Bear Necessities (29 page)

She’d
gone from unwanted and unneeded to fought over and loved. The only thing that
could have made her happier was if Alex were there with her.

“When
do we get to meet the grizzlies?” Belle practically bounced in her seat. “I’ve
always wanted to meet Bears.”

Tabby
laughed through her tears. “Wait until you get a load of Julian.” The Luna was
going to
love
her friend. She had the feeling they were two of a kind.

“How
are you feeling?”

Tabby
watched Julian shuffle around his tiny bedroom. He still wasn’t fully recovered
from the fight with Gary, or his healing of Chloe. She followed him in, pausing
in the doorway. “I’ve been better.” He settled on the edge of the bed with a wince.

From
the amount of white in his hair, she should have known not to ask. Luckily, he
was now working for Jamie Howard in his private practice. The man had taken one
look at the nearly white hair and pale gray eyes, and put him on bed rest for
the next two weeks. For once Julian hadn’t argued. That let her know more than
anything how poorly he was feeling. “We’re going to take care of you.”

“It’s
the least we can do.” Alex strode into the room carrying a mug of Julian’s
favorite tea. Two days had passed since the incident in the woods and he still
hadn’t left her side for more than a few minutes. It was cute, in an
overprotective, caveman sort of way, but she knew it was going to get old real
fast. “Besides, you’re family. Remember?”

Julian
flopped back against the pillows with a weary groan. “Your aunts and mother are
driving me insane.”

“Aunts?”
Alex put the mug next to Julian on the nightstand and stood back. “Aunt Stacey
is here?”

Tabby
settled on the bed next to Julian. From the amused look on Alex’s face, he knew
this was something the two had done more than once. Alex had nothing to worry
about, and apparently he knew it. She’d fallen asleep in Julian’s bed once, and
he’d never touched her. He’d moved into the living room and slept on the couch,
leaving her the queen-size bed. Of course, he’d forced her to cook breakfast by
claiming a sore back. He’d been so pathetic, she’d agreed and made him
pancakes.

Damn
that boy could put it away. She’d wound up making three batches. She’d gotten
two whole pancakes out of them. She felt lucky she still had all her fingers.

At
least she’d gotten her fair share of the bacon. Sometimes it paid to cook.

Julian
nodded and flung his arm over his eyes. “I swear, if I get one more bowl of
chicken soup, I’m going to scream.”

“Chicken
soup?”

Julian
lifted his arm long enough to glare at her. “For
breakfast
.” The arm
flopped back down when she began to giggle.

“I’ll
go get you pastries, maybe a burger from Frank’s.” She patted his knee, trying
to soothe the poor, wounded baby.

“If
Aunt Stacey is here then the cousins are all here, too.”

“Cousins?”
Julian moaned.

“Heather,
Keith, and Tiffany.” Alex clucked his teeth in mock sympathy. “You’re gonna get
so sick of chicken.”

“Shit.”
Julian struggled out of bed. “I just remembered I have to go to Alaska for
about sixty years.”

“Cyn
wouldn’t like that.”

Julian
frowned. “Where is Cyn, by the way?”

“The
shop’s finally open again. We’re getting wooden counters installed with glass
on top and only part of the way down the sides. The carpenter’s been there for
the last two days.” She didn’t say anything, but she thought the carpenter had
a thing for Cyn. Julian could deal with that when he was feeling better.

“And
Chloe?” Julian turned to Alex. “I know she’s feeling a little better but she
seems…fuzzy.”

Alex
blinked. “She’s having some trouble keeping things straight. The doc says it
should wear off over time.”

“Is
she having problems with one of her hands?” Julian clenched his left one into a
fist.

“Yeah.
Shit. How tightly are you two tied together?”

“I
know how she feels, and I think I can talk to her.” He frowned. “She’s not a
very sympathetic person, is she?”

Alex
shrugged. “She can be. It depends. Why do you ask?”

“I
mentioned chicken soup and she started giggling.”

Alex
just smiled, but the expression was weary. Not all was right in his cousin’s
world, and the strain was showing in the whole family. “Jim finally got here.
He’s been to see her twice so far.”

“I
know.” Julian grimaced. “He told her again that she’s too young for him. Just
what she needed to hear when she’s got a long recovery ahead of her.”

“Fuck.”
Alex ran his hand over his shaved head. Tabby had taken care of the stubble for
him that morning. “No wonder she seemed a little depressed this morning.”

“She’ll
figure something out. And if she doesn’t, well.” Tabby allowed her fangs to
show. “That’s what family is for.”

The
evil grin the three of them shared did not bode well for Chloe’s reluctant
mate.

“There’s
something you two need to tell Max for me.”

“What?”
Alex finally took the one chair Julian had.

“Something
is still wrong. It’s tied into what happened with Gary, and he’s only the
beginning. I think there will be trouble with the Poconos Pack as well.”

“Trouble
from them, or they’re going to have similar problems?” Tabby rolled over and
settled her head on her hand.

“They’re
tied to the Halle Pumas. The problems of one will become the problems of the
other.” Julian frowned and looked confused. “I think.”

“Shit,
I hate that cryptic crap.” Alex rubbed his eyes. “What the hell does that mean,
you think?”

Julian
opened his mouth to reply when Alex’s phone rang.

“Hold
that thought.” He flipped open his phone. “Bunny here.”

Tabby
watched the play of emotion crossing Alex’s face. She could tell it was Gabe on
the phone, but couldn’t quite hear what he was saying. When he hung up, he
looked dazed. “Well, I think I know one of the answers. Gary was definitely
working for someone out in the Midwest. Turns out he and his friends were hired
to come here. Their records were doctored so they’d be listed in the university
computers as new transfers.”

“What
were they doing here?”

Tabby
pulled on Julian’s arm when he tried to sit up, but he ignored her. “More
importantly, did Gary say who sent them?”

Alex
shook his head. “He’s refusing to tell them anything more. All Gabe knows is
that they were here to observe, but they wouldn’t say why. Gabe’s hoping that
the Tribunal will get more out of them.” If anyone was capable of finding out
the truth, it would be the men and women who made up the Tribunal.

“Whoever
it is must have a lot of money and connections if they can pull off getting
them into the college system.” Julian looked ready to start pacing. Tabby would
sit on him if he tried.

“Wait.”
Tabby sat up. “Does Gabe know yet if Gary was the one who attacked Chloe?”

Alex’s
eyes went wide and he whipped his phone out. “I don’t know. Let me call him
back and ask.” He dialed the phone again, asking the question they all needed
answered. “He says he’ll call back once he knows. They’re going to run the DNA,
but we might not have the results for weeks.”

Julian
settled back down. “Now what?”

“Now I
order in pizza for lunch before I take my mate house hunting.”

House
hunting?
Alex
hadn’t mentioned anything about house hunting. She was supposed to be at work
by four, so they had some time if they hurried.

“You,
sir, are a God. And please get me the Hawaiian, I’m in the mood for pineapple.”

“Done.”
Alex headed into kitchen and bellowed, “Menus?”

“Third
drawer on the left!” Julian grinned up at Tabby. “Are we having fun yet?”

“Hey,
there’s not a chicken in sight.”

“Then
I’d say yes.” They heard Alex order the pizzas. One meat lover’s, double bacon,
one Hawaiian, and one spinach, tomato and garlic. “Well. Glad it’s not
my
mate eating the garlic.”

Tabby
made a face and lay back down. “Cyn would rather eat Gary.”

Julian
growled.

“Not
like that, you perv! Geez. She’s been muttering about finding him and kicking
his ass until he whines like a little baby.”

“I’ll
leave that to Bunny. Speaking of which, why was any part of Gary’s ass alive to
be hauled off to jail? I’m surprised Bunny didn’t just kill the fucker and be
done with it.”

“We
needed answers that only Gary had. Besides, he’d shifted. We would have had a
body to hide and that’s just not as easy as it sounds.”

Julian
tilted his head. He looked like he was listening to something only he could
hear. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Tabby
felt a chill. “Dude. I personally have never hidden a body. I swear.”

“Not
you. And not Bunny, either. Bunny prefers to maim rather than kill.” Tabby
grimaced. She was still getting used to the fact that the Alex she knew was the
same man other grizzlies backed away from in fear. “No, the Pumas have done it
before. Not sure how, or who, though.”

“Well,
Mr. I’m-A-Hunter said we needed him alive, so Alex let him live.”

“Is it
true the guy who tried to rip out my throat pissed himself?”

“Yup.”

A
serene smile crossed Julian’s lips. “Cool.”

“Okay,
pizzas are ordered.” Alex flopped into the middle of the bed, wriggling until
he was between Tabby and Julian. He turned onto his back, causing the bed to
dip and sway. Tabby held on for dear life. “What were we talking about?”

“You
not turning Gary into a grizzly bear Happy Meal.”

“Oh.
Nah. I’d never wash the taste out.” He turned to Tabby with a grin. Only she
could see how the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Would you really want to
kiss me if I had Gary breath?”

“Ugh.”
She exaggerated her shudder and made a face. “Thanks for that thought. Now I’m
not hungry anymore.”

The
tension in Alex eased. “More for me, then.” He took her hand in his. “Not sorry
I didn’t tear him apart then?”

“Nope.
Let him face justice. From what I heard, Gabe says they’re going to make him
wish he’d died on your claws.” She curled her fingers around his, contentment
flowing through her. He was there beside her, and right then that was all she
needed. “Any idea when we’ll hear from Gabe?”

“Depends
on how long it takes for him to crack Gary. It could be minutes to days.”

“Fuck.”

“There’s
another way.”

Tabby
blinked at the thoughtful tone of Julian’s voice. “What now?”

“I
could enter Chloe’s dreamscape again, see if I can find something. It’s
possible she remembers her attacker somewhere deep in her subconscious.”

“Hell
to the no.” Bunny nearly shoved Julian off the bed. “Do it and I’ll not only
call the aunts, I’ll call in the cousins.
All
the cousins.”

“Shit.
No need to be mean.” Julian shoved back. Alex barely moved. “Fine. Maybe I can
call in someone else who can help.”

“Another
Kermode?”

“No,
Tabby. I’ll dial one-eight-hundred-I-Need-A-Psychic.”

Tabby
rolled her eyes and climbed out of bed. “We can let him out of bed now. He’s
just fine.”

Alex
snorted a laugh just as the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it. God, it’s like I have
a brother-in-law now. A pain in the ass, sarcastic, know-it-all
brother-in-law.”

“Is
there any other kind?” Julian yelled after him. He put his arms under his head.
“I like this town.” He started to snicker. “Hey, Bunny? If I’ve been adopted by
your aunt and I’ve already adopted Tabby as my sister, does that mean your
mating is illegal? Because first cousins really shouldn’t marry you know.”

This
time it was Tabby who almost pushed him off the bed.

Alex
stared at the door to Living Art. He could see two of the women laughing and
talking through the plate glass window. Cyn especially looked relaxed as she
tried to coax Glory into doing God knew what. There was no sign of Tabby.

Inside,
he was chilled to the bone. “So what you’re saying is Gary isn’t the one who
went after Chloe.”

“Nope.”
The sound of Gabe’s sigh was tinny through the earpiece. “He knew who Chloe
was, though. She was one of the people he was sent to Halle to keep an eye on.
And get this. Hunters in other parts of the country have found three bodies
with similar MOs. All of them were half-breeds.”

“Half-breeds?”
Now there was a term he hadn’t heard since the last time someone had called one
of his cousins that. But hey, Harry said Barney’s arm had healed.