Mate Fur Hire (Bears Fur Hire #3)(22)

His mate was fearless.

****

When Tobias landed his plane on the runway outside of Galena, Link was waiting near his green SUV, arms crossed over his chest, looking impatient.

Tobias cut the engine and grabbed the luggage, then moved out of the way so Vera could jump out of the door and onto the ground beside his feet. That was a big mistake.

She took off at a dead sprint for Link, and he barely got his hands in the way to block a dick bite when she latched on.

“Don’t hurt her!” Tobias ordered, bolting for them.

Link flung her off, and she went at him again, but Tobias plucked her off the ground by the scruff of her neck.

“What the hell, man?” Link yelled, flinging red droplets from his bleeding hand to the ground.

Tobias shoved past the snarling werewolf to load the package and luggage into the back of Link’s ride, clutching Vera’s scruff as he worked. She kept up her snarling and whipped her legs around, but Tobias wasn’t letting go. “This is Vera.”

“Fantastic, but your pet fox isn’t gettin’ in my Bronco. And thanks for calling me back, you dick.”

With an irritated sigh, Tobias turned to him and said, “I’m sorry I didn’t call you back. I suck at phones, you know this, and she isn’t a pet fox.” He pulled the neck of his thermal sweater aside, exposing the already healed bite-mark she’d given him. “Vera Masterson is my new mate.”

Link’s eyes went round, but he gave no other reaction. He could’ve been an ice sculpture if Tobias didn’t see him breathing and if his hand wasn’t streaming red onto the grass.

“Vera, this is Lincoln McCall.”

She snarled louder, teeth bared as she glared at Link.

“I think she’s ready to go,” Tobias said helpfully.

Link growled and shook his head hard. Crazy McCall.

“How…?” was all Link asked before Tobias sat in the passenger’s seat and shut the door.

Link got slowly behind the wheel, wolf-bright gray eyes on the brush in front of them. He closed the door softly and said over Vera’s snarling, “The witch is your mate?”

“She’s not a witch,” Tobias said, holding her tight so she wouldn’t bleed Link again.

“Then what is she?”

“A scientist. And before you even ask, Link, she can’t fix your wolf. She tried on Eustice McCall, and it didn’t work for him. Not even close.”

“If she can’t help us, then why did you let her bite you?” Link asked through gritted teeth. He scrunched up his face at Vera. “Or was it an accident?”

Because she can fix me. But that wasn’t it. Not anymore. “Because I care about her. My bear wants her, and so do I.”

Link scratched the back of his head and rattled off another feral sound. “Why the f*ck is she a fox? She has my instincts blaring right now. What’s wrong with her?”

“Vera doesn’t have control over her Changes yet. But she will.”

“How?”

“With your help.”

“Chhh, you’ve lost your damned mind. I can’t even help myself. Asking a crazy wolf to help a crazy fox says you’ve lost your mind right along with us.”

“Look, I’m supposed to pick up Lena from Silver Summit tomorrow morning, and I have deliveries I can’t get out of. Medicine and supply runs to the bush for people who need them now. And I have no idea how long it’ll take Vera to Change back, so I need her to crash at your place until we figure something out.”

“I’m not taking care of your mate, Tobias! I thought you would go up to Perl and find a solution, not bring back a rabid fox for me to babysit.”

“Link, I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t important.”

Link slammed his open palm against the steering wheel and let off another long growl. “Dammit, Silver. Can’t you see this sucks for me? I thought she could cure me. Fuck! There it is, Tobias. I thought she could cure me, and now I’m watching over your mate. Your duty. Your responsibly. You’re flaunting something in front of me I’ll never have!”

“I didn’t know you wanted a mate!”

“Of course I do!” Link’s voice dipped to a whisper as he repeated, “Of course I do. Who wouldn’t? I see what Elyse and Ian have. I have no shot at that bond. No shot at a family. And I f*cking want that. I’m dying, Tobias. Vera fixing my wolf was my last hope, so excuse me if I’m not excited about doing her any favors right now.”

Tobias slammed his head back on the headrest and sighed. Shit. Holding the snarling, writhing Vera tighter, Tobias admitted, “She can’t fix you, but she can fix Ian, Jenner, and me.”

Link’s blazing eyes arched to Tobias. “What?”

“She says she can suppress our bears and the instincts along with them in the winter. She says she can stop our hibernations.”

Link’s hands slid from the steering wheel and landed heavily in his lap as he stared at Tobias. “Well, that’s great.”

“No, man, it’s shitty. I shouldn’t be asking you favors.”

Link swallowed hard. “No, no, I wanted that. I wanted Elyse to be safe through the winters when I die. I have maybe one more winter to watch over her, and then…” Link nodded, over and over as he got a faraway look in his eyes. “This is good. Better than we thought it would be, right?”