Chapter 14

I'd never been thankedafter sex before. I didn't really know how to respond. But when Talia sniffled, I got worried. I rolled her over in my arms, mourning when my dick slipped free of her warm body. There was nothing like being with Talia. One night with her felt better than all my other girlfriends combined. If I hurt her, I'd never be able to have sex with her again. I'd hate myself too much.

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head, burying her face against my chest. "N-No. You– That was–" She was trembling, and I didn't want her to get cold, so I rolled her on top of me to protect her body from the stone floor.

"That was what? Did you not like it?"

It felt like she liked it. She sounded like she did. But I didn"t want to assume. If she liked it, then why was she crying?

"It was… wonderful. I didn't know it could be like that… It… It hurt when I made Leo. A lot. I thought that was normal."

A low growl escaped me before I could stop it. Talia didn"t shy away, though. Her face stayed buried against me, and she didn't seem scared. Which was good. That growl wasn't for her. It was for the jerk who mistreated her. I wanted to hunt him down and hurt him back. Talia was gentle. She deserved to be treated gentle.

"No. It"s not supposed to hurt. I'd never do anything to hurt you."

"I trust you," she whispered against my chest.

My heart hammered out of control, and my breath caught in my chest. It was almost better than her telling me she loved me. No, scratch that. That'd be awesome. It was equal. Just as important and made me just as happy. She trusted me. I hugged her tight, and Bear let out a happy rumble. Our mate trusted us.

My body heat only did so much to keep Talia warm after getting all sweaty together. We probably should've waited until we got back. But it was still really stormy and not safe to travel through.

"We should shift. It'd be warmer that way. It'll be safe enough to wait out the storm here."

Talia lifted her head, looking out of the entrance of the cave. The storm was still rough, the trees swaying in the wind.

"Leo…"

I could see it in her face that she wanted to brave it to get back to her cub. He was probably worried sick. I cupped her face, drawing her attention back to me.

"As soon as it"s safe, we'll go back. I don't mind gettin' a little wet. But the wind and lightning are dangerous. Shouldn't last all night. Let's shift to stay warm and head back when it"s safe, okay?"

Since I wasn't demanding she stay out here until morning, she easily accepted my plan. She shifted, and I took a second to admire her lioness. She was a little skittish, her tail tucked between her legs. But she leaned into the touch when I petted her fur, and when I gave Bear my skin, she settled against my side, watching the storm while pressed up against me.

It was hard to tell how long it took for the storm to pass. Once the trees weren't creaking anymore, it felt safe enough to leave the cave. I wasn't any good at tracking, even if our tracks were still there after the storm, but Talia seemed to know where she was going. She stuck close, the sounds of the forest making her jittery, but we found our way back to the compound easily enough.

The house was still lit up, and when we came inside, there were people awake waiting for us. Jack sat up straighter from his spot on the sofa, his mate asleep with his head in Jack's lap, and Aiden stood to offer us towels. Most of the crew had gone home, there weren't enough beds here, but Malcolm and his family stayed. They were in Talia's apartment, Carmen and Javi cuddled together on the couch, while Malcolm sat in a chair, a sleeping lion cub in his arms. He was half asleep, but looked up blearily when we came in and smiled.

"You promised you'd find her. He's gonna be happy you didn't break your promise."

"I don't break promises. Remember?"

He smiled again. "Yeah. I remember. You two okay?"

We both nodded. I could tell Talia wanted to go to Leo, but she didn't know Malcolm. I nudged her toward her room. "I'll get ‘im. Be right there."

There was no fear or suspicion when she looked up at me. Only trust. She nodded once and went to her room without a fuss. Pride filled my chest, and I smiled to myself. Malcolm smirked at me as he handed me the little cub.

"Shut up."

He chuckled, sinking more comfortably into the chair. "Looks like you're stickin' around longer than a few weeks. That's good. You still owe me a day of fishin'."

Huffing out a laugh, I patted his shoulder. "Thanks for stayin'. I owe ya one."

"Nah. We're a crew. Just cause we don't live on the same mountain doesn't mean we won't show up when needed. Glad you're both okay."

That sounded nice. There were people here in the compound looking out for Talia and Leo, but Blackridge didn't see them as separate. They were still going to show up, no matter what. I liked that. They needed more than just me.

Someone was nice enough to dry my clothes. Talia got into her pjs and once she was comfy, I settled Leo in her arms. I pulled on my boxers and jeans, hesitating by the bed. I considered going to the living room. There was another chair out there I could use. That was probably a better idea. Bear wasn't happy, but I didn"t want to upset Leo. I kissed Talia's head before heading out.

"Teddy?"

Stopping at the doorway, I looked over my shoulder at her. "Yeah?"

She frowned, looking between me and Leo. It made me happy that it looked like she wanted me to stay, but I still didn't think it was a good idea.

"I'll be right out here. He needs his mama. I'm still a stranger. I won't go far," I promised.

Her conflicted expression faded, and she smiled softly. "Thank you."

"Sleep well."

Malcolm didn't comment about me joining his little family on the sofas. I dropped into the empty chair and sank down low, letting out a long breath. Tonight had been exhausting, but Talia was safe, and Leo had his mama back, and everything was going to be okay.

I wokeup with the wind being knocked out of me. I grunted, catching the ball of fur against my chest. I opened my eyes to a little bear cub in my lap.

"Hello. You're a mornin' person, aren't ya?"

The little bear huffed happily. Not an ounce of fear in him. Good cub. He was being raised right.

"Boy, get back here. You can't go furry every time you wanna skip a shower," Malcolm complained. He was shirtless, his hair all wet, like he'd already had his turn in the shower. He crossed his arms and gave Javi a stern look, but the little bear didn't look inclined to leave. His daddy's stern look didn't scare him none. I snorted.

"Didn't think you'd spoil your kids."

Malcolm pointed one finger at Javi. "Have you seen him? You say no to that face."

When I looked down at the little bear again, I barked out a laugh. He was giving puppy dog eyes in bear form. I didn't know bears could do that.

It was Javi's mama that got him moving. She was dressed and her hair was done up in a fancy braid. She stalked out of the hallway bath and narrowed her eyes at her son.

"Javier…" she said threateningly.

He scrambled to do as she asked, scratching me a little with his claws. I had to help him down to spare myself, and once he skittered off with Malcolm on his heels to make sure he didn't stay a bear, Carmen shot me an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry. He's just excited. He says last night counts as a sleepover. He's never had one before."

With an enormous yawn, I stretched my arms over my head before responding. "S'okay. Little bear didn't hurt me. Just surprised me. Is Talia awake?"

She nodded, gesturing to the door. "They're in the kitchen making breakfast."

I grunted as I pushed myself out of the chair. It wasn't the most comfortable way to sleep, and my neck protested the angle, but I had been too tired to stay awake. If I'd been more alert, I probably would've slept on the floor as a bear. It was easier to get comfortable with all that fur.

Pulling on my shirt, I headed to the kitchen to find Talia. She was cooking breakfast, and Leo was sitting on the counter beside her. He looked less wary of me and when I offered him a fist bump, his lip twitched like he wanted to smirk and he tapped his knuckles against mine.

Setting my hand on Talia's back, I looked over her shoulder. "Whatcha makin'?"

"Scrambled eggs. Do you want some?"

I hummed, squinting at the pan. "Maybe. But if you're feedin' me, you might new a few more eggs."

That made Leo snort, and I grinned at him as I headed for the fridge. Talia portioned out eggs and toast onto a few plates. There was enough for everyone, Malcolm's family included, but I was starving. I could probably eat a whole carton of eggs by myself. Luckily, there were plenty in the fridge. Talia took them from me when I set them on the counter. Her movements were more relaxed until Malcolm's family joined us. But as long as I stood by her side, she didn"t tremble in fear.

"You got work today?" I asked Malcolm, leaning against the counter where Leo sat. He was balancing his plate on his lap, and I wanted to be there to catch it if he accidentally dropped it. He didn't seem to mind me standing close.

Malcolm shook his head. "After last night, I figured I could stay home. According to Jackson, the rest of the crew decided to sleep in too."

Talia stiffened. I moved behind her, putting my hands on her hips. "Deep breaths. You don't gotta go if you don't want to. But if you do, I'll be there. You're safe with me."

She did as I said, taking a few shaky breaths as she leaned into me. I wouldn't push her to go meet the crew, the plan had been one on one, but after last night, they might be itching to see her. To know she was okay.

"Any word from your sister?"

She nodded, frowning down at the pan. "She sent me a message. She has a job and she'll be away for a little while. I think… I'm worried she's not going to come back."

I hummed, leaning my chin on her shoulder. "I dunno. She seemed real protective of you. I don't think she'll stay away for long. You're too great."

Standing behind her, I couldn't see her expression, but Leo looked surprised, his eyes whipping to me.

"You made her smile."

I chuckled at his incredulous tone. Made her do a lot more than smile yesterday, but I wasn't gonna say any of that to a cub. I just shrugged.

"She deserves compliments. You gotta treat women right. Get ‘em presents and say nice things, that kind of thing."

"Here, here," Malcolm said, lifting his coffee cup in agreement.

Carmen smiled, shaking her head. She didn't argue with him, though, so he obviously treated her right. Talia deserved the same treatment.

Leo frowned down at his plate and spent the rest of the morning picking at his food. When Talia stepped away to get dressed for the day, I edged closer, tipping my head until he could see me.

"What's wrong?"

His brow furrowed deeper. "That's not… They didn't teach us that. They said something different."

"Who's they?"

"The pride. They don't treat women like you do. I don't… I didn"t like how they treated Mom. But they said that's how lions were supposed to act."

With a heavy sigh, I leaned my hip against the counter next to him, crossing my arms. "I don't know nothin' about prides. But I do know bad men. My Pa was one of ‘em. I see a lot of ‘em at my work too. Bad men see themselves as better than women. Those men don't have happy relationships. They end up divorced or alone, and their women are unhappy until they're finally free of ‘em. I don't think you bein' a lion makes any difference. You gotta treat women right." I thought about it for a second. "And don't smother ‘em neither. I learned that one the hard way."

His face wrinkled in confusion. "Huh?"

"My job is about protectin' people. But if I get involved when they didn't ask, I get into trouble for it. It ain't my place to say what they can and can't handle. I gotta wait. Your ma is healin', little cub. There's no tellin' what she's strong enough to handle until she tries. And if she's not ready, she needs to feel like she can ask for help without people tearin' her down."

Malcolm nodded in agreement. "You want your mom to get better, then you gotta show her you believe in her. When Carmen showed up and didn't know how to take care of Javi's bear, I didn"t just take over for her. She wouldn't feel confident as his mama if I did that. I helped her feel confident and stood by her side. She did all the rest."

Javi wasn't paying a lick of attention, but Leo hung on every word. And when Talia came into the kitchen without flinching, he hopped off the counter and hugged her around her waist.

"Good job."

I couldn't hold back my smile. He was a smart one. They'd get through this together. No doubt about it. My smile faltered a little. When they did, when they were all better, they wouldn't need me anymore. Now I was the one who wanted to panic.