“So you think it’s wrong?”
“Does it matter what I think?”
I assumed that what Liam thought was shared by the rest of the pack. Perhaps not the entire pack. Frank had been all for it. “I didn’t ask for this mating link.”
Before stepping inside the bedroom, Liam sighed. “I don’t know if you remember, but August thought I killed my own father, so he’s not really up there on the list of people I trust or like. Plus, he got you. And I’d be lying if I said that didn’t play into what I thought of the guy. But I’ll also admit that from an outside perspective, a twenty-seven-year-old guy preying on an eighteen-year-old will raise some eyebrows. No one will judge you, but August will definitely incur judgment. Anyway, thanks to me”-he tapped the doorway-“you have some time to think about it.”
The implications of what he was saying hit me.
Really hit me.
I didn’t want August to be crucified because of me. And yes, in a week from now, I would no longer be a minor, but I’d still be nine years younger.
I’d always be nine years younger.
In my twenties, that difference wouldn’t be so horrendous, but until then, what he and I had was taboo.
Perhaps Liam’s condition was a blessing in disguise.
Pounding.
It echoed around me, driving needles of adrenaline through my legs.
I twisted around to find a black bear on my heels. I pushed my breathless body harder until every footfall felt like I was shattering a bone.
The beast jumped and sank its claws inside my human spine, and I screamed.
“Ness!” a voice yelled.
Two paws slammed into my shoulders, and I lurched into a sitting position, shoving the creature’s paws off me.
Not a creature, and not paws.
Just Liam.
Blood battered my veins as I scrubbed my hands along the sides of my face to dispel the nightmarish chase.
“Bad dream?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Want to tell me about it?”
I shuddered at the memory. “The bear we killed, it was running after me. And it caught me.”
Concern pinched his brow. “My first big kill haunted me for weeks.”
“It’s not my first big kill, Liam.”
He frowned.
“You killed it, not me.” I scooted higher on the bed. “But it was definitely the largest animal I’ve ever gone up against.”
“Our first big kill together.” He smiled wistfully. “We made a good tag team out there.” His expression undid more of our snarled past.
“Hope we make as good of a tag team during the duel.”
“I have no doubt we will.” His gaze lingered on my face a moment, but then he shook his head, got off my tangled bedsheets, and rubbed his palms over his jean-clad thighs. “Pack your bag. We’ll stop by the dining hall for brunch, and then we’ll head straight to the airport.”
After he closed the door, I exchanged my sleep shorts and tank top for a pair of white denim shorts and a black T-shirt. I made a pit stop at the bathroom and attempted to smooth out my long tresses. Sleeping on wet hair had created movement and volume. Too much of both. I brushed my teeth, then packed everything away in my backpack. As I shouldered it, excitement at returning home steamed away the remnants of the sticky nightmare.
I would see August and Evelyn and-
My breaths spiked as I remembered last night’s conversation. In the light of day, being with the ex-marine didn’t seem as sinister. Just thinking of him had my navel pulsing, even though he was hundreds of miles away.
I looked out the window at the long grass that shivered in a light breeze. What would you have done, Mom?
I would ask Evelyn. If anyone was going to be a hundred percent unbiased about this, it would be her.
When I left the bedroom, Liam was already gone, and so were his things. I walked to the dining hall, passing a couple Rivers on the way. They waved, and I waved back.
Our allies . . .
At least, the trip proved a success for the Boulder Pack.
When I entered the gussied-up barn, I beelined straight for the head of the table where Zack sat surrounded by Liam, Ingrid, and Samuel.
“Mornin’. How’d you sleep?” Zack asked as I took my seat next to Liam.
“Great. Thank you. How’s Poppy?” I asked.
“She’s recuperating with her mother. I reckon it’ll take both my girls a couple days to recover from the attack.” The crumbs of bread caught in his beard peppered the table as he spoke. “I was telling Liam ’bout the experiment Sam carried out last night-he mixed crushed Sillin into Ingrid’s body lotion and rubbed it into her skin, and then he shifted into fur and licked her arm.”
I grabbed a pitcher of orange juice and poured myself a glass.
“He changed back into skin a couple minutes later.”
“Which was what happened to Julian,” I said excitedly.
“Except I didn’t throw up,” Sam said.
Julian had thrown up. A lot.
“And although Ingrid was able to shift into fur, she was incapable of keeping her form. When she tried to shift again an hour later, she wasn’t able to.”
“I tried again this mornin’, and I still can’t shift,” Ingrid said. “So it does penetrate the bloodstream, and perhaps it’s still on my skin, but if Cassandra Morgan could shift from fur to skin and back to fur, then she didn’t slather herself in Sillin-lotion.”
I wondered if we could trust their experimenting or if we should carry out our own.