Bear Naked Truth (Southern Shifters Book 7) (9 page)

C
alder met Bhric
, Dean and Kane at the edge of the four corners treaty line just inside the neutral zone. The territorial land sanctioned by the councils comprised of separate areas for wolves, cougars, the psy and then everyone else who didn't fall into a pureblood classification.

His own lineage as a full-blooded grizzly didn't count. Since there were no bear clans in this region, he fell into Bhric's territory and that suited him just fine. While Rafe was hell bent on changing the minds of his people when it came to that pureblood nonsense and had successfully mated with a cougar, Kane wasn't having as much luck with the councils he worked for.

Up to this point Calder had never crossed over into the Cougar Clan territory and he wasn't about to start now. Kane and the brothers Gunn gave him the creeps. On the outside they looked like normal shifters, but the weird stories and rumors clung to them like stale smoke in the bar on Sunday morning.

Their official titles were something innocuous like council enforcers, but everyone with any knowledge called them what they were--death dealers.

He parked his bike in the shadows at the edge of the clearing and waited for Bhric to approach. The agitation of his bear over being away from his mate had him on edge.

There was no doubt in his mind she would be safe with Niki, but that did nothing to calm the bear. Their relationship had barely begun, but he sensed they were on the verge of something real. That meant he belonged at her side, working through any obstacles that could prevent them from mating forever.

"Calder," Bhric greeted with a nod of his head. "Thanks for coming."

The others hung back not coming forward to greet him. That alone put him on edge. Kane standing next to Bhric with a blank expression across his face only made it worse.

"What happened?" He didn't want to wait for them to get to the punch line of this meeting. He needed them to get on with it so he could return to his mate.

"I'd tell you to sit down, but I don't suppose you'd listen."

He shook his head while grinding his back teeth together. Already the bear pushed at his skin. His instincts were on high alert as well.

"This situation has taken an unexpected turn. It's complicated."

"How so?"

Bhric's eyebrows climbed into his hairline. "She hasn't told you anything yet?"

What the hell was he supposed to say to that? He had no doubt that Bhric had scented Jessa on him. Mating shifters gave off pheromones that no shifter could mistake.

"Might as well get to the point," Kane said. "He doesn't appear to know and he looks about ready to bite your head off if you don't get on with it."

Bhric laughed and Calder fought back a roar.

"Relax, Calder. I know she's your mate and I can see that the hands off order was a waste of breath."

Before he could say anything, Bhric held up his hand to stop him. "Doesn't matter. We all know one way or another what it means to find a mate. I'm not here to bust your balls for following your instincts. Hell, I'd be shocked if you lasted ten minutes alone in that cabin with her."

Dean snorted and Calder shot him a glare. He sure as hell didn't need a peanut gallery to throw in their two cents.

"Then why am I here? What kind of trouble is she in with the Blackwoods? And what the hell kind of contract could she have signed with them?"

Kane and Bhric exchanged glances and Calder nearly exploded. He had no patience for delays or hesitation.

"She agreed to give them a baby."

"What?!" Calder roared, shaking the nearby trees.

"Told you this would not go over well."

"Shut the fuck up, Kane." Bhric bared his teeth. "You're here out of some fucked up sense of courtesy I felt temporarily. That's starting to wane now."

"Bullshit, you wanted my help."

"Both of you shut up," Calder bellowed as the bear pushed against the barrier barely holding him in. Then he turned to Bhric. "You need to start explaining before I can't control the bear any longer."

"You're going to hold that shit in because we made a deal. Or have you forgotten your promise in exchange for sanctuary?"

Bhric's command washed over him and he let it settle into his bones. He was not the alpha here and thus had promised to play by the rules.

"Then for God's sake tell me what is happening. Why would Jessa give the Blackwoods anything let alone her baby? I cannot for the life of me wrap my head around that."

"Not
her
baby, dude. She agreed to become a surrogate mother for them in exchange for a lot of money."

The bear whined and Calder took a steadying breath. "Jesus, Bhric. You could have led with that. What the fuck?"

Bhric ignored him and continued the story. "There's more and it's going to piss you off. But I need you to stay calm or Kane here will be locking your ass up."

"As if," Calder rumbled.

"Fuck off," Kane said.

Bhric stepped in front of Kane and stopped the argument before it got worse. "Keep in mind. I had no idea this woman would turn out to be your mate. Or that bringing her here would blow up in our face like this."

Goddammit. Bhric wasn't making any sense. "You knew her?"

"I knew of her. Through Simon. Rafe and I have been working together on a plan to ferret out what the hell those mangy wolves were up to and we used Simon to do it."

"What does that have to do with Jessa?" As for her idea to be a surrogate for those assholes, he'd deal with it later. Whatever the fuck got into her head to sign a contract like that needed to be dealt with. He didn't care if him freaking out about it could be construed as irrational. She was his. God help those wolves if he found out any of them hurt her in the process.

A red haze crossed his vision as that thought crystallized in his brain.

"Don't go there, Calder. As far as I know everything over there happened in a lab."

His eyes narrowed and he focused on Bhric standing in front of him. "I'm not sure my bear is going to care about the details."

"Rein it the fuck in. You losing control right now is not going to help anything. And if you can't handle this then you are no good to me and might as well leave before I get into the rest."

Calder fought for control. He hadn't feel this kind of anger in a very long time. In fact, he thought maybe he'd grown out of his inability to contain his temper.

"This is normal. The mere idea of anyone threatening your mate in any way is going to send any one of us over the edge."

Dean and Kane nodded. "I was ready to rip everyone's throat out when Niki got kidnapped, remember?"

He did. At times, they all thought Dean would kill every last one of them barehanded. If Niki hadn’t needed him he might have even gone feral.

As they all talked to him, the bear began to loosen his grip on the man and some of the rage building in Calder subsided. He breathed deep and leveled his gaze at Bhric. "Tell me the rest."

"Just remember I had no idea she would be a mate to anyone. She was part of a business transaction."

"What did you do?"

"When the Blackwoods took Simon, he managed to get word to us. Told us something really bad was going down up there on their mountain and that he needed time to break it down before we came storming in there to take him back."

"At least it finally makes sense why no one went after him. That shit didn't sit right at all."

Bhric brushed his hand through his hair before he continued. "We had to keep it quiet. Too much at stake."

"So what happened? How did Jessa get mixed up in your plan with Simon?" He had a decent hold of his control now, but his patience was wearing thin. Every extra minute they drug this out meant he was away from Jessa longer. And this shit storm made leaving her questionable at best.

"While Jessa was being prepped for the procedure, Simon figured it out. The doctor handling the most of the genetic material kept it all a secret, but we got lucky and that bastard got sick and Simon had to take over the lab."

"They trust him now?"

"What choice do they have? Their other doc is really sick," he said with a smile.

Calder nodded. "Because Simon did something to him."

"Bingo."

"So what is it? Why do we care if they are trying to have babies other than they will simply populate our world with children who will grow up to be like them and pains in our asses."

"They don't want children." Dean interjected. "They want soldiers."

"I'm sorry I'm not getting it."

"They are trying to resurrect the warrior program. As in the program that created Niki and Jessa holds the evidence in her blood."

J
essa held
baby Hannah on her knees and gently bounced the fussy child in a so far unsuccessful attempt at calming her down. With Niki the only one in the room with even a little experience with babies it felt a little like the blind leading the blind.

She and Niki had driven back down to Dark Moon to see if the men had returned and to try and get Hannah settled. Both of which had not worked out at all. The baby had cried off and on for hours despite her and Niki's best attempts to make her feel better.

They'd fed her, changed her, sang to her, walked with her and tried every recommended tip for soothing a teething baby's sore gums in the baby book Niki had on her kitchen counter.

Now they were in the kitchen while Sienna, the woman she'd met in the bakery, prepped the baked goods she had planned for the next day.

"I have to get up so early in the morning to get the shop open by six a.m. that I find it easier to do a lot of the cooking here in the morning. There's definitely a lot more space here for me to spread out." She pushed her fingers into the dough she kneaded, drawing Jessa's attention to the process.

"The cupcake you gave me the other day was amazing. I can't wait to try more."

"Well, Calder comes in every morning, I'm sure he'll have to get two of everything now." Sienna smiled into her dough as she rolled it flat.

Jessa's stomach flipped as she chewed on her lower lip. Her nerves were on edge about the big conversation she had to have with him as soon as he returned. She'd made the promise to Niki and she planned to follow through no matter how much her gut churned at the idea.

Niki pulled the baby back into her arms and crossed over to a rocking chair. This time Hannah took her bottle and immediately settled.

Jessa breathed a sigh of relief. This baby was a lot of work. Maybe she wasn't cut out to be a mother anyway. She added that to her mental list of reasons why her and Calder couldn't stay together.

"Hey, where'd I put Hannah's bag? She needs her favorite little tan sloth that Calder gave her."

Sienna giggled. "The one Dean said he was going to burn because no child of his needed a pet sloth?"

"Yep, that's the one. And he knows if he does anything to that toy I will personally kill him."

They all laughed as it dawned on Jessa that this is what her life could be like if she and Calder were together. She liked it too.

"Well, shit." Niki turned to Jessa. "I think I left the bag at your place. What is it about this baby that turns my brain to mush?" She leaned down and rained kisses on her baby's face until they were both giggling.

Sienna pointed a wooden spoon at Niki. "Her first word really is going to be a curse word if you keep that up."

"I know. I know. My bad."

While part of Jessa loved being here with these women another part of her was breaking on the inside. This was getting too hard. She jumped up, startling both women. "I'll go get the bag. It's been a long day for you and Hannah and if having her stuffed animal will make things easier..."

"No. It's getting late and we both need to stay here and wait for Dean and Calder to return."

Jessa shook her head furiously. "It's not a big deal. My SUV is right outside and I can run grab it and be right back. I'll have my cell phone with me so I can call if anything comes up."

"We'll go with you," Niki said.

"No don't move. She's finally peaceful and you need the rest as much as she does. I'm perfectly capable of driving up the hill and back. If you're worried about safety, I've also got a shotgun underneath the front seat."

Niki shook her head, clearly frustrated. "Your fascination with firearms worries me," she said.

"I'm a female living alone surrounded by powerful shapeshifters. Of course I have guns. How else am I supposed to protect myself?"

Niki rolled her eyes. "I still don't like it."

"Too late." She grabbed her purse and scooped her keys into her hand. "I'll be back in thirty minutes tops."

"Don't run, Jessa. If I have to come looking for you tonight I'm going to get really cranky."

"I already agreed to stay and talk to Calder. I'm just going to get Hannah's bag and maybe the book I've been reading and I'll come straight back. Promise."

"Less than thirty, okay?"

"Got it, boss," She gave a little half wave half salute and disappeared through the kitchen swinging door. In the bar, she rushed past everyone before anyone had time to speak or waylay her. She needed some fresh air.

Outside the front door, she found herself completely alone with an array of vehicles and bikes half filling the parking lot. The nearly full moon was already high in the sky and easily lit her path.

Afraid Niki would change her mind and come charging through the door any second, Jessa jumped in her SUV and exited the lot onto the main highway that led into town. She rolled her window down and let the cool air blow over her heated skin.

Hanging with Niki and Sienna most of the day and evening had been a fun and eye opening glimpse into the life of shifters in Deals Gap, but being alone gave her a familiar sense of peace she often longed for.

Since arriving in Tennessee to help the Blackwoods, she'd quickly learned more than she bargained for. Not that she regretted that exactly. The existence of shapeshifters fascinated her. They were just so-so close. They like to spend all of their time together and for a loner like her it gave her a touch of claustrophobia.

Before she hit the town proper, Jessa turned on the road leading up to her cabin. She loved this. Living in the woods, far but not too far from a small town seemed perfect for her. Like now, it gave her the option to escape if she needed to while not actually being far from other people.

She was going to miss this when she left. Which reminded her that she needed to get on her laptop and figure out where she wanted to go next. If Dark Moon had wifi she could grab her computer now and keep herself busy online until Calder returned home.

In fact... She turned into the driveway of the cabin. She could go ahead and pack some of her stuff now and put it in the car. The quicker she got out of town, the less chance of more awkward situations for her if she ran into anyone that knew her.

She parked as close to the front door as possible and then killed the headlights. Despite the trees surrounding her, the moon lit the night here too. A shiver worked over her as she exited the vehicle and moved quickly to the front door.

Inside, she heaved another sigh of relief. Quiet engulfed her and Jessa wanted to reach out and hug it. For a few still moments she relaxed, forcing the tense muscles of her arms and shoulders to go loose.

Then her mind filled with memories of her and Calder in this cabin, together. Had it really only been hours ago? It felt like days had passed. She sighed and scanned the room, finding Niki's bag on the floor next to the couch with the missing sloth poking out of a side pocket.

She grabbed it and dropped it onto the coffee table and headed in her room for her own things. Moving quickly, she flung all of her clothes into her two suitcases as well as all of her personal items out of the bathroom.

The cabin had come furnished so most everything else did not belong to her. She hardly spared a glance at the bed for fear it would turn her into a crying mess if she continued to remember being there with him and made her first trip out to the car with her suitcases.

Back in the cabin, she scoured the rest of the place for anything she couldn't live without. Instead she saw Calder standing at her stove cooking pancakes with honey, or she saw him sitting on her couch, his big body taking up most of the space. She sighed. Her cabin had been invaded and tainted.

Part of her wanted to sit down and have a good cry. After everything she'd been through didn't she deserve it? Except if she didn't show up back at Dark Moon soon, Niki would have the entire crew up here searching for her and that probably wouldn't go over well.

With one last glance she grabbed her laptop and Niki's bag and walked out, locking the door behind her. She'd leave the keys with Sienna or Niki so they could get them back to her landlord. He probably wouldn't care. She'd prepaid for three months just in case since she had no idea how long it would take to break free from--

"Going somewhere?"

Jessa jumped at the voice from the other end of the porch and clutched her keys to her chest. Her heart rate soared as she glanced between the front door and her car. Neither would offer a quick enough refuge.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Shane Blackwood materialized out of the darkness and Jessa held her breath.

"You left without saying goodbye." The grin accompanying the words scared the living hell out of her. It did not look friendly.

"I didn't think it would matter."

He mock clutched his chest. "It pains me that you would think that, Jessa dear. I thought we were friends."

She scrunched up her nose and wondered if Shane had gone crazy since she left. "Really?"

"You sound so surprised." He moved further out of the shadows and closer to her.

Jessa took a step back and Shane scowled.

"I thought I was just an employee."

"Well, even an employee is expected to say something before she leaves. Especially one with a contract."

His tight tone didn't bode well. She could hear the anger vibrating within. "Didn't Simon tell you?"

"Yes, he did. Although I have no reason to believe he would tell me the truth."

"Why would he lie?" Of course she already knew why. Simon hadn't joined the Blackwood pack voluntarily. He'd been taken while Niki was pregnant, leaving her without a doctor during Hannah's birth. Although she still didn't know why his people had done nothing about it yet.

Shane chuckled, a shallow wet sound that climbed up her spine and made her want to jump out of her skin. "Everyone lies, stupid girl. If you haven't learned that yet then you are even dumber than I thought."

Now she was terrified. Two minutes into their conversation and he was already calling her stupid. And of course both of her guns were in her SUV. Maybe she was dumb.

"I'm not lying. Simon pumped me full of hormones for months and ran test after test. I had more needles in me than a pincushion. He said I can't get pregnant. He gave me all the information in his medical speak, but it has something to do with my fallopian tubes or some shit."

A step sounded behind her and she jerked around to find Luke Blackwood had joined them on her end of the porch.

"Doesn't smell like a lie, Shane. Doesn't seem pregnant either. The doc might have been telling the truth."

Shane sniffed. "Maybe. Still doesn't explain why she ran."

Jessa looked between the two men, unsure if both planned to do something to her. "I was feeling pretty useless at the time. And scared. If I couldn't fulfill my contract and you didn't need me anymore..."

"You are useless," Shane snarled. "We took you in and cared for you with the expectation that you would honor our contract."

Jessa squeezed her eyes shut against the situation and prayed to hold it together. Tears burned at the back of her eyes and her stomach rolled with the word 'useless' repeating over and over in her brain.

"I can't control if I get pregnant or not. I did everything your doctors told me to do. I only ate healthy, I rested with my feet up after every procedure and I answered every last request for more testing no matter how sick they made me."

"Don't be a stupid bitch, Jessa. You left without talking to any Blackwood. In the middle of the goddamn night. We have fucking protocols for this shit. You do not decide when or how our contract can be broken. And we sure as hell can't have you running around this shithole telling every fucking shifter our business."

She wanted to deny she'd told anyone, but Luke was standing right behind her and he had the nose of a bloodhound when it came to sniffing out emotions. Hell, they'd both know she was lying the minute the words came out of her mouth.

"What do you want me to do? I didn't go very far. And I stayed in shifter territory." That part was true. No need to tell him she came here specifically because Simon told her that Bhric could protect her from any harm the Blackwood pack had in store for her.

"Now you're being a stupid cunt." Shane said. "If you think these shifters will want to keep you, you're wrong. They don't need useless bitches that can't bear a cub for them. Unless..." He lifted his head and sniffed the air. "One of these assholes has decided he wants a pet pussy. Is that what's happening here? One of them took you in and set you up in a little house so he could come visit when he needed a human fuck toy?"

Her eyes widened and fear flooded her system during Shane's tirade. Why the hell did she put her handgun in her suitcase instead of her pocket?

"Can't tell which one though. Way too many shifters coming in and out of here to tell. Probably Bhric. Looks like that fucker has decided he needs a little whore after all. He really likes to get around doesn't he? A pet human here in town and a pet human over in Sweetwater. What's that woman's name he's been sniffing around over there?"

"Marcy," Luke answered.

"That's right. Marcy. She's a sweet piece."

A sharp shudder of revulsion raced down her spine. Shane had turned into a nightmare. Just as Simon said he would.

Shane stepped closer. "If that's all you wanted, I'm sure some of my guys would have made the same offer. You didn't have to run away if all you wanted was a taste of shifter dick."

Jessa was on the verge of throwing up. She'd not exactly been fond of Shane ever since meeting him, but she had no idea what nastiness lurked underneath the façade he wore.

"Hell, I might have taken a run at you if you'd come to me first. I don't normally bother with sloppy seconds but if you ask me all sweet like, I might consider a one time thing."

Jessa tried to hold her tongue, she really did, but Shane had crossed so many lines she couldn't take it anymore. "Gross," she spat. "The terms of my contract with you were crystal clear, Mr. Blackwood. No way in hell ever was I obligated or willing to have sex with you or anyone else in your pack."