Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Lion’s Arranged Marriage Chapter 6

Gwendolyn

Light. Dark. Light. Shadows. Light. Fog.

My brain bounced between extremes with no end in sight. Exhaustion had completely taken over. Wings that no longer existed in this realm ached from being used as both an escape route and a defense weapon. Talons kept sliding out of place and returning while I attempted to grasp reality. I shivered. Where had I gone?

More light cracked through the thick darkness. It was too bright at first, forcing me to squint as I raised my arm. Pain shot through my shoulder and pinched my heart. I gasped as I clutched my chest, rolling to my side to prepare for what felt like a heart attack. But nothing more came from it.

I was alright.

I was just banged up. "Gwenny?"

The voice sounded small, cracked, on the cusp of manhood. When I pried open my eyes, I focused on the figure sitting in the chair next to me, noticing his ivory skin and white-blond curls. His angular features and thin frame sharpened his energy, yet he wasn't intimidating to me.

Because he was my brother.

I sat up a little bit, testing my limits. "Cesar..."

"Yes, Gwenny. I'm here." He leaned forward and took my hand. "Your mate is here, too."

I blinked rapidly. My mate?

Cesar nodded to something behind me. When I turned, I noticed a twin bed positioned right next to me with enough room for someone to walk. Presumably, Dr. Windsor had set up the room like this so she could easily access her patients. It was something she had always liked doing back in the day.

My throat clenched when I noticed how bruised Neil appeared in the late morning light. Bruises lined his neck and left shoulder. His right arm was in a sling. He was bandaged around his torso. While the rest of him was covered with a white sheet, I could tell he had been patched up in other places, too.

I looked at my brother. "How long have you been here?"

"Since you got back with the other shifters."

"But we got back late last night."

His grin stretched wide, cutting into his high cheekbones. "I know."

"You're a weasel."

"How dare you accuse me of being my own food."

I laughed and then coughed and then cringed at the way my stomach ached. One of my sides had a bruise-or maybe it was both sides that were bruised. It was hard to tell with the pain overload. I checked the IV in my wrist and peeked at the bags hanging nearby. Saline and a non-narcotic pain solution, just the way I liked it.

Dr. Windsor knew me best.

Cesar sighed softly. "I was just reading you the latest from the NPR website."

"About?"

"An astrophysicist is searching the ocean floor for signs of alien life."

My brows shot up. "Don't you mean extraterrestrial?"

"That word is too long."

"You could just say ETS."

He laughed. "But then I think of that movie and it ruins everything."

"Why should that movie ruin life from outer space?"

"Because it's silly."

I smiled. "All the best ideas start out as absurdities, don't they?"

"Maybe not for people who are actually absurd."

"That might be true."

Cesar shook his head while his eyes glossed up. "I missed you so much." His voice cracked on the last word.

And it utterly cracked my heart in two to hear it.

Air had never felt so good to inhale. That basement had been a breeding ground for bacteria and mold. It made me wonder if Dr. Windsor had already done a round of antibiotics via IV to make sure neither of us came out looking worse for wear on the other side of this. Cesar took my hand and squeezed it. "They would be here if they could."

My eyebrows rose a little higher as salt seasoned my tone. "I don't know who you're talking about."

His smile reduced a bit. I knew who he was talking about. I just didn't want to talk about them right now. The topic alone dulled his shine and it pissed me off.

What good was having both parents in our lives if they were hardly around to spend time with us?

"They send their best, Gwenny," Cesar whispered. "Mom picked up a new designer job that keeps her late in the city. And Dad is-"

"Overworking his body in the field. I get it."

He nodded. "They're just trying to support the pack."

"I think they're doing just a little too much. It's not like Blake is a tyrant."

A muddy image of Dr. Myrtle popped up in my mind. Grubby hands came into view. They grabbed me, ripped off my shirt, pushed me toward a brightly lit table...

"Gwenny, you're cutting off my circulation," Cesar said gently.

I released his hand.

Sometimes, I didn't know my own strength. "Sorry, C."

"They really hurt you there, didn't they?"

I met his gaze, trying to soften some of my sharpness-he had plenty enough sharpness for the both of us. Cheekbones for days. Cheekbones that would make any photographer literally die from how they were shaped. Cesar could cut diamonds with them. He was a perfectly handsome seventeen-year-old boy who had a long life ahead of him as most owl shifters do.

Softness didn't come easily for me these days. With what happened in that basement, I wasn't sure if I was capable of being soft again. "Yes, they hurt me."

I never found it productive to lie to my little brother. While our mother filled his ears with lavish fantasies, I whispered the truth to him upstairs, teaching him about the universe and our magnificently tiny role in it. Despite our lives shaping up as normal as any with plenty of financial stability, we weren't close with our parents.

Mostly because our parents weren't close with us.

But that was neither here nor there. Cesar and I had grown close over the years, sprouting a glorious friendship based on mutual respect and an eagerness to share knowledge. He was the one who listened to my late-night rants about string theory. The same rant that had put Neil right to sleep.

I spared a glance for the proud lion. He slumbered peacefully. Thank the great plains for that.

"So, he looks gorgeous," Cesar commented. "I mean like a statue carved from gold. Just look at his muscles."

"Would you not ogle my mate?"

Cesar chuckled. "I never thought I'd hear that phrase come out of your mouth."

I covered my lips with my fingers, trying to determine how that phrase made me feel. It was unusual to say it-but it was true at this point. Neil was my mate.

I just wasn't sure how I felt about that yet. "Yeah, well, he's something."

"Something?"

"I don't know that much about him other than his position in the pack and his associations."

Cesar grinned radiantly. "Allow me to enlighten my sister."

"Have you been obsessing over the men in the pack since I disappeared?"

Red clouded his cheeks. "I wouldn't call it obsessing per se."

"You're the only gay teenager I know who keeps notes about every man in the vicinity."

"Isn't it good to keep notes?"

I squinted playfully in his direction. "Obsessive."

"Observant."

"Go on. Tell me about my ma-" Mmph, I wasn't comfortable letting that word slip again. "I mean, tell me about Neil."

"He trains regularly. He's skilled with knives and close combat. The tattoos on his body are runes-though I haven't looked up their meanings yet. I'm still waiting for the library to get that book I ordered."

"Only you would do that."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "If my sister is going to be mated to someone, I ought to know what her mate stands for, right?"

"I've taught you well, young grasshopper."

"I'm just doing what I can."

It brought warmth to my soul to hear my brother speak so fondly of me. If he were to ever speak fondly of Neil, it would only be after Neil proved himself. My parents weren't hard to impress. But Cesar was a stiff and stubborn sort who could logically deduce anybody out of house and home.

He was a force to be reckoned with. And he got it from me.

"Well, you ought to get back home and hit the books. Don't skip school on my account," I urged.

He reluctantly stood up. "No more articles?"

"Maybe later. You can tell me about your science class after dinner. Isn't it Tuesday? Or is it Wednesday?" I shook my head. "Whatever online class you have today-tell me later, okay?" "Ugh, don't remind me."

I chuckled. "Just don't be hard on your teachers, alright?"

"They have no idea what they're talking about."

"Listen, we can't all be born child geniuses with ridiculously talented older sisters, can we?"

He smirked and leaned down to hug me. "No, I don't suppose so."

"Great. No more arguments. Get home and hit the books." I patted my pockets-these scrubs didn't have pockets. "And maybe get me one of the old phones from storage, will you?" "Way ahead of you, Gwenny," he said while resting an Android phone on the table beside me. "I charged it up, too."

I grinned fondly up at him. The love in my heart overflowed for my brother. He deserved to live a good and boring life. None of this dramatic kidnapping business was meant for him. But I supposed we couldn't control that, could we?

"See you later," he said as he headed for the door. "Looks like your prince is waking now."

Before I could retort, I heard a long groan behind me and discovered that Neil was slowly awakening from a deep rest. His eyelids bounced together a few times until he settled his gaze on me.

The pupils glossed over in thought. "Hey."

"Hey, you slept a while."

"You did, too."

I hummed while struggling to sit up. Every bit of me ached fiercely like I had run up and down a mountain several times with my owl legs and only my owl legs. No wings at all. Just legs. What kind of maniac would do such a thing? Once I got to my elbows, I fixed the pillows behind my back and straightened up. My chest creaked. Other than the fractures in various parts of my body, I was ultimately fine.

Except for the trauma, of course.

Neil looked toward the window on the right. While I was talking to Cesar, I hadn't noticed where exactly we were. I had anticipated the medical building out by the neighborhood, but it looked like we were in a posh suite. Arched ceilings rose over us painted with pastel cherubs and evergreen meadows. Gold-painted wood framed the gaping windows and antique furniture decorated the white tile interrupted every so often by thick rugs.

A few doors broke off into other rooms. One was a bathroom, another was a kitchenette, and the final door was a massive bedroom. Beside the twin cots sat a table full of goodies, cards, flowers, candies, and gift baskets. A flat-screen television was mounted on the wall in front us next to a record player and a bookshelf with records. It appeared a gaming system was available as well, though I wasn't sure which kind. Cesar would know.

"Somebody wants us to feel at home," Neil joked. He nodded at the table. "Bath bombs aren't my style. Have at it." He groaned, threw his legs over the side of the bed, and stood up. His knees cracked loudly. "Wild cats of the cosmos." "That's a mouthful of a curse."

He snorted. I wasn't sure if it was offense or amusement. Something about him seemed odd this morning. "How about both?"

"Are you alright?"

The white sheet slithered from his waist and revealed his pert bottom, round and pale as the rest of him, free of ink save for the very top near his tailbone where tentacles lurked around a sinking ship.

His choice of ink was odd for a lion. But who was I to judge? Especially when he looked so good without any clothes.

"Blake is going overboard," Neil stated while bending his knees carefully. They cracked again. When he raised his arm, he noticed the IV. "Say, could you take this out?"

I held out my hand, motioning for him to come to me. As he extended his arm, he added, "There's no need for us to share a room."

My fingers locked up after I plucked the needle from his wrist. He hissed and rubbed the bruised skin, smearing a bead of blood over his flesh. The needle sat between my fingers for a split second as I stared at him.

Every drop of saliva in my mouth evaporated.

"What?" I managed to croak. "I don't..."

He sighed as he stood up. "I'm going to find my own suite." He headed toward the door and then flipped around. "Actually, I'm going to find clothes first."

The knot in my brows tangled my thoughts as much as his words. Find his own suite? Why would he do that?

"We're just mates," Neil threw over his shoulder. "But we don't have to do the mates thing if you get me."

No, I didn't get it. He had kissed me in that cage. He made a move on me after I made a move on him. Had it just been the danger? Was he just hopped up on drugs and adrenaline?

I closed my eyes, cycling through what few vivid memories remained. Out of everything that had happened, that kiss remained one of the most lucid experiences. I couldn't remember the medical table very much-which was probably for the best-and I couldn't remember sleeping.

But his lips, his warm hands, and his affectionate breath were imprinted on my mind harder than any horrible experience. It far outweighed the terror of the situation we had been in. It had made the whole thing...

Manageable.

I set the IV needle aside for Dr. Windsor to handle later. Once I carefully removed my own IV, I shakily stood up.

That kiss wasn't nothing.

A pile of shirts and jogging pants sat nearby. My brother had left them there. The scrubs I wore were hardly befitting of my personality despite how comfortable they were to lounge in.

Neil is just playing it off like it was nothing.

Anxiety wrapped its slimy tentacles around me. Suddenly, I felt like the ship on Neil's lower back, my mast snapped in half and my port side penetrated by a deep-sea monster. Right now, that monster was Neil. He had just passed me off like I was nothing more than something to pass the time.

Well, two can play that game.

My eyes burned as I glared at the bedroom door. It was shut now. He was probably changing.

And I'll make sure that it hurts.