They glared at each other with distrust.
“I have sketchy memories.Fragments that make no sense.”He broke the silence.“But I’m not stupid.What’s bothering you?And don’t tell me it’s your family or the hunters.”
Sienna bit her lip and looked torn.“We argued—”
“It’s more than that.You flinch every time I touch you.If I don’t beat women, then what?We sleep in the same bed, but you’ll fall out if you move farther from me.You don’t wear a wedding ring.”He stared at his left hand.“Neither do I.Are we married?”
She refused to meet his gaze.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.I’ll sleep elsewhere.”
“No.”Sienna’s hand shot out, gripping his forearm firmly.
Frustration settled in his chest.With no memories, he felt adrift and directionless.
“We made a last-minute pact since neither of us found mates at the gathering.I know very little about you.No, that’s the truth.We’d agreed to explore a relationship, then you tripped and injured your head.”
“How much of it was real?”His voice was hoarse.“The way you looked at me, the things you said—was any of it actually about me, or was I just filling a role?”
“I don’t know.”
Somehow, her honesty cut deeper than any lie.
“That’s not good enough, Sienna.I need to know if I’m staying for people who want me here, or if I’m convenient.”
“You’re not convenient,” she said fiercely.“You’re—” She stopped, seeming to realize anything she said now might sound calculated.
“Your solution?Your backup plan?”
“You’re someone who strengthens us,” she said.“The way my father looks when you’re around, how my brothers respond to you—that’s not fake.That’s not something I could manufacture.”
“Why did you bring me here?Wouldn’t someone at the gathering know me?”
She looked at him then, with tears in her eyes.“We urgently need help, and I thought you might be the impetus we needed to turn our luck around.”
Liam gaped at her.“What if I have a mate or someone important to me?Did you consider that?Any self-respecting man would walk away right now.”
“You were alone at a singles gathering and didn’t wear a ring.Besides, you agreed to our pact just as I did.Please, Liam.We’re in danger because of the hunters, and I don’t trust our neighbors or anyone from the village.”
Sienna wasn’t wrong.Without Jamie, they wouldn’t have known about the hunters, nor would they have known to limit their shifting.It might’ve been too late, and that brought anger.Shifters should have each other’s backs.
“Why do they hate you so much?”Liam asked, putting the rest aside for now.The truth: while he wanted to learn about his past, he feared what he might find.
“Kitto got friendly with the mayor’s daughter, and her parents objected.Strongly.Some locals beat up Kitto and warned him not to go near the girl again.As far as I know, he hasn’t, but he refuses to discuss Jules.Since then, things have been tougher.It’s a lot of aggravating microaggressions.We try to ignore them.”
“And now the hunters.”
“Yeah.”
“What happens if the hunters come to the house or if someone informs on your family?”
Sienna gave a helpless shrug.“I don’t know.”
“Do your father and brothers have a hidey-hole they can retreat to while the hunters are here?”
“Yes, but long-term concealment is no way to live.”
“Aren’t they doing this now?”Liam asked.
