Bearly A Squeak (13 page)

“I recognize that dazed look,” Alex said, coming to sit beside her. His hair was slightly damp from his shower. “I’ve seen a lot of people wear that look around my mother.”

Tara looked up at him. “I think she wants to set up Sara with your brother.”

“Excellent!” He grinned at her.

“What?” She looked at him incredulously. Hadn’t he heard her?

“If she’s trying to set up my brother, then it means that she’s no longer harassing us,” Alex pointed out. “This is a good thing.”

“We are not tossing Sara to your mother to get her off our backs!” she hissed at him. No matter how tempting the idea was. She glanced around, making sure his mother wasn’t in earshot. She’d lost count of the number of times she’d thought she was alone, only to turn around and find Anna Russell standing right behind her. The woman was practically a ninja.

“Why not?” He seemed genuinely confused. “I’d happily sacrifice my siblings to distract the woman.” He shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Sara isn’t like me,” she explained. “Sara and your mother in the same room would be a recipe for disaster.” She shuddered. No good would come of that combination.

“But it would…”

“No,” she said firmly. “Sara has a temper. Let’s not test what happens when your mother pushes her too far.” Honestly, she wasn’t sure which of them she was more afraid for.

Alex frowned, going quiet for a moment. “Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about. With everything else going on, I didn’t get a chance and then I forgot.” He took a breath. “It’s about Sara.”

Worried now, she reached out and touched his arm. “What about her?”

“I got a phone call,” Alex explained. “It was an old friend of mine who is a cop in Wolfton.”

“That’s where my family live,” Tara said slowly. “Where I used to live. You know, before…” Yeah, before Barry had made her life so intolerable that she’d fled the entire town to escape him.

“I know.” Alex reached over and picked her up, moving her so that she sat sideways on his lap, his strong arms wrapped around her, holding her close. She breathed in his scent, allowing it to calm her. Warm male with a dash of bear. They should bottle that. Alex rubbed her back. “Sweetheart, it seems that Sara has managed to get herself into some trouble. I don’t know all the details, and as far as I know, nobody is looking for her.”

She stared up at him, her hand on his chest. “Tell me. What did she do?”

He sighed. “She beat up on someone. Badly. Apparently the guy had it coming, but there’s still some concern over the amount of damage she did.”

“I told you,” Tara said with a sigh. “Sara has a temper. She always has, and it’s always led her into trouble.” Ever since they were kids, Sara was the one who would pick fights. Teenage Sara had been a nightmare, but Tara had thought that her sister was mostly under control now. Sure, she had the occasional burst of temper, but it had been a while since there had been any repercussions. Adult Sara had seemed to be calmer, more capable of restraining herself.

“The police aren’t interested in arresting her,” Alex assured her. “My friend is just concerned and thinks we should keep an eye on her.”

Tara nodded and snuggled into his warmth. “Alex, I know we’re newly mated and we should be together… but…”

“… you need to spend some time with your sister,” Alex finished for her, kissing her forehead. “I understand, sweetheart. Whatever is going on, you need to be there for her. I’m not going anywhere.”

She smiled at him, then reached up to kiss him. His lips were warm and she nibbled at them until he took over the kiss, delving deeply and passionately. His hands slid down her back to span her waist and turn her around to straddle him. She settled over him, rubbing herself against him as they continued to explore each other’s mouths. His hands smoothed over her hips to grab at her ass, pulling her closer into him. She could feel his hardness against her and she gave a little moan of delight into his mouth.

“Don’t mind me, I’m just passing through.”

His mother’s voice startled her. She stiffened, pulling away from Alex and looking at his mother who was rifling through a drawer.

“Found it!” Anna waved an address book in the air. “You two just carry on making those grandcubs. Forget I’m here. I’ll just be upstairs calling your sister.” She paused, looking at them. “Well? What are you waiting for? Those babies aren’t going to make themselves.” Shaking her head, she left the room.

Tara leaned forward, resting her forehead against Alex’s.

“That didn’t happen,” she said. Her cheeks burned so hot that she was sure they’d be scarlet. Hell, if they got any hotter, they’d probably burst into flames.

“It did,” Alex said with a groan. “You sure you don’t want to toss Sara in her direction?”

“Let me think about it.”

“Morning,” Sara said, sitting down at the kitchen table.

“Morning,” Tara answered, dishing up breakfast. Alex had dropped her at her house this morning, warning her to stay with Sara until he came back to get her. The whole protective mate thing was kind of hot, and yet also annoying. Still, she knew that Barry was still out there and she didn’t want to face him alone. Her newfound confidence only went so far.

Tara looked over at her sister. Sara was subdued and quiet, her skin was pale, dark circles were appearing under her eyes, and she seemed to have lost weight. Enough was enough.

She slapped down a plate of bacon and eggs on the table in front of Sara. Her sister looked up at her.

“Eat and talk,” Tara said.

“Sis…”

“No,” Tara said, holding up a hand. “You have been moping around since you got here. Something is clearly going on and I have been waiting patiently for you to tell me what’s wrong. It’s time, Sara.”

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can,” Tara insisted. “I am your sister. You know that I love you, no matter what. I am always,
always
, on your side. You can tell me anything and I will do whatever you need me to do. I just want to help, Sara. Please.”

Sara looked up, tears filling her eyes.

“I accidentally got mated,” she whispered, closing her eyes.

Tara felt her ass hit the chair with a thump, unaware of actually sitting down. Her sister was mated? Accidentally? How the heck was that even possible?

“What?” Yeah, that was the best she could manage.

Sara stifled a sob. “Do you remember Ryan?”

“That total asshole?” Tara remembered him well.

Her sister gave her a sad little smile. “Yeah, that one. In the last few years, he’d started paying more attention to me. Back in high school, I would have killed for him to notice me, but he always made it clear I wasn’t good enough.”

“I remember.” She remembered teenage Sara crying herself to sleep on numerous occasions because of nasty comments from Ryan.

“Well, he seemed to change his mind a while back.”

“And you dated him?” Tara asked, incredulous. “Sara, he was a teenage crush. I thought you were over that long ago. You haven’t mentioned him in a long time.”

“I was over it! I told him to get lost, but he was so persistent.” Sara looked down at her plate. “He’s not my true mate anyway. I realized that once we grew up.”

“Then how on earth did you end up mating him?” Tara asked. “And how do you accidentally mate someone?”

Sara was quiet for a moment. “He cornered me one night. I’d been out in the woods and I was still naked from shifting. He…” She broke off, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Sara?” Tara had a sinking feeling that she knew where this was going. Nausea rose and she squashed it down.

“He forced himself on me,” Sara sobbed. “I tried to fight him, really I did, but you know how strong he was.”

“And the mating?” Tara asked quietly.

“I lost my temper,” Sara whispered. Tara went to her side, wrapping an arm around her.

“What happened?” she asked gently.

“I was fighting so hard,” Sara said. Her face crumpled. “I was so frightened and angry that I didn’t even really know what I was doing. I bit him.” She covered her face with her hands. “Oh God, I didn’t mean it but I can’t take it back! He just laughed at me and said that he knew I really wanted it. Then he bit me back.”

“Oh Sara.”

Tears streamed down her sister’s face. “We’re not true mates but we’re still mated. I hate him, but my shifter side insists that he’s my mate and I should be with him. It pushes me all the time. I keep losing control of my temper because I’m refusing that part of myself.” She looked up at Tara, her expression one of sheer misery. “I don’t know how to fix this.”

“We’ll work something out,” Tara told her firmly. “You said yourself that you aren’t true mates. That means that it can be broken.”

“How?” Sara looked up at her, hope flickering uncertainly in her gaze.

“Finding your true mate would work,” she suggested. Mate bonds were breakable. It was never easy and it involved a lot of suffering, but it was possible. The easiest way was to find your true mate. A bond with a true mate trumped pretty much everything.

“It’s unlikely though,” Sara pointed out. “What are the odds of them turning up now just because I need them to?”

Tara sighed. She had a point. “Well, if we killed Ryan, that’d break the bond.”

“I can’t kill him because of the mate bond,” Sara said. “My shifter side won’t allow it. You can’t take him on either.”

“Watch me,” Tara muttered. For her sister, she’d take on anyone.

Sara leaned her head against her. “I appreciate the sentiment, but you know you’re not strong enough.”

Tara shrugged. “I have a lot of carnivore friends. They’d fight for the chance to eat someone. Ethan is still sulking over missing out last time.”

“I don’t want anyone to get in trouble over me,” Sara said with a sad little smile. Tara hugged her tighter.

“You can leave a mate though,” Tara said. “It’s hard, but the bond should fade by itself over time if you stay away from him.”

“In the meantime, I just have to deal with it,” Sara said, her face crumpling. “It’s hell, Tara. I’m fighting my inner animal all the time. I’ve never been so at odds with my own nature.”

“Sara.” Tara hesitated. “Alex said that there had been some trouble back home.”

Her sister closed her eyes. “Yeah. I’m fighting myself so hard, and every so often my temper just explodes. I can’t control it, sis.”

“I’ll help you,” Tara promised. “So will Alex. There’s a good bunch of people here, Sara. They’ve always helped me. When you start to struggle, tell me. I’ll drop everything to be here with you.”

“Even your mate?” Sara asked with a smile. “You don’t want to drop hot bear dude.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Tara said, rolling her eyes. “He has enough to deal with. You haven’t met his mother yet.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Worse.” A sneaky, very bad thought occurred to her. “I wonder how she’d feel about a trip to Wolfton.”

Sara snorted.

***

Alex threw the paperwork back onto his desk. He’d read that page four times already and he still had no idea what it said. He glared at his phone, willing it to ring. They still had Barry’s two cousins in custody, but they hadn’t managed to find Barry or his brother. By now, they were bound to have noticed that their cousins were missing, so they’d know to keep a low profile.

A knock at his door was followed by Ethan striding into his office.

“Boss,” Ethan said. “Leo and I had an idea.”

Alex looked at him, peered behind him. “So where is Leo?”

Ethan winced. “Ah. See, Leo thought that it would be better coming from me. He thinks you’re less likely to kill me because our mates are friends. If you kill me, Dana will be upset, and then if she’s upset, Tara will be mad at you.”

“Ethan…” Alex did not like where this was going.

Ethan held out his hands. “Just remember that our mates are friends. Good friends.”

“Tara has other friends,” he ground out. “Tell me about this idea.”

“We haven’t been able to draw out Barry, Geoff, or the mysterious hitman,” Ethan said.

Alex growled. “Stop telling me things I already know and get to the point.” It was fairly obvious that he wasn’t going to like whatever it was. Not even a little bit.

“We can’t do much about the hitman,” Ethan said. “Not until he shows himself, which will probably be when he’s trying to take you out.”

“Ethan!” he roared. A startled ‘eep’ came from someone passing by his door.

“Okay, okay,” Ethan said. “Keep your fur on. We thought that instead of looking for Barry and Geoff, that we could persuade them to come to us.”

“How?” Seriously, if Ethan didn’t get to the point soon, Alex swore he’d take the risk of upsetting Dana and annoying Tara.

Ethan sighed. “We thought that maybe Tara could spend some time alone… draw them out.” He rushed on. “She wouldn’t really be alone, of course. We’d be nearby.”

Alex saw red. His bear pushed forward, threatening to emerge right there in his office.

“WE ARE NOT USING TARA AS BAIT!!!” he thundered.

A crash sounded from outside the office.

Ethan backed up, his face pale. “Hey, calm down. It was just an idea. We don’t have to do it that way.”

Alex stared at him, not speaking. Even the thought of placing Tara in such a vulnerable position got his hackles up. She was his mate, and his bear was determined to keep her safe. He worked on his breathing, taking deep slow breaths, forcing the bear under control. He couldn’t let the bear out to kill Ethan right there in his office. His bear asked why the hell not. Blood stains on the carpet, he pointed out. The bear didn’t care. Pesky questions, he reminded it. The bear sighed, grumbled, and gradually receded.

Ethan had reached the door. “It’s fine. We’ll find another way.”

“Ethan,” Alex said quietly, a firm grip on his control. “If our positions were reversed and I suggested using Dana as bait…”

Ethan growled, his wolf trying to push through. “Bear or not, I’d skin you and use you as a rug.”

Alex glared at him. “Exactly.”

Comprehension filtered into Ethan’s expression.

“Get out of my office,” Alex grumbled.