CHAPTER SIX
The food order arrived, and conversation turned more general. Thea felt relieved. Remembering her own suffering at the hands of Bolivar—while an important part of her recovery—was also still difficult. Luckily, the brothers seemed to realize that, and they took the conversation in other directions.
She learned that, while the brothers looked almost like they could be triplets, there was actually more than a decade between each of them. Shifters lived longer than humans and stayed in their prime throughout most of their long lives. They talked about themselves and their family a bit, then the talk turned to the events in town as the restaurant began to fill up with people and discussion of anything shifter-related became more difficult.
After hearing the entertainment options available for the evening, it was decided that all five of them would go to a concert that night. The men had their own reasons for wanting to go, and the hints that they were able to give in the now-crowded restaurant led Thea to believe that they would be observing the crowd more than the show.
They spent a bit more than the standard hour eating lunch, but since the brothers were visiting experts and not regular employees of the garage, they were comfortable making their own hours—or so they told Thea when she inquired. It was mid-afternoon by the time Ezra and Thea went back to the hotel. He went to work, making the promised phone calls, while Thea retreated to her bedroom to place a call back home.
Her parents hadn’t been too keen on her desire to roam, but she’d promised to keep in touch with them. She’d called every other day and knew it would probably reassure them to know that she wasn’t traveling alone any longer. They’d met Ezra when they’d come to collect her from Lake Tahoe. They’d said many times how grateful they were that she’d been rescued by a fellow bear shifter and that his intervention had probably saved her life and her bear spirit.
Her dad was a strong bear, but neither of her parents really had an Alpha presence. At least not among other bears. It didn’t matter, though. They lived quiet lives, on the outskirts of a small shifter community where they were the only bears in the immediate area. The nearest Alpha bear lived on the outskirts and wasn’t seen very often in town. Of course, just by virtue of their animal spirit and the size of their shifted forms, both her mother and father were well respected by the Others.
As she’d expected, her folks were overjoyed that she’d met up with Ezra and was now traveling with him, as they put it. Her mother insisted that the hand of Fate had stepped in to put Thea in Ezra’s path—or the other way around. Either way, it totally worked for her mom. She’d liked Ezra from the beginning, and Thea knew without question that her mom would love to have a bear like Ezra for a son-in-law. She’d said so often enough since Thea had gone back home.
Thea wisely didn’t mention any of the magical problems in town. As far as her folks were concerned, the bike rally was just a nice little diversion on her journey of self-discovery. Her mom asked if Thea planned to stay with Ezra after the rally was over, but Thea told her mom, quite honestly, that she had no idea what she would do after.
Right now, Thea wasn’t thinking any further than surviving the coming ordeal with an evil mage and two wolf Packs ready to kill each other. She hadn’t expected to ever run into trouble like this again, but if she had to face her worst fears, she was glad Ezra was nearby. He’d saved her once, and though she didn’t ever want to require saving again, she was glad he was around. He made her feel safer…and stronger.
Her experiences had changed her. She’d gained in strength and dominance. She was more Alpha than her folks now, and that had made things a little tricky at home as she’d grown healthier and more able to get around. She’d left as much for their good as her own. She loved them, and she’d never pull dominance on them on purpose, but her bear was learning its way and wasn’t quite sure of when to be fierce and when to back down. It didn’t make any sense to take the chance that she would hurt her parents’ feelings while experimenting with her new sense of self.
She spent a bit more time on the call than she’d planned, but it felt really good to talk to her folks. They’d been so supportive of her recovery. She’d hated leaving them to go on this trip, but had known it was something she just had to do. Maybe there really was something to her mother’s belief in the hand of Fate.
When she came out of her bedroom, Ezra was just ending his own call, and he was frowning. She didn’t want to pry, but she also wanted him to know she was there for him if he needed help.
“Anything I can do?” she asked, heading for the kitchenette and the coffee he must’ve made while she’d been in her room.
“I called Gabe and Margo,” Ezra told her. “They say hello, by the way, and they were glad to hear you’re doing so well.” That made Thea feel good, but the immediate problem here in town took precedence over her personal stuff. “They’re going to try to get here, but they may not be able to make it in time. Which means we’re probably on our own with the mage.”
“It’s nice of them to try,” Thea said, hoping the other couple would arrive before she and the other bears had to confront the magic being used against the werewolves in this town.
They talked about their plans for the evening, and Thea passed on greetings from her folks to Ezra, then she went back into her bedroom to get ready for the night ahead. She put on a different outfit and did her hair and makeup with care. Ezra was taking her out to dinner, then they would meet up with the bear brothers at the concert, which was being held on one of the streets in town that had been closed off to traffic especially for the rally.
Dinner was hearty, in a crowded restaurant filled with bikers from all over. Things were really in full swing now, and the little town was chock full of people. They kept the conversation light, and Thea took note of the admiring glances Ezra drew from some of the bolder human women. It made her feel a little aggressive and a bit proud at the same time. He was with her. And any woman who made a play for him in any way was going to bleed. Grr.
Not that Ezra gave them any encouragement. He barely seemed to notice the female attention sent his way. He didn’t acknowledge any of the sultry glances and gave everyone a bland smile, if anything, when socially necessary. He was polite but not encouraging, which made her inner bear settle.
After dinner, they headed down the crowded street to the venue where a country rock band was already playing. It was the opening act, and they weren’t bad at all. In fact, Thea found herself nodding slightly to the beat. The band had a good groove and an excellent singer.
Ezra spotted the brothers over by one of the many bar stalls that had been set up around the perimeter of the open-air venue. When they met up, Jack handed Thea a beer he’d bought for her, and King handed one to Ezra, receiving thanks in return, as well as an offer to get the next round.
They watched the opening act for a little while, standing on the edge of the crowd, back by the refreshments. Thea enjoyed the music, but she got the feeling the men were watching the people around them a lot more than the people on stage. She took a quick glance around and realized there were a few familiar faces she had seen at the garage that afternoon.
Many of the local werewolves had come to the concert. She sidled a little closer to Ezra and put her arm in his.
“Is the other side here, too?” she asked in a low voice.
“I think so,” he told her. “See that guy in the white Stetson hat?”
He nodded toward a tall, rangy man ambling toward one of the bigger wolves they’d seen that morning at the shop. When they bumped into each other—clearly on purpose—she thought a fistfight was going to break out right then and there. Thankfully, saner heads prevailed as they both looked around at the gathering of humans, then settled on growling at each other as they walked away. She thought she saw the one facing her mouth the word tomorrow, but she couldn’t really be sure from her position, about twenty yards away, with people milling around in the middle.
“Those are the two leaders,” Ace said quietly. He was standing next to her, with Ezra on her other side and Ace’s two brothers watching their backs. She knew Ezra could hear his words, but seeing as how they were in a noisy crowd with so many humans around, they were being circumspect in what they said. “The guy in the white hat is from White Oaks out of Iowa. The other is a local guy. They call their territory the Southern Buttes.”
“Looks like they’re keeping it together until tomorrow,” Ezra observed.
“Yeah, thankfully,” Ace replied, sighing with a hint of relief. “It would be a real problem if they started losing their shit in the middle of all this.”
And by this, she knew he meant all the humans around. The vast majority of the planet didn’t know a thing about shifters, and they wanted it kept that way. It was just safer for all concerned. But she thought she knew why the two werewolf Alphas were waiting to start their fight.
“It suits the bad guy’s purpose. To do it here would confuse the issue for him and muddy the waters. He wouldn’t get as clean a power boost,” she told them, speaking quietly. “He’ll want to do this in an isolated location where he can control things and reap the most reward out of the event.”
She glanced at Ezra and Ace, on either side of her. Both had thoughtful expressions on their faces now.
“That makes a lot of sense, disgusting as it is to think of someone able to pull their strings to such an extent,” Ace replied after a long moment of thought.
“We just need to know where. And exactly when,” Ezra put in, a muscle in his jaw ticking with tension as he kept his eyes firmly on the crowd in front of them.
“I can probably tell you when,” Thea put in. “Tomorrow night is a full moon. He’ll probably pull the trigger as the moon starts to rise. As it travels towards its zenith is the most powerful time. When it’s in decline back to the horizon, it’s weakening. As it rises, it’s strengthening.”
Ezra looked at her, his brows drawn down in a frown. “How do you know?”
“I listened,” she told him with a shrug that was much lighter than the memories that had just been dragged up. “Um… He would talk sometimes,” she said, hoping Ezra would know which he she meant without her having to say the bastard’s name out in the open where anyone might hear and recognize the name Bolivar. “I learned a bit about how and why he chose to do things at particular times.”
Ace nodded. “Jack said something similar. He knows more about it than me and King.”
“So, now, we just need to know where,” Ezra said again.
“Someplace isolated where he can control access,” Thea said. “Probably away from all the hubbub in town.”
“We’ll do some analysis of the terrain,” Ace said. “What are you guys doing after the concert?” At that point, Thea knew they were all going to be spending some time poring over maps after the show was over.
“We’ve got a big table we can work on if you don’t have room,” Ezra told Ace. “And we can order in snacks.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Ace replied, and then, they settled in to watch the rest of the show.
There were no more incidents involving the werewolves from the garage that Thea could see, but the men were watching the crowd for the rest of the performance, and maybe they saw some things she didn’t from their slightly higher vantage point. She’d always been tall for a woman, but her animal spirit was huge, and shifters were usually fit and healthy but a bit taller than their human counterparts. Still, standing next to these big men, Thea felt downright dainty.
She felt so safe in Ezra’s presence. The other guys were great, too, and they added an extra layer of security, but it was Ezra that made her feel truly protected, in the very best possible way. She realized more and more that she hadn’t been dreaming when she’d been attracted to Ezra way back when they’d first met. Sure, he’d saved her life, but there was something more to the instinct that drew her to him than just gratitude for his brave actions.
She was even more attracted to him now, if that was even possible. Now that her bear was back at full strength—and then some—and her spirit was recovering along with her body, she was even more drawn to the big man at her side. He was good-looking, sure, but that wasn’t all there was to him. He had depths she was only just starting to know, and she admired the man she was discovering beneath the handsome exterior.
What’s more, she thought he just might be attracted to her, too. She had to stop and think about that for a moment, not really daring to hope that maybe, somehow, they could get together. Maybe for a fling. Or, maybe…for something a little more permanent.
She knew for sure her mother would be bouncing with happiness if it turned out that Ezra was Thea’s mate. And there it was. The M word. Could he really be her mate?
She’d always imagined that she’d know immediately if she ever met her perfect match, but the way she’d met Ezra had been…confusing, at best. So much had happened to her that she doubted very much that she would have even recognized herself, had she been able to look in a mirror, when they first met.
She’d been a mess. Her animal spirit at its lowest ebb of energy before fading away entirely. Ezra had brought her bear back to life. He’d held on to the tiny spark that her bear had been reduced to, and had protected that spirit, encouraging it to take power from his immense heart and to live.
Thea very much doubted her bear would have survived without him. And, without her bear…she wouldn’t have survived, either. He’d saved them both, giving her a chance to live on and thrive. She owed him a lot for his bravery and willingness to put himself on the line for others, but that wasn’t the only reason she was attracted to him. It was Ezra himself. His inner character and the quiet strength he exuded at every turn.
He was solid. Intelligent. Steadfast. Like some kind of knight of old, he was a born protector, willing and able to fight for what was right, but level-headed about it. She admired him in so many ways.
And he was totally hot, too, of course. He was tall and broad shouldered. Lean and intensely focused. She liked that about him. Actually…she liked everything about him. His new job sounded intriguing, and she liked the idea that he’d taken on the role of troubleshooter—or champion, in her eyes—for folks who were trying to clean up their little part of the world and rid it of crime and evil.
It was a noble thing he was doing. Maybe a little dangerous at times, too, but he was an Alpha bear. He could handle himself. She had confidence in his abilities and his judgment, which made it a little less scary all around.
At the end of the show, all five bear shifters headed back on foot to Ezra’s hotel suite, which was only a few blocks away. Ezra called in an order to a local restaurant that delivered several bags of hot food about forty minutes later. By that time, they’d taken over the table at one end of the main room and laid out some maps Ezra seemed to have sourced from somewhere.
Thea had never really seen a topographical map in person before, but she thought that’s what they were. There were also road maps with the highways and lanes laid out neatly and color coded.
Thea didn’t really want to intrude on what seemed like a high-tech strategy session. The guys were talking in grid coordinates like they were some kind of Spec Ops team… And, maybe…they were. She didn’t really know what any of them had done before she’d met them. She knew Ezra had been a bounty hunter and was now a corporate troubleshooter, but from the way he and the other guys were talking, she wouldn’t be surprised to learn they’d all spent time in the military.
She tried to follow some of the jargon but got lost pretty fast. It didn’t matter, though. She was tired, and they were well occupied by their discussion of terrain, high ground, line of sight and other things she couldn’t really decipher. She decamped to her bedroom and got ready for bed, happy to leave the guys to their planning. She’d shared everything she could for one day. Now, it was their turn to do what they knew best.