Authors: Moxie North
Driving to Sea-Tac airport gave Conner time to think about what he’d said to his brothers. Was he willing to kill a human being? Being a bear meant he could be very aggressive. It wasn’t like he hadn’t defended himself in the wild before. But taking a life was not something he’d had to do before.
His bear took the moment to voice his opinion and for once Conner agreed. No one was allowed to harm his family. They would do whatever it took to make sure his parents, his brothers, and their mates were safe.
A few hours later, Conner pulled up to arrivals to pick up Dax. He saw him standing with a leather overnight bag slung over his shoulder. He was tall, muscled but leaner than Conner or his brothers. He was blond, but not like Conner’s hair. It was almost golden, which screamed shifter to him. But then again he knew that Dax was an Alpha Mountain Lion. When he did shift, he was a huge gold cat with a long tail that Conner used to give him shit about.
Pulling up to the curb, Dax pulled open the door and immediately started in. “Wow, star treatment, you didn’t want to show me a comfortable ride now did you?”
“Hey this Jeep is plenty comfortable, you’ve just grown soft out there in that prissy vineyard of yours,” Conner smarted back as he pulled out into traffic as soon as Dax’s ass was in the seat.
“True, true, spending my days enjoying the warm relatively rain free days looking over my fields of plump grapes while knowing some of the finest wine on the west coast is sitting in oak casks ripening has made me a bit soft. I don’t strain myself too hard thinking about all that money I’ll make once it’s bottled. Gives me time to get my nails done and shop for shoes,” he snorted.
Conner had the grace to laugh, he knew how hard Dax and his family worked. They had huge acres of land to manage, tons of staff, and a complicated distribution business. He also knew that Dax was, more often than not, out in those fields, not getting manicures as he suggested.
“You know there was a time we wouldn’t be able to ride in a car together, you know the good old days,” Conner taunted.
“Yes, the good old days of hiding in small communities. Afraid to show our faces or let our cubs out to play in case they were noticed. I tell you, having money and your own business allows for a freedom that our ancestors could never grasp.”
“I guess that is something to be thankful for, now that we have our own generation to think of,” Conner agreed.
“So I heard! Congratulations, Uncle. When is the blessed event anyway? I always forget how long it takes with you teddy bears,” he mocked.
“Har har, it depends, usually it takes the same as humans, unlike you freaky cats,” Conner spat back.
“Oh yes, us freaky cats only have to deal with our mates being pregnant for a little over three months. How terrible!”
“Uh huh, speaking of mates, I haven’t seen your mom in forever. How is she? Still wondering where her grand-cubs are? Still lining up available fertile kitties for you to look at?” Conner continued to jab at him.
“Why yes, yes she is. And I’ve sampled a few, but sadly, no mates,” Dax said giving him a pout.
“Oh, I’m sure it’s a tough job,” Conner laughed.
“Mom is starting to give up on me though. My little sister Mackenzie is getting mom’s full attention now. I probably shouldn’t have left them alone together. They may scratch each other to pieces,” he said laughing.
“Have I ever met your sister? I couldn’t tell if that was some fancy new perfume you were wearing when you got in or maybe your mom gave you a big hug and kiss before you left. I’ll give you a pass if you tell me it was your sister,” Conner said slyly at him.
“No, you haven’t met her and keep your greedy bear paws away from my sister, asshole,” Dax said with a laugh.
They bantered back and forth for the rest of the three-hour trip. Getting caught up on family goings on. Conner hadn’t even realized that his bear had been oddly silent the whole trip. Must not like being stuck in the car with a big cat he figured.
The lights of his parents’ cabin were blazing bright as they pulled into the drive in front of the house. Dax was staying with them while he was there. His mom liked having someone to coddle and Dax was the type that liked when women fawned over him. Lazy cat.
“If you don’t mind, I’m gonna dump you at the door. My mom is waiting up for you, probably with fresh cookies and milk,” Conner said gesturing towards the house.
“Not a problem, appreciate the ride. I’ll see you first thing in the morning?”
“Bright and early,” he said, giving him a two finger salute.
Conner stopped in front of his house and was inside before his nosey brothers could pop over. He needed food and a beer and sleep. In that exact order.
Hitting the fridge he pulled it open and surveyed some milk, a questionable box of leftover Chinese, and the baking soda box in the back. He grabbed the milk and settled for a bowl of cereal which nixed the idea of a beer. Because he wasn’t in college anymore and even in college he didn’t eat that way.
Once his head hit the pillow he fell asleep in no time. Even his bear was too tired to argue.
* * * * *
The next morning Conner walked into his parents’ house without knocking. He smelled pancakes and found Sophie behind the counter next to his mom. Seemed the whole family was there, even Jinger was giving Wyatt a kiss as she moved towards Conner carrying a travel coffee mug.
“Bye everyone, nice to meet you, Dax,” she called out, before leaning up on her tippy toes to give Conner a kiss on the cheek. He bent lower to keep her from having to climb him. He heard Wyatt growl behind her.
“I can’t help it if she likes me better, bro,” Conner mocked.
“Fuck that, she adores and worships the ground I walk on!” Wyatt approached him trying to look bigger than his six-foot four-inch height.
“It’s true, what can I say, the ground he walks on is pretty adorable,” Jinger laughed before she headed outside.
“That’s right, adores me, loves me, only me,” Wyatt continued to growl to himself as he followed his mate out the door.
“Does he always do that now,” Conner asked, reaching for the cup of coffee his mom was holding out to him.
“Oh sweetie, your brother has always talked to himself. Seems to be getting worse lately though,” his mother said thoughtfully.
This caused the rest of the men in the room to laugh. Edward, Cage, and of course Dax were sitting around the large farm table with almost empty plates in front of them.
“You’re late, runt. We want to head out,” Cage called.
“Well why don’t you take Dax over to your house to sniff around while I sit my ass on this stool and have your woman make me some pancakes,” he flipped back. He was leaning over the counter now and gave Sophie a wink. This earned him a heaping stack of pancakes and a side of sausage.
Sophie had perfected her American style pancakes, they rocked. Sitting down, Conner started taking huge bites, stuffing his face with fluffy sticky bites.
“Good grief, you eat like a pig,” his mother called out, tossing a cloth napkin in his general direction.
“Nope, just like a bear though,” Conner said around his bites.
“Hmpf,” his father said into his cup.
Conner finished his plate in record time. Kissed his mom and Sophie on the cheek before racing out to find the other men standing around the side of Wyatt’s house staring at the ground.
The anger seething from the group was palpable. Conner made sure to make enough noise as he approached so he didn’t startle anyone. You were taught at a young age to never surprise a shifter.
“Well?” he called out.
“It’s him,” Dax answered looking up. “I’d recognize that unwashed smell anywhere. No need to check the other sites. If Tony is here, then he’s out for revenge for the death of his brother. I’m guessing he was worried we’d trace the vineyard fire back to him, that’s why he disappeared. He must have heard us talking about your company before, we don’t hide our relationship. Then he put two and two together to guess you were shifters also. If I had to bet, he is going to keep going between our two families until he kills us or at the very least destroys our livelihoods.”
“But why go after our equipment,” Edward asked.
“He knows he can’t go running around screaming
werebears
. People will think he’s crazy. He has to lay low and poke the proverbial bear where he can. I bet he didn’t expect the fire in California to do so much damage. It spooked him enough to run,” Cage offered.
“Asshole took out our newest crop. It will take years to recover that land and income,” Dax growled, his brown eyes flashing tawny orange.
“Settle down kitty cat,” Conner said, but still took a step back.
A long low growl rolled out of Dax.
“Calm down you two,” Wyatt said, trying to keep the peace.
“So how do we track this asshole down? I don’t think he’s on our payroll, or ever has been.” Cage pulled them back to the conversation
“We can always call in each employee, see if they match the scent. Tell them we are doing an accountability survey or some shit,” Conner offered.
“Good idea, that will be one less place to look. I have a feeling this guy is laying low, skulking in the shadows to cause this much trouble,” Cage said. “Dax, you willing to stick around for a while? Make sure we don’t miss our chance at this guy?”
“Sure, I was thinking of having my little sister come up too, if you don’t mind. She worked with the hands more than I did. Wine isn’t her thing, but she loves being in the fields. I know she worked closely with both Tony and his brother,” Dax replied.
“Sounds good, how are Mackenzie and the boys? I haven’t seen her since she was in pigtails and overalls, and the boys were toddlers,” Cage laughed, glad to be talking about family and not criminals.
“Good, grown up and quite the handful. Mom gave up trying to tame Mackenzie a long time ago. Easier to give her whatever she wants and stay clear. Dad keeps Stryker and Everett in the office doing paperwork,” Dax laughed.
“Those names,” Cage said, shaking his head.
“Hey, my mom couldn’t remember which winery she got drunk in on one of her ‘research tours’, that led to the conception of those little strays, so she hedged her bets,” Dax explained. “Luckily you’ll only have to deal with one other Hayes this trip.”
“Mackenzie is welcome here anytime. Let me know and we’ll arrange her pick up at the airport,” Cage said, turning to lead them back to the main house.
“I’ll call her now and see if she can catch a flight today.” Dax pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and tapped the screen to make the call.
Stepping away from the group, Dax waited for his sister to pick up. On the third ring she did.
“Hey sis, married yet?” Dax said by way of greeting.
“Hardy har, you’re a laugh a minute do you know that,” she answered. Mackenzie Hayes was sitting at home wondering why her life was nothing other than grapes and surviving her mother’s machinations on getting her mated. Talking to her brother was an excellent waste of time.
“Well, if you are able to tear yourself away from your busy debutante life for a few days, I’d like you to head up here. Today if you can. I’m pretty sure the Rochons are dealing with our Tony up here and I know how closely you worked with him. I’d feel like we were covering all of our bases if you were here too,” Dax explained.
“Aw shucks, you asking for my little ole’ help? I’d be delighted to join you. Do I have to tell mom I’m leaving?” She knew she was whining, but couldn’t help it.
“Only if you don’t want her sending out an all points bulletin that you’ve been kidnapped. Because she would never suspect you of running away,” Dax laughed. His mother was always worried about Kenzi hightailing it out of California. He was surprised his mom hadn’t put a GPS tracker on her at birth.
“I’ll be there. Hey, any of those Rochon boys looking for a mate?” She knew this would annoy her brother.
It worked. “Nope, not a one of them,” Dax replied confidently. His cat had warned him off of Conner immediately, growling that he was not a stable guy or a man looking to settle down. His cat was always right about these things.
Conner could hear Dax talking to his sister as they made their way back to the house. His mind was on bigger things. Now that they had confirmed that the oily unwashed smell belonged to the man trying to hurt his family, Conner was having trouble keeping his bear back.
Today might be one of those days, he would need to let him run so he didn’t lose control in front of anyone. Catching Wyatt’s eye he gave him a head nod towards the woods. Wyatt gave him a chin lift in response. Seeing the yellow tinge in Wyatt’s eyes, Conner knew he needed a release too.
They got back to his parents; Cage went in to grab Sophie so they could head back to base camp. Dax went with them after confirming his sister was coming in that afternoon. His mother, of course, decreed a family dinner since she hadn’t seen Mackenzie since she was a baby. And the Rochon boys knew there was no way to deny their mother anything.
Once they’d left, Conner and Wyatt headed into the woods behind Conner’s house, stripped down and let their bears out to run. Conner knew his brothers wondered why his bear always shifted in a shower of sparks and flashing colors. Cage and Wyatt could let their bears flow out of them in nothing more than a shimmer when they weren’t agitated. Mad, they shifted like Conner.