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“It’s nothing. They’re already healing.”
“What if January notices them when you get back?”
“I’ll tell her the truth.” Kier gave him a half murderous, half pleading look. “Oh. Right. I won’t tell her the truth. I’ll tell her that…” He didn’t want to lie to her. That was no way to start anything. He didn’t want to hurt Kier, but he didn’t want to hurt January either. Proving himself untrustworthy and dishonest right at the start wouldn’t bode well. “I’ll tell her that I startled another shifter in the woods while walking my rounds and he attacked blindly, out of instinct. I shifted, protected myself, and we both kept our heads and came around within a few seconds. That’s pretty much what happened.”
“Are you sure?”
“Am I sure that’s what happened, or am I sure that I won’t tell anyone about you and your mate?”
“Both.”
He stood up, the windbreaker shielded in front of him with one hand and nodded. “I’m sure that’s what happened. You didn’t do any damage. You don’t have to feel guilty about this. We’re still friends. There’s no harm done.”
“But you’re keeping a secret from your best friend and your alpha for me.”
“I don’t have a best friend. We’re not in grade school. Sam is a great friend, but so are you. So are so many other people here. I won’t run to him because this isn’t a security breach, and no one is getting hurt. At the moment. But please, Kier, you need to find a way to bring this up with him. I don’t want anything to tear our clans apart. Anything that could put us at war with Pinefall when we’re supposed to be living in harmony together, shifters helping other shifters, isn’t a good thing.”
“Yeah.” Kier’s shoulders hunched like he was bracing himself against the sharp-edged truth. “I know. I’ll talk to him soon. You won’t have to keep that secret for long. I just need to talk to Taylee first.”
“Makes sense.”
“I’ll go and get you some clothes.” Kier’s eyes fell to Tavish’s bare feet. That was the second pair of boots he’d obliterated as of late. Years and years in the same pair and now he’d gone through his regular and his spare set. “And some boots.”
Chapter 17
January
Tavish’s bed was a little bit hard for her taste. She hadn’t noticed the first time she was here, but then, on that occasion there was no sleeping. Now, she was exhausted from a long day, travel, and stress, but she couldn’t get comfortable.
Grabbing another pillow, January thrust it on top of the soft down one, hoping to prop herself up enough that her back wouldn’t hurt. Greenacre was so quiet at night, but occasionally, through the blinds, the sweep of headlights would play over the ceiling before retreating.
The house was ultra silent, with just a few homey sounding noises. The buzz of the fridge distant in the kitchen. The sound of the furnace turning on and then shutting off after a few minutes. The occasional soft creak. She could hear the wind outside, but it wasn’t screaming.
Maybe it was the quiet that was maddening. She wasn’t used to not hearing the noises of the city. Over the past year and a half, she’d grown used to the sounds of other people living in the same building. She’d yet to know of a single apartment building where one couldn’t hear one’s neighbors on all sides.
It seemed like a week later, not just a few hours, when the door opened and closed softly.
January sprung out of bed. There was no point in pretending she was asleep. She was thirsty anyway and had forgotten to pour herself a glass of water before she’d put on a fresh pair of leggings and a tank top, her makeshift pajamas since she’d forgotten to pack a real set, and climbed into a bed that wasn’t hers.
She crept out of the bedroom in time to see Tavish hobble into the living room. He spotted her and whirled around. “I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?” There was something on his face. Guilt? What did he have to be guilty about?
“No. I wasn’t asleep.”
“It can be hard, trying to sleep in someone else’s house.”
“Why are you limping?”
“Oh. New boots. They blister the feet up pretty good. I had to borrow a pair.”
“What? Why?”
He patted the seat next to him on the plaid couch. She walked over and sat down. He told her everything, about how he’d startled another shifter and when that bear attacked, he’d shifted spontaneously to protect himself. The fight lasted only a few seconds before the other male realized that the person who snuck up on him was actually a friend. They’d given each other a few swipes, but he held up his t-shirt, showing her the thin red marks.
“They’ll heal fast. That’s something that shifters are pretty good at.”
January was speechless. “That can happen? One shifter can attack another?”
“If you sneak up on a person, do they not fight back?”
