“I don’t do it through choice,” Emily said quietly. “When I applied for the position, I...I thought it was for groundbreaking research, stem cell treatments, cures for diseases...” She trailed off.
“But then I realized the truth. Almost immediately, they started threating my family. You have to understand, my mother and my little sister are all I have, and they’ve threatened to kill them if I don’t do what they ask of me. What they’re doing to the shifters there, it’s monstrous. I wouldneverbe a part of something that willingly.”
“They’re using you,” Carter murmured.
“Yes,” she whispered. “And I’ve been trying to help the imprisoned shifters, secretly, to the best of my abilities. But there’s only so much one person can do, and it’s never enough. You know, when I saw you the other day, I knew you were a shifter, even before I had any idea who you are and who yoursister is.”
Carter leaned forward and studied his mate intently. “How?”
She smiled wryly. “The first time I saw you, there was this flash of amber in your eyes. I’ve come to recognize it from the shifters at the facility. It’s a glimpse of your inner animal, isn’t it?”
Carter nodded. “It happens occasionally when a shifter’s animal is close to the surface, and when we’re fighting the urge to shift. Most humans who glimpse it just shrug it off as a trick of the light. But you recognize what is because you’ve spent time around shifters, so you know the signs to look for.”
“I was worried for you,” she admitted quietly. “That day. I hoped that they wouldn’t catch you too.”
“If everything you’ve said about them threatening you is true, why would you help me? Why trust me? You’ve got to know that you’re putting yourself at risk by telling me all this.”
Emily looked down, then back up, locking eyes with him. “You might not believe me, but there’s something about you, Carter. A pull. An undeniable connection. I feel like... I feel like I can trust you.”
He knew what she was talking about, of course. The mate bond was strong, and it was drawing them together. But she was human, and without an inner animal, she had know way of knowing what the mate bond was. She just felt the effects of it.
“I want to help you,” she whispered. “I want to help all of them. And maybe, together, we can.”
They sat in silence, the weight of what was discussed pressing on them. Their hands reached out tentatively and found each other in the space between the couch and the chair. Theydidn’t speak for a moment—Carter just let the warmth of their connection reassure him.
Carter looked around Emily’s condo, taking note of how exposed it felt, especially after everything she had just divulged. “You can’t stay here,” he stated abruptly.
Emily looked at him, eyebrows raised. “What do you mean?”
“It’s not safe, Emily,” he said, his voice carrying the weight of his concern. “You know too much, and if they even have an inkling that you’re helping the shifters inside the facility, they’ll come after you. People like that will stop at nothing to protect their secrets.”
Emily hugged herself, looking around her place as if seeing it in a new light. “This has been my sanctuary, even thoughtheypay for me to stay here.”
“And it’s compromised,” Carter continued, the urgent need to protect her coursing through him. His mountain lion was restless, pacing in his mind, agitated by the danger she was in.
Protect our mate,it growled.
“Come home with me,” he blurted out. “I’m staying at my parent’s house while I’m in town. Your bosses will never know you’re there. You’ll be safe.”
Emily looked stunned, then hesitant. “Carter, I appreciate the offer, I really do, but I can’t leave. My role at the facility is too important. If I disappear, they might hurt my family to get to me.”
Carter clenched his fists, frustration bubbling to the surface.This is a mess,he thought, his lion echoing the sentiment with a growl.
“Your safety is paramount. We’ll find a way to protect your family as well,” he promised.
She shook her head. “It’s not just about safety, Carter. It’s about my purpose. If I leave, who will be there to secretly help the imprisoned shifters? I can’t just abandon them. They need me.”
Worry gnawed at Carter’s gut. The logic in her words clashed with his every protective instinct. “I don’t like this,” he admitted.
She reached out and gently touched his arm. “I know, and I’m so grateful for your concern. But I have to stay—here and at the facility. At least for now.”
He sighed, raking a hand through his hair, and met her eyes. “Alright, but we need to figure out how to keep you safe here. There’s got to be a way.”
Her smile was faint but genuine. “We will,” she assured him. “Together.”
The mountain lion within him grumbled, the desire to whisk her away from danger was potent, but Carter recognized the strength and resolve in Emily. And he knew that he would need to trust in her judgment as much as she would have to learn to trust his.
Emily’s voice was soft, vulnerable. “Will you promise me something?”
