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I looked at him. I wasn’t sure why I was telling him these things. Maybe it was because he wasn’t looking at me with pity. He was simply listening.
He nodded when he realized I wasn’t going to say anything else. “I’m sure you took care of those men who attacked you back when you were only a child, but I’d still like to know who they were.”
“Why? So you can make it up to me?” I shook my head again. “Nah, I don’t need your help anymore, Mr. Fraser. Besides, my own father had used me as his personal punching bag, why wouldn’t the others think they could too?”
He reached for my hand, but I snatched it away from him. “Right,” he said clenching his hand into a fist. “You are more than justified in hating me. I should have paid more attention to the abuse of a child. There is no excuse for my negligence.”
I snorted out a laugh. “The understatement of the millennium.”
He rubbed his hands over his face then through his hair. “Listen, Red, nothing I say will make up for what has happened to you. I will point out that in the end, all the strife you suffered made you a superior fighter and a stronger person. You can choose to hate me for the rest of our lives, or we can move on from the past.” The smirk returned, and he leaned in close to me. “Maybe even have a little fun while we do.”
“Oh? You want to have fun?” I moved closer to him, so our lips were almost touching and walked my fingers up his arm to his shoulder to toy with the ends of his hair. I licked my lips, my tongue lightly brushing his, earning a low growl from him. “Mmm… Mr. Fraser,” I purred. “Fuck off.”
Shoving him aside, I settled back into my seat. This time the growl came from deep in his throat, making me brace for an attack. “For fuck’s sake, Red, I’m not going to fight you,” he said without looking at me.
His anger made his natural musk stronger. It filled the car like an unseen fog making me want to tear off his clothes and ride him while he drove. His anger also made him speed, so we were thankfully home in half the time. I barely let the car come to a stop before I hopped out and took a deep breath of Liam-free air.
He sped away before I even got to my front door. Once inside I grabbed a beer and went out back. A dense forest that has belonged to my family for thousands of years, bordered my little house. As far back as I could remember, any time I got upset or wanted to hide from the world, the woods were my sanctuary.
The second I stepped into the shade of the trees the tension left me. I meandered over the path until I reached my spot: a large, felled tree trunk that had been there since before I was born. It made the perfect place to sit and listen to the sounds of Mother Nature and relax at the end of a long day.
I’d just finished my shower and thrown on an oversized t-shirt and sleep shorts when someone knocked on my door. I called out asking who it was. I didn’t want another punch to the face. Isaac replied, and I smiled to myself realizing he was knocking because I’d nearly bit off his head the last time he’d just walked in.
“Did you stop to see Wendy before you came here?” I could smell her on him, and knew he’d only stopped by because he was in the area. Otherwise, I would have just gotten the usual goodnight text.
“I did.”
“Does she know it’s not serious?”
His jaw clenched. “She does. Why do you care?”
Wendy had been one of my biggest female bullies growing up, so I shouldn’t care if he broke her heart, but I did. “It’s only fair for you to be up front with the women you sleep with.”
“I didn’t come here to get lectured. I just wanted to say hi since I was around,” he grumbled as he moved through the house to the back porch. I followed him. We stood in silence staring out into the trees.
While I figured out the best way to bring up the Summer pack being left out of the weird shit going on, I watched Henry fly in circles over the trees. He was either hunting or keeping an eye on me or waiting for me to shift so he had his playmate back.
“So,” I began then told him everything I knew, including the attack and the delivery I received, and Liam’s lab. “Women from every pack except ours have come forward. No one from ours has said a peep.”
He was quiet for a long while. I knew he was angry I hadn’t called him after the attack. But he’d learned long ago I would not depend on him, or anyone, to take care of me. Growing up with a dad like mine, you learn not to depend on anyone but yourself.
I stayed silent, waiting for him to speak. Henry came to land on the railing of the porch. His steely gaze resting on Isaac who leaned forward and growled at the hawk. Henry, the badass that he is, didn’t move a feather.
“He plays with my wolf. I don’t think you will scare him,” I said, stifling a smile when Isaac sneered at the bird.
“He’s your guardian, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, he kind of inserted himself into that role the other day.” Henry’s gaze shifted to me, and when our eyes met, my tattoo seemed to tingle. “I like him.”
“Yeah, I guess he’s okay,” Isaac said. “Anyway, I can’t figure out why whoever is attacking these women would skip our pack. The only thing I came up with is you.”
Nibbling my lip as I thought that over, I watched Henry preen himself. It’s a typical bird thing to do, but something told me he was doing it as a kind of ‘screw you’ to Isaac. As though he were saying, ‘You can growl at me all you want, but I’m going to sit right here and keep my eye on your ass.’
“Um, that doesn’t really hold water. I’m attacked all the time. Chris attacked me; this new douchebag attacked me,” I said. “More likely they just haven’t gotten around to us yet. It seems they were starting with me though.”
“Attacking you is one thing. But I meant, maybe they think if they go after your shifters, you’ll curse them somehow.”
I let out a sardonic laugh. “Then they don’t know how much I hate my own pack. I don’t think that’s the answer, but it’s something to think about. It’s the only thing that may make sense as the answer.”
“You gonna call and tell Fraser?”
I turned to look at him. “Probably. Does that matter?”
“Nah, I guess not.” He stood abruptly, more to ruffle Henry than because he was upset. It didn’t work. Henry gave him a bored look and continued with his preening.
“He doesn’t seem to like you,” I said, rising to stand in front of Isaac. “You have some ill intentions toward me?”
“You know it,” he said with a wink. “I’m going to head home, but please promise you’ll at least text me if anything else happens.”
“Deal,” I said as I stepped into his embrace.
