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The air in the room was tight with tension, the silence making the rush of my blood deafen my ears. I never took my gaze off the little wolf, though. My heart broke at how shattered she seemed. Whatever she’d gone through was exactly what I was working so hard to prevent from happening to wolves. She was a prime example of what I needed to fix.
It was ten times worse that she was someone I’d found a personal connection with. It was harder to separate myself from this.
Anger fueled her eyes as her body locked up in a tense pose. “You’re lying. Of course you’re going to end up hurting me. You’re a fucking shifter. That’s what shifters do.” Hatred and fear spewed from her lips. If I hadn’t seen the passionate woman and witnessed everything with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have known that this was Tori.
She rose from her panicked position and worked her way around the room, glaring at me while she picked up her clothes and dressed.
I took a step closer to her.
“Don’t you dare get closer to me, shifter. Stay back.” Her words hissed out as she finished up. “Where’s the nearest bus or train station?”
I was stunned into silence. Never had I heard another shifter speak about their own species with such hatred and vitriol. How could she think shifters were inherently bad? Sure, there were good and bad ones, just like with humans, but she truly believed we were all monsters.
Had she not been around shifters before? That made no sense. My heart dropped into my stomach. Or, the shifters she’d known had mistreated her. Hurt her. Scared her.
My wolf and I saw red, and I wanted their blood for damaging this wolf so severely that she felt like she had to make it on her own, threatening her well-being.
“Tori—”
“Don’t. I just need to get out of here and away from you. Where’s the bus or train station?” She bared her teeth at me.
It couldn’t have been an accident that she had arrived here. Blackwood Creek was my life’s ambition. It was to become a haven for all shifters, especially those like her who deserved to witness other shifters in packs lead happy, healthy, balanced lives—living as one with their shifting.
Tori needed that more than any other shifter. More than that, I wanted it for her. If she made peace with her wolf, I had no doubt she’d be magnificent.
That was my new vow. She was too young to have been on her own for this long. I was determined to help her and protect her, no matter the cost or what she had to say about it. I wasn’t sure I understood this compulsion—and it was exactly that, a compulsion—but I did understand that my wolf would take it badly if I didn’t try to bring this woman and wolf together and repair their damaged bond.
“Please, stay in town for a couple of days. It will help you feel better if you stick around. I’m not the only shifter here; many of the townspeople are like you and me. You could get your bearings.”
I wasn’t above begging. Anything to get her to stay.
She stopped moving around and stood tall as she eyed me. Her stance was aggressive, but her eyes showed a flash of vulnerability. She was tired and lonely. I wanted to fill that void for her because who knew how much longer she’d make it before becoming completely lost to the feral nature?
My wolf howled to come out so he could soothe her, which surprised me. He wasn’t the type to coddle. He demanded respect and obedience, but witnessing her breakdown made him want to protect her. Like I did.
“What do you mean by feeling better?”
She was analyzing me and deciding whether I’d lie to her. The trust wouldn’t be there, not for some time, but curiosity had her heeding my words. My instincts guided me on how to answer. It wouldn’t go over well if I informed her that she was going feral. No shifter would ever accept that diagnosis.
I softened my stance and tried to make my large frame smaller and non-threatening. It didn’t help that I was naked and had blood smeared over my body, but I could sense my wounds stitching themselves back up, the annoying itching being the most significant indicator. The recovery time of a shifter had a lot of major perks, but the itching was a downside.
I wanted to show Tori all the perks of being a shifter when she was ready to embrace who she was.
“You’re running from something, I can tell.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but I held up my hand. “I won’t push you on it. That’s your business. I’m here if you want to discuss it, but I won’t be in your business.” Even though it was killing me not to know exactly what was going on, her sanity and safety meant more to me than my curiosity. “I will pay for you to stay at the local bed and breakfast, and I’ll get you anything else you might need if you give Blackwood Creek a chance for a few weeks.”
I much preferred that she lived with me, shared my bed, but that’d push things too far. Tori was struggling just to look at me now that she knew I was like her.
I wasn’t going to lie and say it didn’t sting a little. After last night, I hated the way she was looking at me now. She was full of hatred and disgust. Before, she’d gazed at me with want and lust. The radical shift was a shock. My wolf paced inside me, growling to come out, but I kept him under lock and key. I didn’t want her to bolt now. Not when I held onto solid hope that she’d take my offer.
“If you stay, you won’t have to worry about anything,” I emphasized. “I’ll cover all the costs.”
Tori stiffened. Her nostrils flared and anger ravaged her face. “I can pay my own way, thank you very much. I don’t need or want your money. Keep yourself away from me and keep your mouth shut about ever seeing or knowing me.”
To say I was surprised would be putting it mildly. That was the second time she had made it quite clear that she didn’t want me or my money to take care of everything. Normally, if I offered to pay, people accepted it without question. It was even expected that I would pay, so they didn’t even raise a token effort to contribute.
Even with the attitude back in place, Tori was a breath of fresh air.
