Bears in Flight: Book Four - Supernatural Bounty Hunters Romance Novellas (12 page)

“Oh, Logan!” she breathed. That was probably the most words he’d ever said to her all at once,
and boy they were doozies!

After swooning, her rabbit clicked her teeth together in displeasure. “Let’s get something clear, mister, you are not old, you are definitely not dirty and there is no way in hell that you are taking advantage of me.”

“But seeing you with that wolf, he was your own age, and the two of you just looked so…”

Mia gripped the phone tightly. “Stop right there! You will not make me feel guilty about this.”

“No, baby, I’m not trying to do that. I know you haven’t done anything wrong. I’m just worried that you can do better than me, and I was so angry about seeing him holding you.”

“Please don’t be jealous,” she begged him with feeling. “I can’t stand you being jealous.”

Logan exhaled loudly. “I don’t want to be. Just like I don’t want you to be jealous about, ah, my wife, because there’s no reason to be, and I want to explain all that to you, but not over the phone. I want to tell you face to face, and then you can decide whether or not you still want me.”

“I’ll always want you,” she told him shyly.

“You say that now…”

“I’ll say that always!” she snapped. “Logan, I was yours from the moment you first touched me and I’ll be yours until the end of time. You own me, body, heart, and soul.”

“What about that big sexy brain of yours?”

She could hear the smile in his voice and couldn’t help grinning. “Mmmm, that too.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“How come you’re staying with your parents?” he asked curiously. “It wasn’t because you were hiding from me, was it?”

“No,” she scoffed, “besides, if you’re hiding from someone it’s probably best not to let said person know where you are.”

“Very true, baby,” he crooned and she felt a fluttering at the husky note his voice had taken on. “So, why are you staying with them?”

Mia chewed her cheek and fear sliced through her. “I’d rather tell you face to face.”

“Can you meet me?” he asked eagerly.

“Ummm, why don’t you come round to my parents’ house tonight?”

Logan sucked in a surprised breath. “Your parents’ house…” he repeated dumbly.

Mia forced herself to find a backbone. Her parents already knew about him anyway; the next step was meeting him… “They know about our relationship. It’s kind of why I’m staying with them.”

“Your dad isn’t keeping you at the house is he?” Logan demanded in a steely voice.

“No!” she cried loudly and then mouthed sorry to everyone around her. “No, it’s nothing like that.”

Although she wouldn’t put it past her dad, the truth was actually worse. An overprotective father she could deal with. A creepy pervert who films her having sex and then sends the video to her overprotective father was another matter.

“Umm, okay then,” he said slowly. “I’ll come by about seven.”

“I look forward to seeing you again.” She winced at her words; they didn’t even begin to cover how she felt at that moment.

But still, he growled happily, and her rabbit whimpered in excitement.

“Me too,” he murmured throatily.

“To talk,” she squeaked. “Just to talk, Logan. I’m still mad at you.”
Although she didn’t say it with much conviction.

“I know, baby. I know.”

“But I still love you.”

“Good. Me too.”

“I’ll see you tonight.”

“I can’t wait, baby.”

Mia turned off her phone and giggled.

“Boyfriend?” asked a honeyed voice.

She yelped and whirled round to find John smiling at her. “Ah… I… ummm…”
Words would be good.

His dark blue eyes danced with mirth as she scrambled for words. Eventually, she hung her head and muttered, “Yes.”

He took a small sip of champagne. “How are you enjoying the brunch? Your mother seems to be happy, although I’m not sure about your father.”

Mia’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Vaguely aware that she looked like a fish she snapped her mouth shut. “Yeah, it’s great.”

John took her elbow and steered her toward a Picasso. “I think this one is my favorite. What about you?”

Mia tried to dispel her unease. “It’s wonderful, but if I had to choose, I prefer the O’Keefe.”

“Yes, it is lovely.” He leaned a little closer to her, speaking to her conspiratorially, “Your father agreed to donate a large sum of money, but since one of the docents tried to flirt with your mother, I think he’s changed his mind.”

Mia flicked her eyes over to her parents. Sure enough, her dad had one arm firmly wrapped around her mom’s waist, his fingers were splayed over her stomach, and he was glaring at an uncomfortable looking coyote shifter with murderous abandon.

Mia stifled a snicker but then sobered. “About what you just heard…”

“I’d be surprised if a young woman like you didn’t have a boyfriend.”

She shuffled from foot to foot. “You’re not mad?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Not at all.”

“But I thought the reason you had come to our house was, ummm, to meet me.” Her cheeks turned pink.

John regarded her kindly. “I’d like to get married, but I’m in no rush, and I’m certainly not about to force anyone to marry me.”

“Thank god!” she exclaimed and he raised both eyebrows at her. She flushed an even darker pink. “Not that there’s anything wrong with you; if I didn’t love Logan I might even possibly, remotely be a tiny bit interested in you.” She was as non-committal as she could be, but her rabbit still huffed.

“You flatter me,” he deadpanned. “All I can say is that your Logan is a lucky man, and I hope he endeavors to deserve you.”

Mia looked at him through her lashes; embarrassment coursed through her. “He does.”

“But that’s no reason why we can’t be friends.” He treated her to another winning smile before lightly placing his hand on her back and leading her over to a Van Gogh.

No, no reason at all, she guessed.

Logan ran his fingers through his hair. He fidgeted and tried to calm his hammering heart.

He was a bear for hell’s sake! A seven-foot, bigger than average, Kodiak bear who could easily destroy the door in front of him with very little effort. And yet, here he was quivering on the doorstep of his mate’s family home, worried about even knocking on the damn door.

His bear growled encouragingly.
What was he afraid of?
Mia loved him, in spite of everything. No matter how much her family may hate him, she would still love him. No, he was more likely to lose her because of his checkered past than disapproving family members.
Ah, there’s the rub
. He had promised they could talk, and now he was chickening out.

Logan felt an irrational wave of anger. Why did she want to know anything about his past anyway? Wasn’t it enough for her that he told her his relationship with Maya was over? All that mattered was the here and now. His life was classed into two sections – before Mia and after Mia, and after Mia was the only part he wanted to focus on.

Ah, fuck it
.

He banged on the door loudly. Within seconds, it was yanked open by Mia’s father.

The look on his face was arctic. Matthew drew himself up to his full height and jutted his chin at the bear shifter. His eyes were already shifted to the black of his beast, and they coldly assessed the bear shifter. Judging by the sneer on his face, the assessment was not favorable.

Although the snake was smaller than the bear, he was no less imposing. Logan already knew that snake shifters could be downright vicious for no given reason, and they tended to be pretty cold and calculating creatures. He almost wanted to bark out a laugh when he remembered that his charming, little rabbit actually shared some of this snake’s DNA. He’d never have believed it if he didn’t know it to be true.

Matthew folded his arms and took a deep breath. “I’ve seen you at my brother’s office, haven’t I?” he asked in a deceptively calm voice.

“Yes,” replied Logan firmly.

“So you’ve been fooling around with my daughter for six months and you never thought to say a word,” he hissed.

The bear snapped his jaws, prepared to shift and fight this snake if it came down to it. He knew that the snake was possessive of his daughter, but Mia belonged to Logan, and if they had to fight over her so be it. Although Mia would be pissed about it, she’d forgive him… eventually… probably.

“Mia asked me not to,” Logan told him gruffly.

“You didn’t think I had a right to know?” demanded Matthew, eyes bulging.

Logan felt his claws flex as his bear curled his lips. “No. Mia’s an adult. We weren’t doing anything wrong.”

Matthew grunted, sneered, flexed and generally stared at Logan with something akin to savage intent, but Logan didn’t care. His bear was pretty riled at the snake, but Logan had compassion for the man.
A tiny, eeny-weeny, scrap of compassion, but it was there
. Logan imagined that if it was his only daughter who had been carrying on with a much older, much larger and much more aggressive shifter than her, he’d be pretty darned pissed.
To say the least
.

“My daughter seems to think you’re a good man,” said Matthew doubtfully.
It was obviously an opinion he wasn’t likely to be sharing soon.

Logan tried to shrug nonchalantly while stifling the wince that wanted to escape.
Would Mia still hold that view when he disclosed his past to her?

Matthew pursed his lips. “Even my brother has a high opinion of you.”

“You must have caught Marcus at a good time,” said Logan blandly.

The snake shifter huffed. “I suppose you better come in.” His voice was very grudging, but he did step back so Logan could move past him.

He led the bear into the family room. His eyes immediately alighted on his little mate, and some of his worry ebbed. Just seeing her was a soothing balm. She gave him a strained smile.

Logan was surprised to find Marcus and Ling there. It was kind of a relief; their presence was much more preferable to that of Mia’s older brothers. Logan hadn’t met the brothers yet, but he gathered they took after their father.
One possessive snake shifter was bad enough…

Marcus, in spite of what Matthew had told him, gave Logan a dark look the moment he entered the room. He imagined that might have something to do with Maya skipping her court date.
He really needed to do something about that.

Ling looked up from a conversation with, the woman he guessed was, Mia’s mom. She was small, like Mia, but perhaps even more slender. Her daughter looked very much like her, even more so when she gave him a sweet, shy smile.
Yes, he knew he was going to like this woman
. His bear whole-heartedly agreed.

She was about to stand up to greet him when Matthew placed a meaty hand on her shoulder, and with gentle pressure forced her to remain seated. She looked confused for a second but shook it off and instead rested her small hand over her mate’s.

Mia cautiously stood up, watching her father’s reactions warily. She stepped over to stand next to Logan, without touching him. He gazed down at his tiny mate and felt his body hum at her nearness. Her pale skin was luminous and damn he just wanted to bend down and smother her rosebud mouth.

How could he have been so fucking stupid? So naïve?
He’d almost lost her, almost lost the most perfect creature in the world, and for what? He should have told her the truth about everything from the get-go. How could he have ever thought that keeping secrets and lying to her would be okay? He couldn’t believe how close he had come to losing her. His bear smugly agreed on that.
Yeah, yeah, arrogant hairball – the damn beast always knew what to do
.

Timidly, Mia introduced Logan to her mother, Karen, who was painstakingly polite while her mate glared. Ling curled her lips up complacently; apparently they hadn’t been that discreet about keeping their relationship a secret. She seemed to know all about it. Marcus’ face remained pinched.

After a few more friendly, inquiring questions from Karen, Mia announced, with barely any wavering in her voice, that she and Logan were going upstairs to her room.

Matthew roared the word ‘what’ as Mia led Logan away. The last thing the bear heard was the soothing trill of Karen, trying to calm her mate.

Mia rushed through the house not stopping until she had him safely ensconced in her childhood bedroom. They could still hear the muffled bellows of her father, but, thankfully, she had forewarned her mother about this. She needed to speak to Logan in private, and her mother had agreed to keep her father out the way.

She lamented the fact that she didn’t have a lock on her door. Not that it would have made that much difference; her dad would break it down in a heartbeat.

Logan stood awkwardly in the center of the room, gazing round at her belongings. There were numerous posters of various pieces of artwork, a bulletin board filled with ticket stubs for museums and art galleries and a surprising amount of computer games – the only real clue that this had been a child’s room.

“Why don’t we sit down?” suggested Mia shyly.

Logan nodded and sank down onto the narrow bed. He left a tiny gap for Mia, hoping she would press her small frame against him, but instead she pulled over the desk chair and sat before him. His bear grumbled unhappily, but Logan hushed him. He wanted nothing more than to touch her, but he would wait to be asked.

“So…” Mia bit her lip.

Logan’s eyes widened as arousal coursed through him.
What he wouldn’t give to bite that lip for her.

“Don’t!” she admonished, “we’re here to talk.”

She was only half-serious, but Logan hung his head in chastisement. “You’re right; I’m sorry, but everything you do is just so damn sexy…”

Mia rolled her eyes and tried to hide her look of delight – rather unsuccessfully. “Well, you’ll just have to control yourself.”

“I’m trying,” he admitted quietly.

They looked at each other for a few beats, and Mia fidgeted in her seat. He wasn’t the only one worried about what was to come. Mia knew in her heart the depth of her feelings for this bear, but she was nervous about what he was about to reveal. It was something that he thought would make her leave him, and she’d been wondering all day about what that could possibly be. Even her rabbit, Logan’s staunchest supporter, had been on edge with worry.

Logan growled softly, and uncertainly. “I’m not sure how to start…”

Mia leaned forward and placed a hand on his knee tentatively. “Just take your time.”

His body relaxed with her touch, and the unwelcome, long-hidden memories floated toward him. His mouth started to speak before he even realized what was happening, and his bear settled down, awaiting whatever was about to happen.

Logan was born into a bear clan in Alaska. They lived far away from other clans and humans, because the bears were mistrustful of other species. It also meant that the clan could do pretty much whatever they wanted, because they didn’t endure any interference from any authorities.

Logan was the son of the clan leader and the clan leader’s third wife. Males were allowed to take as many wives as they wanted, and women were treated more like slaves than anything else. Logan couldn’t remember a time when his father wasn’t cruel or vicious to his wives. His father perhaps preferred his mother a little to his other wives; she was a beautiful creature. But that still didn’t stop his father whipping her when she was a couple of minutes late with his dinner.

Logan and his younger brother Bo tried to stand up to their father, but it did no good. He was too strong, and was backed by all the other males of the clan, who were more than happy with the status quo. Their mother begged them over and over not to do anything because she was too afraid of them getting hurt.

They had even tried to get the Council of Supernaturals involved, but that only ever resulted in more beatings for their poor mother.

So, instead, the brothers bided their time. They would have run away, taking their mother, but she wouldn’t abandon the other females.

When Logan turned 18, it became clear why there were more females than males. Only a small amount of males were permitted to stay in the clan after they turned 18; those who didn’t conform to their way of life were made to leave.
Or rather, they were made to leave the earth entirely.

One of his father’s enforcers, a scarred and hideous male called Gorman who regularly brutalized his five wives, took Logan out fishing. Gorman turned into his bear and tried to eviscerate Logan. But the older bear was too cocky and too sure of himself. Logan made short work of him.

He snuck back to the clan to find his mother and Bo had been told that Logan had chosen to leave the clan. They were relieved it was not true. However, Logan could not return to the clan again. Nor, could he leave his family there. Instead, they quickly hatched a plan to escape and take all the females and cubs with them.

It was traditional for the males to go hunting on the winter solstice. So Logan waited, living in the woods until that night came. Only four males remained while the others left. Usually, only two did, but his father was wary of the fact that Logan was still out there. The four males were easily taken out by Logan.
His father continued to underestimate him.

With that, they left. It was surprisingly easy actually to get away. They drove to the next town and then piled into the trucks Logan had hired, with money he had stolen from his father.

The next few months were difficult. With the help of the Council, the she-bears and their young were placed all over the country, first of all in safe houses and then eventually they were allowed to live on their own, and actually starting working. It was a strangely liberating experience for them, as none of them had worked before
or even gone to school…

The Council managed to round up a number of the males of the clan, but sadly his father was not one of them. He was wary for years after it all happened, always looking over his shoulder, and always worrying that the next knock at the door would be his father.
Not that he really thought his father would stop to knock.

Eventually, he did start to relax a little. His mother actually started to come out of her shell, and much to Logan’s consternation, she started dating. He thoroughly disapproved of all her dates, and she teased him that she was supposed to be the parent not him. Not long after, Bo mated with a young female from their old clan. The two of them had been sweet on each other before they left, and discovered they were mates when they turned 19.

In spite of the nagging fear, life was good for them.
Until the past finally caught up with them…

Logan came home from his night shift to find his family killed.
Murdered
. Ripped apart. His mother, his brother, and his brother’s pregnant mate were all dead. He scented who had done it. He’d know that foul stench anywhere. His bear had been blind with rage, and Logan couldn’t have stopped the beast even if he had wanted to.