Chapter Three

“Spill the beans. What happened between you and Morgan to make things so tense?” Aimee threw herself down onto the bed.

Callie crashed onto the cot and smothered her scream with the pillow. It was actually a nice pillow for a man’s spare bedroom. Eventually, she rolled onto her side and faced Aimee. The shifter waited patiently, no judgement in her eyes.

Callie worried the men downstairs could hear her, but the front door opened, and the scent of male bears faded for the time being. It helped her let go of the tension in her shoulders.

“Morgan and I dated when we were teens, back at the Den. It was…great. He was everything I could have asked for: strong, soft, a little bit nerdy. I didn’t realize that the entire time we were together, he was sneaking off to see other women. Human women.”

Aimee pouted. “He looks like a different man.”

“That doesn’t change what he did.” Callie’s voice was low and sad. Everything about her wanted to chase after Morgan. Her bear practically wailed with need. As she passed him earlier, she nearly bumped into him just to feel his body against hers again.

The struggle between the two voices in her head, the one screaming to run into Morgan’s arms and the other that hissed not-so-gentle reminders of what he did, left her ragged and tired. It shouldn’t have been this difficult. Being near him shouldn’t have filled her with memories of their time together or an echo of the need she’d felt even back then.

Her rage didn’t hold up when she was around him.

“Well, we will just have to do our best to avoid them. If you want, I can keep these two occupied while you work with the pregnant shifter.”

Callie raised a brow.

Aimee’s cheeks reddened. “Not like that. I will admit, they’re both beautiful examples of men, but I wouldn’t stick my hands where they weren’t welcome.”

“I know.” Callie’s eyelids grew heavy. She hadn’t gotten any sleep on the flight and it was catching up with her.

“Take a nap. I’m going to go find a bathtub for a long soak.”

Callie knew her alarm later would be the boys’ shouts when they found an otter in their bathtub.

Just as she thought, there was a small uproar when Dom and Morgan came home to find an otter in their bathroom. The uproar quickly died into laughter and glee. Even Callie could admit that her friend’s beast was adorable.

She wiped at her face with the back of her hand and straightened her hair, pulling it into a braid, before venturing into the house. She easily found the bathroom, following the sound of laughter, and found an otter swimming in a bathtub nearly the size of a twin bed. Morgan and Dom both knelt on the floor, tossing plastic balls for Aimee to catch.

Only in a house full of shifters would this happen, she thought. It was the kind of playfulness that Callie expected to stay at the Den. She’d always expected shifters outside of their haven to live in fear and self-loathing. This was different.

“I’m going to visit Boomer and his mate before the day is over. Don’t wait up for me.” She turned away from the bathroom door.

Morgan’s voice called out to her. “Do you need help finding the way?”

“Nope. That’s what GPS is for.”

She could hear his footsteps following her. Downstairs, she stopped and spun on him. He was too close. She had to look up into his eyes, those eyes that hadn’t changed in nine years. There were a few new scars on his jaw and a crooked bend to his nose that spoke of the many times it must have been broken. He was rugged in a way she hadn’t expected.

Quickly, she spun away. Her heart pattered inside her chest. Traitor, she thought.

Morgan snatched a set of keys from the counter. “It’s a match made in heaven,” he declared. “You have GPS, and I have a truck. Let’s pay Boomer and Emmy a visit.”

“This isn’t a play-date.”

He spun the keyring on his finger, a lopsided grin quirking the corner of his mouth. “Oh, but it is going to be a show.”

***Morgan didn’t tell her about Boomer or Emmy. He knew neither would like how the Den wanted things to work. While the Den’s antiquated policies might have helped couples who didn’t want to rear their own children, they pushed the same policies on everyone, often tearing apart families. Boomer was a force of nature, but Emmy was the one Morgan worried about.

She’d entered their small family with human emotions and attachments. She was a woman who knew herself and what she wanted now. The Den’s methods of child rearing definitely were not what Emmy would want.

His mate sat as far as she could get from him, her arms crossed over her chest. She still hated him, that much was clear. He never did get a reason out of her. Nine years ago, all she’d told him was to leave. That was when he and some of the others first ventured beyond the hidden safety of the Den.

He’d watched his friends, his family, struggle under the weight of loneliness while his beast pined for a woman who hated him. With her in the cab of the truck with him, the beast was growling with need. He wanted to reach out and touch her, to make sure she was really there, though he wouldn’t dare.

Callie would probably put his head through the window sooner than let him touch her again.

“How’s your father?”

Callie swallowed. “Fine.”

The conversation is going great, he thought.

The question was on his tongue when a burnished gold shape tumbled onto the road. Morgan slammed on the brakes. Callie caught herself against the dash, eyes wide as she stared out the windshield.

The bear’s head rose, and it let out a deafening roar. Morgan rolled down the window and leaned his head out.

“Go home, Orion! Before someone mistakes you for a deer and hits you with a car.”

Orion slapped the hood of Morgan’s truck with his massive paw before dropping to all fours and lumbering away. Morgan sighed and shook his head. Their youngest friend was the most volatile. He was a good man with a wild beast that no one knew how to help. He feared that there would come a day when they would lose the man to the beast.

Callie met his gaze just before he looked away. He knew she was thinking the same thing.

“He’s a menace,” she breathed, slowly leaning back into her seat.

He heard the unspoken message. If he’s a danger, you need to tell us. The Den will come and deal with him. The Den will kill him.

Morgan gripped the steering wheel. They weren’t about to let the Den come in and take Orion from them. He wasn’t a threat. Not yet. There was still time to save their youngest friend. So, Morgan said nothing until they reached Boomer and Emmy’s cabin.

“After you, Princess.”

Callie narrowed her eyes at him. He was pushing her buttons on purpose now. Perhaps, because his own had been pushed and he needed to return the favor. No matter the reason, she completely turned away from him now and marched up to Boomer’s front door.

Morgan leaned against his truck and crossed his arms over his chest to watch the scene unfold.

***

Callie knocked on the cabin door. As quickly as it swung open, there was a man howling no. Boomer slammed the door in her face. She sighed, shoulders dropping. She knew this was going to be a feat of patience and perseverance, but she hadn’t realized how hard it would be. Her nerves were already frayed from being in the same town as Morgan. It made everything she did just a little bit more difficult.

Before she could knock again, the door slowly opened. A dark-haired woman appeared, eyes wide and lips in a small O. The woman’s stomach was swollen, a hand held over it protectively. Emmy, the new bear shifter, Callie noted.

“Do not let that monster into this house,” Boomer howled from inside.

Callie rolled her eyes. When she glanced back at Morgan, he gave her two thumbs up while grinning ear to ear. He could have warned her.

“Child snatcher!” Boomer kept going.

Emmy scowled, clearly confused.

“There is a lot we need to talk about.” Callie’s voice was surprisingly level. This wasn’t Callie’s job, but she donned the role like a professional.

Emmy didn’t look wholly convinced, but she let Callie inside anyway. The cabin was rustic compared to Dom’s modern abode. The cabin had a woman’s touch, leaving splashes of soft pink and rose gold on nearly everything.

“You let her in!” Boomer wailed.

“Quit being a drama queen,” Callie snapped. Beside her, Emmy laughed.

“You don’t get it,” Boomer said to his mate. “This is what they do. They send someone to come and take you away. Then, when you have the baby, they send you back to me empty-handed. I’ll never get to see my child.”

“You and I both know that it is all voluntary. Not everyone is equipped to raise a cub.” Callie had never faced opposition like this. Her job had always been in the Den, sharpening crayons and soothing tears. This was…different. Callie wanted to shake off Boomer’s rage and remain unaffected, but his words slowly dug their way inside her. They rooted like parasites.

“Have a seat. Would you like a cup of tea or cocoa?”

Callie wanted strong coffee, but she figured a pregnant woman wouldn’t keep temptation in the house. So, she settled on cocoa if only for the momentary rush of sugar.

Boomer paced in the living room. His hair was long and wild now, the tie falling loose as he shook his head. Where once she’d known a man called Theodore with fat cheeks and quivering lips, there was a monster of a man. Everything she knew about the men had changed.

It made her wonder what about herself had changed. She didn’t feel like a different woman. If anything, it felt as though time had stopped at the Den. For a moment, she chewed the inside of her cheek as the thought tumbled through her mind.

“Go on,” Morgan urged her from the doorway, appearing soundlessly. “Tell her why you’re really here.”

Emmy looked between the familiar and unfamiliar face. Boomer, on the other hand, spun on his cousin. The first fist flew before Callie could move. Boomer’s knuckles collided with Morgan’s face. They all heard the snap of his nose echo throughout the room.

Morgan tumbled back, down the steps. Boomer followed, hot on his heels. Callie surged from her seat. This kind of behavior wouldn’t have been tolerated in the Den. Bears knew their place.

Everything here was chaos. She couldn’t understand it. Especially when she stumbled out onto the porch. Her whole body froze as she watched Morgan duck and dodge Boomer’s punches. Where Boomer was bulky muscle, Morgan was tighter and leaner. It made him quicker than his cousin. Callie even caught the grin on Morgan’s face as he taunted Boomer.

Bit by bit, Boomer’s punches lost enthusiasm. They glanced off Morgan’s shoulders. Then, finally, Boomer let his fists fall as he caught his breath. It was then that Callie realized what just happened.

Morgan had let Boomer expend some of the pent-up frustration. It was a bit of a masochistic method, but an effective one. They both trudged back toward the house, blood dripping down their chins. Emmy raced past Callie. She reached for the pregnant shifter, but Emmy was faster than Callie thought.

“You’re a blessed idiot.” Emmy reached for her mate’s nose, pressing her fingers against it, only to find it still unbroken, before moving on to Morgan.

Morgan hissed when the other shifter reset his nose. When Emmy was finished, she stood before the two of them, hands on her hips, and admonished them for being rude in front of company.

“Don’t worry, Em. She’s seen a lot worse from us,” Morgan teased. “Callisto saw most of us in diapers. She even knows Boomer’s real name.”

Emmy let loose a heavy sigh. “News flash, I don’t think they’ve changed a whole lot since you knew them. Sometimes I think they still need diapers.”

Callie didn’t want to admit it, but she liked Emmy. Despite being a changed shifter, Emmy was strangely comfortable in her own skin. She was a confident and capable woman. Emmy definitely was not the kind of woman Callie thought Boomer would end up mating with. Perhaps, she was the counterbalance to Boomer’s wild ways. Where he was gale force winds, Emmy was a calm and steady river.

“Back to the matter at hand,” Emmy said after wiping her hands off. “I take it this has something to do with my current situation.”

Callie followed her back inside. “Yes. The Den has very specific ways of doing things. It’s for the benefit of every bear shifter that the rules are adhered to.”

“How so?”

“What?”

Emmy stopped and turned to face Callie. Once more, that determined look was in Emmy’s eyes. It was the same look she wore when she walked up to the two battered bear shifters. “How do the rules benefit us? I want to know specifics before I agree to this.”

Callie didn’t have the heart to tell her this was not a matter of agreement. Emmy was going to the Den. How else did she expect to give birth to a bear? It wasn’t like Emmy could go down to the local hospital and check herself in. The babe she carried would give them all away.

Still, Emmy waited patiently for Callie to explain. She did her best but found herself tripping over her explanations. She tried to make it clear that it was to protect the secrecy of their existence and to ensure a healthy birth. The cub would get the best care in a group environment. Everything they did was for the cub. Once more, Callie wished her father had sent someone else. She wanted to blame Morgan who still stood at the edge of her periphery.

“That was what happened to us,” Boomer said with his arms crossed over his chest. “Do you think it helped us any? Look at how we turned out. Up until recently, we thought Reid might disappear. We knew his beast was causing trouble, but we didn’t know how to stop it.”

Callie sat up straighter. “There’s something wrong with all of you. I turned out fine.”

Morgan made a noise that had Callie turning to face him. He bunched his shoulders in a tight shrug. “Your family was at the Den. You went home to them at the end of the day. We didn’t.”

She had nothing to say to that. Every argument fell flat and turned to ash in her mouth. In the end, all she could do was stand up and leave the cabin. Outside, the cool air washed over her tongue and doused the fire burning in her throat.

Emmy folded her arms over her chest. Callie could see the tic in the woman’s jaw, a time bomb waiting to go off. She didn’t know if she wanted to be there to see the new shifter explode. It was clear Emmy and Boomer had a fight on the horizon, and Callie was willing to bet money on Emmy winning. Already, she could tell Emmy was a force of her own and that Boomer loved her more than anything he’d ever loved in his life.

Callie ignored the pang of jealousy that dinged in her mind. She would find her own mate someday. There was still time. She didn’t have to watch other couples with loathing self-pity.

The men here were turning her inside out. She wanted desperately to run back to Aimee and find some sort of reason in the world again. Last she knew, her friend was playing in a bathtub. She didn’t know why she thought Aimee would be the stable one.

A pair of footsteps followed her outside. She knew who it was before she smelled him. He was the North on her compass, no matter how much she hated it.

“Go away, Morgan.”

“If you say so.” She heard the crunch of gravel beneath his heel as he turned away.

She quickly caught herself and spun toward him. Every time she saw him again, he took her breath. He was marble, carved into the form of a man. When he looked at her, eyes inquisitive and patient, she couldn’t help but fall into his gaze.

Callie had to suck in a deep breath to steady herself.

Morgan took that as a chance to speak. “I just came to invite you to a cookout. It’s getting close to Thanksgiving, so Dom thought about deep frying a turkey tonight. It’s going to be delicious as long as we don’t set the forest on fire.”

She couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled out of her. “This sounds incredibly reckless and dangerous.”

Morgan shrugged, the tension from earlier gone. “We like to live dangerously.”

“I think you meant stupidly. You like to live stupidly.”