She stared at him a moment, her expression vaguely horrified. But she didn’t speak. Instead, she took another large bite of her brownie. He mirrored her motions, putting sugar and chocolate in his mouth as if it were a sacred act. Perhaps she had the right of it, he thought, as the taste exploded on his tongue. Rich chocolate and sugar had his human body clicking into focus. He remembered other tastes, other delights, all of them unique to man.
“This is good,” he said as he took another bite. “Perhaps I will add it to the protocol.”
She looked at him with an amused smirk. “I’m honored. My humble brownies in the mighty protocol.”
He frowned, running over her words in his head. He heard the sarcasm, but it wasn’t heavy. More like a wry comment as if to say, “So long as there’s a silver lining.”
Such practicality threw him, and he examined her even closer. She was busy licking brownie bits off her fingers and finishing off her beer. Normal actions, and yet in this situation, it seemed very strange to him.
“Why aren’t you hysterical?” he asked.
She set down her beer, her expression steady. “Would hysterics help?”
“Of course not. They never help. But they would be a normal reaction to”—he gestured toward the basement and her brother—“the situation.”
She shook her head. “If it’s not useful, then I don’t do it. But if you want to melt down, be my guest.”
He leaned against her car and folded his arms as he faced her. She was watching him with a studied casualness. As if she couldn’t care less what he was about to say and yet the animal in him recognized the taut attention she gave him. Everything might look smooth and friendly on the outside, but inside she was as focused as any predator in the animal kingdom. And that made his bear sit up and take note.
“When I left the army, I was an angry mess,” he said. “I knew it was time, but I was still furious.”
She arched a brow. Obviously, this was not what she expected him to say. “So?” she prompted when he went silent. “What happened?”
“I fought my alpha, stayed drunk, and lashed out at anyone who came close. Eventually I went to the UP where I turned into a bear and stayed that way for ten months until a pushy woman shot me and dragged me to Detroit.”
Her eyes widened but her mouth stayed stubbornly closed.
“And now, I am struggling to remember the basics of being a man. How to act, how to move, how to fucking read.” The curse slipped out and it told him how close to the ragged edge he was. His mind might be in control, but the beast—and all his fury—were frighteningly close to the surface.
He slammed his jaw shut and glared at her. This was her fault. He’d been happy as a bear. And failing that, he’d have been content in his cabin as he waited for his human side to recall the details of human survival. Here in Detroit, he was completely lost. And totally vulnerable.
“You’re getting it,” she said. “You’ve got your protocol and everything. It’ll just take time.”
He snorted. She did not understand his point, so he decided to make it excruciatingly clear. “Don’t you think that one of us should be modeling normal human behavior?”
She grimaced. “There’s nothing normal about this situation. So why should I react in a normal way?”
Because it was human? Because she was his touchstone right now and if she acted bizarrely, then how would he know how to act? Because he wanted her to be normal so he could understand her, and right now she was more mysterious to him than the stop sign he couldn’t read and the brother he couldn’t save.
And while he struggled with his thoughts, she reached out a hand. It was small and feminine, the nails close cut and without polish. When she touched his arm, he felt it all the way through to his spine. Warmth. Comfort. Human connection. It rocked him back on his heels with how wonderful it felt.
“We just need to help Vic. Then I’ll take you back to the UP. I swear.”
“I don’t know how to help Vic,” he said, and even he heard the plaintive note in his voice. He wanted to help. He wanted to because then she might touch him again. She’d withdrawn her hand the moment he snapped at her and he cursed his temper and the frustration that lay beneath it. “I am at sea in the human world right now.”
“So let me help.”
And here they were full circle. He was lost and she was not a reliable guide. He stared at her a long moment, wondering what he should say. And then he saw it. It was a small tic. Something he would never have noticed except that he was watching her so closely. But the more he looked, the larger the thing seemed.
She was breathing in quick tight pants. Like a rabbit on alert, her entire body was still, but her nostrils flared and contracted in quick succession, and it spoke of panic kept barely at bay. Her gaze might be steady, her chin lifted in defiance, but her breath told the true story.
And oddly, the knowledge that she was frightened reassured him. So he relaxed against her car and smiled. Her brows narrowed.
“What?” she demanded.
“I understand now and that makes me feel more in control.”
“You understand what? My brother?” She couldn’t disguise the note of hope in her voice.
