AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kyle’s response wasn’t what I expected. His body relaxed and a smile lit up his face. “That’s great. I’m glad you know now. I don’t have to explain anything, then. It wouldn’t be hard for me to get you to Giselle, and we could get you back to being my Tori. It’ll be like how it used to be. Well, that is, if you wanted.”
Ridge’s snarls increased in volume, filling the room. He pushed off from the wall, ready to attack. There was no way he would let me anywhere near that witch, of that I was sure.
Kyle glared at Ridge, tensing as if ready to battle with the alpha.
I snorted. It hadn’t even taken a full minute before these two men were at odds. It didn’t help that my wolf was anxious and prowling inside me, ready to run.
Shaking my head at Kyle, I spoke firmly but kindly. “I’m not interested in getting rid of my wolf. She’s a part of me. I only want to have balance with her so she doesn’t bite the head off anyone threatening the people we love. I’m a shifter, Kyle. End of discussion. This was who I was born to be.”
Ridge settled down quickly with a contented look on his face, and my wolf took a backseat, satisfied with observing now that she didn’t have to wonder if she had to get the fuck away from Kyle.
I embraced her now. She was pleased with my verbal acceptance of her. It also helped that I felt strongly about it; she could feel that, too.
Kyle frowned. “How do you know it’ll get better? If you can’t control that thing, then maybe instead of endangering people, you should get rid of it and return to being normal, Tori.” There was frustration in his voice, but he wasn’t yelling. If anything, he sounded sad.
Ridge let out another growl, but I lifted my hand and he stopped at once.
“Tori,” Kyle continued, “the moment you changed, both our lives went downhill. If you didn’t have to deal with an uncontrollable monster, we could run away from the hunters and all of this crazy shit forever. Screw what our father demands of us. We’ll be back together like we used to be.”
There was real longing in his voice, and my heart went out to him. Everythinghadchanged when I’d shifted and we’d lost each other. Neither of us had ever thought that would happen.
Everything he was saying was upsetting Ridge, and I could sense his tension thickening the air. But I heard my brother’s obvious concerns for me, and I was touched. Kyle wouldn’t let down his walls and say it, but all he wanted was his sister back.
The way he wanted to go about it was wrong, though. He was saying what he thought would bring us back to the way we were four years ago, but that ship had sailed.
Softening my tone, I said, “I’m still normal Tori. I’m still me where everything counts. If I seem different to you now from what I was four years ago, it’s not from the wolf inside me. I’m different because I’ve been running, afraid, and doing whatever it takes to survive. Something I’m now realizing you had to be doing, too. Staying with our father and his need for revenge must have been hell for you.” My voice had fallen into a whisper.
Reaching out, I put my hand on top of his. “I’m so sorry, Kyle. I shouldn’t have run off. I should’ve known that you wouldn’t want to kill me the moment I shifted and became one of them, and I should’ve known you were looking for me because you’ve always had my best interests at heart. I’m so sorry for deserting you, but I was scared. I thought of myself as a monster because of what our father had spewed at us over and over and over again. I wasn’t thinking; I only reacted, and that was by running as far and as fast as I could.
“But we don’t need to run away from this at all. Screw William’s need for revenge. We can live our own lives anywhere we choose, even here in Blackwood Creek if we want. Right now, I’m determined to make this town safe. I’m not turning my back on you, no matter what, but I’m not turning my back on the people here who have welcomed me, either.”
Knowing my brother as well as I did, I witnessed his emotions trying to get the better of him. It made me feel good that we were reconnecting. He was still keeping his guard so as not to show weakness in front of Ridge, though. There were alphas in every species, and there was no doubt in my mind that if Kyle were a shifter, he’d be an alpha.
Easing up on the emotional pleas and giving my brother a reason to maintain his guard, I turned to Ridge. “If the Greenthornes know what Kyle is and are serious about stirring up unrest with the shifters who might hurt my brother, then I want to get him out of this jail and somewhere safe. It wouldn’t be wise to keep him here. It wouldn’t just put my brother in danger; it would put everybody in this building in danger.”
I was prepared for Ridge to argue, but he didn’t hesitate to agree. My lips involuntarily curved upward because Ridge’s actions weren’t motivated by Kyle. He was doing everything for the safety of the deputies and me. He’d do pretty much anything for me, and that was a heady—and scary—realization.
Ridge looked at Kyle pointedly. “I don’t trust him yet, but I trust your wolf. She doesn’t view your brother as a threat.” He shifted his gaze to me, and instantly, the aggressive look morphed into pure adoration. “Clawson will fight tooth and claw about letting Kyle out of here, but if there’s a strong enough shifter keeping an eye on him, it’d be easier to convince him. I agree, little wolf. It’s better to be safe than sorry. We can re-evaluate what to do with him after the unrest the Greenthornes stirred up settles down a little.”
Leaving me alone with my brother, Ridge went to speak with the sheriff. It didn’t take a second after the door closed for Kyle to grumble about him. “That alpha looks at you like you hung the moon specifically for him. You have him whipped.”
Rolling my eyes at my brother, I snapped back, “You can judge my love life once you get one of your own. I’m sure being a busy hunter has probably kept you from getting in with the ladies.” I smirked at him as I remembered girls in high school swooning over my brother and how I used to gag at watching them trying to flirt with him.
“Have you even had a proper girlfriend since Marie Polanders broke up with you in your senior year of high school?”
Kyle scowled at me, and I couldn’t hold in the laugh when he protested, “Ibroke up with her.”
He tried to hide his amusement, but it leaked a little through his wall of doom and gloom. I was so relieved to see the cracks in his armor. If there were cracks, I wanted to break through the whole damn thing because I hated seeing my brother like this. So cold and calculating. He reminded me too much of William, and that wasn’t a compliment.
My brother used to be fun, the life of the party. Everyone wanted to hang out with him. It hurt to see him as this worn-down warrior when he was only in his early twenties. Clearly, he’d seen and done some nasty shit that had changed him forever. I highly doubted that he’d ever be the same Kyle of our youth, but then again, I’d never go back to Tori of old, either.
We could reclaim our relationship, though. That was all I could ever ask for and want.
Kyle lifted a brow and asked what was obviously on his mind since I’d mentioned it. “What do you mean that I’m in possible danger from the shifters in this town?”
Hunter Kyle returned to the forefront. I hesitated about telling him what was happening, but if I was going to trust him again, that meant no secrets and no lies. It was his life, after all, and he deserved to know what was happening.
“This place, this town, is supposed to be a haven for shifters to build families and live in harmony with humans instead of being hunted down, killed, or stripped of their wolves against their will.”
