CHAPTER TEN
She was in a good mood. Mostly because she’d woken to a tongue stabbing inside her. Better than any alarm, in Gwen’s opinion.
Of course, she’d known it was an attempt to soften her up so that she didn’t insist on Zander and his pack mates leaving. It hadn’t worked. Really, it was the apology he’d delivered straight after making her come that earned him her forgiveness. It hadn’t been a long, heartfelt apology. It had been quick, straight, and offered no excuses—she respected that, and she preferred it to soppy words.
Not that she thought for a single moment that he wouldn’t ever again push her buttons. He’d even do it purposely if he thought it was necessary. He’d continue to shove his way into her business because, as she’d quickly come to learn, Zander Devlin was a nosy and often interfering bastard who had absolutely no quit in him.
He might not be a born Alpha, predestined to lead a pack, but he was the typical alpha male that could be found in most species. That meant he came with some traits that were often problematic for females. Dominant. Assertive. Persistent. Stubborn. Controlling in his efforts to protect and defend.
Gwen didn’t see the point in expecting anything different from him; she’d only be driving herself insane if she did. And holding grudges was a lot like swallowing poison—you were only hurting yourself.
Besides, he’d . . . well, he’d been good to her last night. He’d not only killed two of her attackers and then tried to hunt the rest of the flock, he’d comforted her, cleaned her up, taken care of her, and held her while she slept. Yeah, okay, he partly did the latter things to help himself calm down, but there were plenty of other ways for a person to calm down. He’d chosen to be with her.
Due to her good mood, Gwen didn’t complain at the way Zander hovered around her as she and Marlon cleaned the kitchen after breakfast. He was still on edge, and she didn’t want that. She knew that touch soothed shifters, so she let him crowd her, play with her hair, nibble her earlobe, lick over the mark he’d left on her neck.
It wasn’t exactly a hardship to have six and a half feet of gorgeousness take up her space.
It was hard to clean with three dominant male shifters in the room—it was a whole lot of testosterone. Marlon seemed to bask in it. Ally seemed perfectly used to it.
“Andie’s been a while,” said Marlon. The cougar had gone to the cabin to grab her things. “Do you think she might have changed her mind?”
“I doubt it,” said Ally. “When she left this morning, I didn’t pick up any indecisiveness from her. Just determination and a little nervousness.”
A cell phone beeped. “That’s mine.” Marlon dug his smartphone out of his pocket. “Yvonne wants me to pick her up from Julie’s. Do I tell her about the goshawk attack?”
Gwen bit her lip. “It would be wrong to keep it from her. Just downplay it a little. Make it clear that I wasn’t on death’s door or anything.”
“She’s still going to freak out,” said Marlon.
Zander stilled. “Someone’s coming.” He stalked out of the kitchen and down the hallway. His pack mates stepped onto the porch behind him as a car pulled up outside. Zander didn’t recognize the black Audi, but he did recognize the male wolf who slid out of it. He was not a person who Zander would have expected to see at all.
Ally blinked at her foster brother—her somewhat sociopathic brother and, no, that wasn’t an exaggeration. He wasn’t a bad guy, but his moral compass was off course. “Cain? How did you know I was here? Is everything okay?”
Cain stopped in his tracks, looking surprised to see her. Recovering, he bounded up the steps and eyed them all curiously. “What are you guys doing here?”
Ally snorted softly. “Well, hello to you too. I know you’re not a hugger or one for gushing, but you could at least look happy to see me.”
Cain rolled his eyes. “I saw you a week ago. Don’t be dramatic.”
“If you’re not here looking for me, why are you here?”
“I need to speak with the woman who works here. Gwen Miller.”
Zander wasn’t comfortable with that. “Why, exactly?”
Cain blinked. “Why the suspicious tone? Is something going on?”
At that moment, a chuckling Marlon came jogging out the door, off the porch, and down the steps while Gwen came striding down the hallway, shouting, “You are not color-blind!”
Giving Zander and the others a quick wave, Marlon jumped into his car—no doubt intending to collect Yvonne—just as Gwen reached the door, huffing.
Zander threaded his fingers through hers. “Gwen, this is Ally’s foster brother.”
Gwen blinked and then gasped. “Shit, Cain, I forgot you were coming. Hey, I didn’t know you were related to one of Zander’s pack mates.”
Zander tensed. She knew Cain? And she knew him well enough to be on a first-name basis with him? It had taken constant pushing on Zander’s part to make Gwen use his first name. He noticed that the others looked just as surprised and intrigued.
Cain crossed to her, frowning as Zander moved protectively closer. “Jesus, Zander, I’m not going to hurt her. Gwen, what’s going on?”
Derren’s gaze slid from Gwen to Cain. “So, you two know each other? How?”
Cain shrugged. “I stay here sometimes.”
Ally snorted. “You really think I don’t know when you’re lying? Come on, Cain, tell us. You know you can trust us. You know you can trust me.” She sounded hurt that he’d hesitate to tell her.
Cain’s lips clamped together as he looked from Gwen to the wolves, seeming torn over whether to answer honestly. Gwen held up her hands, gesturing that she’d leave the decision up to him. She would rather keep the matter quiet, but she had the feeling that Ally would keep hounding her foster brother until he told her something.
Done with waiting for the wolf to make up his damn mind, Zander growled, “How do you know Gwen? And why are you here?”
Cain sighed. “We need to talk somewhere we won’t be overheard.”
“My room,” Zander proposed. If they were in the living area and Donnie entered the house, he’d likely hear them talking. But if they were upstairs, they were more likely to have complete privacy.
Zander kept possession of Gwen’s hand as they all headed up the stairs. He didn’t speak again until they were inside his room and he’d closed the door behind them. “Now, answer my questions, Cain.”
The male gave him a pointed look. “This can’t go any farther than this room.”
“You can’t expect us to keep secrets from our Alphas,” said Derren.
Cain raised a brow at him. “Oh, so you’ve told them absolutely everything about you?”
Derren shrugged one shoulder, mouth twitching. He and Cain had known each other a long time. If Cain hadn’t asked Derren to play Ally’s bodyguard for a short while, the mated couple might never have met. Even though Cain liked and respected Derren, he also had a big problem with any guy being with Ally, so he had little patience for Derren these days.
“If any of you don’t feel comfortable keeping quiet, leave the room,” said Cain. When no one made a move to leave, Cain rolled back his shoulders. “Gwen’s an informant for The Movement. Has been for the past six years.”
A shocked silence hit the room. Cain was part of The Movement, and he even pretended to be one of the key players so that the true masterminds could act without being closely monitored by human law enforcement and the extremists themselves.
“An informant?” Derren slowly echoed, and Cain gave a curt nod.
It quickly clicked into place for Zander. Gwen didn’t know anyone involved with the extremists . . . but her half sister did—the same half sister whom she was in regular contact with. Zander hadn’t understood why the hell Gwen would have any contact whatsoever with someone like Geena Cogman, but if Geena was feeding her information about the extremists . . . yeah, that made sense.
Zander swallowed, touched that Gwen would go to such measures to help his kind. On the other hand, he was pissed because it put her in a whole lot of danger. If they hadn’t been in a room full of people and Cain hadn’t had a lot more talking to do, Zander would have pulled her to him and kissed the breath out of her.
Derren looked at Gwen. “Huh. Didn’t see that coming.”
Zander gave him a look that said, I told you that you’d gotten her all wrong. The Beta inclined his head.
Cain turned to Gwen. “Now, explain why you have Mercury wolves guarding you.”
“Well, it all started with a bunch of delinquent assholes.” Gwen told him everything, starting with the assault she witnessed and ending with the goshawk attack.
Cain scraped his hand over his jaw. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—you’ve got some balls, Miller. Not a lot of people would be so determined to see this through to the end.”
“How many people know you’re an informant?” Ally asked her.
“In my life? One,” replied Gwen.
Ally lifted a brow. “Marlon?”
Gwen shook her head. “No. No one here knows, and it needs to stay that way. If they knew, they’d be in danger.” And likely try to talk her out of helping the group.
“Your secret’s one hundred percent safe with us,” Bracken vowed.
“Do you think the goshawk flock was hired by Moore?” asked Cain.
“Yes,” said Zander as he absentmindedly toyed with Gwen’s braid. “It’s a smart way to target Gwen. People would never link a shifter attack with him.”
Cain turned to Gwen. “I don’t like this. I can set you up in a safe house.”
“I appreciate the offer, Cain,” she told him. “I do. But I won’t let them chase me away from my own home. Nu-uh. Besides, my leaving won’t stop them coming here.”
“So bring your family with you.”
“Donnie won’t leave. He’s more likely to rig the place and blow them all to pieces, sacrificing himself in the process.” She sighed. “My point is that a safe house isn’t the answer.”
Zander nodded. “I agree.”
Cain snickered at him. “Of course you do—you’ve marked her, and your scents are all over each other. You want her where you can see her.”
“Yeah, I do,” Zander admitted. “I respect you, Cain, but I don’t trust you or any of your people to protect her better than me.”
“Really? Then why do you feel that you need Bracken, Ally, and Derren here as backup?”
Bracken bristled. “I’m here because I want to be.”
“Nick sent me and Derren,” said Ally. “Zander didn’t ask us to come or to stay.”
“So why are you still here, knowing shit is going down?” growled Cain.
“Because Ally wanted to know if the damn place was really haunted,” said Derren.
Bracken gave the Beta male a daring look. “And you’re bored.”
Derren sighed. “And I’m bored.”
Done with the conversation, Zander opened the door. “I need a minute alone with Gwen. We’ll meet you downstairs.” One by one, the wolves filed out. Zander closed the door, waiting for the sounds of footsteps to disappear down the hall before he spoke to Gwen. “Geena passes you information about what Kenny is getting up to with the extremists, and then you pass it on to Cain.”
Gwen rubbed her nape. She’d hoped he wouldn’t guess, but there was clearly no such luck. She supposed it wasn’t a big leap to make.
“Does she know that you feed Cain information?”
“I’m trusting you not to repeat this.” Which was a big deal for her, because trust didn’t come easily to Gwen. At his nod of reassurance, she said, “Yes, she knows. Geena’s not a saint. She is involved in Kenny’s business, but she has morals. She’s firmly against the extremists, and she doesn’t like that money from the business is funding their shit.”
So Geena’s motives were partly selfish, Zander mused, because she was protecting her money. Still, she was also risking her life, because if Kenny discovered what Geena was doing, he’d probably kill her. “How long have you been in contact with her?”
“Since I was fourteen. She found out about me and wanted to be sure that I was okay. I think she’s just surrounded by so many jaded people who she can’t trust or relax with that she just wanted someone in her life who didn’t want anything from her. Someone who wouldn’t judge her for where she came from.” Gwen could understand that. “She’s not all bad. She keeps up the cold-bitch reputation because, in many ways, it protects her. For all her faults, she isn’t prejudiced against anyone or anything.”
“Have you two ever met in person?”
“Sure. Kenny knows. He doesn’t care. He’d never guess that she tells me stuff.”
Zander settled his hands on her hips. “Does he want contact with you?”
“No. He’ll be glad I’m not coming to him, looking for money.”
“She doesn’t pass on anything that can shut him down and put his ass in jail?”
Gwen shook her head. “She loves him, in her way. She wants Daddy’s approval. Unless he does something truly horrific, I don’t think she’ll ever move against him. For now, this is enough.”
Zander twisted his mouth. “If The Movement is repeatedly crushing the extremists’ plans, he must be considering that there could be a leak.”
“Too many of them work together for anyone to have a specific idea of where the leak is. According to Geena, Kenny thinks some of the extremists are having their calls monitored and being watched constantly. He’s too arrogant to think he’s the weak link.”
Zander caressed her hip bones with his thumbs. “You could have told me all this.”
“You know why I didn’t.” She was protecting her sister.
“If he finds out you two are working together like this . . .”
“We each have our reasons for taking that risk.”
Zander rested his forehead on hers. “I want to spank your ass for putting yourself in the line of fire this way, even though I appreciate everything you’re doing. I don’t like the idea of you in this kind of danger.” Hated it, in fact. His wolf didn’t like it. He was pacing, agitated.
“You can’t tell anyone what I told you, Zander. Not about me. Not about Geena.”
He combed his fingers through her bangs. “I can’t guarantee that my pack mates won’t guess some of it, but I won’t confirm or deny any theory they run by me. I won’t repeat anything you’ve told me.”
She nodded, knowing that would have to be enough.
“Gwen, Andie’s here!” Bracken practically bellowed from downstairs.
Gwen winced. “That guy has got a big set of lungs on him.”
Grunting, Zander slid his hand around her nape and then took her mouth. The kiss was soft but deep as he devoured her, needing her taste on his tongue. “Let’s go. Makenna’s expecting us.”
A few hours later, Gwen frowned up at the basic redbrick building. It didn’t have a sign or in any way identify itself as a shelter. “It’s . . . unobtrusive. Not the sort of place that would snatch your attention as you walk by.”
“Maybe that’s sort of the point,” suggested Andie, flexing her fingers nervously.
“Yeah, maybe.” Gwen shot her a supportive smile as they followed Zander and Bracken up the path. Derren and Ally had decided to stay at the B&B to keep watch over Marlon, Yvonne, and Donnie, which Gwen sincerely appreciated.
Cain had left with the envelope of information she’d given him that she’d gathered from Geena, but not before making yet another offer to set her up at a safe house. Again, she’d declined. Running and hiding wasn’t the answer, and it wouldn’t solve anything.
Zander knocked on the glass door and then turned to Gwen. “You okay?”
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Bracken leaned against the wall. “I guess some humans would be nervous about entering a building full of lone shifters.”
Gwen’s nose wrinkled. “Nah, I have you three to kick asses and take down names and all that stuff.”
Andie shook her head, amused. “How is it that you always manage to make me smile, no matter the situation?”
“I don’t know.”
The door opened, and a slender, quirkily dressed female with long hair made up of gold, copper, dark-red, and plum-purple streaks smiled at them. She also wore a baby sling. As the sling faced inward, Gwen could only make out tiny limbs and a little mop of short, dark curls.
“Zander, Bracken, hi.” She looked at Andie, who was tense as a bow. “I’m Makenna. You must be Andie.”
The cougar nodded and flashed Makenna a quick smile.
Makenna’s gaze then sliced to Gwen and turned assessing. “And you must be Gwen.”
Gwen gave her a polite smile. “I am. I can only see a little of your baby, but it sure does look cute.”
“Aw, thank you. Come on in.” Makenna stepped back, allowing them to enter a small, bright reception area. She twisted to give them a better view of her baby. “Meet Sienna Rose Conner.”
Gwen smiled. “She’s so sweet.”
Makenna gestured toward a broad, grumpy-looking male who stood a few feet away, exchanging nods with the Mercury wolves. “That’s my mate, Ryan. The scowl is permanent, so don’t take offense. He’s extra grouchy today because he doesn’t like me or the baby leaving our territory.” Ryan grunted, and Makenna crossed her eyes. “No, I’m not. Stop being a brat.”
At Gwen’s confused frown, Zander explained, “Makenna claims she can translate his grunts.”
“Ah,” said Gwen with a slow nod.
Makenna pointed to the small, round brunette who was standing behind the reception desk with a guy who seemed to be sorting through one of the lockers lining the wall. “That’s Dawn. She owns and runs the shelter.”
Hearing her name, Dawn turned. She gave the Mercury wolves a gorgeous smile. “Boys, it’s good to see you.”
Ignoring the way his wolf’s mood typically soured at the presence of the females, Zander inclined his head at Dawn. He liked her. The born Alpha had dedicated her life to the running of the shelter, even though it was a nonprofit organization and it had to be difficult for her inner cat to be without a pride. She’d done her best to find sponsors, grants, and also funding from the shifter council. Even with the additional help of both financial and practical donations, it wasn’t easy, but she ran the shelter without complaint. He respected the sacrifices she’d made.
His wolf snarled at him, wanting to leave. He didn’t like being around females who weren’t from his pack, just as he didn’t like all the strange scents of varying shifter breeds. Zander drew Gwen’s scent into his lungs, drowning out the other smells. His wolf settled a little, finding an element of comfort in her scent.
“This is Gwen,” said Makenna. “And behind her is Andie, who I told you about.”
Dawn beamed. “Great. We’ve been waiting for you. This here is Heath. He works at the desk for us.” She gestured to the male at her side who Zander noticed was busy staring at Gwen’s legs. It wasn’t entirely surprising to Zander, given that she was wearing shorts.
When she’d pulled them on that morning, she’d said, “Don’t whine about the shorts, Devlin. It’s too hot to wear anything else.”
Actually, Zander found he didn’t mind the shorts so much now that he knew he’d be the only person touching those legs. He got a strange kind of kick out of knowing others wanted what they didn’t have a prayer of touching because she was his. He didn’t need to be told that wasn’t particularly normal.
Dawn rounded the desk, her smiling eyes on Andie. “I must say it’ll be nice to have another cougar around. There aren’t many here.”
Andie stepped out from behind Gwen and shook Dawn’s hand. “Um, hi.” She exchanged a nod with Heath, who was now staring at Andie like she was food.
“I know a little of your story, but only the basics,” Dawn told her. “You’re more than welcome here. All we need is for you all to sign in, and then I can take you for a tour.” Dawn handed a pen to Bracken, who quickly jotted down their names in the book on the desk.
Having finished reading the “Rules and Regulations” sign on the wall, Gwen turned to Dawn. “This place is safe, right? I mean, I noticed you don’t have guards.”
“This place is as safe as we can make it,” said Dawn. “The Phoenix Alphas offered to post guards, but I don’t want people to mistakenly think that the shelter is run by the pack. Loners would never feel they could come here for sanctuary if it wasn’t run by other loners.”
Gwen nodded, getting it. “Do the security cameras work?”
“Yes. They’re relatively new, courtesy of the Mercury Alphas, and each of the cameras provides live feed to the monitors in my office. The Mercury pack also installed software on my phone that gives me a panic button. If there’s a problem and I press it, both the Phoenix and Mercury Packs will be alerted.”
Andie seemed to relax a little at that, Gwen noticed . . . as if the cougar realized that Zander had been telling the truth when he told her about their acceptance of loners.
“Why don’t you wait in the common room while I take Andie for a tour?” Dawn suggested to Gwen.
Yeah, right, like that would happen, especially since Andie didn’t appear fond of the idea. Gwen smiled. “Thanks, but I’d be interested in coming along to look around, if that’s okay with you.” She thought that sounded a lot better than, “I don’t trust Andie’s safety with you yet.” But Dawn’s eyes narrowed, as if she’d easily read between the lines. Still, she didn’t seem offended, just understanding.
Zander sidled up to Gwen, his arm brushing hers. “Bracken and I will come too.”
“All right,” said Dawn. “We can—”
Bracken suddenly shuddered. “Whoa, just got a horrible chill down my spine.”
“Someone walked over your grave,” both Gwen and Makenna said in unison. Then the two females looked at each other, chuckling.
Zander frowned. He’d expect that from Makenna, since she was incredibly superstitious, but not Gwen.
Bracken held up a hand. “Wait, you really think me feeling a chill means someone walked over my grave?”
Makenna snorted. “Obviously. Jeez. Come on, Gwen, you’re going to love this place.”
Gwen listened avidly as Dawn told them about the shelter while they walked. Apparently when her mother started it thirty years ago, it had been just a day center—a place loners went to simply sit, drink coffee, eat a decent meal, and talk with other loners. With the help of funding, Dawn’s mother had gradually expanded it. It was certainly expansive.
Dawn guided them around each of the floors, except for the attic, since that was where Dawn lived. The first floor had a common room, cafeteria, communal toilets, and private rooms for those with children. Females slept on the second floor, and males slept on the third—both floors were dormitories. All supplies were kept in the basement.
Gwen had been surprised to learn that many slept in the dome-shaped tents that were scattered around the land at the rear of the building near the children’s play area. Dawn sure made use of every inch of space, both inside and outside the shelter.
“How long are people allowed to stay here?” Gwen asked.
“There’s no time limit,” said Dawn, pausing in a hallway. “Although Makenna can attempt to get them a place somewhere, like with relatives or with Alphas that are willing to adopt or foster loners, many prefer to remain loners. We do what we can to help them find an apartment and blend into the human community, but some wish to stay here long term.”
“You allow that?”
Dawn nodded. “In exchange, they work here—there are always plenty of things that need doing at a shelter, like cleaning, cooking, and laundry. It’s understandable that they might wish to stay. You’re a human, so you may find it difficult to understand just how isolating the loner lifestyle can be. Shifters aren’t built to live alone. Some residents find the same comfort in running the shelter as they’d find in belonging to a pack or pride, for instance.”
Dawn turned to Andie. “I want you to know that you’re not the only person here who’s had problems with humans—not by a long shot. Being without a pack, pride, or whatever it may be means that loners are vulnerable to other shifters and humans. People often assume that a shifter would only be a loner if they were cast out by their Alphas. Not always. Some are runaways, others are in hiding, and many are simply lost after the death of their mate. Many loners here will be able to relate to your situation.”
Makenna tilted her head at Andie. “How did you become a loner, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Andie cleared her throat. “I was adopted by humans as a baby. My parents didn’t know what I was. When they realized, they kept me.”
A bell suddenly chimed, and Dawn smiled. “Time for lunch. You should eat with us.”
Minutes later, they claimed one of the plastic tables in the school-like cafeteria. Gwen was surprised to find that the food wasn’t bad. Thankfully, Andie seemed to enjoy it. When they headed to the water fountain after they’d eaten, Gwen asked her quietly, “Well, what do you think?”
“It’s restful here,” replied Andie, her voice just as low. “I didn’t expect that. It’s kind of nice not to be looked at with scorn for being a loner.”
“It’s got to be a hell of a lot better than the cabin in the marsh, but if you don’t want to stay, that’s fine.”
Andie twisted her mouth. “My cat likes it here. She’s intrigued by all the strange scents, not nervous. I didn’t expect that.”
“Why don’t you give it a trial run?” suggested Gwen. “Stay here for a few days, see what’s it like. If you can’t settle here, if you want to come back to the marsh, all you have to do is call, and I’ll come get you.”
Andie’s face softened. “You really would do that, wouldn’t you?”
“I would.” The girl had been through enough. Reaching the water fountain, Gwen filled a plastic cup and passed it to Andie before filling a cup for herself.
Andie rolled back her shoulders. “I’ll stay, give it a shot.”
“I thought you might.” And Gwen was glad, because she liked the shelter too. It was clean, secure, and well run. The people looked relatively relaxed.
Andie leaned into Gwen. “I wasn’t gonna say anything but, um . . . taking on Zander? Bold move. He must be a handful.”
Gwen’s mouth curved. “He has ways that compensate for that.”
Andie chuckled. “I’ll bet he does.”
“Aw, look, Andie’s smiling,” said Makenna, sitting beside Zander at the table. “That’s a good sign.”
Zander’s gaze had been on Gwen. He liked to watch her. Liked to see her big eyes light up. Liked to see that lush mouth curve, and watch how she used those elegant hands as she spoke. Liked knowing he was the only one who touched her.
He didn’t like that she was wearing a shirt that covered his mark, but he suspected she’d done it so that Makenna wouldn’t tell tales to his pack. He’d told Gwen that he didn’t care if they knew, that it was likely Derren would have told Nick anyway. But she clearly hadn’t been convinced.
“I think it’s likely that Andie will stay,” hedged Bracken.
“Me too,” said Dawn. “I’m relieved. She’s been through a lot, and she deserves to finally feel safe.”
“She does,” agreed Makenna, taking a little peek at Sienna Rose, who was now being held by Ryan. “Gwen’s cool. I have to say, I wasn’t sure if I’d like her.”
Zander couldn’t help but frown, affronted on Gwen’s behalf. “Why?”
“Her name’s Gwen.”
And that explanation was apparently supposed to make sense to him. “So?”
“So I know three other Gwens, one of whom is Ryan’s mother—I can’t stand any of them.” Makenna shook her head in distaste. “I don’t associate the name with anything good. Personally, I think it’s odd that I know several Gwens; it never struck me as a popular name. But now there’s yet another Gwen. Odd, right?”
Because she already knew people by that name? “I have an uncle called Ryan, an old pack mate named Ally, and my great-grandmother’s name was Dawn.”
Her eyes widened. “Really? Weird, huh?”
“No.”
Ryan grunted, seeming amused, but Makenna just rolled her eyes.
At that moment, Zander’s cell phone beeped. He fished it out of his pocket and saw that it was a text message from Nick: “Make sure you stop by on the way to Oregon. Shay won’t stop whining that she wants to meet Gwen.”
Tucking his phone back in his pocket, Zander looked at Bracken. “Nick wants us to make a pit stop at our territory so that Shaya can meet Gwen.” Although the Alpha female was good at getting her way, Zander hadn’t thought she’d win this one.
Bracken’s brows raised slightly. “Well, that’s a surprise. Gwen’s not only an outsider, she’s an outsider who happens to be a human that’s currently in the kind of trouble he wouldn’t want on our doorstep.”
It made Zander wonder if Derren had contacted Nick with news of Gwen being an informant, despite giving his word to both Gwen and Cain that he wouldn’t. But no, the Beta wouldn’t break a promise. He would, however, assure Nick that Gwen could be trusted. There was, of course, another possibility . . .
Cutting his gaze to Makenna, Zander said, “I noticed you texting someone earlier. Would that have been Nick?”
“No,” Makenna denied with a sniff. In a quieter voice, she added, “It was Shaya.” She shrugged. “Roni and Harley too. I just wanted them to know that I think Gwen’s cool. I get a lot of shifters coming here with one bad story after another. Never before has anyone told me that a human went to bat for them. It’s natural for most to look the other way and stay out of people’s business. That made some suspicious of Gwen’s motives. I’m not, and I wanted your pack to know that.” She patted Zander’s arm. “It’ll all be fine. You’ll see.”
He hoped she was right, because the one thing he wouldn’t be able to tolerate was his pack treating Gwen like shit. Not just because she was important to him, but because now he knew the truth of just how brave and selfless she actually was. The last thing she deserved was their mistrust.
Honesty was important to Zander. Gwen could have spun him a pretty story to get him off her back—God knew he’d driven her crazy with his questions—but she hadn’t lied to him; she’d respected him enough not to do so. That got to him, just as it had that she’d trusted him with her secret.
He’d always had difficulty sharing things—his past, his feelings, his goals. He’d only shared pieces of himself with Gwen so that she’d share pieces of herself in turn, but that meant he’d inadvertently opened up to her. He’d unknowingly let her in. And she’d also done the same with him. She’d trusted him with the truth of her and her half sister. As someone with trust issues, he knew how difficult it was to rely on another person not to betray you. To him, that trust she’d shown in him to keep her secret safe was a gift. One he had no intention of abusing.
He hoped his pack didn’t put him in a position where he had to defend her to them. Maybe the reason he’d always worried about Nick discovering he was involved with Gwen was because he’d known even then that he couldn’t obey any order to abandon her while she needed his protection.
Zander had always been unwaveringly loyal to his pack. But if Nick put him in a position where he had to choose between them or Gwen, Zander couldn’t be sure that he’d choose his pack . . . so it seemed that Derren was right and that Zander was in much deeper with Gwen than he’d thought. What worried Zander was that Derren could also be right in predicting that the scenario could bite him on the ass.