Not on my watch. Reid might not ever know it, but he’d got himself a supe protector for life. I couldn’t change the past, but you could fucking bet I wasn’t repeating that in his future.
It was funny how fast your life could change. Up until this morning, I’d never thought I’d have a purpose outside the clan. Everything I’d ever worked for had been for my family. Myself, really. And that was how I’d expected it to continue. Sure, I’d believed I might take a mate one day, but in doing so they’d become clan.
One chance meeting had my priorities shifting. Now, this human came above everything else. To a human, it might have seemed sudden. Dramatic, even.
But I wasn’t human.
I was a wolf shifter. Our natures were different. We were protective to a fault. Loyal against all odds. Territorial over those we considered ours.
Reid wasn’t mine, not in that sense. He never would be.
That didn’t matter to my wolf. Like me, he took what had happened to Reid personally.
We’d both let him down. And now, we’d both protect him with everything we had.
The foursome stopped off at an Italian restaurant first. Seated at a table in the window, they ordered a couple of pizzas to share. The conversation seemed to flow easily, the cadence of the banter easy to hear even from my position across the street. The exact words escaped me, but the pattern was familiar. It was the same teasing back-and-forth I was used to with my own friends.
I didn’t look away from Reid the entire time. I noted each of his microexpressions. The wrinkle in his nose when he realised his cocktail was sour. How his eyes rolled back at the first spoonful of chocolate mousse. The way his shoulders shook as merry laughter overtook him.
I wished it could erase the way he’d looked at me earlier. The hate he’d worn. The disgust. The shame.
But it couldn’t. I’d remember it until my dying day.
It was the least I deserved.
They spent hours at the restaurant, but I didn’t get bored. Standing guard was something I was used to. Before joining the inner circle, I’d been responsible for guarding the border. I’d spent twelve-hour shifts patrolling our most distant territory lines, keeping our clan safe. Even now, I occasionally appeared on the roster.
It was an honour to do so for my clan, just as it was an honour to do so for Reid.
Eventually, they decided to move on. They tumbled out onto the street, turning in the opposite direction to Reid’s home.
It was late now, the chill of the night settling in. I frowned as I watched Reid rub at his bare arms as he shivered. Why wasn’t he wearing a coat? Didn’t he realise he was more susceptible to illness as a human?
I ground my teeth together as my wolf demanded to be set free. It wanted to pin Reid to the ground and cover him with our furry body until he was warm.
Reid’s reaction to me in my human form had been bad enough. I could only imagine how much he’d hate it if I approached him shifted.
The little group stopped outside a popular gay bar, joining the queue for entry. I observed them from a distance, taking mental notes about Reid’s friends. I’d been so focused on Reid until now that I hadn’t paid them much attention.
The one doing most of the talking was even smaller than Reid. I’d have been surprised if he hit five-foot-one on a height chart. With a shock of red hair, he was bouncing on his toes while chattering away.
Towering over him and Reid were two more men. Standing at well over six feet, they couldn’t have been morephysically different from the first two. They both were well muscled and broad. The darker haired man was leaning against the wall, his eyes closed. There were lines of tension on his forehead that implied something about the situation was bothering him. The blond was alternating between shooting him concerned glances and surveying their surroundings.
The guy’s awareness suggested Reid at least had someone looking out for him in the past. A tiny fragment of the guilt in my gut dissolved. At least not everyone in Reid’s life had failed him.
I was here now though. Whoever that man was, he could rest assured that he wasn’t the only one covering Reid’s back going forward.
And my protection came with the added bonus of sharp claws and deadly teeth.
I waited until they were inside the club before making my approach. I didn’t bother with the queue, casting a simple compulsion net that allowed me to enter without anyone seeing me.
Not wanting my focus to be on anything other than Reid’s safety, I dropped the net once I was inside. I didn’t need to use my powers to remain unseen. Logan had taught me enough about hiding in plain sight for me to get away with it.
Locating Reid and his friends at the bar, I rested against the wall, the shadows cloaking me from view. That, plus the ‘fuck off’ expression on my face, stopped anyone from approaching, leaving me free to keep an eye on Reid.
After downing a series of shots, Reid and his shorter friend made their way to the dance floor. The other two remained by the bar, but the blond had turned so he was facingthe crowd. His posture might’ve been casual, but his focus was anything but.
A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth—the first since I’d visited the florist. The ten-year-old Reid I’d met all those years ago hadn’t had many friends, if any. Looked like he’d finally found his people.
