Chapter 23

Beck needed to get up and defend his mate, but he was too weak. Not as bad as he'd been, though. Whatever Lydia was pouring on his wound was healing it, if it did burn like acid. Maybe if he could shift—

"Let me take Beck to where we left the packs since he's in no condition to fight," the stranger said. No, not a stranger. Lydia's cousin.

Beck's Bear growled, and Jon's eyes widened. He held up his hands. "Maybe not."

Lydia got in Beck's face. "Please, My Bear. Let Jon get you out of here."

"Not leaving you, Sugar."

"We at least need to hide so they don't immediately catch on to the fact that you're no longer their prisoner. Is that okay with you, Beck?" Jon asked.

"You all go ahead. I'll shift and obscure your footprints." Dooley made sure Beck wasn't going to fall over, then he took to his fur before anyone could argue.

While Kennedy gathered the snowshoes, Lydia stuffed a cork in an amber bottle and placed it in a small cooler. They, along with Jon, shoved their feet in the shoes, and Jon looked down at Beck.

"Okay, Big Guy, I'm going to carry you. Maybe keep the bear under control?" Beck nodded. He didn't have a choice. Jon easily lifted Beck into a bridal carry and took off with the females following. If he didn't want Lydia away from Orson or whoever it was getting closer, Beck would be humiliated. Dooley's bear plowed through their tracks, running back and forth. At least someone was having fun.

The sound of the motor got closer, and Jon picked up the pace. Beck's side felt like a thousand fire ants were battling to get out, but he gritted his teeth so he didn't appear even more pathetic. They walked a couple hundred yards before stopping. Lydia placed the blanket on the ground beside four large packs, and Jon lowered Beck, settling him with his back against the largest bag.

Beck reached for Lydia's hand and kissed her knuckles. "I knew you'd find me."

"Always. I hate that we couldn't get to Amara, but at least she escaped."

"You think Chloe's in on this?"

"I do. I…" Lydia searched his eyes, then continued. "I had a dream of you in a dark cave. There was a male and female there. The female taunted me and tried to kill me, but I got to her first. Then the man shifted into his bear and lunged for me. I woke up before he could reach me. Remember when I asked Carleigh to have Tabitha make a prosthetic of Chloe as plan B? Well, I got it along with the voice transmitter. When I tested it, I realized it was the same voice as the female in my dream."

"I had this feeling something was off. Like she wasn't always in the cave with me."

"I think your instincts were correct because she's not here."

Beck pushed the goggles off and handed them back. He'd rather his mate have the protection. Rubbing his eyes, he thought back. "I was in and out of it for the most part these past few days, but I did wonder if she was leaving because there were times when it was too quiet. I didn't hear her breathing, so maybe Orson was letting her out. Maybe she was pretending to make me think she was on my side. The last time he showed up, he asked if I was still alive, and Chloe said yes but not for much longer. I…" Beck shook his head. "I can't believe she would do this to me."

"Dooley said she and Heather were friends. Maybe the two are planning to take out Amara and rule together. They do have both their fathers helping."

"They were friends. Best friends, but when Heather and I got together, it pissed Chloe off. She accused Heather of abandoning her like a jealous… Oh, my goddess." How had he not seen it before now? She had been jealous. After Chloe's outburst over Cynthia leaving, he should have recognized it for what it was. "Chloe was jealous, and she and Heather had a big falling out. There's no way Heather forgave Chloe for the things she said."

"I don't know what to tell you. The messages coming from BC were inside Valerie's house where her son, Tate, still lives. Some friend of Dooley's said Heather and Tate have been together lately. Add that to the fact that Heather hasn't been seen in BC for a while, it's possible she's the one I saw at Boyd's rental. They—" An angry roar rent the air. Lydia jerked toward the sound, swords appearing in her hands within seconds.

"Uh oh. That was Dooley." Kennedy began undressing, and Beck averted his eyes.

"What are you doing?" Lydia asked the female.

"Going after my mate. If he's pissed, he needs me." Kennedy shifted to her fox and took off.

"But she's…" Jon held his hands close together.

"Small but tougher than she looks," Beck said.

Jon muttered something about crazy females before asking Lydia, "Should I go after her?"

Lydia hesitated to answer. After a beat, her swords turned from metal to ice, and she tossed one to her cousin who caught it deftly. "Metal doesn't work on them. Ice does."

Jon swung the sword a few times. "Nice." He tossed it back, and Lydia caught it just as easily. "I won't need that, but you might." The male removed his coat and shirt. Beck wondered why he was stripping until a set of leathery wings extended from his back. Jon gave them a two-fingered salute before launching into the sky. Beck could see why Lydia would be jealous of the male Gargoyles having wings because that was cool as fuck.

Lydia kicked off her snowshoes and took a protective stance. Beck looked inward to his Bear. He wanted to shift. He might not be able to fight in his skin, but his animal wasn't weak. The change didn't happen, and Beck wanted to cry. What the fuck was wrong with him?

Lydia stepped closer, transferring both blades, which were once again steel, to one hand. With her free one, she ran her fingers across his scalp.

"You probably don't want to do that, Sugar. I haven't had a shower in… What day is it?"

"December twelfth. The longest two weeks of my life."

No wonder Beck was rank. If he could only shift, he would find the nearest body of water and dunk himself. "Have you talked to Delaney?"

Lydia shook her head, keeping her focus on their surroundings. His mate was a warrior. "I haven't, no. But Dooley called her when you went missing. She sent Caleb to get him, and Caleb flew Dooley and Kennedy to Valdez. They came and found me after you were taken."

"Found you? Fuck, you were out here on your own. You weren't hurt, were you?"

"Hurt? No. Confused? I may have walked in a circle for a couple of hours. But Carleigh… well, she bought a helo and a warehouse to store it in. I guess I should say we bought it. Seems she set up some kind of company in our names." Lydia shrugged like buying a building and helicopter was an everyday occurrence. He knew she had money, but damn. "Anyway, they found me about a day's walk from the seaplane. Caleb retrieved the Cessna, and it's waiting at the slip you rented. He wanted to stay and search for you, but Delaney insisted he return to Seward to help with Sagan Adventures."

"Of course. Have to keep the money rolling in."

"Beck, there's something I—" A loud roar cut off whatever Lydia was going to say next. She took a few steps away, her swords at the ready. Fuck, that was sexy, even if it was because he needed protecting. Seriously, Bear. We need to shift. His animal responded with a whimper. Beck sighed. He took it as a good sign that his side was no longer oozing.

"Look." Lydia was pointing at the sky with one of her weapons.

Jon was flying toward them carrying someone. No, not someone – Chloe. And she was not happy. When Jon got close enough, he dropped Beck's sister from about twenty feet up. "Take care of her. I'm going to help Dooley." With that, he flapped his wings and was gone again.

Chloe, landing in the deep snow, picked herself up slowly. Looking around, her eyes widened when they landed on Beck. "Oh, Beck! I'm so glad you're okay. Wait. How are you—?"

"Alive?" Beck wasn't about to tell his sister it was a witch's potion. "Yeah, no thanks to you. Imagine my surprise when I was rescued, and you were nowhere to be seen. Why is that?"

"My father found us, but he could only carry one of us on his snowmobile. We went to see if I could fix the helo. I was coming back for you. I swear." She took a few wobbly steps toward him until she noticed Lydia. Her gaze narrowed, and she froze.

Lydia didn't say anything. Instead, she swung her swords in arcs.

Chloe snarled. "Who the fuck are you?" To Beck, she asked, "Is this Nicole? Your human ? Or is she like that… that monster?" Chloe waved her hand the direction Jon had flown. "What the fuck is he?"

"Why are you doing this?" Beck didn't doubt his mate's ability to fight, but he didn't want her to go through killing someone again. "Why try to kill me? You know I'm nothing more than a pilot."

"I swear to you, I had nothing to do with this. It's Heather. She planned it all. She's still mad you left her behind. She reached out to Dad when Valerie turned him loose. Promised if he'd help her take down Amara, she'd give him the business to run."

"You're telling me Boyd is the one out there" — Beck pointed the direction of the cave — "fighting Dooley and Jon? When they catch the male, it's going to be your father and not Orson?"

Chloe's innocent fa?ade fell away, but she quickly reined it back in. "No, that's Orson. He's helping Heather too. He met us at the helo and demanded I show him the way back to the cave. He—"

"Stop. Just stop, Chloe. I don't believe you. I heard you and Orson talking in the cave. I know you weren't there the whole time. Why did you try to kill me? I'm your brother, for the goddess' sake."

Chloe crossed her arms over her chest. "I didn't plan to kill you, Sawyer. I needed to get you away from Amara. You're much more than a pilot. You're her protector, after all. Isn't that why you left home? Left Heather?" Chloe practically spat the female's name.

"Then why the charade of being trapped with me?"

"Information. I knew my innocent act would have your bleeding heart caving. And it worked."

"And what exactly did I tell you that you didn't already know?"

"About our dear sister being pregnant. I knew she was hiding something, but she's been tight-lipped lately. With Amara out of the way, Delaney is next in line, but seeing as how she got knocked up, she can't fight, now can she?"

"And Heather?" Beck took a chance at poking the bear, but he wanted the whole truth.

"What about her?"

"How does she really fit in with all of this? Last I knew, you couldn't stand her. So why is she helping you now? You want me to believe that after all this time, the two of you, what? Buried the hatchet? Came to an understanding? Come on, Chloe. Tell the truth. Is Heather helping you to get me back?"

Chloe took a few menacing steps toward Beck, her face reddening. "It's not about you! It should have never been you. She was mine, and you took her away from me. She was the love of my life, but she chose you. Then when it was time to move, you tossed her aside for what? To follow a washed-up Queen who has no use for you other than to make her money?"

"It's called loyalty. Something you know nothing about."

"Oh, fuck you, Sawyer. I should have plunged the knife in myself. At least then the job would have been done right. Why aren't you dead?"

"Because he's my mate, that's why." Lydia swung her swords and stomped toward Chloe.

Chloe sneered, gesturing to the metal weapons. "You think you can take me on?"

"I know I can." In the next instant, Lydia's swords morphed into ice daggers.

Chloe stumbled backward. "What the actual fuck?" Instead of facing Lydia head-on, Chloe shifted, running the opposite direction.

Lydia whispered against one of the knives, "Do not kill." She flipped it to where she was holding the blade and took aim. The dagger flew, end over end, impaling Chloe's flank. Her bear roared as it stumbled. Lydia didn't move, and Beck held his breath as his sister limped along several yards before falling to her side. Her Bear fell away as Chloe shifted back to human with the dagger embedded in her thigh. Lydia still didn't move.

"Sugar, come here." His mate ignored him, her gaze steady on Chloe's downed form. "Lydia," he said more sternly. Beck groaned as he pushed to his feet. His side ached, but the burning sensation wasn't as bad as it had been. Gritting his teeth, he trudged through the snow until he was next to Lydia. He snaked one arm around her waist, setting his chin on her shoulder.

"Do you hate me?" Lydia's soft words were a punch to the gut.

"Nope. I love you." That broke her out of her daze. She leaned to the left so she could see him when she turned her head. "I love you, Lydia Stone. You saved me in more ways than one, and I will spend the rest of our days thanking you however I can." Beck angled his head down to press their lips together, showing her with his mouth how much he adored her. He kept it chaste because he'd only had fish to eat and hadn't brushed his teeth in two weeks.

Her eyes were misty, but they were smiling when she broke the kiss. "I love you too."

A loud yip grabbed their attention. A little white fox danced around Chloe's body. She got close enough to sniff the female, then yipped again. Kennedy gripped the dagger in her jaws and wriggled it loose. Blood dripped from the blade, leaving dots of red along the snow as Kennedy bounded toward them. When she was close, she dropped the weapon. Padding over to where she'd left her clothes, she glared at Beck with her canid eyes.

Beck chuckled. "Yes, ma'am." He averted his gaze, giving her privacy to shift and get dressed.

Less than a minute later, Kennedy said, "She's alive."

Lydia slumped against Beck's arm. When Kennedy stepped closer, Lydia asked, "What's going on out there?" She gestured to where Kennedy had come from with her chin.

Kennedy wrinkled her nose. "Dooley and Jon are playing with their food."

"Say what now? They're—"

"Not literally. Dooley was fighting with Orson, and when he realized he didn't stand a chance against my mate, he shifted to his skin and tried to get away on the snowmobile, but Jon caught up to him. Plucked him right off his seat and flew him back to where Dooley and I were watching. When Jon dropped him, Dooley pounced."

"Is he dead?" Beck asked.

"Nope. He probably wishes he were though. So, what now?"

"Good fucking question." Lydia stepped away from Beck. "How's your side? Maybe you should sit back down."

"I've been sitting for two weeks. If I could shift…" Beck reached into his soul once again. This time, the change came over him, and he was looking through the eyes of his Bear. He took a tentative step, testing his side. There was a slight twinge but nothing more. Beck ambled through the snow toward Chloe, and when he was close enough, he nudged her with his snout. Her breathing was even as she opened her eyes to glare at him. He glared right back. He was still confused about who all was involved, but they were closer to figuring it out.

Chloe sat up, crying out, grabbing her thigh. Releasing her claws, she ripped her pants open where blood seeped through. "What did you do?" With tears streaming down her face, she yelled at Lydia, "What the fuck did you do to me?"

Beck focused on the skin showing through the ripped pants. Chloe's thigh was a shriveled mess.