Every Blissful Moment (Hyena Heat Book 4) (16 page)

“Where’s the first-aid kit?”  Memphis asked.

“There’s one behind the bar,” Nyte said.  “Ask Brent for it.”

Memphis disappeared while Nyte lifted the receiver on the other desk phone.

“Are you okay?”  Whisper asked as soon as she answered.

“I am now,” she promised.  Lincoln rubbed her back and she swallowed hard against the lump forming in her throat.  How easily things could have gone in a worse direction.  She could’ve been kidnapped, or Rome could have been seriously injured.

“What do those winged assholes want?” Whisper demanded.

“They wanted Brierley, and when we said she wasn’t here, they decided to take me instead.”

“How did they find you?”

“I don’t know.  One of them is alive, so hopefully when he shifts he’ll be willing to talk.”

Lincoln whispered darkly, “He will
definitely
talk.”

“Okay, Fade said I’m not allowed to come there because one of them is still alive and there might be more coming.  But I’m there in spirit, okay?  I’m giving you a big hug in my mind.”

Bliss chuckled.  “Thanks.  I’m giving you a big hug right back.”

After hanging up with Bliss, Whisper called Angel and told her what happened.

“Shit!  I’m glad you’re okay, but I’m really sorry you got attacked.”

“Thanks, hon.  When we know why they came here, I’ll call you back.  Hopefully they’re not on a mission from their king to bring Brierley home, and this will be the last we hear from them.”

Angel said, “Thanks for calling.  I’ll let Ally know so they can keep an eye out for strangers, just in case.”

“Looks like you left town just before all the action.”

“Yeah, well, I always did have great timing.”

“How is it there?”

“Ally is so sweet and her mates are amazing.  Brierley couldn’t wait to get started working.  I think she’s worried about not being accepted and having to find another place to live.”

Lincoln tapped her shoulder and Bliss said, “I have to go.  Love you, bestie.”

“I love you, too,” Angel said.

Bliss hung up.  “What now?”

“We’re going to take you home.  Rome will stay with you while Memphis and I handle the owl.”  Lincoln opened the first-aid kit and began to tend to her scratches.

“You say ‘handle’ like you don’t really mean
handle.
”

He arched a brow.  “We’ll make sure that no one else from the nest is going to  show up here, and keep him from causing any more trouble.”

She shivered and tried not to think about what that meant.  “You’ll be careful?”

“Of course.  Can I tell you something without you thinking I’m a Neanderthal?”

“Sure,” she said, smiling.

“I don’t want you working here anymore.  I don’t want you working at all.  You’re my mate and you shouldn’t be supporting our family in any way.”

“Rome and I were talking about me not working here before the night went to hell.  If you’re sure it’s okay, I think it’s what I’d like, too.”

Nyte hung up the phone and stood.  “Kross and Kayne are going to join us at the clearing where the wolves meet.  The pack will be gathering soon, and they said that they believe there’s a way to get the owl to shift before he’s ready, so you’ll be able to get him to talk.  We can drive together.”

“I’m going to run Bliss home.  We can meet back here in a half hour.”

“Sounds good,” Nyte said.

When Lincoln finished bandaging her scratches, she slid off his lap and he stood, twining his fingers with hers as they walked out of the office.  As if knowing that she wouldn’t want to see the parking lot with all the destruction, he took her out to the front, where Memphis was waiting at the passenger door of the SUV.  He opened it and she saw Rome sitting in his shifted form in the second row.  She climbed in and hugged him around the neck, burying her face in his fur.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she whispered.  He made a purring sound and snuffled against her ear.  She laughed.  “I’ve never been so thankful to be going home.”

Chapter 13

Rome hopped onto the couch in their home and Bliss sat down, leaning heavily against him.  She was trembling and, aside from crying in the SUV, she’d remained quiet.

Memphis squatted down in front of the couch and rubbed Bliss’s shoulder.  Looking at Rome, he said, “Are you okay?”

Rome had been gouged by the owls’ talons.  If it hadn’t been for Mack showing up when he did, he wasn’t sure he’d have been able to really protect Bliss, which bothered him on a number of levels.  She’d been forced to protect herself and that made the guilt weigh heavily on his shoulders.

He could feel his wounds healing, so he nodded at Memphis.

“Love?  I want to call the pack doctor to come check you out.”

She didn’t move at all, and Rome wondered if she’d passed out.  He looked down at her and saw that she was staring at Memphis, but not speaking.

Link stalked over.  “Sweet thing, you need to talk to us.”

Her whole body shivered and Memphis reached for the blanket on the back of the couch, laying it over her.

Her voice was raw and soft.  “Is the owl going to die?”

Link snarled and bared his teeth.  “If we have anything to say about it.”

She buried her face in Rome’s shoulder and exhaled shakily.  “I’m okay, I’m just really tired.”

Memphis growled unhappily and left the room.  He returned a few moments later with a medical kit and began to check Bliss over more thoroughly.  He ended up rebandaging one of the claw marks that had bled through the gauze.  Rome watched, growling when he saw the scratches that had been inflicted on her arms.

Link shook his head.  “It could’ve been a lot worse.  If you hadn’t been there to help her, they would’ve grabbed her and taken off.  We can be thankful it’s just scratches.”

Memphis smacked Rome on the back of the head.  “Stop feeling guilty.  I can see it in your eyes.  She’s alive and safe because you were there for her.”

If he could talk in his shift, he would’ve told Memphis that he wasn’t so sure that Bliss was lucky.  She would’ve been luckier to have either of his two brothers there instead of him.  He wasn’t a fighter; they were.

Link’s brow rose as if he knew what Rome was thinking.  “She’s not cuddling up to me or Memphis, man.  She’s been hugging on your furry ass since we left the bar, so she obviously doesn’t feel like you let her down.  And as far as Memphis and I are concerned, she’s safe
because
you were there and that’s final.”

Bliss’s hands fisted his fur as Link spoke and Rome exhaled loudly.  If Bliss wasn’t holding the events of the night against him, then he wasn’t going to either.

“I want to call the pack doctor,” Memphis said.

“I don’t need a doctor, I’m just tired.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded.  “Tomorrow we can see the pack doctor if you still want me to, but for right now I don’t want to go anywhere.  I’m scratched up and I’m exhausted, but I feel fine otherwise.”

“Okay, love.  Link and I have to go to the clearing to deal with the owl.  We’re going to make sure that no one else is coming to town from that damn nest and that you’re safe from now on,” Memphis said as he snapped the medical kit closed.

Link said, “We’ll set the security alarm.  Nyte sent some wolves to patrol around our house while we’re gone, just to be on the safe side.”  He glanced at Rome.  “I’ll text when we’re on the way back, but don’t expect us for several hours.”

Rome knew that his brothers were expecting to shift tonight to fight the owl.  The pack would be there for support, but it would be up to Memphis and Link to put the threat to their mate down.  He had no doubt that the owl’s life was now being measured in minutes instead of years.  The animal should never have come to Beyton.

Rome snarled softly to his brothers and Memphis scratched his head.  “Take good care of our sweetheart, Rome.”

Memphis kissed Bliss and Link did as well.  They left, setting the alarm to secure their home, and silence settled over them.  He could only hear the sound of Bliss’s heart beating.  She leaned slightly; he settled on his side and she curled up against him, using him as a pillow, which he adored.  He realized that his brothers were right.  If she didn’t trust him to keep her safe, she wouldn’t be lying on top of him like he was the best body pillow ever invented.  But she did, and she was.

“Thank you, Rome, for being there for me,” she said, her voice so low it was almost a whisper.  “I love you.”

He reached his paw to her and rested it on top of her hand.  He’d tell her how much he loved her as soon as he could shift.

* * * * *

Link was silent as Memphis drove to the full moon clearing.  Memphis didn’t mind, because he wasn’t really sure what to say.  They’d assumed that Bliss was safe because the owl king had said so.  He wasn’t sure what it meant that three owls had showed up looking for Brierley and that they’d known where she’d been.

“I know that I said I loved that Bliss was compassionate enough to save Brierley’s life, but can I just tell you that if that she-owl was around I would kick her ass so far out of town she’d need a passport to get back?” he said.

Link snorted.  “I’d help.”

“I’m worried that Bliss is going to become a recluse after this.  She was so quiet about what happened in the nest after we got home.  Things were finally turning around for us, then this happens.”

“We’ll just have to keep that from happening,” Link said.

“Do you have any ideas how?”

“Not remotely.  I honestly think right now she’s just upset because she had to fight for her life and Rome was injured, and she knows that what happened tonight was directly related to her actions in the nest.  She’s probably feeling guilty.  We’re going to ensure her safety tonight; we can deal with her state of mind in the morning.”

Memphis nodded.  He parked next to Kayne’s truck in the clearing just outside of the woods, where the pack hunted on the full moon, and turned off the engine.  He’d never been in the pack woods.  Although he and his brothers had shifted from time to time since they’d been in Beyton, they’d stayed close to home.  His beast was clawing at him from the inside, urging him to find the owl and shift so they could tear him apart.  Memphis didn’t think that was such a bad idea.

They arrived in the clearing and found Nyte, Sterling, Kayne, Kross, and Mack; the alpha still in his shifted form.  The owl was in the crate, silently watching through the wooden slats.  The sun was setting, and Memphis knew the pack was going to show up soon for their own hunt; so they needed to deal with this threat quickly.

Kayne said, “There are two ways to play this, according to pack law.  We can set him free as-is and you can hunt his feathery ass.  Or, we can force him to shift and tell us what he knows, and then you can decide what to do with him.  The question is whether you believe he and his pals acted alone and therefore he just needs to be put down, or if you aren’t sure about that and need confirmation.”

“We don’t know if they were working alone or not,” Memphis said.

Kross knelt next to a dark object on the ground.  He untied strings and unfolded flaps of thick fabric, then picked up a long, cylindrical object.  It had a leather-wrapped handle on one end and three sharp needles on the other.

“This is a
yolic
,” Kross said, standing slowly and holding the object out from his body.  “You jam the needles into the owl, and a special serum will force him to shift.  The serum will keep him in his human form for ten minutes, giving you enough time to extract the information you need, and then it will force him back into his shift.  Using this ensures that he’s in his animal form when you hunt him, which keeps the human authorities off our backs.”

Memphis took the cylinder from Kross.  It was cool to the touch and surprisingly heavy.  He looked at Link, who cracked his knuckles and nodded.  Nyte and Sterling stood next to the crate, poised to remove the bungees and lid.

“This is for Bliss,” Memphis said, shoving the cylinder through the slats and embedding the needles into the owl’s flesh.  It shrieked loudly as the cylinder hissed and a sharp odor, like moldy cheese, filled the air.  The owl fell to its back and began to twitch.  Nyte and Sterling undid the bindings holding the crate closed and tipped it over, dumping the now-flopping owl onto the ground.

“You’ve got ten minutes,” Kross said, glancing at his watch.

The owl’s shift happened quickly.  One moment it was a feathery, flailing creature, and the next it was a writhing, screaming, naked male.  Link grabbed the male, hauling him from the ground and twisting his arm behind his back as he shoved him against a tree.

The male screamed.  “It burns!”

Memphis looked at Kross, who shrugged.  “It’s not meant to be pleasant.”

Link snarled, baring his fangs at the owl.  “Who sent you?”

He simply screamed.

Link pulled him away from the tree and shoved him against it, hard.  The owl shifter’s voice stuttered, and he gasped in pain.  “Who.  Sent.  You?”

“Make it stop!” he wailed.

“Tell us what you know,” Memphis said.

“No one, please!  It feels like my blood is boiling under my skin!”  The male shrieked the last words, and they sounded almost ethereal.

Link shoved the male around and snarled in his face as he pushed him against the tree.  “You and those assholes came alone?  I don’t believe you.”

“It’s true!”  The male said.  “My brother was supposed to mate with the she-owl you set free.  When she ran off to the humans before, he was worried she’d try to escape again after they were mated, so he put a tracker in her only pair of shoes.  We followed it here.  We broke into a house where the tracker was and found the shoes in a trash bin, but the house was empty.  We found the she-wolf’s scent in town and followed it to the bar.”

He gasped for air and began to shake, sobbing as he whined about the pain.

Link looked at Memphis.

Memphis stepped close and fisted the male’s hair, forcing him to look up.  “Who knows you’re here?”

“No one else.  My brother and my cousin are dead, and we hadn’t told anyone else about the tracker because we wanted to bring the she-owl back to the nest as a surprise for the king.”

“The king said we would be safe from harm.”

The owl shifter’s yellow eyes glazed over with pain, but Memphis wouldn’t release the hold on his hair.  “He didn’t know.  My brother said the king would be pleased we had brought the she-owl back to the nest.  He likes surprises.”  He whimpered the last few words, Memphis released the hold on his greasy hair and wiped his hand on his jeans.

He looked at Kross.  “How much longer?”

“Three minutes, give or take.”

Link leaned heavily against the male.  “I can make the pain stop.  Tell us the truth or I’ll jam that device into your heart and watch you melt from the inside out.”

The male’s eyes widened and Memphis could hear his heart pounding.  “I swear it’s the truth!  No one else knows we’re here, and you killed my only family.  Please, make it stop!  Please.”  The male began to sob and Memphis grimaced in disgust.

“I guess you’re only brave when you’re attacking a female, you asshole.”  He stepped away and began to undress.

“Wh-what are you doing?  You said you’d make the pain stop!”

“We will.  After you shift and we hunt you down,” Link said.  He released his hold on the male and stepped away as he fell to the ground in a heap.  The male began to sob, unable to get to his feet.