Brother Bear Mated (12 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Thames awoke long before he was able to open his eyes, allowing the memories of everything that happened to filter back into his consciousness. Nastia being controlled by dark magic, Mirena hurt, Newt finding a way to heal her…

Nastia taking on darkness to right her wrong.

Nastia fading away.

She’s gone
, his bear whimpered.
Mate is lost
.

A sob wracked Thames’s throat but he still couldn’t open his eyes.

She was gone but her scent remained. Cherry trees and his animal’s mark and a tinge of something else. Something warm like memories. The way the sun smelled on wet wood.

Thames groaned, letting the pain wash over him as he rolled to his side. If his eyes wouldn’t work, at least his body did. And he planned on getting to his mate and holding her until his arms went numb. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet.

He’d never be ready.

“He’s coming to.” Theron’s voice sounded far away. Like he was at the end of a mile-long tunnel.

He’d better be far away. Because he was getting an ass whoopin’ for clocking Thames so hard.

Struggling again to open his eyes, he realized Theron was right by his side.

“There you are, brother,” Theo murmured, crossing his arms over his chest. “Time to rise and shine.”

But Thames’s lids slipped closed again. They were so heavy. They shouldn’t be this heavy. He was knocked out, but he should’ve recovered in fifteen minutes, tops.

Come to think of it, what he was lying on was too soft to be the dirt packed parking lot. And the air was too warm to be the night outdoors.

What was happening?

“Why… can’t I…?” he slurred, hoping Theo caught his drift from those three words.

“Doc gave you a tranquilizer.”

The hell? They tranqed him. No wonder he was wading through a fog. But the longer he tried to stay coherent, the more the fog lifted.

“What’d she… do that for?”

Theron was oddly silent. Thames blinked his eyes open but his brother wasn’t looking at him anymore.

“It was my idea.” The voice was soft and careful and came from his other side. And it clenched his heart in a fist.

Thames tried to sit and ended up turning awkwardly in the bed. But he didn’t care because…

“Nastia,” he rasped, his weary eyes taking in every feature of her face.

“You… you came awake shifting and your bear was angry,” she explained.

Theron snorted. “Pretty damn sure you wanted to bleed me dry.”

“So I asked Doc to sedate you until you calmed down. I…” She looked like a dream. Was he hallucinating? “I figured if she didn’t, you’d regret killing your brother.”

“Nastia,” he tried again, and she seemed to be holding her breath, waiting for something.

“Yes?”

“You… you’re alive.”

She chewed her lower lip nervously and he noticed something new. The tip of a long white fang stuck out from her mouth.

“Well, yes and no,” she said.

“You’re really okay? You’re...” He reached for her but she stiffened.

“I’m okay,” she whispered.

His bear regarded her curiously.
Mate?

Suddenly the reason for his bear shredding him made more sense. To the animal, Nastia was gone. The female he’d scented and mated with wasn’t identical to the one beside them now. She was better, because this female was safe from the pull of dark magic.

“You’re safe.” He couldn’t believe it. She was here and whole and damn it, he really wanted to touch her.

She nodded. “The spell was successful. It wiped my sisters out. They’ll need to avoid using magic for a few days to restore their strength, but… the darkness is gone. So is the light. I have no magic except for…” She trailed off.

“Except for what?”

Thames blinked, more of the fog disappearing. He realized Nastia’s head rested on a pillow. And she lay under the same blankets that covered his legs. Yet there was enough room to fit a third body between them.

“Love,” she barely mouthed.

He remembered the way she’d used the stone on herself to try to destroy her feelings for him. The darkness had honed in on that part of her because it was the strongest. Because love was the one thing that would last even through a transfer of power, Mirena had said.

It would last even when her magic was gone.

“Love. That’s powerful magic. You said so yourself.” He ached to touch her. Needed it to settle his bear, to remind his animal that even though Nastia was different, she wasn’t gone. She was here, and she was still his.

“Yeth,” she agreed, her lip getting caught on a fang. Her cheeks went beet red. “I’m still getting used to them.”

“Let me see.” He reached forward, thumbing the corner of her mouth.

Tentatively, she bared two sharp extensions of her canine teeth. And if they weren’t the hottest thing he’d seen since getting her naked for the first time, then he wasn’t a dominant hot-blooded bear shifter.

Mine
, his bear declared firmly.
My female
.

“They retract,” she said, uncertainly. “But right now they aren’t cooperating.”

Same logical twist to her voice. Same peachy complexion dotted with freckles. Same ruby colored hair that was soft as silk. Same wheels turning in her mind.

“Your heart still beats,” he said. “I can hear it.”

“Yes. I believe it will as long as I feed. It’s necessary to distribute the blood I consume throughout my body.”

Her gaze dropped to his neck and then quickly away.

“And you still breathe.”

“I don’t need to,” she explained. “I would survive without it. Doc and I tested it. But I find I do it out of habit, and I like the way the oxygen feels in my blood. It’s added energy. And… it cools me.”

Thames frowned. “Cools you?”

“I seem to run hot now. But the cave will be much cooler than this room, so I don’t foresee it being a problem.”

For the first time, Thames looked at his surroundings.

“I wanted to take you home, but Theron said he wasn’t carrying you all that way.”

“True that,” his brother answered.

“So Layna found a room for us temporarily.”

Thames turned to her. “Can you be in the sun?”

A smile curved her lips, the tips of her fangs peeking out again. Oh, they were sexy.

“That’s the very best part. Not only
can
I be in the sun, I
need
to be. Adira says it’s like one of those solar powered lights. If I don’t get enough of it stored up, I’ll sicken.”

“
That’s
the best part?” The idea of anything making her sick so easily curled his stomach.

“Well, yeah. It’s better than being stooped in darkness, never to see daylight again. But there’s a lot that will be different than Hollywood’s idea of the undead. We just don’t know what yet. It’s my first day with this gig. It will take time for us to work out all the details.”

“Transformed,” he said. “Not undead. I like the word transformed better.”

She tilted her head, thinking. “I suppose you’re right. I didn’t die exactly. Though my body would have after that dose Doc gave me. But I was… yes, I was transformed. Similar to what we did to the Alley Cats. My body has changed, but still functions. My senses are heightened, but my mind is the same. My heart still loves. And best of all, my motives aren’t hindered by magic.”

“You’re still a nerd,” Theo added.

“Agreed.” Mirena’s voice came from the doorway, followed by a knock on the jamb. She strolled in, dress flowing behind her, and came to stand by the bed.

Adira followed her in. “You’re supposed to knock
before
you enter,” she muttered.

Mirena waved her hand dismissively. “Whatever. Theron was in here so I knew they weren’t undressed yet.”

Nastia shot her sister a wide-eyed look.

“What?” She lifted both hands in a shrug. “We all know what needs to be done. And that you’re probably going to wish you were in the seclusion of your cave instead of right here in the lodge where all these shifters with super hearing can catch every sound coming from this room.”

Theron whistled low, a smirk twisting his lips.

Adira rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

And Nastia shifted nervously in the bed.

“What’s she talking about?” Thames asked. “What needs to be done?”

Nastia glanced at him and then away. At his neck, specifically.

“I need to feed,” she mumbled. But she wouldn’t look at him. Almost like she was ashamed. Or worse, scared of his reaction.

Mate is hungry
.

“I’ll call the kitchen—” But as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized what she meant.

“Tried that,” Theron said.

“The food was good,” Nastia rushed out, “but it wasn’t enough.”

“The instinct to feed will be strong while her body adjusts to its new demands,” Adira added. “I would suspect it’s similar in feel to a shifter’s instinct to mate.”

Thames knew that gnawing need well.

“And extremely pleasurable, if the fang sensitivity is anything to go by,” she continued.

Fang sensitivity?

Nastia’s cheeks turned a deep shade of pink.

“Blood. You want blood?” he asked.

Again, she wouldn’t meet his eyes. “It’s more a matter of need. Doc gave me some of Theron’s to get me through the beginning, but it’s not enough. I’m…” Her voice shook as she slowly lifted her gaze back to his neck. “... struggling a touch.”

Struggling. Well that explained the Grand Canyon-wide gap she left between them.

His bear chuffed, displeased.
Mate is hungry. Feed her
.

But the rest of her words sank in, and Thames’s vision streaked crimson.

He rounded on his brother, furious. “
You. Fed. Her?
”

Images of Nastia’s mouth at Theo’s neck while she sucked blood that would sustain her pummeled his brain until his bear was nearly blind with rage.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Theron stepped back, both hands in the air as if that would somehow calm Thames. Not happening. And he was already getting a beat down for the punch to the temple anyway. Might as well make it good.

“Answer me.”

“From a cup,” Theron rushed out. “She drank my blood from a cup, brother.”

Thames looked to Nastia and she confirmed it. “Doc collected his blood in a cup. He insisted.”

“Trust me,” Theron said. “No lips were going near my skin, okay? Well, I mean… not hers.”

Mirena clapped her hands together briskly, looking like a real life Mary Poppins. “Shall we leave these two alone? Nastia needs her nourishment and Thames… Thames needs something.”

She urged Adira toward the door and Theron followed.

“Wait,” Nastia called. “I wanted to say…” She hesitated, glancing at Thames. He saw emotion in her eyes. Her green eyes. The same eyes he fell in love with. “I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for coming together to help me.” She turned back to the others. “Thank you, Theron, for not killing me when I was deceived. And…” Her gaze zeroed in on Mirena. “And I’m sorry for the pain I caused you all. I wish I could take it back.”

“You did,” Mirena murmured, but Thames didn’t miss his brother’s frown. Somehow he knew, Nastia might have taken back the dark spell that poisoned her sister, but there was no way to erase what had happened from their memory.

“Sister, let it go,” Adira said softly. “The darkness is done with you, but we are still at war. There will be more to forgive. I’m afraid we’ll all do awful things before this is over.”

They left, the door clicking shut behind them, and then Thames and Nastia were alone.

Chapter Fifteen

Nastia breathed deep, trying to calm her nerves. Being undead—
transformed
—wasn’t
all
that different than being a Sorcera. Like she’d told Thames, everything still worked the same. She still felt the same.

If you didn’t count the new urge to hunt for living blood. The vein pumping in his neck sang to her, but the idea of hurting him in any way left her feeling ill.

If you didn’t count the absence of magic. She wondered how many times she’d attempt a quickie spell before having no powers became her new normal way of thinking.

But even though she hardly felt different, she had to wonder if Thames still saw her the same way. She wanted to ask if he still felt the connection of their mating bond the way she did. She wanted to know if she still smelled the same to him, if he was as worried about the blood drinking as she was, if he still wanted forever with her when their forever had a different definition.

But what would she do if he answered no to any of those things?

She’d die a little inside. That’s what.

Deciding on the undead spell had been the hardest decision she’d ever made. The darkness had her so twisted up it was impossible to choose right. It was like choosing the handgun or the grenade in a desert full of landmines. Neither could really help her when the enemy was her own footsteps. She only knew that her feelings for Thames would carry her through no matter what, and she had to
try
, for Mirena, for them all, even if she failed.

She wanted to call this a success. She’d broken her connection to the mystics and healed her sister. But if Thames turned his back on her…

“Mate,” he grated. “I need to touch you or I’m going to go crazy. Now, I’m trying to give you space because you want it, but my bear thought you were gone and if I don’t hold you soon and scent you…” He cut off with a low growl that rumbled his chest.

“I don’t want it,” she said. “The space, I don’t want it.”

She barely got the words out before he scooped her close, his thick arms wrapping around her as he buried his face in the curve of her neck. He inhaled long and slow, and exhaled a satisfied groan.

“Mine.”

And he felt like home. Like her sun. Like her safety and her future. All her worries slipped away as her body molded to his. Her flesh recognized him, chill bumps rising to meet his touch. Her heart recognized him, thumping hard to match the beat of his. And through their bond, she felt their mutual relief, like the weight of the world was nothing more than a feather floating on a breeze.

“I failed you,” he rasped. “But never again, Nastia. Hear me? Never again.”

He rubbed his cheek against hers, reminding her of how his bear needed affection. She tunneled her fingers through his hair in return.

“You didn’t fail me.”

“I did,” he argued. “I should have protected you from the stone. Should have been more vigilant.” He pulled back to stare into her eyes. “I’m going to do better. I’ll never stop trying to do better.”

Nastia’s heart swelled. Didn’t he know how vital he’d been to her in those darkest of moments? But that was just like her mate, to always strive for better. It was one of the reasons she loved him. And if there was any good to come from the Mother Bear and her awful
reading
, it was this. Without realizing it, she’d made him strong. With her hate, she’d taught him how to love, and love hard.

He was a good man, and an even better mate. And he needed to know it.

“You saved me out there, Thames.”

His brow creased and he looked away.

“You did. When I was at my worst, when I couldn’t see through the darkness to find the truth,
you
, what we have, it held me steady. It didn’t prevent me from messing up, but it reminded me there was something to fight for. You really are my sun, my light. You’re the magic that remains after the storm.”

He squeezed her tighter, as if he was a fish on a line and her words were reeling him in.

“You are my Anchor.”

He didn’t speak, but she could feel his emotion in their bond. Acceptance and pride. He believed her.

Bringing his hand up her back, he gripped her neck under her hair. His vein throbbed against her mouth where it pressed under his jaw, and the hunger hit her strong. The instinct to drink, to carefully, so carefully as not to hurt him, prick his neck with her fangs and draw his blood against her lips, letting it slide down her throat so she could thrive.

A needful moan eased out, and she was helpless to rein it back in.

“Do it, little witch,” he purred. “Use me to feed. I want to feel those new little fangs.”

Oh, now that only made her ache more. And this time the need spread down to her core, pooling hot and urgent between her legs.

Somehow, she pulled back to find Thames’s eyes. “I don’t know if it will hurt.”

He frowned. “Adira said it would be pleasurable.”

“For me, I believe that’s true. The fangs are very sensitive to touch. But for you… I don’t know.”

An amused smirk curled one side of his mouth as he lifted a hand to palm her cheek. “You’re afraid of hurting me?”

“A little,” she admitted.

“I took claws to the back and barely felt them, but you think I can’t handle your teeth?” he asked skeptically. “I’ll pretend my ego didn’t feel that one.”

She gave him a little shove, leaving her hand on his chest. “I know you’re tough, okay? It’s just… what if it’s horrible for you and we’re stuck doing this everyday for the rest of our lives. What if sustaining me becomes a grudge, or… or…”

He pursed his lips, thinking. “I have an idea.”

“Okay.”

Releasing her, his hands moved to the buttons of her dress, making quick work of the line down the center of her chest. Peeling back the fabric, he dropped his head to flutter his lips over her skin.

“What are we doing?” she asked, liking his idea already.

“What do you think we’re doing?”

What had he called it before? “Fooling around.”

“Nope,” he murmured, licking his way down her cleavage. “We’re making love. That way you won’t worry about hurting me when you feed. Because, trust me…” He palmed one breast while tugging her dress over her shoulders until it gathered around her waist. “If I’m inside you, I won’t be feeling pain.”

He eased her back, sliding the dress the rest of the way down her legs, repeating the process with her panties. Then he went for his belt, losing it and his jeans in record time. Before he could settle between her legs, Nastia wrapped her hand around his rigid erection, her eyes fluttering shut at the sensation. Soft skin over unyielding steel. She loved this part of him. Every part of him.

His hips jutted forward, anxious for her touch and it made her feel more powerful than any magic ever had.

Pulling away, he laid back on the bed, casual and confident. He might’ve had doubts about his worth, but the man knew his body. He was comfortable with the lickable, loveable, lustable machine that was Thames, the body that housed a brawling bear.

“Climb on, little witch.”

Nastia bit her lip, letting her eyes take him in a second more. Yes, her mate was sexy.

Swinging her leg over his hips, she settled atop him, her wet sex leaving a trail on his skin as she slid over.

His eyes flickered blue to brown letting her know his bear was close.

“You’re very wet, mate.”

“Mm hm. And you’re very hard.”

His hands gripped her hips, but he let her move on her own. So much restraint, he had. She wanted to break it the way she had so many times since they’d met.

“What are we going to do about that?” he asked.

“I think…” Her breath came faster already, just rocking against him. “I think I’ll take you inside me and that will fix everything.”

“This is a good plan. I’m absolutely on board with this plan.”

She was getting close to that wonderful freefall already.

“I think I’ll do it now.”

“Smart girl,” Thames groaned.

Lifting her hips, she guided him in one centimeter at a time, closing her eyes to savor the luscious sensation. When he was buried, she opened to find him staring at her, slack jawed.

“Gorgeous,” he whispered, thrusting upward ever so gently. Like he didn’t even realize he did it.

Nastia grinned. In a few minutes he’d be bucking wildly. Just the way she liked him. She’d be a rider on one of those fake bull machines.

YouTube.

“Drink now,” Thames gritted. “Because when you’re done, I’m going to lose myself in you so hard, we won’t know where I end and you begin.”

She leaned forward kissing him deep before trailing over his sharp jaw and finding the bulging vein.
Pat
,
pat
,
pat
…

“That’s exactly how it should be,” she breathed.

Her tongue darted out to lick once, feeling his heartbeat thump against her taste buds. Thames’s hands tightened around her waist as he continued his slight thrust, sending sensation sprinkling all around her body.

Slowly, Nastia dragged a fang over his skin, the feeling duplicating the one between her legs. She wanted him so bad. His blood and his body, and here they were at her fang-tips.

“Bite, mate,” he demanded. “Let me feed you good.”

She opened her jaw, positioning it around his vein, and gently punctured his skin, sliding in so easily it sent a jolt of pleasure straight to her center. Thames stiffened as her mouth filled with his blood, warm and coppery-sweet.

She was about to retract. He wasn’t okay. He’d stopped pushing inside her.

But then he let out a satisfied groan loud enough to test her ears. “
Don’t stop
.”

Nastia took her first swallow of her bear’s blood and it was like the smoothest, sweetest wine. Thick and satisfying. She would be full from only a few pulls. Sucking hard at his neck, she took more.

“Fuck,” he hissed, thrusting hard into her while she held his head in place for her draw. “Oh…
fuck me
, woman, that’s good.”

Nastia drank her fill, relishing the sounds Thames made and the wild way he plunged into her. She’d never seen him this out of control, and it was exhilarating, bringing her so close to the edge she was tip-toes over.

She licked the two puncture wounds she’d made, and pulled back to stare at him. His eyes were fully bear, brown not blue.

“You done?”

Nastia nodded, licking her lips, and loving the feral way he looked at her.

Thames charged up, kissing her hard enough she was sure he’d pricked himself on her fangs. Without warning, he hitched upward, flipping places with her so that she was underneath him. Rising up on his knees, he wrapped his arms around her thighs and used them for leverage as he found his rhythm again.

The push and drag, push and drag, had her squirming for relief. And when he roared long and loud, his release searing her from the inside, it was just what she needed to send her soaring. The climax hit her hard, her body clenching around him tight and bringing another wild sound bursting from his chest. And then she was floating… floating… floating.

Thames slowed, taking forever to come to a stop. As if he didn’t want it to be over. But they had a lifetime to make each other happy. And she didn’t doubt they’d spend every minute striving to do just that.

Thames dropped to the bed in a heap, half on top of her. “Fuck,” he said, and she giggled because he never cursed this much. “That… that was not horrible.”

“No? You sure?”

“Just how often do you need to drink? Asking for a friend.”

“I… I don’t really know. Guess we’ll find out when I get hungry.”

Thames pulled her close, kissing her cheek, and she nestled in, feeling content.

“I’d say we need to try again in about an hour. Just to be on the safe side.”

“Agreed,” she murmured, a happy grin spreading her cheeks. “Just to be safe.”