down, a massive man following at a short distance.
Fighting between the wolves and bears slowed, the few lingering skirmishes drawing apart and the combatants either sitting peacefully or falling to the ground as Nadia walked the perimeter of the pool.
Omega. A peace-bringer. As the lynx strolled through the war zone, it was as if an overdose of Valium flooded the area. Even Caroline was on the relaxed side, but figured that was more because of her rush of relief the bloodletting was done.
Not seeing Tyler rise from the pool had been her final annoyance, though. Caroline jumped in and dragged him upward, thankful he had the sense to shift, because she doubted his rock of a bear would have been easy to budge.
Tyler blinked as he hit the surface, grabbing the pool edge with one hand and catching her to him with the other. “Caroline. Watch out. It’s dangerous.”
She snorted. “You need to catch up, big guy. The fight is over, I brought in the cavalry.”
A pair of pretty pink-painted toes stopped beside them as Nadia knelt to say hello. “This is the weirdest pool party I’ve ever seen a human host.”
“I ordered guppies, but they didn’t arrive in time. We had to improvise.” Caroline wiggled free from Tyler and pushed herself up to sit on the edge. “Thank you for coming.”
“No problem. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it sooner.” Nadia wrinkled her nose. “You’d think these guys would know to contact someone like me before organizing volatile gatherings.”
Caroline shrugged. “They’re bears. They don’t think.”
“True.”
“Hey, be nice.” Tyler was up on the deck, bringing Caroline to her feet and offering a welcoming hand to Nadia. “Maybe it’s because your existence is nothing more than a rumour. Good to meet you. Omega?”
“Cross-species. No one is safe from my mind-melds.” Nadia blinked appreciatively as she looked Tyler over. “And aren’t
Caroline nudged the blonde out of the way even as she laughed. She’d been warned about Nadia’s tendency to flirt. “Stop it, no dallying with my boyfriend.”
“Oh, he’s taken? Too bad.”
Tyler adjusted his grin of delight to a more serious expression in the nick of time before Caroline stomped on his toes. He glanced around the pool. “Dammit, we were terrible.”
“You were bears.” Nadia patted his chest, her eyes widening as she spotted the scratches and bite marks marring his skin. “And yes, you were terrible.”
Caroline blushed as the particular mark Nadia focused on was one Caroline had caused. “Come on, now that you’ve got them calmed down, perhaps we can convince them to hire you to hang out for a few more days.”
Nadia nodded.
Cleanup took less time than anyone expected. The message Caroline had sent off brought a full emergency-response team—all shifters or humans with shifters in their families. There were medical attendants and RCMP. She’d even alerted her media contacts, and the newspaper was there to interview the campers and a few key well-schooled actors regarding the excitement of “filming in a northern location”.
No mention of bloodshed or injuries. Just a typical day in the Yukon.
Damage Control 101. She was good at it after all these years, sadly. That beach beckoned again. A sun lounge, a fruity drink with a double dose of alcohol…
Except for the women who gathered their things to head back into Whitehorse, each of them stopping to give her a bear hug and offer support.
By the time Shelley had finished examining Tyler’s wounds, the pool area was nearly empty, everyone having moved toward the parking lot and their cars. “You were far luckier than you could have been. Just saying.”
“I’m a bear. I can take it.” Tyler frowned, his annoyance turned on Chase who was staring at Caroline in disgust. “What’s your problem?”
Caroline pressed her lips together, trying not to smile.
“Go on, laugh it up. I’ll get my revenge.” Chase plopped on the bench beside his mate and nuzzled her under the ear. “You were wonderful though.”
Caroline pulled Tyler aside before he could make any other demands, handing him the pair of pants she’d found. “You need to come talk to Jim Halcyon and the RCMP rep. They’re asking what to do with Ainsworth.”
“And you didn’t have any proposals?”
Her blood steamed. “I suggested abandoning him on a drifting iceberg, but they didn’t take me seriously.”
“Let’s not inflict him on the Hawaiian shifters, if the ice lasted that long.”
Sergeant Major Graham, a black bear she’d learned was affiliated with Clan Halcyon, waited beside a picnic table. Todd Ainsworth was seated on the wooden bench and refused to make eye contact with her.
“Caroline.”
“Sergeant Major. Thanks for coming.”
He switched his gaze to Tyler. “We have a problem. I’m obviously not going to arrest Ainsworth for anything that occurred at the pool this afternoon related to conclave.”
Tyler nodded. “Business meeting.”
Caroline snorted. She couldn’t help it.
Tyler caught her fingers and squeezed them.
Jim Halcyon spoke from his position on the opposite side of the table. “The issue is whether charges should be brought for spousal abuse.”
Todd Ainsworth reared to his feet. “See here—”
“Shut up, Todd.” Even the pressure of Tyler’s hand on hers couldn’t stop Caroline from responding. “This is not your decision.”
“Agreed.” Graham gestured to the parking lot where Amanda Ainsworth was slipping into the Harrison limo, Justin at her side. “Unfortunately, there is no clear precedent. Amanda said she had no idea what she’d experienced wasn’t simply a shifter’s lot. All she wants is out.”
“Taking Ainsworth from his clan isn’t a terrible thing, but caging the bear?” Jim shook his head. “I’m not willing to make that decision.”
“If she doesn’t press charges, I can’t book him through the human courts,” Graham explained, his gaze meeting Caroline’s with apologies in the depths.
Dammit. “Well, that sucks.”
Tyler tugged her to his side and held her tightly. “I have an idea how to deal with this. Can you escort our guest to the Moonshine Inn? If she’s willing to stay with us.”
Jim spoke up. “Lillie and I would love to have Amanda at our home as well. We have plenty of room.”
“As long as the bastard can’t get at her ever again.” Caroline nodded. “Fine, Tyler, your call. I’ll go talk to Amanda and see what she’d like. Because it really should be her choice.”
Before she could go, though, Tyler lifted her chin and full-out kissed her. A cop, a billionaire and a bastard observing from a few feet away.
She didn’t care one bit they had an audience.
The fear and fire that had sustained her during the fight was washed away with the sweet caring of his touch. A new kind of fire rose as his tongue stroked hers, and small sparks burst into flames like warning beacons shining from mountaintop after mountaintop.
Reality slowly set in—she was in a bikini rubbing rather wantonly against a nearly naked man. She separated them before anything else could rise.
“Trust me,” he whispered in her ear.
She walked away, past the staff scrubbing blood from the deck. Past the wolf from the paper taking more “promo” shots who smiled at her.
Caroline walked as she let it sink in.
