Ella and the Beast (More Than Human Book 1) (23 page)

Lying on her side, she blinked. It was hard to stay focused, but it looked like Abe was lying on his side with the long lance sticking out from it. Ella tried to lift her head, but it suddenly seemed an impossible task. Slowly, the darkness grew and she knew she was finished. A single warm tear escaped and slid down her cheek. This world was not ready for humans.

“How is she?” Tracy quietly asked, coming to sit down next to Ty at the dining room table downstairs.

“Quiet and withdrawn,” Ty answered, staring into his cup of coffee. “I’m worried about her. She hardly eats, hardly speaks, and sleeps a lot. It’s been two weeks since she was kidnapped and I feel like I’m losing her, Tracy. I don’t know what to do.”

“Maybe you should see if Ben can come back over,” Tracy suggested, looking up when her parents came into the room. “Good morning.”

“He was here this morning,” Ty muttered under his breath.

“Good morning,” they both replied, looking around the room with a frown.

“Where’s Ella?” Lena asked, smiling at Martha when she placed a cup of coffee in front of her.

“She’s asleep,” Ty murmured as he moodily stared down at his own untouched cup. He fingered it before looking up at his mother. “I need help. I’m worried about her.”

“Oh, Ty,” Lena replied with a look of sorrow.

“You don’t have to be worried,” a soft voice came from the doorway.

Ty’s head jerked around. He pushed his chair back and rose to his feet when he saw Ella standing in the doorway. She was holding a small stuffed bear in her arms. Ty recognized it as one of the toys Ben gave his patients when they were in the hospital.

He watched as Ella bit her lip and looked away from them because they were all staring at her. He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. Instead of turning away from him as she had the past two weeks, she leaned against him and released a long sigh.

“Good morning,” Ty whispered, holding her tightly against him.

Ella turned her face into him and rubbed her nose against his chest. Warmth flooded him when she wrapped one arm around his waist and squeezed him back. He leaned down when he heard her softly murmur.

“How are you feeling?” Ty asked.

“Good, scared, pregnant, confused, worried,” she paused for a moment before she leaned back to look up at him with a thoughtful expression. “I think that is about all of them.”

“That’s good…. Wait a minute! Did you say pregnant? Good, scared, pregnant…,” Ty repeated, his hand raised as he checked each word off. His voice died as he stared first at his finger, then down at her. “Pregnant! A cub! We’re having a cub!”

He bent and gently picked up Ella, holding her close against his heart and burying his face against her neck. A shudder ran through him when he felt her warm tears against his cheek. He pressed a kiss against her neck before lifting his head so he could stare into her eyes when she slid her hand down to his cheek.

“I love you, Ty,” Ella murmured. “Whatever happens, I want you to know that.”

Ty’s face tightened in concern. He glanced over his shoulder. His parents and Tracy were avidly listening to their conversation while trying to pretend they weren’t. His gaze locked with his mother's.

“Call Ben,” Ty demanded in a harsh voice. “I want to see him now!”

“Ty,” Ella started to say, her voice dying when he turned and gave her a fierce look.

“I want to talk to him,” Ty stated.

“He’ll be here in ten minutes,” Lena said with a smile. “We couldn’t help but overhear your wonderful news. Congratulations, Ella. I can’t believe that Art and I are finally going to be grandparents!”

Ty gently set Ella back on her feet so that his mom could give her a hug. His worried gaze swept over Ella’s pale face. She smiled at his mom and stepped into her arms. He stepped back when his sister and dad stepped forward to wish Ella congratulations.

His gaze remained fixed on Ella’s face while his mind was still reeling from her announcement. He knew he was grinning like an idiot, it was hard not to when his bear was doing a jig inside him. Well, he was doing it as well, but still, his bear was strutting his stuff like he was the one responsible for everything.

He started when he heard the doorbell. Ty strode out of the dining room and down the hall to the front foyer, and got there just as Martha opened the door. His footsteps slowed when he saw a woman and several men standing at the door. The moment it opened, the woman stepped forward with a folded white piece of paper. Ty automatically reached for the paper. The second his fingers closed around it, the men surged forward into the house.

“I say, who do you think you are?” Martha demanded, trying to stop the men.

“Are you Ty Bearclaw?” The woman asked in a brisk tone.

“Yes,” Ty growled, turning to glare at the woman even when over a dozen men in black began to spread out in different directions around him. Some started up the stairs while others began moving through the rooms off the foyer. “What is this all about?”

“My name is Agent Marsha Crane. You’ve been served by the Central Species Intelligence Agency, Department Of North American Species Protection,” the woman explained.

“What the hell for?” Ty demanded, glaring at the paper in his hand. He opened it and scanned the document, his face paling before turning a dark red. “Like fucking hell you’re taking my mate!”

“Mr. Bearclaw, this is not a request,” Agent Crane stated in a cool tone.

“How in the hell can you claim my mate is a national security risk?!” Ty snarled in a loud voice.

“Ty!” Ella cried out, struggling to break free of the two men who held her one on each side. “Let me go!”

“Do you know with whom you are dealing?” His father shouted in an angry voice, fighting to get by several men blocking his way.

“Yes, Mr. Bearclaw, unfortunately we do,” Agent Crane informed him, staring curiously at Ella.

“Let me go,” Ella snapped again, this time kicking out.

Ty watched as Ella slammed her foot into the instep of the man on her right. The man’s hand loosened on her arm at the unexpected attack. She flung herself back against the agent on her left, kicking the agent on her right again, this time in the stomach.

Ty and his bear reacted to the threat against their mate with a natural, primitive instinct. Reaching out, he shoved the woman standing between him and his mate to the side before grabbing the man still holding Ella. Adrenaline flooded his body and he could feel his bear struggling to break free. He wrapped his arms around the man,man’s throat, Ty lifted him off the ground, and threw him into two others who had come forward to help restrain Ella.

He shielded Ella’s body with his own, shielding her protectively against the wall. A low, feral snarl escaped him when several men moved cautiously closer. He could feel the bones in his face beginning to shift and the nails on his hands grow.

“Stop!” Agent Crane ordered, lifting a hand to the men. “Mr. Bearclaw, we don’t want to hurt the human, you, or your family. We’ve been ordered to take her in and we will do so. I respect your family’s relationship to the President, but even she is governed by the laws set forth by our government. If you continue, the female could get hurt.”

“She is my mate!” Ty responded in a fierce, guttural voice. “She carries our cub.”

Marsha Crane drew in a sharp breath and gazed back at Ty in surprise. It was obvious that this was a shock and would change the rules somewhat. Children, even those yet to be born, strongly incited the protective instincts of all shifters. It was a fundamental aspect of what kept the many different kinds of shifters bound together as one civilization.

“What the hell is going on?” A voice demanded from behind them.

Ty saw Ben standing in the open doorway staring at all of them, his gaze narrowing in on Ty. He could see his friend’s expression change into a dark scowl when he noticed the way that Ty was standing protectively in front of Ella. Anger darkened Ben’s face and the lion shifter released a terrifying growl of warning that had all of the agents stepping back in caution.

“I don’t know who in the hell you people are, but that is my patient. She is under my care and if one of you asswipes so much as touches a hair on her head, I’ll rip you apart before I stitch you back together,” Ben snapped, stepping forward to stand next to Ty and Ella. “Is she hurt?”

“No, she is not hurt,” Ella stated in a muffled voice.

Ben’s lips twitched. “I’m assuming you finally decided to tell him,” he commented, glancing at Ty’s face, which was back to normal now. “Who are these people?”

“They are with the CSIA/DONASP. They are trying to take Ella,” Ty replied.

“What the hell for?” Ben asked in an incredulous voice.

“Doctor…,” Agent Crane began.

“Ben Lyon. Ella Bearclaw is under my protection due to her delicate condition. This type of stress is very harmful to my patient and the cub she is carrying. As her doctor, I invoke the Patient Protection Law and demand that she be given primary protection due to her current health,” Ben insisted. “If not, I’ll be happy to show you what happens when you piss off a lion and a grizzly, Agent….”

“Crane,” Agent Crane replied, pursing her lips together.

Ty watched as she glaredthe agent stared back and forth between Ben and himself before turning her gaze to his father where he was speaking into his cell phone. A grim smile curved his lips when he saw her. Agent Crane’s grimace after his father mentioned his aunt’s name told them she wasn’t happy about the call.

“Is there some place where we can sit while I inform my superiors of the situation? Obviously, not all the facts were included in the report I was given,” Agent Crane finally added.

“The den,” Lena said with a wave of her hand. “Ella, are you hungry? You didn’t get a chance to eat breakfast. Martha, can you please prepare something for Ella?”

“Of course, but if you ask me to get anything for the others here, I’ll poison them,” Martha replied with a snort. “They are nothing but a bunch of ungrateful government bullies if you ask me.”

Agent Crane pressed her lips into a firm line before she quietly spoke to the men in the hallway. Ty didn’t relax his stance before Ella until all but two of the men had disappeared. Rolling his shoulders, he slowly straightened.

“My men have been ordered not to touch the girl again,” Agent Crane said with a slight bow of her head. “They will remain in close proximity. I will speak with my superiors. Until then, I ask that you all please wait in the den.”

“President Kodiak and I will also be having a word with your superiors,” Art Bearclaw growled as he walked by.

“I’m sure you will,” Agent Crane dryly muttered before she turned away and pulled out her cell phone.

Ty lowered his head until his forehead touched Ella’s and closed his eyes as he drew in a deep, calming breath. He didn’t care what Agent Crane’s superiors said. He would not allow them to take Ella away from him. His eyes opened when he felt Ella touch his chest.

“I won’t let them take me away,” Ella informed him with a defiant expression.

“I won’t either,” Ty tenderly replied. He lifted his hand and gently brushed back a strand of loose hair from her face. “I love you, Ella.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered.

“Ty, let’s go into the other room,” Ben quietly suggested. “I’ll take a look at Ella and make sure she is okay.”

Ty nodded, slowly stepping back. He wrapped his arm protectively around her waist and pulled her close as they walked between the two men stationed at the door to the small den. His father closed the door once they were all inside.

“They have men positioned outside the window. I hope they are freezing their asses off,” Tracy remarked, standing at the window.

“Art, what did Michaela have to say?” Lena asked in concern.

“She is trying to find out who on the cabinet opened their big mouth and ordered this. She hasn’t told anyone about Ella yet, and she knows none of her men did. They are completely loyal to her,” Art replied, running his hand over his chin. “She suspects it was her National Security advisor, but who informed him is another matter.”

“Why would they think Ella is a National Security threat?” Tracy asked, turning to look at her parents.

“She is different,” Art sighed. “Michaela warned me that this could cause a minor sensation. After all, it changes history as we know it.”

“Who knows what they were told. Your father is right, though, this will change history. We all knew it was just a matter of time before word got out about Ella’s existence,” Lena added, rising from the chair where she was sitting when Martha stepped into the room with a tray of refreshments.

“Nosy men! They were prowling around my kitchen while I was preparing the tray. You’d think they were afraid I was going to arm you with the silverware!” Martha grumbled as she placed the tray on the coffee table in front of Ella. “I’ve made your favorites, love. This will help you a little.”

“Thank you, Martha,” Ella murmured with a smile. “I love your cheese biscuits and tea.”

“I’ve added a few of those cookies that you like as well,” Martha chuckled before she straightened and looked at Ty. “Just to warn you, I saw a bunch of vehicles outside the fence and a line of people. I think the media heard about our Ella, as well.”

“Great!” Ty grumbled in discontent.

“It was bound to happen, Ty,” Art replied.

Tracy nodded, hanging up her phone which had buzzed just a minute before. “That was Van and Peterson, they called to let me know that it is all over the news. Someone has been extremely busy.”