Bear Necessities (3 page)

But
that tantalizing scent tickled his nostrils again, sending a definite message
to his cock to rise and shine. The gleam in the blue-haired girl’s eyes said
she’d noticed and approved. Bunny backed out of pinching reach. “Excuse me, but
the other two ladies who were in here. Where are they?”

The
woman made a face, disappointment lighting her features. The flirtatiousness
disappeared. “Cyn and Tabby are in the back. Cyn owns the shop. Would you like
to speak to her?”

He had
to come up with something plausible. “Actually, I was thinking of getting a
tattoo.” He had a few already, so another one would be no big deal. A lot of
women seemed to enjoy tracing the spiral triskelion design on his left biceps,
the dark angel on his right shoulder. He had a black-inked, woodcut-style
tailed bear with colored stars for the constellation Ursa Major on his lower
back.

“What
kind?”

A
sudden image flashed before his eyes, so strong it startled him. “A bear and a
wolf, I think.”
Wolf? Is that what I’m smelling?
He didn’t know there
were any Wolves living in Halle. The only non-Puma he was aware of was his
cousin Chloe, and she was Fox.

She
blinked. “I think we can do that.”

“The
bear will need to be pretty specific too.” He wasn’t about to go into details,
not until after he’d met the owner of that scent. He was pretty sure that was
his mate behind that curtain and he didn’t want to scare her off.

A
Wolf? Really?
He almost laughed. It seemed he was carrying on the family tradition of
non-Bear mates. Ryan and Chloe’s mother was a Fox, and his Uncle Ray had also
married a Fox. Bunny’s mother had been human, but despite that, his father had
still caught flack in his mostly human community for marrying a black woman.
His relatives had known better, and welcomed his mom with open arms. Fighting
fate on your mate never worked out the way you expected it to, and you usually
wound up in your mate’s arms at the end anyway, so why give yourself the grief?

“Oh.”
She bit her lip. “Well, I do mostly piercings, but I could see if Cyn is
available.”

“Please.”

She
nodded and headed for the curtained-off area at the back. He could hear the
murmur of voices, but neither one set off his senses.

“I
wonder which one Cyn is,” he muttered. “Green or pink?”

“Pink.”
He turned to find the woman with striking dark hair with broad pink streaks
smirking at them. “I’m Cyn.” She held out her hand. “So, you want a tattoo, big
guy?”

Bunny
hid his grimace. Damn it, he wanted to see his mate, and pink Cyn wasn’t her.
Cyn’s scent was sharper, harder. More lemony. “Yes, actually I do. The other
young lady, what does she do?”

Cyn
eyed him with suspicion. “Tabby is an apprentice tattoo artist.”

Bunny
coughed. Nah. He could not have just heard that his Wolf mate was named after a
kitty cat. No Wolf parent would be that cruel. Maybe it was Gabby or Darby or—

“Whose
hair is about to fall out if you don’t get the bleach out
now
!”

Bunny
shivered as that deep southern drawl prowled over his skin. His dick had gone
from zero to hero in two seconds flat.

Oh
yeah. He’d found his mate. Now he just had to claim her.

Oh
shit. Oh, fucking shit.
Tabby waited as Glory rinsed her hair out.
My mate is out there. My
mate
.
What’s even weirder? Bear. My mate is a
Bear.
And I have orange roots.

She
was damn near hyperventilating. When she’d called dibs on the dude, little did
she know she’d actually
get
him! And now she was going to wind up
meeting him for the first time with
orange roots
. She was going to look
like a half-melted Skittle. She grabbed Glory’s arm. “Y’all tell him I’m dead.
Please?”

Glory
grinned. “What is wrong with you?”

“Remember
the whole woof-woof thing?”

“Yeah.”

“That
guy out there?”

Glory’s
eyes widened. “He’s a woof-woof too?”

“Er,
no. More like grrr-grrr.”

Glory
blinked.

Tabby
shook her head. “Never mind. That whole werewolf mate thing in romance novels?”

Glory’s
mouth did that really wide “O” thing. “Really? He’s your mate?”

“Yes!
And I am having serious hair issues.” She put on her best pleading look. “So,
tell him I’ve been killed in a horrible vegetable-dye accident.”

“Tabby!”

She
held up her hands in mock-prayer. “Pleeeease?” She blinked, trying to look
desperate. Hell, she probably
did
look desperate.

“Excuse
me.”

Tabby
quivered. That deep, rich voice rolled over her, making her think of wicked
things involving dark, melted chocolate and lit candles. “No customers allowed
in the back room!”

Glory,
bless her heart, threw a towel over her face, hiding her hair. “Sorry, you’ll
have to wait out front.” Of course, now the towel was soaking up the still-running
water. She was going to be drowned by a towel.

“Is
everything all right in here?” The man’s voice was pure sin, deep and slightly
gravelly. “Why is her head covered in a towel?”

“Please.
Tabby will…be a while.” She could hear Glory clap her hands and tugged on her
shirt, desperate to have the water turned off. She was spitting water back out
onto the already-soaked towel. “Why don’t you hit one of the diners in the area
for lunch? Maybe do a little shopping? Um, oh! Frank’s Diner has the best
burgers in town!” Finally, someone turned the faucet off, saving her from a
watery grave. She could just see the obituary.
Woman Drowns In Towel With
Horrible Hair. Film at Eleven.

There
was a deep, happy sigh. “All right, if…Tabby, was it?…will be more comfortable.”

He
sounded like he was choking back a laugh when he said her name. Tabby snarled,
knowing he’d hear it even if he couldn’t see it.

Mr.
Melted Chocolate coughed. “When can I return?”

“Uh…”
Glory was obviously at a loss. Cyn was the one who usually took care of Tabby’s
hair.

“Try
around seven.” Cyn sounded amused, the bitch. “You can take her out to dinner.
In fact, Tabby has the rest of the night off.”

I
do?

“But
she has to be back at work by two tomorrow afternoon. Oh, and the lady
loves
steak.” Tabby groaned behind her towel.
That’s an understatement.
“Glory, see to it he has our address, okay?”

“But—”

“Trust
me, just do it.”

“Okay,
boss.” The curtain swished, but the scent of Bear remained. Glory must have
stepped through the curtain.

“Ladies,
it was a pleasure meeting you.” The curtain swished again. The Bear was gone.

“Oh,
honey. You are so screwed. Literally.”

“
Cyn.
”

The
towel was whisked off her head. Glory bunched it up, wringing the water out
over Tabby’s face. “You always were a greedy bitch. I should get Cyn to leave
you with orange roots.”

Tabby
sputtered and wiped the water away from her eyes. “Don’t worry, Glory. Some day
your prince will come.”

Glory
blinked her big blue eyes, trying to look innocent. Tabby had seen that look
more than once just before something outrageous came out of Glory’s mouth.
“God, I hope so. What would be the point otherwise?”

“You
are
so
bad.”

Glory
smiled her sweet, happy smile. “I know.”

Bunny
stood at the diner, wondering why he was here instead of back in the tattoo parlor
waiting for his mate. He hadn’t even gotten a good look at her face. How
screwed up was that?

It had
been pure impulse that made him wander the town. Ryan was off looking for his
sister again, but Bunny had decided he needed some time on his own. He’d felt
the urge to roam, discover the town his cousins were planning on living in,
maybe visit the comic book store Ryan had pulled him away from the day before.
Hell, if he liked it enough, maybe he would move his business here. The Alpha
Puma appeared pretty open about other shifters living on his territory, and his
father had been looking into the area anyway for Ryan and Chloe’s family.

If the
Alpha had been a Wolf, they wouldn’t even be thinking about it. They’d have
avoided Halle and looked for another place to live. Wolves hated having other
shifters in their territory, even Bears who didn’t give a rat’s ass about that
kind of thing.

He’d
found the tattoo parlor almost by accident, the sound of feminine laughter
faint through the picture window. He’d caught a glimpse of three women and gone
in expecting to find three lovely ladies, perhaps even a date for the night.

Instead
he’d found his future.

“Can I
help you?”

Bunny
turned around to find a tall, dark-haired man in a sheriff’s uniform staring at
him, a hard expression on his face. He nodded to the other man, taking a
surreptitious sniff.
Puma.
“Sheriff Anderson?” Bunny held out his hand
when the other man nodded warily. “Alexander Bunsun. You’re dating my cousin,
Chloe.”

Sheriff
Anderson winced, but visibly relaxed. “No, actually, I’m not. Never was. Chloe
and I are just friends.”

Bunny
frowned. “That’s not what it sounded like when we talked to her.”

The
sheriff sighed. “Common problem. Trust me, we’ve never dated.” He shook his
head. “Are you here to see Chloe?” He led the way into the diner and guided
Bunny to a table. He settled in and laid his hat on the table next to them.

Looked
like he was having lunch with the sheriff. Now to see if the man would try and
run him off.
“Yup. Her brother is heading to the university as we
speak.” He’d have to ask Ryan to find out what had happened between Chloe and
the sheriff. Why had Chloe made it sound like they were together if they
weren’t?

“That
sucks, because she’s here right now.” Anderson pointed toward a bright red
ponytail bopping behind a counter. “She always works Monday afternoons.”

“Oh.”
Bunny turned back to the sheriff, trying to keep his expression blank. “So
what’s this about you
not
dating my cousin?”

Anderson
grimaced. “Long story short, Chloe and I are friends.
Just
friends.”

“Really?”
One of Bunny’s brows rose questioningly.

Anderson
winced again. “Let’s just say my wife wasn’t happy with the amount of attention
I paid to Chloe and let me know about it. It took me a while to prove that
Chloe doesn’t mean nearly as much to me as Sarah does.”

Ouch.
He hoped the man’s mate hadn’t
given him too hard a time. A jealous mate on the warpath was nothing to sneeze
at. “I’ll call Ryan and let him know Chloe’s here.” He pulled out his phone but
hesitated. “Do you know anything about a woman named Tabby? She works over at
the tattoo parlor.” She’d carried the vague whiff of the sheriff’s scent.
Getting some information from the sheriff seemed like a good idea.

“Tabby?”
Anderson eyed the triskelion tattoo on Bunny’s arm. He sat back, the edges of
his lips curving up in a knowing smile.

Bunny
grinned. Just the thought of his mate made him feel like his heart was filled
with sunshine. “Yup.” He leaned in close, barely whispered the words. “She’s my
mate.”

“Oh?
Oh.
”
Bunny growled. The blank surprise in Anderson’s voice was shadowed by a tinge
of concern. Just because he’d be mating a Wolf instead of a she-Bear didn’t
give the sheriff the right to say anything. Anderson nodded, his expression
turning grim. “Then there are a few things you’ll need to know before things
get too serious between you.”

Bunny
nodded.
Why do you think I asked, dumbass?
“Do you think the local boss
will have any problems with us living here?”

Anderson’s
brows rose. “
Live
here? In Halle? I knew Chloe’s family was coming, but
I didn’t know that included her cousins.”

Bunny
shrugged. “Tabby’s here.” Bears didn’t mind moving to where their mates were
happiest, and Wolves were, well,
territorial
. Odds were good Tabby would
want to stay, so moving to Halle was Bunny’s best option. The last thing he
wanted was a grumpy Wolf chewing on his ass all the way back to Oregon.

Anderson
opened his mouth, but before he could respond there was an ear-splitting
shriek.

“
BUNNY!
”

The
sheriff nearly got bowled over by a pint-sized redhead hurtling toward Bunny at
top speed. Bunny laughed, standing just as Chloe reached them. She hurled
herself into his arms, giggling like a schoolgirl, her legs wrapping around his
waist. Bunny took it, giving her a bear hug that had her gasping to be put back
down.

“When
did you get here? Where’s Ryan? Did Mom and Dad come too? Where’s Uncle Will
and Aunt Barbra?” Chloe was practically bouncing in place, her ponytail waving
gaily. Bunny watched his little cousin with an indulgent smile, his heart
singing at the happiness in her face.