Don't Moose With Her (Bearbank Book 1) (18 page)

“Will you miss it?” she asked. Would he resent her for making him stay in one place? She wasn’t one for travelling. The occasional trip, sure, but she liked having a more permanent home to return to. She liked having somewhere she belonged, with friends and family.

“Actually, no.” He looked thoughtful. A little surprised. “It was just how things were. It’s not a life philosophy or anything. I like it here. I want to try to build a life. A normal one.”

She kissed him. “Sounds good to me.”

He rolled them over and leaned down to kiss her. A buzzing phone had them coming up for air. Dammit. Things were just getting interesting.

Ethan sighed, leaning his forehead against hers. “I’d better get it. It could be Leo with an update.”

Dana watched him as he got up to check his phone. She loved looking at him. Her mate was an attractive man. An attractive man with an awesome ass.

“It’s not mine,” Ethan said, looking at his phone.

Frowning, Dana crawled off the bed and searched out her phone. She’d actually forgotten to take it with her when she went to work. Now it was sitting beside the bed. Checking it, she found a text from an unknown number.

“What is it?” Ethan asked, walking towards her, face creased with concern.

She opened the text and froze. Fear held her immobile, unable to react.

The text simply said, “I have your brothers. Check your e-mail.”

Wordlessly, she gave the phone to Ethan and went to her laptop. She switched it on and waited for it to boot up. It had never seemed so slow. She heard Ethan curse and then he was behind her, his hand on her shoulder offering comfort. She leaned back into him, drawing on his strength.

Finally, the laptop was on and she opened up her e-mail. There was a new message. Clicking on it, she found a picture of two of her brothers, Frankie and Kyle. They were tied up and clearly unconscious. At least she hoped they were only unconscious. They couldn't be dead. They just couldn't.

The e-mail read, “You have one hour to get yourself to the location below or I kill your brothers. Come alone or I kill your brothers. Call the police and I kill your brothers. It’s your choice. How much do their lives mean to you?” Underneath was a location in the woods. Different woods from the house she’d been held in before. No doubt the police were at that place.

“Ethan…” she said helplessly. Tears filled her eyes and she could barely read the end of the message. This couldn't be happening. Why her?

His arms locked around her from behind, lending her his warmth. “I know, sweetheart. We’ll fix this. I won’t let anything happen to you or your family.”

“I have to go,” she said. It was the last thing she wanted to do but she wasn't leaving her brothers. She couldn't.

Ethan sighed, his breath ruffling her hair. “I know. I hate it, but I know. You are not going alone though. I won’t budge on that. I’ll stay back out of sight but I’ll be there.” He kissed the top of her head, the gesture affectionate and reassuring.

“Thank you,” she said softly. She trusted her mate. She wouldn't have to do this alone. His strength gave her a sliver of hope. Maybe they'd all live through this.

“We’ll get them back, Dana,” he said. “I promise.”

Ethan stalked through the woods in wolf form, his senses on full alert. He hated this plan. He hated anything that put Dana in danger but he knew that he had to play along for now. Dana would be devastated if anything happened to her family and she'd never survive the guilt if she thought she was responsible. Now that they were mated, her family was also his family. Although they were a little crazy, he found that he actually liked them. He didn't want anything to happen to them either.

The killer had specified that Dana come alone but the man was human and Ethan was a shifter. Not only a shifter, but a wolf, a predator. He knew how to stalk his prey without being seen. The man would never know that he was there. Not until Ethan had his teeth in his throat. His wolf needed to end the threat to their mate and the man was in full agreement. Leo was waiting just outside the woods as backup. Although wolves were not native in this country, Ethan was still a damn sight less conspicuous than a whopping great lion.

He could hear Dana up ahead. Her path through the woods was quiet and careful. As they neared the designated spot, the wind shifted and Ethan caught a whiff of his mate's scent. Underlying that was another smell. One that roused the predator within him even as it worried the man. Dana's sharp intake of breath told him that she had scented it too. The scent of blood. He heard Dana's steps pick up the pace, anxious to reach her brothers.

Suppressing a growl, he followed, determined not to lose track of his mate. He heard her stop moving and then a gasp of surprise. He worked his way carefully towards her, listening for any hint of the killer. He heard movement and... was that a moose calling? It wasn't Dana, so one of her brothers perhaps. Another moose call. Both her brothers then. Why wasn't Dana moving? Why was no one saying anything?

The scent of blood grew stronger as he inched forward. He could see Dana now, her back was to him as she stared at something ahead. She turned and gestured to him.

“Ethan,” she called softly. “You should see this.”

Abandoning stealth, he loped towards her. She was standing at the edge of a clearing and as he approached, he finally got a good look at what lay ahead. He froze with one paw in the air and turned to look at Dana who simply shrugged helplessly.

In the clearing, Dana's two brother were in moose form. They were locked, head to head, the killer's body impaled on their antlers. The man was clearly dead, one eye staring sightlessly, the other covered by a patch. The two moose were stuck, antlers locked together, the dead man trapped in the middle.

Ethan shifted back into human form and wrapped an arm around Dana.

“Should we help them?” he asked, watching as the two moose struggled to free themselves.

Dana looked at him. “Why don't they just turn back?”

Ethan shrugged. “Maybe that hasn't occurred to them yet.”

“I wonder how long they've been like that,” Dana said, wincing at a particularly vicious head wrench from Kyle which resulted in the wet sound of tearing flesh from the body and a bellow from Frankie.

“Maybe I should break that up,” Ethan suggested uncertainly. He didn't really want to get near those antlers.

“No,” Dana said. “I can handle this.”

Ethan tightened his hold on her. “You are not going near them, sweetheart. You could get hurt. Your brothers have really impressive antlers.” She wasn't risking injury to get between them.

“You should see my dad's rack,” she said and then grimaced. “That sounded all kinds of wrong.”

Ethan snorted.

“Anyway, I can sort it from right here.” Dana smirked. “Watch this.”

With that, Dana gave an impressively loud whistle and followed it up by bellowing “Frankie! Kyle! You stop that this minute or I'm telling mum!”

Both moose froze and cast a wary eye at her. Ethan stifled a laugh at the looks on their faces. This was not turning out at all the way he'd expected.

“That's better,” Dana continued. “Now how about you both change back and we can get rid of the dead man.”

Ethan had never seen such sheepish expressions on a moose before. Clearly, they hadn't even thought of changing back. Their bodies began to change shape, shrinking down to human size. The dead body hit the ground with a wet thud as the antlers impaling it disappeared.

“Gaaah,” Frankie span around. “My sister saw me naked.”

“Trust me, I did not look,” Dana said, head pressed into Ethan's chest. He liked the feel of her there. Warm, safe, and his.

“And I can see your mate's tackle,” Kyle exclaimed, covering himself with his hands. “Make him put it away.”

“Jealous?” Ethan smirked.

“Too much testosterone,” Dana sighed. “And far too many naked bits. Especially on people whose naked bits I do not want to see.”

“Come on, sweetheart,” Ethan murmured to her. “Let's get back to Leo and he can get this cleaned up. There's no reason for you to stick around.” Brothers or not, there were far too many naked men around his mate.

“Ewww, I have guts in my hair!” Frankie slapped frantically at his head.

He led her back through the woods, worrying at her silence. Her brothers had lagged behind, their voices gradually fading. Finally, she looked up at him, eyes wide and face pale.

“It's really over this time?” she asked.

He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Yeah. It's over. You're safe now.”

Her forehead crinkled in a frown. “My brothers won't be in trouble, will they? They did kill someone.”

“They won't be in trouble,” he assured her. “Quite frankly, I'm not sure how we're going to explain this one to the human police. We'll think of something. Don't worry. Nobody is coming after your family for this.” If they tried, he'd deal with it. No one would bother his mate or her family.

She nodded. The rest of their trip back to Leo was silent. He really wished he knew what she was thinking.

Dana sat curled up on her sofa, a blanket over her legs, drinking from a mug of hot chocolate. She stared at the TV but she had no idea what she was watching. Ethan sat next to her, his arm around her shoulder, his hand drawing patterns on her arm.

It was hard to believe that she was safe. That it was finally over. It all felt a little unreal and she was afraid to trust in it. Also, she was feeling somewhat insecure and she didn't like the feeling at all. Ethan had said that he intended to stay but would he? He'd chased the Shifter Stalker around the country and now that it was over, he had no reason to stay. Except her. What if that wasn't enough?

“You're thinking too hard,” he rumbled. “What's wrong, sweetheart? Talk to me.”

She sighed and squinted up at him. “Are you still planning on staying?”

The movements on her arm stopped. He blinked at her. “I thought we'd already established that I'm not going anywhere.”

She forced a casual shrug. “Yeah, but that was before. You came here to catch the Shifter Stalker and you've done that. Well, sort of... How did Leo explain that?”

Ethan grinned. “Apparently David Matthews abducted your brothers and then he accidentally fell down a hill and impaled himself on a few branches on his way down. We arrived and rescued your brothers but it was too late for their abductor.”

“They bought that?” she asked, incredulous. “Seriously?”

Ethan shrugged. “It's Alex's case and he knows the truth. He can make sure that everything is handled by shifters. Nobody else really has a reason to be poking into it. From what I gather, everyone is just happy that the guy is out of the picture. We gave them an explanation and they don't care enough to question it.”

“I guess,” she said. “I know I'm glad he's gone. I do feel sorry for Eric though.”

“The man did stalk you,” Ethan pointed out. His arm tightened a little, hugging her closer.

“I know,” she sighed. “But he was harmless. He just had trouble with boundaries. He didn't deserve to have his brother twist it like that. He definitely didn't deserve to die. And what about their sister? That poor woman lost both brothers.” Too many people had been hurt by it all.

“I know,” Ethan said. “But she has a mate. She's not alone and she'll be okay.”

He reached over and took the mug of hot chocolate from her, setting it on the table. His strong arms turned her and lifted her legs to straddle his. She tried to burrow into his chest but his hand lifted her chin and tilted her gaze to his.

“Now, sweetheart,” he said, watching her closely. “Enough avoiding. Why do you think I'm not staying? How can you think I'd leave you?”

She squirmed a little under his steady gaze. “You don't really have a reason to be here anymore.” There, she said it.

“I have every reason,” he answered calmly. “I have you.”

“Is that enough?” she winced at the small, pathetic tone of voice coming from her. Insecurity was new to her. Nothing had ever mattered so much before. Not like it did with her mate.

He continued to look her in the eye. “Sweetheart, it's everything. None of the rest of it matters. Only that I get to spend as much time as possible with my mate. I like it here. I like your crazy family. I like my job. I like this house. As long as I have my mate, I'll be happy here.”

“You're sure?” she asked, searching his eyes.

“Positive,” he said, his voice ringing with sincerity. “I want to stay here. With you. Maybe even have a few cubs someday.”

“Calves,” she murmured absently, distracted by visions of little boys who looked like Ethan and little girls that would have their father completely besotted with them.

Ethan grinned. “We'll aim for both. This is the life I choose, Dana. You and me. Always.”

She felt herself relax into him. He seemed certain about what he wanted. Ethan was hers and she was keeping him. He had never lied to her, even when she hadn't wanted to know the truth. If he said he was sure, then he was sure. She didn't doubt him, not really. She was just feeling off-balance and needed a little reassurance. Who could blame her after the last few days? Now she had her reassurance and she decided to trust in that. To trust in him.

“I love you, Ethan,” she said, smiling at him.

“I love you too, Dana,” he answered, his hand tightening a little on her hip.

“Prove it,” she whispered, leaning forward. His eyes flashed with hunger and he swooped down to press a kiss to her lips. One which left her breathless and desperate for more. She'd always want more. She wanted it all. Forever.

“Challenge accepted,” he murmured against her lips. Then he proceeded to prove his love with a passion that left her unable to form a coherent thought for several hours.

Ariana McGregor has always wanted to be a writer but took quite some time to get around to it. She has a somewhat unhealthy fascination with things that go bump in the night. Not fear. More of an “ooh, I want my own werewolf” kind of thing. Well who wouldn't? It's like having a hot boyfriend AND a really self-reliant dog all rolled into one. Ariana lives in Scotland where there appears to be a complete lack of vampires, werewolves, nephilim, etc. Bah.