Mending the Bear (2 page)

Chapter Three

Ian
turned the bend that led into the northern most part of Kalispell where most of
his fellow shifters lived and worked. Many of them owned businesses here, including
Max’s family who owned
Goodsen’s
supermarket, where
Max was the manager. Ian knew he shouldn’t direct his anger at the rest of the
dirty cougar’s family, but he had to let off steam somehow or this bear would
go crazy. He slowed his bike down and decided to turn into the supermarket’s
parking lot. He turned off the ignition. Maybe it wasn’t the family’s fault
that they’d raised a mate stealer. But then again, maybe it was. He swung his
legs over his bike and marched toward the entrance before he changed his mind.
The glass doors swished open and he stepped inside. Music played softly through
the speakers on the ceiling as customers milled around as if this was any other
day. Maybe for them, but not for him.

The
image of Joanne and Max together sprang into his mind again. He clenched both
his fists. How dare he steal his mate? How dare they carry on like that behind
his back?

Ian
knew he should have turned, walked out of the place, gotten back on his bike,
and driven away. That’s what a sane bear would have done, but he was as pissed
as hell and he was going to send Max and the rest of the
Goodsens
a message.
Do not mess with a bear and do
not steal a bear’s mate.
He marched back to the fish department where he
often purchased the salmon filets that were, in his opinion, the best in town.
Amazing how a cougar knew a good one from a bad one. Maybe Joanne had been
advising them all this time. Shit, just how long had Joanne and Max been
sleeping together? Bile rose in his throat again. The image of her bouncing on
his dick still burned an image in the retina of his eye.

He
strode over to the display, put his hand into the freezer, and pulled out a few
packages of salmon. He ripped them open and thought about eating some of them,
but in his human form, raw fish probably wasn’t going to be that great. Ian had
never been a fan of sushi. Instead, he simply threw them on the ground, moving
along the freezer and doing the same to the rest of the fish.

He
looked around to someplace else where he could release his anger. Of course,
the baking aisle, lots of things there to cause havoc. He headed there, seeing
bags of flour that he knocked to the floor and then sugar, which he simply
flicked with his finger. Next he turned his attention to the bottles of oil,
and one by one he batted them to the ground, a few of them splitting open and
sending their contents streaming along the floor. A shopper turned into the
aisle, took one look at him, and fled.

That’s it buddy,
run like hell because I’m one bad bear.

Ian
surveyed the damage. Shit, he’d created a mess. Maybe Max, when he was
finishing fucking Ian’s mate, would have to clean it up.

What
would he do as his grand finale? He eyed one of the empty checkouts and knew
exactly what he was going to do. He walked over to it, went behind the register,
and switched the button on the microphone until it flashed red.

“Clean
up on aisle five. Maybe Max can get a mop and bucket. That is if he can get his
cock out of my mate’s pussy for more than five minutes.”

A
few customers looked over at him while shaking their heads. One even put her
hands over her little boy’s ears. Yeah, that should cut down on business for
the
Goodsen
family for a while. And Ian wouldn’t step
foot in this place ever again, even if he now had to forgo his generous shifter
discount.

“Ian,
just what do you think you’re doing?”

Oh
shit, it was Max’s brother, Ned, running toward him.

Ian
didn’t want to get into a fight, well not in his human form. Bear versus cougar
meant Ned would get his ass handed to him. Ian started backing toward the door,
not wanting to pick a fight with a guy who he’d always liked despite him being
a cougar.

“You
tell that brother of yours he’s a dick, an asshole, a bastard, and a mate
stealer.” Ian guessed that just about covered the whole spectrum of what he
thought about the guy’s baby brother.

“Is
this about him and Joanne?”

So
Ned knew. Who else knew and hadn’t told him? Guess he’d now be the laughing
stock of the group.

“And
give him another message for me,” Ian said, sticking up his middle finger.

“Real
classy, Ian, real classy, but what should we expect from a dirty bear like
yourself?”

Shit. Dirty bear?
He’d crossed the
line. No one called a bear dirty.

Ian
turned, took a run straight at him, and landed the hardest punch on Ned’s face.

“You’ve
broken my nose, why you piece of bear shit…”

The
blood began to drip from Ned’s left nostril so Ian knew it was time he
hightailed it out of the supermarket before Max’s other brothers joined in the
fight. Ian ran out to the parking lot, jumped on his bike, and now deeply
regretted even going into the store. Did he feel any better? No, he still felt
like shit. Did any of his actions get Joanne back? No. In fact, she was
probably going to hate him when she found out what he’d done. The other
shifters probably wouldn’t be happy with his behavior either. Drawing public
attention was a no-no. He’d be ostracized for a while until this whole thing
blew over.

He
could hide out at Cade or Doyle’s place, but both his brothers were out of
town. He accelerated out of the lot and headed to the one place he knew he
always be welcome.

Chapter Four

Eve
heard the commotion at the front of the supermarket and was thinking about
leaving because it sounded like things were going to get ugly, but she needed
to pick up some hairspray to try and repair the damage to her new hairdo. She’d
managed to comb most of the mud out of her hair, but she needed something to
hold it in place. Her raincoat still looked like crap, but hopefully the dry
cleaners would be able to work some magic on it. Now if she got the hairspray
and hurried, she still could make it to the chamber meeting.

She
rounded the corner and next thing she knew, she was on her back and looking up at
the neon lights that hung from the supermarket ceiling. She smelled fish. Eve
looked around at fillets of salmon surrounding her. In fact, by the squishy feel
under her butt, she’d say it was what she’d slipped on.

“Miss,
are you okay?”

She
looked up to see a man holding a blood-stained paper towel up to his nose. Eve
sat up. “I think I am.”

“Just
sit and make sure nothing’s broken before you get up. I can’t apologize enough,
but we had an irate customer who went a little crazy a short while ago.”

He
offered his hand to Eve and she slowly got to her feet. Her ankle felt a little
sore, but she wasn’t going to say anything in case he thought she was out to
sue the supermarket for their negligence in not cleaning up the mess.

She
looked down the aisle ahead of her. Looked like one big baking disaster with
flour, sugar, and oil. All it needed were few eggs thrown in there and they
could make a cake.

“You
okay, Ned?” a lady asked, pushing a cart.

“Fine,
really, it’s worse than it looks,” he said.

“I
saw that biker guy coming through here like he was going to tear up the whole
place,” the lady said.

“Biker?”
Eve asked. “Did he have a bear on the back of his leather jacket?”

“That’s
the one,” she said.

“He’s
sort of got a beef with my brother, that’s all. And I can assure you this has never
happened before and won’t ever happen again,” Ned said.

“Are
you sure we can’t call an ambulance or something?” the lady said, pointing to
his nose.

“No,
no, that’s fine. I just hope this young lady’s okay,” he said, nodding toward Eve.

“I’m
fine really.” Her ankle was throbbing now, but it looked like he had enough
trouble to deal with. And if she did need medical treatment, it should be the
biker who’d pay her bill, not the supermarket.

“Please,
would you accept a $100 gift card for your inconvenience?” he said.

“It’s
not your fault really, it isn’t.”

“Please,
I’d feel happier if you’d accept it and I hope this incident won’t stop you
from doing your grocery shopping here.
Goodsen’s
supermarket
aims for the highest level of customer service.”

The
place looked great. It was close to her practice and townhouse so yeah, maybe
this would be the place she’d do her shopping. “Sure, I’d be happy to accept
the card and do my shopping here.”

“I’m
glad to hear that, and was there anything I can help you find?”

“Yes,
in fact, I was looking for some hairspray,” Eve said.

“Aisle
three. I’ll take you to it, and, no charge.”

“No,
let me pay, really this wasn’t anything to do with you. It was that crazy biker
guy. In fact, I’d make him come in here and clean up the place.”

“You
know, that’s a great idea. Maybe I’ll suggest just that.”

Eve
followed behind him. Sounded like he was going to report the incident to the
police and she couldn’t blame him. Maybe she should tell them about him
covering her with mud and what a reckless asshole he’d been.

****

Ian
turned his bike into Liam’s driveway. Music made its way out of the main garage
and Ian guessed, as was normally true, Liam was in there fixing a car. He
parked the bike and headed that way. A puppy began barking long before he got
to the door and then ran out to greet him. He leaned over to pet the buff-colored
lab, and then the dog followed close on his heels as he made his way inside to
see Liam working under the hood of a truck. He glanced up when he saw Ian.

“Hey
buddy, good to see you,” he said, wiping his hands. “Have you met the newest
member of the family?” he asked, pointing to the puppy. “His name’s Shane.”

As
if the dog already knew his name, he barked again, ran around in circles a few
times, and then dragged a squeaky toy over to Ian and dropped it at his feet.

“By
the look of those paws, he’s going to be a big dog,” Ian said.

“I
know, but I insisted that Lucy not adopt anything small and yappy. This one’s
going to make a great running companion.”

Lucy,
the human. The normally sensible Liam had even gone over to the dark side.

“We
thought we’d get used to babying a dog before we start a family,” Liam said.

Family.
Joanne had said she wanted one, but he couldn’t remember her ever bringing up
the topic. Had she? Or had he not paid enough attention to her?

“Sam
fell in love with Shane the minute he saw him, and it just so happened that
Shane had a sister that was looking for a home so I bought her for Sam for
Christmas. I don’t think I’m too popular with Bear and Hannah, but my nephew
loves me even more.”

Sam,
his former best buddy’s son and also let’s not forget half-human. What had the
Ahern boys been thinking?

“I
haven’t seen you since the holidays. How does Joanne like her new job at the
shifter hospital?” Liam asked.

Joanne.
For a few seconds he’d made himself believe that he’d been dreaming, having a
nightmare about walking in on her like he had, but Liam’s question had made him
realize, no, he was wide awake and he had lost his mate.

“She’s…”

Shit,
he couldn’t even bring himself to tell Liam and that was the reason he’d come
here. He couldn’t talk it out with Danny, so his buddy’s big brother was the
next best thing.

“Something
wrong? She’s not sick is she?” asked Liam, closing down the lid of the truck.

“Yeah,
sick of me I guess.”

“You
two have an argument?” Liam asked while wiping some grease off his face.

“That
and a whole lot more. I thought I’d surprise her on her thirtieth birthday so I
went over to her place, but it’s me who got the surprise. She was in bed
fucking Max
Goodsen
.”

“Max!
You’ve got to be kidding me,” Liam said.

“Only
wish I was. And it gets even worse, they were mating.” How he’d managed to get
those last three words out he wasn’t sure. He felt sick yet again.

“Geez,
I’m so sorry.” Liam walked over to him and slung his arm round his shoulders.

“I
know women sometimes hint at how they’d like to settle down, but I thought
she’d wait until I was ready. That’s what mates do, right?”

“Ian,
if you’re weren’t ready and the two of you got married then it would have been
a disaster. If you didn’t feel in your heart that marrying her was the thing to
do, which is what it sounds like, then I’d say she wasn’t your true mate.”

Ian
didn’t believe that. They’d been together since they were five years old. It
was destiny that they’d be together forever. Only he was supposed to be the
father of her offspring, not some cougar. After all, she was the only woman
who’d he’d ever allow to bear his children.

“Now
I’ve lost her. I’m never going to get married. Never going to date or even so
much as look at another female for as long as I live.”

Liam
burst out laughing. “Are you aware just how many guys have said that very same
thing?”

“Hundreds,
thousands, maybe, but I’m the one who means it.”

Liam
slapped him on the back. “I have Trent’s car to see to next, and then I have to
see what’s wrong with Dane’s truck, but after that how about we go for a drink
and a run? Or even better, won’t don’t you stick around and have dinner with me
and Lucy?”

The
last thing he needed was to be around a happily married couple.

“In
fact, I won’t take no for an answer,” Liam said.

****

Eve
couldn’t believe how nice all the other chamber members were. In fact, so nice,
not one of them had stared at her mud-splattered coat or the ruined hairdo.
Just about every business was represented there and she got to meet two sisters
who ran a craft store and gave her brochures on their upcoming art and craft
night. The introduction to art seemed like something that might be fun. Eve
tucked the information into her purse as she saw Hannah McWilliams heading her
way. She’d found out that she ran the café next to the craft store and was the
current president of the Chamber. Eve smiled at her.

“Are
you sure you’re okay?” asked Hannah as they headed out of the chamber meeting. She’d
been the first person who’d greeted Eve when she’d arrived and had quickly
noticed that Eve was limping slightly.

Eve
looked down at her ankle. She had to admit, it did feel sore, plus it was being
to swell now, too.

“My
husband’s a doctor and I can get him to take a look at it for you,” Hannah said.

“I’m
sure it will be fine,” Eve said. “In fact, I’m going over to my office and I’ll
sit and rest while I do some paperwork.”

“How
about I give him a call and he can stop by on his way home just to make sure
it’s okay? Better to be safe than sorry.”

It
was clear she wasn’t going to take no for an answer and as a vet, Eve knew that
little injuries could sometimes not seem so bad but turn into something worse
later on.

“Okay,
as long as it’s no trouble or takes him out of his journey home.”

“Nope,
he has to pass this way to get to our house. I’ll just go call him.” Eve waited
while Hannah pulled out her cell phone walked away for a few minutes and then
came back.

“He’s
in the middle of his afternoon clinic, but his cousin, Ash, said he’d be happy
to drop by on his way home in about an hour’s time.”

“Are
you sure? This isn’t too much trouble?

Hannah
shook her head. “He said he’d be happy to stop by, so just go and rest up and
he’ll stop by.”

Maybe
her day was going to end better than she’d thought.

****

“Have
you heard the hot news of the day? Ian Mallory went crazy in
Goodsen’s
supermarket.”

Ian
saw Liam signaling to Dane to not say another word as he stepped inside Liam’s
garage to collect his vehicle. If he’d heard about it then probably every other
shifter had, too. That should give every single one of them something to
discuss over dinner tonight.

Dane
knitted his eyebrows together, obviously not understanding what Liam was trying
to tell him, but turned, saw Ian, and smiled that big grin that only Dane could
produce. “How you doing?” he asked.

“No
longer wrecking supermarkets,” he said, drinking the rest of his beer. “Did you
hear why I went crazy in there?”

“No,
I can’t say that I did,” Dane said, now turning red.

“Max
Goodsen
stole my mate.”

Dane
glanced over at Liam. His two fellow bear shifters looked at one another, but
didn’t say a word. Didn’t they agree with him that running off with a cougar
was the lowest thing a bear could do?

“Stole
my fucking mate,” Ian said. He was on his third beer and his words were
beginning to get slurred and he almost slipped off the bench he’d chosen to sit
on while he’d watched Liam working.

“I’m
sorry to hear that,” said Dane.

“I
told him there’ll be the perfect mate who’ll come along for him and very soon,”
Liam said.

“That’s
right. When Lucinda died I thought I’d never love anyone else, and then I met
Melanie and I fell in love all over again. In fact, Melanie has a friend who’s
suddenly single if you’d like us to…”

“I’m
not so desperate that I’m going out with a fucking human,” Ian said. He didn’t
care if he offended either of his buddies. That was how things were.

“Well,
if my truck’s ready, I suppose I should be on my way,” Dane said, fishing out
his wallet from his back pocket. Dane had never been the confrontational type,
but Ian could tell he’d pissed him off with his snarky remarks.

“Sure
is. Needed a new fan belt and I’ve changed the oil and put in a clean filter,
too,” Liam said.

Ian
took another beer from the cooler and popped open the top.

“See
you at the next stargazing gathering,” Dane said, taking his keys from Liam.

That
was one thing he wouldn’t ever attend again. The thought of seeing Joanne and
someone else, snuggling together looking up at the sky like they once had. The
thought made him sick to his stomach and he downed the beer to two big gulps,
suddenly feeling like total shit.