clear of that one, Reese. He’s trouble.”
Wait, what? “He seemed nice. I mean, at the camp when he showed me around.”
“I’m sure he’s nice enough, but no one would actually know that for sure, because in the years I knew him, no one could get close. He wasn’t born in the clan. He was the child of a couple of rogues, and when he came to us, he was in bad shape. He didn’t try to control his changes at all and he was a danger to be around. His animal is a beast. Violent and unstable. He didn’t even attend school with the rest of us because he couldn’t be trusted inside the classroom. And it’s not like he couldn’t control his shifts. He wouldn’t.”
Huh. Muriel wasn’t one to talk bad about people, and if she was giving a real warning, a wise woman would heed it. It did explain Ethan’s random shift as they were leaving camp. And the almost shift when they were in the throes of passion. A chill crept across her skin and she rubbed her arms to warm them.
“Maybe he’s changed in the years I’ve been away, I don’t know,” Muriel muttered as she tried to pry the crispy box lid off. “But when we were in his office, he gave me the same unsettled feeling he did when I was in high school. Like he was an animal pretending to be a human. And did you smell him? All bear. He had my hackles up the entire time. Why are you asking about him?”
“No reason.” Reese said, shaking her head. “Just wondering about him, so…that question is answered. Stay away from Ethan. Got it.” Muriel couldn’t know it, but her words had caused such an aching disappointment in her chest.
Fifteen minutes drifted by as Reese sifted through clutter and mulled over the new, unsettling, information about the man she couldn’t stop thinking about. She tried to remember if her instincts had warned her when she was with him, but she couldn’t recall a single time. Maybe her bear was broken and liked danger.
No wonder he was alpha. He would’ve had to fight his way to second in the clan and then waited for Marsden’s alpha term to be over. If his bear had a violence problem, he would’ve relished the opportunity to fight all the challengers in his clan to hold second.
Reese hopped over a pile of rubble and made her way closer to Samantha to help her with a collapsed wall. Thank goodness for shifter strength, because while the debris was heavy, it wasn’t unmanageable between the two of them.
“Do you remember the moment you and Bron bonded?” Reese asked carefully.
“I don’t, but he does. I was human and just knew that I was really in love with him. He knew the exact moment we’d bonded and hid it from his father to try and protect me. Didn’t work though,” Samantha said darkly.
It certainly hadn’t. Bron’s father had laid plans to kill her before her hunter daddy put an end to the treacherous asshole.
Reese pulled up a hanger with what looked like a pair of Bron’s dress pants. Only scraps of fabric remained so she couldn’t be certain. “Did Bron ever say what it felt like?”
“He said he felt different. He couldn’t stop thinking about me, and the only thing that made it better was being around me.” Samantha frowned and crouched down to sift through a pile of shattered plates. “Muriel would know about a bond firsthand. Logan bit her and claimed her according to lion shifter customs, and didn’t tell her. He thought she wouldn’t be affected, but I think she was.”
“Why are you asking about bonds?” Muriel asked from right behind her.
Reese yelped and stumbled forward into Samantha. “Muriel, what the hell? You’re pregnant and banished to the safe edges of this burn pile.”
Muriel’s dark eyebrow arched up and her face dropped to a mask of utter seriousness. “Why are you asking about Ethan and bonds, Reese?”
Lying was out of the question because they could hear the dishonest notes in her voice if she tried. Pleading the fifth was the next best thing. Pursing her lips,
Wait, what? “He seemed nice. I mean, at the camp when he showed me around.”
“I’m sure he’s nice enough, but no one would actually know that for sure, because in the years I knew him, no one could get close. He wasn’t born in the clan. He was the child of a couple of rogues, and when he came to us, he was in bad shape. He didn’t try to control his changes at all and he was a danger to be around. His animal is a beast. Violent and unstable. He didn’t even attend school with the rest of us because he couldn’t be trusted inside the classroom. And it’s not like he couldn’t control his shifts. He wouldn’t.”
Huh. Muriel wasn’t one to talk bad about people, and if she was giving a real warning, a wise woman would heed it. It did explain Ethan’s random shift as they were leaving camp. And the almost shift when they were in the throes of passion. A chill crept across her skin and she rubbed her arms to warm them.
“Maybe he’s changed in the years I’ve been away, I don’t know,” Muriel muttered as she tried to pry the crispy box lid off. “But when we were in his office, he gave me the same unsettled feeling he did when I was in high school. Like he was an animal pretending to be a human. And did you smell him? All bear. He had my hackles up the entire time. Why are you asking about him?”
“No reason.” Reese said, shaking her head. “Just wondering about him, so…that question is answered. Stay away from Ethan. Got it.” Muriel couldn’t know it, but her words had caused such an aching disappointment in her chest.
Fifteen minutes drifted by as Reese sifted through clutter and mulled over the new, unsettling, information about the man she couldn’t stop thinking about. She tried to remember if her instincts had warned her when she was with him, but she couldn’t recall a single time. Maybe her bear was broken and liked danger.
No wonder he was alpha. He would’ve had to fight his way to second in the clan and then waited for Marsden’s alpha term to be over. If his bear had a violence problem, he would’ve relished the opportunity to fight all the challengers in his clan to hold second.
Reese hopped over a pile of rubble and made her way closer to Samantha to help her with a collapsed wall. Thank goodness for shifter strength, because while the debris was heavy, it wasn’t unmanageable between the two of them.
“Do you remember the moment you and Bron bonded?” Reese asked carefully.
“I don’t, but he does. I was human and just knew that I was really in love with him. He knew the exact moment we’d bonded and hid it from his father to try and protect me. Didn’t work though,” Samantha said darkly.
It certainly hadn’t. Bron’s father had laid plans to kill her before her hunter daddy put an end to the treacherous asshole.
Reese pulled up a hanger with what looked like a pair of Bron’s dress pants. Only scraps of fabric remained so she couldn’t be certain. “Did Bron ever say what it felt like?”
“He said he felt different. He couldn’t stop thinking about me, and the only thing that made it better was being around me.” Samantha frowned and crouched down to sift through a pile of shattered plates. “Muriel would know about a bond firsthand. Logan bit her and claimed her according to lion shifter customs, and didn’t tell her. He thought she wouldn’t be affected, but I think she was.”
“Why are you asking about bonds?” Muriel asked from right behind her.
Reese yelped and stumbled forward into Samantha. “Muriel, what the hell? You’re pregnant and banished to the safe edges of this burn pile.”
Muriel’s dark eyebrow arched up and her face dropped to a mask of utter seriousness. “Why are you asking about Ethan and bonds, Reese?”
Lying was out of the question because they could hear the dishonest notes in her voice if she tried. Pleading the fifth was the next best thing. Pursing her lips,
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