Page 19 of Bruised MC Bear

Axe shuddered beneath the emotional weight. He rolled his shoulders. Nothing helped to alleviate the tension stirring in his stomach and working up into the muscles of his back, crushing his mind with excruciating memories. Those events were buried so deep that his beast would claw at his insides trying to escape the darkness eating at his mind. There was no escape. He knew that well enough. All he could do was hold on and hope for the best, that he made it through to the other side in one piece. Last night’s dreams had chewed him up and spit him out. He couldn’t fight it on his own.

It was as though the tragedy was beginning again.

“I need to get back to work,” Axe muttered, leaping out of his chair. “I’ve spent enough time obsessing over this. Time to get my head out of my ass and cross some actual work-related tasks off this never ending list.”

“Starting with that security clearance, Vincent declared. “How’s the questionnaire coming along?”

Axe grunted out a breath. “It’s still in my satchel, in pretty much the same state as it was when I was here last time.”

“You might want to get it out of the way.” Vincent paused for a moment, contemplating something. “Come to think about it, the form has a question about your parents. It could have triggered the memory.”

Axe considered it as they left Vincent’s office. “Fuck. You’re probably right. We sat here filling out that goddamned form on the same day I met Angel.”

Vincent rested a hand on his shoulder, his usual show of support. “There you go. So completing the form and wrapping it up with a neat little bow may get your mind refocused again, or at least less fixated. It’s entirely reasonable to think about them. And about Nancy too. Have you been in touch with her?”

“My sister wants nothing to do with me or anything that reminds her of our parents. Or shifters.”

“That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”

Axe stopped in the middle of the large all-marble foyer. “Have you spoken to her lately?” he asked, only slightly surprised to hear his voice echo around the space.

Vincent nodded. “A few days ago, yes.”

“Did she tell you how long it’s been since she shifted to bear form?”

“She didn’t mention it.”

“That’s crazy.” Axe shook his head as they stepped outside. “She still believes we can suppress or completely ignore our animal side. It’s not healthy. Our shifter side is not some addiction to be managed like a twelve-step program.”

“We all have our ways of coping, Axe. Go easy on her. She misses you, you know?”

“Is that what she told you?” Axe asked, wiping a rough palm down his face.

“Not in so many words, but yes.”

“I’ll believe that when I hear it from her mouth,” Axe said. “Anyhow, Vincent. Thanks for listening, man. I can’t say if that blow by blow made a difference, but I appreciate you trying to help.

“Anytime at all, son.”

Axe studied Vincent’s face for a moment, and smiled at the irony. Vincent had been a father figure all these years, yet he looked no older than twenty-five, which was around the age he was bitten and turned into a vampire three and a half centuries ago.

“Soon I’ll be the one who’ll have to call you son, dude,” Axe said as they shook hands.

Vincent smiled broadly. “I’ll always have age on you, kiddo, no matter what I look like. See you soon.”

“Later bud,” Axe said, climbing onto his bike.

His phone started ringing as he reached forward to start the engine. He fumbled in his pants pocket for the phone, but by the time he got it out, it had stopped ringing. Pissed off at the inconvenience, he didn’t bother checking the voice mail. He shoved the phone back in his pocket, started his ride, and drove off in a semi-baffled state.

Axe wasn’t quite sure how his aimless driving led him away from the clubhouse, let alone to the parking lot of the public library where Angel worked. As he turned off his engine and climbed off, a sudden sensation caught in his gut. Something was up. For a moment, he rationalized that he had no right or obligation to worry about Angel. She wasn’t his problem. He had other shit to do today, and stalking her around her place of work after two or three hookups was all kinds of wrong.

Axe stood in front of his bike in the dark, telling himself to get on his ride and leave. Except something stopped him. A twig snapped in the distance. He scanned the empty parking lot, relying on the only two functioning overhead lights and all his other senses. One bulb’s light twitched, flashing across his closed eyelids as he concentrated on his surroundings. He sniffed the cool evening breeze, forehead crinkling.

As he launched one leg over the side of his bike, Angel screamed from the far end of the parking lot behind the library. Every part of him reacted on a molecular level until it seemed like all of him was being torn apart at one time. His inner beast unleashed a roar that vibrated through his bones. A growl leaked past his lips, muscles taut beneath his flesh as he scanned the area for her location. He had no idea how he knew it was Angel. He just did—and he had to protect her right this instant.