The shame on the boy’s face told me everything I needed to know about his character. As soon as Millie was in a place to hear it, I’d personally relay his apology.
“I know, kid. I’ll call you in the morning,” I said, patting him on the shoulder.
As soon as I heard his feet on the stairs, I turned and knocked on the bathroom door. “Millie, can I come in?”
There was a moment of silence, then her soft voice replied, “Yes.”
As I entered, I tried to breathe through my mouth, and not my nose. The last thing Millie needed was another man lusting madly after her right now.
Wrapped in the scrap of a towel that had come from the towel rack near the sink, Millie was vibrating from head totoe with fear. She looked so young, small, and helpless, my heart nearly cracked in two.
I didn’t think. I simply acted. Rushing to her side, I pulled her into the circle of my arms and crushed her against my chest.
“Baby, I’m so sorry,” I soothed. “You’re safe now. Nobody will touch you. I promise.”
Millie’s shaking increased despite my assurances. However, she wrapped her arms around my waist and squeezed me back, indicating that she felt safe with me.
“Ethan, what just happened? Who was that man?” She asked against my chest.
“He’s a young shifter who’d never met a female ware before,” I answered. “I didn’t think he was going to be here tonight. He won’t come back until we get things sorted out.”
Millie’s head whipped up. “He’s your friend?”
“I’m his mentor,” I explained. “He’s from Cascia House, the group home I grew up in back in Alaska.”
Snorting, Millie said, “What the hell is his problem? Why did he try to, try to,” she thought about her word choice carefully before she said, “murder me?”
“He wasn’t trying to hurt you, Millie. It’s your scent he was drawn to,” I attempted to explain. “You’re close to your first heat. It must have bloomed even stronger than when I had last seen you. What happened right before he came into the bathroom?”
Pulling free of my arms, Millie’s face immediately turned red and blotchy. “What does that matter? Is there any reason why a man should attack a woman while she’s showering?”
Confused by her angry reaction, I hurriedly explained, “Of course not. I was just trying to figure out his extreme reaction, is all. Gavin’s young. It must have been your scent that overwhelmed him and sent him into rut, a sort of sexual frenzy for male wares. He doesn’t even remember what happened.”
Crossing her arms protectively along her midsection, Millie fired back, “So you’re saying this is all my fault? That Gavin and Garrett were merely responding to my “scent” and couldn’t help themselves? That men just can’t help how they act around a girl that’s clearly asking for it? Typical!” She spit out in a rage.
“That’s not what I’m saying at all,” I denied, frustrated that I was fucking this conversation up so badly. “I’m trying to explain what happens when a female shifter is in heat, Millie. What Garrett did was wrong. You’d already left the club. He could have left it alone. Instead, he stalked you out onto the street. He cornered you in that filthy alleyway. He shifted into his wolf form, unnecessarily escalating an already dangerous situation. One that wouldn’t have served any purpose other than hurting you. I agree, that was unforgivable, predatory behavior on his part.”
“But Gavin is forgivable because I dared to be vulnerable around him by being undressed and bathing behind closed doors? Did I get that right, Ethan?” She hissed like a scalded cat.
I was at a loss about how to respond. The truth was that shifters weren’t humans. We lived by very different rules. We had different stimuli and triggers. When in rut, it was difficult, though not impossible, to stop pursuing the female whose scent you’d latched on to. That’s why omegas were so protected by a pack and were rarely left unmatted for long.
Gavin was not Garrett. Garrett had chased Millie down. He’d turned on purpose and was about to maul her like a fucking predator would. That was a straight up assault. Gavin’s primitive brain hadn’t known what he was following when he’d walked down the hallway. He’d been blindsided by years of evolution. Instinct had taken over and free will had taken a back seat.
In spite of the facts, which made perfect sense to a shifter, how could I explain to someone raised as a human female how all of this worked without sounding like a grade-A asshole? I wasn’t sure I could.
“Millie, shifters aren’t human. Everything I’ve told you tonight sounds strange, but it’ll all make sense after you experience your first change,” I relayed, trying to remain neutral and scientific on the subject.
It would seem my approach had been lacking again, because the usually amiable Millie nearly exploded at my words.
“I’m not a damn shifter!” She shouted, her voice echoing off the tile walls all around her.
I couldn’t understand why she was fighting this so badly. Did she think less of shifters? To be fair, she hadn’t exactly seen our best side since finding out we exist. Still, was she ever going to give us, or me, a chance to prove to her we were just as worthy as humans? Doubtful, by the way she was bristling right now.
“I’m going to get you some clothes so you can get dressed. You’ll feel better then,” I reasoned logically, “and I’ll answer all the questions you have so that there’s no more confusion between us.”
“After I get dressed,” Millie countered, her blue eyes flashing fire, “I’ll be going straight home to my apartment. I’m not staying here after what happened. I don’t feel safe with Gavin here.”
While I couldn’t blame her for not wanting to stay at the cabin after what she’d been through tonight, her words still stung. “I sent Gavin away, Millie. He won’t come back until I tell him to.”
