“Where would we go?”Hedrek asked.“We make our pottery here and stay somewhat hidden from the outside world.We’d have the same problems elsewhere, and it might be even more difficult to blend.”
Liam got it.People stared at him too.But this—this wasn’t living.It was merely getting by.There had to be an answer.
He shifted the conversation.“Do you think it was the hunters watching us?”
“We shouldn’t jump to conclusions,” Tamsin said.“For all we know, it’s a competitor trying to find out where we dig our clay.Whatever we discover in the morning, we need to be careful.”She scanned her husband and sons, a crease forming between her brows.
Liam’s stomach twisted at the thought of other shifters treating the Teagues like lepers, when all they wanted was to live in peace.He prayed his suspicion that the locals had pointed the hunters at them was nothing more than an overactive imagination.
“I’m tired.”Tamsin rose abruptly.“I’m going to bed.”
Hedrek stood and slipped his arm around his wife’s waist.
The boys and Sienna watched their parents disappear into their bedroom, the silence heavy with anxiety.
“Don’t leave without me in the morning,” Liam said.“We’ll go on two feet, and if we meet anyone, let me do the talking.”He didn’t tell the brothers to fade into the background because they weren’t novices at this.
A sudden gust of wind rattled the window, and Sienna closed it.“I’d come with you, but I can’t be late for work.”
“You’re better off in the village,” Jago commented.“Listen for chatter.”
“All right.”
Liam agreed.A logical suggestion, given they needed info about the hunters.“If anything important happens, I’ll walk into town to let you know.”
“What time will we leave in the morning?”Kitto asked.
“Five,” Jago said.
Liam extended his hand to Sienna.She blinked before grasping his fingers.Liam couldn’t read her expression, and that frustrated him.What was wrong with their relationship?
“Good night,” he said.
The three brothers called their responses as he led Sienna to their bedroom.
“What’s wrong?”Liam asked.
“N-nothing.I guess knowing hunters are in the area has upset me.”
“It’s not ideal, but if we’re careful, we should be okay.It’s a lot of ground for three men to cover.Probably won’t take them long to decide the Beast of Bodmin is tourist hype.”
“I hope so,” Sienna said.“But I have a bad feeling.”
Yeah, he had one of those squirming around in his gut.But Sienna and her mother were worried enough without him adding to the tension.
“Is your head feeling better?”Sienna asked as he closed the bedroom door behind them.
“Yeah, shifting helped a lot.”
Sienna edged away, and tension gripped his muscles.He hadn’t hit her—he didn’t think he’d ever struck a woman—but uncertainty gnawed at him.Anxiety swelled in his chest.Maybe it was time to press Sienna for answers.She was stunning.He wasn’t.His scar made people stare and sometimes recoil.Of course, he had to consider her brothers and father.Word about them must’ve spread from shifter to shifter, ruining her chances of finding a mate.
“Did you choose me because of my scar?”The words fell heavy with an accusation he hadn’t meant.
“No,” she snapped.
“Why me, then?”
“Why were you willing to come home with me?”she countered.
