Mate Bond
Page 40
“Yes,” Bowman said.
“Ever miss it?”
Bowman shook his head, his look deadpan. “I like indoor plumbing.”
Turner laughed. “So captivity is better?”
“I didn’t say that. But we almost died in the wild. Our females stopped having many cubs. Now everyone is healthier, and more cubs are born.”
“But you and Kenzie just have the one?” Turner asked.
Bowman saw the pain on Kenzie’s face, and his voice turned to a growl. “Yes.”
Turner continued, not noticing the warning. “But maybe if you’d all remained in the wild, she might have been infertile altogether. So you’re right, you have benefited.”
“How about you stop talking and open the door?” Bowman suggested. He rose, putting his bulk between Turner and Kenzie. “Enjoyed the coffee. Now it’s time to go home.”
Turner looked blank. “Sure, if you truly have to. Let me by so I can put in the code. Before you go, though, I want to fix up a time to talk to you, Kenzie. You can come back here, or if you’ll let me go to Shiftertown . . . ?”
“We’ll discuss it.” Bowman stepped aside and pulled Kenzie next him.
Turner touched numbers on the keypad, but before he could push the door open for them, it was wrenched out of his grasp from the outside. Cristian stood on the doorstep, completely dressed, his breath fogging in the dawn light. His large motorcycle was parked in the clearing behind him.
“There you are,” Cristian said, his accent thick. “My mother is calling, calling, and every time I’m sure the sniper is going to hear. What are you doing? We need to go.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Kenzie gave a shiver of relief as she walked into her own house in Shiftertown. She was dressed again, Cristian having thoughtfully rescued all their clothes. They’d ridden triple on Cristian’s big black machine back to the arena, where Bowman’s bike still waited.
Ryan bounded into the kitchen in his wolf cub form as Kenzie and Bowman walked in the back door. Ryan sprang from the floor into Kenzie’s arms and began licking her face.
“Stop that.” Kenzie laughed and held her son close, burying her nose in his fur. “What are you doing up so early?”
Ryan kept licking, his tail wagging like a big puppy’s. He yipped happily at his father but snuggled down in his mother’s arms, not ready to leave her. Though Ryan was twelve in human years, in Shifter terms, he was still a little cub, though his wolf body was getting bigger by the year. He had long legs and big ears and huge paws the rest of him hadn’t yet grown into.
Bowman slammed the door. He dumped the manuscript Turner had given them on the table and made for the refrigerator.
Kenzie’s grandmother, Afina, came out from the hall that led to the bedrooms. Though she’d reached her three hundredth year, Afina was tall and strong, with barely any gray in her dark hair. Humans sometimes mistook her for Cristian’s sister rather than his mother.
“You are back then?” she asked. “And Cristian? You left him alive?”
“For now,” Bowman said, a carton of orange juice in his hand. “Can’t say that for everyone out in the woods tonight. I need to make some calls.”
Bowman tumbled Ryan’s fur, and Ryan’s tail whacked against Kenzie’s side.
“Ask Cristian for his version of things,” Bowman said to Kenzie. He dropped a brief kiss on her cheek and was out the door, his cell phone already at his ear. “Cade,” she heard him say, “Wake the hell up already . . .”
Then he was gone.
“Adventures?” Afina asked in Romanian.
“Too many. Ryan, honey, go clean up, and I’ll make us breakfast.”
“I will,” Afina said as Ryan squirmed out of Kenzie’s arms and scampered away. “You have had too much happen to you. Which you will tell me all about.”
* * *
Talking to her grandmother did help Kenzie calm down a little. It always had.
Grandmother Afina could be a ruthless fighter, and she was Shifter to the core, but she could also hold Kenzie until all the bad things went away.
After Kenzie had lost her immediate family, Afina had been the only person that had kept her going. Shifters could die of broken hearts or terrible grief. They stopped caring about eating or sleeping until either the wild animal in them went feral—pretty much forgetting about the human part of themselves and reverting to living on crazed instincts—or their neglected bodies simply ceased working. Kenzie, just a cub and wanting life, had nearly gone feral, but Grandmother Afina had pulled her back from that edge. Kenzie would always owe her for that.
She saw Cristian walk toward them from up the road, but he stopped at the edge of the snowy yard, not coming up the walk. This was Bowman’s territory. While Afina had been coming here to check in on Kenzie from the moment she moved in, Cristian refused to stand anywhere so infused with Bowman’s scent.
Kenzie and Afina left the house and crunched through the snow to talk to him. Ryan banged out after them, still wolf. He ran around and around the three adults, trapping them inside a furrow in the two-inch snowfall.
Cristian watched Ryan play for a moment, then raised a troubled gaze to Kenzie. “What was that stink out there? At that trailer house? Humans are crazy.”
Kenzie folded her arms against the cold. “We’re not sure, but we thought we smelled something Fae. Or Fae-born.”
Cristian gave her a brief nod. “I smelled it too. We should investigate.”
“I’m sure Bowman is already doing that.”
Cristian’s expression turned weary. “I know you think your mate is a superhero, but he can’t be everywhere doing everything. He was caught off guard with that shooter and the man in the trailer, and so was I. We need to learn more.”
“That’s why he has trackers,” Kenzie said, but without conviction.
Cristian gave her a sharp look. “Bowman cannot investigate the murder of the young woman, the monster and its death, the sniper, the odd professor, and whatever other things are going on all at the same time.” His brows drew down over his wolf-gold eyes. “I want to discover who was shooting at me and almost hit me. And who was shooting at my niece. You are still Dimitru pack at heart, Kenzie, one of mine. I refuse to let this sniper get away with trying to kill you.”
Kenzie raised her hands. “If you’ll stop talking, I’ll tell you I agree with you. We should check it out.”
“Ever miss it?”
Bowman shook his head, his look deadpan. “I like indoor plumbing.”
Turner laughed. “So captivity is better?”
“I didn’t say that. But we almost died in the wild. Our females stopped having many cubs. Now everyone is healthier, and more cubs are born.”
“But you and Kenzie just have the one?” Turner asked.
Bowman saw the pain on Kenzie’s face, and his voice turned to a growl. “Yes.”
Turner continued, not noticing the warning. “But maybe if you’d all remained in the wild, she might have been infertile altogether. So you’re right, you have benefited.”
“How about you stop talking and open the door?” Bowman suggested. He rose, putting his bulk between Turner and Kenzie. “Enjoyed the coffee. Now it’s time to go home.”
Turner looked blank. “Sure, if you truly have to. Let me by so I can put in the code. Before you go, though, I want to fix up a time to talk to you, Kenzie. You can come back here, or if you’ll let me go to Shiftertown . . . ?”
“We’ll discuss it.” Bowman stepped aside and pulled Kenzie next him.
Turner touched numbers on the keypad, but before he could push the door open for them, it was wrenched out of his grasp from the outside. Cristian stood on the doorstep, completely dressed, his breath fogging in the dawn light. His large motorcycle was parked in the clearing behind him.
“There you are,” Cristian said, his accent thick. “My mother is calling, calling, and every time I’m sure the sniper is going to hear. What are you doing? We need to go.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Kenzie gave a shiver of relief as she walked into her own house in Shiftertown. She was dressed again, Cristian having thoughtfully rescued all their clothes. They’d ridden triple on Cristian’s big black machine back to the arena, where Bowman’s bike still waited.
Ryan bounded into the kitchen in his wolf cub form as Kenzie and Bowman walked in the back door. Ryan sprang from the floor into Kenzie’s arms and began licking her face.
“Stop that.” Kenzie laughed and held her son close, burying her nose in his fur. “What are you doing up so early?”
Ryan kept licking, his tail wagging like a big puppy’s. He yipped happily at his father but snuggled down in his mother’s arms, not ready to leave her. Though Ryan was twelve in human years, in Shifter terms, he was still a little cub, though his wolf body was getting bigger by the year. He had long legs and big ears and huge paws the rest of him hadn’t yet grown into.
Bowman slammed the door. He dumped the manuscript Turner had given them on the table and made for the refrigerator.
Kenzie’s grandmother, Afina, came out from the hall that led to the bedrooms. Though she’d reached her three hundredth year, Afina was tall and strong, with barely any gray in her dark hair. Humans sometimes mistook her for Cristian’s sister rather than his mother.
“You are back then?” she asked. “And Cristian? You left him alive?”
“For now,” Bowman said, a carton of orange juice in his hand. “Can’t say that for everyone out in the woods tonight. I need to make some calls.”
Bowman tumbled Ryan’s fur, and Ryan’s tail whacked against Kenzie’s side.
“Ask Cristian for his version of things,” Bowman said to Kenzie. He dropped a brief kiss on her cheek and was out the door, his cell phone already at his ear. “Cade,” she heard him say, “Wake the hell up already . . .”
Then he was gone.
“Adventures?” Afina asked in Romanian.
“Too many. Ryan, honey, go clean up, and I’ll make us breakfast.”
“I will,” Afina said as Ryan squirmed out of Kenzie’s arms and scampered away. “You have had too much happen to you. Which you will tell me all about.”
* * *
Talking to her grandmother did help Kenzie calm down a little. It always had.
Grandmother Afina could be a ruthless fighter, and she was Shifter to the core, but she could also hold Kenzie until all the bad things went away.
After Kenzie had lost her immediate family, Afina had been the only person that had kept her going. Shifters could die of broken hearts or terrible grief. They stopped caring about eating or sleeping until either the wild animal in them went feral—pretty much forgetting about the human part of themselves and reverting to living on crazed instincts—or their neglected bodies simply ceased working. Kenzie, just a cub and wanting life, had nearly gone feral, but Grandmother Afina had pulled her back from that edge. Kenzie would always owe her for that.
She saw Cristian walk toward them from up the road, but he stopped at the edge of the snowy yard, not coming up the walk. This was Bowman’s territory. While Afina had been coming here to check in on Kenzie from the moment she moved in, Cristian refused to stand anywhere so infused with Bowman’s scent.
Kenzie and Afina left the house and crunched through the snow to talk to him. Ryan banged out after them, still wolf. He ran around and around the three adults, trapping them inside a furrow in the two-inch snowfall.
Cristian watched Ryan play for a moment, then raised a troubled gaze to Kenzie. “What was that stink out there? At that trailer house? Humans are crazy.”
Kenzie folded her arms against the cold. “We’re not sure, but we thought we smelled something Fae. Or Fae-born.”
Cristian gave her a brief nod. “I smelled it too. We should investigate.”
“I’m sure Bowman is already doing that.”
Cristian’s expression turned weary. “I know you think your mate is a superhero, but he can’t be everywhere doing everything. He was caught off guard with that shooter and the man in the trailer, and so was I. We need to learn more.”
“That’s why he has trackers,” Kenzie said, but without conviction.
Cristian gave her a sharp look. “Bowman cannot investigate the murder of the young woman, the monster and its death, the sniper, the odd professor, and whatever other things are going on all at the same time.” His brows drew down over his wolf-gold eyes. “I want to discover who was shooting at me and almost hit me. And who was shooting at my niece. You are still Dimitru pack at heart, Kenzie, one of mine. I refuse to let this sniper get away with trying to kill you.”
Kenzie raised her hands. “If you’ll stop talking, I’ll tell you I agree with you. We should check it out.”
