Beck Bear (Daughters of Beasts Book 2) Read online

  “Fair enough. Where are we eating lunch?”

  Juno narrowed her eyes. That was way too easy.

  “Uh, I was thinking the whole Crew could meet at Rusty’s Fried Chicken?” Rhett called. “For Crew bonding time that you’re always begging us to do.”

  Remi’s dark eyebrow arched up. “Sounds great.”

  “She looks mad,” Rhett said out of the corner of his mouth.

  “Yeah, maybe we should go.” She lifted her voice to Remi. “Hey, best friend, want to meet us at noon?”

  “Sure. How did you book a new flight if your app was down?”

  “My boss booked a new one for me. He told me this morning.”

  “Great. Fuck your boss.”

  “Remi, you shouldn’t have hacked my account in the first place.”

  “I didn’t! Ashlynn and Bash did! I was just the messenger! See you at noon!”

  “Good God, woman,” Grim barked at Remi from his porch. “Did you get your fuckin’ period or something?”

  “You shut your murdery mouth, Grim Reaper! Yeah, first and last name!”

  “Those aren’t my real names.”

  “You know nothing about friendship so you wouldn’t understand!”

  “She’s going out on a breakfast date with the man she boned!” Grim yelled back, his eyes flashing yellow. “A friend would stop cock-blocking her.”

  “What is happening?” Rhett whispered, his eyes wide and trained on Grim, whose face was all red and angry. Even his mohawk seemed to be spikier than usual.

  “She doesn’t have a cock!” Remi shrieked.

  “Vagina block then!” Grim yelled back. “Yes or no on your period because you’re acting like a psycho.”

  “Takes one to know one, Count—”

  “If you call me Count Psychopotamus one more fuckin’ time—”

  “Rule number one! I’ll state it again because you are a stupid boy but, really, it should be common sense,” Remi yelled. “Just because a woman has feelings doesn’t mean she’s on her period!”

  “So, yes?” Grim asked, looking smug. “Because Rhett’s been drawing little red raindrops on the Crew calendar every month, and this is day two of girly splish-splash time. I Googled it, and your moodiness should be at maximum—”

  “We should leave now,” Rhett muttered, backing away from the screaming match.

  “You can’t put a whole sentence together the entire time I’ve lived here, and now you’re an expert on my menses?” Remi yelled.

  “I was trying to be sensitive,” Grim said with a shrug.

  “Mission not accomplished. Rusty’s Fried Chicken at noon. Don’t sit by me.” Remi leveled Juno and Rhett with a fiery look. “In fact, no one sit by me!” And then she did an about face and slammed the door behind her.

  Kamp had come around the corner of the house holding two bottles of beer in his hands. His mouth hung open as he stared at the door Remi had disappeared into.

  “That’s all yours, man. Congrats,” Grim muttered, jogging down the stairs. He yanked an ax out of the wood-splitting log in his front yard and stomped into the woods.

  “I’m gonna be late to work today,” Rhett called.

  The answer “I don’t fuckin’ care” echoed back to them.

  Juno was trying not to laugh, really she was, but that was awesome. She hadn’t seen her best friend that fired up in a long time. There was that passion she knew was in Remi.

  Kamp glared at Rhett. “Man, fuck you for putting her in a bad mood. Now I have to sit by myself at the chicken place because I’m sure as hell not sitting by the rest of you.”

  Juno snickered, imagining them all sitting around the restaurant in separate spots. This was Gray Back behavior. Total C-Team. It was awesome.

  Rhett wrapped his hand around hers and tugged her toward the trail that led to the parking field, toting her heavy suitcase with his other hand.

  “I thought I was gonna show up here and Remi would be in this delightful, polite Crew, and y’all are so messed up,” Juno crowed. She was in full-swing giggles now. “I think Remi will be just fine here.”

  “She’s a pain in everyone’s ass,” Rhett muttered, but turned a smile on her. “That’s why I wanted her to stay.”

  “Troublemaker.”

  He wrenched his voice up an octave and repeated Remi’s words, “Takes one to know one.”

  Okay, now she was dying laughing. None of this should be amusing. Normal Crews and families didn’t yell at each other about their periods first thing in the morning. Or drink beer? She hadn’t even thought to ask Kamp what he was doing with beer this early. And they didn’t all try to kill each other every night, but for some reason these people felt familiar. Not like she’d met them before, but familiar to her heart.

  As soon as they were in the truck, Rhett turned on an old country station and started singing along. He kept looking over at her as they drove down the mountain with an encouraging smile until she gave in and was singing along with him. The sunshine had broken through the clouds this morning, and all the new snow was sparkling like God had floofed the world in glitter. The sunrays were filtering through the window, saturating the light on Rhett’s profile. Goodness…his smile when he sang. He kept sneaking her glances, too, and his eyes were dancing, sunlight highlighting his white T-shirt so brightly he looked like an angel.

  As short as she lived, she was going to remember this. It was bigger than life. It was special.

  It was happiness.

  Rhett slid his hand over Juno’s thigh and drove with one hand resting on the steering wheel of his old Chevy, never breaking in their car karaoke until he pulled up to a pancake shack. They left her suitcase in the back and got out, chattering all the way inside and to their table. And then they chattered all through breakfast, which was two matching stacks of pancakes big enough to fill their insatiable shifter bellies, complete with slabs of thick-cut bacon, scrambled eggs, and hash browns.

  “I’ll never be able to eat again,” Juno said, leaning back in the chair as Rhett paid the tab. Okay, that was a total lie. She would be hungry again by noon.

  Juno frowned when the waitress brought a bag of to-go pancakes to the table. “A snack for later?”

  Rhett handed the check to the waitress and told her to, “Keep the change,” and then he stood and offered Remi his hand. “Nah. These are for Sara.”

  Juno slid her hand into his and let him pull her up. He leaned down and kissed her lips. He tasted like syrup, and her bear was purring like an overgrown housecat. After he eased away, he said, “Do you want to meet my sister?”

  “I would really love that,” she whispered.

  Oh, she knew this was a big share for him. He hadn’t exposed Sara to the limelight the entire time he’d been in it. He’d kept her hidden and safe from the chaos of his life. But for Juno…he was letting her in.

  The drive to the Safe Oak Rehabilitation Facility was a short one, maybe ten minutes. He held her hand the whole way, and she was glad he’d made the rule that they should act like today wouldn’t end. She was reveling in his touch. But as they pulled up to the rehab center, it hit her that her hours here were very numbered. And such an overwhelming sadness washed through her.

  She didn’t want to leave.

  “Come on,” he murmured. “I’ll have to do a session with her and her doctor first, but she might be ready to meet you right after.”

  “Okay, don’t worry about me. I can just wait in the waiting room and catch up on emails.”

  “Ha. I bet you have four thousand in there.”

  “You’re probably close,” she muttered as she followed him through the front doors.

  “I’ll be back soon,” he said as she took a seat in the waiting area by a rack of magazines.

  “Okay,” she murmured, watching him disappear as a nurse buzzed him in through a set of swinging doors.

  The second she could no longer see him, the sadness was back, and it was so overwhelming her body physically ached. She wrap
ped her arms around her stomach and hoped she wouldn’t Change. Something was happening to her. Something she didn’t understand.

  One day with him, and she felt so…different.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The second he opened the door, he knew Sara was okay. He could feel it. There wasn’t stress coming from her animal, only relief.

  Her hair was the same color as his, but down to her shoulders, and her eyes were the same shade of blue. Her smile even looked like his. Dr. Monroe was already seated in his chair and gave Rhett a two-fingered wave.

  Rhett made his way to Sara and hugged her up tight, swaying gently. She’d always been a hugger. She was affectionate like their mom.

  “You scared the shit out of me yesterday.”

  Sara shrugged and released him, then yanked the plastic bag of food from his hands and plopped down on the couch. “It was just a little Change. It had been a while, and my animal gets restless all cooped up in this place.”

  Rhett blinked hard and looked at Dr. Monroe, who wore the same smug look Grim had this morning. “Well, that’s a change in attitude. You used to hate Changing.”

  “Well, it’s still not my favorite,” she said, pouring a little plastic container of syrup over the pancakes she’d set on the coffee table, but I’m learning to accept that part of myself.”

  His grin had to be so fucking big right now. He sat next to her and grabbed one of the pieces of bacon out of her Styrofoam container. Munching on it thoughtfully, he relaxed back into the couch. “Has Dad messaged you today?”

  “Yes. And Mom.”

  “Mom did? Wow, I’m surprised she was allowed to use the phone,” Rhett said sarcastically. He’d always hated how his mother was treated in the Pride. Like her only value was her albino lion genetics and nothing else.

  “A lot has changed in the Pride,” Sara said quietly.

  “Like what?”

  “Like Mom left Dad.”

  Rhett lurched forward. “What?”

  “Yeah. She has her own house on the edge of the territory. She left him when you came and got me, when she found out he’d been giving me DeClaw. When I go back, I’ll be living with her until I feel ready enough to have my own place again. She has an extra room all made up for me.”

  Okay…this was news. Good news, but Rhett still worried. He didn’t trust anyone in the Pride except for Mom. “What if you start getting pressure to use DeClaw?” Rhett asked low. Her answer mattered. It had been on his mind since the day he’d taken her from there.

  “I like my animal now. I don’t want to put her to sleep. I’ve dealt with my guilt, and I’m still dealing with it. I’m a total work in progress, but I can’t stay in here forever. I’ve been ready to leave for a while.”

  Rhett held her gaze for a few seconds and then looked to Dr. Monroe.

  “I believe she’s ready,” he said. “She’s worked her tail off, she’s changed her mindset, and become stronger. I think she can handle it.”

  “Look, I know what you gave up for me,” she whispered, her eyes brimming with tears. “Music was your escape from the Pride, and you gave that up to take care of me. I don’t want to be a burden on your life anymore, Rhett. I want you to move on and grow, too. You can’t do that if you’re stuck here watching me.”

  “Well…I don’t feel stuck.”

  Sara frowned. “What do you mean? I thought you said you hated your Crew.”

  Rhett shrugged up his shoulders. “They’re fun to annoy. Tolerable even on some days.”

  Sara’s eyebrows arched up. “Seriously?”

  “No, they’re terrible. I will leave them any minute now.”

  Sara snorted and muttered “liar” around a bite of pancakes.

  “When are you going back?” he asked suddenly. He was going to miss these visits. It would be different for both of them when she went back to the Saga Pride.

  “Dr. Monroe thinks I’ll be good to go at the end of the week. He wants me to get one more controlled Change in before Mom picks me up. To build my confidence.”

  Rhett nodded for a bit and then cleared his throat. “Do you think you’re up for meeting someone new?” he asked carefully.

  She stopped chewing and gulped a big bite down. “Who?”

  “A girl.”

  “A girl or the girl?”

  He tried and failed to smile. “I can’t keep her.”

  “Is she here?”

  He nodded once.

  “Well, bring her on in.” She turned to Dr. Monroe. “Can we?”

  The thin-haired man shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”

  Rhett stood to get Juno, but Dr. Monroe motioned him down and made a call on the landline phone next to his chair to one of the nurses to bring her back.

  Why was his heart pounding so hard right now? Seconds ticked by, and he couldn’t keep his eyes from the door. And when it opened, he was struck again with how pretty she was. Her eyes were silver like her animal was riled up, but the smile on her lips was easy. She gave him the cutest fuckin’ little wave he’d ever seen. She was so cute when she got shy like that.

  “Whoa,” Sara uttered beside him. When he looked at Sara, she was smiling, too, right at him.

  “What?” he asked.

  “The way you look at her…” Sara turned to Juno and made her way around the table to greet her. Rhett thought she would offer her hand for a shake, but his sister pulled Juno into a back-cracking hug and said, “I’m Sara Saga. I’ve heard so much about you in four sentences.”

  Juno laughed and hugged her back. “I’m Juno Beck.”

  “Beck.” Sara turned with Juno still locked in her anaconda embrace. “Hey, remember when we were growing up and you were obsessed with the Beck Brothers and had all their posters on your walls? Of course, you would fall for a girl with their last name.”

  “Brighton Beck is her dad,” he deadpanned.

  “Holy fuckin’ shit!” Sara yelled.

  Rhett snorted. She sounded just like him.

  Juno was laughing good now. “Your brother had the exact same reaction.”

  And as he watched his sister and his…Juno…talking and laughing, he thought maybe he’d never had a moment as happy as this one. These two girls were the only ones in the world who had managed to chip away at the cracks in his concrete heart and let themselves in.

  No matter what else happened, today was a good day.

  Chapter Fourteen

  From experience, Juno knew the only way to make amends with Remi when she was angry like this was a hug. So the second Remi got out of the passenger’s side of Kamp’s truck, Juno was ready. She pounced. Not gracefully, but she lurched at her friend, wrapped her arms around her, and stood there nuzzling her cheek and trying not to laugh until Remi muttered, “Forgiven,” and hugged her back.

  Grim mumbled, “Gross,” as he stomped out of his navy blue Bronco and right past them.

  “He likes me,” Remi said in a mushy voice.

  “Really?” Juno said, frowning at the behemoth’s back. He was wearing a tank top, but it was twenty degrees out. He might be a demon. “How can you tell?”

  Was it the growling, the hateful words, the trying to kill them last night, or—?

  “Because he showed up.”

  Huh. Okay then, she supposed that was the benefit of being a monstrous, terrifying asshole. Do one good deed, and ye shall be praised.

  Secretly, though, Juno kinda liked that he was grumpy and a little serial-killery. She didn’t know what that said about her, but then again, she was dying, so who cared?

  She and Rhett followed Kamp and Remi inside. Grim was already sitting at a table, ordering without them. Juno pursed her lips against a smile as Remi griped at him. Rhett’s fingertips on the small of her back as she made her way to the table felt so good, and so right. The chairs were wooden bench seats, so she got to sit right in the middle of Rhett and Remi. Grim sat on one side alone, but mostly because when Kamp sat next to him, he snarled. Kamp snarled back and slapped Grim’s
water glass onto him. They both stood in a rush and nearly faced off right there in Rusty’s Fried Chicken. Messes, both of them.

  “Ten bucks on Grim,” Rhett said without looking up from his menu.

  “Ten on Kamp,” Remi said and then slurped her own water.

  But before Juno could call out her bet, Kamp rolled his eyes and then sat by Remi. “You’re the worst Alpha in the world.”

  “Agreed,” Grim muttered, wiping water off his face with a napkin.

  As they all bantered about who could eat the most food and began placing bets on that, Juno got hit in the gut with that awful feeling again. It was the ache of emptiness that came with just a moment of thinking about how it would be when she went back to her old life and left this behind. Her entire body tensed up, and she hunched in on herself.

  “Juno, are you okay?” Rhett asked, rubbing her back.

  With his touch, the pain disappeared, but something tickled her top lip. Rhett’s eyebrows furrowed with a frown, and he pressed a napkin under her nose. When he drew it back, it was dotted with red. “Your nose is bleeding.”

  It was the sickness. Another sign of Beaston’s prediction, and she suddenly wanted to cry because she wasn’t ready. Before, she’d accepted it. She’d gone balls to the wall with work to get as much done in the time she knew she had. But now, everything had changed.

  She wasn’t ready to die.

  “It’s okay,” Rhett murmured, hugging her close to his side. He smelled like fur, and when she looked up, his eyes were icy blue.

  “What’s wrong?” Remi asked.

  “I have a confession,” Rhett said without missing a beat. “I have a sister a couple towns over who is finishing up rehab. She’s been wanting to meet all of you, and she’s leaving at the end of the week so you should probably meet her now. While you can. Because she’s going back to the Saga Pride and they’re all recluses and she’ll probably never get out of that cult again.”

  Remi and Kamp both sat there staring at him like he’d lost his damn mind, but Grim was chuckling as he looked from face to face and chewed on a cornbread muffin. “Y’all are so fucked up.”