Chapter 30
“You’re tall.”
“You’re not.” Briggs stared at the little girl standing in front of him.
She wrinkled her nose at him. “It’s ‘cause I’m only seven. How old are you?”
“Older than seven,” he said. He glanced at the ladies' room door and then the entrance to the hallway, from where the little girl had come trotting in. The dinner had wound down, but Cece wanted to use the bathroom before they left.
He glanced at the bathroom door again, tamping down his and his bear’s impatience.
He wanted to get Cece home, and not just because it was harder to keep her safe in an exposed place like this.
No, he wanted her home so he could use the vibrator on her again.
Despite what he’d said to her, now that he’d seen her coming, watched her fall apart with pleasure, he wanted to see it again.
Even if he had to use a fucking vibrator to do it.
And if you lose control? If you touch her like you nearly did last night?
He wouldn’t.
Are you sure?
“Mister!” The little girl tugged on his shirt.
“What?”
“I’ve never seen a polar bear shifter before. I thought you lived in Canada. Why don’t you live in Canada?”
“I’m from Alaska,” he said.
“Oh,” she said. “Why are you here?”
“Where’s your mom?” he asked. “You’re too young a cub to be alone.”
“I’m seven!” she said indignantly before baring her fangs at him. “I can go to the bathroom by myself, and I’m not afraid of you.”
He squatted until he was eye level with her. “Let me see those fangs again.”
She bared her fangs, growling loudly at him, and he said solemnly, “Impressive. You ever bite anyone with those things?”
“Just my brother, but he deserved it,” she said.
“Brothers usually do.”
“Let me see your fangs.”
He dropped his fangs and bared them at her. She studied them carefully. “Yours are pretty good too.”
“Thanks,” he said.
“Wanna see what else I can do?” she asked.
“Sure.”
Her face lit up before she closed her eyes and squinched her cheeks.
After a few seconds, dark fur sprouted on her face, and when she opened her eyes, they’d gone from hazel to a dark brown.
She growled again before shaking her head and rolling her shoulders.
The fur faded from her face, and she gave him a proud look.
“Did you see that? I can half-shift.”
“That’s pretty good,” he said.
“My brother couldn’t half-shift until he was eight,” she announced. “Probably because he’s stupid.”
There was a cough that sounded more like a muffled laugh, and they both glanced up to see Cece standing in the hallway. The little girl sniffed in her direction before wrinkling her nose. “She’s a human.”
“She is,” Briggs said.
The little girl eyed Cece as Briggs straightened. “Cece, this is…”
“Lucy,” the little girl said.
“Hi, Lucy. It’s nice to meet you,” Cece said.
“Nice to meet you.” Lucy glanced at Briggs. “Someday I’m gonna go to Canada. Maybe I’ll see you there.”
“Maybe you will,” Briggs said.
“Okay, bye.” Lucy slipped by them and into the bathroom.
Briggs could feel a dumb blush rising in his skin at the look Cece was giving him. “What?”
“You were good with her,” Cece said.
He just shrugged. “I like cubs.”
“What kind of shifter was she?”
“Brown bear,” he said. “Do you, uh, like cubs… babies?”
“I do,” she said. “I want at least two. How about you?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Two for sure.”
His bear was growling happily, and Briggs swallowed the sound. Just because Cece wanted cubs didn’t mean she wanted his cubs.
“We should get going,” he said.
She nodded and followed him out of the hallway and into the restaurant. It was only a quarter full now, but he stayed alert, studying their surroundings as he led Cece toward the exit.
“Cece?” a familiar voice said behind them.
His bear growled, and Briggs kept a polite smile on his face as he stopped and turned. Cece smiled at Monroe, and he ignored his flare of jealousy.
“Hi, Monroe.”
“Hi there.” Monroe returned her smile before nodding to Briggs. “Hi, Briggs.”
“Hey,” he grunted.
“You just started dinner, or just finished?” Monroe asked.
“Finished,” Cece said. “We were having dinner with a few friends in one of the private rooms.”
“Nice. I’m here with some friends as well.” He pointed to a booth where three other men sat before asking, “Did the barrier spell work last night?”
“Perfectly,” Cece said. “Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome.” He squeezed her arm, grinning at Briggs when he growled. “It was good to see you both.”
“Bye, Monroe.”
As they headed toward the exit, Cece said, “Are you good?”
“Yeah. Sorry that I growled,” he said. “My bear hates that guy.”
“Just your bear?” she asked with a teasing smile.
He growled to her, and her smile grew wider as they stepped outside. Cece immediately zipped up her jacket as a fierce wind blew her hair around her face. “Holy crap, with that wind, I think it’s dropped ten degrees.”
She glanced at him. “You probably love this, huh?”
“Yep,” he said, making her laugh.
They made their way across the parking lot to where Ronin and Kat, Mal and Willow, Bishop and Ava, and Hudson and Rosalie were clustered near Bishop’s truck.
“Swear to God, Ava,” Ronin said as they joined them. “The guy was totally nude and swimming in the fountain.”
Ava laughed. “Was he arrested for public indecency?”
“Probably not,” Ronin said. “It’s Vegas…nudity runs rampant.”
“Great. Now Mal will never take me to Vegas,” Willow said, one hand resting on her belly.
“Nudity does not run rampant in Vegas,” Kat laughed as Ronin slung his arm around her waist.
“Everyone else already left?” Briggs asked Hudson.
He nodded. “Yeah, we’re heading out, too. Rosie just wanted to talk to Cece before we left.”
Rosalie smiled at Cece. “Let’s finalize our dinner plans for this week. I have showings on Tuesday and Wednesday evening, but we could do Thursday or Friday. Wait, I think that’s when my showings are… hold on, let me confirm.”
She pulled out her phone, and she and Cece moved a few feet away so the truck cab would shelter them from the bitter wind.
“You doing okay?” Hudson asked him in a low voice.
“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?” Briggs said.
Hudson shrugged. “It’s gotta be tough not being able to touch your mate.”
“Cece isn’t my mate and -” Briggs stopped as a new scent hit his nose. There was a crackling sound, and he turned, twin growls escaping him and Hudson when they saw the woman standing at the edge of the parking lot.
She wore a long black cloak, and her dark hair was twisted into a bun on the top of her head. Her hands glowed a rich, dark red, and Briggs could see her mouth moving as she spoke, but the wind whipped the sound away.
Horror shot through him, and his bear howled in agony when red light shot from the witch’s hands and fire engulfed Cece and Rosalie. The fiery blast threw them across the parking lot, and Hudson’s voice shattered the cold night air.
“Rosalie!”
Briggs sprinted toward Cece. She was lying on the ground a few feet from Rosalie’s body, and his bear growled with rage and fear when, from the corner of his eye, he could see the witch raising her hands again.
“Cece!” he shouted as he dropped to his knees beside her. He yanked her into his arms and tucked her in tight against him, shielding her body with his own as the witch cast another spell. Flames surrounded them, but instead of hot agony, the flames were ice cold.
The fire flickered out of existence, and he was up and on his feet in an instant, cradling Cece against his body as he ran for refuge behind Bishop’s truck.
There was another crackle of energy, and he instinctively ducked as a fireball smashed into Bishop’s truck, blowing out the headlights and making it rock wildly.
He dropped to the ground behind the truck, relief snaking through him when he realized Hudson was there with Rosalie in his arms.
“Is she burned?” he shouted at Hudson as another blast of flames lit up the sky and made the truck shake.
The others were behind the truck as well, and Ronin pushed past Mal and Willow to join Hudson. He studied Rosalie’s body as Hudson stroked her hair back from her face.
“She’s not burned. Is Cece?” Ronin asked.
Briggs shook his head. “No, I think Monroe’s protection spell saved them.”
“Rosie. Rosie, baby, wake up,” Hudson said. He patted Rosalie’s face gently, his entire body shuddering when Rosalie opened her eyes.
“Hudson?”
“My mate.” Hudson held her against him as Rosalie gave him a dazed look.
“I… I’m okay. I think Cece took the brunt of it.” Her eyes widened. “Cece!”
She struggled to sit up, but Hudson tightened his grip on her. “Briggs has her. Stay where you are, my mate.”
A shriek of laughter echoed in the cold air. “Come out and play, dirt witch!”
More fire blasted across the top of the truck, and the smell of burning rubber filled the air.
“Shit, if she sets the gas tank on fire, we’re dead,” Ronin said. “We need to move.”
“No fucking place to go,” Bishop said as he studied the parking lot.
Kat had her phone to her ear as Mal peered over the top of the truck.
“Kat, she’s coming.”
“I’m calling him,” Kat snapped.
“Call fucking faster,” Bishop said. He had Ava completely covered by his big body, and he stared grimly at Mal. “With the protection spells and if we shift, we might be able to slow her down until he gets here.”
“No!” Willow said. “What if she breaks the protection spell?”
“Magic doesn’t work on us as well in our shifter forms,” Mal said.
“It can still kill you!” Willow said.
“We have to risk it, my mate,” Mal said.
“Bishop, no,” Ava said, her voice and body shaking. “I won’t watch you burn to death.”
Briggs stared at Cece. Her face was pale, and when he peeled open an eyelid, he could see nothing but the white of her eye. Fear rocketed through him, and he shook her roughly. “Cece!”
Ronin knelt beside him and pressed his fingers against Cece’s neck. “She has a pulse.”