After a few more minutes, Winifred went to sit by Michelle. Their conversation was easy to hear no matter how loudly Aden laughed.
“Everything okay?” Winifred asked.
“Could we talk?”
I glanced up at Michelle, and she blushed slightly as she lowered her voice even further.
“In private?” she asked.
“Of course. Let’s go inside. I saw you did a load of laundry. I’ll help you fold.”
Michelle nodded, and they walked inside.
As much as I want to respect her wish for a private conversation, I’d feel better if you shared whatever you can. We both want to help her, and my ignorance doesn’t accomplish that.
Spoken like a true leader, Winifred sent back. She’s asking about Claiming.
I waited for more but Winifred remained quiet.
“I’m going to go get us some towels,” I said after a few minutes.
Jim grinned knowingly at me. Ignoring him, I walked inside. From above, I could hear Michelle’s accelerated pulse.
What’s wrong?
I took the steps at a sprint.
Something about the Mated bond seems to have upset her.
You were talking about mating?
Don’t be silly. Just the bond. She paled when I mentioned Claiming would give the pair a sense of each other’s locations, but the idea of communicating with our minds seems to have been the piece that sent her into a panic.
I knocked on the door. Michelle called for me to come in, her voice tight with emotion.
As soon as I opened the door, the scent of her fear flooded me. Annoyed with Winifred, I shot her a glare.
“She’s fine, Emmitt. We’re asking her to take in a lot of information at a frequency that I would imagine makes it hard to assimilate everything.”
Winifred placed a stack of folded clothes into the basket that sat between them on the couch, then rose.
I waited until she left the apartment before crouching in front of Michelle.
“I can smell your fear.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
Gently, I touched her chin, nudging her until her gaze met mine. “About what?” I asked.
She looked so miserable and lost and in need of comfort. I ran my fingers along her jawline, giving what I thought she might allow. She closed her eyes with a heavy sigh.
“I want to tell you. I start thinking I should. Then I learn more, and I can’t.”
Frustration flared then died. She wanted to trust but didn’t know how.
“I don’t know what else to do to prove you can trust me. I’ll wait forever if you need me to. There’s nowhere else for me to be, but by you.”
Her eyes popped open.
“That’s part of what I don’t understand. You talk about my scent. Nana talks about a pull. I see—well, never mind about what I see. But Nana said that humans and werewolves don’t work, so why are you talking like I’m… that you and I…”
I tilted my head to study her increasingly red face. Did she really not know how much I wanted her? Needed her?
Perhaps I should come back, Winifred sent me.
It was your talk on the beach that confused her.
Just ask her.
“Do you want Nana to come talk to you some more?” I asked softly.
Embarrassment poured from her as she miserably looked away. “No, that’s not necessary. I’m sorry I misunderstood. Like Nana said, it’s a lot to take in.”
I growled in frustration, and her pulse spiked.
Emmitt, Winifred warned.
Calming myself, I focused on reassuring Michelle. “You’re getting me in trouble. Nana is scolding me for growling.”
Michelle glanced at the door.
“And I’m frustrated that we keep misunderstanding each other. May I please explain myself clearly?”
She gave a half-nod. Moving closer, I threaded my fingers in her smooth, dark hair.
“I saw you in the diner and felt an instant recognition. When you walked in, you flooded my senses until only one word beat through my mind.” I leaned in until my lips brushed her ear. “Mine.”
She shivered. The action only made me want to pull her closer and devour her.
“So, when I say I’ll wait forever to earn your trust, I will. My heart is yours. My loyalty, yours.”
I dipped my head so I could scent the sweet spot where her neck met her shoulder. “If all you can give is friendship, I’ll take it. For you, I’ll take anything. Do you understand?”
She nodded, but the scent of her confusion told the truth.
“Liar,” I whispered, tugging her up off the couch. “What don’t you understand?”
“Nana said humans and werewolves…”
Taking my hand from her hair, I traced my finger along the curve of her neck. She moved ever so slightly, giving me room, and permission, to explore. I wanted to growl and take. Instead, I let my fingers glide along her collarbone. She shivered. How long until my lips could trace her skin? Not much longer. I almost grinned at the thought.
“You’re different,” I said, pulling myself back to our conversation. “Special. That rule doesn’t apply to you.”
She stiffened slightly. “Different?”
I used my fingers to sooth the skin over her other collarbone. After a few seconds, she softened again. She liked when I touched her. This time, I couldn’t completely stop my triumphant grin. She didn’t notice because her eyes had fluttered closed.
“There’s nothing wrong with being different. My mom’s different. Human like you.”
I scented her eager hope. She opened her eyes and considered me as I drew lazy patterns with my fingertips on the side of her neck.
“I’ll make you a deal. You tell me a little bit about your past, whatever you can trust me with, and I’ll tell you about my mom.”
Stilling my fingers, but not removing my touch, I waited.
“I think my mom was killed. My stepdad, too. If they catch us, they’ll hurt one of my brothers. Bad. To teach me a lesson.”
Anger surged at her words.
“Their safety kept me there, a willing prisoner, until I realized the boys were only useful while young. Their lives would end like my mother’s and their father’s as soon as they were no longer useful.”
Her pain and fear crushed my own feelings of rage. Pulling her into my arms, I held her close. No one would hurt her or her brothers ever again. My body was her shield, and my heart her home.
She leaned into me, taking what I offered.
“I have two big secrets. One will test the sincerity of what you just said, and the other will give you power over me.”
She fisted her hands against my shirt, her fear enveloping her.
“Then tell me the first one. Test me to see if I’m worthy of the second one,” I said, softly.
“I want to, but what if you’re wrong. You’ll hand me back over—”
“Never.” The word escaped with more anger than I’d intended. Didn’t she understand? I would never betray her. I couldn’t.
“Mine,” I said, tightening my hold.
She took a bracing breath. “Blake killed them. My mom and Richard.” She trembled. “He’s one of you.”
Her barely audible words fell like the sharp tip of a claw, cutting me open and leaving me in agony. I lurched out of her arms as the change took over. There was no stopping it. I fell to my paws. One of us had kept my Mate prisoner and hurt her brothers. Hurt her. Her unexpected questions about scenting and biting made sense now.
My shout of rage was one long howl. What had they done to her?
Winifred and Jim rushed in. Winifred moved to block me from Michelle’s sight as Jim picked her up and ran with her from the apartment.
“Control is essential to who we are,” Winifred started with real anger.
One of us, Winifred. Agony ripped at me, and I swore long and loud. I wanted to know who. I wanted a name, and I wanted to make her past disappear.
“What are you talking about?”
She was held prisoner by one of us.
Winifred eyed me with shock. “Are you sure?”
She is sure. Her fear… I yowled again.
“Emmitt, stop. Pull yourself together. If it was one of us, you’re giving her more reason to fear. You need to be calm. Rational. Not a wild beast. Now, shift back and tell me what she said.”
She waited as I pulled the shift in. Bones cracked and crunched as my spine condensed and my legs and arms elongated.
“You heard everything. She only whispered the last four words. ‘He’s one of you.'”
Winifred looked troubled. “She needs to tell us more.”
I ran a frustrated hand across the back of my neck. I’d just told her I’d be patient. Now, I’d need to press for more.
Winifred held the door for me as I walked out. Jim heard me on the steps and encouraged Michelle onto the porch since I’d ripped my clothes to shreds with my spontaneous shift. Winifred was probably picking up the pieces for me.
As soon as the way was clear, I jogged down the steps and grabbed some clean clothes from Jim’s place. Michelle was talking to Jim outside.
“You really didn’t know?” she said.
“Nope. That’s a bit of a shocker. It will take Nana some time to figure out who Blake is.”
“No!” Michelle’s panicked word was loud enough that even her brothers had probably heard it. I yanked on a pair of shorts, ready to go out and reassure her.
“No one will do anything without talking to you. I promise,” Jim said. Hopefully, Winifred would keep his promise.
Winifred walked into the apartment just then.
“We need to be careful. I don’t want her trying to run,” I said, pulling the shirt over my head.
“Of course. We both want to know who it is, but none of this makes sense. When we first discovered your mother and her compatibility, we made it a law that if any of our kind should come across another human potential Mate, they needed to immediately contact an Elder. That’s how we learned of Gabby. A wolf had come across her scent and reported it. As soon as Michelle was discovered, we should have known.”
That one of our kind broke a law was unheard of. A law was beyond just a compulsion to obey. There was no choice. We all obeyed the laws set by the Elders, just as the Elders held our interest above their own lives.
Jim’s voice drifted in to us.
“Emmitt’s talking to Nana now. I can hear some of what they are saying. We understand what’s at risk.”
Winifred remained quietly thoughtful for a moment.
“We can’t begin to question our men until we know more. This is bigger than we could have imagined,” Winifred said. “Come. You need to talk to her and see what more you can learn. And, Emmitt, we need to tell your parents. Soon.”