by Golden Angel
To his delight, he heard an answering roar off in the woods. Several of the bad guys instinctively jerked their guns towards the direction of whichever one of his siblings had answered his call.
Backup was coming.
Of course, it was possible the bad guys had backup too.
They all shot at him.
Unlike their sisters, the Bunson brothers were unable to pull their head and limbs into their shells. However, he was still able to drop sideways, so his limbs were all protected and his head was no longer a good target. The position had the added benefit of protecting Doc from any further darts as well.
He could feel the little pings of them bouncing off his shell. It was similar to the sensation of waving his bare hand through a bunch of gnats. Barely there.
Then the screaming started.
Bouncing back up into position over Doc, Brock was immediately torn... because his baby sister was the cause for the screaming but he didn't want to abandon Doc while she was lying unconscious and vulnerable. Bailey was a white blur of freaky death as she jumped out of the grass and went straight for the closest soldier's throat.
She was the only one of the Bunsons to be normal bunny size, but she still had the instincts, teeth, and claws of a predator. Also a penchant for going for throats, which was why Bethany called her the Beast of Caerbannog. Plus she was the fastest shifter he'd ever seen. The only shifter she couldn't run circles around was now dropping out of the trees on top of another bad guy's head; Jesse, his brother's mate and a squirrel-jaguar hybrid. She didn't particularly like violence or blood but had come to help rescue him and Doc anyway. Like Bailey, she had gotten Dr. Montgomery's updated technique and was normal squirrel sized, but with the vicious teeth and claws.
The other soldiers were now frantically looking around for tiny, vicious shifters coming to attack them from the ground and the trees, ignoring their comrades as they went down. It was already turning into every man (and woman) for themselves when Bethany and Brady came bursting through the trees. Those who hadn't already been attacked by Bailey and Jesse screamed as they shot their useless tranq guns. Only one was smart enough to drop that and reach for his real gun.
Now it really was everyone for themselves, but Brock didn't join in the fight. His attention was all on the puma still out cold on the ground behind him. There was no way he was leaving his spot guarding her unless it was absolutely necessary.
And it quickly became clear there was no reason for him to get involved at all. The rest of the Bunson family had it handled.
******
The happy purr of her puma woke Doc up.
That and the sensation of moving up and down.
She felt groggy, like she was struggling through liquefied air. Maybe she was still dreaming? Sometimes she dreamed about being able to swim through the air because it was so heavy.
But no, that wasn't quite right. It wasn't the air that felt heavy. It was her limbs. Her body. Like she was struggling to move. Which was pretty terrifying, since she couldn't get her eyes to open up either.
"Shhh, you're okay." A hand massaged her neck, ruffling her puma's fur and making the cat go limp against whoever was carrying her. Someone was definitely carrying her. There was a hand on her butt and her paws and chin were resting on his shoulder. "Just relax, Doc, you got hit with a tranq, but we're good. The cavalry arrived and everything."
Brock. That's who was holding her.
The memories came rushing back in even as she continued to struggle with something as simple as opening her eyes.
Running from the bad guys. Doing deliciously naughty things with Brock. Heading back toward the skunk's community. Spotting some bad guys. Getting shot by one of the bad guys.
On the upside—she wasn't dead yet.
Second upside—being carried by Brock felt pretty nice even if she was draped over him in her puma form.
Mmm... Nice.
Third upside—her puma was definitely happy with the situation.
He had a firm hold on her bottom and hadn't stopped massaging her ruff since she'd started waking up. In fact, he was making it a little hard for her to wake up because her puma was so content to just be petted and scratched by him. She didn't even have the energy to shift back to human. Although, that might not be a bad thing because the position he was holding her in would probably be really awkward since he was naked too and there were definitely other people around them.
"Is she waking up?" Jesse asked. Doc recognized her voice immediately, even though she hadn't quite gotten her eyes to open yet. Any minute now, she was sure of it.
"I think so," Brock said. "Her breathing changed and she kind of whimpered a little."
"Do you think she's hurt?"
"She better not be," Brock said grimly. He sounded kind of growly and protective, like the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. That was kind of hot. She'd always liked the Beast.
Hmm. Actually, that kind of explained a lot about why she'd been so pushy about getting Brock to open up to her. Did she have some kind of Belle complex maybe? Was that why she'd found herself unable to stay away from him even when he'd been grumpy and mean?
Huh.
Although Belle had gotten a happily-ever-after with her Beast and, last night notwithstanding, Doc wasn't sure she and Brock could possibly go there. He wasn't exactly a relationship guy. Plus, he didn't even believe in happily-ever-afters and as much as he accused her of being a constant optimist, she was also a realist.
But he was carrying her.
Smells good.
On that, Doc definitely agreed with her puma.
"Looks like Eli arrived not long after we did," Jesse said, savage satisfaction in her voice.
Now Doc finally managed to blink her eyes open. The world was a little unfocused, but she made her head flop to the side so she could at least try to see what was going on. Jesse was walking beside Brock, holding hands with Brady. Both of them were totally naked so they must have been shifted while they were out in the woods.
The tree line was ending, so Doc could see some of the skunk houses, as well as a lot of cars and people milling about. Since some of them were on the ground kneeling and being guarded, she could only assume the good guys had won and taken prisoners.
Hooray!
"Hey, she opened her eyes!" Jesse said, the words sounding almost like a cheer. "What's up, Doc? How ya feeling?"
Doc huffed, a shivering sigh going through her puma as Brock's fingers stroked up towards her ears, scratching delightfully. She gave her friend a happy cat smile as best she could. Jesse tilted her head, studying her.
"She still looks a little loopy."
"It'll wear off," Brady said on the other side of her. He pointed. "Look, Dr. Tran's here. She'll help."
Nia was here? Oh good. Doc didn't have to worry about the wounded then. She relaxed further against Brock's chest. Hmm. She wondered if she was getting heavy. If she was, he definitely didn't show it. Which was pretty impressive if he'd been carrying her the whole time through the woods. Even if she hadn't been awake for it, she knew it had to be a pretty good distance.
At least she was a little lighter as a puma than as a human. Yeah, science hadn't quite figured that out yet. So far the explanation was 'magic.'
"Is everyone accounted for?" Eli's voice rang out with grim authority, making her puma try to sit up a little straighter in Brock's arms. Chuckling, he scratched her neck again so she relaxed. Eli usually kept control of himself, but he was a powerful alpha and sometimes when he became angry or upset it was impossible for the other shifters—sometimes even humans—not to feel it.
Right now he was definitely pissed off.
"Yes," said Steele, his voice coming from a little ahead of Doc and Brock, where she couldn't see him since she was facing back the way they came. "No losses or major injuries on our side. I'm pretty sure we've picked up all of theirs. They weren't expecting us." He sounded more than a little smug.
"It was definitely a trap though, and
we were the bait," Brock said, now sounding tired as he came to a halt, still holding her in his arms. “The first scout we killed was using something to hide his scent. I remember Dr. Montgomery testing it on us in the lab. It completely hides the scents of a human but it smells like lavender. You need to warn everyone; if they smell lavender, don’t assume it’s a plant or perfume.”
Doc was starting to feel a lot better although she still didn't have the energy to shift. She probably would be just fine if he set her down.
Stay here.
Well that was one vote for just letting Brock continue to hold her.
"Great," Eli said grimly. "It's a good thing we sent you with Doc. You're lucky you weren't caught out last night. Even luckier they didn't expect us to bring quite so much back up."
She felt Brock's shoulders' shrug a little. "That or this is a diversion tactic and they're hitting somewhere else right now."
Cheerful. But she couldn't stop the fear that suddenly gripped her. Exactly how many troops had Eli brought?
"They'll be in for a nasty surprise if they do hit Lakewood or the Peak," Eli said. Something in his voice made her think he almost wanted them to try. "There are plenty people there to fight and we won't be here long. I want everyone rounded up and headed back. I've got lots of questions but I'm not going to start asking them till we have our new... guests back at Lakewood."
Doc wasn't surprised to see none of the kneeling 'guests' looked happy.
Be... our… guest...
Could a puma snicker?
Chapter 7
Being separated from Doc sucked the big one.
He'd been checked over by Dr. Tran—admitting his shoulder was a bit sore from having carried Doc all that way, but he hadn't strained anything. Then Brady had called him over while Dr. Tran started to examine Doc. It was the first time all the siblings had been together in a while, since Brice had come with the Lakewood contingent. It was good to see his younger brother, who seemed to have put on even more muscle in the weeks since they'd last seen him.
While he was with his family, Doc had managed to finally shift back to her human side, which he'd been relieved to see. Although it also meant she'd been naked and he'd felt a little growly about that even though no one was looking. Fortunately, Steele had come prepared with extra clothes for both her and Brock.
Unfortunately, Doc’s car was definitely missing. She was pissed but there was nothing they could do. One of The Company's guys admitted they'd taken it away so she and Brock couldn't escape in it. So when Eli had started giving the orders to load everyone up into the cars to go back to their respective homes, Brock had ended up with Steele, Bethany, Bailey, and Kasim.
Doc was in the other car going back to Cryus Peak with Brady, Jesse, Jordan, and Jacqueline. He’d tried to talk Jacqueline into switching with him, but apparently she and Jordan were now a couple and she hadn’t been willing to switch with him. The ornery honey-badger had gotten kind of mean about it too and Brock wasn’t willing to push things with her. She was the Omega, the peacekeeper, for Steele’s pack and she settled a lot of disputes with an iron fist.
So now he was wedged into the backseat with his little sister sitting between him and Kasim, both of them trying to make sure they didn’t squish her. Even though Bailey had actually grown a couple inches and put on some muscles since they’d been rescued from The Company, he and Kasim were big men and she still seemed tiny compared to both of them. The lion shifter was Bailey’s best friend and, usually, a calming influence on her. He had long dreads that went down past his shoulders, which he usually kept in a ponytail, and an easy smile that would flash bright in his dark face. But he could also be serious when the occasion called for it, and he didn’t put up with any of Bailey’s occasional nonsense that she directed at him.
It would have made more sense for Bethany to be in the back seat, and either he or Kasim sit in the front, but Steele wasn’t about to be separated from his mate for a six hour drive.
Brock kind of understood how that felt now.
Not that Doc was his mate. He definitely hadn’t had the immediate reaction to her that Bethany had to Steele. They had been fated mates.
From what Brock understood, fated mates were extremely rare. There was some debate as to why though. Some people thought it was just rare, period. Others thought it was because people grew tired of waiting for their fated mate, fell in love and mated the person they loved. Being mated cut off all chance of finding a fated mate—which people knew because if they were already in love with someone else and their animal had already accepted that person, they could mate ASAP and no longer feel the urge to mate their fated.
Bailey was all about meeting her fated mate, which had ended every relationship she’d had before it began. She’d date a guy for a few weeks, they’d realize she really was serious about waiting to see if she found her fated mate, and then they’d break up. Amicably for the most part, but a lot of them were annoyed she wasn’t even willing to give them a chance.
Actually, she’d been single for the past month because word had gotten around.
He thought she was probably over-romanticizing the whole idea. Having a fated mate didn’t mean life would be perfect ever-after. Bethany and Steele still fought. Although he sometimes thought their bickering was foreplay but he tried not to think about that too hard. Things he didn’t want to think about for a thousand, Alex—what is either of my sisters having sex?
Doc kind of seemed like she’d be the type to over-romanticize fated mates too. She did have a thing for happily-ever-afters and Disney. Was that why she wasn’t mated yet? Because she was waiting to see if she met her fated mate?
He wasn’t sure he liked that idea at all.
What if her fated mate didn’t like Disney or made fun of her for her t-shirts and adorable singing and dancing?
What if he didn’t understand her unique and sunny nature the way Brock initially hadn’t? What if he didn't appreciate it even after he did understand it?
What if he made her unhappy? His bugaboo growled at the thought of an unhappy Doc. Neither of them liked that idea.
But if Brock could make her fall in love with him then he could mate her and make sure she was taken care of. Now that he understood her everlasting optimism it didn't bother him. Yeah, he wasn't the biggest fan of Disney but he liked how enthusiastic she was about it.
If he mated her, then he could make sure she was safe and happy and didn't fall into the clutches of someone who might not appreciate her.
Good plan. His bugaboo sounded eager, so he was on board. That was good.
Brady and Jesse had mated and they weren't fated mates, but they were just as happy as Steele and Bethany. They definitely bickered a lot less. He would have to ask Brady how he'd managed to lock Jesse down. Especially since for a while there he'd definitely made some mistakes and it had looked like he might not have a chance with her at all. But somehow he'd made it work.
A sharp elbow jabbed Brock in the side, jerking him out of his thoughts. He turned his head away from the window to glare down at his baby sister, who looked up at him with guileless blue eyes.
"What?"
"Whatcha thinking so hard about?" she asked.
"Nothing," he said quickly. Too quickly. Immediately Bethany turned around in the front seat to pierce him with a blue gaze very similar to Bailey's. They both had their mother's blue eyes and even though Bethany was blonde and Bailey brunette, they managed to look almost identical.
Gritting his teeth, he crossed his arms over his chest and looked back out the window, indicating he didn't want to talk.
"Gee, Bailey," Bethany said in a sing-song voice that was as obnoxious as nails on a chalkboard. "What do you think Brock is thinking so hard about but doesn't want to tell us?"
"Oh, I don't know, Bethany," Bailey responded gleefully, in similar lilting tones. They both thought they were pretty cute. Actually, if their attention hadn't been directed at him right now he would have thought they were
pretty cute too. "Maybe the Doc he insisted on carrying all the way through the woods?"
"But Bailey, Brock doesn't liiiiiiiike the Doc... right Brock?"
"Well, Bethany, they did spend last night together... maybe Brock and Doc got to know each other a little better."
His younger sister's sharp elbow jabbed into his side again.
Unsurprisingly, Steele and Kasim were useless. They were more than willing to let Brock take all the focus of the two terrors.
It was a long car ride.
******
Something weird was going on with Brock.
When they'd gotten back from the skunk community, he'd practically come rushing over to check on her as soon as they'd gotten out of the cars. That had been pretty nice. But as soon as he was assured she hadn't suffered any lingering effects from the tranquilizer she'd been shot with, he'd abandoned her to go talk to his older brother.
Tired, sad about her missing car, and feeling a little rejected, Doc had gone back to her room and immediately fallen asleep.
The next day she'd gone into work, but when she’d swung by her office to grab some files before lunch she’d found a bag sitting on the middle of her desk with a note.
I think of you.
-Brock
Bemused, she'd opened the bag to find her favorite lunch from the cafeteria inside—turkey on rye with mayo, lettuce, and tomato and a bag of sour cream and onion chips. She didn't know if he somehow knew it was her favorite or if maybe he'd asked around to find out, but she was more than a little touched. Her puma had been especially pleased at the culinary offering, seeing it as a gift from a worthy male.
She just wished he'd stayed around to eat with her.
Then he’d shown up in the cafeteria when she’d gone to get dinner. She’d been more than a little surprised when he’d slid into the seat next to her. She’d tried to thank him for the lunch, which he’d just shrugged off. Apparently they were back to him grunting as communication. Although he did look kind of nervous and uncomfortable, so she decided maybe it was all the other people making him quiet.
