Stryker for any aftereffects from being tased.
Chet got a call from Hugo then and he wondered what he had to tell him at this hour of the night.
“Hey, I just learned that Benny has an identical twin brother, and they trade places all the time, even working shifts at the bar. No one knew about it until Nancy told me she’d dated Benny before she started seeing me and she had seen Benny’s identical twin brother coming out of the master bedroom. Before that, she had wondered why Benny slept in the guest bedroom. Anyway, if Benny isn’t the suspect in the women’s murders, you might check out the twin. Nancy didn’t know his name and Benny didn’t offer it. That had been a couple of years ago.”
“Thanks. It’s all been taken care of.”
“Oh. Permanently?” Hugo asked.
“Yeah. That’s how we deal with murderous cougars.” Chet wasn’t about to whitewash the truth for anyone.
“Oh, well, good. I’ll just let you go then.”
“Treat Nancy right.”
“Yeah, I plan to.”
Then they ended the call and Chet frowned at Kate. “I need to see Ava.”
“You need to sit still while I disinfect and stitch up the worst of these wounds.” Kate looked up from one of the locations she was sewing and said, “Ava will have to remain here overnight. Do you want to stay with her?”
“Yeah, sure, thanks, Doc.” No way in hell would Chet ever stay in a clinic willingly, except if he was on death’s door—or, to be with the woman he loved.
After Ava had recovered from her surgery and was groggily lying in a bed next to his, Stryker and Nina hugged them and finally managed to be released to go home. And Chet’s mother, Wendy, had come in to see them too, giving them gentle hugs and kisses.
“This is like the wild west,” Wendy said softly.
“Yeah, but it all started in Cody, Wyoming,” Chet reminded her.
All the others who had come to their aid hugged them also and then Wendy and the others left them in peace. He knew beyond a doubt his mate was the only one for him.
But sometime during the night and in the hazy world of dreams he found himself in, he was freezing in the cold Arctic north, then stranded in a hot, muggy tropical forest. And lying next to him in that little bed was the she-cat he loved, snuggling against him, chasing away the nightmares.
“He needs another towel,” Ava whispered.
Mandy whispered back, “You are making him hotter.”
Ava sighed. “But when he’s chilled, I’m warming him up.”
When he finally woke, he was feeling—well, sore, but seeing a sleeping Ava half on top of him, cozily nestled against him, he was in seventh heaven and despite being in the clinic, he couldn’t have been in a better place. Not when he was with Ava.
“How are you?” he asked Ava, worried about her wound.
She gave him a big smile. “We’re going home to recuperate—and whatever else we can manage to get ourselves into.”
He chuckled. “I’m ready. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Epilogue
Chet was grateful he’d gone to Yuma Town for the Independence Day celebration with his friends and ended up with the cougar of his fantasies. She was real and as beautiful inside as she was out. Here he thought he would end up sleeping on someone’s sofa, so he couldn’t have lucked out more that the safehouse was under renovations when he arrived and had to stay with a reluctant she-cat. He couldn’t be happier that he had fallen in love with her and that she’d felt the same about him.
His mother adored both Ava and her twin sister and had taken them under her wing. And both Ava and Nina were thrilled to call her family. Stryker too, of course.
Even Chet’s brother, Kenneth, had come into town to see who Chet had mated, giving him a hard time about doing the impossible.
The wedding was to be on Labor Day weekend. They couldn’t wait. And a honeymoon in Hawaii was after that. Snorkeling, swimming, running through the tropics as cougars at night? Something new and fantastical for the both of them.
But for now, he and Ava were having a blast staying at Pinyon Pines, their cabin retreat win, and Florence had delivered their pastries for breakfast and then it was a day of swimming, lounging, and making love. Who knew when they won the stay at the resort that they would be mated cougars, building their dream house, and going forward with their lives in Yuma Town and the rest of the wild cats there?
Ava realized be
ing with Chet didn’t wear her out as far as her special abilities went like she thought being around him would. In fact, he energized her and made her wish she had gotten to know him sooner. Plus, she’d even helped him with more of his cases.
She loved him as her mate. Not to mention Wendy had fast become one of her best friends.
Both she and Nina were always asking about the cases Wendy had worked on as a CSF agent, and she was eager to tell them all about them.
Wendy adored Ava's lavender and turquoise-decorated condo and bought it while Chet and Ava were delighted to build a bigger home suitable for a family and family get togethers.
Ava loved how when she and Nina were off from work, Wendy was delighted to be one of the girls too and shop with them at the mall in Loveland or enjoy lunch out or in with them. Wendy had them over too and she was making friends with lots of the ladies in town.
Now that Ava was mated to Chet, they had bigger family gatherings—barbecues at their home or Nina's and Ava was no longer a third wheel. Even their Aunt Grace and Uncle Geoffrey Robinson came to the gatherings when they weren't on world tours.
But what Ava and Chet were looking forward to now was the wedding in September and a trip to Hawaii before Halloween, because none of the cougars wanted to miss that.
Even Ursula had resolved the situation with Blue and Nathan, and the bears were all back home. She still hadn’t made any headway with the other bear she was interested in. But they were all invited to the wedding.
"So do you see anything in our future?" Chet asked Ava after they had a day of boating and swimming and were heading back to the cabin.
"I do," Ava said, pulling off his shirt in the living room of the cabin. "I see you making love to me and me making love to you and dreaming about a trip to Hawaii. The wedding first, of course."
He chuckled and slipped her shorts off her hips.
"Good, that's just what I'd hoped for." Then he chased her into the bedroom, and she squealed, not meaning too, but he always brought that out in her.
He was so much fun to be with no matter where they were or what they were doing. And to think she had believed in the beginning that he'd just wear her out—senses-wise.
But boy, had she gotten that wrong. She loved how considerate he was of her special ability, trusting in them even when she didn't trust in them herself.
Then they were in bed, making love to each other, culminating another beautiful day of mated bliss and looking forward to so much more.
Acknowledgments
Thanks so much to Darla Taylor and Donna Fournier, who are so much fun. I love that both garden like I do, and they are a great help in finding all my goofs in the books! Thanks, ladies!!
Author Bio
USA Today bestselling author Terry Spear has written over eighty paranormal and medieval Highland romances. In 2008, Heart of the Wolf was named a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. She has received a PNR Top Pick, a Best Book of the Month nomination by Long and Short Reviews, numerous Night Owl Romance Top Picks, and 2 Paranormal Excellence Awards for Romantic Literature (Finalist & Honorable Mention). In 2016, Billionaire in Wolf’s Clothing was an RT Book Reviews Top Pick. A retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry also creates award-winning teddy bears that have found homes all over the world, helps out with her granddaughter and grandson, and she is raising two Havanese puppies. She lives in Spring, Texas.
Also by Terry Spear
Heart of the Cougar Series:
Cougar’s Mate, Book 1
Call of the Cougar, Book 2
Taming the Wild Cougar, Book 3
Covert Cougar Christmas (Novella)
Double Cougar Trouble, Book 4
Cougar Undercover, Book 5
Cougar Magic, Book 6
Cougar Halloween Mischief (Novella)
Falling for the Cougar, Book 7
Catch the Cougar (A Halloween Novella)
Cougar Christmas Calamity Book 8
You Had Me at Cougar, Book 9
Saving the White Cougar, Book 10
Heart of the Bear Series
Loving the White Bear, Book 1
Claiming the White Bear, Book 2
The Highlanders Series:Winning the Highlander's Heart, The Accidental Highland Hero, Highland Rake, Taming the Wild Highlander, The Highlander, Her Highland Hero, The Viking’s Highland Lass, His Wild Highland Lass (novella), Vexing the Highlander (novella), My Highlander
Other historical romances: Lady Caroline & the Egotistical Earl, A Ghost of a Chance at Love
Heart of the Wolf Series: Heart of the Wolf, Destiny of the Wolf, To Tempt the Wolf, Legend of the White Wolf, Seduced by the Wolf, Wolf Fever, Heart of the Highland Wolf, Dreaming of the Wolf, A SEAL in Wolf's Clothing, A Howl for a Highlander, A Highland Werewolf Wedding, A SEAL Wolf Christmas, Silence of the Wolf, Hero of a Highland Wolf, A Highland Wolf Christmas, A SEAL Wolf Hunting; A Silver Wolf Christmas, A SEAL Wolf in Too Deep, Alpha Wolf Need Not Apply, Billionaire in Wolf’s Clothing, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, SEAL Wolf Undercover, Dreaming of a White Wolf Christmas, Flight of the White Wolf, All’s Fair in Love and Wolf, A Billionaire Wolf for Christmas, SEAL Wolf Surrender (2019), Silver Town Wolf: Home for the Holidays (2019), Wolff Brothers: You Had Me at Wolf, Night of the Billionaire Wolf, Joy to the Wolves (Red Wolf), The Wolf Wore Plaid, Jingle Bell Wolf, Best of Both Wolves
SEAL Wolves: To Tempt the Wolf, A SEAL in Wolf's Clothing, A SEAL Wolf Christmas, A SEAL Wolf Hunting, A SEAL Wolf in Too Deep, SEAL Wolf Undercover, SEAL Wolf Surrender (2019)
Silver Bros Wolves: Destiny of the Wolf, Wolf Fever, Dreaming of the Wolf, Silence of the Wolf, A Silver Wolf Christmas, Alpha Wolf Need Not Apply, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, All’s Fair in Love and Wolf, Silver Town Wolf: Home for the Holidays (2019)
Wolff Brothers of Silver Town
Billionaire Wolves: Billionaire in Wolf’s Clothing, A Billionaire Wolf for Christmas, Night of the Billionaire Wolf
Highland Wolves: Heart of the Highland Wolf, A Howl for a Highlander, A Highland Werewolf Wedding, Hero of a Highland Wolf, A Highland Wolf Christmas, Wolf Wore Plaid
Red Wolf Series: Seduced by the Wolf, Joy to the Wolves
Heart of the Jaguar Series: Savage Hunger, Jaguar Fever, Jaguar Hunt, Jaguar Pride, A Very Jaguar Christmas, You Had Me at Jaguar (2019)
Novella: The Witch and the Jaguar (2018)
Romantic Suspense: Deadly Fortunes, In the Dead of the Night, Relative Danger, Bound by Danger
Vampire romances: Killing the Bloodlust, Deadly Liaisons, Huntress for Hire, Forbidden Love, Vampire Redemption, Primal Desire
Vampire Novellas: Vampiric Calling, The Siren’s Lure, Seducing the Huntress
Other Romance: Exchanging Grooms, Marriage, Las Vegas Style
Science Fiction Romance: Galaxy Warrior
Teen/Young Adult/Fantasy Books
The World of Fae:
The Dark Fae, Book 1
The Deadly Fae, Book 2
The Winged Fae, Book 3
The Ancient Fae, Book 4
Dragon Fae, Book 5
Hawk Fae, Book 6
Phantom Fae, Book 7
Golden Fae, Book 8
Falcon Fae, Book 9
Woodland Fae, Book 10
Angel Fae, Book 11 (TBD)
The World of Elf:
The Shadow Elf
Darkland Elf
Blood Moon Series:
Kiss of the Vampire
The Vampire…In My Dreams
Demon Guardian Series:
The Trouble with Demons
Demon Trouble, Too
Demon Hunter
Non-Series for Now:
Ghostly Liaisons
The Beast Within
Courtly Masquerade
Deidre's Secret
The Magic of Inherian:
The Scepter of Salvation
The Mage of Monrovia
Emerald Isle of Mists (TBA)
sp; Terry Spear, You Had Me at Cougar
