Page 35 of Cuddles for the Bear
His plate was empty, and the hot chocolate was almost gone.I’ll order one more drink,he thought. As much as Wren knew he should go back, he wanted to extend his time out for just a little while longer. He’d realized at one point in his morning excursion that for the first time in his life, he was actually doing something he wanted to do. The first time he wasn’t being told what to do, being locked away in a room, or expected to live by rules he was bound to break.
Wren truly enjoyed Devon’s company and definitely felt safer when he was around.But I have to learn to stand on my own two feet,otherwise, Devon’s never going to respect me at all,he thought fiercely.
Decision made, Wren picked up his mug, quickly draining the dregs. He was about to stand up, planning to order another one, when a shadow fell across the table.
Looking up, Wren was surprised to see Python, who was holding a large mug of coffee and another mug of chocolate. Setting them down, Python grinned, showing off his teeth before he straddled the empty chair across from where Wren had been sitting.
“Stay seated and enjoy your fresh drink,” he said. “You and I can have a little chat about things over our drinks.”
“What things?” Wren settled back in his chair. He liked Python. Well, it might be fairer to say he wasn’t as nervous around Python as he had been. He understood from listening to the other men chatting around the grill in the evenings that Python was a bit of a joker. But he was also staunchly protective of his mate and prepared to help out anybody who asked. “I’m just having a bit of breakfast. I was planning on going back to the hotel when I’d finished. I didn’t expect to see you. Are you and Cyrus having a break in Big Sky, too?”
“Cyrus isn’t. He’s holding down the fort at the workshop,” Python said. “But the rest of us were summoned by a panicked bear about an hour ago. A bear who woke up and couldn’t find you, so he immediately thought his mate had left him, without so much as a note left to tell him where you’d gone. Flint, Levi, and Calvin are all walking the streets looking for you.”
Wren’s cheeks were hotter than his chocolate. “Devon was sleeping. I wanted to get some breakfast,” he said firmly. “I don’t understand why he called everybody else out when he was perfectly capable of tracking me down himself. Hasn’t he got a powerful nose?”
“Yep, in most cases you’d be right.” Python nodded. “However, in this instance, Storm and Pax, who only got back from their job last night, are barricading him in the hotel room because Storm made one tiny comment the bear didn’t like about your absence, and Devon shifted. His human side can’t come back through.That bear is frantic. Storm had to shift to try and contain him, and Pax is flinging magic around like candy, trying to keep the room warded. You don’t want to imagine the amount of mess and noise a bear and a crocodile can make when things are tense. Devon’s damages bill is going to be huge.”
Wren’s first instinct was to feel guilty, but he pushed it down and glared at Python. “None of that was my fault,” he said. “I’m not responsible for what Devon does. Did he tell you what he did to me? I got told that mates couldn’t lie to each other.” He leaned forward, keeping his voice down. “Devon lied to me by omission. He didn’t tell me that the agency wanted to ask questions about when I was away. And he should have. He was unfair, and I feel really hurt because I’ve been lied to. I think I have every right to feel that way.”
“That is a debatable point.” Python picked up his coffee mug and took a healthy swig. “Go on, enjoy your chocolate. There’s nothing wrong with it.”
Wren picked up his mug.
“Technically, Devon didn’t lie to you because he didn’t say anything. That’s what a lie by omission is.”
“I know. I guessed that’s why my chameleon couldn’t scent anything was wrong even though we couldsensesomething was going on. But in my opinion, a lie by omission is just as bad as a regular lie. A lie is a lie.”
Wren was not going to back down. He knew Python was one of the best assassins the agency had on their books, but that didn’t mean the demon could just sit down at his table, buy him a hot chocolate, and then proceed to tell him how he was meant to be feeling.
“Devon had no right keeping that business from me. He made decisions without discussing them with me first. It wouldn’thave been so bad except he told me he wouldn’t do things like that.”
“That’s where the whole protective thing that you shifters are so fond of comes in,” Python agreed. “That can make things a bit hairy at times, pun intended.” He flicked up a finger, resting his elbow on the little table. “Let me tell you a cute little story, shall I? It’ll help you put this messy mating business into perspective.”
You’re going to do it anyway.Wren took a sip of his chocolate.
“Once upon a time, there was this really, really sexy demon. I mean, people swooned as he walked past. He also happened to be a top-notch assassin – the best of his kind. And this one time, he was out on his job, doing his thing. We’ll call him P, just so we don’t have to keep calling him super sexy demon.”
Wren smirked over the edge of his chocolate mug.
“Okay, so our sexy demon had successfully done his job, but while he was working, a lesser demon - who doesn’t get a name in this story because he’s really not important - but a lesser demon had mucked about with one of this sexy demon’s absolutely prized cars. And the lesser demon, unbeknownst to the sexy demon, had taken it into a workshop for a quick fix so that the sexy demon wouldn’t find out about it.
“Well, you’ll never guess, but there was an absolutely sexy mechanic at the workshop, who worked his magic on the car. He recognized the scent on the leather seats as coming from his mate – the original driver, not the lesser demon with no name. So, because he was a very cunning shifter as well as truly sexy, he rubbed his scent all over the leather before the lesser demon drove it away.
“Now obviously our sexy demon was very quick on the uptake, and as soon as he realized that his mate had been in the car, heused the GPS to track the car back to where the lesser demon had taken it and found his mate. Sexy demon and sexy mechanic were instantly on the same page. A quick Humpty-Dumpty later, and the claim was made. All done in the space of a few hours. Mwah! Chef’s kiss.”
“That’s a wonderful story, but what does that have to do with me and Devon?” Wren asked.
“Now, now, don’t be impatient. I’m just setting the background,” Python said. “There’s a lot more to the story. You see, the following morning, the sexy mechanic had gotten up and gone down to the workshop because there were jobs that needed to be done first thing. Some person, equally unimportant to this story, was coming to pick up their vehicle.
“Sexy demon was lounging around in bed, thinking about getting up and making breakfast, when he got a call from an agency that doesn’t need to be named either. He got told that he needed to go and do another quick job because he was in the area, which was a real piss off to our sexy demon P, because he just claimed his mate.” Python leaned over and whispered. “He hadn’t told his mate what it was he did for a living.”
Wren’s mouth dropped open. “He didn’t do that first?”
“No, and as you continue listening, my little online warrior, you will see that caused a bit of a problem, although our sexy demon wasn’t aware of that yet. Now, admittedly, the sexy demon’s head was still foggy from the absolutely amazing sex the night before. Don’t ask me for details…or maybe ask me later because I could tell you things that would make your hair curl. But anyway, sexy demon decided, well, Cyrus was busy…”
“Cyrus?” Wren grinned.
“Sorry.” Python smirked. “I meant the sexy mechanic was busy. So our sexy demon took off to do the job. Should have been easy,right? It was only half an hour or so’s drive away. Might have been an hour, but hey, this sexy demon really knew his cars. But what should have been a quick in-and-out job ended up taking all day and half the night. And this sexy demon was starting to realize that maybe he had made a teensy bit of a faux pas.
