Bear Necessities (14 page)

Gary’s
eyes gleamed in the light of the streetlamp. “You’re not Wolf, so allow me to
explain a few things to you.” Those tapping claws stopped, scraped across her
skin. She twitched when one scratched her belly. “You’re right. I’m not Wolf.
I’m Bear.”

Gary
laughed. “Wait. You mated a
Bear
?” His three goons laughed along with
him. “A fucking Bear? You’re kidding me, right?”

Tabby
clamped her lips shut. Whatever the hell Alex was up to, there was no way she
could stop it now.

“Listen,
Bear
. Tabby is Outcast. That makes her fair game to any Wolf who wants a
piece, got it?”

For
some strange reason, Alex relaxed behind her. “Is that so? Well, let me tell
you something,
Wolf
. Tabby is no longer a Wolf problem. She’s mine.”

Gary
laughed again. He wiped away an imaginary tear. “Oh, that’s good. A Bear.” He
shook his hand at Tabby and Alex. “Run along. I’ll deal with you both later.”

Gary
turned his back on them and motioned for his Pack. They grinned at Tabby and
Bunny before turning and following Gary down the street, the small Pack still
laughing.

“What.
The. Fuck?” Tabby turned in Alex’s arms, heedless of the claws scraping along
her flesh. The scratches would heal quickly enough. “What the hell was that all
about?” And why hadn’t Gary attacked them?

Alex
shrugged, but his narrowed eyes were glued to Gary’s retreating form. “I have
no idea.” His hands absently stroked her flesh, healing the scratches he’d
made.

“I
would guess that he didn’t want his ass in jail.”

They
both turned to find Gabe standing behind them. “I thought maybe I should update
you on the prints we found on the stink bomb.” He gestured toward the door of
Living Art. “Mind if we go in, get it all over with at once?”

“Sure,
no problem.” Alex steered her back inside. She was still a little dazed at how
easily Gary had backed down. Then again a Puma, a Wolf and a Bear could easily
defeat his small Pack. And when one of those shifters was not only a Marshall’s
Second but a Hunter?

Yeah.
One order of Gary’s ass on toast, coming up.

They
went back into the store. “Cyn! Glory! I found a sheriff on the front step. Can
I keep him?” She winked at Glory, who giggled behind her hand. She ignored Alex’s
low growl and Gabe’s chuckle.

Cyn
stepped out of the back room. “Hey, Sheriff. Any news on the vandalism?”

“That’s
why I’m here.” He took off his hat and ran his hands through his black hair.
“The prints we lifted aren’t on file, either with us or with the national
database.”

“Damn
it.” Cyn collapsed into one of the chairs lining the walls. “That means we’ll
never get him.”

“Not
unless he gets arrested, no.” Gabe looked around. “Is anyone else in the store
with you?”

“Nope.
Mrs. H. left the back way. Said she’d left her Harley back there.”

“Fine.”
Gabe eyed the two humans thoughtfully. “Know that the only reason I’m telling
you this is because you know about and accepted Tabby.” Cyn frowned, Glory
looked puzzled. “I’m running the prints through…other channels as well, just to
make sure we’re not dealing with a shifter problem.”

“Shit.”
Cyn tugged her hair. “Like Gary isn’t enough of a problem. Any way we can
fingerprint him?” When Gabe shook his head, she took a deep breath and blew it
out, straightened in her seat and did her best to stare a hole through Gabe.
“You tell us what we need to do and we’ll do it.”

Gabe
smiled. “Let us deal with it if it turns out to be shifters. I’ll let you know
if anything shows up. At that point, it’s out of your hands and I’ll have to
call in some backup.” He knelt down in front of Cyn. “I’m obligated to make
this offer.”

She
eyed him warily.

“I or
one of my other Pride members could change you.” He turned his head to share a
look with Glory. “Either of you, or both of you. You know about us already, so
it wouldn’t be too much of a hardship for either of you.”

Tabby
blinked, then bit back a possessive growl. If anyone was changing her girls, it
was going to be
her
.

“What
would I be if you did?”

“A
Puma.”

“Really?”
Glory stepped forward. “I’d be a shape-shifting kitty?”

Gabe
dropped his head. “Ah. Not exactly.”

“That
would be a really bad idea, Anderson.” Alex pointed with his chin. “At least
for Glory.”

She
put her hands on her hips. “And why is that?”

Tabby
nodded. Alex was right. “Because Ryan would pitch a fit.”

“Who
cares what Ryan thinks? I like kitties. What if I want to be a kitty?”

“Ryan
Williams, as in Chloe’s brother?” Gabe stood up and studied Glory. “Right. I’ll
talk to him.” He turned back to Cyn, ignoring Glory’s gasp of outrage. “What
about you?”

Tabby
doubted she was the only one who heard Gabe’s unspoken question.
Do you have
a mate too?

Cyn
smiled, her expression wicked. “I think I’d make a fine-looking cat.”

No.
Bad idea. Very bad.
“Uh,
Gabe?” Tabby grinned weakly. “Not a good idea.”

His
brows rose. “
Both
of them?”

She
nodded.

He
crossed his arms over his chest. “Why the fuck are they unclaimed?”

“Uh,
ex
cuse
me? Unclaimed? Like my ass is in some ratty lost-and-found bin?”

“Glory,”
Tabby groaned.

“I
have a
mate
?” Cyn stood, her entire body quivering. “He’s going to
fucking
claim
me?”

Oh
hell.
“Cyn,
calm down.”

“Fuck
no! Who is it?”

Tabby
pinched her lips together. No way was she getting in the middle of this.

Cyn’s
eyes narrowed. “I know where you hide your shoes.”

Tabby’s
shoulders shrugged. “So not fair, Cyn.”

“Including
your favorite fuck-me pumps. They’re history.”

“Oh,
hell, not my black patent leather pumps. You bitch!”

“Hello,
Wolfgirl, that’s kind of the pot calling the kettle black. Like those pumps—”

“Okay,
okay, it’s Julian.”

Glory
growled. “No need to ask who thinks he owns my ass.” She began pacing, her
skirts swirling in a crazy Technicolor display.

That
was way better than the controlled ice Cyn was showing. “Julian thinks he can
just claim me whether I like it or not?”

“No!
Why do you think he’s waited, Cyn? He knows you’re not ready yet!”

Cyn’s
glare turned deadly. “Does he, now?” She smiled at Gabe. “Turn me.”

“Uh…
Yeah. Maybe not.” Gabe backed off, holding his hands up.

“If
Julian thinks he’s going to wait to claim me until
he
decides I’m ready,
I’ll be fucking old and gray. Put me on equal footing. Let
me
decide.”

Gabe’s
jaw clenched. “You know this is irreversible, right? If I do this, you’ll be
answerable to Max Cannon, our Alpha, and his Curana, Emma. You’ll bow before
them whether you want to or not. Can you handle that?”

Cyn
frowned. Some of the ice surrounding her thawed. “Emma’s cool. I’ve met her
once or twice at the coffee shop. I don’t know Max.”

“There’s
more than one type of shifter, Cyn.” Tabby took hold of her arm. “If you really
want to do this, I could make you Wolf. Hell, I’d
love
to make you
Wolf.” She’d have the Pack she’d always wanted, one that loved her.

“Or I
could make you Bear.” Alex shrugged when Tabby turned and growled at him. “It’s
an option, but I think she needs to know
exactly
who and what Julian is
before she makes that decision. Being the mate of a Kermode is considered an
honor among my people.”

Cyn
blinked. “The mate of a what?”

Alex
sighed. “The Kermode Bears are also known as Spirit Bears. They live
exclusively in Canada, somewhere near British Columbia. They have powers beyond
what a normal Bear has, but there are so few of them, it’s rare to meet one.
It’s unheard of to find one outside of Canada.

“I
don’t know much about them other than they’re so reclusive my grandfather
thought they were a myth until Jamie Howard came home from Canada. He told us
some stories about the ones he’d met.” Gabe sighed. “If your mate is Kermode,
he’s the closest thing we shifters have to a mystical priest.”

“So
you’re telling me he has magic powers?” Cyn’s expression turned cynical.

“Not
quite. Hell, I’d try to explain it, but I don’t understand it myself. Bunny?”

Alex
shook his head. “Sorry, we know a little more, but not much. The Kermode are…”
He got a far-away look in his eyes. “They’re treasured. Respected. They have
powers other Bears only dream of. It’s said Bear Himself walks with them and
guides their dreams.”

“Then
why is he here?” They all turned to Glory, who shrugged. “Seriously? Why is he
here if they never leave Canada?”

Gabe
looked thoughtfully at Cyn. “Good question. Has anyone ever asked him?”

“We’re
getting off topic.” Tabby sat in Cyn’s abandoned seat. Her feet were killing
her. “I’d really suggest letting your mates claim you. If they scent another
man on you, they’ll freak the fuck out.”

“Maybe
that would be a good thing.” Cyn began to pace around the room. “Besides, I’d
like the ability to protect myself from Gary and the Gutless Wonders.”

Glory
giggled. “I agree. And don’t try to tell me I need some big strapping man to do
it, either.”

Alex
closed his mouth. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

The
three women stared at him until his cheeks began to turn red.

“So
now it’s a matter of deciding what we’d like to be.” Cyn locked eyes with
Glory. The mischief in them was daunting.

“It’s
like picking out a new dress that will never go out of style.”

“Oh
lord.” Tabby put her head in her hands. It was going to be a long night.

Alex
took the keys to Tabby’s Jeep out of her hands. “Your friends are insane.”

“Yup.
Total Queens of Denial.”

Alex
shook his head. At least the sign over the curtained-off area now made sense.
He opened the passenger door and waited for Tabby to climb in. “What do you
think they’ll decide?”

“Knowing
them both?” She scooted in without protest and waited until he was settled
behind the wheel before continuing. “Glory will jump the first shifter she sees
and beg for a bite. Cyn will think about it and eventually go with her first
instinct. I expect she’ll call Gabe before the end of the week.”

“I’m
not sure that’s fair to either Ryan or Julian.” He started the Jeep and took
off, leaving the Harley behind. It had begun to rain while they were in the
shop and he had no desire to get soaked on the way back to the hotel. “They
should be the ones to change their mates.”

Tabby
shrugged. “Here.” She reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.
“Call Ryan. Tell him what Glory’s pondering and see what happens.”

He
stared at her. She grinned back. “That’s evil.”

She
nodded once. “Yup.”

“You
have Julian’s number?”

Her
grin turned into a snarl. “I did until
someone
crunched my phone.”

He
began dialing his cousin’s number. “Right. First stop, the Sprint store.”

“Damn
skippy.”

“Hey,
Ryan. There’s something you need to know.”

“Shoot.”
His cousin sounded like absolute shit.

“Is
Chloe okay?” He could be at the hospital in fifteen minutes if he needed to.

“No
change. Mom’s…yeah.”

Bunny
sighed. “Shit.”

“Yeah.”
Ryan sighed. “So what’s up?”

“Anderson
came by Living Art and filled the girls in on some stuff he’s checking out. He
offered to change both Cyn and Glory so they can protect themselves if Tabby’s
attacker turns out to be a shifter.”

“Son
of a
bitch
.” Ryan’s inhuman growl filled his ear. “Where is Glory?”

“We
just left her at Living Art.”

The
phone clicked when Ryan hung up on him.

Tabby
took the phone he handed over and dialed, then put it back in his hands. He
frowned but put it back up to his ear.

“’Lo?”

Julian
didn’t sound any better than he had an hour ago. “Julian, you sound like shit.”

He
could hear the rustling of cloth, possibly sheets. “Yeah, well I feel like
shit. What’s up?”

“Anderson
came by Living Art. He offered to change both Cyn and Glory so they can take
care of themselves if Tabby’s attacker turns out to be a shifter and goes after
either of them.”