CHAPTER ONE
Connor glowered at Ross and Jenny, catching the way Jenny’s bright smile wavered slightly as she caught his eye. The minute Jenny had asked to speak to Ross in private, Connor had known what was coming. He didn’t even need to listen to what Ross was saying to know what was going to happen.
“So, Jenny and I will live in her house together, leaving space for Beth,” Ross finished, looking around at the group. “But only if everyone is OK with that. I know it’s a big change.”
“That sounds good to me,” Sarah replied, grinning at Jenny. “I’m sure you two need your space.”
Connor’s wolf growled, but he caught it in time before it had a chance to escape. Everyone seemed to be completely fine with the pack leader and his new mate living away from their base, even if it was only a street away. Connor didn’t like change, although he didn’t have anything against Jenny personally. He’d seen the way Ross had slowly fallen for her, and if he were honest, he was happy for his brother. He just didn’t want things to change.
His eyes flicked to Beth, who was sitting at the back of the room, her long hair falling over her face. A ball of anger slammed into his chest, and this time he couldn’t keep back the growl. Dropping his head, he tried to ignore the others, hoping they hadn’t heard him.
Unfortunately, they had.
“Is there something wrong?” Ross asked, his tone implying he wasn’t about to let Connor’s growl go unnoticed.
“No,” Connor muttered, still not lifting his head.
“It sounds like there is,” Ross insisted, not letting the matter drop. “Now’s the time to talk, Connor.”
Sighing heavily, Connor sat and looked his brother straight in the eye. “Ross, we’ve just come back from a pretty big journey where I managed to get pretty badly beat up fighting off the shifters trying to kill us, and now we have one of those shifters in our custody.” He saw the anger leave Ross’s face. “So, I’m sorry that I’m not exactly thrilled to hear that you and Jenny are shacking up, but I’m sure I will after I’ve had some sleep.” He held his breath, hoping his excuse would work and, to his relief, Ross seemed to accept it.
Connor closed his eyes for a moment and rested his head back against the chair, listening to Ross talk. It seemed like everything else was going to stay the same, except that Beth—their rogue shifter—was going to have Ross’s room. It had an en-suite, which meant that they wouldn’t have to worry about her leaving the room. Then again, with her broken arm, Connor knew she wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while.
“Let’s get some rest,” Ross finished, getting up. “Jenny and I will move my things tonight. Someone will have to stay here with her until we have the room ready.” He nodded in Beth’s direction, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Tension crawled around the room as no one immediately jumped in to be the one to stay with her.
Connor sighed. “Fine, I’ll stay. It doesn’t look like she’ll be going anywhere anyway.”
He waited as the rest of the group began to make their way out of their office and out toward the living area, leaving him and Beth almost entirely alone. He saw Sarah glance back at him and he silently begged her to leave, only for her to come and sit beside him.
A quiet groan escaped him.
“Come on,” Sarah said, slapping his arm. “I know something’s bothering you, and you’re not exactly opening up to your brothers.” Her eyes studied him with an intensity that told him that he wasn’t about to get out of this. “If you really don’t want to sit with her, then I will.”
A large part of Connor wanted to jump at the chance not to stay with Beth, but instead he shook his head. "I'm fine," he muttered, running a hand through his dark hair. "Seriously, Sarah. Don't worry."
She laughed quietly. "I'm your sister-in-law, Connor. I've had a good few years living with the three of you to know that you guys don't exactly talk feelings and that it's probably not a good thing." Tilting her head, she glanced over at Beth who hadn't moved. "I know you don't want her here, but someone has to find out what she knows."
Connor knew that was true. When they’d first heard that there was a group of hunters trying to chase shifters down to kill them, he hadn’t believed it. Then there had been Greg Davidson who had come to the White Fire Detective Agency under the pretense of his girlfriend going missing—except that “girlfriend” had been Jenny, who had been locked in a cellar. They’d managed to get her out, thankfully, and had been forced to go on the run to keep Jenny safe.
“What exactly happened to Davidson?” Sarah asked, propping her head up with her hand as she leaned back on the sofa. “I know he died, but . . .”
“Jenny stood up to him,” Connor replied, repeating what Jenny had said. “She had shifted, and he was just backing away, trying to find his weapons—until he fell off the edge.” A grim expression came over his face. “It was quite a drop.”
“So, he’s definitely not coming back?”
Connor shook his head. “There’s no way he could have survived that, but there are more people involved in his disgusting scheme.”
“He wanted to kill all of the shifters in the state,” Sarah murmured, her gaze drifting toward Beth. “Even though his wife was a shifter.”
A muscle worked in Connor’s jaw as he thought about how Davidson had tried to kill them all. “His wife was a shifter, yes, but he believed shifters were responsible for her death. Apparently, so does Beth.”
Sarah let out a long breath, her eyes darkening. Beth was Davidson’s sister-in-law and had, for whatever reason, been with Davidson, working for him. Jenny had said that Beth had been there whenever Davidson had tried to get her to shift, although she’d never really involved herself. It was incomprehensible to Connor that a shifter would try and wipe out other shifters, no matter how much the death of a family member hurt.
“Do you think she really believes that a pack of shifters killed her sister?” Sarah murmured, quiet enough so that Connor had to strain to hear her.
He shrugged. “Why else would she be so willing to help Davidson?”
Shaking her head, Sarah rubbed a hand over her eyes. “It doesn’t make sense.” Dropping her hand, she glared at Beth who still hadn’t raised her head. “Well, at least we can use her to find out the truth about what Davidson was doing and who else is involved.”
“And where her brother might have gone,” Connor replied, his hand curling into fists as he thought of how Beth’s brother had managed to escape them. “I wish we’d managed to get them both.”
Sarah put a gentle hand on Connor’s shoulder. “We have one, and that will be enough.” She studied him for a moment longer, making him feel as though she were able to see into his very soul. “If you ever want to talk, Connor, you know I’m here to listen. It’s not like you not to have a smile on your face.” Getting up, she gave his shoulder a quick squeeze before leaving the room.
Connor sighed to himself, knowing that it was true. He was known as the joker of the group, the one always ready to make other people laugh, but he simply couldn’t summon even the slightest smile. Not now.
When he and Beth had fought in the forest, right before she’d been captured, something in him had been quite impressed with her strength and skill, even though he hated everything she stood for. Even now, that hadn’t left him.
What he hated most of all was the feeling of sympathy that rose in his chest when he looked at her. She seemed so forlorn, so weak. It was in direct contradiction to her wolf and how courageously she had fought. He glanced at her again and saw that she hadn't moved. At least she'd eaten something and drank the coffee he'd given her earlier.
Throwing his head back against the soft cushions of the sofa, Connor closed his eyes and muttered under his breath. He was feeling things for this shifter that he didn’t want to feel. She didn’t deserve his sympathy and certainly didn’t deserve any kindness. In helping Davidson, she’d shown where her loyalty lay.
Sighing, Connor pushed himself up and went to get another coffee. The sooner Ross and Jenny had moved Ross’s stuff, the sooner he could get Beth up in that room. Then he wouldn’t have to think about her for a while.
Compassion nudged at his heart again as he saw her dark hair and pale face, the way her hands twisted together in her lap. She hadn’t said a word to him, not since she’d been captured. The only person she’d spoken to was Jenny, and since then, Ross had warned him not to be too rough with Beth. He’d said that there had been something about Beth that warned Jenny there was more to her story.
Stamping over to Beth, Connor grabbed her mug and walked back to the coffee pot to refill it before handing it back to her. She glanced up at him warily, her green eyes suddenly filling with tears as she realized what he was doing.
“Thank you,” she whispered, taking the mug from him with shaking hands.
Connor jerked as their fingers touched, making the coffee slop dangerously close to the side. Stepping back, he stared at her for a moment, stunned by his reaction.
Turning away, he walked back to the sofa and sat down, making sure he could keep her in his view. His entire body had filled with heat when their fingers had touched, and Connor didn’t know what to make of it. Perhaps it was just sympathy forcing its way to the front of his mind, despite the fact he despised her.
“My brother is going to come for me,” came her voice, so quiet he barely heard her.
He rolled his eyes and didn't move from his position on the sofa. "He won't manage to get you out of here, if that's what you're hoping for." With slightly narrowed eyes, he watched as she lifted her head up just a touch, her dark hair revealing her features a little more.
“I don’t want to go back,” she said eventually. “But he is determined. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”
Connor snorted at the irony, shaking his head. “That’s rich coming from you.”
She didn’t say anything else, just shrank back in her chair and let her hair fall forward again. Guilt crept over him, but Connor just ignored it, thinking that whatever Beth was doing, he wasn’t going to believe a word she said. There was no way she didn’t want her brother to rescue her from them given what she’d done.
At the same time, Connor knew that there was truth in what she said about her brother, Thomas Damson. He was probably still in hiding, making sure no one caught up with him, but in time he'd come looking for his sister. This was going to be the first place he looked, too, since he knew where they lived and who they were.
“The room’s ready,” came Jenny’s voice as she stuck her head through the door. “Beth, come with me please.”
Connor watched as Beth slowly got to her feet and followed Jenny out of the door. Her green eyes caught his for just a moment, catching him off guard. What was he going to do about her?