Finding Her Panthers: Embracing The Bond, page 6
“This is my beautiful mate, Harmony. Our mate,” he says, stepping up beside me and retrieving my hand that the good doctor hadn’t let go of yet.
“Harmony, a beautiful name. It’s a pleasure. Should we go upstairs for the examination?”
“Could I have Jax with me?” I ask nervously, moving closer to Jax. The doctor seems nice, but I would feel better having my mate with me.
“Of course, dear. It might be best if he came along anyway,” he says, giving me a kind, understanding smile. We all make our way to my room.
I stand at the bed awkwardly, twisting my hands together nervously. Jax reaches for my hands, taking one in his.
“Now, first things first. When was the last time you saw a doctor?” he asks as he sits his little bag on the bed.
I try to think back to when I was young. Most of my foster parents didn’t care If I was hurting or sick. I’m embarrassed to tell him. “I was very young, probably six or seven.” The doctor looks up from his bag, sharing an intense look with Jax. The tension in the room escalates.
“Well then, I’m just going to give you a basic look. Then we can get to the other stuff.” I appreciate him not commenting on what I said.
He has me sit back on the bed with Jax right beside me, still holding my hand. For the next half-hour, he listens to my heart with a freezing thing, takes my temperature, and checks my ears silently, only giving me directions. I ignore him. I just concentrate on the hand in mine, the warmth and comfort pressed against my side.
I startle when the doctor speaks into the silent room. “Everything looks good. Now, I need to know about your pain from the heat,” Estes asks.
“A year ago, I caught the scent of Blue, it started then, not bad, but it has gotten worse since.”
“What type of pain?” he asks as he sits on the edge of the bed.
“Just a cramp in my stomach, recently I have a burning in my chest,” I say, rubbing the spot.
“You make it sound so simple, dear,” he smiles kindly.
“I couldn’t do much about it, so I just dealt with it.” I look at Jax as he starts to growl low, squeezing his hand.
“Well, I have seen this many times. Let me just start by telling you what happens when a female meets her mate. Some you probably know.” He settles on the bed more. “When a female shifter scents her mate for the first time, she immediately goes into heat. It is tough to ignore this call of the bond. Your body is in desperate need of your mate to fulfill it. In our world, this is completely normal. The bond doesn’t care if you know nothing of the mate chosen for you. It demands the bond be completed, no matter what. The—”
I interrupt him, confused. “Why do you cramp?”
“The cramping is a sign, and it wants your mate’s sperm.”
I have nothing to say about that. He really just puts it out there. I knew the basics, kind of, but hearing it bluntly is something else.
“Do you know how to complete the bond?” he asks. I shake my head, and he continues. “The bond will be set in stone once you have sex with your mates, accepting it by biting or marking their body with your teeth. This is a way that all shifters can see the proof of a bit mark because it will never truly heal. Also, their scent will be inside you as this happens, marking you forever. Not saying they will not bite again—many do.”
“Will the pain stop then? The heat?”
“The pain will stop. But the heat will go on. Every female shifter has a heat cycle, like a period, but the heat cycle hits once a year. It will not be painful, and you will have your mates to satisfy it. It lasts approximately a month. It’s nature's way of making sure babies are brought into our world.” His eyes crinkle as he smiles.
“Wow, is there a deadline for completing the bond?” I’m not ready, but I don’t want a moment to pass me by.
“No, but I advise you to do it sooner rather than later. The brothers are good men. You couldn’t ask for better mates. Also, being an unmated female in heat can be a dangerous thing. There are those out there that don’t care if they are not your destined mate.”
“You could be forced?” I ask, horrified at the thought.
“Unfortunately,” he says sadly. “Now I have a shot I can give you. It won’t take the heat away. Just suppress it. And I can’t guarantee how long it will last or how well it will work for you, but I’ve had fairly good results. Would you like to give it a try?”
“Yes, it will be a nice change to feel normal again.”
“For the sake of your mate, let's just inject into your arm, shall we?” He hesitantly administers the shot, keeping a sharp eye on Jax. “If you need me or have any questions ask Jax to get ahold of me.” Patting my arm affectionately.
“I’ll be back in a minute.” Jax escorts the doctor out the door.
My mind is racing. Having answers is a relief, knowing I’m not going crazy.
But the pressure I feel now is to complete the bond. What if the guys get tired of waiting for me? It won’t be a hardship to mate with them. I mean, they're nice, hot, and seem to want to spend the rest of their lives with me. My body is certainly ready, as is my panther. I feel her creeping inside, impatient with my fears.
What about Blue? I don’t think he’s ready either. I need to get to the bottom of his reservations, too. We all have to go into this with our eyes open and committed.
They don’t know everything that my life was yet either. Telling them is going to take some courage. Hoping they won’t change their mind about me when I do.
“What!” I hear Jax shout from downstairs, making me jump up and run down. The urgency and anger in his voice causes my heart to stop for a minute.
I come to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, taking in all three of my mates and the hostile atmosphere in the living room.
“What’s going on?” My voice is shaky.
James joins me, slipping his arm around me. “Cindy escaped last night at some point.”
“Oh shit,” I breathe.
“Yeah, no good,” he agrees.
“What the hell happened? Where was Josh?” Jax asks, prowling around the room.
“That’s what took me so long. No one had seen him. I tracked him down. His mate called him, and she went into labor. He had no choice but to leave. He put Tyler in charge of guarding the door. He wanted to call you at the time, but his mate was screaming on the phone, in pain.” Blue glances over at me as if making sure I am safe.
“What happened to Tyler?” Jax growls.
“I don’t know, and I couldn’t find him anywhere. No one has seen him. No one saw anything, apparently,” he says in frustration.
“No sign of a struggle?” Jax finally stops pacing to face Blue, his hands on his hips.
He hesitates to look over to me again, “There was,” he says slowly, his eyes glued to mine. “I found chairs in the room, broken. The lamp shattered. I found blood on the door,” he admits.
“How in the fuck did all of that happen, and no one heard anything?” Jax demands.
“What about Penny? Is she alright?” I ask worriedly.
“She’s fine. Everyone went to a party. They locked up the front and left through the back. Stephan left before they did and went home. I’ve briefed him on the situation. He’s waiting for the next step from you.” James waves his hand at Jax.
“We need to go to the club. I need to see it and smell the room. You didn’t distinguish any familiar scent that we can go on?”
“Just Cindy and Tyler.”
“There’s no way Cindy overpowered Tyler. She had to have someone help her. I need to question everyone. James, I need you with me when I do.” He looked back at us for the first time since I came into the room. “You are the best out of us to sniff out a liar.”
James nods and then looks down at me. Suddenly I am the center of attention.
“I’m coming with you.” I continue before they can object. “I will be safer with all of you. Plus, maybe I can help.”
“Baby girl, I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Jax says as he pulls me close.
“It is. Even in this security-riddled house, I want to be with my mates. You won’t let anything happen to me. You can’t hide me away forever,” I point out.
“Stay by one of us at all times,” he demands.
“I will. Just don’t treat me like glass. I’m not helpless.” I look at all of them when I say it.
“Agreed,” says James behind me.
Blue just nods. Even though his body is stiff and not receptive, I move into his space, craving contact with him. I slowly wrap my arms around his waist and bury my face in his chest. Just when I think he will leave his arms at his side, he palms the back of my head and slides his other around me, circling me.
“How are you doing?” he murmurs.
“Just a little freaked out by everything, but I think that will be the norm for a while.”
“Sounds about right.” He chuckles quietly.
“Harmony, do you want to change?” Jax interrupts. “Sometime today, we can run by your apartment so that you can pack.”
“I should probably do that.” I forgot I still wore James shirt and nothing else.
Blue reluctantly lets me go—or maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part—so that I can go back to my room.
Sneaky Jax has one of his shirts lying on the bed along with a pair of tight boxer shorts for me to wear. The black button-down shirt is so soft and smells strongly of him.
After rubbing it on my face like a creepy stalker, I rush to put it on. Glad my jeans are still in decent shape, I pull them over the borrowed boxers. I tie a knot at the bottom of his shirt, hating to wrinkle the fabric, but it would come down to my knees if not.
As I go to leave my room, I take a deep breath, preparing for whatever we may find at the club.
Chapter Six
Jax
I storm into the club, the others following behind but giving me a wide berth. I have been holding in my fury pretty well up until this point. But now that I am here, smelling that bitch, I can’t hold back. I hope I don’t scare Harmony.
I take the stairs two at a time, making my way up to the third floor, quickly moving to the room we were holding Cindy in. The door is pushed open, the frame splintered. I see the blood smeared on the opposite side. I step inside and fall still. Closing my eyes, I concentrate on the scents in the room. I pinpoint Cindy’s perfume scent, sticky and filled with anger and desperation. Tyler smelled of charcoal and campfire. He was angry and then nothing. I do smell another that I have never smelled before. He reeks of greed and satisfaction.
Not many know of my other gift, only my parents and brothers. Along with the average skill of smelling the scent of others, I can also sense emotions long after that person has left my space. It comes in handy, being an Alpha. It can be painful, though, especially with Harmony. I feel twice as much with her, along with her feelings and needs. It tests my control.
I separate that other scent, breathing it in and committing it to memory. This is the man I need to find. I know it’s a man. He has a sickly-sweet scent. Something like baby powder. I believe he’s a coyote.
Shit. Meeting with the Alpha of the coyotes was the one thing I wasn’t looking forward to.
I study the room carefully, hoping to find any little clue as to why. Tyler is a young wolf who is loyal and eager to please. He came to me two years ago, like many others, and wanted to find a place to belong. We had developed a friendship, and he brought light and kindness to our pack. I can’t let him down. I have to find him. He depends on me.
When I find Cindy, the things I have in mind for her will make me live up to my animal's reputation.
Going into the bathroom, I hear the questions from my pack behind me. We have gathered a crowd in the room. They feel the tension radiating from their Alpha. I am the one that sets the mood and the well-being of them all. They have submitted to me, trusted me with their home. Feeling this must be upsetting to them. The rarity is unsettling.
My gaze travels over the room, hoping for anything out of place. I have learned to never just look in the obvious places. Look for the meaning. I look twice at the shower wall. There in plain sight is a note. A note stuck to the wall in Tyler’s blood. My teeth elongate at the pure disrespect of the move. But that’s nothing compared to the rage that fills me at the words written there.
She will regret taking my mates from me! Harmony…We are coming for you!
My panther claws puncture the note as I let out a roar they will be able to hear from wherever they are hiding.
“What’s happening?” Harmony asks, staring at me intently.
“Brother?” Blue asks urgently.
I hand him the note with a snarl. As I prowl to my mate, I hear the responding fury from my brothers as they read it.
“Jax?” she questions as I pull her roughly into my body, making sure not to hurt her with my claws. I hide my face in her neck, fighting the instinct to bite her now for all to see.
“Cindy threatened you. In the note. Let him hold you. He needs to know you are safe with him,” Stephan explains, stepping back as my brothers surround us. Each of them puts a hand on my shoulder and one on hers.
I can’t bring myself to let go of her even though my brothers are feeling this too, needing to be as close as they can to her.
“She has cornered both James and me in the bathroom before, the shower to be specific. She knew I would look there.” Calming enough to think logically, I encourage Harmony into my brother's arms. “Stephan, I want you to have everyone that is in this building brought to my office. One at a time. I need someone to tell me what the hell happened and where this bitch is hiding.” As I pass, I grab Harmony’s hand and tuck her close to me as we move down to my office. “Block off the door to that room. I want it exactly as it is now.”
Once the four of us are safely behind my office door, I settle Harmony in my desk chair and prowl around it.
“I want any little detail. There has to be some clue.” I stop as Harmony grasps my face, pulling my attention.
“Alpha,” she says sternly. “I am right here. My mates will protect me. When you find her, I will be right beside you. Encouraging you to do what you must. I might even help,” she says, giving me a slight grin. She pushes me down in my chair and then climbs into my lap.
“I can’t believe I missed that note. I never went into the bathroom.” Blue’s face is covered in regret.
“Do not feel guilty, brother. This is all on her. You did everything you could at the time.” I urge Blue not to place all the blame on his own head. He takes the pack's security very seriously.
“What else did you smell in there?” James asks as he sits on the desk to face us.
“Someone helped her. A male coyote. I didn’t recognize the scent, but he smells sick,” I explain, ignoring Harmony’s curious look. I will tell her about my gift. Later.
“Maybe sick in the head,” James mutters.
“A coyote,” Blue growls as he sits beside James.
“I have no choice but to set up a meeting with the coyote Alpha. Probably the wolf Alpha, too.” I run my hand down Harmony’s back. My panther has calmed down by having her close. “Blue, will you make the calls? They both can bring two of their own but no one else. We need to keep this civil, as much as we can.”
“Yes,” he answers, stepping away, already pulling out his phone.
“It may not be the right time, but man, that was freaking hot,” Harmony whispers in my ear, causing me to jerk my head back.
Did I hear that right? I look at James as he smirks at our mate. I guess I did.
“Really?” I take a deep breath, knowing she is telling the truth. There is no fear or trepidation towards any of us.
She just shrugs her shoulders as the door opens, and Stephan appears with the bear shifter of the pack.
For the next hour, I question everyone in the pack, along with one of the human bartenders. I have to be careful how I word everything with him. He’s new and hasn’t caught on to the different dynamics of the club. By the end, all I have come up with are more questions that just make me angrier.
“There is one more, Alpha,” Stephan states.
“Who? And why are you stalling?” I demand.
“She has been working here for a couple of months. Human, but she is scared of you.”
“Why?” I’m not scary, well, not most of the time.
“Right. Well, I had to send someone to her place to escort her here. So she may be more on edge now.”
“I will attempt to put her fears to rest. Bring her in.”
Harmony hasn’t budged from my lap with James and Blue standing on either side. Her left hand remains wrapped around Blue’s knee, causing pleasure to radiate from him. Her right hand is clasped in James’s. I’m not sure she realizes how much her show of affection means to both of them. If our little family didn’t guess before they know for sure now what she means to us. What she will mean to them as the mate of the Alpha. She has kept silent, just watching and taking everything in. The whole pack has greeted her, though with respect.
The girl that steps through the door is one I recognize, but I don’t think I have spoken two words to. Her whole body screams of fear and insecurities. She has mousy brown hair, a thin and frail-looking body, her steps hesitant. Of course, now I am biased to every other female besides our mate.
“Sit,” I instruct sharply.
I feel a jab into my stomach.
“Jax. Nice,” Harmony reprimands me.
“What?” I ask, confused.
She rolls her eyes at me and starts to stand up but can’t as I pull her back onto me.
“Let me go. I think I should talk to her.”
I don’t argue and release her but watch her carefully as she moves to the opposite chair to the girl in front of the desk.
“What’s your name?” Harmony asks softly.
“Marie.”
“Are you a waitress here?”
“I am. Did I do something wrong?” she asks, worried.
