Bear Necessities (20 page)

She
cuddled close, loving the way he seemed to surround her. “Done.”

“Food’s
getting cold.” Emma stepped out onto the front porch. “And for the record? I’m
not afraid of you either.”

Alex
stood slowly and pulled Tabby up alongside him. His hand nearly crushed hers.
Her big Bear was nervous.

“Neither
am I.” Max took up position next to his mate. “I heard all about what you did.
You protected your own. There’s nothing to be ashamed of in that.”

“Ditto.”
Adrian nodded respectfully to Alex. “Now come inside. Julian should be here any
minute and rumor has it he loves cantaloupe.”

Alex
chuffed out a laugh. “You’re all nuts.”

“Nope.
I trust my people, and they tell me you’re worth it.” Max waved them into his
home. “Alex?”

Alex
stopped. He looked startled at the sound of his name on Max’s lips. “Yeah?”

“Welcome
to Halle.”

Tabby
felt Alex tense beside her. “Thank you, Alpha.”

Tabby
nearly collapsed in relief. They weren’t going to be turned away.

They
were finally home.

Chapter
Seven

“There’s
no change.”

Tabby
collapsed against the door, watching Alex visit his cousin. Chloe still hadn’t
moved.

He sat
by Chloe’s side and picked up her hand. He watched his cousin, his expression
so full of sorrow Tabby’s eyes filled with tears. The shades in the room were
drawn, hiding them from the night. They’d stayed longer than planned at the
Cannon’s house, and visiting hours were almost over.

“Where
is her supposed mate?”

“No
clue. Last I heard, he wasn’t in town yet. Gabe told me his plane got delayed.”
She watched him run his hand over his bald head. “The longer she’s in a coma,
the worse off she’s going to be.”

Chloe’s
mother stifled a sob. “She’s going to be all right.”

“I
know she will, Aunt Laura.”

A hand
landed on Tabby’s shoulder. She turned to find Julian standing behind her. His
eyes showed the strain of being in the hospital, even though his lips smiled.
“Hey, girlfriend. Long time no see.”

She
poked him in the side, knowing how ticklish he was. She’d left him twenty
minutes ago sitting on the Cannon’s couch, arguing with Emma about which
reality TV show was better,
America’s Next Top Model
or
American Idol
.
She wasn’t certain which one he’d been for, only that he and Emma seemed to be
having a really good time. He’d refused to discuss Cyn, giving the Pumas that
weird, secretive smile of his and changing the topic. Not even Max had been
able to get him to talk about his would-be mate.

Julian
jumped and shimmied away, batting at her hand. “I have an idea, but I need to
talk it over with Chloe’s family before I try.”

Tabby
stopped poking. Julian had his serious face on.

Alex
stood. “What have you got?”

Julian
tugged his braid. It was a nervous habit and told her just how much he really
didn’t want to be doing whatever it was he was about to propose. “I might know
a way to wake her up, but if it works, it will change her profoundly.”

“Do
it.” Chloe’s father, Steven, didn’t even blink.

“She’ll
still be Chloe, but might also be something more. Are you willing to risk
that?”

Steven’s
mouth opened, but he stopped at a touch from his wife. “Changed how?”

Julian
shook his head. “I don’t know. What I do know is she and I will be connected in
some very strange ways.” He stepped into the room, lowering his voice. “What
I’m discussing is not done lightly, and can only be done by the Kermode. Are
you willing to risk having your daughter’s life tied to mine?”

Alex
frowned. “She has a mate.”

“This
won’t be a mate bond. This will be something a great deal more…spiritual. I’m
not sure I can adequately explain it.” Julian looked frustrated. “There’s so
much that you can’t see or feel. It’s like trying to explain red to a blind
man.”

“It’s
hot.” Tabby shrugged her shoulders when everyone turned to her. “What?”

Julian
rolled his eyes. “You watch way too much TV, Tabby. What movie was that from?”

“Does
it matter? Is she going to wake up all Freddy Krueger?”

Julian
snorted. “Hardly.”

“Is
she going to become a Stepford Wife, all cheerful and homicidally creepy?”

“Nope.”

“Will
she still be Chloe?”

“Of
course!”

Tabby
didn’t understand. “Then what’s the problem?”

Julian
tilted his head. “She could become more in tune with the spirit world than
other shifters. I’ve heard of ones who were awakened this way who could talk to
the dead, or see into other people’s dreams.”

Tabby
waited. “That’s it?”

Julian
growled.

“No,
she’s right. I’d rather have a psychic daughter than no daughter.” Steven held
out his hand. “Please. Wake my girl.”

Julian
smiled grimly. “I’ll do everything in my power.”

Tabby
pulled out her phone. “Should I call Cyn and let her know what’s going on?”

The look
Julian shot Tabby was lethal. “Do it and you’ll regret it.” His grin showed way
too many teeth. “You’d look really cute with brown hair.”

“Don’t
you dare.” Tabby glared at him. She hated her brown hair, always had. “I’d
rather be b—” she glanced at Alex “—blonde.”

“Nice
save.” Alex winked at her and the others chuckled, easing the tension somewhat.
“Julian, what do you need to wake Chloe up?”

“Privacy,
and lots of it.” He headed for the door. “I’ll start tonight.”

“How
will we know it worked?” Laura Williams stood, her gaze anxious as she watched
Julian leave her daughter’s room.

“Trust
me, you’ll know.” Julian left, leaving behind a group of very confused, very
hopeful shifters.

“We
need to get going too.” Alex hugged both his uncle and his aunt before taking
hold of her arm. “We’ll stop by again tomorrow after we go house hunting. Let
us know if you need anything.”

House
hunting?

“Sure
thing, Bunny.” His uncle pounded his back. “We’ll call you if anything changes
before then.”

“With
luck, her mate will be here when she wakes up.” His aunt gave him a peck on the
cheek. Almost immediately, her eyes went back to her daughter. “Love you,
Bunny.”

“Love
you too, Aunt Laura. Uncle Steven.”

“Bye,
Tabby.” Tabby flinched as Bunny’s uncle gave her a hug.

“Um.
Bye.” She wasn’t used to this family stuff. She had no idea what had happened
to her own family and, frankly, she really didn’t care. But watching Chloe’s
parents watch over their child had her longing for something she’d never had.
She wondered how she would she feel if it were
her
daughter lying on
that bed?

Alex’s
hand landed on her stomach, his fingers caressing her through her shirt. A
sudden thought hit her.

Holy
shit! They hadn’t used condoms at least once that she remembered. What if she
was
pregnant? She gulped, suddenly terrified. What the fuck had they been thinking?
Her hand moved to rest over Alex’s. She looked up at him and saw the way he was
watching her, his gaze full of affection. She knew how he’d react if they were
pregnant.

She
blinked. If
they
were pregnant. She had a sudden vision of Alex sitting
in a chair, their child resting in his arms. And the vision didn’t scare her at
all. He’d be an amazing father. Alex would never kick his child out of his
home. He’d be more likely to kick the ass of anyone who tried to hurt his baby.

“Take
care.” Laura offered her a hug as well. “Bunny, your parents said they’d sit
with Chloe for a little while tonight while Steven and I get some rest, so if
you need them, call here.”

“Will
do. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Alex
took hold of her arm and led her out the door. “Ready to do my ink, baby?”

Tabby
smiled. She might not know families, but she knew her art. “Sure thing.” They
headed for her Jeep. “Shop’s closed, but I’m pretty sure Cyn won’t mind me
working on you after hours. Do you have any idea what Julian’s planning on
doing?”

Alex
shook his head and drove for the shop. “Not a clue. Think we should tell Cyn
anyway?”

“And
risk that sneaky bastard figuring out a way to dye my hair brown again? No
way.”

They
passed Frank’s diner, drove through the nicer shopping district that contained
Emma’s shop, Wallflowers, and finally arrived at the little cluster of shops
and convenience stores nearer the campus. Alex pulled around back and got out
of the car. She settled back down when he waved to her, letting him check the
area out with eyes and nose. He came around to the passenger side and helped
her out, ignoring her grin. “You have someone watching the shop during the day,
don’t you?”

He
shrugged, not even bothering to deny it. She bet he’d had Gabe recruit some
Pumas for the job. She hadn’t scented any Bears and the scent of Puma was much
more common than any other shifter.

Tabby
dug her keys out of her purse and led the way to the back door. “So, do you
have an idea of what you want?” Tabby clicked on the lights only in the back of
Living Art. No sense advertising that someone was here when they weren’t
supposed to be.

“Other
than the bear and wolf? No.”

She
led him into her workspace. “So, I get creative license, huh?” He just grinned
at her and settled into the chair. “Cool. What kind of bear?”

“A
grizzly.”

She
plopped down on her stool, stunned. “Grizzly?”

He
nodded, watching her closely.

“You’re
a
grizzly
?”
Wow. That explains a lot.
He said he had anger
management issues? Talk about an understatement. Grizzlies were considered the
most aggressive of all the Bears. Some would say they were the most aggressive
of all the shifters. She whistled. “Okay. Feel free to protect me from, y’know,
anything you feel I need protection from.” It wasn’t like she’d be able to stop
him. Grizzlies could, and would, face down entire Packs. Those confrontations
usually ended in the Bear’s favor, unless the Pack was particularly large or
themselves extremely aggressive.

He
chuckled. “Have any ideas what you’d like to do?”

She
leaned back and studied him. “Where would you like the tattoo? And what size?”
A glimmer of an idea was building inside her. Watching Alex with his family had
made her long for things she’d thought she’d never have. She’d dreamed of a
roof over her head, food on the table, cubs at her feet and a man by her side
who’d love her forever when she ran as a Wolf. Now Alex was offering her
everything she’d ever wanted on a silver platter.

Yeah.
She had an idea of what she’d ink onto him. Their hopes and dreams, permanently
on his flesh.

He sat
up and pulled off his shirt. He pointed to his chest. “Here, and whatever size
you’d like.”

She
ran her hand over the smooth skin, felt his muscles ripple under her hand. Oh,
he’d look so good with her ink right there, her signature for anyone to see. “I
know what I’m going to do.” She handed him a magazine. “Give me about twenty
minutes, okay?”

He
nodded. “Mind if I put on the radio?”

“Nah,
go ahead. Just stay out of the front of the shop. We don’t want anyone thinking
we’re open or wondering if we’re being robbed.” She grinned at him and headed
back through the curtain. She smiled to herself. Cyn obviously hadn’t found the
ladder yet; the sign she’d tacked up was still there. She sat down at the desk
and began drawing.

She
drew the outline of her Wolf. The darker and lighter browns would blend
together, the colors of her fur melding with his skin. The Wolf would stare out
at the viewer with golden brown eyes. She was lying on her side, her expression
serene. Behind the Wolf sat Alex’s Bear, its massive head dwarfing her Wolf’s.
The Bear gazed down at the Wolf, his body hovering protectively over hers.
Behind them a Wolf cub and a Bear cub frolicked in the mouth of a cave, a den
for all of them.

Family.
Home. Dreams etched into flesh.

Alex
was going to love it.

She
took the sketch to him and showed it to him. “What do you think?” He stared at
it so long she started to get worried. “Well?”

“I
want it in color.” His voice was reverent, his finger tracing over first the
Wolf cub, then the Bear cub.

Like
she would ink it any other way. It was going to look magnificent in full color.
“I just need you to do one more thing for me.”

“Anything.”

The
ease with which he said that had her smiling like a love-struck groupie. “Take
all your clothes off.”

His
lips curved up into a wicked smile. “Going to have your way with me?”

Now
there’s a thought.
She shivered. The thought of riding him while he sat in her chair had her
nipples hard in seconds. “Maybe, afterwards. But first I need to know what you
look like.”

One
eyebrow rose. “I’d think by now you’d be intimately acquainted with how I
look.”

She
giggled. “I want to see your Bear, you perv.”

“Oh,”
he drawled. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “Okay. You asked for it.”

She
watched him undress, amazed anew at how lucky she’d been in the mate lottery.
Alex truly was stunning when naked, all rippling muscle under smooth brown
skin. Her fingers twitched. God, he had the best ass.

“Ready?”

She
nodded. She was eager to see him, draw him. She wanted
them
on the
tattoo, not two random animals.

Alex
began to shift. Her eyes grew wide as his body grew, and
grew.
His head
easily hit the height of the eight-foot ceiling and he bowed down, landing on
his front paws. She figured he had to break the ten-foot mark when upright. As
it was, his head was still above her own. “Um. Big.”