Wild Mate: BBW Bear Shifter Romance Page 3

  Rebecca shook her head and turned away from the window.

  Enough. She had more than enough bad memories, thanks to Phin. No need to wallow in them and torture herself anew with them.

  She needed to forget everything.

  Stop remembering, start living.

  She put the kettle to boil and began to wipe the dust off the counter top and table. She would make herself a nice cup of tea, calm her nerves and grab a bite before getting herself ready for the evening. She had called her manager at Club Mate, and he had assured her that she was welcome back at the club. Rebecca blew out a breath as she dunked a teabag in a cup. She was glad she still had a job. The mortgage didn't pay itself.

  As she sipped her hot tea, she glanced down at her arms and body. All her scars and bruises were gone. The witch healer at the hospital had given her a potion to enable all her scars to fade in double time. “But just the outward scars,” the healer had told her gently. “You have to let go of your inner scars yourself. Hmm, maybe my sister, Melynda can help you with that. But she hasn't graduated yet.”

  Rebecca had glimpsed a baby bump under the healer's white coat, and she had politely commented, “You're having a baby.” To her surprise, the healer replied, “A cub. I'm having a cub. My mate is a werebear.” Rebecca saw so much pride and love in the healer's eyes when she mentioned her mate.

  Rebecca sighed. What was it like to feel so loved and cherished, to know that you belong to someone who would protect and keep you safe always?

  Rebecca gulped down the rest of her tea and wrinkled her nose. She guessed she would never know.

  But, she had no time for a pity party.

  It was time to work.

  She planted her hands on her hips and traced her curves. Work it, girl. You've still got it.

  Despite her prolonged hospital stay, she hadn't lost much weight. Well, she had lost some, but she hadn't lost her curvy figure. Her body was still full and lush.

  And with her scars and ugly swells and bruises gone, she was as good as new.

  But just the outward scars.

  Only the outside scars were gone. She looked good only on the outside. Like she was whole and healed.

  On the inside...

  She couldn't even bear to take a good, hard look at what was happening to her on the inside. What would she see? A complete mess, a total wreck.

  Rebecca let out a long, shaky breath. She might be a wreck inside, but as long as she looked fine and moved all right, she could work it. She had to. She did a little jig, practicing her moves. Gaining confidence, she hummed a sexy tune as she swayed and shimmied her way to the living room.

  Yeah, she could still work it on stage. Snatching up the broom, she pretended to dance around the pole.

  She had forgotten a few steps, but she improvised, singing with wild abandon and grooving to the lusty tune. Gradually her confidence and grace returned.

  She was a stripper, an entertainer, the sole breadwinner who brought home the dough and paid the mortgage. She was Raven Rose, the most popular stripper at Club Mate.

  Raven Rose was back.

  Rebecca smiled as she finished her routine with a flourish. She would be just fine tonight.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Rebecca walked into Club Mate and strolled right up to the bar counter. “Hey.”

  Danny, the bartender, spun round and his face split into a huge grin when he saw her. “Raven Rose! You are back! How are you?”

  “Good. Good as new,” she smiled back. “How's everything?”

  “Nothing's the same without you,” he lied, still baring his fangs in a wide grin.

  Rebecca nodded, making no reply. The club raked in the bucks and the bloodsuckers with or without her. One less stripper made no difference to their business.

  “Here.” Danny pushed a long stem glass of crimson liquid at her. “Tonight is your first night back. This one's on me.”

  Rebecca squinted at the glass. “What's this?” she asked the vampire. “Is it...”

  Danny laughed. “Relax. It's just red wine. This...” He raised his own glass at her. “...is blood. Pure, undiluted, A+ blood.” He knocked back the contents in one gulp and smacked his lips. “God, I needed that.”

  Rebecca raised her glass. “Here's to hope, health and happiness!” She drained her glass, trying not to grimace at the irony of her toast. She would never know the taste of hope and glowing health, and definitely not happiness. She was broken, in all ways.

  But she couldn't let anyone see that. “Thanks, Danny. Have you seen Will?”

  “Yeah, he's in his office.” Danny jerked his thumb in the direction of the manager's office. “And...he's not in a good mood tonight.” He rolled his eyes. “Good luck.”

  Rebecca kept her head down and walked briskly to Will's office. She could see some of the girls coming into the club, but she didn't feel like making small talk and gushing about how great it was to be back. This was just a job. A job she needed. She had to do it and get out, and try not to step on anyone's toes on the way out.

  She rapped smartly on the door and waited.

  “Come in,” came Will's grumpy voice.

  Rebecca straightened her jacket and walked into Will's office. “Hi, Will.”

  The man looked up with a scowl. “Raven Rose.” He leaned back in his chair and raised a brow. “You're in early. How are you?”

  “I'm good. You?” She pulled out a chair and sat down.

  “Good, good.” Will leaned his elbows on his desk and closed his laptop. “Let's take a look at you. You up for the stage tonight?”

  Rebecca hesitated a beat, then stood up and shrugged off her denim jacket. She was wearing her costume underneath, a translucent number that showed some flesh, not enough to titillate, just enough to tantalize. She spread out her arms and turned slowly in a circle, feeling Will's appraising eyes on her. Will was human, but apparently, even the vamps gave him a wide berth. He had connections, and he ran the club with an iron fist. She had never seen him lose his temper, raise his voice or his fist. He didn't have to. He had people to do that for him. Will could make people he didn't like disappear. Rebecca stopped turning and held her breath as she stood stiffly in front of his desk.

  Did she pass?

  Or was he going to ask her to disappear?

  Will made an appreciative sound. “You look good, Raven.”

  Rebecca let out the breath she had been holding. He approved. She still had her job.

  Will didn't ask why her body bore no marks of her assault at all. He dealt with witches, warlocks, demons and she had no doubt he had his fingers in all sorts of shady, dark dealings. Perhaps that was why he didn't have a single wrinkle on his face. Rumor had it that Will was at least half a century old, but he looked not a day over thirty.

  Will flashed her a smile and inclined his head. “Well, go get ready. And...welcome back, Raven Rose. We missed you.”

  Rebecca smiled sweetly and walked to the door. Sure you did.

  She made her way to the dressing room. Thankfully only three girls were there. She smiled, laughed and joked with them and answered the usual questions with deft, light strokes. I'm good, never better. Everything's all right. Can't wait to get on that stage. I missed you all too!

  Soon the music started, and everyone flitted round the dressing room, checking their make up, putting the final touches to their costumes and props, doing stretching and warm up routines.

  Rebecca strapped on her seven inch heels. Her nails had been freshly painted, and she had applied a temporary tattoo of a raven on her thigh. She had changed into a glittering mini skirt, and she adjusted her red conical bra under her translucent blouse. She flexed her fingers and rolled her shoulders, trying to relax her muscles.

  Staring at herself in the mirror, she struck a few poses and gulped. Why did everything feel so unfamiliar? This was her old job, her old life. Yet it felt odd to be back.

  It's just nerves.

  She stared at the tattoo on her thigh. It s
howed a raven in flight, its black wings spread wide and as she tensed her muscles, the wings seemed to move.

  She started when she felt a hand on her arm. “Come on,” one of the girls smiled at her. Rebecca smiled back automatically, but her mind drew a blank all of a sudden.

  Blinking hard, she finally managed to stutter, “I'll be right out. Jade.”

  That was her name, right?

  To her relief, Jade nodded and filed out of the room with the rest of the girls.

  With a final glance at the garishly made up stranger in the mirror, Rebecca mouthed, showtime!

  And she stepped out into the dark sea of pulsating lights and loud music.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Levi stood across the road from Club Mate, watching the drunken customers spill out of the premises. Scott was standing still as a statue beside him, but he could feel his cousin's worried eyes on him. Everyone was worried about him. He saw it in their eyes, heard it in their voices, even though none of them made any mention of Rebecca Rose.

  Levi and Scott had just stepped out of a meeting with Jett and a bunch of senior Enforcers and had headed straight to Club Mate. There was some activity going on in the clubs and Jett wanted them to investigate it.

  The Enforcers' meeting had been brief but eventful.

  “Biting by vamps and blood demons?” Mason Gray, a werelion Enforcer, had asked at the meeting. “I thought we had that under control with the new licensing regulations and...”

  “No,” Jett had answered tetchily. “The vamps and demons are behaving themselves. For now.”

  Levi had remained silent. Jett's ill-temper and snappy replies told Levi that the Head Enforcer had a problem on his hands that he couldn't solve. Jett was a man of action. He was quick, sharp and he always got to the root of the problem before the problem could take root.

  His mind was as quick as his tongue and his hands. That was what made him such a good leader and a fearsome Enforcer. Under his leadership, the Enforcement Unit had grown to be a force to be reckoned with. The previous Alpha before Lucas Rieve had paid scant attention to the Enforcement Unit. Training and weapons had been inadequate, and many Enforcers had lost life and limb in the line of duty. When Lucas became the PAC Alpha, he had headhunted Jett Riley to lead the Enforcement Unit, and increased the budget for recruitment and training of the Enforcers.

  Jett trained and led them well. He also protected them and tried to solve all their problems. Jett had been in street gangs in his youth, and Levi suspected that these underground connections enabled Jett to keep his ears on the ground. His ears and eyes on the ground no doubt accounted for his uncannily accurate hunches.

  “So, what are we looking for? Do we have proof of any illegal activity going on, or is this another one of your “hunches”, Jett?” Zymfer probed, impudently rolling his eyes at his boss. Zymfer was a young demon Enforcer who obviously hadn't yet had a taste of Jett's explosive temper and acerbic tongue. Levi could hear a collective intake of breath from the senior Enforcers.

  The room went so silent Levi swore he could hear a bead of sweat ooze out of Mia's pore. Mia Lin had worked with Jett before, when Jett was an officer in the NMPD. She had been a junior police officer under him, but Jett had seen her potential, and had recruited her as an Enforcer when he joined the PAC. Mia knew Jett pretty well. She knew the way he worked, and she knew his quick temper and wit.

  Mia was shaking her head and narrowing her eyes at the clueless demon. That big bad demon was about to get eaten alive. Jett would chew him up and spit out his bones. And that was if he still had any bones left after Jett was done with him.

  The other Enforcers all seemed to shuffle back a little, giving Jett space and distancing themselves from Zymfer's brazen comment. Jett folded his arms over his broad chest and studied the insolent young demon.

  “Got something against my “hunches”, Zymfer?” Jett asked nonchalantly.

  “Yeah. As a matter of fact, I do.” Zymfer puffed out his chest, his horns slowly elongating above his ears. You could always tell when a demon was worked up. It was all in their horns.

  Levi almost groaned. Why wouldn't the youngster just shut up?

  Jett cocked his head and smiled tightly. The Head Enforcer made no reply, just stood waiting for the demon to shove his own foot deeper into his big mouth and down his throat.

  “Just because you have a hunch that something is going on or is about to go down, you send us running blindly into a bar, or an alley, or some far flung part of the city. We could be doing something more productive, instead of chasing after some—” Zymfer gestured wildly. “—phantom, or the bogeyman. Maybe you had a nightmare, so you slept badly and the next day, you're in a foul mood and you stomp into the office and send us all on a wild goose chase. We're Enforcers, senior Enforcers,” he emphasized. “Not your scrappy underlings in a street gang, or bumbling, inept human police officers in the NMPD.”

  There were some gasps, but Jett's face remained straight. His lips slowly curved up in a lopsided smile.

  Zymfer was breathing heavily, his chin jutting out belligerently. Jett calmly stepped back and uttered just five words.

  “Mia will kick your ass.”

  Before Zymfer could react, Mia had charged straight at Zymfer. Her screech was like a battle cry as she tackled the demon around the waist and wrestled him to the floor.

  Mia was a whirlwind of fists and teeth. Her well-aimed, well-timed kicks were deadly, and the young demon stood no chance against her. He tried to fight her off, and even attempted to gore her with his horns. That was a mistake. There was a sharp snap, and Zymfer staggered back, howling. “No! Not my horn!”

  He clutched at his right horn. There was a deep crack snaking from the tip all the way to the base of his curved horn. Mia stood up from a crouch, panting. She glowered at him, looking not the least bit apologetic.

  “You...you damaged it,” Zymfer yelled, feeling his horn gingerly with his fingertips. Zymfer lowered his hand to see a piece of his horn lying in his palm. His eyes became completely red. “You broke it! You! You damaged my demonhood!” he wailed.

  “Oh, get over it.” Mia shrugged and dusted her hands. “It'll grow back.”

  “Yeah, but it'll take a long time!” Zymfer was practically hopping on one foot in helpless rage. “In the meantime...”

  “In the meantime, you'll learn to respect humans and the NMPD,” Mia answered with a scowl. When Zymfer glared at her, she added, “Or I'll break your other horn.”

  With that, Mia huffed and returned to her spot between Levi and Scott. Levi could smell the anger and adrenalin coursing through the woman's veins. He was standing beside one very flammable human. No wonder Mia got along with Jett so well. Those two humans were both highly explosive, but they were also fiercely loyal and brave. Levi knew that they would protect the team, the PAC and the city with their lives. They were quick to anger, but they were also quick to forgive. They didn't hold grudges, and he knew that Mia would probably take Zymfer out for a beer after this and give the young demon a few pointers on how to deal with a boss like Jett. Levi had heard quite a few hilarious anecdotes about Jett from Mia. “If you think Jett's a pain in the butt now, be thankful you didn't work with him in the NMPD!” she had quipped.

  Jett frowned at the demon's broken horn, and turned disapproving eyes on Mia. “That was excessive force, Mia. He's right. You did damage his demonhood. A demon's horn is very important to a demon, especially a male demon. It's like...” Jett paused, and his eyes met Levi's. Help me out here. How am I going to explain this to a girl?

  Levi kept his mouth firmly shut. He wasn't stupid, suicidal or insane. He was not getting between two hot-headed humans.

  He put up both palms. Leave me out of this, Jett. You're on your own.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it.” Mia rolled her eyes. “Men, and their...phalli.”

  “What?” The male Enforcers all choked and sputtered. “What!”

  “Oh come on. Isn't that what it is?” Mia sai
d. “Horn—long, hard, protruding. What is it if it isn't a phallic symbol? You boys are just...”

  The other female Enforcers tittered, and promptly shouted out a few more outrageous and very naughty observations with enthusiasm.

  Jett stared at Zymfer, and the two gaped at each other. What the hell have we started?

  Jett shook his head at the girls. “I never knew...”

  “What? Spit it out! What didn't you know, Jett? Tell us!” Viviena, a statuesque vampire who looked like a supermodel, boldly called out. Viviena looked like she belonged on the runway, but she was one of the most fearsome Enforcers. Rogues stood absolutely no chance against her. Her looks and her skills were a deadly combination.

  “I never knew that my Enforcers had their eyes on the streets, but their minds in the gutter.”

  They all laughed, including Zymfer, and the girls high-fived one another.

  “All right, listen up.” Jett called everyone's attention back to the issue at hand. “There is something going on in the clubs around the city. I want you to step up patrols near the blood bars and keep your eye on the demons. I suspect some illegal demon activity going down in the clubs. Stay alert.” He looked round the circle of attentive, serious faces. The Enforcers joked around and teased one another a lot, but they didn't fool around when they were on the job.

  “I'm going to break you up into teams,” Jett told them. Viviena and Aaron, keep your eye on Blood and Grill. That means you'll cover the area between Lunar Street and Ninth Avenue.”