Page 36 of Fennick’s Fortune (Sentinels of Apollo #2)

My friends rushed over to talk to the four bears and ask them to give me some space.

Cerys was guided to a corner, with Brax standing between her and the room.

I cautiously approached Akiva. The way her eyes were darting all around the room, I wasn’t sure if she was with me or in her memory.

When she was like this, she would be doubly dangerous.

“Akiva, baby, it’s me, Fen. Can you hear me?”

“Shh, they’ll hear you,” she hissed.

“No, they won’t. They’re not here. It’s your memory. Come back to me. Please, if you don’t, I’ll come in and remove you.”

“Don’t! I don’t want you near them,” she cried.

“Then you have to come to me,” I sternly told her.

It took several blinks before her eyes began to clear.

She was jerkily checking out the room as I edged up and carefully took her into my arms. She had her hands on my back, pressing us tightly together.

I knew the second she spotted the Bhaer men.

Her whole body stiffened, and a low growl rumbled out of her.

I swore I could feel the sting of her razor-sharp claws on my back.

“They’re not going to hurt you,” I assured her.

“They’ll fight and kill you. There are four of them and one of you. When that happens, I’ll be left to them. They’ll rape me and force Nova to accept them. I can’t allow it,” she whimpered.

In a blink, she tore herself away from me and backed up. I watched as her hand transformed into a claw—one of those razor-sharp claw points pressed into her jugular. Terror flowed into me. I knew resolve when I saw it.

“They won’t have me. If you’re not my mate, then no one will be,” Akiva declared with conviction.

“Akiva, no!” I shouted.

I heard the utterances of horror from Cooper and his family, my friends’ denials, and Cerys’s cry.

I was rushing to get to her when the Bhaers broke through the wall created by the other Sentinels.

They dropped to their knees. Their anguish at the thought of her killing herself was written all over their faces as they tilted their heads to the side. It gave me a clean shot at their necks.

“Do it. If she’s that afraid we’d do something so monstrous, kill us. Show her we mean no harm to her,” Cooper demanded.

“We submit,” Colter cried out.

The other two nodded.

Their reaction stunned Akiva, which made her ease the nail a tiny bit. A trickle of blood ran down her neck. I could tell she was torn about whether to trust them.

“Akiva, I swear on my honor and life that they won’t do any such thing.

They’re honorable and will challenge one at a time.

And if you rejected their bears, my friends would ensure you aren’t forced to accept any of them.

However, that’s not the point. Please, let me take care of your neck.

You’re bleeding. Baby, I can’t stand much more.

Ripper is going crazy,” I told her in my head.

“Nova is, too. She said Ripper is angry and scared. I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to do, Fen. I won’t be like those women. I won’t be held and used like my momma and all those women were. I won’t.”

“You won’t be forced to accept or raped,” I pleaded.

“W-Wait. Are you speaking to her mind-to-mind?” Colter asked in disbelief.

“I am,” I admitted.

“And you say you saw her memory?” Chance asked.

“I did. It’s happened twice so far.”

They exchanged astonished glances, then closed their eyes.

“That bond is unheard of these days. I thought it was a myth. Our parents swore it was possible. Only the rarest and most pure of matings could produce that. Mom and Dad spoke of meeting a pair who were that way when they were young. We apologize and rescind our challenges. Forgive us. We didn’t know.

Akiva, we beg you to forgive our mistake,” Cooper pleaded.

“We would never harm you or force you in such an ugly way,” Calvin told her.

“Rape is repugnant. We would’ve seen if your bear and you were willing, but never would it have been forced,” Colter said.

“Please let your mate take care of your neck,” Chance said.

She watched them warily. Her hand slowly lowered, and I sighed in relief when her hand returned to human.

I hurried the rest of the way to her. I dragged her into my arms and lifted her.

I carried her to the chair closest to the desk.

As I placed her in it, Cooper rose to his feet and hurried to the small bathroom attached to the office.

My friends formed a loose ring around us.

I snatched several tissues from the box on the desk and held them to her cut.

A few moments later, Cooper was back. He had a first aid kit in his hands.

“Here, use this. There’s wound wash in there. Disinfect it well, so it doesn’t get infected. And there’s antibiotic cream and gauze in there to cover it with,” he said as he gave it to me.

“Let me do it. I’m the professional,” Nico said as he squeezed in. He grinned and winked at Akiva, making her giggle. As he cleaned it, he kept up the teasing.

“I swear, you’re always hurting yourself. Just because you’re in love with me doesn’t mean you should act this way.” He sighed.

“I’m sorry, Nico. I just can’t seem to resist. I’ll try to behave,” she teased him back.

When she did that, I fully relaxed. I knew she was back and not caught in a no-win scenario.

Jesus, that had been close. If she severed her jugular, it would be hard for even Nico to save her life, especially if she fought us.

“Fennick, we’re beyond sorry. We never thought our challenge would be seen as that. We would’ve wrestled for the opportunity to let her bear meet ours. It wouldn’t have been to the death,” Calvin informed me.

“Maybe not on your part, but on mine. Even if you are my friend, Cal, I would’ve fought you to the death. She’s mine, and I have zero doubts about it. Her past has made her wary, and so I’ve been giving her time because of that.”

“We have no doubt of that now. And one day, if she’s willing to share, we’d like to know what caused her to react the way she did. She doesn’t seem to know the ways of shifters or bears,” he observed.

“The way she grew up, it’s no wonder she doesn’t. It was beyond fucked up,” I acknowledged.

We turned back to the first aid session. Nico was trying to talk Akiva into taking a drop of his blood so her wound would heal.

“No, you just want to get me full enough so I hang from the ceiling and sprout wings, you evil ass,” she growled, but she was fighting not to smile as she did.

“Hang from the ceiling and sprout wings?” Chance asked in puzzlement.

Before I could explain, my woman jumped in to do it.

As everyone laughed, including her, I knew things would be alright.

It may take her a bit to be comfortable with the Bhaers, but I was confident it would happen one day.

However, before any more misunderstandings occurred between us and any other shifter bears who might wander into town, I had to convince her to accept my claim and let Ripper and me place our mark on her.