Carl’s face tightened. “Except for the one that got away. You think it was the Crazy Cat Lady?”
Mark’s bared his teeth. He couldn’t stop himself when thinking about the bitch who’d abducted young shifters and who had certainly been part of the attackers this morning. If only he’d kept it together, he could have chased the bitch and ended this whole nightmare right then and there. Instead, the mating imperative had taken over. His grizzly brain had decided to stake his claim on Julie while simultaneously warning Carl away. In reality, he’d scared the shit out of her, chased her up a tree, and let the cat bitch escape. Not his finest moment.
“You saved her life today. Mine, too, so don’t get caught up in your head.”
“Better than trapped in my grizzly.” The sentence came out more as a snarled growl, but at least they were words.
Carl didn’t have a comeback to that, so he simply squeezed Mark’s arm. “Stay human, okay?”
“Yes, Mother Hen,” he said. But in his mind, he was repeating the words, Stay human, stay sane. The motto might as well be tattooed on the back of his eyelids. Mark had barely made it back from this morning’s shift. He probably wouldn’t be able to the next time. So any hope of extra time with Julie meant staying human. Not that she wanted to hang out with him either way, but a guy could hope. And these days, hope was all he had.
They were just about to knock on the front door when a haunting alto voice filled the air. It was Tonya, singing a lullaby in rich notes that startled both men.
“Did you know she could sing?” Mark whispered.
Carl shook his head while they both listened to words that they’d never heard before. It was “Hush Little Baby” done differently. Instead of buying the child a mockingbird, Mama got him a ruby-throated loon, a silver spoon, a quick-fingered witch, then blood and a kiss. It was the oddest list of items he’d ever heard—especially in a child’s lullaby—but folk songs were not something he’d ever paid any attention to.
The song ended and the ladies clapped enthusiastically. Mark would have, too, except that he was sure it would embarrass Tonya. And then someone—probably Tonya—let out a loud burp, causing gales of laughter. God, it was beautiful to hear that. Joy. Silly conversation. Women in friendship. All things he missed when he was a grizzly. This moment of eavesdropping became startlingly precious to him simply because he wouldn’t be able to appreciate it for much longer. And he was both awed by the beauty of it and pissed off because he was outside of it. Like God was busy shoving him out the door of humanity just when he really began to see how special it was.
Angered by that, he slammed his fist against the door. The sound was loud, the impact enough to make his hand burn. And even worse, the laughter stopped as abruptly as a TV turning off. What a child he was, destroying the fun when he couldn’t be a part of it.
Tonya opened the door, her face was flushed red, but her hand was steady where it gripped the pistol at her hip. Mark was surprised, but Carl stiffened in fury.
“You are not drunk and carrying a loaded pistol,” he snapped.
She bit her lip, slowly pulling her hands into view. “Not carrying anything,” she said.
Carl wasn’t having any of it. He grabbed the weapon out of her belt with all the authority of an alpha. He double -checked the safety—on, thank God—and glared at his beta.
“We’ve got enough problems without you being stupid.”
Tonya flushed and canted her gaze away. And then she jerked her short hair back as she extended the motion, baring her neck to Carl. “You’re right,” she said. “I hadn’t expected to drink this much.”
“At all, Tonya. Only an idiot carries a weapon and drinks.”
She nodded, her throat still exposed. Behind her, Becca came forward clearly unsteady on her feet. “She only had one,” Becca said. “I might have had four.”
Mark suppressed a chuckle. With Becca’s petite frame, four would make her totally sloshed.
“And I split the difference with two and a half,” added Julie as she raised her glass. But once it came into view, she tipped it back to her mouth. A moment later, it was empty. “Three,” she said with a satisfied smack of her lips.
Good lord, she was beautiful. Flushed cheeks, bright red lips, sparkling eyes, and a body that seemed to sway mesmerizingly before him. He’d gotten used to having the lust slam into him at the sight of her, but this time it was lust tinged with laughter. Hunger sweetened with delight.
“You better sit down,” Mark said as he crossed to Julie’s side, his nostrils flaring as he came close. Spicy citrus scent filled his mind, and he remembered just where she smelled juiciest. Without even willing it, he stroked her arm and drew her tight against him.
But instead of melting into him like he’d expected, she stiffened, pulling away with a sniff. She opened her mouth to say something, her hand coming up with a single finger extended toward him. He steeled his spine, waiting to hear her condemn him. Filthy animal. Ugly bear. Murdering monster. All of those words vibrated in his brain. All that remained was for her to pick which ones.
But she didn’t say anything. She just pointed at him and held still. Then abruptly, she walked back over to the couch and dropped down hard enough to make the feet skid on the wood floor.
Becca chuckled. “That’s telling him!”
Tonya nodded. “Very succinct.”
Julie just rolled her eyes at them, which produced a choked-off laugh from Becca and a breathy exhale from Tonya.
“I think that’s my cue to leave,” Becca added, still chuckling.
Carl grabbed Tonya’s arm with one hand and Becca’s shoulder with the other. “Neither of you is driving.”
