by Moxie North
Chapter 32
Brooke stood just inside of a garage surrounded by four-wheelers, mountain bikes, and various other sports equipment. The garage was attached to a plain looking house set deep into the woods.
“Are you sure it’s okay that I’m here?” she asked Tanner for the tenth time.
“Yes, I called Cash this morning, and he was thrilled that Cassie would have some company today,” he assured her.
He wasn’t worried about her out here. You’d have to know Cash’s house was back in the woods to even find it. Nobody would come looking for her. His bear would prefer to be the one keeping an eye on her but as he lay awake thinking last night, he realized that if someone was watching the town he needed to keep up appearances. That meant taking his shifts and working her case at the same time.
“Come on, I’ll introduce you to Cassie. She’s…uh, how do I say this? Different?” he said awkwardly.
“Different how?” Brooke asked worriedly. She was just settling into the fact her lover was a bear. That he wasn’t insane. Or at least not completely insane, even if he did think he was in love with her and that she was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. His words this morning in the shower, not hers.
“Well, normally from the stories I’ve heard she’s funny, says what’s on her mind, takes no shit and takes sarcastic to a new art form. She had an accident at the end of last year and was hurt pretty badly. Got some scars, broke some bones. She was pretty bad off until she met Cash. She’s his mate, his One. He brought her back to life,” Tanner explained.
“So she’s not the same as she was?” Brooke asked. Did mating and bonding with a bear make you a different person? She was not down with that. Brooke Nishi was her own woman and would change for no man.
“No, she’s the same. Just throw in the confidence that comes from having a huge man love and adore you and take care of your every whim and desire, and you’ve got Cassie,” he said, chuckling.
Brooke didn’t think that sounded so scary. Until the door to the garage opened.
“Lock me up! I’m a serial killer!”
She turned towards the voice and took in the tiny woman with short, purple hair. There was a light red scar on the side of her face, but Brooke was transfixed by her hair. When she looked at the rest of the young woman, she saw she was dressed in a black sleeveless t-shirt with a band name too faded to make out. She was wearing hot pink fishnet stockings under a pair of cutoff jean shorts. In her arms was the biggest box of Sugar Crunch cereal Brooke had ever seen.
“How do you not weigh four hundred pounds?” Tanner asked, walking up to her and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
“Bitch, I’ve got the metabolism of a cracked out gerbil,” the woman said.
Tanner turned towards Brooke, “Brooke, meet Cassie. Cassie, this is my mate Brooke.”
Cassie flung the box at Tanner and held onto the frame of the door as she took a tentative step down into the garage. Once she had her footing, she moved quickly over to Brooke and looked up at her. Cassie was short and looked to weigh about ninety pounds. She made Brooke feel like a Thanksgiving parade balloon.
“Another tall one. Seriously, you Rochon boys have to have the tall and curvy ones. Why can’t the short boyish figure girls get any lovin’?”
Brooke looked over to see Tanner smiling and shaking his head. “You lucked out, pipsqueak. Cash likes that you fit in his pocket. Easier to keep track of you,” he said.
“Hah, I’m surprised that big oaf hasn’t low-jacked me in my sleep. Do you see anything blinking red on me?” she asked Brooke.
“Uh, no?” Brooke stammered. This woman was not what she was expecting.
“Oh girl, you gotta lighten up if you are going to survive in this family. Come on, I’ve got about twelve hours of reality TV on the DVR that I’ve been wanting to watch. We are having a girl’s day!” she said, grabbing Brooke’s hand and dragging her into the house.
“Reality TV?” Brooke mouthed at Tanner.
Tanner just gave her a shrug and followed them inside. Cassie didn’t stop pulling until they reached the living room. The inside of the house was nothing like the outside. The front windows were cathedral style, ceiling high and looked out over a beautiful river running through the forest.
“So, Cash said he would be at work all day, but we all know that’s a lie. I expect him not long after lunch. My man is addicted to me. He never stays away all day. He’s like a mutant puppy, always looking for affection. It’s adorable,” Cassie said, flopping down on the couch. “Have a seat, tell me your life story.” She gestured towards the couch.
Brooke took a tentative seat. “Uh,” she started, but had no clue what she was supposed to say.
“Cassie, remember, she’s still a civilian and is having a bit of trouble coming to terms with her world changing,” Tanner said gently.
“Oh please, you shifters think you are all special and spooky supernatural. You’ve just got fucked up DNA, and you call it magic. I bet if they had tails while they were human they wouldn’t be so high and mighty,” Cassie said to Brooke.
The idea of Tanner having a tail made Brooke realize she didn’t get a good look at his bear since he was sitting on his ass.
“You have a tail!” Brooke laughed.
“No, my bear does. Cassie, don’t start putting shit in my mate’s head,” Tanner sighed.
“Ohh, I get it. You haven’t bonded yet. She’s still on the fence about you, and you’re worried I’ll push her over to the wrong side. Well, guess what, Tanner Rochon? The best thing I can do for her is not pussyfoot around the details like you all tend to do. Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Cassie glared at him.
Tanner growled at her in annoyance.
“Yeah, that sooo doesn’t work on me,” she informed him. “Get lost, and don’t call every five minutes. You know no one comes out here, and Cash will be here soon anyway.”
Tanner knew his cousin wasn’t one to leave his mate alone for long. He’d figured out how to get his work done in record time at the mill so he could spend the rest of the day coddling his mate. Lucky bastard.
Leaning towards Brooke, Tanner gave her a hot kiss. He didn’t want her to forget there were some benefits to mating a shifter.
“Bye,” she said to him. She really didn’t want him to leave, but she knew the reasons were sound. She could handle one tiny purple-haired person, right?
Brooke watched Tanner walk towards the garage. He looked back and with a wink, he was gone.
Chapter 33
“Finally! It’s all sweet and cute – their constant attention – until you haven’t had a moment to yourself in weeks! Rule number one, establish some boundaries. You know, time to pluck your eyebrows, or get twisty shaving your naughty bits. Not everything needs an audience, and they so don’t understand that,” Cassie said.
Brooke watched her grab the box of cereal Tanner had left on the coffee table. “Want some?” she offered.
“No, thank you, I just ate,” she murmured.
Cassie studied her for a moment. “All right, when did you find out about fuzzy butt?”
“Excuse me?” Brooke was confused.
“You know. Grrr, rawr, fuzzy butt.”
“Oh, last night,” Brooke stammered.
“Uh, huh. And how long have you known him?”
“Couple of days?” Brooke said after thinking for a moment. Between the meds and the memory issue, her week had been pretty fuzzy. “But I was unconscious the first day and had no memory the second day,” she added.
“Fucking hell! I’m so kicking his ass when he comes back to pick you up. So let me guess, you were hurt, then Tanner Rochon swoops in and attempts to sweep you off your feet. Which I realize he is probably very good at. Then, because he was impatient, he shifted and scared the shit out of you – then wanted to bone you.” She waited for Brooke to admit she was right.
“Pretty much,” Brooke agreed.
“Rule number two, they deserve payback for being d
umbasses. I’ll let you in on a secret – you are going to say yes – because you would have to be a moron to say no to a hot guy who thinks you are better than a supermodel and wants to fuck, feed, and care for you twenty-four seven. That doesn’t mean you have to roll over and let him run the show.”
“I don’t know if I can be his mate,” Brooke said. Maybe Cassie hadn’t heard her story yet. Her situation was complicated.
“Oh, you can, and you will. The whole mob guys thing will blow over. Then our kindly local sheriff will start his master plan of getting you knocked up. They all want babies. I know you met Wyatt and Conner, Cage is no better. All have babies and all three dudes have lost their damn minds. Fucking baby shit everywhere. Those three dudes will walk around carry fucking baby bears in snugglies on their chests.” Cassie was gesturing like she was a hulking man with a baby using a throw pillow for a prop.
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Brooke offered. Big shifter guys and baby bears? That sounded freaking cute as hell.
“Oh, it’s not bad, it’s ridiculous. I’ve been lucky that Cash thinks I’m too fragile to have babies yet. Not that we are using protection or anything. He says the fates won’t let us have a baby until we are ready. No joke, mystical birth control. I just shrug and let him think he has it all under control,” she said.
“You don’t want kids?” Brooke asked. She wasn’t sure about marriage, but she had always thought she would have at least one child even if she chose to do so on her own.
“Oh sure, course when you see Cash you’ll think I’m crazy. My man is like a fricking house. His mom swears he was only six pounds when he was born. I’m calling bullshit, but whatever,” she sniffed.
Cassie grabbed another handful of cereal and tossed it in her mouth. She washed it down with an orange soda on the table.
“Wow, that is a lot of sugar,” Brooke commented.
“I know. Crazy, right? I’m a junk food junkie and proud of it,” Cassie said smiling. “Let’s see, what else should you know…” she pondered as she munched her cereal.
“The biting?” Brooke offered. That part still didn’t sit well with her.
“Oh puhleeeez. Again, they make it sound all mystical. So here’s how they like to do it: they get you naked, fuck you silly until you wouldn’t care if they set you on fire. Right as you orgasm, they bite you right here.” Cassie pulled the edge of her collar away, and Brooke saw the faint white scar of a bite.
“You don’t even care when they do it. I’m guessing you’ve had a few orgasms from Sheriff Tanner already. Think you will care if he bites you during one?” Cassie raised her eyebrow.
“Probably not,” Brook admitted.
“See, then the DNA in their saliva gets into your wound and your blood stream. It is true he will think your blood is damn tasty, but he probably won’t be doing that every time unless you like it. Once they’ve had a taste of your blood, they are even more in tune to you than before. That might be some voodoo mumbo jumbo, but it’s true. You won’t really feel anything change. You get to age a hell of a lot slower, which is awesome. And apparently any little shifter parasites you decided to breed and spawn won’t ruin your insides during the pregnancy,” Cassie paused, then continued, “oh yeah – bears you don’t have to worry about. Pregnancies are pretty normal. Other shifters have shorter ones,” she said.
“Other shifters? Like other animals?” Brooke asked. Why that hadn’t occurred to her yet as a possibility she would blame on the shock of the day before.
Cassie gave an unladylike snort. “Yeah, I got surprised by that too. See, I knew about cougar shifters. My best friend is mated to one. I was all la-la-la I’m in on the inside secret. Then I’m hanging out at Cage’s mom’s house recuperating from my fender bender, and I wake up to a baby bear on my chest. Long story short – shit went down, I found out about bears, then I ended up mated to one,” Cassie said nonchalantly.
“Cougars, wow,” Brooke said.
“Yeah, my best friend had a baby recently. Fucking adorable baby cougar tearing ass around the house. She claws the shit out of the curtains and scratches all the furniture. It’s fucking hilarious,” Cassie said, laughing.
“They are always in animal form?” Brooke asked.
“Nah, when they are little they can’t help when they shift. They’re just babies. So they go back and forth. You have to keep them out of the public eye, of course. But there is always enough family around that they don’t really miss it. Once they are walking and talking their animals take a break – I guess to let them grow into their human selves? But the bears, or cougars, or wolves come back when they hit puberty. Then they shift when they want,” Cass explained.
“Wolves too, huh?”
“Yup, I haven’t heard of anything else, but at this point nothing can surprise me,” Cassie said, offering the cereal to Brooke again. This time, she took a big handful and settled back into the couch.
So far Cassie had filled her in on more in ten minutes than Tanner had in three days.
Chapter 34
Brooke and Cassie talked for a long while. Cassie filled her in on the Rochon family tree, and Brooke was totally lost halfway in.
Then they watched a number of different shows that Cassie seemed to love. There were shows about dancers, singers, a crazy one about people living out in the woods. Cassie said she almost stopped watching that one after they shot a bear. Cassie said she tried to get Cash to take a trip north to seek vengeance for the little bear. Which he was unwilling to do, she complained.
Overall, Brooke was actually pretty entertained. Cassie grilled her about her life and it helped Brooke to recall things about herself. Like getting reacquainted with an old friend.
“So you work at a hospital?” Cassie asked.
“Yes, an administrator.”
“Sounds fancy,” Cassie said, looking impressed.
Brooke smirked at her, “Not really. It’s all paperwork and dealing with bickering doctors. I handle some pretty big egos during the course of the day. Still, everyone I work with is there because they love their job. Most people don’t work the medical field on a whim. It takes a lot of schooling and dedication to get them where they are.”
“Cool, ever see a head transplant? Or some guy with like, a fence post skewered through him?” Cassie asked with morbid glee.
“Uh, I’ve seen some things. No transplants or skewered humans. Saw an x-ray of a gentlemen that lost a toy car. He claims he sat on it, but…”
“Righteous!” Cassie giggled. “So obviously you’re single since you’ve got the Sheriff all tied up,” Cassie said giving her a wink.
“Dated some. Then I usually found the men who found me interesting terribly dull. I tried, lord knows I did. But they just were so….flat? I guess, there was no substance to them. Nothing deep down.”
Cassie let out a snort. “Yeah well your man has lots deep down. A giant bear, dude.”
Brooke realized she wanted a man who had more below the surface. She just never expected that to be an animal.
“So what else, hobbies? Membership to a secret organization? Closet lint collector?”
“Er, no. I’m sadly pretty normal. I will admit that I am a bit of a compulsive organizer. I like things in order, color coded, and labeled. I get excited when I see my label maker is coming out with a new model,” Brooke admitted, a blush rising on her cheeks.
“Wow, sooo not me,” Cassie said.
“I know, people think it’s because I’m rigid, or don’t like to have fun. It’s not that. I find it soothing. Some people relax with a glass of wine. I stack my junk mail by size before throwing it away.”
Cassie seemed to be imagining that scenario in her head. Then Brooke watched her shake her head in the negative. “Nope, can’t see myself ever doing that. But hey, I get antsy in my pantsy I just get a new tattoo! I run my own shop. I used to be a lowly receptionist. After I hooked up with Cash he saw me for the entrepreneur I am. Basically he fronted me the money because it was th
e only thing I was interested in doing. I have a kick ass shop and only work when I want to. Today my guys booked private appointments, so I get to catch up on educational TV watching.”
The girls laughed and talked for hours, munching on processed snack foods and building a friendship that Brooke knew she was going to be grateful for later.
When Cash came home, Brooke was in no way prepared for the enormity of the man who was the mate of the tiny woman next to her.
He was handsome, bearded, and just completely overwhelming to all of Brooke’s female senses. He was no Tanner, but she would have to be from another planet to not appreciate Cash Rochon.
“Sprite, have you been being naughty?” the big man asked as he strolled through the door.
“No more than usual,” Cassie said with a shrug.
Brooke watched as the mountain of a man strode to the back of the large sectional couch they were sitting on and leaned over, picking Cassie up into his arms like he was lifting one of the pillows.
He planted a kiss on her so scorching, Brooke had to look away. He seemed to have missed her, even though from the sounds of it, they’d only been apart a few hours.
Setting her back down on the couch, Cash turned to her and offered a hand. “I’m Cash.”
“Brooke. Thank you for letting me hang out here today. I didn’t really want to be at Tanner’s house alone,” Brooke explained.
“No problem. It’s good to have someone for Cassie to talk to. That shit she watches is going to rot her brain,” he said gesturing to the TV, which was still on but muted.
“Whatever. If I ever have to move to Alaska, I will know how to survive.” Cassie stuck out her tongue at him. That made him growl at her, and she just giggled in return.
Looking at Brooke, she said, “I don’t know why they think growling is supposed to be scary.”
“Because it is, Sprite. Every other animal in the forest would run from a growling bear,” Cash said, leaning over to kiss her again. It was like he was testing how many he could get in before she slugged him.
