Love at First Roar (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Werebear Romance) (Grayslake Book 4) (13 page)

“I remember making it to the house. It gets a little hazy for a bit and then my memories pick up in the shower with Kira dumping a baking soda mix over me.” He shrugged, the action pulling at his skin.

“How’d she know? Is the poison so common that she knew how to treat it?” Keen, the analytical one, the one who used his mind to do battle rather than his fangs and claws. Mainly because if his youngest brother actually brought out the bear…
everyone
better run.

“No, it’s not. Obviously the hyenas knew of it.” That was how Isaac received his scars during the battle with the bastards. Of course, he’d have a few extras to decorate his body now. “But other than that, it’s not common. The Southeast Healer knows, of course. Your average clan or other shifters…” He shook his head. “No, it’s not something they’d be familiar with. Hell, the only way to get it is home brewing or through a chemist willing to risk his life for it. Manufacturing the good stuff is a very delicate process.”

“I doubt Vanessa is smart enough to do it on her own,” Ty mumbled and none of them disputed his words. The woman wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box. “And Grayslake isn’t exactly a hotbed of illegal activity or brilliant chemists.”

True again.

“So where’d she get it?” Van voiced the question in everyone’s minds.

“I have no idea. Why don’t you guys go investigate? Send Kira up on your way out.” That earned him four equally threatening glares.

“Seriously, Ty. Vanessa went after Kira. She’s my ma—” He wasn’t going there. Not with his brothers and father hanging around and definitely not before he spent more time with her. He loved—liked—everything he knew about her, but it was still so little. A man couldn’t claim a mate on next to no time spent together. Then again… Ty had. And Van. And Keen.

Maybe…

“Vanessa had poison on her claws. I admit, I might have gone a little overboard.” Though his bear didn’t agree with his statement. If they’d had their way, Vanessa never would have gotten off the ground. “But that doesn’t change the fact she tried to kill someone. Not in a challenge. Not because she was threatened. She was pissed at Kira and decided a mole didn’t need to live in a bear town. Period.”

Two of the four glares disappeared, Keen and Van no longer as angry and his father was slowly easing toward annoyed. Ty though, he still appeared ready to do battle.

Well, the male could wait until Isaac healed. It was a rule in the family. No hitting a cub when he’s down. They were far from cubs, but he figured his father would make them stick to the spirit of the words.

“That’s not the story Vanessa told.”

Isaac snorted. “Of course not. She probably said I attacked for no reason. That I’d gone crazy.” Ty’s slow nod confirmed his statement. “Yeah, well, did anyone get a good look at Kira before she saved me? Because that’s what she did, by the way. She saved my life. Each time a person is exposed to this shit, it gets worse. After last year,” he huffed. “Without her, you’d have one less brother right now. Did you see the blood and scratches on her? The raw, broken fingernails? The way one…” Her condition came back to him in a rush, reminding him that more than one finger looked and felt crooked as she’d touched and stroked him. “She broke at least two fingers trying to get away, Ty. And even with that damage, she made sure I lived.”

He leveled a steady glower at his eldest brother, at his Itan. “So before you discount my story—before you brush aside the words that come from the woman I saved—you should think about how we got this way.” He tore his gaze from Ty and focused on his dad. “Can you send her up?”

A nod and grunt came from Dad, the sound followed by a tip of his head. The universal sign for “get the fuck out” and his brothers listened. No one gainsaid Dad.

Ty, Van, and Keen filed out and his father was the last. The old man paused by the door, turning back to him. “You did this before. People tell me you cared for them before yourself after that fight.”

That fight. Nice way to put the battle that existed in Isaac’s hazy, agony-laden memories. He didn’t want to go back to that time. Didn’t want to think about every seeping wound…

“Yeah,” he pushed the word past the emotions clouding his throat.

Dad held up a hand, the palm red and rough indicating a recent wound. “Cut m’self getting you in the shower. Got some of that acid on me.” He shook his head. “Don’t know how you survived that. All them bears and wolves, and you not treating yourself for hours.” His dad looked away and a small shudder wracked the old man’s body.

Isaac pretended not to see the slight sheen to his dad’s eyes and waited for him to speak. “I saw her, Isaac. I couldn’t help but see her legs and her back through my shirt.” Another shaking breath. “I don’t know how either of you survived that. The pain…” Dad cleared his throat. “I’m just glad you’re good. Don’t stay in bed too long. Can’t be lazy.”

With that, his father was gone, striding through the doorway. The heavy thump of his retreat slowly lessened until he really was alone on the second floor of Kira’s home.

Alone and hurting, he wondered who the hell exposed her to the shit that damned near killed him. Then, he could kill them for hurting her.

The glares of the Grayslake inner circle were no less fierce when they tromped down her stairs. The women had been welcoming enough. They’d thanked her for saving Isaac and patched up the raw spots on her arms, hands, feet, and shins with baking soda solution. She hadn’t even realized the toxin assaulted her, not with adrenaline filling her veins, allowing her to feel no pain.

When she’d instructed Mia on how to prepare the neutralizing treatment she’d used on Isaac, the Itana tugged open the appropriate cabinet and stared at row after row of Kira’s baking soda boxes. She’d turned to Kira, the woman’s emotional pain and pity swarming her like a blanket, and whispered, “Do I want to know why you have so much of this?”

“No.” A simple word that brooked no further discussion. She didn’t want to talk about it and she sure as hell wasn’t going to take a trip down memory lane while Isaac lay in her bed and faced off against his brothers.

The sound of the men thumping down her stairs had all conversation halting, and the men’s flaring rage whipped her before they entered the kitchen. At her? At Isaac? It sure as hell better have been because of Vanessa.

“Mia, I have to interview Vanessa. I want you to ride back to the house with Van and Lauren.” Ty’s voice was flat and unbending leaving no room for denial. The anger flowing off him smacked her. Had it been a physical part of him, solid and firm, she would have crumbled beneath the strength.

“Excuse me?” Mia’s voice was soft but just as firm as Ty’s.

Lauren snorted. “Who said
I
was leaving?”

“Lauren,” Van warned.

“Keen, you better not try to send me home, too.” Trista gave her mate a warning.

Kira was able to discern the family’s scents now, so she knew it was Keen who approached and tugged Trista to him. “I wouldn’t dream of it. If Kira’s okay with it and you wanna stay, you stay.”

“How can you—”

“One second, sweetheart.” The familiar meeting of lips preceded the rest of Keen’s statement, the words directed at Ty. “How can I be okay with Trista staying here? I can because unlike you assholes—”

“Language.” After that first day Mia assisted Kira in unpacking, she’d learned that cursing did
not
happen in her presence.

Keen tried again. “Unlike you
jerks
, I know Isaac took Vanessa down for Kira, which means she’s part of the family.”

Ty sighed. “I have to look out for the clan, Keen.”

“And Kira is as good as part of this clan, Ty. Remember when you decided to mate Mia? And everyone told you not to mate a half-shifter because you may not have fully shifting cubs? You put family above clan.

“Do that now and quit being an idiot. Heck, how many times do you two have to screw up before you realize family is more important than anything? You almost lost me. You’re about to lose Isaac. It’s about time you think of something other than yourselves and the clan.” Another kiss from Keen to Trista. “Give me a call when you’re ready to come home and I’ll come get you.”

The weight of Keen’s words told Kira something deeper hovered between the family members.

“We… We didn’t…” Ty sputtered.

“Ask everyone in the room if they knew of my struggles, Ty. Ask them and see who raises their hand… and who doesn’t.” The shift of Keen’s shoulders projected his shrug. “Then you’ll know exactly who is oblivious and who isn’t.” A murmured
love you
came before the youngest Abrams left.

With that, the eldest family member entered, the massive form of George Abrams seeming to take up every available space in the small kitchen. “What’re you all fighting about?”

“Dad—”

“He—”

“They’re idiots.” Meg’s voice rolled over Ty’s and Van’s. “Which is nothing new.” She tsk’ed. “You’d think after all that mess with your brother, you’d learn to pay attention.” She sighed. “Are we ready, George? Does Isaac need anything?”

“Nope, we’re good.” The massive male’s attention shifted to Kira. “You let us know if you need anything. Isaac will, but I’m talking about you, too. We’ll be at the clan house, but it won’t take much time to get here.”

“Is no one listening to me?” Ty raised his voice to be heard over his father’s.

“No.” Everyone in the kitchen voiced the word. Including Van.

Whatever Ty’s problem with her, he’d been overruled.

With a good bit of grumbling and growling, everyone left. Including the women.

Well, they mostly left. They’d really gone over to Isaac’s to see about his packing and visit with each other though they assured Kira they were available if she needed them. They just didn’t want to be “under foot” while they chit-chatted since she’d need to check on Isaac soon.

That was followed by a pat on the arm and wink from Meg.

Kira was not going there and she sure as hell wasn’t asking Isaac’s
mother
what she meant by that.

Alone, she padded through the house, noting the waning light, but unworried about her path to the stairs. She should flick on a light but bright or dark, she still wouldn’t see well. Besides, she knew how to get where she was go—

Whatever was in her path sent her sprawling, arms waving and pin wheeling as she fell forward. She reached for the wall, fingers scraping against the flat surface, sending a new wave of agony down her spine. She’d straightened her digits while caring for Isaac, taking a moment to pop the bones into place and begging her mole for help in quickly healing the injuries. They’d come to a sort of agreement through the years. Kira would ask for assistance to heal the part of her body which needed it most and it would comply, accepting that human-Kira knew what would help them survive.

The fingers were first, convincing the small beast that they were safe despite the pain elsewhere and that she needed them to help Isaac.

It listened, but it’d only been hours. The bones weren’t quite solid enough to take her weight, and her ring finger ached and cracked beneath the sudden pressure. The snap buzzed through her, sending a bolt of pain along her nerves, and she swallowed the whimper threatening to escape. She’d feel better if she voiced the pain, but long-taught lessons were hard to override.

Despite her attempt to halt her fall, she continued tumbling toward the ground, her other hand outstretched and prepared to catch her weight. It’d still hurt, the burns on her arms not quite closed, but it couldn’t be helped.

The ground grew closer, or rather she continued to race toward the ground, until finally she collided with the worn wood. Her head bounced against the hard surface, sending yet more agony flaring through her.

God, today was a day of pain. Both emotional and physical agony battered her, memories brought forth by the aches assaulted her with every beat of her heart.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Her pulse mimicked each strike of her half-brother’s fists on flesh, each tear of his teeth through skin.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

She gasped and fought for air, refusing to allow injuries to steal her control. She’d been through this and survived. Hell, she’d endured worse. She could take this beating. The past overlaid the present, pulling her toward the last time he’d attacked. When he’d jumped her in the parking lot, ready to teach her how real wolves treated prey.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

He broke the wooden bat that day. The one that’d turned brown with her dried blood.

No one knew that though, did they?

No. Never. Only the weakest pack members whined to the alpha and Kira was not weak.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The pool of blood surrounding her spread with every squeeze of her heart and tightening of muscles. She stopped feeling at one point, no longer sensing the pain he caused. Except… except she recognized his last actions, the spilling of liquid over her exposed flesh, the fiery burn that raced over her nerves.

“Here’s a new present…”

The mole had trouble healing the damage, but it had. Slowly. Carefully. Painfully.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Except it was more like
creak, thud, squeak, thump, gasp.

The changing sounds were enough to pull her to the present, to force herself to think of her surroundings.

“Kira?” The deep baritone confirmed her brother wasn’t lurking around the corner or pummeling her damaged body. “Kira?” Panic filled his voice. “
Kira
!”

Panic. She recognized panic. He should suppress that emotion. It only encouraged the rabid animals. The scent sent them into a frenzy that almost killed her. She couldn’t be afraid, never afraid…

Warm hands touched her, squeezed her, pulled at her skin and she reacted without thought. She’d always fight. He knew that and she waited for his gleeful cackles to fill the air. He enjoyed it, claws digging into her as she battled him.

Wolf versus mole. Wolf would always win, but mole would go down fighting.

Always fighting. Always, always, always—