AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I wasn’t surprised to hear him say he’d protect me. I knew he’d do it with every breath in his body, but for him to say he’d protect everyone I cared about? It was strange to hear it. Because that meant protecting shifters.
“Even if it means working alongside shifters?” I asked hesitantly.
“Especially then,” he said, a determined glint in his eyes. “Listen, I am not worried about any of these shifters figuring out I’m an ex-hunter. I can handle myself, Tori. They need to see me around and among them, because when the hunters come—and they will come—the shifters have to realize I’m on their side. I can’t worry about battling the hunters, only to be stabbed in the back by a shifter.”
Kyle’s cockiness was infuriating. It could get him killed one day. However, he could handle himself. Kyle fought better than anyone I’d ever met, and I wasn’t saying that because he was my brother. He even surpassed our father, who’d been respected as a formidable opponent. That is, until he’d started losing matches early in Kyle’s training.
It wasn’t just Kyle’s physical prowess that made him so dangerous. His cunning mind and ability to think like his enemies gave him a massive advantage. Add in his hunter training and years in the fold, and he was now our father’s biggest adversary.
“More importantly,” Kyle continued, “I don’t want to hide all the time and let others get hurt protecting me. Watching Audrey jump in front of those damn bullets...” He cleared his throat. “I don’t want anything like that happening again. In fact, I plan on helping anyone who wants to prepare for potential hunterattacks by offering tactical training on how to counter the way hunters are trained to hunt and fight shifters.”
“Kyle, you realize there would be no hiding your past as a hunter if you do that?” My voice trembled slightly, betraying the fear bubbling under the surface.
“I’ve seen firsthand how vicious hunters can be.” He clenched his fists. “Shifters only get away from hunter factions through blind luck, but if they had decent combat training and knew their enemies’ strengths and weaknesses, they’d stand a better chance. So if I’m going to be here, I might as well make use of my knowledge and ensure these shifters aren’t useless.” The half-smile he gave me didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Whenever Clawson decides he no longer needs to keep me under observation, I’ll train any interested shifters, humans, and law enforcement. It’s the least I can do.”
“Kyle.” I wasn’t sure what to say. I was deeply touched that he was willing to risk himself for me and my friends, but it also scared me. “What’s driving you to do all of this?”
“You,” he said without hesitation. “I want to do whatever I can to make you happy and safe, lil sis. You’re my priority. I failed you once before. I swear, Tor, I won’t fail you again.”
“Kyle, you didn’t fail me.” Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. “I ran away. It was my choice. When I shifted, I was so scared that I ran away. What I should’ve done was run to you.”
Kyle’s expression softened, and he adamantly shook his head. “Not how I see it.”
I stepped into his embrace again and hugged him tight, burying my face in his chest. His arms wrapped around me, strong and protective, and I felt a sense of safety I hadn’t experienced in far too long.
“Thank you, Kyle,” I murmured against him, warmth spreading through me as I inhaled the familiar scent that was uniquely his. I’d missed the famous bear hugs he’d given mesince I was a little girl. Our parents had never been physically affectionate, our father even less so after our mom was killed, but Kyle had never withheld affection. For the longest time, I’d reckoned I’d never get one of these hugs again, and more tears threatened to spill over. “Thank you for everything.”
“Anything for you, Tori,” he said, his voice cracking a little. “Always.”
I ignored the lump in his throat, knowing he hated when his emotions were pointed out to him. After several long moments, I pulled away. “I want to help,” I declared. “If anyone knows how to avoid hunters and fend them off, it’s me.” The more I spoke, the more I felt my determination solidifying. “I have a lot of the same training you do, and I stayed on the run and out of the faction’s clutches for four long years.”
Helping Kyle was also another way to show my solidarity with him. I worried about the shifters here pointing out that we were siblings, but I’d leave Blackwood before I’d let them hurt him, especially when I was sure he wouldn’t hurt any of them. I’d been ready to defend them against him when I wasn’t a hundred percent convinced he wasn’t still aligned with the hunters, but now that I knew he was on our side, nothing was holding me back from standing by my brother.
Nothing, except…Ridge. Would I really be able to walk away from Ridge that easily? My wolf really didn’t like the idea. The mere thought of leaving him made her agitated. I hoped like fuck it wouldn’t ever come to that, because I wasn’t sure I was ready to face that battle just yet.
Kyle studied me for a moment before nodding in agreement. “You’re right. You could teach the shifters a thing or two. We need to get approval from Ridge and Clawson before we can offer our services to any shifters, though.”
I stared at him, gobsmacked. “Really?” I laughed. “That’s not like you. Asking permission from anyone, let alone someone you don’t even like.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” he said with a wry smile, then sighed. “I don’t foresee a time when I’ll be making friendship bracelets with your silver-spoon-fed, bossy, alpha boyfriend. If it were just me, I’d offer this training regardless of what Ridge says. But if you’re going to help, we’d better inform him. One thing I can get behind when it comes to that alpha is how overprotective he is of you. When it comes to your safety, I’ll always back him.”
I rolled my eyes, but decided to let it go. Hopefully, Ridge wouldn’t get a whiff of what Kyle had said because he’d most certainly make use of Kyle’s equally overprotective nature. Between the two of them, I’d have a constant custodian. I was already envisioning any alone time disappearing.
“All right, then.” I grinned. I wanted the two most important men in my life to get along, and if protecting me brought them together, then I’d tolerate it—to a point. I didn’t need them to be best friends, but I hoped they could coexist without fighting. “Let’s go find Ridge and tell him about your plan. It’s his pack and town, and he needs to be briefed on what’s happening.”
Chapter 6
Ridge
The sun was high in the sky over Blackwood Creek as I approached Lola Kipling’s office with Clawson and Mateo. Now that Lola knew the truth about us, it was imperative we speak to her. Tori had talked to her, but with her little education on shifters, it was best that we talk to her as well.
Most humans in the know had married into the secret. A human finding out about shifters the way Lola had was rare here, but it happened. We’d learned from previous occurrences to address it head-on, which was why I’d stopped and grabbed Mateo for this conversation. I knew he could relate to Lola from a human perspective.
“Ridge,” Clawson said, his jaw tight, “are you positive this is the right move? There are three of us—all men—approaching her. We don’t know how Lola will react. She might assume this as a threat.”
“Trust me,” I said. My responsibilities as alpha—a never-ending to-do list—hung like a noose around my neck. “We need to make sure she understands exactly what she saw and reassure her that we’re still the same people we’ve always been, that she’s safe around us. Tori’s already spoken with her, and I thought it was a good idea to bring Mateo along to show her some humansupport. He understands what she’s going through and can be a support system for her. He’ll help her accept all of this.”
Mateo scanned the street as if expecting trouble to jump out at any moment. His unease had my wolf stirring, but I pushed it down. There was a time and a place to give in to animal instincts, and heading to talk to a human who’d only recently learned about shifters was most definitely not it.
