Cynful

Chapter Sixteen

God damn, he hurt. He couldn’t remember ever hurting this badly in his entire fucking life. His eyelids felt like they were weighted down with stones, and he’d swear before the ancestors even his toenails ached. What the hell had he been doing? More importantly, where was Cyn?

He finally managed to wrestle his eyelids open, only to find he was in a hospital room. Hell, it even looked familiar. Maybe he was in the same one he’d been in last time he’d—

Shit. Marie. They’d lost Marie, and nearly lost Jamie.

He hoped he hadn’t been foolish to save Jamie. How was Jamie supposed to survive without his mate? Would he spend the rest of his life pining, tortured by mate dreams that could never be realized? One thing was certain; Jamie would never be the same again.

The squeak of a sneaker on linoleum had him forcing his head to turn. Cyn was pacing back and forth, her sneaker squeaking with every turn she made. She was snarling, the sound inhuman. Her Bear was close to the surface, trying to escape her control.

He tried to whisper her name, but all that came out was a soundless exhalation. She must’ve heard him anyway because she faced him, his name a breathless whisper. He could see the wildness in her, but he was too weak to calm her.

She took a step toward him, reaching for him, when the door behind her opened. Gabe stepped in, followed by his mate Sarah, the Halle Puma Omega. Both looked weary to the bone, their eyes red-rimmed. Julian could make out the scent of recent tears.

Cyn took hold of Julian’s hand and turned to face them. “Gabe. Sarah.”

Sarah ran her hand through her hair. “How are you two?”

Julian couldn’t roll his eyes, but he could think about it.

“Jules just woke up. He’s still weak as a newborn kitten and he can’t speak yet. He…” Cyn gulped, and only then did he realize how close to tears she was. “He almost died.”

Sarah’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m so, so sorry.”

Gabe took his mate in his arms and held her tight as she broke down. “Adrian collapsed in the middle of the office. He’s got the world’s worst migraine right now. He’s home, allowing his mate, Sheri, to pamper him. Max is beside himself. He’s declared the sniper a threat not just to you but to the whole Pride. He’s officially asked me to Hunt.” Gabe shrugged. “I’ve contacted the Senate and I might get some reinforcements. I might not, depending on how large the threat turns out to be.”

“The shooter is a shifter. I’m positive.” Sarah wiped her eyes. Her voice was shaky but determined. “The rage behind his actions was overwhelming.”

“How could you tell?” Cyn settled down on the bed by Julian, still firmly grasping his hand.

“Omegas can sense the emotional well-being of the Pride. When Marie fell, Sarah sensed Jamie’s suffering.” Gabe grimaced. “Due to some…unfortunate misunderstandings, Sarah’s power is exceptionally strong. When she experienced Jamie’s loss, she touched something out of the ordinary.”

“When I connected to Jamie I felt the rage of the shooter. Whoever this is, it’s personal.”

“So they are after me.” Cyn tightened her grip and Julian gasped. She was nearly pulverizing his fingers. She’d gotten stronger. “We need to lay a trap for this son of a bitch.”

“I don’t think I can track him. He’s not one of us; I’ll only feel it if he targets one of you again.” Sarah bit her lip and stared at Cyn, her expression sympathetic. “He’s not after you, per se. I think he’s after all of you.”

Cyn tilted her head. “Huh?”

“You, your friend Glory, and Tabby. I think all three of you are the target.”

“So the shot that killed Marie was meant for me, and he got pissed when he missed.”

“I think so, yes.”

Shit. Julian needed to get his strength back as fast as possible. Cyn was in greater danger than he’d thought. The heartbeat monitor picked up his distress, blipping faster than it had been.

“Shh.” Cyn stroked his hair, smiling at him as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Too bad he could clearly see her fangs. “It’ll be all right, Jules.”

Bullshit. His beautiful, strong mate was going to go out there and make herself a target while he was strapped to a fucking hospital bed. There were only two other people who could stop her, and one of them was in the same damn hospital.

He struggled to sit up, trying desperately to find the strength to hold her to him.

“Jules, I’m not going anywhere. Not until you’re out of here. I’m not stupid, querido.”

He stilled. She’d never used an endearment with him before. He’d have to ask what it meant later, when he could speak again.

“We’ll sit down together with Gabe and figure out the safest way to do this. I’m the best candidate. Glory is still too injured, and with Ryan gone I’m not risking her. Tabby is pregnant. That leaves me.” She grinned down at him savagely. “Besides, I want to see the look on that fucker’s face when he finds out he’s been messing with a Kodiak.”

“You’re a Kodiak?” Gabe choked out a laugh when Cyn nodded. “Holy shit. How the hell did that happen?”

Julian did manage to roll his eyes this time, but his voice still wouldn’t work. What came out sounded more like a croak.

“Ask Super Bear some time. I think it had something to do with thorny paths and the beer bottle song.”

“Okay.” Gabe had the same half-confused, half-amused expression a number of people sometimes had around Cyn. “Julian, to help you feel better, there are guards on your door and Glory’s. We’re not taking any more chances. Adrian has given orders that none of you be left alone.”

“If we aren’t left alone how are we supposed to catch this asshole?”

“He has to be aware that he’s being hunted.” Gabe stroked Sarah’s hair; whether he was attempting to soothe himself or his mate, Julian wasn’t sure. “The fact that he was willing to take a shot at you with others around makes me really uneasy. I don’t think it will matter to him if I put a hundred guards on you, he’ll still come after you.”

Then how were they supposed to keep the girls safe? Alex had to be going out of his mind with worry. Julian wouldn’t put it past him to pick up Tabby and cart her off to Oregon, where the rest of his clan lived. If Julian thought it would keep Cyn safe, he’d encourage Alex to take her with him. It was going to take Julian days to heal the damage he’d done to himself saving Jamie.

“I think you should put a guard on Jamie.” Cyn sat on the edge of his hospital bed with a weary sigh. “Now that he’s lost Marie he’s going to…” She scrubbed her hand wearily over her face. “Hell, I don’t know what he’s going to do, but I have an idea. I’ve only been mated a short time, but I don’t think I could live in a world without Julian in it.”

Julian squeezed her hand as tightly as he could, which admittedly wasn’t very. He could barely muster up the strength to do even that. The fact that she was willing to say such a thing, especially in the presence of others, warmed him straight through.

Whether she wanted to believe it or not, she was coming to love him. He liked to think she would’ve loved him even without the mate bond, but it sure didn’t hurt. At this point he’d take any advantage he could get. His mate was a stubborn woman. She would have fought any permanent connection to another person other than the one she had with Tabby and Glory.

Does that make me a bastard or just a man desperately in love?

“Tell your guards I’ve moved in with Julian.” She stared down at him, her expression savagely protective. “I’m not letting him out of my sight.”

He would’ve had no problem with that if he hadn’t noticed the fur sprouting from her arms.

“You’re changing.” Gabe cursed softly. “You can’t do that here.”

“Really? You think?” Cyn was staring at her arm with something akin to horror. “What the fuck do I do?”

Call Alex. Julian still couldn’t speak. For fuck’s sake, call Alex!

Gabe’s phone rang. He grimaced when he saw the caller ID. With a guilty look at his mate, he answered the phone. “Hi, Chloe. What’s up?”

Sarah stiffened, but didn’t pull away from her mate.

“I’m sorry. Could you repeat that?” Gabe was giving Julian a strange look. “Right. I’ll do that. Okay. Yeah. Take care, vixen. Talk to you later.” He hung up the phone and pulled Sarah tightly to his side. “That was Chloe. She says you want us to call Alex.”

Julian sighed his relief and relaxed. For the first time he thanked his strange bond with the little Fox.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Gabe opened his phone again and began dialing.

“Don’t worry, Super Bear.” Cyn kissed his forehead, her fangs cool against his skin. “Everything will be all right.”

It was not all right. It was so far from right it was almost left. Who the hell had she been kidding? Julian or herself?

“It’s a lot easier than you think it is.”

Cyn rolled her eyes and wondered how the hell she’d gotten into this situation. Here she was, standing naked in the woods with her best friend’s lover, who was also naked (and yummy-looking, not that she’d tell either Tabby or Julian that). Worse, she was standing butt-naked out in the woods with Alex and six other men, half of whom carried guns. The other half were in their puma form, scouting the area as quietly as only a cat could. All of them were Halle cops, and each and every one of them had checked her out before going to their assigned tasks. Brown fur kept sprouting in the oddest places, and her claws refused to retract. Her fangs were so stinking long she was beginning to lisp. Julian, who was supposed to help her through her change, was still in the hospital. He barely had the strength to speak, let alone defend himself. According to Gabe and Sarah, that was half the reason her Bear was coming out early. Between Glory’s wounds and Julian’s weakness, the need to defend her loved ones was just too strong. Her Bear was reacting to her emotions and forcing its way out. She was going to change today whether she liked it or not.

And her best friend’s naked mate was going to help her. In front of witnesses. Joy. Thank God Tabby wasn’t here to see her humiliation. She was safe, sound and dressed, keeping watch over Glory and surrounded by guards.

“Do yourself a favor and just relax.” Alex demonstrated by taking a deep breath, pushing out a truly impressive pair of pecs. No wonder Tabby always had a smile on her face. “Now you.”

Cyn rolled her eyes and took a deep breath, blowing it back out noisily.

Alex grinned. “Now you’re getting it.”

Yeah, right. The only thing she was getting was frozen boobs and sideways looks. This was her teenage hell come to life. All that was needed was for somebody to start belting out Oklahoma! and her day would be complete.

“Now, let your Bear out. She wants to come out. Close your eyes and scent the wind.”

Cyn closed her eyes. She lifted her face to the breeze, trying to smell the things Alex did. Amazingly enough, she could detect things she never had before. She had no idea what they were, but she was sure Julian would be able to help her figure it out once he was well enough to shift with her.

“A bear’s sense of smell is much stronger than that of a bloodhound. We can track prey over miles, and our mates even further than that. Our night vision is better than that of a human, but we get the same color vision.”

Her nose twitched. She tilted her head, trying to catch a strangely alluring scent.

“Bears are omnivores. What you smell is a squirrel, racing across the treetops to get away from us.”

Well. That was disgusting. She was salivating over a squirrel? Maybe she should’ve had Alex take her to McDonald’s before coming out here.

Mm. Big Mac. Her stomach rumbled. She prayed it wasn’t for two all-squirrel patties on a sesame seed bun. That was just…ew.

“Look down at your hands.”

She opened her eyes to find her hands had become paws.

“Let it flow. You’ve followed the spiral of the healing path before. This is almost exactly the same, except instead of you drawing strength from your Bear it will draw on you.”

It was the strangest thing she’d ever experienced. Her skin rippled, flowed over muscle and bone that was suddenly bigger. There was no ugly, painful crunching as her bones realigned, never mind what the horror movies showed. It was more of a pins and needles feeling, electricity dancing along nerve endings that were abruptly in different places. Her hands—no, her paws, landed on dry leaves and dirt.

The change was almost complete.

She looked up from her hands to find herself nose to nose (Snout to snout? She really had to look this shit up) with a Grizzly that smelled remarkably like Alex. She jerked back, landing on her furry rump, woofing in surprise.

Who knew bears could laugh? Alex’s shoulders shook as he wheezed. Cyn stood back up and growled softly, almost laughing herself when Alex hid his face under his paws. He was such a goof that it was hard to remember sometimes how dangerous he could really be.

Alex stroked his nose under her chin, and then lumbered off into the underbrush. It startled her that they were roughly the same size. She’d thought he would be bigger, but they really were snout to snout. He paused momentarily to look back at her as if to say, Well?

Cyn lumbered off after him, content to play follow the leader. She did chuff out a laugh when her posse of Pumas scrambled to keep up, the ones who’d chosen to stay human having the hardest time. But even her bodyguards couldn’t distract her from the whole new world that had opened up to her senses. Her sight didn’t seem to be any different than her human form, but her heightened hearing and sense of smell were almost overwhelming. It was going to take time to sort out everything she was experiencing. She just hoped the next time she changed Julian was at her side. As cute as Alex was, she missed her mate.