“No.” Jess shot up straight in her chair. “I would never hurt Ana.”
“You understand, under present circumstances,” Rían said, smoothing over Liam, “we can’t afford to take any chances with her safety.”
“I understand.” Jess clutched at my hands. “I swear to you, Ana, I only wanted to help keep you safe.”
“I believe you.” I had remembered to dial in my heightened senses after Liam spooked me outside, and I could smell the earnestness behind her words. “But I have to ask you…” I wiped any censure off my face. “What’s the story with the box of rocks?”
“Oh.” Her palms turned sweaty. “I had already been under the house for about four hours when you and Sloane arrived, so I was stiff. I wanted to stretch my legs and help you, but I knew it would look suspicious if I kept showing up out of nowhere. I had a takeout box from yesterday’s dinner under GSG, so I put some drainage gravel in it to make it feel full then added some trash to keep it from rattling and give that food smell. Then I climbed out and knocked on the door.”
“So, how tall are you when you shift?”
“Sloane.”I elbowed her in the ribs. “Not right now.”
“Do you have some kind of polar bear kink?” Liam swept his gaze over her. “You’re getting very excited.”
“I grew up in Kaktovik, asshole.” She curled her lip at him. “As in Alaska? I’ve wanted to cuddle a polar bear since I saw one break into Dad’s jeep to steal the granola bars he knew better than to leave out.” She sighed. “Did I get to? Nope. My parents were allthey’ll murder youand refused to let me even try.”
“When you said a big cross-country move brought you here,” I marveled, “you meant it.”
“It’s not so much that polar bears are more aggressive than other bears, but they are more likely to view humans as food. Their attacks are more often predatory than about guarding their territory.” Jess smiled a sickly smile. “Most shifters are afraid of us, so I don’t advertise my nature. I was driven out of my pack, who were arctic wolves like my mom, on my eighteenthbirthday. The Walshes took me in, but most of them have no idea what I am, and I would like to keep it that way.”
“Your secret is safe with us.” I draped an arm around her shoulders. “We’re not going to judge you.”
“Though we might be forced to snuggle you,” Sloane murmured under her breath, eyes bright on Jess. “Oh.” She flinched under our stares. “Haha. Yeah. Sorry. That was an inside thought that escaped out of my mouth.”
“On that note, I think we’re done here.” I walked Jess to the door. “For future reference, you’re welcome any time. You don’t need an excuse, and you don’t have to chill with the spiders. Just come on in, okay?”
“Okay.” She lingered on the porch. “I’ll just clean out my stuff then.”
“Leave it for tomorrow.” I waved her off. “It’s late, and we’ve all had enough excitement for one day.”
As soon as she hit the sidewalk, I turned to the others and stood in the center of the room.
“Well?” I scanned their faces. “What’s the verdict?”
“Innocent.” Sloane didn’t hesitate. “And I’m not just saying that because I want to pet her.”
“Innocent,” Rían agreed, eyeing Sloane. “I’ll send you a copy of ourBad Touches are Badpamphlet.”
A wet chuckle spluttered out of me, the laughter made worse when I realized Rían was serious.
“Innocent,” Liam said, closing us out. “And I second Rían’s motion on the pamphlet.”
“You threaten to squeeze one polar bear,” she grumbled, “and you’re marked for life.”
“Polar bears are people too.” Liam clucked his tongue. “Maybe we should put you on probation.”
“Before this escalates any further, I’m taking my bestie, and we’re going home.” I gripped her by the wrist, tugging hertoward the door. Had I not turned back to ensure she didn’t kick Liam on our way past, I would have missed the softness in Rían’s eyes. “I’m going to reheat leftover pork stir-fry for dinner, Rían.” I couldn’t get myself to leave without him. “Want some?”
“Yeah.” His voice came out rough. “Let’s go home.”
Home.
The word had slipped out without me noticing, but I didn’t correct him.
Morning came with a note from Fayne for me to practice energy exchanges. With Rían. Goldie had spent the night with her, and they were too busytrainingfor Fayne to accompany me to the park. I reread it to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, like the results of yesterday’s challenge, but no. Aside from nudging me to spend time with Rían, she had nothing else to share.
Sloane was already gone by the time I padded into the kitchen, dressed and ready to face the day. Fayne had sent her a note too, which Sloane had left on the counter, explaining her babysitting services wouldn’t be needed today.
