She yawned, no doubt exhausted. “Why did they want Garrett?”
Garrett snorted from the backseat. “Could be a bunch of reasons. Now they want you, too.”
Anger shot through Sam so quickly his throat heated. His tongue burned. Yeah, Honor was on their radar now. “One thing at a time. Juliet was a plant, which means they might know about your dreams. That you’re looking for a mate.” His gaze caught Garrett’s in the mirror. “Don’t get pissed, but did she give any indication?”
Garrett’s jaw clenched so hard, it probably gave him a headache. “No. Nothing. I didn’t get one hint of subterfuge from her.”
Sam looked down at Honor’s pretty brown eyes. They were filled with pain at the moment. “What about you?”
“No,” she said. “I didn’t try, though. We had a couple of conversations, but nothing she’d lie about, so I didn’t catch anything. Wasn’t looking.”
Yeah, neither was Sam. It was good to have something to concentrate on while both Bear and Nessa tried to heal themselves and their little family. “Garrett, you met Juliet when you found an injured fox. That had to be a setup.” Which meant the Kurjans were making a move, and they didn’t mind doing it in Grizzly territory. They’d also chosen a female who was Garrett’s type. Buxom, smart, and pretty. He’d always liked full-figured women, and Juliet was stunning.
“Now they have human females assisting them?” Nessa asked, pressing a protective hand to her flat belly and not opening her eyes.
“Makes sense,” Garrett muttered. “They’ve been kidnapping Enhanced females for years, and we haven’t rescued enough of them. Juliet was probably just trying to survive. She did keep trying to get me to bite her, which I thought was odd, since she supposedly didn’t know I was anything but human. I figured it was just one of her kinks.”
“Did you?” Sam asked.
Garrett shook his head. “No. Isn’t one of my kinks.”
The last thing Sam wanted to discuss was his brother’s kinks.
“Why do they want Enhanced females?” Honor mumbled.
Protectiveness seized Sam’s entire body. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Sam.” She looked up at him.
He didn’t want her to worry, but maybe understanding the situation would help her. “Three possible reasons. One, they want mates. Two, they want to duplicate the ritual that caused all of this and create a super immortal, and sacrificing Enhanced females is part of the ritual. Three, they want to enact some plan we can’t figure out to end all Enhanced mates. Forever.”
Honor’s eyelids fluttered shut. “I hate all of those reasons,” she mumbled. “Every one of them. That sucks.”
Sometimes the woman just nailed it. Sam sped up, noting clouds rolling in from the west. “Agreed.”
They drove in silence all the way back up the coast to Grizzly territory, and the woman slept the entire way, save for when he awakened her to eat a quick meal of fast-food burgers. After that, he let her rest, hoping her body could heal itself. Nessa and Bear had healed themselves by the time they ate dinner, but nobody was sure about the babies.
Dusk came and then night before they finally reached home. Sam dropped Garrett off first and then wound through the territory to Bear and Nessa’s sprawling log home. He whistled when he saw a figure waiting on the front porch.
Nessa breathed out happily.
The male ran for the truck and opened the back door, pulling Nessa into his arms.
“Flynn!” she cried out, snuggling close. “You’re here.”
Honor jolted awake. “What’s going on?”
Sam sighed. “The dragons have arrived. Just what we need.”
* * * *
Bear finally healed the wound in his lower back as Sam turned the truck and drove off with the talented human female. The woman knew how to aim a gun. He grabbed his half brother in a hard hug.
“Dude. Clothes,” Flynn protested, hugging him back.
Bear leaned back, his entire body exhausted. “I have jeans on. That’s all you get.” It was lucky Garrett had had an extra pair in the truck. Bear’s neck still ached, but it would heal. “What the hell are you doing here?”
His brother had longish black hair, glittering black eyes, and a sharply delineated bone structure. The guy all but screamed dragon.
Flynn eyed Nessa. “Well, I guess to congratulate you? Dragons are so few in the world that we know instantly when a new one is coming. The air shifts around the planet.”
“You’re so kind to come check on us.” Nessa was still too pale. “Can you sense anything?”
“No,” Flynn said. “Why?”
She sighed. “Let’s go inside. You must be hungry. I know I’m starving.” She took Flynn’s hand and tugged him up the steps.
“Mate?” Bear said mildly. “I believe we need to have a chat.”
Nessa kept tugging Flynn to the door. “We have company, Bear.”
“Nessa.” He put bite into the tone this time.
Flynn looked over his shoulder, amusement softening his features. “I hope I didn’t let the rabbit out of the hat, so to speak.”
“Funny,” Bear snapped. It was a little-known fact that dragon shifters turned into bunnies at first, when they were kids. “No. I discovered my mate was with child while we were being attacked by a Kurjan squad. Three of them, actually. The news that one is a dragon should please you, Flynn. Figures.”
Flynn lost the smile. “Kurjan squad? What’s going on?”
“Long story.” Bear stomped up the steps and motioned them both inside, where he lifted his tiny yet deadly mate against his chest and then set her gently down on the plush sofa she’d insisted they place near the fireplace.
She settled herself. “The babies were injured, but I feel like they’re okay now.”
Bear put his hands on his hips. “I couldn’t sense them before, and now, they’re like cyclones.” He was grateful to his soul that they were all alive, but he couldn’t help wondering what kind of effect there would be from the healing offered by a powerful demon, a deadly witch, and a way too talented Enhanced human female.
No doubt her sparkling blue eyes saw right through his bluster. “They’ll be fine. So long as they’re alive, we can handle anything,” she said.
Yeah, they could. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She plucked a string on her jeans. A bloody string. Yeah. That was why.