Surviving Ivy Read online

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  Ivy turned around and hung up the telephone. She watched Ben disappear into the garage. “Flying fiddle sticks,” she muttered. She closed her eyes and hugged herself. Her grandmother had told her about the mating pull, but she failed to warn Ivy about the intensity with which it swept over the mates…well, at least over the witch involved.

  A tear leaked out of the corner of her left eye. “You forgot to tell me how much a broken heart hurts when the mating pull is one-sided.” Ivy wiped her eyes. She took a deep breath and let it out as she opened her eyes.

  “Are you okay?” Forrest leaned against the frame of the door leading to the offices. His hands were casually tucked into the front pockets of his jeans.

  Ivy tried plastering a smile on her face, but she was sure it looked completely fake, because it felt fake to her. “I’m fine.”

  Forrest raised an eyebrow. “Really? You could have fooled me.”

  Ivy turned her attention to the stuff on her desk. She picked up a pile of mail and shuffled through it. She really wasn’t paying attention to any of the writing on the envelopes. It was just something to do to keep her hands busy and hopefully to make Forrest think she was okay.

  Forrest walked over and took the mail out of her hands. “I’m not blind. I know something’s wrong.” He laid the mail back on the desk. He turned Ivy so that she faced him.

  Ivy shook her head. “It’s nothing I want to talk about. It’s just something I’m going to have to work through.” She couldn’t look him in the eyes, because she knew if she did, she would break down and cry. How did you tell someone your mate really didn’t want you in any way other than the physical side of the mating pull, and even that was iffy because he was talking to his supposedly ex-girlfriend when he was supposed to be on a date with her?

  The corners of Forrest’s lips twitched and his eyes sparkled. “I could go and smack him around. It may not knock any sense into his head, but it might make you laugh, and that would be a good thing, in my opinion.”

  Ivy shook her head as she stared at Forrest. “You can’t do that.”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “If that’s what it takes to put a smile back on your face, then I have no problem with it.” He knew Hank spoke to Ben, but none of them knew what to say to Ivy, because they had no clue how much she actually knew about shifters.

  “I’ll be fine. You don’t have to do anything to Ben.” She wasn’t sure if she should be touched or upset with Forrest for wanting to smack Ben around to make her feel better.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure, but thanks for the offer. If I change my mind, I’ll let you know.” Ivy smiled at Forrest.

  “Just let me know and I’ll take care of him.” He turned and went back to his office, leaving Ivy alone in the front.

  She shook her head as she watched him leave, shaking her head the whole time. The telephone rang, shaking her out of her thoughts. She glanced toward the garage as she answered it. “Durant Custom. This is Ivy speaking. How may I help you?” Ivy picked up a pen and started writing in the message book she kept by the phone. “Yes sir, I will make sure Wes receives the message.” After she hung up the telephone, she jotted down the time and date, tore the message out of the book, and placed it into the wire basket with Wes’s name on it.

  The rest of the morning was a blur of answering the telephone, dealing with deliveries, and potential customers who stopped by the shop. Some had questions and wanted estimates for various restoration and custom jobs, while others were just curious about the shop because of what they had seen on various television shows and wanted to see what actually went on inside. Dealing with the sight-seeing customers was more difficult. They often didn’t like being told that they could not wander around the garage and shop area where the men were working.

  About an hour before lunch, the mad rush calmed. Ivy grabbed her insulated mug and went into the breakroom. Taking a bottle of vanilla iced coffee out of the refrigerator, she opened it and poured it into her mug. Tossing the empty container into the recycling bin, Ivy leaned against the counter and took a sip. She closed her eyes and sighed.

  Staying busy had kept her from thinking too much, but now her thoughts drifted to Ben. She realized she was being just a bit over irrational due to stress and jealousy. She really did need to talk with Ben. He had a life before she popped up into the picture and maybe bears reacted differently to the mating pull. She had no idea how they reacted, having never been around them.

  Ivy opened her eyes as she took another sip of her iced coffee. Lunch was probably the best time to ask Ben if he could come over to her place so that they could talk. She knew she had allowed too much of her past to influence her relationship with Ben. He didn’t know anything about her, so how could he be like her so-called friends and acquaintances. She just hoped her stupidity hadn’t caused her to lose him forever. It would be a lonely life without her mate.

  The telephone rang.

  Ivy rolled her eyes. “Here we go with round two.” She pushed off the counter, walked back to her desk, and picked up the telephone. “Durant Customs. This is Ivy speaking. How may I help you?”

  Ivy frowned as she waited several seconds for someone to speak. “Durant Customs. How may I help you?” she said again.

  A few more seconds ticked by, but still no one said anything.

  Ivy grumbled under her breath. “If this is your idea of being funny…it’s not. Do not call back unless you actually have something to say. This is a place of business, and we don’t have the time to play telephone games.”

  “I agree. There are much more fun games to play than silly little telephone games,” said a deep, dark voice that made the hair on the back of Ivy’s neck stand up.

  “Who is this?” asked ivy.

  “It doesn’t matter who I am. I’m just the messenger.”

  “The messenger?” Ivy frowned. Strange vibes were coming from the person on the other end of the line, which was odd. Ivy had never felt anything like this coming over a telephone line.

  “Go home to where you belong before something bad happens to you or the people you have gathered around you. It would be a shame if they were hurt or killed because of you.”

  Ivy’s hands shook. “Who is this?”

  “Go home before something bad happens to you or the animals you are hanging out with.” A dark, evil laughter filled Ivy’s ear.

  She slammed the telephone down on its receiver and stared at it. She wrapped her arms around herself as she slowly backed away from the desk. She didn’t recognize the voice, but it was obvious whoever it was knew exactly who she was and where she was. Ivy chewed on her bottom lip as she walked over to the large front windows. Everything outside looked normal, but Ivy felt cold. It was almost as if icy fingers were wrapping around her, and sink through her flesh and bone until they reached her heart.

  She shuddered and whispered a prayer her grandmother taught her. The icy fingers slowly receded as if being pushed away from her, but unease that had caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand up was still there.

  Ivy turned and looked through the window separating the front showroom from the garage. She doesn’t see Hank or Wes, but she knew they were in there somewhere. Wes was probably in the paint booth, and Hank at one of the fabrication machines at the back of the shop. She saw Ben. He was working under one of several cars in various states of restoration or customization.

  Nothing seemed out of place, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

  As Ivy started turning back to her desk, she caught a slight movement out of the corner of her eye. She blinked and turned back to the window. She stared into the garage. She frowned. As far as she could see, Ben was the only source of movement. She rubbed her eyes. “Maybe I’m just seeing things because I’m being a little too paranoid,” she muttered to herself.

  She started to turn away, when she saw the car on the lift tremble. The movement was so slight, most people wou
ldn’t have notice it, but Ivy saw it. Fear and horror filled her.

  Ben! Ben was in danger.

  She raced to the garage door and shoved it out of her way. As she stepped into the garage, the scent of black magic slammed into her, and the car Ben was working on trembled again. This time it was more noticeable.

  “Ben!” she screamed as she sprinted across the garage.

  Ben looked up just as Ivy tackled him. They hit the cement floor hard, with Ivy taking the brunt of the fall. They skidded several feet before they came to an abrupt bone-crunching stop against one of the large red toolboxes.

  The sharp sounds of crushing metal filled the shop.

  Ben glanced up at the car he had been working on just minutes ago. It shook like wild animal on the lift. The lift made an eerie scraping noise followed by a popping nose. Ben curled his body protectively over Ivy’s as the car and lift came crashing to the ground.

  The force of the crash caused the tires to burst under the weight and pressure forced on them as they hit the cement floor. Debris flew in all directions.

  From different directions, Hank, Wes, and Forrest ran toward the destroyed car.

  “Ben?” yelled Hank as he surveyed the wreckage.

  “Over here!” yelled Ben. He slowly unwrapped himself from around Ivy. She was breathing, but her eyes were closed and blood trickled down the side of her head. “Come on baby, open your eyes.” He gently rubbed her cheek.

  “Ben are you—oh shit!” Forrest knelt down next to Ben.

  “I’m okay, but I think Ivy hit her head on the tool box.” Ben glanced at Forrest.

  “What is she doing here? She’s supposed to be behind the desk,” growled Hank. He knelt down next to Ivy and put his hand on her forehead.

  Ben growled before he could stop himself. “She came running out of nowhere and shoved me out of the way just seconds before the car came crashing down.”

  “Stupid female. She should have let the car knock some sense into you.” Hank ignored Ben’s growls.

  Wes laid his hand on Hank’s shoulder. “Is she okay?” Concern filled his voice and his face.

  “She has a nasty bump on her head. Give me a minute and let me see what I can do.” Hank looked at Ben. “You can stop your growling. I’m trying to help her, not hurt her.”

  Ben nodded. He fought to keep his bear contained.

  Hank closed his eyes and focused on Ivy and her injury. Several minutes later, he opened his eyes and sat down hard on the cement floor.

  “Drink this.” Forrest held out two bottles of orange juice.

  Hank took the two bottles of orange juice from Forrest and drank the first one in three swallows. The second bottle he drank at a much slower pace.

  “Are you okay?” asked Wes. He noticed the dark circles under Hank’s eyes. They were more prominent against his pale skin.

  “I’m fine. Just haven’t done that in a while.” Hank continued to drink the orange juice.

  “How is she?” Wes turned his attention to Ivy once he knew his brother was going to be okay.

  “She should be waking up any time now,” said Hank between drinks of the orange juice.

  As if on cue, Ivy moaned and slowly opened her eyes. She blinked several times.

  “About time. Don’t ever do that again.” Ben pulled her tight into his arms.

  “Don’t do what?” Ivy moaned as she moved her head. “Did anyone get the license plate number of the bus that hit me?”

  “Your headache would be a lot worse…if the car had fallen on you.” Ben glanced at Hank who nodded his head.

  “And you probably wouldn’t even have a head if I hadn’t pushed you out of the way. What made it fall?” Ivy held her head as Ben helped her sit up. He kept his arm wrapped around her waist. His hands shook slightly as he realized just how close he came to losing her.

  “We were hoping you saw what happened.” Forrest knelt down in front of her.

  Ivy frowned. “The last telephone call I answered was strange. The voice warned something was going to happen and then they hung up. I looked around the front but saw nothing. I turned and looked into the garage. As I started to go back to my desk, I caught a glimpse of movement. I looked into the garage again and that’s when I saw the car trembling. All I could think about was making sure nothing happened to Ben. So, I rushed in and basically tackled him to get him out from under car before it fell one him.”

  Hank stared at Ben and Ivy. “I don’t think this was just an accident.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Ivy. She felt nervous with the way Hank was staring at her.

  “First, it was your battery cables, and now it’s the car lift. Either someone is after you, or someone is trying to make the shop look bad. He slowly stood up. “Either way, I want both of you to go home and get some rest. And Ivy, that means no driving. Ben can drive you home. One of us will drop off your car later this evening, so leave the keys in the top right desk drawer.”

  Ivy started to protest. Other than the really bad headache, bumps and bruises, she was good.

  “This is not up for negotiations. Do I make myself clear?” Hank’s voice was dark and gruff.

  Ivy carefully nodded her head.

  “I’ll make sure you get home.” Ben stood up and gently pulled Ivy to her feet. Before she could even try to make a step, he picked her up and carried her to his truck.

  “Ben, I have to get my bag,” protested Ivy.

  “Once I get you inside the truck, I’ll go back for you stuff.” Ivy nodded, but didn’t say anything else. She was worried. The foul odor of black magic was too much of a coincidence. She had a feeling keeping Ben safe was going to be a lot harder.

  Chapter 9

  “I really don’t think you should go back to work so soon. It would be better if you stayed home another day. You did have a head injury.” Concern filled Ben’s voice.

  “I can sit on the couch at home and stare at the television like some kind of zoned-out zombie, or I can sit behind my desk here and do something useful.” Ivy looked up at Ben. The fact he was concerned about her, made her feel special. “Personally, I prefer the desk. I’m tired of being a television zombie. I need to rejoin the real world to keep me from going crazy or turning into a zombie.”

  Ben frowned. He wasn’t happy with the idea of Ivy returning to work so soon after the accident, but he knew he couldn’t keep her locked away to keep her safe. She was too independent for that. A couple of bruises still marred her face, and even though they were the result of the minor injuries she had received, they were a reminder to him that he could have lost her when she saved him from being crushed when the lift malfunctioned, sending the car he was working on crashing to the ground. If Hank hadn’t used some of his black bear healing magic and repaired the damage from the head injury she received, Ivy would have died in his arms. Hank and the others would’ve had to kill him after he went crazy from grief.

  We need to claim and mark our mate. We need to protect her. Ben’s bear pushed against his skin. The beast had been furious and upset when Ivy got hurt. Ever since, it had been pushing harder to get Ben to claim and mark their mate.

  She’s not ready. We have to tell her about us first, and as soon as we do, and she accepts us we will claim and mark her.

  When? His bear growled at him.

  Soon, promised Ben.

  His bear snorted, but settled down and put its massive head on its front paws.

  Ben almost laughed at the mental image of his animal. It almost looked like it was pouting because it didn’t get its way.

  “Are we going to stand out here all morning, or are we going inside?”

  Ben looked down at Ivy. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “I’ve got my iced coffee right here. I’m ready to do this.” She grinned at him. “But I’m still not talking to you.”

  Ben shook his head at her logic. They had spent several days in his home recovering from the accident. Though he had explained about his ex-girlfriend, Iv
y still hadn’t forgiven him for taking Erica’s phone call. “I was stupid. I’m sorry.” He was probably going to be apologizing for a long time.

  Ivy shrugged her shoulders. “And maybe in the near future I’ll forgive you.”

  Ben sighed. He was definitely going to be apologizing for a long time. Maybe when he explained to her about her being his mate and exactly what that meant, maybe she would accept his apology and believe he was sincere. He knew he couldn’t put it off any longer. The urge to claim her was growing stronger. “If I took you to the Blue Plate today for lunch, would you talk to me?” he asked as he opened the front door to Durant Customs.

  “Maybe.” Ivy walked inside the building. “But then you haven’t asked me if I want to eat lunch with you.”

  Ben shook his head. “Would you like to go to lunch with me today?”

  “I would like that very much.” Ivy smiled at him. “See, that wasn’t so difficult.” Ivy really wanted to kiss him, but she knew it wouldn’t stop there. Her desires and need were growing stronger each day. She clamped down on her feelings as best she could, but from the low growl coming from Ben, she knew he had caught a whiff of her desire. Her grandmother had told her she wouldn’t be able to hide anything from a shifter. Their sense of smell was too strong. Ivy wondered if he could sense she was a witch.

  “I was wondering if you two were going to come inside or stand outside all day.” Forrest’s lopsided grin made him look almost comical.

  “I was trying to convince Ivy that she should stay home for another day, but no such luck.” Ben shrugged his shoulders. He liked the strength she had, but it also worried him.

  “I’m tired of sitting around and doing nothing,” said Ivy. “There’s only so much television a person can watch each day, and I’ve hit my limit for the next month.”

  “Well, you won’t be doing nothing here.” Hank stared at her.

  Ivy stared back at him. The weight of his stare made her want to squirm and hide behind Ben, but she refused to do either. She didn’t want any of them to think she was weak and timid. It was bad enough her heart was beating a little faster. “Good because doing nothing is too boring.”