“Shifters?”
“Life.”
“You’ll get there. You’re already shifting faster than that first night.”
“I’m slow as a turtle, and you know it. It gives me a new appreciation for weak shifters and the pain they go through when shifting. Believe me, Garrett, I’d endure a thousand painful shifts if that’s the price of freedom. Just don’t…”
“You need to stop that.”
“What?”
“Stopping yourself mid-sentence. You’re watching every word you say around me, censoring yourself when it’s not necessary. There’s absolutely nothing you could say that would make me think any less.”
She pushes a lock of hair behind her ear. “I trust you.”
I’m not sure she does. Not fully.
“It’s okay if you don’t. Really. A guy’s got to earn your trust. I get that. Just try not to shut down, okay?”
Her smile widens, then quickly disappears. I follow her gaze. We’re at the outer perimeter of the camp and my packmates are staring at us… ather.
Their stares set me and my wolf on edge. I can’t imagine how their lack of welcome is affecting her. It’s as if they’ve already condemned her. They don’t even know her, let alone what she’s been through.
Damien’s nowhere in sight, but Hayden’s standing front and center in the middle of the camp, dozens of shifters going about their daily routines. With his back to the Christmas tree, and his arms folded over his chest, Hayden doesn’t move a muscle as he tracks our every movement. He’s not surprised to see us, either of us. Pissed, but not surprised.
“I figured you’d go after her. I told Damien as much, but he said you wouldn’t defy his orders.”
“As if you’ve never defied an alpha,” I snap, well aware that Angel has slid behind me. Thankfully, my wolf doesn’t bite me for talking to our second this way. That gives me something to think about… later. “I had to go.”
“To prove something to us?”
“To rescue a shifter no one seemed to care about.”
“We care. You just don’t want to see it. You’d rather ignore your alpha and put your pack at risk rather than accept the truth.”
“What truth?” Angel whispers behind me.
Hayden’s gaze moves to Angel. “That he’s responsible for the death of the last female he was with. You’re her replacement, only he doesn’t see it.”
I take a swing at Hayden, and find myself face down in the dirt, a knee in my back and one arm twisted high behind me.
“Let him up,” Damien orders.
The second Hayden releases me, I flip over and search for Angel. She’s right where I left her—eyes wide, and her handssqueezing the sides of the shirt so hard her knuckles have turned white. She’s frozen up again, like at the border.
My wolf’s hackles rise as I scan my packmates. The air reeks of their suspicion and mistrust. She tried to warn me they wouldn’t accept her.
I should have listened.
When I start to get up, Hayden plants his foot in my chest. Asshole.
My eyes stay locked on Angel, though. “All is good, Angel. This is Hayden. You probably remember him from that day we met. He’s our second. A Novak by birth. I’m sure you’ve heard of the White Wolves south of us.” Her eyes widen further. “They have quite the reputation. But he’s one of us now. Trusted, smart, strategic, even though he’s an asshole more often than not.”
“Fuck you too,” Hayden says as he removes his foot and offers me a hand up. “And for your information, that’s not the worst introduction I’ve had.”
“You two done pissing each other off?” Damien asks.
“You could have stepped in any time, cousin.”
