As the two of them left Colt's room, a large bear came out into the hall and walked toward them. Roxie's eyes widened and her breath caught in her chest. She was starting to panic.
Colt wrapped his arms around her and lifted her face to his. "Hey, hey. Just look at me." She did as he asked. "You are alright Roxie. No one here will hurt you."
As Roxie stared into his eyes and felt his arms around her, she calmed. How does he do that? She took a deep breath.
The bear changed into a man and approached them. "What the hell Colt? It smells like you got marked? It's about time."
Colt kept his eyes on Roxie's, but he smiled. "Yeah, Zar, I would like you to meet Roxie. Roxie, could you meet Zar?" She nodded. His smile widened further. She was trying.
Roxie turned and shook Zar's hand. "So, it looks like you two are pretty close. What is the hold up on finishing the mating?" The bear asked.
Colt shrugged. "Just getting to know each other."
Roxie blushed. He was trying to help her process and being discreet about her fears. But, if she is going to face them, she needed to be honest. "The truth is that I kind of freak out around bears. So, it is taking me some time to get used to all of this."
Zar laughed. "Freak out around bears? Oh honey, you are a bear."
Roxie stiffened. "I know that. But, I have my reasons."
Zar arched an eyebrow. Colt nodded to indicate that what she said was true. "I am sorry for that. But, we are a house full of bears. And we won't hide who we are back here in the house."
"I understand. And, I am not asking anyone to hide. It will just take me time to get used to all of this." She said as she leaned into Colt for comfort.
With one final smile, Zar nudged Colt. "It looks like you are already comfortable with Colt. So, that is a really good place to start. Good luck you two." Then he returned to bear form and continued down the hall. Roxie took deep breaths and watched him go.
Colt hugged her tight. "I know that I don't really have any right to this yet, but I am proud of you." He kissed the top of her head.
Once down stairs, Roxie was surprised to see Otto, Samia and Kell sitting at a table with Kyrian, Amanda and Acheron. How long had they been in Colt's room?
Kell looked pissed off in extreme fashion.
She took a deep breath and walked over to the table, Colt bravely followed behind.
"OK, before everyone asks, we were just talking. Good grief. Colt was helping me process things and we spent most of the time with him in his…" She looked around. "Other form. So that I could deal. And no decisions have been made."
That helped to take the edge off of Kell. He took a deep breath and let his head fall back against the wall.
Colt said he would go to the kitchen to get their food, that they ordered on the way through from the house. Roxie sat down next to Kell and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"I am alright big guy. It's just a lot of really personal stuff that we could not talk about in a public setting. So, it was best to stay where we had privacy, with the door locked this time."
He hugged her close. "You better be alright. I don't know how much more of this fatherhood stress I can take."
"At least we all know that you can't have a heart attack." Kyrian teased.
Kell glared at him. "I will remind you of that in a couple years when Marissa is dating."
"She will do no such thing! I still want you to make her that chastity belt." Kyrian replied.
"Oh, no you will not!" Amanda jumped in. "We are not living in the middle ages. You will do no such thing to my daughter."
"Come on Mandy, she's my baby girl. I can't let things just happen." The former Dark-Hunter protested.
Amanda just looked at her husband. "And what makes you think that she won't explore anyway? There are plenty of other ways to grow up."
"Oh gods Amanda! Please don't put those thoughts in my head!" He whined.
Samia was laughing. "You boys and your concern over your daughters. It is touching, but damn, keep it cool. The more you push, the more they push back and not in the ways you always want them too. Amanda is right. Girls will find other ways to explore, just to piss you off if you try to control them too much. Let Marissa grow up like a normal girl."
"How would you know Sam? You're not a typical modern girl." Kyrian questioned.
"Who do you think Roxie called when she was exploring in her teenage and college years? It certainly wasn't Mr. Gladiator here with his need to kill anything male that looks at her." Kell gaped at the woman for that disclosure. "Now you kids behave, I have to get out of here before I drain Kell's powers too much." Then Samia left, shaking her head as she walked away.
Kell looked at Roxie and she shrugged. "I did call her. But, I am not giving details. I am not suicidal."
Roxie looked at Acheron who was being strangely silent through the discussion, and Otto… well, what would Otto know about raising kids?
By the time Colt returned with two plates and two sodas, that he showed Kell to prove he was not trying to get her drunk, they went to another table on the other side of the room to talk without the extended family listening in.
Otto finally spoke as they walked away. "With the look on their faces, the chances of her choosing Blood Rites over the bear is getting slimmer by the minute. Too bad really, she's one hell of a good squire, and the last of a legacy."
Colt and Roxie started talking as they ate. Colt obliged her request to tell her about him. So, he told her about how his family had abandoned him, his life with the Peltier's and Sanctuary. He talked about music and the band. Roxie asked lots of questions. Which lead to talking about the politics of the Were community, the Omegrion, and how he is a Sentinel, the strongest of the Arcadians.
"So, the tattoo that I saw the other night on your face… those were Sentinel markings?" She asked.
He nodded. "Yes, they show up after puberty as a symbol of the status among the Arcadians. I keep them covered up most of the time. But, I lost my concentration when I was with you. I am sorry if I startled you."
Roxie smiled. "You don't have to apologize for everything. I am the one that is sorry that I reacted to everything so badly."
He chuckled. "Honestly, I still can't believe you are sitting with me and talking about all of this. If I was in your shoes, I might have headed back to Texas by now."
She reached over and took his hand. "Perhaps if it had been one of the grumpier brothers, I would have. I meant what I said earlier, I feel like we are supposed to be here together, I trust you. And, there is something about you that makes me crave you. Not just the cycling thing. I feel different toward the other men here. Yeah, I am hot, all the time. But, when they are near me, I just wish they were you."
She blushed and looked down. Colt reached up to lift her chin. "I feel the same way about you. You have no idea how hard it was for me when I thought that I would never see you again."
Roxie smiled and one tear rolled from her eye. "I am sorry I was such a bitch when we first met."
He laughed. "I thought you hated me more than bears in general."
She shook her head. "I was fighting the urge to pull you across the bar and make a very public fool of myself."
Colt arched a brow. "Now that, I would have enjoyed."
"Is all of this because we are supposed to be mated?" She asked.
He shook his head. "I don't know. I know lots of couples who are mated that are nothing more than friends. Fang's parents couldn't stand each other and spent most of their lives trying to kill each other. So, it certainly is not only because we were chosen as mates. But, beyond that, I really don't know."
She looked down at her mating mark. "I just wish I could understand it all. How much of this is fate that I have no choice about? How much is more? More free will? It just feels weird to have a connection to someone that is only there to serve a purpose, with no choice for either of us. I mean, damn, I can smell you. Like really smell you. This connection thing is weird."
Her eyes went wide. "Oh, I don't mean it as an insult, you are not stinky or anything."
He laughed. "Roxie, don't you smell everyone?"
Her brows creased. "No. Why would I?"
He leaned back and ran his hands over his face. "No wonder you have had such a hard time understanding some things." He paused as he thought about it. "Roxie, as Were's, our senses are heightened. That includes the sense of smell. I can tell you what everyone in this bar is. From humans, to bears, wolves, that man up on the second floor is a jackal, as well as your Dark-Hunter. That is how everyone knows that you are cycling. Your scent changes."
"No way. Seriously? Then, why can't I?" She asked.
He cupped her face and looked at her. "You really never used your powers?"
She shook her head.
"You should have had them at puberty. Completely uncontrolled. So, either, your powers are bound, or your human half is too dominant." He stood up.
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"We are going to go find out more."
He grabbed her hand and walked over to Acheron. "Hey Ash, Kell. Could you help us figure something out here?"
"What's up?" Acheron asked. Kell just growled.
Colt looked around to make sure they were not overheard, then looked at Roxie. "Something is not right. Roxie said that she has never used her powers and she does not have the senses of a normal Were."
Acheron looked at her, with a puzzled look on his face. Then he asked Kell. "Did you ever see her use powers?" The Dark-Hunter shook his head. "Not even when she hit puberty?"
Again, Kell shook his head. "I didn't think anything of it. I figured that her human half was helping her control it. It wasn't until Raven came to town to work out details for some weapons that I even knew that she was getting close to cycling, starting this whole debacle."
"So, who would have blocked her?" Colt questioned.
Kell was starting to look concerned. "Someone did something to her?"
Acheron nodded. "I assume it was her mother. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense. Because it is a simple thing to undo. I can't imagine someone would do it secretly and not prepare her for what will happen once the binding is broken?"
"So, how is this fixed?" Roxie asked.
Acheron arched an eyebrow. "Kell, you need to leave now."
"What?" He growled.
Acheron looked at Kell. "Leave. Now."
Roxie was getting nervous. This could not be good if Ash was ordering Kell out like that. Even the others at the table were silent.
Kell stormed out of the bar. Once he was gone, Ash looked at Roxie again. "The answer is sex. Lots of sex. Until you have a mind blowing orgasm, large enough that it forces your body to release its control."
Roxie turned red instantly.
"Now, I suggest you two head back to Colt's room before Kell figures out why I ordered him out. Because if lover boy is still around…"
Roxie grabbed Colt's hand and practically ran for the kitchen.