Skin Walkers: Monroe (8 page)

Chapter
9

Eden woke several times during the journey down the mountain. 
The first time she recognized the interior of her truck and wondered where Monroe had parked his vehicle.  If he’d come up the road she had, he’d have been blocking her truck from being able to descend down the mountain.  The second time she woke she struggled to stay awake.  She moaned trying to sit-up from the back bench-seat of the dual-cab truck, but the truck hit a bump and the jarring motion lifted her broken leg and dropped it heavily.  She gasped and swore she was going to be sick; instead she went back out. 

When Eden finally came to, she was in a hospital room.  The interior of the room was dimly lit.  She licked parched lips before turning t
o eye the window.  It was night and snow was falling.  The lone chair in the room was empty, and her door was closed.

She
fumbled for the nurse-call button and pressed it. 

A few moments later
, a short blonde haired woman wearing a beaming smile entered the room.  “Oh good!  You’re awake.  How you feeling?”

Eden licked her lips again, her tongue
too dry to offer any moisture.  She cleared her throat.  “Fine.  Is this Great Falls?”

The nurse smiled at her. 
“Yep.  And I’m Robbie.  Do you remember what happened?”  Robbie pulled a clip board from a nearby table and pretended to inspect it, but Eden could tell she was under the nurse’s scrutiny.

“There was a bear. 
Grizzly.  And two poachers.”  Eden’s brows shot up.  “Did the one survive?”

Robbie shook her head her lips forming a
moue, “No, sadly both men died at the scene.”

“What about the bear?”

“Well, no word on the bear.”

“Jesus!” Eden moaned, “
The bear was hit.  It’s probably suffering as we speak.” 

“Well
, so are you.”

For the first time, Eden looked down the length of her body to assess the dam
age.  Her leg was bound in white padding from her knee down to her ankle and it was held in place by some weird metal contraption.  “Broken leg?”

Robbie snorted, “It’s a litt
le more than a broken leg.  Your femur was shattered.  You’re scheduled for surgery tomorrow.  In the mean time,” Robbie turned to eye the door over her shoulder, “You’ve got some visitors that have been itching to get in here.  You up for a short visit?”

Eden eyed the door
and sighed reluctantly, “Yeah, let ‘em in.”  She expected Micah, Cole, Ransum, and Peyton to enter.  Instead, Robert and Kevin both walked slowly into the room.  Eden’s eyes flashed behind them.  “Where are the kids?”

“They’re fine, Edie
.” Robert supplied, “How you feeling?”

Eden let her head fall back, “Like shit!”

“What happened?” Kevin demanded.

She licked her lips again wishing for a drink of water.  “They got the jump on me.  I didn’t find the wolf, I didn’t save the grizzly, and I got myself
snared by two men who were going to kill me.”  She shook her head as self-loathing washed over her.

“Fuck the wolf and the bear
, Edie!”

She looked up with rounded eyes at
Kevin’s outburst.

“You could have died out there
, and all you care about are those damn animals.  You’re so…you’re so…  You’re so nearsighted!”

She laughed at
Kevin’s rare show of emotion. 

“He’s right,” Robert admonished.  “I shouldn’t have let you go up there.  It was dumb.”

Hearing Robert’s own self-recrimination, Eden felt bad.  She respected Rob and didn’t want to ever put him in a position where he’d felt pressured into doing anything he wasn’t comfortable with.

“I’m sorry
, Rob,” she apologized.  “You were right.  I should have waited until tomorrow to go up.”  Her eyes flicked to Kevin as he crossed his arms over his chest.  “And you’re right too, Kevin.  Sometimes I get so caught up with protecting these animals that I forget to protect myself.”  She shrugged, “Which wouldn’t be too bad if I didn’t have four kids at home that relied on me to make it back every night.”  Her eyes darted to the hall.  “Are the kids coming in?”

When Robert shot a glance at
Kevin and both men fidgeted nervously she knew something was up.

“Where are my kids?”

Robert spoke first.  “They’re with Monroe StoneCrow.”

“What?” She tried to sit up
but her leg hanging in the contraption prevented the act.  “Why are my kids with him?”

“He brought you into the E.R.
,” Kevin explained.  “Once the doc came out Rob and I were discussing what to do with the kids and Mr. StoneCrow overheard us.  He said he knew you and offered to send his hired help to retrieve them and take them to his place.”

“My kids are at Hunter’s cabin?”

Robert inched closer, “No.  They’re at StoneCrow estates!” 

She wanted to roll her eyes at the sound of awe in his voice.

“Monroe’s offered to keep them there with him and his staff until you recover.”

“No!” Eden glared at Robert.  “You go get my kids and bring them to me!”

“They’re fine where they are, Edie,” Kevin was back to crossing his arms again in a show of disapproval.  “You’ll be in here for days, hell maybe even weeks.  I can’t take your kids.  You’ve seen my place; I just don’t have the room.”

“I offered to take them,” Robert added hurriedly.  “Janelle and the kids wouldn’t have minded having them
but Monroe refused.”

“Since when is he
Monroe?
”  She wasn’t beneath taking cheap shots when she felt so betrayed.

“Well, Mr.
StoneCrow,” Robert continued.  “He’s got that great estate with plenty of room and he’s rich and has servants.  The kids’ll love it there.”

“Christ!”
she groaned inwardly as her eyes flooded with tears.  She was trussed up in a hospital while her children were left with a total stranger.

“It’ll be alright, Edie
.”  Robert’s voice was sad, “Don’t cry ‘kay?”

“Gentlemen.”

Eden looked up at the deep voice she’d recognize anywhere.  Her eyes locked on Monroe’s as he stood just inside the door.

“If you wouldn’t mind leaving us.”

As if they were mindless drones, both Robert and Kevin smiled weakly at Eden before turning and exiting the room. 

Monroe closed the door behind them
and Eden tore into him before he even turned to face her.  “I want my kids here now!”

“No.”

She ground her teeth together.  “It wasn’t a request!”

“They’re at my estate Eden.  They are warm, fed, safe, and together.  It’s the best option you’ve got right now.”

Tears threatened again but she couldn’t check them.  “Peyton is sick.  She needs me.”

“Micah told me,” he crossed and pulled a chair from where it rested against the wall.  He must have changed since the rescue because he was back in his typical tailored suit.  He looked intimidating.  No wonder he had Robert and
Kevin jumping through hoops.

“I have medical personnel on staff
and there are mothers and other children that reside there.”  As a matter of fact, his onsite infirmary had been his first choice for Eden, but when he’d contacted King through the Walker’s telepathic means of communication known at the mystic, the Sentry had quickly talked him out of taking Eden to StoneCrow.  Monroe had wanted the bodies disposed of and surgery prepped, but King had explained that her co-workers would be waiting for word.  He made clear that there would be no way to explain Eden’s injuries
and
dispose of the bodies, especially if she came to with a different story.  King was right.  Monroe was forced to play by the book on this one and it nearly killed him.  The drive to town had been fucking torture.  Scenting Eden’s agony even in her unconscious state had him partially shifting forms all the way to Great Falls.  He couldn’t control his anger, his temper, or his fierce need to protect her and to ease her pain.

The door clicked open
and Eden recognized the large man that entered as King, Monroe’s body guard.  King didn’t look at her.  He simply took a place at Monroe’s side and nodded once at the CEO.

Monroe’s eyes left his
Sentry and found Eden’s.  “We’re going to transfer you to the estate in two days.  I’d hoped to get you there tomorrow but the surgeon insists on monitoring you here post-op.”

“I can’t go to
StoneCrow.  I just need to get my kids and…and go home.”  The argument sounded weak even to her own ears.

“Think of the children
,. Eden.  What’s in their best interest?”

He was right
, of course, and that made her all the more angry.  The heart monitor attached to her picked up its pace as her anger grew.  She looked down at her leg, “I want this thing off!”

Monroe simply smiled that I-don’t-fucking-think-so smile
but it was quickly wiped away when Eden tried to get up. 

“I’m not
staying here.  Peyton’s sick…”

Monroe was on his feet and pressing her back into the bed.
  It didn’t take much effort and was a testament to just how weak she was.  “Calm down.”  He looked over his shoulder and nodded once.

“She doesn’t like strangers,” Eden cried.

Moments later Nurse Robbie was back and was injecting a syringe of something into one of the tubes that was attached to her arm.

“Don’t,” she didn’t even get to reach for the Nurse before Monroe wrapped strong hands around hers and ordered Robbie and King from the room. 
When they were finally alone Monroe lifted a hand to wipe the tears from Eden’s cheek and was relieved when her breathing slowed and her eyes grew droopy.  “I’ll take care of the children, Eden.  I swear on my life, I’ll care for them as if they were my own.  Sleep.”

She struggled to stay awake, hating that everyone followed his commands and now her own damn body was following suit.
  Her eyes drifted shut on the thought that she was going to castrate him once she was back on her feet.

Chapter
10

Whether it was her injuries or the fact that between
her job and taking care of four children she’d worked herself to the brink of exhaustion Eden didn’t know.  What she did know was that she couldn’t manage to stay awake for more than a few fleeting moments at a time.  When she was finally able to keep her eyes open for longer than mere seconds, it was to discover Monroe sitting in the chair at her bedside but it wasn’t the same chair or the same room.

“How you feeling?”
he asked leaning closer.

“Where am I?”

“StoneCrow Manor.  How are you feeling?” he questioned again.

“Hungry.”  Her voice w
as hoarse from lack of use and need for water.

Standing in a gracefully fluid movement, Monroe
turned to the bedside table and poured a glass of water from a pitcher.  Then he eased a strong hand behind her head, lifting her to help her drink.  “Food is on its way.”

Drinking her fill Eden pu
lled back and Monroe returned the nearly empty glass to the table. 

“My children?”

Unable to help the smirk that twisted his lips, Monroe simply allowed it.  “They’re fine.  As usual.”

Eden frowned, “
As usual?”

“You ask every
time you wake up.  The situation hasn’t changed any.  The kids are fine.”

“
I wouldn’t be much of a mother if I didn’t ask.”

“They’re safe
, angel.  Trust me.”

“Trust you?” she scoffed
ignoring the endearment, “I don’t even know you.”

Reclaiming his seat, he spread his legs and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees.  “What would you like to know?”

As if she’d been waiting for the invitation, Eden didn’t hesitate.  “Why am I here?  Why are you trying to take care of me…of
us
?”

Now was his chance to get his story straight.  “I’m not sure how much you remember, but I was the one who found you.  How you survived those two morons, a grizzly,
a wounded wolf, and a damn bear trap I don’t know.  I was waiting for your truck to pass by the cabin and when it didn’t I decided to go looking for you.”

There was a knock at the door
and annoyance bunched the CEO’s brows together as he growled, “Enter!”

A slight woman with short black hair cut into a sleek bob entered carrying a covered tray.  She wore faded jeans and a t-shirt emblazoned with a letter ‘B’ inside a circle that Monroe had been taught was the symbol for a hockey team called the Boston Bruins.  Cindy
KillsPrettyEnemy was one of only a handful of humans that were employed at StoneCrow.  It was a risk having them onsite, but with so many Walkers and so few skilled to perform any menial labor, Monroe had no choice but to hire outside his kind.  The woman was mated to the lone Indigenous Walker at StoneCrow, RedKinfe KillsPrettyEnemy.

“Set it on the table
, Cindy.”

Cindy was the bartender at the Crows Nest, the estate
’s lone tavern that was on the top floor of the main estate house.  When she wasn’t bartending she often assisted the kitchen staff in the large cafeteria, or the restaurant staff at the penthouse’s fine dining establishment. 

Wordlessly, Cindy carried the tray to the table
, left it, and exited the room. 

Monroe liked the woman
.  She was a hard worker who didn’t ask questions.  If only everyone on the estate was as willing to do as they were told.  He had to smirk.  It wasn’t Cindy’s willingness to follow orders that endeared him to her.  Once, without provocation, she’d risked her own freedom to save that of RedKnife KillsPrettyEnemy.  That lone act had cemented her place at StoneCrow, as well as earned her the affection of the only known Indigenous Skin Walker.  RedKnife had mated her, and now he worshiped the ground she walked on.

C
rossing to the tray, Monroe removed the lid from a plate of still-hot pizza that had cheese melting off the sides.  He growled in disapproval.  When he’d summoned food, this junk isn’t what he’d expected.  He knew it wasn’t Cindy’s fault; she’d only delivered the tray. 

“Sorry,” he apologized picking up the plate and the linen napkin on the tray, “
this’ll have to do for now but I assure you the next meal will make up for it.”  Turning, his anger skyrocketed when he realized that Eden had gone back out. 

Peeling
back his lip he growled in frustration.  She’d finally woken and asked for one simple thing.  He sneered at the plate of pizza wanting nothing more than to fling it across the room and smash it against the wall.  Not only was she forced to go hungry, she’d have most likely been appalled if she’d have remained awake long enough to see what had been served.

With great restraint, he returned the pizza to the tray and placed the lid back on top before crossing to the door and jerking it open.  In the hall, King instantly
jerked to attention, focusing on the CEO.

“Contact the Chef.  I want hot meals delivered to this room every twenty minutes.  Not a minute sooner, not a fucking second later!”

King nodded.

“And if he sends down pizza again, I’ll
gut him in his fucking sleep!”

Without a wor
d, King stalked off down the hall and Monroe returned to keep vigil over Eden. He knew she needed the rest but damn he wished she’d wake up.  They needed to talk.  He’d sent King and Lilly to retrieve Eden’s children.  Apparently the teenager had been a little trouble, but Lilly had calmed him enough to get him to come to the estate.  That was of course, after King had contacted him to let him know that there was a very serious problem.  He’d refused to report until he’d arrived with the children and once he had, Monroe didn’t need explanations.

He’d met King at the front doors of the manor.  He’d attempted to look approachable, but knew he’d failed when the two youngest boys actually recoiled to hid
e behind Lilly.  King had followed the group in and with the door open, wind had whooshed in and scents had assailed Monroe’s senses.  In mere seconds he’d discovered that not one, not, two, hell not even three, but
all
four
of Eden’s adopted children were Skin Walkers.

Keeping his word to Eden, he’d
had the children assigned to rooms on the third floor.  His office and personal suite occupied the entire west wing of the floor, while the east wing housed individual offices and several VIP suites.  He’d had two of the conjoined suites remodeled for the children so that they’d be close to him while still being able to stay together.

Somehow
, word of the children’s Walker status had gotten round to Jenny Arkinson, the estate’s Chief of Surgery and lead medical advisor.  She’d come to Monroe wanting to take blood samples to run tests.  He knew her hope.  She wanted to run the samples through StoneCrow’s database in an attempt to find thier parents.  He’d refused.  Jenny had been shocked and then angered, but he’d sworn to Eden that he’d care for the children as if they were his own, and he’d be damned if he’d allow some near-sighted doctor to examine and jab his kids with needles in the hopes of finding families that clearly didn’t want them.  No, he’d wait until Eden could decide what was best for the children under her care.

“Monroe?”

He had to pull his gaze from Eden’s sleeping form to concentrate on Bishop’s words as he contacted him through the mist, a telepathic means of communication for Skin Walkers.

“
What is it?”

 
“The little girl is crying for Eden again, the two youngest boys have disappeared, and the teenager has locked himself in the bathroom.  Lilly’s gone to town and Jenny’s busy working.  I need….” 
Bishop’s voice sounded baffled when he finally spoke again,
“reinforcements.”

Monroe
loosed a low growl of frustration, “
Can’t Cindy help?”

“She’s working too.”

The CEO frowned his displeasure.  Standing, he crossed to the bed and brushed his knuckles over Eden’s cheek. 
“I’m on my way.”
He had no idea how to care for children, but it couldn’t be that difficult. 

***

Eight weeks later and Monroe was ready to eat his words.  Taking care of children wasn’t merely difficult, it was pure hell!  When one wasn’t crying or needing something, the other two little ones were.  He’d had to clean up more spills, dry more tears, and pull gum and playdough out of more ears and noses then he ever thought was possible.  But whatever hell the little one’s created, the teenager, Micah, was the worst.  His sour moods and defiant attitude had Monroe wishing the child were a man on several occasions so he could put him on his ass.  How in the world Eden had managed to do it, and in her small cabin nonetheless….in Monroe’s eyes she was nothing less than a fucking saint!

Caring for the children coupled with his typical duties and responsibilities at
StoneCrow left him haggard at the end of each night, but that didn’t prevent him from getting the children ready and tucked into bed himself.  He wouldn’t delegate duties where they were concerned simply because Eden wouldn’t want it.  So, each night he ensured all four children were bathed, brushed, and ready for bed.  He’d assigned them a large suite next to his own.  It had been costly to get the space remodeled on such short notice.  He had to have a wall knocked out in order to conjoin two smaller suites into one that was comparable in size to his own.  It was a perfect fit for the family.  The three smaller children shared a room—as requested—while Micah had his own.  There was even a much larger room with an ensuite bathroom for Eden when she was able to join her family.  He hoped she’d approve.  The area had its own living space, much like his, replete with small kitchen, dining room, study, and family room.  His lips tweaked at the fact that he found himself spending more time in Eden’s family living space than in his own.

“Contact me if there are any problems,” he commanded standing with hands planted on his
expensively tailored hips as he frowned at the family room and the four children housed within.  As usual, Micah’s attention was engrossed in his i-pod, or i-phone, or i-don’t-give-a-damn as Monroe liked to think of it.  Where he’d gotten the supplies to change the color of his mohawk from purple to vibrant red, Monroe didn’t know, but he had intentions of finding out.

“That’s mine!”

His eyes darted to where Cole and Ransum were wrestling over a muscle-bulging action figure.  “Boys,” he spoke evenly, “do we remember how to share?”

“Well I had it first!”
Ransum pouted, his lower lip jutting out as he crossed chubby arms across his chest in a show of dissatisfaction.

Just then, Peyton squealed and raced over, jerking the action figure from
Cole’s hands and thrusting the figure’s head into her mouth.  Both boys slumped to the ground deflated as they turned wistful eyes on the now gone forever action figure.

Whether it was self-taught or the result of Eden’
s tutelage, Monroe didn’t know, but it made him happy and…
proud
to witness how all three boys not only doted on their baby sister, but were willing to sacrifice even their own happiness so that she could have whatever it was she desired.

“They’ll be fine,” Lilly supplied.  She and Aries had taken turns and sometimes doubled-up to assist Monroe with watching over and caring for Eden’s children. 

“I won’t be long,” Monroe spoke without taking his eyes from the children.  His heart contracted painfully when he realized that while he longed to see Eden, he was equally as reluctant to leave the kids.

“Go
,” Lilly laughed, “they’ll be here when you get back.  Find out if their mama’s coming home anytime soon.”

Micah lifted his head to frown at Monroe. 
He’d been eavesdropping.  The boy pretended to be disinterested in the children and Eden, but Monroe saw through it.  He fussed over the little ones when no one was looking and anytime someone mentioned Eden, his head slightly inclined, his eyes giving it away that he was curious about his caretaker and secretly listening.

One night
, he discovered Micah in Eden’s room crying.  At first, he thought they boy had been missing Eden, but when he got further into the room he scented the truth.  Micah was at the age where he was struggling to accept the changes he was experiencing.  It had to be terrifying for a teenager to go through alone.  Micah had tried to pretend that he’d banged his shin on the bedside table but Monroe prevented any further lies by shifting.

The
fully black eyes of his wolf’s form took in first Micah’s shock and disbelief and then—to Monroe’s delight—relief.  Shifting back he’d explained to Micah what he was and how they’d come to be.  He’d told the story a hundred times to the Skin Walkers that found their way to StoneCrow.  Admittedly, he didn’t have all the answers, but he had enough to settle the lost souls and to make them comfortable and welcome.

The boy had explained that he thought he was alone that even Eden couldn’t help him understand no matter how hard she tried
, and it was then that Monroe realized she knew her children were different.  She knew there was something wrong, something different about them and instead of casting them out as any other human would have, she pulled them closer and lied to protect them.  He was drawn to her, intrigued by her, and the more he learned of her, the more interested he became.