A Siren for the Bear (Sarkozy Brothers Book 1) by Meredith Clarke, Pia Milan Page A

the contract.
    Which was strange.
    And now that the tour had been postponed, with no date suggested, Carson was forced to wonder what that meant. Other than the fact they'd need a new lead vocal to replace her and more time to practice again.
    Interestingly, she'd heard not a word from Marek. Not that she expected to, either. Just every now and then, she felt a strange twinge in her stomach, a rise of nausea that made her thoughts turn to Marek and his crazy claims.
    She was staring at the article, scanning it for any information about Marek himself, when her gaze settled on the band's name.
    "Ursus Major," she said under her breath.
    "What?" asked Kat. From the sound of her voice, she was tied up like a pretzel doing some yoga thing she'd been into lately. She'd been seeing someone lately, but had been tightlipped about it. And Carson wasn't one to pry.
    Carson cleared her throat and spoke louder. "Ursus Major. I was wondering what it meant."
    "Have you not heard of the internet," Kat said in disgust. "Anyway. Don't waste your time. It means 'big bear' or something close to that." There was an odd tone to her voice, a hint of accusation that made Carson certain that she was imagining things. Kat had been nothing but supportive ever since she'd returned.
    Carson stopped listening, even as Kat continued talking about constellations and Greek history.
    Big bear?
    She sucked in a breath as a wave of nausea threatened to take her out.
    Had Marek been telling the truth?

27. MAREK  

    W EEKS HAD GONE BY WITHOUT a word from Carson.
    During this time, Marek had been bed-bound, as they waited for the poison to filter through his body. Whatever the Legion had used this time, it'd been potent, and not something they could easily obtain an antivenin for.
    In the end, all they could do was wait it out.
    The first few days had been okay, manageable since he'd been unconscious most of the time. But as Marek had grown stronger, his bear had rebelled, pushing through, wanting out.
    Marek had finally emerged from his coma, every muscle and bone in his body on fire. The pain had lasted days, with waves of inconsistent agony, holding him deep within its grasp for minutes or hours, he could never tell.
    Only last week had the worst of the pain abated, allowing him to begin physical therapy, allowing him to get vertical for the first time since he'd collapsed in front of the house.
    His grandfather hadn't been impressed.
    With Marek or his cousins, or with Beta Ops.
    To say that Aleksander Sarkozy had been furious would have been an understatement. Marek's grandfather, and patriarch of the Sarkozy bears, was the current Alpha, head of the U.S.-based family. The bears weren't the only Carpathian bear pack, but they were powerful enough to demand the respect of the rest of the packs.
    He'd been kind and supportive but firm, making the trip all the way to Klamath to ensure that Marek obeyed his command. The old man was the only reason Marek hadn't taken off as soon as he was able to walk.
    And his problems weren't the only ones to consider.
    The guys had decided to postpone the tour on the off-chance that she would change her mind. They were not in the mood to look for another lead singer, and from the way they felt, they'd rather cancel the tour altogether than go without Nyx.
    Nyx.
    They came to visit him from time to time, to sit beside him, filling him in on what was happening, even when he had his cell and his laptop at his side. Mostly they wanted to come so they could glare at him accusingly as they left.
    And it wasn't because they thought he'd been reckless getting himself shot. No.
    Rex had been pretty vocal about his disapproval.
    "You don't bring a girl like Carson into the mix without treating her well. If you didn't want to hurt her, you shouldn't have fucked her."
    Yeah, Rex could be crass. But he was right.
    What he didn't know was that Marek had been playing for keeps. It was just that Carson hadn't believed him. Or she hadn't