Barely Winging It Read online

  “Oh, hello.” Bronya looked up to see a tall, thin, strawberry blond come in. He held out his hand to her and gave a slight smile. “I’m Doctor Seamus Rossi. You must be Bronya.”

  Bronya only nodded and shook the man’s hand.

  “How’re you handling things?” he asked.

  Bronya shrugged and looked down at her half empty mug. She vaguely remembered drinking it, but her thoughts were mucked up a bit. A gentle touch on her shoulder brought her attention back to the doctor. She looked over to see his sympathetic expression. “Just take it slow … well, as slow as you can. Things happen pretty fast in the paranormal world. Always remember that.” Plopping down in the seat next to her, his expression suddenly changed to cheerful. “Whatever you have, Connie, smells good. May I please have a cup of juice?”

  Bronya picked a little at the food in front of her and tried to follow the conversations going on around her. Another man who resembled the doctor came in and stood just on the other side of Seamus.

  Gale introduced him. “That’s Ryker, our tech guru and Seamus’s twin brother. Ry, this is Nix’s mate, Bronya.”

  Ryker lightly flounced on the balls of his feet as he approached her. He stuck out his hand, and his whole face lit up with a smile. Bronya only paused for a second when she saw what looked like fangs, but she reached out and shook his hand as he happily greeted her.

  “Hi, Bronya. I love your name.” Ryker sang the word “love” as he spoke. His flamboyance reminded her fondly of Zeke. That gave her a kind of familiarity with him which had a calming effect on her. She was just starting to relax as Ryker poured himself a glass of juice when a well-shaped young woman with loads of energy skipped into the kitchen. She watched the cheerful girl spot Seamus, caper up to the end of the bar, and look at him with a giant smile. “Good pleasant morning to you, Doctor blood-be-gone.”

  Ryker choked on his juice. Seamus had to pat his back. “I’m late for the meeting. Laters.” Ryker grabbed a muffin and trotted down the hall. Seamus turned to look at the young woman. Bronya tuned out the woman and tried to focus on her meal.

  With Seamus’s disappearance, Bronya looked up and noticed the energetic woman smiling at her. “Hi, I’m Havana. You must be Nix’s mate.”

  Bronya took her hand and shook it as Gale introduced her. She was grateful for Gale, as she didn’t think she could handle all that energy alone right now. Gale introduced the two legged caffeine rush. Yeah, my headache isn’t getting any better.

  Her mind remained relatively empty as she tuned out the girls until a group of tall well-built men made their way into the breakfast area. Introductions were made, not that Bronya would ever remember their names with so much going on, but she appreciated being thoughtfully included. She was able to make out many of these were a building crew for homes they were building around the property. The thought of what kind of home Nix would have drifted through her mind.

  A man came out and spoke to the group. “Mornin’, guys. I heard you being introduced to Bronya. Her attack was orchestrated by that beta, Damon. We think they possibly followed Enzo to the hotel after he left here last night. Damon wasn’t part of the group that attacked, so he’s still out there and we think he isn’t alone. Keep an extra close eye on your surroundings. I’ll be joinin’ you out there when I can.” She watched him refill his coffee cup and head back into the office where Nix was.

  Bronya felt slightly guilty that she didn’t help with the dishes, but her head was starting to feel a bit out of control. So while the girls were doing clean-up, she searched out Seamus. He was just bringing down the dirty dishes when she found him.

  “I can tell you’re in some pain. Headache right?” he quietly asked.

  Bronya nodded slightly and slowly blinked her tired eyes.

  “Do you have any allergies to any medications?”

  She slowly shook her head.

  “Good, I have something I think might take the edge off. They’re in my office. Let me run and get them. I need to get a few things from there anyway. Would it be too much to ask if you could take these into the kitchen for me?”

  Without speaking, Bronya reached for the items and slowly walked back to the kitchen. The sharp sounds of the utensils and dishes clashing together pounded through her head. She quickly dropped off the items then found her way into the living room. She wanted a place to lie down in a hurry. Though the two tots running around didn’t give her much rest, weirdly enough, they were quieter than the walking caffeine rush doing dishes. Bronya sighed. She probably really just needed some sleep, but she wanted to hold out long enough to see the picture again. Havana was really eager to show it to them, and Bronya didn’t have the heart to refuse, and it really was a beautiful piece.

  Seamus returned with some pills for her. She drank them down and rested until the girls gathered her to help with the picture. The nails pounding into the wall were painful, but after helping to hang the picture and smiling her appreciation for the piece, she found her way back to Nix’s room. With the help of the painkillers kicking in, she closed her eyes and fell to sleep. She couldn’t have been asleep more than an hour, but when Nix gently woke her up, her headache was fortunately gone, which went a long ways to lifting her spirits.

  “Sorry to have to wake you, Dove, but we got a call from your dad about a plane for us to look at. Thought you would like to come with us.”

  Rubbing her face, she nodded and sat up. Minutes later, she was sitting in the back seat of the car next to Nix, behind Alphy and Gale.

  Once on the pavement, after the roller-coaster driveway, Alphy looked at her through the review mirror. “How are you doing, Bronya? Gale mentioned you had to get some meds from the doc.”

  Nix was holding her hand. He looked over with his brows knitted in concern. “Is that true?”

  “I’m better thanks. I just had a pretty bad headache. It’s gone now.”

  “With all you just learned and the lack of sleep, I can believe it. You let us know if the headache comes back and we’ll do whatever needs to be done to help you out,” Alphy offered with a concerned look.

  “Thank you.”

  Gale slightly turned her head. “Now would be a good time to ask us anything you want to know if you have any questions.”

  Bronya thought about that. “Okay, I have one that I can’t seem to figure out, or the whole subject really. I don’t think I understand your beliefs on mates. Everyone keeps referring to me as Nix’s mate, but we only met. And what’s a claiming?”

  Alphy chuckled. “Nix, do you want to explain it or would you like me to?”

  Nix scrubbed his face with his free hand. “It might be better coming from me, but if I screw up, I would welcome it if you helped me out.” Alphy nodded, and Nix turned an uncomfortable look to Bronya. “Each paranormal gets a soul-mate, if you will, destined by fate. There are a few things that can tell us who is our mate. For shifters, we know by the person’s scent. We search our whole lives looking for our fated mate, and as soon as we scent them, we do not and cannot want another.”

  Gale interrupted. “They’re hardwired to love and keep their mate happy. This doesn’t mean there won’t be disagreements. It still takes work, and mistakes will be made. But they would and could never cheat on their mate, and they would put their mate before even their own family if forced to choose. Which for them, is saying a lot since they are generally very loyal to their families. Remember what I said at breakfast about their packs.”

  They kept silent as Bronya tried to piece things together. “Ok, so you scented me that day in the field and knew I was your mate. Is that why you’re doing business with my dad? To find me?”

  Alphy answered before Nix. “Partly, Bronya. We really do believe in fate, not just to find our mates. We had several events take place all requiring us to fly to certain places. We are a newly formed pack, so we didn’t have a plane. We had to borrow two of them. Not all packs have a plane. Only the wealthier ones do. But we have recently received the funds, and
with what has been going on, it was mentioned more than once that we should get our own plane. I had just ordered it to be on our priority list when Nix spotted you.”

  “So you took it as a sign?”

  Alphy nodded.

  “I can see that,” Bronya said. “My parents believe a lot in fate and other things. Ok, so then what’s the claiming? Do I get a choice? How long does this all take?”

  Nix’s thumb rubbed over her hand, warming her belly with flutters as he answered. “Of course you have a say in it. We will go whatever speed you feel comfortable with. Shifters fall in love fast. Fate wouldn’t put us together if we weren’t perfect for each other, and because shifters can never cheat on their mate, giving our full heart over to our mate is pretty instant.”

  “Instant?”

  “Yes.”

  Alphy’s tone was serious when he spoke. “Though you do have a choice, know that when a shifter finds his mate and is separated from them, the longer they are apart, the more pain they feel. It is physically painful. Whatever you decide, you must remember it impacts him as well as yourself. I don’t want you pushing yourself faster than you are willing, but just remember whatever affects you and whatever choices you make, will have an impact on him.”

  Gale added, “I don’t like to gossip, but I think it would be good for you to understand a case in point. The girl you met this morning, Havana? Her mate is Dultyn if you remember.” Bronya nodded even though she knew Gale couldn’t see. “Dultyn had to wait until just two days ago to be able to claim her because she wasn’t legal age yet. But because of how young she is and because of some things in his past, he was afraid it would hurt her to claim her right away so he refused. But it only hurt them both, and actually hurt her more than anything. She told me just this morning that he plans to claim her tonight. It was a painful lesson for him to learn that not talking to her about it, and not letting her choose, hurt her worse than whatever he was afraid would have hurt her to tell her.”

  Bronya looked out the window through the soggy trees that passed and thought about that for a few minutes. She read books and always hated when the hero always tried to keep their distance under the guise of “protecting” whomever they were trying to protect, and it always went bad. She wouldn’t normally agree, but she did have a stalker, and for a fleeting moment, she could actually relate to those wayward heroes. She wouldn’t want to put someone she cared about in harm’s way. But then again, these guys are far more capable of defending themselves than any legal authority could be. As she continued to mull over everything she’d learned, she couldn’t deny how she felt for the man beside her. It felt special. In fact, she couldn’t discount her parents’ belief in fate any longer. After the events of the past few days, she now believed it herself. However, she knew she still had a lot to learn and a lot of questions.

  Hmm, first question. “Ok, what’s a claiming?”

  Bronya wanted to giggle at the embarrassed look on Nix’s face. She had a feeling he didn’t get like that often. In the front, Gale did giggle, and Bronya could see a slight pink on Alphy’s cheeks. Oh for crying out loud! How bad can it be?

  Nix opened and closed his mouth a few times, obviously trying hard to figure out what to say and failing, repeatedly. Gale broke the silence. “Really, you two. You can walk around naked in front of each other without batting an eye and face armies of bad guys armed with guns, fangs and claws without fear, but try to tell a girl you want to bite them on the neck during sex and you turn into speechless pansies. One would think you are the teenager and not me.”

  Bronya really liked Gale. She couldn’t stop the smirk that played over her face at the lighthearted chastisement. The men shifted in their seats but still didn’t say anything. They were obviously uncomfortable.

  “Ok, here’s the scoop, Bronya. When a paranormal finds their mate, they want to claim them. It’s like claiming their territory so others know not to touch what’s theirs. If you know how territorial men or animals can be, a shifter is a double whammy, so they are super territorial over their mates. It’s worse before they mate, but after mating, they calm just a little bit. Katie couldn’t even hug her dad until after she was claimed by Slate, but now she can.”

  Bronya turned to Nix. “So I can’t even hug my dad until you claim me?” She was not going to stop hugging her dad just because she wasn’t ready to be “claimed”. She was hoping he would deny Gale’s claim, but the guilty look on his face said otherwise. Now she felt like luggage. She tried to pull her hand away, but Nix tightened his hold.

  Alphy’s low voice spoke calmly. “That was a little different, Honey-bear. Her dad was not her biological dad, and he was unmated at the time himself. Bronya,” Alphy looked at her through the review mirror, “Nix may not have any trouble with you hugging your dad. What Gale was trying to convey is that all paranormals, before they claim their mate, can be irrational and their emotions are extremely heightened. He could lose control and potentially seriously harm or even kill someone.”

  Bronya looked back at Nix. She was sure he could see her confusion and worry expressed on her face. His lips thinned, and he placed his other hand over hers, rubbing his thumbs over her skin. “Alphy’s right. We do become irrational, so I can’t promise not to get upset with others, but remember when your parents sent you away yesterday?” Bronya nodded. “Your dad hugged you then, and I didn’t have a problem with it.” Bronya relaxed just a little bit and turned to look back out the window.

  “Sorry, Bronya. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Gale’s voice was more subdued.

  “It’s all right. I think I know what you were trying to get across.” Nix’s thumb lightly rubbed over her hand, the goosebumps eliciting a reminder what this man did to her. She still didn’t know what the claiming involved. “So Gale, you still didn’t tell me what entails a claiming.”

  “Oh, right. I don’t know about other paranormals, but for shifters to permanently bond, two things have to happen. The shifter climaxes inside of you, and they bite you. The bite brings in your blood into their system, and their canines deliver their saliva into your system to change your chemistry. And let me tell you, there’s just no describing how much you’ll want him to claim you over and over and over again. Their bite is that good. Oh, and just so you know, they can’t catch or pass on any human STDs.”

  “That’s it? There’s no ceremony or initiation?”

  Gale chortled. “I think the biting can be considered an initiation, but to be claimed, that’s all it takes. You can still have a wedding if you want, but to be untouchable to other paranormals, it’s swapping of fluids. They are pretty simple and basic. I may be mated to Alphy, but I still plan to get married. I want the human legal system to acknowledge my claim, and I want his last name. Besides, who doesn’t love a good party to celebrate something so monumental? There are shifters who are never blessed with finding their true mate, so it really is a big thing.”

  Bronya could totally believe that. She turned to Nix. “So you want to claim me?”

  Nix gave her hand a squeeze. “Yes, more than anything. But the claiming would bond us together for life. There is no turning back. No divorce. If you die, so would I and vice versa. It’s a lot to process and accept, and I know humans don’t feel the mating pull like we do, so take what time you need. We will go at your speed.”

  Gale let out a sound of derision. “You all need to get your facts straight. We feel the mating pull every bit as much as you, but those who aren’t raised to understand what we’re feeling wouldn’t know what to do about it. I talked with Katie, and she agrees with me. What about you, Bronya? Do you feel an intense and possibly illogical pull towards Nix? And do you see red with the idea of any woman or gay man touching him?”

  “Is that why Havana reacted like she did this morning simply because I knew Dultyn?”

  “Yep. A mate really can’t control their jealousy until they’re claimed, and even then it can be intense at times, even for a human like me.”

&nb
sp; Alphy turned his head and looked at Gale. “Really?”

  “Really,” she answered.

  Nix looked confused when he looked at Bronya. “Really?” She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but she couldn’t stop her brow from rising up on her forehead. That was exactly how she felt for Nix. “Yes, really.”

  Nix’s voice came out breathy. “W-would you let me claim you?”

  Bronya could see the hope in his eyes, and she didn’t need long to think about it. Everything that she learned about shifters these last several hours all made sense to her. What she had experienced in the several hours wasn’t too far off of what she was raised around, that her parents believed. She had seen how Alphy was with Gale, and Tom was with Connie. She saw they had the same thing she had only seen her parents have. She had always wanted that same thing, and she completely believed them when they said that is what she would have with Nix.

  Bronya’s core heated, and her channel had a mini seizure. “Yes.” She saw his nose flare right before he reached out and threaded his fingers through her hair, pulling her into their first kiss. She only had just enough time to think about that before she was lost in its heated passion. The whirring sound of the windows being lowered didn’t register until she felt the heavy wind blowing against the side of her head. Nix eased up on his suction, lightly nibbling her lips before he pulled away.

  Gale giggled as Alphy rumbled, “All right, you two, this is a small space. Nix, I would appreciate you wait until you can find some place with a door, other than the car.”

  Nix gave a pained growl. “Yes, sir.”

  “Wait,” Bronya asked confused. “You said you guys walk around naked, so why would you have a problem with us kissing?”

  Gale laughed. “They have super senses, so they can smell arousal. Oh, and don’t ever lie, ever. They can scent it. Most shifters never lie because they are raised and conditioned that you can’t get away with it, so it’s actually not a natural act for them. Only when they are talking to humans do they sometimes need to.”