Page 92 of Shifter Situations

He furrowed his brows, nodding slowly. “What are you planning on saying to her?”

“I want to see how she feels about staying in Stars for a little while, maybe until we know that she’s safe. I really don’t know. Stone mentioned that Dolyn would be a good choice to protect her, and I definitely agree. Hyde will be there too. She leaves for school in August, so there’s time to figure things out.”

“Okay. Let’s go talk to her.”

* * *

I sat on the arm of the chair Briggs was in, awkwardly twining my fingers together. I didn’t know where to begin, and I couldn’t understand why I felt so anxious about talking to her.

Ripley and I were about the same size, so Blaire had gotten her some jeans from my closet. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt that I was assuming belonged to Baylor.

She tucked her long legs underneath her, pulling her blonde hair over her shoulder to twist around her fingers. Her green eyes were framed with long lashes, nearly touching her cheek as she blinked.

I took a deep breath, ready to dive in, and she sighed.

“I know you have questions for me, but I may not be able to answer some of them. I don’t have an explanation for most of the shit that’s happened. Looking at today’s date, I can say that I was in that warehouse for about two months, though.”

“I just want to know a little more about you. I have this feeling of familiarity with you. It’s making me oddly protective. It doesn’t happen very often, so it’s concerning. I don’t know if you feel it or not, and I don’t want to come across as creepy or possessive—”

“You mean, feeling like I already know you?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I don’t understand it, but it’s there. I want to offer you some protection. I don’t need to know everything about you to know that this isn’t something that I can ignore. But I would like to know why you came to North Fork and possibly how you ended up in the warehouse to begin with.”

Ripley stared at her fingernails, picking at them as she thought about how to answer. She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth, glancing from Baylor to Briggs before focusing on me.

“It’s a bit of a long-winded explanation, but I don’t mind explaining it. First, the Elliotts are my cousins. Two months ago, I was living in Colorado, and I wanted to get out, but I wasn’t sure where to go. I called Baylor to talk about my options.

“He told me that Briggs was living in Nashville but that he really enjoyed being in North Fork near the Supreme Alpha, so I began looking for a job and a place to stay. I found an ad for a female looking for a female roommate.

“So I packed up all my things from Colorado, and I got a motel room near the pack property. I got to town late on a Friday night and met with the woman on Saturday morning. We hit it off almost immediately, and I didn’t think anything about it, but now I wish I would have.

“I moved my things in on Sunday, signed a piece of paper that definitely looked—and read—like a lease agreement. On Monday, I had plans to go talk to the Supreme Alpha about moving into town and being part of his pack instead of the Colorado pack.

“But when I woke up on Monday morning, I wasn’t in my bed. I was on the concrete floor in the warehouse.”

I furrowed my brows. “Why did you want to leave the Colorado pack?”

“Several reasons. The faction alpha there is an asshole. But I was also trying to get away from the people who raised me. I mean, I’m twenty-two—”

She stopped abruptly, sealing her lips together while shaking her head.

“It’s okay. I don’t need your whole backstory. I’m here if you need someone to talk to, but it’s not my business, Ripley. I won’t prod.”

“Thanks. I’m just not ready to dwell in the past when so much bullshit has happened recently.”

“And that’s a perfect response.”

I bobbed my head, trying to decide how best to explain my plan. “I’m going to call in a friend of mine—ours. He’s a demon, but you won’t have to worry about anything with him and his sister. Jack and I have known them since childhood, and I know that might not mean anything to you. He’s safe, though. Nothing gets past the Drakes.

“If you’re okay with it, I think the best option will be to stay in Stars with Dolyn and Hyde. After the wards are replaced at our house, you’re more than welcome to stay there, but we’ve had some breaches in the last couple of weeks, and I don’t think it’s the safest place to stay at right now.”

She looked to Briggs. “What are they like?”

“Dolyn is a nice guy, but I like Hyde better. You’ll like them too.”

I smiled at her. “They’re both powerful and feared in the Underworld. I don’t see you having any issues while you’re with them.”

“Okay,” she agreed hesitantly, nodding at Briggs. “If you think I should, then I’ll go. I can’t say that I’ll enjoy it, but there’s nothing here for me, so it won’t be the worst situation that I’ve been in recently.”