Bear Necessities (24 page)

“You
might want to consider going to another school. Maybe one closer to home?” Gabe
frowned. “Who
is
your Alpha, anyway?”

Gary
gulped. “We’re leaving.” He scrambled out the door, dragging his friends with
him.

Gabe
shook his head, glaring at the trio rushing down the street. “What the
hell
is going on?”

“I
have no idea, but I plan on finding out.” They exchanged a look before Max
turned to the girls. “You three okay?”

“One
of them hit Cyn.” Tabby lifted her head and took her first real breath since
Gary had entered Living Art. Max had reined in his power. She could stand
again. She rose, grimacing at the sounds of broken glass underfoot.

Glory
groaned, staring at the shattered glass counter. “Hell. We can’t open for
business like this. Somebody will get hurt.”

“How
did you know that you could make me Pride?” Tabby was still stunned. She was
part of something again. She hadn’t even realized how tense she’d been until
Max accepted her into his Pride. She felt so loose, so relieved, she was dizzy
with it.

Max
shrugged. “I didn’t. I just know Rick’s Luna is a Puma, and she’s now part of
his Pack. I was hoping you wouldn’t need a Puma mate for it to work.”

Tabby
paled. “What would have happened if it hadn’t worked?”

Max
grinned. “You’d still be under my protection until Rick arrives.”

Arrives?
“Um. The Poconos Alpha is
coming?” Tabby backed away, bumping into Cyn and Glory.

“Ow.
Shit. I can’t believe that asshole punched me.”

Tabby
turned, thoughts of the scary Wolf Alpha driven from her mind. “Oh crap. Cyn,
you okay?”

“Let
me see.” Max walked around her to help Cyn and Glory to their feet. His fingers
lightly stroked the red, swollen flesh. “You’ve got one hell of a bruise.”

“Ow.”
Cyn winced, pulling away from Max’s fingers. “That mutt is going to pay for
this.”

“Let
us deal with it.” Gabe picked up a piece of art, placing it on a stool near the
shattered counter.

“Change
me so I can deal with it myself! I’m sick and tired of the Fuzzy Club traipsing
in and out of my place and wrecking my life!”

Max
chuckled. “I heard that a certain Bear had it in mind to take care of that
himself.”

Cyn
screamed. Everyone stared at her, shocked. “Does
everyone
know about this
but me?”

Max
backed up, his eyes wide. “Maybe we should just go now.”

Gabe
backed up right along with his Alpha. “Good idea.” The two men fled, heading in
the opposite direction from Gary.

“Cowards!”
Cyn shouted after them.

Glory
giggled. “You just scared off one of the most powerful men in town.”

Cyn
wrinkled her nose. “He may be an Alpha, and he may be powerful, but deep down
inside? He’s still a
man
.” She kicked a piece of glass across the floor.
“Put a pissed-off woman in front of him and he runs like the yellow-bellied
coward he is.”

Tabby’s
jaw dropped. “You
have
met Max’s wife, right?”

Glory
was laughing so hard Tabby wasn’t certain she was breathing.

Cyn
rolled her eyes. “C’mon, let’s get this cleaned up before The Three Bears show
up. God knows which of us will have to play Goldilocks if they do.”

“Want
me to have Julian look at that bruise?”

The
glare Cyn shot at her should have turned her into a pile of ash.

Watching
her two friends get mated was going to be so much fun!

She
took the broom Cyn handed her and sighed.

Yeah.
Fun.

Chapter
Eight

“Well?”

“Nope.
Nothing.”

Bunny
sighed. Ryan was even more frustrated than he was. He’d dragged his cousin out
of the hospital for lunch, hoping to get the man to relax. Hell, he’d even let
Ryan have all the cantaloupe this time.

If
Ryan clenched that fork any tighter, he’d bend it right in half.

Yup.
This is working out well.
His cell phone rang. “Tabby?” He winced. He’d meant to pick her up for lunch,
but he’d gotten sidetracked. “I’m sorry, baby. I forgot. I took Ryan to lunch.”

“That’s
not why I called.” She paused. “Well, okay, that’s
one
reason.”

Bunny
frowned. She sounded shaken. “What happened?”

“Couple
of things. Don’t freak out.”

Okay,
those three words had him on his feet, reaching for his jacket. “Tabby. Tell
me.”

“Gary
came to the shop. There’s some damage but no one was seriously hurt.”

Bunny
growled. He gestured to Ryan. “Gary was at the shop.”

Ryan
was on his feet in two seconds flat. He dropped some twenties next to their
half-eaten food and they raced for the door.

“You
all right?”

“Yeah.
Max and Gabe showed up and rescued us.”

Bunny
slowed down. If the Puma Alpha and Second had been there, he doubted Gary got
much more than threats out. “Anyone hurt?”

“One
of Gary’s minions landed a blow on Cyn, but she’ll be all right.”

“You
called Julian yet?”

“I’ve
been ordered not to.”

But
she hadn’t been ordered not to tell Bunny. “Good girl.”

“Thanks.
I’m not supposed to tell Ryan either.”

He
laughed. “Too late. We’re headed your way.” He put his hand over the receiver.
“They’re fine. Gabe and Max rode to the rescue.”

Ryan
straddled his bike and reached for his helmet. “Good. But I’m still heading
over there.”

“I
know. Let me call Julian. Cyn’s the only one who got hurt, but the girls are
pretty shaken up.”

Ryan
nodded and strapped on his helmet.

“We’re
on our way, baby. Need us to pick anything up for you?”

“Lunch
would be good.”

He
winced at the amusement in her voice. “Sorry.”

“It’s
okay.” She sighed dramatically. “You forgot me. I understand.”

He
could feel himself blushing. Damn it. How did she keep doing that to him?
“Pizza good?”

“Works
for us. Oh, and make sure there’s at least one meat lovers, extra bacon, okay?”

“Done.
We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“Love
you.”

“Love
you too.” He waved Ryan off before dialing Julian’s number.

“’Lo?”

He
didn’t bother with any preliminaries. Julian sounded really out of it. “Gary
attacked Cyn. She’s okay, but we’re heading over to Living Art to check on
her.”

No
response.

“Julian?”

“When
you finally face him, make sure you give him a swipe from me.”

“So
you think he’ll go after them again?”

Julian
sighed. “Let’s just say I don’t see any other possibilities.”

“Are
you heading to the shop?”

“Does
a bear shit in the woods?”

Bunny
laughed shortly. “Meet you there.” He clicked shut his phone, called Lou’s
Pizza and ordered three larges. He straddled his Harley and started off,
wondering what else had Tabby upset. More than Gary’s visit was bothering her.
She’d sounded…excited. And he bet that Max and Gabe were the source of that
excitement. Maybe Gabe had something on Gary, or would be able to get a warrant
now that the man had vandalized the shop and harassed Cyn. He sort of
understood why the sheriff hadn’t arrested him on the spot. Putting a shifter
into a human jail was always problematic. Still, knowing Gary and his friends
were locked up, even overnight, would go a long way toward easing his mind.

Hell,
at this point he bet all of them could use a break. He’d help the girls get the
shop cleaned up and locked up for the day. Then he was going to take Tabby
house hunting.

He
arrived at Living Art with the pizzas, a plan already forming. All thoughts
flew right out of his head when he saw the shattered glass countertop with the
baseball bat stuck in it. “Son of a bitch.”

“That’s
what I said.” Ryan’s jaw was clenched so hard Bunny was surprised his teeth
hadn’t snapped off.

“We’re
fine.”

Ryan
glared down at Glory. “He attacked you.”

She
shrugged. She was doing her damndest to look nonchalant but Bunny could see the
way she was shaking. “He attacked Cyn and Tabby. I was along for the ride.”

Ryan
took a deep breath. Then he took another one. Bunny could see his Bear shifting
under his skin, dying to get out, hunt down the man who’d dared threaten his
mate, and tear him to pieces. “I’m going to fucking kill him.”

“Get
in line.” Julian stepped into the chaos. Silver still peppered his hair, and
his dark eyes sparkled with gray lights. “Where’s Cyn?”

Glory
inched away from Ryan and earned herself a low growl. “She said she was going
out for a bite.”

The
three men froze. “She wouldn’t.” Bunny stared at the curtained-off area,
wondering if she’d really be that stupid.

“She
would.” Julian walked around him, his gait still unsteady. “Where’s Tabby?”

“She
left. She said she had to make sure Cyn didn’t do anything stupid.” Glory
frowned, staring at the three groaning men. “What?”

“Did
you think she was going out for lunch?”

“Well,
yeah.” She blinked up at Ryan. “Wasn’t she?”

“Shit.
You think she went to Aunt Laura?”

Ryan
shrugged. “She did before. Mom told her no, that it was up to Julian to do the
honors.”

Julian
groaned. “Crap.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “This keeps getting
better and better.”

“We’ll
find her, Julian.”

“And
then I’m going to tie her fine ass down and mark her.” Julian stomped out of
the store.

“I
thought you said it wasn’t time?” Bunny shouted after him.

“Yeah,
well, the timetable just got screwed all to hell and back.”

Bunny
chuckled. Tabby would try to keep Cyn from doing anything stupid, but still.
Maybe Glory knew something about what was going on. “Do you know where the two
of them went?”

“I
think Cyn said something about talking to Emma.”

The two
Bears exchanged another glance. “You think Emma would do it?” Ryan shifted next
to Glory, boxing her in. She glowered up at him.

“I
don’t know her well enough to say.” They’d only met the petite Curana the other
day, but her power was undeniable. Bunny didn’t think Emma would do something
she’d been specifically asked not to, but with an Alpha female, you could never
tell.

“Maybe
you’d better follow him, then.”

“Yeah.
Ryan, stay here, help Glory clean up. I’ll get Cyn and Tabby back here in one
piece.” He held up his finger, stopping Glory’s automatic protest. “Do this,
please. It will ease Tabby’s mind to know that someone is watching over you.”

She
snapped her mouth closed. Her sigh sounded so put-upon, he almost laughed.
“Fine. The furball can stay.”

“Gee,
thanks.” Ryan rolled his eyes. “Take care of them. I’ll call Mom and Dad and
let them know what’s going on.”

Bunny
waved and headed out, leaving the cooling pizzas on a stool. He hoped Glory was
hungry. He had the feeling he wouldn’t be back before they’d turned stone-cold.

“C’mon,
Cyn. You know Julian is going to turn you. Can’t you just wait?”

Cyn
turned on her. They were only half a block from Wallflowers, the curio shop
Emma co-owned with her Beta, Becky. It was the closest she’d been able to park.
“Do you know why I’m not sitting around waiting for him?”

Tabby
bit her lip. No, she didn’t, but now that Cyn was talking, she wasn’t going to
interrupt her and risk her shutting up. Cyn rarely talked about why she did
things, she just did them.

“My
mom always waited for my dad. Always. To the point where she didn’t fucking
sneeze
without his say-so. She let him make all the decisions, run her life for her.
And after he died, she was fucking
lost
. She could barely function
without him there.”

“Cyn.
How do you think I’d feel if I lost Alex?”

Cyn
blinked. “That’s different.”

“Maybe.
I’d be able to function if I survived. I know I can take care of myself. I’ve
proven that.”

“What
do you mean, if you survived it?”

Tabby
winced. “Most mates don’t survive the death of their partner.”

Cyn’s
jaw dropped. “Seriously? Your lives are tied together?”

“Duh.
That’s what mates are, Cyn. We’re two halves of a whole. If half your body
died, if half your heart stopped beating, what would happen to you?”

Cyn’s
jaw snapped shut. She looked freaked out. “Huh. Maybe this whole mating thing
isn’t such a hot idea.”

“And
maybe this is exactly why Julian chose to wait. You need to be certain it’s
what you want before you tie your life force to him.”

Cyn
stepped closer, lowering her voice. “You wanted this? You wanted your life tied
to someone else’s?”

Tabby
nodded. “It’s the most incredible feeling I’ve ever had. I’d gladly do it all
over again if it meant I get to keep Alex.” She put her hand on Cyn’s arm.
“He’s my home, Cyn.”

“Whoa.”
Cyn’s shocked expression faded. She knew exactly how much home meant to Tabby.
“So if he left Halle?”

“I’d
be on the back of his bike,
after
I got a very good reason for the move
out of him.” Tabby grinned. “Mate doesn’t mean doormat, Cyn.”

She
nodded slowly. “I’ll have to think about this.” She took a step back and turned
on her heel. “But I’m still talking to Emma.”

Tabby
groaned. “C’mon, Cyn. Alex was bringing pizza, damn it!” Her stomach rumbled.
She was
starving
.

Cyn
laughed and opened the door to Wallflowers.

“Good
afternoon, ladies. How can I help you?” Becky Holt rose from the Victorian,
cream-colored sofa with a smile. This was the first time Tabby had been in
Wallflowers and she looked around with interest.

Wallflowers
was a business that catered to people who enjoyed hand-crafted, artisan-made
pieces. The eccentric store carried hand-carved cuckoo clocks, paintings,
old-fashioned mirrors, masks, plaques…anything that could be used to decorate a
wall. An antique rug covered the distressed hardwood floors. A small Victorian
sofa covered in soft cream brocade graced the center of the floor. A Queen Anne
coffee table in rich cherry wood sat before it, bearing a silver tea service.
Two matching chairs in that same cream fabric faced the sofa, creating an
inviting little conversation group. Against one wall was a gas fireplace with
an ornately carved mantelpiece, where black-and-white and sepia photos were
displayed in silver frames. A cherry and glass counter, as Victorian as they
could make it and still have it be functional, graced one wall, with an antique
cash register.

Emma
and Becky had created an atmosphere of a bygone era, and the shop was warm and
inviting. A fire crackled merrily in the fireplace on this cool September
afternoon, the light glinting off lovely cherry-wood wainscoting. Rich rose
floral wallpaper warmed the walls above it. It was very feminine, and both
women obviously loved it. Tabby could see herself spending time here, enveloped
in the welcome Emma and Becky exuded to everyone who entered.

“I’m
here to talk to Emma. Is she here?” Cyn cocked her hip and flipped her dark
hair behind her. To anyone who didn’t know her, she looked singularly
unimpressed, but Tabby had seen the way her dark eyes gleamed at the sight of
that beautiful cherry-wood counter.

Becky’s
smile wavered as she stared at Cyn’s battered face. Her eyes narrowed. “What
happened?”

“Nothing.
I just want to talk to her about a bite. I’m Cyn Reyes. I own Living Art
Tattoos.”

The
two women stared at one another for a moment before Becky sighed. “Is this
about the problems with Gary or the fact that you’re mated to one of the
Bears?” She turned to Tabby when Cyn’s jaw dropped. “What’s his name?”

“Julian,”
Tabby supplied. She ignored Cyn’s glare, smiling at the Beta.
Her
Beta,
now that Max had accepted her into the Pride.

“Huh.
Simon mentioned something about that.” Becky tapped her teeth with her nail.
“And I think Emma said something about leaving that up to your mate.”

Cyn
shifted and her lips tightened. That Latina temper was getting the better of
her again.