Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Matthias
“That was an amazing show,” she says. “I would watch it again every night.”
“Me too.”
“You didn’t even see it.”
“What I saw was the most gorgeous sight in the world.” And I’m going to see it again.
I’ve decided I’m not letting her go when we get back to Bad Bear.
I’m going to make her come every night. I want to worship at the altar of her pussy every morning, and sneak off to have my way with her every day.
The way I want her is problematic. It’s worse now that I’ve had a taste.
And it’s not just sinking my cock and teeth into her.
I want to feed her. Bathe her. Carry her, so her perfect toes don’t ever have to touch the filthy ground.
This cannot be normal. Were my brothers this way with Lana and Paloma?
I just need to strengthen the Moon Cure. I just took a dose before I got in the limo tonight, but it feels like it’s already worn off. My limbs feel heavy, but my fangs are slick and ready.
Mate mate mate need need need mark mark mark. My bear is shouting nonstop.
I’m almost out of Moon Cure. But it’s fine, I can get more vampire blood, even if I have to fly to Lucius to draw it myself.
She's still breathless as I escort her to a private room in the restaurant overlooking the fountains. We're going to have a candlelight dinner, and then I'm going to end by fucking her on the table while the glowing fountains dance to Debussy. Then I’ll take her to the mansion, carry her to the playroom, and test every implement on her sweet ass. I’ll have to take more Moon Cure to do it, but fuck it, I’ll do it, for her.
Mark mark mark mate mate mate mate.
I ignore my bear, but there’s a tremor in my hand as I hold her chair for her like a gentleman.
“Thank you for giving me my date. It was perfect.”
“This is just the beginning. We're going to be together. You need to know what I am, who I am first. So when we get back to the mountain, I'll take you on that hike, and I'll show you my bear.”
“I'd like that.”
Maybe it'll be okay.
“So now that you’ve seen my New Year’s resolution list, I might as well tell you about my plans for the cafe.”
“Expansion plans?” I ask, remembering the list.
“Yes, I want to build off the back and side and add a bookstore. I once saw a brewery bookstore, and that inspired me. We’ll be a coffee shop with a bookstore by day, and then a coffee shop with a bar by night.
I’ll host authors for signings and have a space for poetry readings, game nights, and performers like singer/songwriters. ”
“That sounds amazing.”
“I need to pitch it to Daisy and take care of the second mortgage on her house that she took out when I was in high school. All of my paycheck is going there until we get that paid down.”
“Maisy, I had no idea you were taking all this on.”
“Don’t tell Daisy–she doesn’t know I’m making extra payments.”
“And I’ve been taking entrepreneurship classes at community college and put together a business plan.”
“Do you need investors? You could talk to Lana and Paloma. They’ve started a foundation that focuses on micro-loans for women-owned businesses.”
“Oh…I don’t know. I couldn’t…they’re billionaires!”
“They want their money to do good. They’re also serious about investing in their community. They want to raise their kids on the mountain.”
“It takes a village.”
“Not even a village is enough to handle a set of Bad Bear triplets,” I mutter.
Maisy covers my hand with her much smaller one. “You helped raise your brothers. That’s why the triplets turned out so well.”
“Did they?” In my mind they’re still the rambunctious teens who seemed to never grow up.
“Don’t be down on yourself. If I’m not allowed, then you aren’t either.”
“Then yes, raising them was hard. Mom was amazing, but… it was a lot. And then Everest showed up, and he needed a lot of care. I don’t think he got enough.”
She frowns. “Everest seems like a sweetheart. He’s always showing up, wanting to work in the coffeeshop.”
“He’s refusing to shift out of bear form back to human.”
“Yes, well, that has made it difficult. Everest is an adult now, and he gets to make choices. Are there shifter therapists?”
“I’m a shifter doctor, so… probably.”
“It doesn’t have to be all on you, Matthias,” she says gently. “You’re a good big brother. An example.”
“I tried to be.”
“You are. Everyone looks up to you. I don’t think anyone works harder for Bad Bear than you. The only time I see you is when you’re on your way to the hospital. Or when you’re volunteering at the clinic right after a shift. You work too much.”
I swallow. I need to tell her that I was working to avoid her…to keep from claiming her. I need to tell her she’s my mate.
I don’t want her trapped by me before she’s ready, before she really understands she’s my everything for life. She’s only had a taste of how rough I am, and she hasn’t even seen my bear. I’m older than her, and she’s inexperienced.
“It’s been a lot. And…I’ve never told anyone this, but…my mom was sick, really sick. She doesn’t even know how sick. I tried to hide the worst from her, so I didn’t scare her.”
Maisy’s eyes round. “Your mom is sick?”
“She’s better now,” I say quickly because she looks distressed, and I can’t stand to see her upset. “I had to put her into hibernation to slow her body down, so I could cure her. That’s why she was asleep for years.”
“Oh, my God. That’s so intense. Axel never mentioned anything. That’s so rough.”
“My brothers don’t know. I didn’t tell anyone.”
“So you carried that all alone? Matthias.”
My throat closes at the look of compassion she gives me.
She picks up my hand across the table and squeezes it. “That’s so awful. So much pressure and responsibility on your shoulders. You should have shared the burden with your brothers. At least with Teddy and Darius–they were old enough to help you handle things.”
“They were both gone–Teddy enlisted in the military, and Darius was making his fortune on Wall Street. I didn’t want to bother them.”
She shakes her head. “What else have you been taking sole responsibility for?”
Keeping away from you. Not marking my fated mate who was far too young and fragile for me.
I open my mouth to confess it all, but the waiter approaches, “Sir, pardon the disruption, but I have a message for you. From your brother.”
“Which one?”
The waiter looks panicked, and I wave a hand. “Nevermind. What’s the message?”
“I was told to tell you, Allen alert.”
Fuck. They found Maisy’s father.
“He also strongly recommends you turn on your phone.”
“Thank you.” I pull out my phone and see that I have twenty missed calls and a bunch of texts from all my brothers.
I hit redial on the most recent call. It’s Teddy’s phone, but Darius answers. “We have Allen. What do you want us to do with him?”
“Great. Where are you?”
“In the party bus, parked in the alley behind the Paris Hotel. I dropped a pin.”
“Wait for me. I want to handle him personally.” I end the call and look at Maisy. “Will you excuse me for a moment?”
Maisy grabs my hand. “Wait–no. What is it?”
I hesitate. I don’t want to upset her with this. I don’t want that man anywhere near his daughter again.
“Handle who? Is it my dad?”
Fuck. I also can’t lie to my mate. I nod. “Yes. They've picked him up.”
Maisy releases my hand and stands, squaring her shoulders. “I want to speak to him.”
I barely contain my bear snarl. My lips curl up, and my fangs lengthen. The idea of my mate in any danger makes me savage. “Not safe.” My growl doesn’t even sound human.
“No, Matthias,” Maisy says firmly. “I need to do this. I need to know why.”
The courage in Maisy’s tone makes me pay attention. She sounds different. More sure of herself. More grown up.
I nod. “All right.” I throw a hundred-dollar bill down on the table to cover our drinks, and we hustle out of the restaurant.
Maisy hikes up her skirts. I lead her out of the restaurant, across the street, and into the alley. We walk away from the people in a construction zone through a boarded up walkway and into the deserted alley beyond.
At the end of the alley, the flashing lights of the party bus signal its presence.
A prickle at the back of my neck puts me on edge. I scent the air for a threat, but this part of town is crowded, so I just smell hundreds of strangers and cigarette smoke. My bear instincts are going off. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought Maisy.
I narrow my eyes to peer through the open door of the bus.
“Wait here, beautiful,” I murmur and climb the steps to crane my neck to see Allen.
Teddy gives him a kick in the ribs. The triplets sit on benches around him, scrolling on their phones and eating taffy.
Allen’s tied up on the floor, bleeding at the mouth and nose like my brothers have worked him over a little already.
“It’s okay–” I turn back to get Maisy and freeze, the blood turning to ice in my veins.
A man has Maisy in a headlock with a gun pointed at her temple.
My bear roars with rage, but I somehow manage to remain perfectly still, without shifting to bear form. I’m afraid any sudden movement will get my mate killed.
“You’re coming with us,” the greasy mobster who dared lay his hands on my mate declares.
Two other thugs flank him, also holding pistols.
Standing a short distance behind them is Lucky Lou himself—the man I intend to kill just as soon as I get that gun away from my mate’s temple. He has a gun trained on me.
My brothers catch on behind me, cursing softly, and drop below window-height.
“You’re late for our wedding,” Lucky Lou says to Maisy.
Maisy’s face has gone pale. Her wide blue gaze locks on mine like she’s waiting for instruction. Like she knows I will save her.
Her trust humbles me, and I vow one thousand times over to make sure I earn it by killing everyone of these fuckers.
“She’s already married.” I use my cool, authoritative doctor voice. “Last time I checked, polygamy was illegal in the state of Nevada.”
“She’s not married,” Lucky Lou insists.
“Yes, I am.” Maisy holds up her hand to display her wedding ring. “I got married two days ago.”
Lou curses. “I knew that lowlife Dankworth couldn’t be trusted. He double-crossed us.”
He advances on Maisy, and I jump down the bus steps to land lightly on my feet, my hands in the air like I’m harmless. There’s no way in hell I’m letting that man get close to my mate.
“Dankworth didn’t,” I say smoothly. “I’m the guy who put a wrench in your plans. Maisy is my wife now.” I take a step closer to Maisy.
If I can just get her to safety, I can take all of these guys, even with their guns.
“Don’t move.” Lucky Lou jerks his gun in my direction. “So you have my money, then. Well, you’re going to sign it over.”
“What money?” Maisy asks.
“Your inheritance,” Lou snarls.
I can see by the bewildered look on Maisy’s face, she doesn’t know what he’s talking about, either.
“What inheritance?” she asks.
“The one your husband controls as soon as you marry or turn twenty-three. The one owed to me by your asshole father.”
So, Maisy receives an inheritance for getting married or after turning twenty-three.
That explains the forced marriage. And her birthday is next month, so it seems her father was trying to get control of that money before she did.
Allen Dankworth had a trust fund before he partied it all away, so maybe his parents left her something.
Maisy turns a confused face toward the bus, like she wants to ask Allen to explain himself.
“Yeah.” Lou waves toward the bus with the butt of his pistol. “Get Dankworth out here, so he can join Maisy’s new husband in watching me torture her until I get what’s mine.”
I take one half-step closer to Maisy knowing exactly what will happen the moment Lou’s goon steps on the bus.
I ready my bear. I’m shocked I haven’t already shifted with our mate in danger, but he must understand when there are guns involved, I need my human brain at top function for strategy. I keep my gaze trained on the gun at Maisy’s temple and count down in my head. Three…two…one.
The party bus shakes with a six-bear roar.
The guy holding Maisy jerks his gaze in the direction of the rocking bus where a man screams.
I leap, shifting mid-air, slamming the gun to the ground with a giant bear paw.
I take a bullet in the shoulder from Lou as he yells, “Get the girl! Don’t let her get away!”
Maisy doesn’t let out a peep. She enacts what looks like a practiced self-defense move, breaking the pinky finger of the guy still holding her in a headlock, squirming out from his grasp, and stomping on the side of his knee to cripple him.
I tear his head off with one mighty swipe of my paw and throw it at Lou, who, based on his horrified expression, caught up to the fact that I’m no longer human. I’m a bear wearing the shredded clothes of a man, and I’m out for blood.
I pick up my mate by the waist, shielding her body by gently tossing her over the hood of the bus as Lou empties his chamber in my back. She understands, rolling and sliding across it to duck behind the other side in safety.
My brothers burst from the bus, spilling out into the alley with roars.
I lift my snout to the sky and roar, giving my bear free rein.
The scent of blood and urine from the terrified thugs reaches my nostrils.
My brothers seem to understand the kills belong to me because they catch and release, toying with the men, making a game of it until I end every single one of them with my claws through their hearts, their heads severed from their bodies, and their blood soaking the pavement.
“It’s over.” Teddy drops a hand on my shoulder. He’s back in human form.
I roar, wanting to kill them all over again.
They. Touched. My. Mate.
“I know,” he says, as if he heard my bear’s rant. “But your mate needs you now. Shift back, brother.”
My mate…needs me now.
My mate! I whip my head around to find Maisy.
“Matthias?” She emerges from behind the bus.
I instantly shift back. “Maisy!”
Canyon hands me a towel, and I use it to wipe the worst of the blood off my face and hands as I jog to her.
Fate, I hope she’s not afraid of me now.
“Maisy, are you okay?”
She barrels straight into my arms. Thank fuck. “Maisy. You were so brave.” I stand and rock her, swaying from side to side like she needs soothing. Really, I’m the one who needs soothing. I need to hold my mate. Know she’s safe. Reassure myself.
My bear still wants blood. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over seeing a gun pointed at her head. If anyone touches my wife, they won't be long for this Earth.
“Where did you learn those moves?” I ask, trying to sound normal. Like I didn’t just turn into a beast and execute four men in front of her.
She lets out a puff of laughter. “I took a self-defense class.” She tips her face up to mine. “What’s a martial artist’s favorite beverage?”
I can guess the answer, but I let her tell me. “What?”
“Kara-tea!”