Bearly Ever: An Alpha Werebear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Arcadia Knights Book 1) (14 page)

Aidan dropped his eyes again, falling down onto his hands and knees, but his father was faster. Claws wrapped around his neck, lifting Aidan up off the ground. His first thought was to grab at the hand, try to stop the choking, but he stayed his hand, knowing any move against his father would be construed as an attack.

He had a good idea what would happen then.

The Brahm leaned forward, smelling the side of Aidan’s head. “You’re my get,” he said in a guttural voice, his grip on Aidan’s throat not lessening in the slightest. Aidan nodded, and the Brahm grunted. “Why would you touch what’s mine?”

“She defended her sister.” Words were tough to get out through the hand on his throat, but he tried. “She marked me, but I didn’t hurt her, I swear.”

The wide, flat nostrils flared. “You smell of truth.”

Aidan’s feet again touched ground, and the grip around his throat loosened. He regulated his breathing, keeping his eyes down, until his father spoke again. “I wish to see my mate.”

Chills spread down Aidan’s spine. “She’s inside with my mate,” he said, trying to figure out the situation. “She’s been traumatized, she needs time to heal.” He gestured at his father’s form. “If she sees you like this…”

The beast that was Marshall leaned down until he was face to face with his son, cutting Aidan off. His breath smelled of the wild, earth and blood. “She. Is.
Mine.
”

Someone chuckled nearby. “Oh, the sweet irony. It always comes down to mates for us boys, doesn’t it?”

The wiry hair atop the Brahm’s head stood up at the sound, and he let go of Aidan to look at Julian. The other man was struggling to his feet, still holding his belly. The wound there was bad, bleeding through the werepanther’s fingers, but he still stared boldly at them.

The Brahm stared at Julian, setting Aidan down. “I don’t like you,” he said, voice rough. As Aidan watched, his fingernails grew longer and his green eyes lit up again. “Let me fix that.”

Aidan stepped in front of his father. “He’s one of ours,” he said quickly, wishing Julian had kept his mouth shut. “He’s pack.”

“He’s dead if I hear another word.”

Any prayers that Julian wasn’t suicidal flew the coop when the man snorted. “You stood in the way of me and my mate, and now you want to kill us when we do the same for you? Hypocritical much?”

Green eyes looked at Aidan. “He’s dead.”

Julian had the brains to pale at that statement, but he held his ground. When the Brahm took a step in the other man’s direction however, Aidan put himself between them again. “Father, please…”

A hand flew out, backhanding Aidan in the chest. He flew backwards, air whooshing out of his lungs as he landed atop one of the bodies. He was immediately on his feet even as the Brahm stalked toward Julian.

As much as Aidan didn’t like the man, he wasn’t about to see him ripped to shreds.

“Father,” he yelled, racing toward them and changing. His father’s head turned just in time to see the bear charge toward him.

Power again flowed over Aidan, freezing his muscles. He stumbled, but still managed to bowl into the Brahm, knocking him sideways. Marshall sidestepped and Aidan, unable to move his legs, fell to the ground, skidding against the bloody grass.

“My own son turning against me.” Ignoring Julian, the Brahm stalked toward Aidan, who was lying on his side motionless. “Such a pity,” he murmured, flexing his claws, “but I can always make more.”

“
Oh my god!”

Three words, but they almost magically stopped everything instantly. The Brahm’s clawed hand hovered over his son’s head, frozen in place as surely as he’d done with his son earlier. The power holding Aidan disappeared abruptly, and he turned in the direction of the woman’s voice, already knowing who he’d see.

Sonya Jackson stood at the doorway, staring at the scene with wide, scared eyes. Her mouth dropped open in shock when she stared at Marshall, and even from the distance Aidan could see her begin to tremble. The Brahm stared at her for a long, silent moment, then grew smaller, Changing back into human form. The claws receded, shrinking into normal pink hands, albeit still covered in blood. He looked directly at Sonya, who stared back at him wide-eyed, utterly horrified.

Aidan took that moment to shift back into human form, rising to his feet. His father had forgotten him entirely, all his attention focused on the woman he called mate.

Oh yeah. Ever was going to
love
this development.

Emotions warred across the Brahm’s face, the wildness from earlier melting away. He took a step toward the girl, reaching out, only to have her shrink away from him. Marshall’s stricken expression perfectly conveyed to Aidan the pain inside his father. “I’d never hurt you,” he said, his voice raspy, eyes only on Sonya.

She stepped back again. “Stay the hell away from me, you monster,” she said in a wavery, panicked voice. Her eyes flickered to Aidan, then back to his father. “I didn’t want this, any of this.”

“Please.”

The Brahm never begged. Hell, it had been decades since Aidan remembered hearing him say anything polite, like “please” or “thank you”. But Sonya would have none of it. She disappeared back inside the building, and Marshall moved to follow.

Aidan stepped in his way. “Give her a moment.”

Green flashed in the other man’s eyes again. “She’s mine.”

This time, Aidan stood his ground, meeting his father’s glare. “Do you really think she’ll go willingly with you after seeing all this?”

Again that confusion in the other man’s eyes. “She’s my mate,” he mumbled, as if that explained everything.

Maybe, right at that moment, for him it did. Aidan stayed where he was, watching his father carefully. The other man seemed unsure what to do, hesitant, something that Aidan couldn’t remember ever seeing his father. He and his mother hadn’t talked much about what her separation from Marshall had done to the other man, but…

At the thought of ‘mate’, Aidan’s thoughts immediately went back to Ever. He had to see if she was all right; the way he’d left her….

A car pulled up right then, swerving around the bodies before sliding to a stop. Marcus exited the vehicle, looking around him with wide eyes, before finding Aidan’s gaze. “Davis called, that helicopter is still heading this way.”

Indeed, Aidan could hear it through the trees. That seemed to finally draw the Brahm’s attention too, although he seemed torn between going after his mate and the new threat.

The moment the helicopter appeared, however, Aidan’s body loosened. He recognized that chopper; he’d helped paint the thing. “It’s Nadine.”

Nearby, Marcus cursed, and Aidan agreed. If Nadine was on the way and saw what happened, then shit really was about to hit the fan. God knew, though, he’d appreciate the help.

Aidan turned back inside to where Ever still laid. The Northwest Brahm would take care of things and, dammit, he’d been away from Ever’s side for too long. His father could deal with the Brahma; knowing Nadine, she already knew everything that had happened here.

He hurried back inside, dodging the bodies and burst into the room. Sonya was nowhere to be seen, but Eleanor had recovered and was tending to Ever. Derek stood nearby, still keeping watch. She looked up at her son as he entered. "You got him calmed down?"

Aidan nodded. "How is she?"

"What took you so long, you big jerk?"

At that irritated voice, every muscle in Aidan's tense body slackened. Ever was leaning against the wall, cradling the arm he bit against her chest. Her skin was still pale, blood from her earlier wounds sticky on her skin. Pain was still evident around the edges of her eyes, but she glared at him as Aidan knelt next to her. "And if you've seen the buck-toothed asshat that hurt my sister, I've got a score to settle with him."

"Took care of him already." He needed to be sure. Aidan reached out and took her arm, gently extending it.

The bite marks he'd given her were already scabbing over, the purple bruising fading to yellow.

He slumped over in relief as Ever snatched back her arm. She pointed a finger at him, eyes narrowing. "I've got a bone to pick with you too."

Aidan couldn't help it: a huge smile split his face and he grabbed her up, hugging her close. "I almost lost you," he murmured harshly into her neck.

"Well." Ever huffed, but put her arms around him. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

He just held her as gently as he could, breathing her in as she stroked his hair, and resolved never to leave her side again.

“You’ve got that macho look on your face again. Just so you know, I actually can be sneaky on occasion.”

“Yes, dear.”

“Oh my God, you’re starting on that and we aren’t even married yet?”

Aidan wondered if she realized what she’d just said, but decided to savor the small victory and just held his mate in his arms.

“You can’t take her.”

“Ever…”

“No. You’re not taking my sister when I’ve only just found her.”

The woman Aidan had identified as Nadine sighed. “Ms. Jackson, what would you propose I do?”

“Leave her with me.” Ever stole a glance across the yard at her sister, who was sitting on the open doorway of the helicopter. Her legs were dangling in the air and someone had laid a blanket over her shoulders, but she was staring sightlessly at the ground. Seeing her normally vibrant sister so listless broke Ever’s heart. “She’s been through a lot, she needs familiarity.”

“What she needs is a sense of security.”

Nadine Sharpe, a statuesque blonde woman with piercing green eyes and a clipped accent Ever couldn’t place, had arrived on the scene ten minutes prior and immediately taken control. Aidan had explained that she was a Brahma, and a gifted clairvoyant. She ran a Shifter sanctuary for anyone who needed to get away or be safer than their local jurisdictions could offer.

Altruism aside, Ever didn’t like her. Especially not when the woman had begun spouting nonsense that Sonya needed to go with her.

“Look, I don’t know how you do things where you come from, and I don’t care. That is my
sister
you have there, and she belongs here with me.”

Nadine’s mouth pinched into a thin, disapproving line. She stepped forward and lowered her voice. “Ms. Jackson, your sister has been raped, repeatedly.
That
was her introduction into Shifter society.”

Ever blanched at the words, and her jaw started to tremble. Hearing the facts spoken so baldly made them painfully real. Ever knew if she could have brought back the Shifters littering the compound, she would have killed every single one of them again.

Slowly.

As painfully as possible.

“I know that look.” Nadine’s voice was soft, although her expression hadn’t budged an inch. “Believe me, I understand what you’re thinking, I want to do the exact same thing to every man who touched her. But that would only make you and I feel better, and right now, we need to think about Sonya.”

“But, she…”

“She’s already agreed to come with me,” Nadine said gently. “I’ll take good care of her, I promise.”

Ever’s heart clenched at the words, and she tried not to show her disappointment. “I want to talk to her,” she said stubbornly.

The other woman’s jaw clenched just as Aidan came up beside Ever. He put his hand around her side, pulling her against him and laying a kiss on her head. Some of the tension Ever had been holding immediately evaporated. Despite her protestations that she could do this alone, she appreciated his silent support. He hadn’t barged in and tried to fix everything; he allowed her to do the talking, but was there as someone to lean on.

The whole biological-imperative part of mating aside, he really was perfect. She could love this man—very well might already be there—and was still trying to come to terms with that.

“You really think that’s the best thing?” Her voice was low when she asked the question, still watching her sister. The pilot walked around the front of the helicopter and her sister jumped, cringing away, and Ever’s heart broke all over again.

“I do.”

The Brahm’s eyes shifted to the side, and this time Ever followed her gaze. Marshall was on the outskirts of the buildings, pacing restlessly back and forth. Someone had given him pants, and she could only imagine what he’d looked like before. Aidan had tried to explain, and Sonya had been mum on the subject—heck, the girl hadn’t spoken much since inside that jail of a room.

The Brahm’s eyes were fixed on Sonya however, piercing even from this distance. The need to protect her sister welled up. “You keep him away from her,” she said in a low voice.

Beside her, Aidan stilled. “Ever…”

“No.” She shook her head, giving her mate—still weird to even think that word—a glare. “I do not want him,” she pointed toward the pacing man, “anywhere near my sister until he can control himself better.”

“Quite right,” Nadine agreed, nodding her head, and at that moment Marshall turned toward them. A chill went through Ever’s body, and she couldn’t help it: she immediately dropped her gaze and looked back to Nadine, wondering how much he’d heard. Aidan continued to watch his father, and the arm holding Ever against him tightened its grip.

“Sheriff, I have a request, although you may not like it.” The Brahma’s gaze turned back to Aidan. “I’d like for you to take over care of Arcadia, at least for the time being.”

Aidan tensed, turning his attention back to the other woman. “What are you cooking up, Nadine?”

The blonde shook her head. “We both know that Marshall is too volatile right now to properly care for your people. I need you to step into that role for at least the next few months.”

He frowned. “My father…”

“Is very unstable right now.” She blew out a breath. “I trust him to let me do my job, but I’m not sure I can trust him to do his.”

“All right,” he said after a moment, although the frown never left his face, “I’ll watch over Arcadia. But you have to tell me everything you know about Hendrix. We’ve only been able to track him back a few years.”

For the first time, Nadine looked uncomfortable. “Everything we know about Hendrix will be sent to you,” she said, “but we’d been operating on the assumption that he was dead for over a century now.”

“Who is he?”

She sighed, rubbing her temples with one hand. “A charismatic megalomaniac who just so happens to be my mate.”

That news had Ever standing straighter, her eyes narrowing at the other woman. Nadine held up her hands, forestalling any comments. “I’m telling you this so there are no secrets between us. He has a love/hate relationship with Chimeras, although he’d never before taken that fascination to the cult-like, religious status it is now. That man is why I formed Haven in the first place, and believe me, I have a much bigger beef with him than most folks here.”

Her eyes were on Ever’s as she continued. “I know what he is, and what he can do, so please believe me when I tell you I
promise
that your sister is safe with me. When she’s ready, I’ll return her to your care.”

“How did my father not know,” Aidan demanded. “He’s been around longer than anyone in Arcadia; he must have known about this man.”

“He may have known, and chose not to say anything, or he might have forgotten. I gave up trying to read Marshall and his decisions years ago. I’m certain that, either way, he would’ve made the connection eventually.” The blonde woman kept her eyes on Ever. “Please, let me take care of Sonya. I promise that you can come and see her soon.”

Ever grit her teeth, indecision warring inside her. Finally, she nodded. “You make sure she knows I love her,” she said fiercely, “and that I’ll do anything I can to help her.”

“I’ll tell her that every day.” Nadine turned around and circled one finger through the air, a silent signal to those at the copter. A dark-haired woman who’d been hovering near Sonya moved toward the other girl, saying something to which Sonya nodded. Ever raised her hand in farewell, but Sonya never looked in her direction, didn’t so much as acknowledge her own sister’s presence.

That hurt worst of all.

“Anna.”

Ever hadn’t noticed Julian coming up beside them. His voice was soft, lacking any of the normal condescension. The name clicked in Ever’s head. “That’s your mate,” she said, “isn’t it?”

He didn’t answer, just stared as the two women entered the helicopter. His face had that same yearning look that permeated the Brahm’s, but was tinged with sadness versus the manic quality Ever remembered seeing in Marshall’s gaze.

She peeked nearby, at the line of black tarps lying across the walkway, then away again. The bodies had still been strewn about when they’d exited the building; that was a sight she’d never get out of her head. Marshall had already moved off into the distance by then, giving them space, but she’d felt his presence like a manic fluttering in the back of her mind.

Oh yeah. Ever didn’t want that man anywhere near her sister.

“I’ll be sure to tell her your part in today’s affairs,” Nadine said to Julian in a similarly soft voice, laying her hand briefly on his shoulder before she turned toward the rumbling vehicle.

“Come on,” Aidan said in a soft voice as the blades to the helicopter began whirring faster, “let me take you home.”

Ever didn’t answer, just stared after the helicopter as its doors closed then slowly ascended into the air. Her heart ached; there had to be something else she could do for her sister. She’d failed in keeping her sibling safe; maybe if she’d kept in touch better, or hadn’t waited so long to go find Sonya…

Aidan’s arms wrapped around her, pulling Ever back against his body. She let her eyes drift close and, for that moment, just took the strength he willingly gave her.

“I love you,” he whispered into her ear, his breath warm against her cheek.

A reluctant smile played across her lips as she turned in his grasp, winding her arms around him and burying her face in his chest as the sounds of the helicopter faded into the distance.