Shifters Forever The Boxed Set Books 1 - 6 (33 page)

D
oc’s truck
was already at Joe’s cabin when he and Ivan walked up, with a still unconscious Sara in Joe’s arms.

Doc and Astra were pacing the porch, and Kane was sitting on the rail.

“What the hell…?” Kane muttered when he saw Joe walk up.

Ivan stopped short in his tracks. He rose up on two legs and roared at Kane. It was a sight and sound that would have made Joe laugh on a normal day, the little pint-sized cub threatening a full-grown shifter. Especially a shifter like Kane, who was no small being.

“Ivan. No. They’re friends.” Joe tried to calm him as Doc and Astra stared from the porch steps. “Can you get the door?” Joe asked.

Doc flung the door open and stepped aside.

“This is the one you were talking about, isn’t it?” Astra pointed to Sara. “The shifter from the forest?”

Joe knew about Astra’s gift. She could sight a shifter immediately—it had something to do with their aura. “Yeah.”

Kane looked at Ivan. “Why isn’t he… why’s he in his bear?”

Joe shook his head. “I’m not sure he knows how to shift.”

“What?” Doc and Kane’s voices were shocked and simultaneous.

“How can he not know how to shift?” Kane stood back while Joe walked into the cabin with Sara.

Joe stepped over the threshold, then turned to Ivan. “Come in.”

Ivan looked from one to the other, then stepped back with a small grunt.

“Look,” Joe began, “if you’re not there when your mom wakes up, she’ll be frantic. We can’t have that happening. It wouldn’t be good for her. Now come on.” He turned his back on Ivan and walked toward his guest bedroom. Doc was already in there, and Astra followed Joe.

Joe let out a sigh of relief when he heard Ivan’s claws clicking on the cabin’s wood floor. He laid Sara out on the bed, close to the same position he’d found her in.

“Who the fuck would do that?” Kane’s voice was gruff with anger.

Joe looked for Ivan. He wasn’t in the room, so Joe poked his head out the door and saw the cub in the hallway between the guest bedroom and the entrance.

“You can come here, if you want, and keep an eye on your mom.”

Ivan didn’t move.

Joe knelt and held his arms out.

Ivan scampered toward him at a run. The force of his leap into Joe’s arms almost knocked him over. He regained his balance and stood, hugging the cub like a baby, his hand on Ivan’s head.

Astra came close. “Hi, Ivan. I’m Astra.”

Ivan made a grumbling sound.

“Doc’s my dad. He’s a special doctor. He’s great with shifters. That’s what your mom is. That’s what you are.”

Ivan snorted, blowing hot air out of his nostrils. The breath warmed Joe’s shoulder while he watched Doc cut the fabric of the dress Joe had bought for Sara. The fabric, once a beautiful, flowing yellow with tiny white flowers, was now a rusty, reddish color. It fell away from Sara’s light brown skin, dropping to the floor, revealing her bloodstained flesh.

Joe kept his hand on the back of Ivan’s head, keeping him from moving so he wouldn’t see his mother like that.

Kane walked up behind them. “He needs to learn how to shift as soon as possible. It could save his life. It may have saved his mother’s life. I’d bet she was in her bear when this happened.”

Joe didn’t want to tell Kane that Sara spent most of her time in her bear. “Don’t know if he’ll come to you.”

“I know who he would go to,” Kane said.

Kelsey stepped out from behind him. “Hi, baby bear,” she said. Her voice had a tinge of sadness in it. “Remember me?”

Ivan raised his head quickly and looked behind Joe. He squirmed slightly in Joe’s arms. Joe wondered if the little bear would consider going to her.

Kelsey continued talking. “Of course you remember me. I fed you that bar, in the cave, that tunnel.” She held her hand up. “I have another one if you want it.”

Ivan looked at his mother.

“I’ll be here with her.” Joe scratched Ivan behind the ears. “I won’t leave her or let anything happen to her. Go with Kelsey. You’ll still be nearby. I’ll call you if she wakes up.”

“Come on.” Teague appeared from behind Kelsey. “You remember me, too, don’t you? Your mom hurt me because she didn’t know if we were going to hurt you. We’re Joe’s friends. You know I could have hurt your mom but I didn’t, right?”

Ivan looked from Joe to Teague, then to Kelsey.

“It’ll be fine.” Kelsey wiggled her fingers for Ivan to come to her.

Joe held him out, leaning toward Kelsey, waiting to see if Ivan would resist.

He didn’t. He went to Kelsey’s arms without issue, and she turned and took him into the living room. Kane and Teague followed her. Kane was telling Ivan that he could turn into a human just like he and Teague did. Just like his mom. He was telling him he’d teach him how.

Joe turned his attention back to Doc. Astra was helping Doc, and blocking Joe’s view.

Joe went to walk around her but she put her hand on his shoulder. “Doc and I both work better without an audience.”

“I don’t want to leave her.”

Astra studied him with those eerie green eyes that looked like they were lit up from behind. “I can see that she means a lot to you. Just like Ivan had to trust you, you’ll have to trust us.”

“I’ll sit right here, then. I won’t say a word or get in the way. Hell, I’ll hardly look at you. Just don’t ask me to leave.” He sucked in a ragged breath. “Please.”

Doc looked over his shoulder. “I need you,” he said to Astra. “Stay in that chair.” Doc indicated a chair with his head, then turned his attention back to Astra. “Gauze and…” Doc shook his head.

Joe fought the urge to jump up and see what he was shaking his head at.

“Got it.” Astra looked at what he was doing and began to hand him things.

Joe couldn’t see anything they were doing because of the way Astra was standing. Maybe it was better. He couldn’t handle watching them dig arrowheads out of Sara’s body.

Doc pulled a light blanket over Sara and stepped away from the bed, then turned to Joe. “It’s not as bad as it could be,” he said. “Just bled a lot. After it’s fully stanched and she regains consciousness, she can get into her bear and will heal much faster.”

Joe knew all about the fast healing. He prayed she’d gain consciousness quickly so she could shift. The moment she shifted, her healing would be accelerated and she’d begin to go back to normal. With the shifters he knew, recovery from near death could take only a few hours.

He looked at her pale face, her lips no longer the plump, rose-colored lips he’d so enjoyed talking to. The ones he wanted to kiss. To claim.

He gripped the headboard of the sturdy bed with a white-knuckled grasp. The bed had been in his family for decades, crafted long ago by his grandfather.

Doc and Astra stood next to him. Astra put her hand on Joe’s hand, as if she got it. Maybe she did. She had those mystical powers, and Joe, like his ancestors before him, believed in mystical powers.

Doc patted Joe’s shoulder. “She could have died if you hadn’t found her, though,” Doc said. “That’s a lot of blood loss.”

Joe was infused with anger again. He dug his cell out of his pocket called the park rangers and told them he was concerned that there might be poachers with bows and arrows.

The rangers told him they’d picked up a couple of teens and confirmed the brand of arrows. Same ones that had been in Sara.

They asked him if anyone had been hurt. He looked at her, pale, still unconscious.

She’d be furious if he said anything that garnered attention.

“No. Just thought you’d want to know.” He gritted his teeth as he lied and thanked them for their time.

S
ara groaned
. She tried to stretch. God, there was a horrible sting and a throbbing ache in her shoulder. And back. And even her chest.

Then she noticed the softness beneath her. It was a mattress. It took a second for that to sink in. Then she noticed the smell—that was not the forest smell, it was an indoor smell.

Was she back at Crossroads? The horror of being back there felt like a million piranhas were feasting on her gut. Her eyes flew open.

The place she was in was unfamiliar, but it wasn’t Crossroads. Where was Ivan? She tried to sit up. Grunted from the pain, but managed.

“Hey,” a voice said softly.

She knew that voice.

Joe.

Sara turned her head. He was sitting in a chair, watching her.

“Ivan.” That was all she could manage with a dry mouth and a knotted stomach.

Then she noticed something—no, someone—in his arms. A dark brown mop of curly hair. Clearly asleep.

“Ivan?” Where was her son? She looked at Joe for answers.

“Kane and Teague taught him how to shift.”

“That’s too dangerous.” She palmed the mattress and tried to push herself up again. “You don’t understand. If they find out I had him… At his age…”

Tears sprang to her eyes. She couldn’t see Joe or Ivan clearly anymore; they were swimming in her tears.

Joe rose to his feet. “Have you ever thought how dangerous it could be for him that he can’t shift?”

“I know how dangerous it is. I’ve spent years knowing how dangerous it is. I do not want him around humans. I do not want him to be a part of his human side.” She fisted the light blanket covering her, then pushed it away.

What the hell?

She wasn’t dressed. “Where are my clothes?” She yanked the blanket back up.

Joe stepped closer to the bed. “He’s had dinner. Want me to lay him next to you on the bed? We need to talk.”

Sara moved over so that Ivan could lie next to her. She brushed a kiss against his forehead. The bandages pulled as she stretched the skin attached to them. A sting and an ache made her wonder if she had stitches.

“Who took care of me? Where am I?”

“You’re in my cabin. Doc did. You’re among your kind here. And safe. And Ivan is safe.” He pulled the chair close to the bed.

J
oe appraised her
. She was pale, because of the blood loss, he was sure. Her eyes had dark circles beneath them and she had an overall haggard look to her.

The way she pulled the blanket up to cover her body was very different from the confident woman who’d stood there, fully naked, proud, hands on her hips, defying him.

What was Crossroads? Why was it more dangerous for Ivan to be human than a bear?

Her head cocked as if she were listening to something. “Who’s out there?”

“My friends.”

“Shifters or humans?”

“Both.” He scrubbed at his face, pushed his hair back over his shoulder. “Three shifters and two of their human mates. One is the shifter who took care of you, Doc. He’s a doctor who specializes in shifters. Two other shifters taught Ivan how to shift. And Astra, Doc’s daughter. And Kelsey.” Joe paused. “She’s the one who found Ivan in the cave, I guess.”

Understanding dawned on her face. “I see.”

“Why are you so hell-bent on his staying a bear?”

“It’s safer for him that way.”

“Safer from what?”

She sighed, looked away, at a picture on the wall. “Is that you?”

Joe didn’t need to look to answer. It was a picture of him and his grandfather, the last one taken of them together. “Yup. Me and Old One.”

“Old One?”

“What we called my grandfather.”

“Family.” The word came out as if each syllable was ripped from her past and her soul. “I can’t stay here. I need to go.”

“Listen, Sara. You’re weak. What you need to do to recuperate is shift into your bear and rest. You’ll be fine in a few hours if you do that. If you don’t, you’ll take longer to heal.”

“I can just shift into my bear and go. I’ll heal while I travel.” Her tone was despondent.

The words and her tone made Joe sad. “What the hell are you running from?” He stood up too quickly.

She put her arms around Ivan protectively.

“I would never do anything to hurt either of you. Don’t you know that yet?”

He saw the tension leave her shoulders. Her face became paler, her expression strained.

“You need to recuperate. Please, shift. Keep Ivan with you if it makes you feel better. He can shift by himself when he wakes up. Sleep. I’ll be here. I’ll watch over you.”

The face he’d already fallen for became a little more relaxed. The line her full lips had thinned to left, and she became something closer to the old Sara. The Sara he’d spent weeks watching.

She nodded, cautiously.

“When you wake up, we’ll talk.”

Sara cocked her head at him.

“I mean it. You’re not running out on me until we’ve talked.” He stood in the doorway. “That bed will hold a full-grown bear. It has before. My grandfather built it. Shift and hold him. If he or you call for me, I’ll be right outside this door.”

He pulled the door closed behind him.

A
hand
on his shoulder woke Joe. He looked up.

Kane.

“Anything?” Kane asked.

Joe shook his head. “Not a sound.” He kept his voice low so that he wouldn’t wake her up.

“Seems the little one would be getting hungry at some point, though he ate a ton before he fell asleep.”

“I hope she’s doing better.” Joe rubbed his sleepy eyes.

“She probably is. I heard the window open earlier. Probably got some fresh air.”

Joe bounced out of his chair. “Aw, damn.” She could have slipped out and could be in another county by now. “How long was I asleep?” He reached for the door handle. “Locked.” It had to be locked from the inside. He reared back to shoulder it open.

“Whoa.” Kane put his arm across the door, blocking him. “Don’t you think you should knock before you bust it open?”

Joe took a deep breath. Kane didn’t know her. Then again, Joe wondered,
What makes me think she’d have slipped out the window?

“Okay.” He knocked on the door, lightly.

Nothing.

“See?” he hissed at Kane. “Now move.”

He reared back again and a hair’s breadth before his shoulder hit the door, he was propelled through the doorway and reaching for purchase to keep from diving headlong into the wall across the rom.

Sara stood by the door she’d opened just before he could crash into it, the blanket wrapped around her, a curious look on her face. “What are you doing?”

“I… I was making sure you’re okay.” Joe stumbled through the sentence. “I didn’t hear any response to my knock.”

“I needed a second to shift and open the door.”

“Mama?” Ivan sat up, his long hair in his face. He was in one of Joe’s spare t-shirts since all the clothing Joe had bought for him was somewhere in the forest, wherever Sara had put it. The t-shirt hung on him, way too large and way too long, but at least he wasn’t naked as a little jaybird, Joe thought.

“I’m right here.” Sara turned toward him. “I’ll get you something, just a moment.”

Joe drank the sight of her in. God, she was getting better, returning to the firebrand she’d been before. Her cheeks had a little bit of color in them, probably anger with him for busting in on her like that. It was evident that he didn’t trust her, he was sure. How could he convince her it was motivated by how much he cared for her?

Her full lips weren’t pale pink anymore. They’d reverted to the rosebuds he wanted to kiss. He tried to look away from her lips, but damn if his tongue and his cock didn’t rule the way he was thinking. He couldn’t pull himself away from the sight of them.

“Joe.” She broke him out of his trance.

“Yeah.” He raised his gaze to her eyes. Her bear was there, barely kept back by Sara. Her bear shone her amber glory and her love for him.

She felt the same way he did. He wanted to climb to the cabin’s rooftop and announce to the universe that he’d found his mate. As he watched, her bear receded, replaced by Sara’s hard and unyielding dark gaze.

Joe knew Sara cared for him. Why was she shutting him out this way?

S
ara couldn’t afford
to get close to Joe. Even more importantly, she couldn’t afford to let Joe get close to her.

Sara forced her bear back, making her bear submit to her will.

It’s for his own good. Do you want Joe hunted and killed? You know they’ll kill anyone to take me back to Crossroads.

Her bear snarled. Her bear couldn’t argue with that, so she backed off, went back into obscurity, and let Sara do what she had to do to keep herself and Ivan safe, but she let Sara know she was making a mistake. She backed off grumbling and growling, announcing that when she thought the time was right, she’d come back, and it would be her turn to be proven right.

We’ll see when that time comes. We’ll see.

Behind Joe, Kane said, “I can get Ivan some food.”

Before Sara could stop Ivan, he’d scampered from the bed in that t-shirt that was too long for him and looked more like a dress than not, and was heading for the door.

“I’m going with Uncle Kane,” Ivan announced with a backward wave and barely a backward glance.

Tears burned at Sara’s eyes.

Her baby. The child she’d never had to share with anyone, the child who’d never been anything but a baby bear, was now walking and calling someone with two legs by the name Uncle.

Uncle.

Her little Ivan, who should hate and fear all two-legged creatures, all humans, was now behaving like a little human boy.

She felt a gaze on her and turned her head. Joe was studying her a little too closely. His expression was one of empathy and… what was that?

“Why are you ruining my life?” She couldn’t prevent the vehemence that came out. “Why are you doing this?”

Joe reached for her hand took it in his. Electricity passed through her, and she could see that he felt it too. She jerked her hand away from his. Patiently, Joe reached out and took hers again.

“Don’t do that. Don’t pull away from me until you know.”

“Until I know what?” Her voice cracked.

“Until you know what you’re walking away from.”

I’m walking away from ruining your life and all your shifter friends’ lives and maybe even getting you killed. The people who want me would love to have your shifter friends at Crossroads. More fodder for their laboratory.

She didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t tell him what she knew, and couldn’t lie because…

She simply couldn’t lie to him. Just couldn’t. Not to Joe.

He pulled on her hand. “Let’s sit and talk. My friends will take care of Ivan.”

The problem was, she knew that they’d take care of him. But could they protect him when they were found? She’d already stayed too long. She’d risked too much. She silently cursed at her bear for insisting they stay. She realized now it was all because of Joe. Her bear couldn’t handle leaving, even though Sara had never really talked to him.

Reluctantly she sat. What Joe didn’t know—or maybe he did, and that was why he’d barged into the room—was that she had planned on leaving. She’d opened the window, anticipating that she’d want to slip out, then she’d lain back down. She knew that the shifters would have heard the window. They’d have investigated. So she’d lain back down and let things settle, let their suspicions evaporate.

The problem was, she hadn’t taken into account that she needed the recuperating rest. She’d sunk into sleep and not woken up until Joe had knocked.

Damn the luck.

And damn that he knew her too well and had anticipated what she planned to do.

She waited for him to talk, her hand still enveloped in the warmth of his large hand. She inhaled his scent, the masculine scent of him imprinting on her senses. She took in the musky scent, and the cinnamon and hickory scent from the ham she was sure he’d smoked and had probably brought to the forest today. She closed her eyes, memorizing the scents so that when she wasn’t around him he would be forever in her.

“Who shot you?” His voice was low, intimate.

She opened her eyes, locked her gaze with his, let him have access to her soul and her bear’s soul. Her gaze took in his lips, the stubble that was there, that she could hear whenever he touched his face, like he seemed to do when he was thinking or stressed. His high cheekbones, which she’d seen he’d gotten from his grandfather, as well as the long ebony hair that touched large shoulders above a wide chest.

Her breathing synchronized with his. “I don’t know. One minute I was walking through the woods, and the next I heard a whistling sound, then another. At about the same moment, I felt the piercing, ice-cold burn of the arrowheads.”

His hand squeezed hers, pulling her close. Sara yielded to the tug, her mind and body both surrendering as she leaned into it, and found his body nestled against hers. The wide shoulders were hard with muscles and warm, the worn shirt soft as her cheek rested on his chest. One of his hands was in her hair, holding her firmly in place while the other was around her waist, resting on her hip, his fingertips too close to her ass for comfort.

Desire stirred within her, a desire so fierce, and so neglected that it spun through her body like a tornado.

“It had to be hunters,” she said. “Because if it had been anyone else, they wouldn’t have just shot and left. They’d have taken me with them.”

His thumb was tracing tiny circles on her temple, lulling her into a place of refuge. “Who else could it have been? What is Crossroads?”

She gasped. “How do you know about Crossroads?”

“You said that word while you were unconscious.”

She chewed on her lip, bit down on it relentlessly until his thumb landed on it, pressing down and pulling her lip away from her teeth. He left his thumb there, as if it were a kiss from his own lips, as if it were his own tongue. He ran the pad of his thumb over the sensitive flesh of her bottom lip, from one end to the other, then back, slowly, then again.

The sheer sensuality of his thumb taking the intimate journey across her lip made pulses shoot through her body. She felt her core clench, and wished that he didn’t elicit so much desire from her. How did he do this?

“Crossroads…” He prompted, moving his thumb away, dropping it to her jawline, where it rested and branded her at the same time.