Mary and the Bear

Chapter Nine

Mary Elizabeth's nose twitched, and she inhaled deeply. What was that smell? Its divine aroma lured her out of sleep. She forced her eyes open, and waited for them to focus. They were dry and gritty, her vision cloudy and blurry. She lay on the very edge of the bed, with one arm and leg dangling off. She followed her nose to the nightstand, on which her sense of smell told her the coffee lay.

Carefully so that she didn't fall off the bed, she propped up on one elbow, and groaned inwardly when an evil drummer started a vicious beat inside of her head. She closed her eyes and prayed that her head would fall off. She could live without a head, couldn't she? And if not, well, right now, death didn't sound like a bad thing.

She desperately needed that coffee. She couldn't see it, so she felt for it, being careful not to knock the cup over. She burnt her hand when one of her fingers slid inside of the cup, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her head. She brought it to her mouth. Ahh! She closed her eyes and savored the flavor. It wasn't how she liked it, but it was strong and hot, just what she needed.

Half of the cup was gone before her vision improved enough for her to see. As the caffeine worked it's magic, she slowly alerted to the fact that she was naked. Hmmm, when did that happen? She didn't normally sleep in the buff. It wasn't until she was placing the cup back on the nightstand that she noticed the glass of water and the bottle of pain reliever sitting there.

Just what she needed. She opened bottle and took two. She was about to close it when that villainous drummer played a particularly painful combination. She tossed another two pills into her mouth and chased them with water. Too weak to get up, she lay down wondering if she'd ever feel human again.

She must have dozed off for it was the intense pressure on her bladder that woke her the next time. Her eyes still felt like sand paper, but she was more alert. The evil drummer had given up his wicked ways and was silent for now, for which she was extremely grateful.

She crawled out of bed and stumbled to her feet. She hoped someone got the tag number of the truck that hit her. If she hadn't been in an accident, then she was mugged. There was no other explanation for the way that she felt.

She relieved her bladder and climbed into the shower, standing under the hot stream, letting it run over her head and down her body while still half asleep. After awhile, she roused herself enough to wash her hair. Becoming more alert, moment by moment, she finished washing and stepped out of the shower.

Now that she was awake, her mouth tasted like something crawled in it and died. She brushed her teeth and tongue and spent a long time with the mouthwash. When she rose from rinsing, she glanced in the mirror and shrieked. Her eyes were puffy and swollen with dark circles, her skin pale and wan. She looked horrible.

She was in the bedroom getting dressed when the bed caught her attention. Actually, it was the pillows she noticed. The pillows on both sides were dented as though two heads, and not one, slept in her bed last night. The decorative pillows that she kept on the bed were on the floor, as though they had been tossed there during the night. Her entire bed was a mess, which was surprising because she rarely moved in her sleep. She kept to one side of the bed and that was it.

As she stood there, memory kicked into place. In a rush, it all came back to her. The party. The drinks. Crying over Babs’ death and Hugh. Oh lord, she'd slept with Hugh! She looked around anxiously. Where was he?

Fool! It's not like I could miss him. He's too big. He must have left. Where did he go? What time is it? Almost one. No wonder he'd left. He was needed at the diner. Saturdays were busy.

She dressed and straightening the room. Her linens smelt like sex and Hugh. She stripped them off the bed and replaced them with fresh ones. Once the bed was made, she went into the kitchen to find something to eat. On the refrigerator was a note from Hugh. Sorry I had to leave. Waited as long as I could. When you're ready to eat, come down to the diner and I'll feed you, Hugh.

How considerate of him, but she wasn't ready to face him just yet. It wasn't every day a woman gained a new lover. At least she'd been spared the embarrassing morning after scene she heard so much about. Although if he were here, they'd be past it now.

A cursory glance at the contents in the refrigerator showed there was nothing appealing inside. She was hungry, but didn't feel like cooking. Looks like she'd be taking Hugh up on his offer after all.

Hugh placed another order in the window and rang the bell. “Pick up!” His mind was on Mary Elizabeth. Was she up? He wished he could have stayed and eased her awake. It was probably better for her that he'd left. She had a rough night. With getting sick, grieving for her sister and then him, she needed all the rest she could get. She'd better get it while she could because she wouldn't be sleeping much tonight either.

It was after one o'clock when she finally walked through the door. He examined her carefully. She was a little rough around the edges, but otherwise okay. She went directly to her seat at the counter and picked up the menu. She caught sight of him and blushed to the roots of her hairline. Hmm, interesting reaction. He'd find out later what that was about.

He pulled another ticket from the turnstile in the window and got back to work. If he wanted time with his mate, he needed to hire more help. While he worked, he made a list of reliable people he would call.

The next order was Mary Elizabeth's. He recognized the handwriting. Hugh delivered her food when it was ready. He eyed her possessively. “Good morning, feeling better?"

"I'm okay.” She blushed again and played with her food.

His mate was looking distinctly uncomfortable. From the way she was subtly glancing around, she was concerned about public opinion. Smiling wickedly inside, he put Phase II of his operation in action: The Claiming. His mark was already on her, serving notice on all shape-shifters that she was taken. Now it was time to let the rest of the population know. “I want you to take it easy today. Get plenty of rest. I didn't let you get much sleep last night.” He spoke low, but knew his voice carried.

Her mouth opened in shock. Silence fell in the diner and all eyes turned their way. Seemingly oblivious to the firestorm of gossip he'd just started, Hugh leaned forward and kissed her lingeringly on the mouth, just in case there was any doubts about how he kept her woke. “I'm needed in the kitchen. I'll see you when I get off.” He sauntered back into the kitchen.

Belatedly, it occurred to Mary Elizabeth that when she agreed to Hugh's terms, maybe she should have heard what those terms were. Now because of her blanket agreement, he had the upper hand. Just what had she let herself in for? Well, other than sex. Great sex. Fabulous sex. Okay, so she thought the affair would be their little secret. How unrealistic of her. She could deal with it. She could deal with almost anything as long as he kept delivering like he had last night.

Or so she thought. She questioned her ability to handle things when she got to the register to pay for her meal. Hugh's voice boomed from the kitchen. “Cyndi, Mary Elizabeth's meal is on me. Just tear up the ticket."

Cyndi gave her a knowing look and once again she could feel everyone's eyes on her. Giving Hugh an evil look, she walked out of the diner and back to her apartment where it was safe.

Shannon drove home, mentally reviewing the rooms in her house. She needed an area with only one point of entry, and it couldn't be too small for she wasn't sure how long she would be in there. She could use her bedroom. It had a bathroom, but the problem was the windows. There was a small one in the bathroom and a large one in the bedroom.

She parked and studied house. It was a cute little wood-framed, complete with an old-fashioned front porch. The house wasn't as small as it appeared to be. There were three levels to it—the attic, the main level, and a basement. The attic, used primarily for storage, might be an option, but there was no bathroom, and possibly no electricity other than the single light socket in the ceiling.

She started there. No, this won't do. There were too many windows, and no way to block them all. She left and headed for the basement. Now this was more like it. It was partially remodeled. The floor and walls were made of concrete, which were insulated and covered with dry wall. There was a half-bath and plumbing for the washer and dryer connections.

It was easily defendable. There was only one point of entry. There were two windows at ground level but they were extremely small. Still, she could easily reinforce them with steel grills or bars, just in case. She would remove the door at the top of the stairs and install a heavy-duty, steel-reinforced one in its place, complete with deadbolts. If she walled up the stairway, she could install another steel door at the bottom as an extra security measure.

The basement was large, running the whole length of the house, with just one section walled off for the bathroom. It was empty except for an old bedroom set, which was still in good condition. She'd use it and save herself the hassle of dragging hers downstairs. She was going to be locked in for quite a while, at least a week. As long as she had food, water, a bathroom and a place to sleep, she could get through most of it.

The inside taken care of, she moved to the outside. She needed to set booby traps around the perimeter of the house. Not to kill, but to slow them down. She had to give it more thought.

Scent. It would be a big problem. Her scent would broadcast her heat to every shifter in the area and bring them running. Their scent would trigger a sexual response in her. If she smelled them, all of her efforts would be for nothing. She needed something strong enough to block their scent, but not so strong that it damaged her nose. If she could temporarily disable their sense of smell, especially while they were in wolf form, it would cut down on the number of pursuers.

All of the weak males, the omegas, would be in wolf form. Eliminating them would be easy, leaving only the strongest, the betas and alphas. They could control their change and could easily switch to their human form to hunt her. The only way to protect herself from them would be to put up plenty of barriers and hope they couldn't get through.

The only hope she had was that the harder it was to get to her, the less shifters there would be making the attempt. Each delay would cause them to fight among themselves until only the strongest remained. That's when all of her security precautions were going to be put to the test.

Maybe she should call Rory for help. No matter what differences they may have, she knew he would come to her rescue if she asked. The question is, in the final analysis, would she be able to trust him? If he set up her safe room, how did she know that at her weakest moment, he wouldn't slip someone inside? Every room had weaknesses and no plan was foolproof. How did she know that he wouldn't use it his advantage? She didn't, and that was a risk she couldn't take.

She couldn't ask any shifter to help her. Well, not any wolf-shifter and she didn't know too many of the other types, but maybe she could hire a human. Someone who wasn't local. She'd pay enough to make it worth their while as long as the room was ready when she needed it.

She measured the doorjambs and the windows, calculating how much material she needed. This room was perfect. All the control panels and valves were located here, along with the furnace. They couldn't force her out. She needed another source of heat and light, just in case they knew something she didn't. The nights were cold and she didn't want to freeze and it was too risky to switch to wolf form just to keep warm.

There was no phone, but that was fine. Who would she call? Everyone would be out of his or her head with lust because of the blue moon. She was on her own. She just had to plan really well. She headed to Colbyville to get the things she needed.