“I have to go,” Jeremiah said quietly, moving his chair closer to Rikki’s and sliding an arm over her shoulders. “I went dark, Rikki, with no warning. I need to go back and be debriefed. There are going to be lots of questions, a lot of meetings, and chances are good I’ll be without a job when I get back.”
“That would be good for me,” Chase said, from where he sat behind his large, cherrywood desk. “I could use another good enforcer on my team.” He paused. “Unless, you are thinking about joining RARE?”
Jeremiah ran a hand down Rikki’s arm, leaning over to kiss the top of her head gently. He could feel the tension in her, knew she was upset, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and when you did something like he did, there were bound to be consequences. “Naw, I’ll leave RARE to the pros.”
Rikki glanced up at him, an eyebrow raised. “The pros? You probably have more experience than I do.”
Dropping a kiss to her lips, he grinned. “Yeah, but could you imagine how I would react on a mission with you. I’m too overprotective. I would want to kill anyone who looked at you wrong.”
Rikki shrugged. “If I’m on a mission, then chances are they are going to die anyway.”
Jeremiah laughed. That was his Rikki. Stronger than most people he knew, and not afraid to tell it like it was. “True.” Glancing over at Chase, he nodded. “Thank you, Alpha. I will consider your offer and talk it over with Rikki.”
“I would want you on my elite team,” Chase told him. “Which means, when we get missions from the council, you go with us.”
“What?” Rikki asked in confusion. “What elite team? Missions from the council?”
“Chase has his own team similar to RARE,” Angel explained, laughter in her eyes. “They work for the council.”
“Are you shitting me?”
Angel burst into laughter, shaking her head. “No. I didn’t know about it until just recently myself.”
“Wow. I really missed out on a lot, didn’t I?”
Angel’s eyes turned gentle, and she nodded. “Yes, you did. But don’t worry. We will get you all caught up while your mate is gone.”
“How’s the wolf pup?” Jeremiah asked, when he saw the sadness begin to creep back into Rikki’s dark eyes.
“She’s going to be just fine. We were able to track down her mother’s side of the family. Little Sammie’s aunt is taking her in.”
“Thank God,” Rikki whispered. “The thought of her being without anyone. It’s just wrong.”
Jeremiah tightened his hold around her shoulders, knowing she was remembering her own past. Rubbing the smooth skin on her arm with his thumb, he kissed her temple gently before turning back to Chase and Angel. “And Jasmine?”
Angel’s eyes lit up, a wide grin spreading across her face. “Jasmine is home with her family. Vixen and I took her yesterday, and you should have seen how happy she was to hold her little girl again.” A shadow passed over her face, but then it was gone again. “It won’t be an easy road after everything she’s been through, but she’s strong. She’ll make it, with the help of her mate and family.”
“And Anya?”
Angel’s hand covered Chase’s shoulder, and she let him speak this time.
“Anya is going to make it. It’s going to be a hard struggle, but she’s a fighter.”
“I worry about her,” Jeremiah admitted with a sigh. “She’s a good person, but she has no one. No one to help her through this, to fight with her.”
“Not true,” Rikki said, looking over at him, her eyes full of compassion. “She has us.”
“That she does, little mate,” Jeremiah said gruffly, pulling her closer. “That she does.”
“She also has her mate.”
Jeremiah’s eyes narrowed. “Anyone vet him out, yet?”
Chase grinned, nodding. “You bet your ass I did. He passed.”
“Good. That’s good.” Jeremiah was glad. Anya was going to need people in her corner.
Rikki sat by Anya’s hospital bed, watching the woman closely. Her eyes fluttered, then fluttered again, before they finally opened. She found herself staring into startling blue eyes, the color of the bluest ocean.
“Hey,” Rikki said softly, reaching over to cover the woman’s hand with her own. “How are you feeling?”
Anya’s lips parted, and those clear blue eyes slid shut again.
“Oh, no you don’t, lady. I think you’ve slept more than enough already, don’t you? Come on. It’s time to wake up and live again.”
Anya moaned, licking her dry lips.
“Thirsty? Yeah, that’s one of the worst things about sleeping your life away. You are always so damn thirsty.” Grabbing the large cup full of ice and water next to the bed, Rikki moved in close. Positioning the straw near Anya’s lips, she said, “Here you go. Drink, but not too much at first. It won’t go down as easily as you think until after a few swallows.”
Anya’s eyes fluttered open again, and she frowned in confusion, but she leaned over and took small sips of the water.
“Wondering how I know all of this?” Rikki asked, placing the cup back on the table and smiling at the woman.
Anya nodded slowly, her tongue slipping out to wet her lips. “Yes.” It was a hoarse whisper, and Rikki saw Anya wince in pain.
Smiling encouragingly, Rikki told her, “Don’t worry. That uncomfortable feeling in your throat won’t last long, either. I promise.”
“Who are you?” Anya rasped, her brow furrowing.
“I’m Jeremiah’s mate,” Rikki said, reaching over to gently push a piece of long, brown hair away from Anya’s cheek. When her eyes widened, Rikki grinned. “Didn’t know that he was a shifter, or didn’t know he had a mate?”
“Neither,” Anya admitted quietly.
Rikki leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other and folding her arms over her chest. “Well, how about I tell you a story, then?”
“Story?”
“Yeah, about a bear and his wolf.” Rikki smiled when she saw a spark of interest in Anya’s eyes. “Before I begin, Anya, I want you to know something. You will get through this. It’s going to be a tough road, it’s going to take some time, but you will survive.”
Anya’s eyes misted over, and she whispered, “I feel so alone.”
“I get that, but you need to understand that you aren’t alone. I’m here, Jeremiah will be back soon. There’s a wolf next door who wants to meet you. And there’s a lynx who has hardly left your side since you saved his life.”
“What?”
Rikki nodded over to where the lynx lay curled up on the floor in the corner. “His name is Teagan Lenthrope. He’s from California. That’s where they first caught him.”
“What? They told me my facility was the first one he’d been to.”
“Not true,” Rikki told her gently. “Yours was the fourth, and since they couldn’t break him, it was meant to be the last.”
“Oh, my God!” As Anya looked at the lynx, tears slipped out, sliding down her face. “No wonder he won’t shift. He probably feels safer as a lynx. More deadly.”
“Trust me,” Rikki said with a chuckle, “Teagan is deadly in any form.”
Anya held out an arm to the cat, whispering, “I want to touch you. Please. I need to.”
Teagan rose slowly, stretching his legs out one at a time. He stalked around the room for a moment, before stopping next to the bed. Rising on his hind legs, he shoved his head into Anya’s hand, purring when she began to stroke his ears.
Anya smiled, a sparkle coming back onto those blue eyes. “You are so beautiful.”
The cat purred loudly, and then it was gone, and the man was in its place. Anya gasped, her eyes widening. Her hand fell to the blankets, and then she lifted it back up to touch Teagan’s cheek. “Hello.”
“Hey,” he said gruffly.
“I know you.” Anya captured one of his hands with hers. “How do I know you?”
“You are mine,” he said simply, covering the hand on his cheek with his own, and turning to place a kiss in the palm.
“Yours?”
“My mate.”
“Mate?” Tears streamed down her face as she shook her head. “How could you want me after everything I’ve done?”
“We will work through all of that,” Teagan promised, rubbing the back of her hand over his cheek. “Right now, rest. Listen to Rikki’s story.”
“Don’t go!”
“I won’t be far, sweet Anya,” Teagan promised, leaning down to brush his lips over the top of her head. Then he was his cat again, purring into Anya’s hand, before dropping from the bed and making his way back to the corner to curl up, watching from afar.
Rikki smiled, knowing it was going to take time for the two of them to work things out, but the mate bond was a powerful thing. She knew they would work through everything, and they would be stronger for it.
“So,” she began, as she picked the water cup up to give Anya another drink, “back to this bear and his wolf.”