Roaring for Him (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Wicked in Wilder Book 1) (30 page)

Even busted up, she was a bossy little thing. She looked a lot better this morning than she had. But even with Gabe’s blood, sweet—sometimes obnoxious—Phee was gonna have scars. Some would be deeper and harsher than others. Like the one that reached from temple to breast. It hadn’t required stitches, not like the ones on her stomach, but it was still ugly. He knew with time the red would lessen and settle into a pale line, but he hated the fact it was even present.

“What she said. We’re getting mated,” Tilly echoed her youngest sister and he realized… he was being railroaded.

“No, we need to keep watch over Phee. I’m not about to—”

“You saying I can’t protect her?” Gabe snarled and Mitchell snapped his attention to the growling bear. Fur suddenly coated his arms while his fingernails slowly darkened as his hands began their transformation to deadly claws.

“Of course, he’s not,” Phoebe murmured softly, her thumb stroking the back of Gabe’s hand, and he quickly quieted, but the fur and nails remained. The man would shut up, but he wasn’t backing down.

Mitchell could respect that.

“I’m saying Phee is my responsibility, my sister-by-mating, and I take that seriously. I’m not about to fuck my way through the forest—”

Phoebe broke in. “TMI—Too Much Information, Mitchell. Seriously. I’m a healing bear and you just made me throw up in my mouth. That can’t be good for my abdominal injuries.”

“—while Phoebe is laying up in a bed here at home.”

“No way. So not happening.” Phee shook her head, her face set in a determined expression. “I’m already healing. I have Gabe here and he promised to send a couple of loyal bears. Plus, Liv is on her way home. And I really doubt Verity is dumb enough to stick around.”

“You gonna finally tell me what happened before we got there?” He figured it was good a way as any to redirect the conversation.

That had Phee wincing. “Verity wanted money. I…” Her eyes dropped to her folded hands. “I withdrew money from my college fund. I just wanted her gone, Tills.”

“Sweetheart…” Tilly sounded as if her heart was breaking and he felt the same way. He wasn’t sure what happened to the cash, but he’d replace the money. She didn’t deserve to suffer for having a cunt for a mother.

“And him?” There was only one
him
.

Phoebe closed her eyes and swallowed hard. “He got into some trouble with his regional alpha and was being removed. He decided if I mated someone from his clan, a weaker bear, he could still control them even if he didn’t hold the title. He hunted Verity down and convinced her to get me.”

“Fucking bitch,” he growled, his eyes boring into Phee’s. He hated that bitch. Hated. Her. Looking at Phoebe’s injuries, the wounds that would definitely scar, had him lusting after the human woman's blood.

“Yeah,” Phee whispered.

“If he wanted you to mate one of his bears, why did he…” Attack her. Scar her for life. “Why didn’t you fight back?”

Tears glistened in Phoebe’s eyes and he cursed himself for even asking the burning question. “I mouthed off. You know I can’t keep my mouth shut. Verity wanted money, he wanted me, and I wanted her to agree to leave. Then there was Ash… It was too much and I was scared and sarcastic and he…” Phee lifted her hand and her trembling fingers ghosted over the scabbed skin. “I was annoyed, but not really angry so when he got me I was too dazed to be pissed. I tried to fight back, but…” She swallowed hard. “I wasn’t strong enough. Every time I tried to get up, he knocked me back down.”

Fuck
.

“And Ash?” He fought to suppress the enraged growl that threatened to escape.

“Money,” Gabe answered that question. “Ash racked up gambling debts. His plan was to take half of what Phee was giving to Verity to help settle up. Plus, because he helped Phoebe’s father, he’d have an ally in Phee’s clan since her dad would be controlling things.”

“Fuck.” Mitchell pulled Tilly close. “Just fuck.”

“Pretty much.” Gabe eased back.

“We gonna have trouble with them?”

Gabe shrugged. “If we do, we’ll handle it. I’ve got a call in to the regional alpha already since I have to notify him of a change in leadership. I’ll tell him about Phoebe’s father as well. There won’t be any blowback on your pack or Tilly.”

Mitchell’s gut eased. He hadn’t even realized he’d been worried until Gabe said something. He nodded. “All right.”

Not much else to say.

“Which means you two are mating.” Phoebe cut into the ensuing silence. The teen met his gaze head on, not flinching or backing down from his intense stare.

On one hand, it pissed his wolf off that an injured bear thought she could go toe to toe with him. On the other… he was proud as fuck that the kid was willing to try him.

“Your pack isn’t going to settle until you and Tilly mate and she’s allowed to put the women in their place. Hell, some of the men, too.” She lowered her voice to a mock whisper and leaned forward. Pain etched her features, but a teasing smile was there too. “They may be wolves, but some of those guys are real pussies. No offense, Tills.”

“Offense taken, dammit. If Seth hadn’t been a sneaky asshole, I would have taken him.” His mate grumbled and he was quick to soothe her.

“Of course, you would have, baby.”

And like that her scent flipped from sexy and sweet to stinging anger. “Don’t you patronize me, Mitchell Blake.”

“Aw, shit.”

He ignored Gabe’s cackling laugh. Asshole.

“The point is,” Phoebe smirked. Pain in the ass kid. “If you can get back on her good side,” she pointed at Tilly, “you two are mating tonight. I’ll have Gabe and a couple bears, plus Liv. I’ll be safe.”

Tilly narrowed her eyes, attention on Phee and he was damn glad the glare wasn’t in his direction anymore. “When did you have a chance to call her? Why is Liv coming home? She still has finals and graduation. We were all gonna—”

Phoebe rolled her eyes. “Ugh. I told her you’d get pissy.”

“
I’m
pissy? I’m
pissy
?”

Note to self, do not call Tilly pissy.

“Tills, you know Liv is crazy smart. She took her finals the same time she took
mid-terms
. She’s only been hanging around school to ‘network’ though I think that’s code for wild monkey sex and you two have just been lying to me. Well, minus the monkey and double the sex, but you know what I mean.” Phoebe whined and pouted with the best of ‘em and the fact that she was injured made her more pitiful and childlike.

“Phoebe…”

Phee shook her head. “It’s done, get over it, and get mated.”

Tilly sighed and slumped her shoulders before looking at him once again. She looked so damned tired and worried.

Mitchell ignored everyone else and focused on his mate, his exhausted, bone-tired mate. He gently stroked her, fingers caressing what skin he could and rubbing over her clothes when his path was barred by fabric. “It’s your call, baby.”

“What do you want to do?” Her voice was low and soft and sweet as hell, and it went straight to his cock.

“I want to mate you. Fuck that, I want to possess you. I want to fuck you so hard, so deep, and so long until you can’t breathe without feeling me.” Her eyes widened, pupils dilating as his words hit home.

The seductive scent of her musk teased his nose and his cock stiffened further. He wasn’t done though. “I want to coat you in my scent and scar your skin so every-fucking-body knows you’re mine. That I’d kill for you and they need to go through me to even get near you. I want there to be no question, no hesitation, you are
mine
.”

“Aw, that is so sweet.” Phoebe gagged. “And gross. And maybe think about therapy because that sounded a bit psych—”

Mitchell opened his mouth to tell Phee where she could take her “gross,” but Tilly beat him to it. “Oh my God, Phee.” She groaned. “Grownups are talking.” His mate’s next words were for him though. Her eyes were glazed with passion and need, her hard nipples pressed against his chest and her arousal hung heavily in the air. While he’d been rough and raw with his needs, Tilly was quick and to the point. “I want all that, too.”

* * *

When Phoebe said Liv was coming home, Tilly hadn’t realized that “coming home” meant an hour after their conversation and while they still chatted on the porch. Every male tensed when the yellow cab turned onto the driveway, Mitchell and Gabe setting her and Phee aside as they rose and stepped in front of them. Gabe moved silently to shield Phee while Mitchell thought it was a good idea to block her view and order her around.

“Get in the house.”

Yeah, that so hadn’t happened. Instead, Tilly peeked around her mate and watched the cab slow to a stop. The second one of the vehicle’s back doors opened, the wind shifted, and Tilly didn’t care about Mitchell’s orders. Because Liv was home.
Home
.

She hated the reason for it, but she couldn’t deny it felt so damned good to see her middle sister. Her midnight hair seemed to swallow up the light, the length reaching the middle of her back, and there was no missing the bright orange stripe that framed her face. They’d tried dying it, cutting it, bleaching it… but that tiger-orange was there to stay.

Now, at twenty-two, Liv had embraced her tigress and everything that went with the animal. That included the gold that constantly encircled the brown of her eyes. She said the cat lived close to the surface, it always wanted to be
present
in her life. Which meant rather than having two distinct halves, Liv was closer to a “whole” than any shifter she knew.

“Liv!” Tilly bolted past Mitchell and raced down the steps, running straight toward her sister. She ignored the snarl that followed her along with the rapid thud of Mitchell’s heavy stomps down the porch steps. She rushed into her sister’s arms, taking comfort in the embrace. Yes, she could lean on Mitchell, but there was something about holding another person who knew it all, who’d experienced their shitty life, and understood everything that wasn’t said. “Livvy,” she sighed.

“Hey, Tills,” Liv murmured and then stiffened. She felt the rumble of her sister’s growl before the sound became audible. It vibrated through her body and she wasn’t sure what set the tigress off. Mitchell’s behavior or Phee’s condition.

Probably both.

“It’s so good to see you,” Tilly murmured and Liv twitched so she tightened her hug. “Take it easy, kitty. Lemme make introductions before you go tiger-shit on them.” Liv huffed and Tilly continued. “The guy glaring—probably really hard—is my mate Mitchell. The other one, probably too friggin’ close to our
underage
sister is Gabe, the new alpha of the Hart bears.”

“So, you’re saying they’re not my next snacks and I don’t get to eat them? Bummer. Kitty’s cranky. You know how we hate traveling.”

“We?” Mitchell’s question wasn’t unexpected.

“You didn’t…” Liv left the rest of it unasked.

Tell them about me?

“No.” Tilly shook her head. “You know I don’t tell anyone unless you say it’s okay.”

Liv nodded, her chin brushing her shoulder. “I just thought because you’re mates…”

“We’re not mated and regardless, it’s still yours to share.”

Liv’s arms tightened around her and the familiar scent of her sister’s love surrounded her. She took comfort in the aroma, in Phee and Liv’s presence. They were together again. But for how long?

Now, standing at the kitchen sink and washing dishes after a massive breakfast for the couple of sentinels who’d remained overnight as well as Mitchell and Gabe, she was ready for the answer.

“So…” She hip bumped Liv. “How long do I have you here?”

Liv shrugged.

Tilly lowered her voice and leaned close. “Livvy?”

“I’m done with school.”

“Uh-huh. Phee said. But that doesn’t answer the question.” Tilly was careful, trying not to be demanding while… being demanding. She wasn’t Liv’s mother, but she wasn’t nobody either. Technically Liv was an adult, twenty-two and old enough to make decisions for herself. “Are you going back for graduation? Phee mentioned you got your finals done a couple months ago, but you never said a word.”

“I wanted to see what I could see.”

Total non-answer. “And you saw…”

“That I wanted to come home.” Liv’s pain swirled and twirled around her, enveloping Tilly in a suffocating blanket of heartache.

“You know you’re always welcome. You could have come home when you were done.”

“Yeah, I know.” Her voice was soft.

The steps coming closer were near silent. Hell, when Liv didn’t react to the sounds, she wondered if they
were
silent, but she recognized Mitchell’s approach. He peeked around the corner, the small movement drawing her attention, but Liv remained oblivious. His raised eyebrows asked a question.

Everything okay?

She shrugged and shook her head. It wasn’t okay. Something was going on with Livvy and she wasn’t sure what it was.

He tilted his head.
Can I fix it? Do you need me?
When his eyes flashed amber, she knew he tacked on even more to the look.
Who should I kill?

She shook her head once more and Mitchell frowned but retreated.

“Your room is the same. We didn’t touch a thing. So you can move right in again.”

“I was thinking…” Her sister’s heartbeat fluttered and stuttered as the pain transformed to unease. “I was thinking I could stay above the bakery. You and Mitchell are gonna mate tonight, right?”

“We haven’t decided—”

Liv snorted. “Liar.”

Tilly didn’t correct her, but she did smile. It seemed like they were brushing the elephant in the room aside for now. “Whatever. You want to live above the bakery?”

“Yeah. I mean, you two are either gonna live here or at the pack house, right?”

She grimaced. “We haven’t talked about that yet.”

Liv dried the last dish and moved away from the sink, grasping her pile of plates and she carefully returned them to the cabinets. “Regardless, those are your options. Here or there. And I know wherever you go, Phee goes.”

“Did you say something about me?” Phoebe stuck her head into the room.

“You were standing right there, you little shit, and you didn’t come help,” Tilly glared at her youngest sister. “I’m gonna kick your ass.”