Don't Moose With Her (Bearbank Book 1) (8 page)

“Who is ruffling feathers?” came Alex’s voice from behind them. Ethan barely repressed the urge to jump ten feet in the air and squeal like a little girl. Damn bear was ridiculously light on his feet for such a big man.

“We need to talk. In private,” Leo said, shooting Ethan an amused look. So, maybe he had actually squeaked, just a little. Alex’s gaze lingered a little on the remains of bruises on Ethan’s face. His shifter genes had healed much of it but some evidence remained. He'd have healed completely if he'd shifted but he hadn't bothered. The boss then turned his gaze to Leo and his bruises, raising an eyebrow in question.

“My office. Now.” Alex grunted and walked off, leaving them to follow.

Closing the door behind them, Ethan filled the boss in on their thoughts. Alex remained quiet until they were done.

“It’s pretty thin,” Alex said. “There’s no real reason to assume that we have a serial killer cop.” He raised a hand to stop Leo’s objection. “But, I agree that there has been some sloppiness, which is worrying in itself. It does demand investigating and I agree that I’m in the best position to do that. I’m not saying you’re wrong. Just that it’s only a theory at this point. I’ll look into it and let you know what I find.”

Dismissed, they returned to their own desks to look over what they had so far. Lunch was a sandwich eaten at their desks. Forensics called at one point to confirm that they had found nothing from the box delivered to Dana. They had expected that but it was still frustrating.

Ethan’s thoughts returned to Dana once more. His fight with Leo yesterday had forced him to be honest with himself. He did consider Dana his and, screwed up or not, he was not going to be able to walk away. Not now, not ever. He craved her like a drug, already addicted and desperate for his next fix. The threat to her had spun him for a loop, his wolf demanding that they eliminate the threat to their mate’s safety.

The problem was that if he wanted Dana, and he had to admit that he did, he had no idea how to apologise for his earlier behaviour. He couldn’t send her flowers or any kind of gift, not under the current circumstances. The poor woman had probably been sent enough gifts to last her a life time. He wanted to inspire forgiveness, not fear. He hadn’t had many relationships, preferring to keep his contact with women on a more casual basis. A couple of women had been more like girlfriends but it had been a long time. He had no clue what to do in this situation. His wolf rolled his eyes at him. At least his wolf appeared to be speaking to him again. Mostly.

Lost in thought, he was startled when Leo’s phone rang.

“Katie. What’s up?” Leo asked. Ethan sat up straighter and watched his partner. Was it about Dana?

There was silence for a minute as Ethan listened to the reply. Ethan’s wolf hearing only caught a few words, not enough to make sense of the call.

“Are you okay?” Leo demanded, shooting a look at Ethan. “I’ll have someone call an ambulance. Where are you?” He waited for an answer. “I’m on my way,” he growled.

“What is it?” Ethan demanded as Leo finished the call. “Is it Dana?”

“Someone rammed Katie’s car. Dana and their friend Fiona were there too.” Leo stopped to bark at someone to call an ambulance.

“Are they okay?” Ethan demanded, springing to his feet. Dana had to be alright. She just had to.

“Dana and Katie are hurt but they’ll be fine,” Leo answered, standing up and grabbing his car keys. “Fiona is unconscious. I don’t know how bad it is.” Leo paused.

“What is it?” Ethan asked him, barely suppressing a growl.

Leo looked at him, eyes narrowed. “Do not lose your shit. You’re no good to anyone, especially Dana, unless you stay in control.”

“What. Is. It?” Ethan ground out.

“Right after the crash, Dana got a text from her stalker,” Leo said. “It implied that he ran them off the road.”

Ethan swore and grabbed his jacket. First he had to get to his mate and make sure she was safe. Then he had a sick bastard to track down and rip into tiny little pieces.

“Katie!” Dana could hear Leo’s bellow before he reached the car. They weren’t too far from the police station so it hadn’t taken him long to arrive. Thankfully.

“Dana!” yelled another voice. A moment later, Ethan was leaning down into the car to look at her. “Where are you hurt?”

Too tired to care about their personal dramas, she answered him. “My leg won’t take my weight but I don't think it's broken. My head and neck hurt and I feel sick. Otherwise, I’m fine. It’s nothing serious, just painful.”

“Let’s get you out,” Ethan said, backing out a little to give her room and reaching out his hand to help her.

Taking his hand, Dana gingerly extracted herself from the car, keeping her weight off her left leg. As soon as she was clear of the car, Ethan let go of her hand and swung her up into his arms, causing her to squeak in surprise.

“Relax, sweetheart,” Ethan murmured to her, cradling her close. “I’ve got you. Lets get you into my car and we’ll get you to a doctor.” Since her injuries were not too serious, it was better to avoid the hospital and see a shifter-friendly doctor instead. It avoided awkward questions for shifters about why they healed much faster than normal. There tended to be shifters working in the hospitals too, making sure shifter patients were referred to them, but generally it was easier to avoid the whole situation when possible.

Dana tried to see her friends but the movement hurt her neck and another wave of nausea washed over her. She groaned and closed her eyes.

“Dana?”

She opened her eyes and saw Ethan looking at her, face creased in concern.

“I'm fine,” she whispered. “Just have to remember to not move my head.” She really, really, had to remember that.

“Stay still,” Ethan said, frowning. “The ambulance is here and the paramedics are helping Fiona. Leo is looking after Katie. You just concentrate on yourself.”

Even in her current state, Dana felt herself thawing in regards to Ethan. This was not The Jerk. This felt more like the real man underneath the nonsense. Why couldn't he be like this all the time? He held her gently but securely, placing her carefully into his car. A moment later, Katie joined her in the back seat.

“How are you doing?” Dana asked, her eyes scanning her friend.

“About the same as you, I think” Katie answered with a rueful smile. “Walking wounded. I just want to get patched up and get to the hospital to be with Fiona.”

“Yeah, me too,” Dana agreed. If anything happened to Fiona because of her... well, she'd never forgive herself.

Ethan got into the driver’s seat. “Leo is staying with your friend. He’ll keep us updated. Let’s get you two sorted out.”

Dana closed her eyes, concentrating on keeping her head as still as possible, the movement of the car making her queasy. She was relieved when they arrived at the doctor’s office and she could get out of the car. By the time she got the car door open, Ethan was there to help her out. Again, he simply picked her up without saying a word. Beside him, Katie smirked at her.

Ethan carried her inside and spoke to the receptionist. Straight away, two doctors came out. A middle aged female fox shifter led Dana and Ethan to one room. The other doctor led Katie to another.

Ethan laid her gently onto the table and stood beside her. She looked at him, waiting for him to leave, but he just quirked an eyebrow at her.

Frowning, she opened her mouth to protest but he shook his head.

“I’m staying, Dana,” Ethan stated firmly. “Get used to it.” A little part of her found itself hoping that he wasn’t just referring to the examination.

“I’m sure I’ll be safe long enough to get examined,” Dana insisted. “You can always wait outside the door.”

Ethan shook his head. “Or I can wait right here. Where I can see you and know that you’re safe.”

“Your mate can stay,” the doctor said, smiling at them. “Hard to keep a male shifter away from his mate when she’s hurt. I’m used to it.”

Dana opened her mouth to say that he wasn’t her mate but Ethan spoke first.

“Thanks, doc. I appreciate it.”

Dana glared at him but he just smiled back. What the heck was he playing at?

The doctor asked her about her injuries and poked and prodded a little. Thankfully, she didn’t have to undress. She was wearing a skirt, making access to her leg easy.

“Nothing is broken, just badly bruised,” the doctor confirmed. “Your head and neck should be fine soon. The leg might take a little longer. Try to keep your weight off it as much as possible. It should all heal by itself.”

“What about other injuries?” Ethan asked, his eyes scanning her body.

“I’m fine,” Dana hissed. “Just bruises.”

Ethan opened his mouth again but the doctor patted his arm.

“Now, now,” she said. “Your mate is fine. She knows what hurts and what doesn’t. I’m sure she’ll let us know if there’s a problem. In the meantime, Dana, why don’t you shift into your other form for a little while. That’ll speed up the healing. There’s a room here you can use. Take a few hours and then you can shift back and go home. After that, you’ll need to take it easy for a few days. By then, you should be back to normal.”

“Okay,” Dana agreed. Trying to sit up made her dizzy, so Ethan gently pushed her back down and scooped her up. Since the room was still spinning, she decided to let him.

“Okay, Muscles,” the doctor said, smiling. “Follow me.”

The doctor led them to a room with a bed. Dana blushed as she caught sight of it and peeked up to see Ethan’s knowing grin. Why did he have to be so frickin' attractive?

“I’m staying,” he said firmly, before she could even suggest he leave.

“I’ll be around if you need anything,” the doctor said, smiling as she closed the door, leaving her alone with the big bad wolf. And a bed.

Ethan laid her gently on the bed and stepped back. “Need some help getting undressed?”

Yes! “No!” she squealed. “I’ll manage. Could you wait outside for a minute?” She was not performing a striptease for the man.

“Hell no,” Ethan said pleasantly. “Consider me your new personal bodyguard. I go where you go.” Errr... what? He could not be serious.

“I am not getting naked with you standing there, watching me!” she exclaimed. “At least turn around… not facing the mirror!” He snorted in amusement as she foiled his plan but he did turn around to face the door.

She stripped as quickly as she could considering moving caused her pain and made her queasy. She wasn’t entirely sure she trusted him to remain facing away. Finally naked, she allowed the change to wash over her. She mooed softly to let Ethan know he could turn around.

He turned and looked at her. “You’re beautiful,” he said softly. He walked over and sat on a chair beside the bed. His hand stretched out and stroked the fur down her back, making her shiver in delight. She peered up at him and he gently petted her nose. Her moose was in heaven.

“Why don’t you get some sleep, sweetheart,” Ethan suggested, his voice soft. “I’ll be right here.”

She mooed quietly at him and closed her eyes. Feeling secure for the moment, she let herself drift off.

Ethan watched his mate sleep. Yeah, so it was probably a little creepy but he had meant what he said. He fully intended to stick to her like glue until the Shifter Stalker had been caught. He had already been rethinking his position on mating since the first threat to Dana. It had aroused his protective instincts and sharpened his interest in her. Although, if he was being honest with himself for once, he had never really wanted to leave her. For both their sakes, he had hoped that he would be able to walk away, but he knew that he had been kidding himself. He would always have found an excuse to stay near her. Pity he hadn't realized that until after he'd opened his big mouth and screwed everything up.

Her moose form was stunning. He continued stroking her long after she had fallen asleep, unwilling to give up any contact with her. It wasn’t love, it was far too soon for that, but his feelings for her were somewhat warm and fuzzy. She intrigued him. Plus, he was completely in lust with her. He had been permanently hard since he’d met her. Even while she lay here, hurt and in moose form. Yeah, he was sick.

He got up quietly and walked away from the bed to call Leo for an update. When Dana woke up, she'd want to know about her friend.

“McKenzie,” Leo’s voice sounded tired.

“Hey, it’s Ethan,” he said, keeping his voice down to avoid waking Dana. “How is Fiona?”

“Doctors say she’ll be fine,” Leo said. Ethan could hear the relief in his voice. “She woke up a short while ago. She has a concussion and a broken arm. They’re keeping her in the hospital for now. I’m waiting with her until one of the guys gets here. I don’t think any of them should be left alone. How is Dana?”

“No serious injuries and nothing broken,” Ethan sighed in relief. “She’s sleeping in her animal form right now. That should take care of most of it. She’ll be back to normal within a few days.”

“Katie’s fine too,” Leo said, reminding Ethan that he hadn’t checked, too wrapped up in making sure that Dana wasn’t seriously hurt.

“Shit, Leo, I’m sorry,” Ethan began, stopping when Leo laughed at him.

“It’s fine,” Leo chuckled. “Your mate comes first. We all understand that. I sent one of Katie’s brothers to keep an eye on her. He called just before you did. He’s going to stay with her for now. I assume you’ll be staying with Dana. That you've finally decided to stop being a world class idiot.”

“Yeah, you assumed right,” Ethan answered, glancing over at his little moose, still slumbering peacefully. Yeah, he was done with running. “Do we think he’s going after her friends?”

Leo sighed. “Hell if I know. The text could have been a threat against them. Or purely a way to taunt Dana. Better safe than sorry, though. We should make sure that they understand they shouldn’t be alone right now. Between the police, friends, and family, there should be plenty of people around them.”

“Shifters only,” Ethan growled. He no longer trusted the human police, especially with his mate.