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He ground his teeth until his jaw ached. There was a tightness in his chest—unfamiliar and insidious, leaving him with a thick ache in his throat. He could see that she was trying to relax against him, but she couldn’t stop the delicate tremble that ran through her limbs. Couldn’t erase that her face was pale or that her eyes were wide and glassy.
Adrenaline still coursed through him, making it even harder for him to cool his anger. If she was close, if he could scent and feel her, just maybe he’d get through the night without losing his mind.
Gwen squirmed. “You can let go. I’m fine and—”
A growl rattled his chest. “Shut up and let me hold you.”
She pinched him, but the big bastard didn’t even flinch. “I don’t need your attitude right now, Devlin.” But she didn’t push him away, because she sensed he was on edge. She was still pissed at him for earlier. In fact, she was pissed at the other three wolves in the room too—they had no right to invade her privacy. But since one had healed her and the others had just risked themselves to hunt a flock of bird shifters who’d attacked her, she couldn’t really complain right then.
“Why can I smell burning?” asked Bracken.
Marlon quickly explained, only to receive skeptical looks from Bracken and Derren.
“The birds were goshawks, weren’t they?” said Ally.
“Big-ass goshawks,” said Derren. “Most flocks of their species are available for hire.” The light flickered, and he tensed as he glanced up at it. “There aren’t many of the flocks around these parts. We’ll find out which one it was, and they’ll pay one way or another.”
Gwen twisted as much as Zander’s grip would allow so she could look at Andie. “I don’t mean to scare you, but you could be next. If you’re not going to go to the shelter, at least move in here. You’d be safe inside the walls.”
Andie bit her lip. “About the shelter . . . I was thinking that maybe it might not be such a bad idea to check it out. I’m just a little worried that it’s not even real. It’s hard to believe a place like that exists.”
“It exists,” Ally assured her. “I think it would be a good place for you.”
“I could go with you to see it,” Gwen offered. “If you don’t like it or you feel it won’t work for you, we’ll come right back here.”
Zander didn’t argue. It would be good for Gwen to get away from Oregon, even if only for a day. He was no longer concerned about trying to hide his involvement with her from his pack, beyond caring whether they would approve of it. Human or not, Kenny Cogman’s daughter or not, she was his. Since Ally and Derren already knew, it was likely that they’d told Nick anyway, so it made no difference if Gwen stayed behind.
“We can take you there as soon as tomorrow,” Bracken told the cougar. “In my opinion, the sooner you leave, the better.”
Andie took a long breath. “I’ll go and check it out tomorrow, but I want Gwen to come.”
“That’s fine,” said Bracken. “We’ll leave in the morning. I really think you should stay here tonight, just to be on the safe side.”
After a long moment, Andie nodded. “I’ll go pack my stuff in the morning, just in case I decide to stay at the shelter.”
Relieved, Gwen smiled. “The only guests we have at the moment are Ally and Derren. There are plenty of free rooms—take your pick.”
“Marlon can help her find a room.” Zander stood, cradling Gwen against him. “You need rest.”
“I’m just a little drowsy—Ally said it’s normal.”
Ignoring that, Zander carried her out of the room and up the stairs. He heard Donnie enter the house, but he kept walking. The others would reassure Donnie that Gwen was fine and explain what happened. She needed peace and quiet and rest. And he needed to be alone with her.
Zander never resorted to panic. He was always the practical voice of reason in a dangerous situation. But as they’d stood on that boardwalk and he’d seen those birds descend on her and he’d smelled her blood, he’d sure as fuck panicked. That panic hadn’t yet left him; it still slithered through him, tormenting him. She was really the only thing keeping him from losing his shit, and he doubted she even knew it.
Inside her room, Gwen squirmed. “Put me down. I can walk on my own steam.”
“Don’t, Gwen,” he clipped. “Just let me have my way right now.”
Gwen sighed inwardly, not really sure what to do with him. She’d never seen him this way before—edgy, vibrating with suppressed anger. So Gwen didn’t say a word as he took her into the en suite bathroom, where he gently set her down and stripped off their clothes. She didn’t say a word as he opened the frosted glass door of the shower stall and ushered her inside. Still silent, she shampooed her hair as he soaped her down, careful to wash away every bit of dried blood from her skin, utterly focused on his task.
When they stepped out of the shower and he wrapped a lush towel around her, she said, “Your wolf doesn’t like me, huh?”
He blinked in surprise. “He didn’t like seeing you bleeding and in pain. The smell of your blood made him crazy.”
She snorted. “He snarled at me, Zander. He doesn’t trust me. I could see it in his eyes.”
Patting her dry, Zander explained, “My wolf is a tough fucker. Nothing fazes him. Something about you makes him wary, but I’ll be damned if I can figure out what. He doesn’t dislike you; he’s just on his guard.”
She didn’t like to think that his wolf felt that way about her. “Suspecting I’ll do what?”
“I don’t know. He’s gotten better as the days have gone on. He doesn’t mind you being around; he’s not uncomfortable with you. In fact, he enjoys your company and wants you around. He’s also protective of you. But he’s still on his guard.” Now that she was dry, he used another towel to dry himself off. “You shouldn’t take his negative behavior personally. My wolf generally doesn’t like female attention.”
She paused in pulling a brush through her hair. “Why?”
“It’s just the way he is.”
“Maybe he gets aggravated by it because the only attention he wants is that of his true mate,” she suggested.
