He kissed the side of her neck and helped her to her feet. “Bed.”

“Bed,” she agreed, and staggered up the stairs with him. Snuggling down with him in the warmth of his bedroom both scared her silly and made her yearn to say three simple words. She snuggled up against him as they drifted off together, her last thought one of self-preservation.

But not today.

Finding Ryan was turning out to be harder than she thought. It was like the man had fallen off the face of the earth. The amazing Super Bear said he couldn’t sense Ryan, even when they left the town limits. They’d spent two whole days just combing the campus, only to come up empty-handed.

Today, Julian was returning to work and Cyn was going with him. She was looking forward to seeing him do what he loved. And it was obvious he loved helping people. He put on those blue scrubs, and his whole face lit up. His smile was brighter, his walk lighter. There was a sparkle in his eye that had been missing for the last few days. Just listening to him chatter about his upcoming day while they ate breakfast together was enough to drive home one simple fact. There was no way she’d ever be able to take this away from him. She would do better to just pluck his heart from his chest and have done with it.

Cyn understood. She missed Living Art like she’d miss an arm or leg. Her fingers were itching to get back to work, to make the art that she loved. He’d bought her some sketchpads and some pencils, but it just wasn’t the same. When they weren’t hunting for Ryan or sleeping, she was drawing new flash for the display cases. She had one in particular that she thought she might want to ink on Julian, but she’d have to run it by him first. He was the only man she’d ever been with whose skin was ink free, and she longed to change that.

“You’re going to be a good girl today, right, and let Daddy work?” She glared at him, but all he did was chuckle. “You’ll sit quietly and eat your cookie and drink your juice?”

“Only if the juice has vodka in it,” Cyn muttered. She held up her sketchbook. “Do I get to color too?”

“Only if you’re coming up with a tattoo for me.” He shot her a cheesy grin. “Remember, it has to say ‘Property of Cyn’ in big, bold letters.”

“I’ve told you before that I am not tattooing that on your ass.”

“I bet I could get Tabby to do it.”

“You really want Alex to find out that Tabby saw your naked ass?”

He frowned, but he was having a hard time keeping it in place, the smile he was holding back threatening to break free. “Good point. He’s mean when he’s pissed.”

“Yep. And since you’ve proven you know how to use this—” she patted his cock through his scrubs, “—I’d hate to lose it to a Grizzly mauling.”

“You and me both.” He pressed her hand closer. “Hold that thought, would you?”

Aggravating man. She was giggling again despite herself. She swatted at him with the sketchbook, delighted when he laughed. Who knew something so simple as a man’s laughter could make her feel so good?

“I spoke to Tim.”

There went the good mood. “What was his decision?”

“He wants to meet Rick Lowell.”

Cyn blinked. The Poconos Pack Alpha was a scary fucking dude. If Tim was thinking of going that route, he had bigger balls than she thought. “You think Rick would go for it?”

“With Tabby and I to vouch for him, I don’t see why not. And Rick has been muttering about wanting a nurse or doctor up at the Lodge for some time. Tim might be just what the Pack needs.”

“Has Rick tried to get you to move up there?”

“Yup.”

“And your answer was?” She was pretty sure what it had been, but it wouldn’t hurt to have it confirmed.

“Nope.”

“Good. I don’t think the Red Wolf Ski Lodge needs a tattoo artist.”

There was a soft smile gracing his lips. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? I go where you go. If that means I live the rest of my life in Halle as an illegal immigrant, so be it. If you choose to move to Hawaii or Alaska? I pack my bags. My only request is that we not move to a big city like New York or Los Angeles. I don’t think either one of us would be very comfortable there. Besides, our Bears would have no place to roam when we wanted to shift.”

The thought of Julian in a place like New York or Los Angeles, with so many people in pain, sent shivers down her spine. He would literally kill himself trying to heal the world. It was now her job to see to it that her Super Bear would be around to save those who truly needed it.

She picked up her sketchpad and began to draw.

“We’re here.” He pulled into the parking lot attached to the doctors’ office and parked in the employees’ only area. “Alex told me that if you and Tabby want to go out for lunch he’s willing to take you. The only thing I ask is that if you do, don’t leave his side.”

It would be nice to go out to lunch with Tabby. “Maybe Alex could take us to the hospital, see how Glory’s doing today.”

“I could meet you there if you wanted to. You and Tabby should be safe in the hospital.” He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “Promise me you’ll be careful. It would literally kill me to lose you now.”

She paled. She’d forgotten that. When she asked Tabby about her mating with Alex, Tabby had told her that when two shifters mated their life forces were intertwined. That meant if anything happened to her, Julian would die.

“Cyn?”

She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She could freak out later, maybe with Tabby. Or better yet, Alex. She now understood why Alex reacted the way he did every time his mate was threatened. She’d almost forgotten about Tai’s words, the vision he had of Julian lying in a pool of his own blood. “I’m fine.”

He pushed her hair back behind her ear. “You sure?”

“Yeah.” She’d have to be. She didn’t stand just to lose Tabby and Glory now. She had a whole fuzzy family, the most important of which was the fuzzy sitting next to her. She offered him a smile, cursing to herself when it trembled. “Just a whole lot of shit going on.”

He nodded as if he understood, but she sincerely doubted it. She barely understood it herself. “Let’s go in then.” He waved to someone over her shoulder, and she turned to find Dr. Howard, waving back from his own car. Climbing out of the car with him was Marie, and Cyn smiled to see her. Since the lunch they’d had together Marie had gone out of her way to email Cyn, slowly building a friendship with her. They might never have much in common beyond their men, but Cyn respected the hell out of her. “Good morning!” Marie gave a wave of her own, beaming at Julian and Cyn. “I hear you’ll be spending the day with Jamie.” Jamie and Marie wrapped their arms around each other’s waists, leaning into each other like they’d done it a thousand times before. They probably had.

“We thought it was a good idea. Do you have any problems with it?” She didn’t want Marie to worry about Jamie’s safety. Had anyone told Marie what was going on? Jamie already understood, and was willing to stand by them.

Marie waved her hand dismissively. “Not a one. Just do me a favor and make sure he actually takes those breaks he’s supposed to.” She gazed fondly up at her husband. “I’m off to get my hair done. Have a good day, sweetheart.”

“You too.” The pair kissed good-bye and Marie walked away, a spring in her step. Watching the two of them together gave her ideas on the way she and Julian would be once they settled into their own mating. Marie was her own woman, part owner in several of her father’s businesses, and a major contributor to at least two local charities. She was busy being who she wanted to be, and shared that with Jamie, just as he seemed to share his life with Marie.

Maybe saying those three little words wouldn’t change anything at all. Maybe she could have it all with Jules.

A bright shimmer on the ground caught her attention. She bent down and picked up an earring off the ground. “Pretty. I wonder who it belongs to?”