Kell scooped her up and carried her the car. Once he set her down, he looked her over head to toe to make sure she was alright. His anger was top tier as he searched for a reason for Roxie to be so shaken. Until he got to her hands and she kept her left hand clenched.
"What happened?" He roared.
She didn't answer. But, he pulled her fingers open and saw the mark. His jaw dropped.
Kell was going to kill whoever it was that held the same mark. Then she would be free to mate again and have children. Later. When she is ready. With a man that does not make his girl cry.
He started for the bar and she tried to stop him. "Please don't."
But, he was not listening. He walked back into the bar. There were very few people left after the band had wrapped up. Most of them were preternatural of some kind, so he was not terribly worried about making a scene.
Samia stood up hesitantly. "Now Kell, I told you that she was learning."
"You didn't tell me about this Sam." He bellowed.
She actually looked sheepish. "Well, that was not for me to tell you."
Kell started to stalk up to her. "Who was it?" He demanded.
But, Dev stood in his path. "She is my mate. I don't know what this is about and I don't care. But, you will not touch her."
Kell snarled. "And you are only alive right now because I know that it was not you."
"It was me." Colt said as he walked out of the kitchen. "I am sorry Roxie. I swear it." He said as he watched her by the door. Tears pooled in her eyes.
But, Kell turned on him and grabbed him to throw him to the ground. Colt did not even try to defend himself. He deserved the punishment. The Dark-Hunter got in a couple of punches before Roxie was there to pull back on Kell's arm. "Stop it! Please stop!" But, as Kell fought her off, she tripped and fell. That finally snapped Kell's attention.
"I am sorry monster. I didn't mean to hurt you." He soothed as she collapsed into tears.
But, she reached up and punched him in the shoulder. "This is your fault! You forced me to come here. Forced me to stay here. You wanted me to get to know people. But, you didn't tell me anything before hand. You didn't tell them anything before hand. So, the whole thing exploded into one giant mess. And hurting Colt won't change anything."
"It will make me feel better." He growled. "And free you to mate again after he dies."
"Well, it won't make me feel better. And, I don't want you to hurt him."
"Your mated?" Otto questioned. "Shit, that did not take long."
She spun on him faster than a heartbeat. "What? You knew?"
He scowled down at her. "You did not really think that your father managed to keep your mother a complete secret from the Council did you?"
Roxie was stunned. They knew? How does everyone know?
Otto shrugged. "That is why your training has taken so long and we agreed to this plan of having you here. You need to face both sides of who you are so that you can choose between them, fully understanding both choices and their repercussions."
She stood up and slapped the squire. "All of you! You are all forcing this on me. It wasn't bad enough that I saw my parents get ripped apart when I was a child? Now you all feel that you have the right to force me to become the beast that destroyed my life?"
Colt finally got up off of the floor. He could barely breath after hearing what she said. No wonder she has had such extreme anger toward bears. All he wanted was to sooth her, to wrap his arms around her again and show her that he was not like the bears she saw.
"Roxie, wait." He moved to run after her. But, Kell cut him off.
"What happened?"
"I think you know how the mark shows up." Colt snarled. Then tried to make his way after her.
Kell grabbed his arm. "Not that part. I seriously don't want to know that part. Why is she upset?"
Just then, a couple of the band members made their way out to the bar.
"Hey there Yogi Bear. Are you out of your room so soon?" Teddy chuckled.
Colt spun around and grabbed a bottle off of the table nearby and threw it at the jaguar.
"What the fuck?" He questioned.
Colt pointed to them. "You want to know why she is upset. It's because these assholes barged into my room while we were talking, completely disrespecting the emotions involved, or her, and when it pissed me off, I turned bear, in front of her. I didn't know it would freak her out so much. I was only trying to get them to leave and give her space. I didn't know."
"Kell, you go take care of the girl. I will take care of the jack asses here." Dev stepped forward. "Although, I may just tie them up and let Colt rip them apart."
Kell was not real happy about any of it. But, the bears level of anger, at his own friends, over the events, did lend credence to his claims that he was defending her privacy when he just lost control. Kell knew how much that would upset Roxie. And the fact that despite seeing him become a bear, Roxie didn't want the boy hurt. That is all that gave Kell the strength to leave the bar and not rip everyone apart for hurting his little monster.
Kell went out to the car. Roxie was already in the passenger seat, with the seat leaned back so she could curl up with the blanket that they always keep in the back. She faced away from Kell, but he did not push. He started the car and held her hand, comfortingly, as he drove to Kyrian's house.
Colt was in the bar, helping to stock the extra supplies. As Mardi Gras drew closer, their crowds grew larger. He was still fuming over the way that his supposed friends had barged in and ruined everything in the early morning hours. He was so angry that Remi even suggested that he take a chill.
Remi was one of the quads with Dev and he had his own seriously screwed up issues to deal with. The last few months, he has been actually taking off on his days off. He just borrows a Harley from one of the other residents of the house and gets out of dodge. No one knows where he goes or what he does. But, for the first time in years, he has become moderately tolerable.
So, when Remi is suggesting that Colt borrow the bike and blow off some steam… one of two things is about to happen. One, hell is about the freeze over. Or two, Colt is about to commit murder on someone that the family would prefer to spare. People they don't care about, well, they just look the other way.
Colt worked silently, only speaking when absolutely necessary. Most of his bruises had healed already, but his busted lip was still sore. As he finished unloading one of the crates of bottles, he moved the crate out from behind the bar. On a shelf behind that was a black backpack similar to the one that he saw Roxie with the night before. As he thought about it, everything was so screwed up that he did not remember her leaving with it. And the whole thing smelled of her.
He pulled the bag out and looked through it quickly. A small smile pulled at his lips as he found a collection of photos of Roxie and Kell. It was definitely hers.
Colt gathered the bag back together and took it to his room. He knew that he was snooping, but he did not care. There was something about Roxie that touched him, made him want to know more about her. And after what happened last night, he was not sure she would ever talk to him again.
He sat on his bed as he opened the bag again. He inhaled her scent as he started to look through the contents. Underneath her leather jacket that she had shoved into the top of the bag, he found several books. There were a couple from Kinley MacGregor. Apparently, she likes romances. However, there were also a couple of non-fiction books about Ancient history and mythology. There was even a journal book full of poems, quotes, and short musings. But, what surprised him the most were her sketch pads. She had several of them. They were filled with all sorts of sketches of people and places.
She even had a few of Sanctuary. And one of Colt. He smiled.
She had noticed him after all, enough to sketch him. She was really good. Tears pricked the back of his eyes. She had an artist's soul. And he had not had a chance to get to know that side of her. How could someone he barely knew, touch him so deeply? His heart was broken at the thought of her hating him.
Looking back at the photos that she kept, Colt took out his phone to capture a picture of her. Yeah, it might be a little creepy stalkerish. But, in case he never sees her again, he wanted to remember the woman that marked him in more ways than one.
Colt found himself hoping that she would come back to the bar, at least to pick up the bag.
Unfortunately, she did not show up at the bar that day, or the next. As each day passed, his anger grew.
"Hey there monster." Kell said as he knocked on Roxie's door. It had been two days since she received her mating mark. But, she refused to come out of her room in Kyrian's house. "I brought rainbow sherbet, with two spoons." He said as he walked in.
At least that succeeded in getting a sound out of her. It wasn't a whole laugh, but it was something. That had always been their thing.
He sat next to her on the bed and opened the tub. She looked awful. Her beautiful auburn hair was a mess. Her eyes were red and swollen. He had been crying a lot. He didn't need to see it to know it. His heart broke for her. He had not seen her this distraught since her parents died. And Kell did not know what to do. He hated himself for pushing her so hard. But, he never wanted this. He just wanted her to learn about it all.
He opened the tub and showed her the two spoons. She gave a half smile. Then she hugged him and buried her face in his chest. He set down the ice cream to wrap his arms around her.
"Am I crazy?" She asked.
"Well, you do put up with me. So, I would say that being a little crazy is in the job description."
She sighed.
"Oh, come on. That was a joke Roxanne. What is it that you really want to know?"
She shook her head. "You will just get mad."
Kell smiled. "You really like him don't you?"
"But he's a bear! It's like I have Stockholm syndrome or something.". She whined.
"No monster. He is nothing like your mother's family."
She sniffed. "I feel like I am betraying them. How could I want to be with a bear after what they did?"
"Gods, no. You are not betraying anyone." He hugged her tighter. "Your father loved your mother. And she was a bear. And they both loved you, more than I could ever begin to explain. They loved you as the girl and as the bear. You parents would never have wanted you to hurt like this. All they ever wanted for you was to be strong, and safe, and to see you smile."
Kell wiped her tears away. "What happened was wrong on so many levels. Even in the world of bears and Were-animals in general. The bears that killed your parents were tried, condemned and hunted by their own kind. By other bears Roxie. Several of them were Peltiers, it is possible that even Colt helped."
She looked up. "They helped to find justice for my parents?"
He smiled and nodded. "They really are good people, Roxie. I can't say that I understand animal natures or rules. But, I do recognize good intentions. I trust them."
"So, you're not angry at me?"
"I don't think that I have ever been angry at you. I can't say that I am thrilled. But, all I have ever wanted was for you to be safe and happy. And at least if you are mated, I know that he can't cheat on you. Because if anyone ever did that to you, they wouldn't just be gator bait. They would be strewn across the entire gulf coast."
That succeeded in getting a laugh out of her.
She finally took the spoon and started to eat at the sherbet.
"Why do I feel so much for a man that I barely know? It just doesn't make sense. And, I still can't get the image of him as a bear out of my head. I keep having nightmares of him being the one to kill my parents. And it all terrifies me. But, once I wake up, all I want is to run to him for comfort. I am so confused. And I hate that the rest of his life is completely tied to whatever decision I make in the next two and a half weeks. It is just not fair."
"I know little monster. But, you are trying to rationalize everything like a human. You are not fully human, and the world of matings is something that neither of us fully understands. I can only guess that your connection is tied to the fact that you are fated. But, I don't know."
She nuzzled into his chest as they ate the ice cream.
After several minutes, Kell finally spoke again. "I wish I could make everything easier for you. But, Otto called. The Council still wants you to keep going to Sanctuary every day. Otto did push to give you the break to process things, but this is beyond his reach."
"What? Why? Why are they making me go back?" She started to panic.
"Because you can't have split loyalties. You either refuse to complete the mating and choose to only follow your human side to be a Blood Rites Squire, or you complete the mating and convince your bear to swear oaths to join into the fold and stay a squire without the Blood Rites portion, or, you complete the mating and choose him over being a squire entirely."
"But, they knew about my mother after all and my father was Blood Rites. Kostas's have always been Blood Rites."
Kell looked at her with sympathy. "I know Roxie. But, they learned a valuable lesson when your parents died. Even though your mother gave up all of her loyalties to her family or the Were community, she was still not able to fully escape the politics. And that is what they fear with you. That you won't really be able to hide from it all. And if you mate to a bear, then there is even more reason to drag you in. And Blood Rites have to be above board, completely."
"So, not only do I have to decide if I am going to commit myself to a bear that I barely know, at risk of leaving him celibate for the rest of his very long life, but, now I have to choose between that man and the birth rite passed down from my father? Ugh!"
Kell scoffed. "I don't give a shit about his celibacy issue. Please, monster. Do what is right for yourself."
As Kell left Roxie's room, he paused at her door. "I really hope that I have done the right thing."
"You did." A voice called to him from down the hall.
Kell turned to see Acheron Parthenopaus, the more or less official leader of the Dark-Hunters. The man looked like a 21 year old goth college student. But, Kell knew that he was far older than even himself. And Kell was over two thousand years old.
"How can you be so sure?" Kell questioned.
Acheron shrugged. "Just have faith."
"Is that what you call it?" Kyrian asked as he joined the two men in the hall. "Ash, are you ever wrong about something?"
Acheron got a pained look on his face. "Yes. Sometimes. But, in this, I am not. She will choose well and things will change. But, it will be for the best." He put a comforting hand on Kell.
Kyrian chimed in. "Fatherhood really sucks sometimes. Too bad we can't keep them in a bubble until they magically find their happy endings without the hardships that come first. I dare the gods to protect the boy that breaks Marissa's heart."
Kell scoffed. "Screw the bubble. I just wanted to make her a chastity belt."
"Could you make one for Marissa?" Kyrian asked. Acheron shook his head at the former Dark-Hunter.