Chapter Seven

Nuria was surprised to find not only Allister Tarben at the door but his wife, Beth, also. She raced across the room toward Nuria and wrapped her in a tight embrace. “You poor thing. Are you okay?”

How much did the woman know? She hadn’t asked Austin what his parents knew about Antoine and her reasons for leaving Silvertip. Or was she referring to the fire? “I’m okay. They said the damage isn’t too extensive.”

To the house anyway. The damage to my heart is very extensive.

Beth held her at arm’s length next, her gaze searching. “Don’t worry about the fire. The important thing is you weren’t injured. I’m more concerned about you than anything else. Austin told us what happened when you were in high school. I’m so sorry.”

Nuria nodded. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“Antoine is our son. We should have known. I should have seen the signs. I feel responsible. All these years I’ve given him the benefit of the doubt about so many things.” Her brow was furrowed, and Nuria thought she might cry.

Nuria couldn’t begin to imagine what it would be like to find out your son had committed an assortment of crimes over the course of his life. And no one had a clue how many women he’d attacked yet. It didn’t seem likely his only two offenses would be Nuria fifteen years ago and Heather a few months ago.

Nuria forced a smile. “Well, he can’t hurt me or anyone else now.”

Beth didn’t look convinced. She pursed her lips, her eyes darting back and forth between Nuria’s before she spoke again. “Allister and I will see that a team of guys gets your house put back to rights.”

Nuria was shocked. “You don’t have to do that.” Did Beth feel obligated to atone for her son’s sins?

Beth shook her head. “It’s nothing. Allister went inside. He said it won’t take more than a few days to get the house sellable. That was your intention, right? To sell it?”

“Yes. But I don’t want to put anyone out. I’m sure a buyer will take it as is and work on it.”

Allister cleared his throat. “Not going to leave your home in that shape, Nuria. I’ve already called several people. They’ll be over tomorrow morning to start working.”

She nearly choked. “I can’t afford that, sir.”

He waved a hand through the air. “No one’s asking you to compensate them. We don’t leave our own in a bind, Nuria. Just doing what’s right by another grizzly shifter.”

She couldn’t respond. If she had more tears left, they would have fallen. Instead, she tucked her lips between her teeth and stared at Austin’s father.

He changed the subject, coming more fully into the room.

Beth released her hold on Nuria to remove her coat and take a seat with her husband on the black leather couch.

Austin came around to Nuria and took her hand, directing her to the matching loveseat. He gently pulled her to sitting next to him. It was the first time they’d touched since she’d fled the room for the bathroom earlier. And her body came alive.

She jerked her hand out of his immediately and tucked her fingers between her legs, making sure no part of her was touching him.

If anyone noticed their weird behavior, they didn’t say a word.

Austin spoke first. “Tell us what’s going on, Dad.”

Allister nodded, taking his wife’s hand and setting it on his thigh.

Nuria watched the exchange between them, feeling a twinge of jealousy for their obvious connection. Her parents had that connection. It had been years since she had the privilege of seeing their interaction, though.

Allister cleared his throat. “In a twist of fate, curiosity has had a grip on many of our citizens the last few days. Everyone wants to know if it’s true that Nuria Orson is back in town.”

Nuria stiffened. She knew people had been talking about her. She also had felt the violating eyes on her house from the trees behind her property since her arrival. She’d chosen to ignore them.

Allister gave a half smile. “Not going to condone their desire to spy on you, but the truth is we need to be grateful several people were watching your house this morning.”

“What are you saying, Dad?” Austin asked.

“Three teenagers were lurking in the woods. They saw the arsonist who snuck inside and started the fire.”

Nuria gasped. “Oh my God. How did someone get inside without me sensing them?” It seemed impossible. She’d sensed shifters all the way to the property line, but she couldn’t tell someone was inside her house?

Allister shrugged. “You were in the attic at the time, right?”

“Yes.” She lifted one hand to play with her throat, feeling totally violated. “I was going through old papers. I was… Shit. I was blocking out the annoying presence of shifters in the woods.”

Allister nodded. “You were distracted with memories too, I’m sure. And Wade Garsea took the opportunity to try and burn your house down.”

“Wade Garsea? My next door neighbor?” She grasped her knees with both hands so hard her knuckles hurt. Why the hell was Wade Garsea still living with his parents next door?

“Yes.”

“He tried to kill me?”

“It would seem so.”

“Why? I never even knew him. He’s like ten years older than me. Why would he want to kill me?”

“That’s what we’re trying to get to the bottom of. I don’t have all the answers yet, but the Arcadian Council is sending several representatives to take over. He’s being held until they get here.”

“You know more than you’ve said, though,” Austin deadpanned.

She glanced at him. He was right. And he was also leaning away from her, one elbow on the arm of the loveseat, his chin on his palm.

“True. But it’s hard to know what the truth is. The man’s forty now. And he seems like a teenager. He’s got issues. That’s why he’s still living with his parents. He’s been rambling for hours since we picked him up. I can’t tell what parts are true and what parts are fabricated. When the Arcadian Council gets here, we’ll let them figure it out. In the meantime, I’ll keep trying. Bernard has spoken to him also. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“He had a brother…” Nuria tried to think of his name.

“Yes. Turner.”

“That’s it. I think he’s older.”

“He is. Forty-two. He moved a few hours north of here about ten years ago and never came back. Rumor has it he has done well for himself. He must have gotten all the brains.” Allister didn’t laugh. It wasn’t a joke. He was simply stating the facts.

Nuria’s shoulders fell. “I still can’t figure out why Wade would want me dead. I’ve never done anything to him.”

Beth sighed. “I’m so sorry, dear. You’ve had a rough day.”

She didn’t know the half of it.

Beth glanced from Nuria to her son. Or maybe she did know.

“Anyway, I know it’s not much information. But I thought it would at least make you feel better to know Wade was positively identified by three people. He’s in custody. And he won’t be able to bother you again.”

“So, it’s safe for me to go about my business?” she asked.

Allister nodded. “Yes. You can’t go back into your home yet, but we’ll put it back to rights as soon as possible.” He pushed to standing, still holding his mate’s hand so that she stood with him. “We’ll get going. I’ll contact you as soon as I know more.”

Beth looked concerned, but she didn’t say anything else. Not surprising. Anyone in the room would be able to feel the tension between Nuria and Austin. They would also be able to tell they had not completed the binding. Could they tell they were meant to be together? She wasn’t sure. But there was a good chance Austin had told them.

Austin stood to let them out. When he turned around, shutting the door, he leaned against it. “I told them what you were to me this morning.”

She nodded.

“If you’d let me into your head, it would make it easier to communicate with you.”

“I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.”

He stepped across the room. “Let’s fix something to eat. We never had lunch. You have to be starving.”

Hunger had never been on her radar that day. Lust. Anger. Frustration. Fear. Not hunger. But now that he mentioned it, her stomach growled. She stood on wobbly legs, still wondering why Wade Garsea would try to kill her.

“Maybe he didn’t know I was home?” she proposed without bothering to point out who she meant.

“Not likely, babe. He would have scented you. And why burn down your house with no one in it?”

She jerked her gaze up. “Maybe there is something in it. Something he doesn’t want me to find.”

He looked skeptical. “Possible. Seems farfetched. He’s had years to go in and take whatever that would be.”

“True.” She had no other ideas. She followed Austin to the kitchen area and glanced around at his pristine space. “I don’t remember you being this tidy.”

He chuckled. “I’m not. Cleaning lady. She came yesterday.”

“Ah.” Austin had a cleaning lady while Nuria could use a job as a cleaning lady in order to buy food.

He rounded the island back to her side and came up behind her. When he set his hands on her shoulders and squeezed, she tried not to pull away. Her body instantly came alive. And then his fingers slid from her T-shirt to the skin at the base of her neck, and the direct contact was more than she could stand.

She jerked free, rubbing her neck. She wasn’t ready for more. She couldn’t repeat what they’d done earlier without losing her mind and some of her dignity. “I can’t stay here. Will you take me back to my house? Surely we can at least get inside to retrieve my purse. I’ll get a room in town.”

He stepped back, inhaling slowly. “Don’t leave. Please. I won’t be able to sleep wondering where you are and if you’re safe and what you’re doing. Please. Stay. If you need me to keep my distance, fine. But don’t leave.”

She chewed on her lower lip for a moment. “It’s a bad idea. I’m not fully in control of myself around you.”

“It’s the only idea. I promise to be a gentleman. I won’t let you attack me again,” he teased with a slight smile. “Swear.” He held up a palm.

She sighed. “My brain doesn’t fire properly when we’re in the same room.”

“Brain firing is overrated.”

She rolled her eyes. “Feed me. I’ll think about the rest after.”

∙•∙

Austin thanked whatever god would listen that he’d at least gotten her to stay for a meal. One hurdle at a time. Perhaps he was a jackass for trying to lure her to stay, but he was a jackass whose world would stop spinning on its axis if she left.

“Sit.” He pointed at a shiny black barstool next to the island. “I’ll cook.”

“You cook?”

He smirked. “Woman…”

She giggled, the sound going straight to his cock. It was the first time she’d lightened up all day. “Didn’t you need to be at work today?”

“Took the day off. Didn’t get much sleep last night. I had a lot on my mind.” He glanced at her, hoping he didn’t piss her off with any of his banter.

“Wonder why?” she said as she set her chin on her palm. Her elbows rested on the granite. Good. She was able to tease him back.

He pulled out all the makings of sandwiches and set them on the island.

She laughed again. “I gave you credit for cooking. Sandwiches do not count as cooking.”

“They do if I grill them.” He lifted a brow, teasing. “I’m so gourmet today that I’m going to butter the bread, use two kinds of cheese, and some ham. Once I put them in a pan on the stove, they have to be considered cooking.”

She smiled again. God he loved how her face lit up when she did that. He missed everything about her. But mostly he missed her easy happiness. Could she get it back? Would she ever be happy like she had been as a child again?

“So, you want to be a teacher.”

“That’s the plan. It will take me several years to get my degree. I haven’t taken any classes since high school. And I’ll have to work and go to school at the same time.”

He nodded, keeping his lips closed tight. If he had his way, she would move in with him, let him take care of her, and go to school full time. But pointing that out would send her running from the house.

She probably sensed what he was thinking, but she looked away.

Minutes later, he had the sandwiches on the stove and opened the fridge to grab a beer. He held the first one up. “Beer?”

“Sure.”

He lifted a brow. “You drink beer?”

She smiled again. Not as broadly, but he’d take it. “It was cheap. I learned to like it. My dad always had some around. If I wanted to drink alcohol in his house, it had to be beer. He taught me a lot about it, actually. I guess after living for so many years in Silvertip with two local microbreweries, he was an expert.”

She took the bottle from his hand. “Pilsner. I bet yours is much better than the cheap stuff my dad could afford.”

Austin winced again at the mention of how poor they’d been. He hated that for her. When her family had lived in Silvertip, they weren’t wealthy, but they were at least middle class. Rawling, her dad, worked construction, and he made good money.

Mabel, her mom, had been a stay-at-home mom. A good one. So good she gave up her life to get her child away from a molester.

His brother.

He shuddered.

“Mmm,” she moaned around the first sip. “That’s good.”

“We brewed it this week. Aim to please.”

“I’ve never had a micro beer. So much flavor.”

“That’s the idea. We run ten varieties at a time, switching a few of them out seasonally. I’ll take you to the brewery one of these days. Show you around.”

“I’d like that.” She took another drink. “The beer world has been holding out on me.”

He smiled as he set his bottle down to flip the sandwiches. Two minutes later, he slid them onto plates and set them on the island. She started to get down from the stool.

“We can just eat here. You’re fine.” He took the seat next to her.

She resettled on the stool and leaned over the sandwich, inhaling. “You do cook. I could get used to this. No one’s cooked me a meal in years.”

Jesus. She really had been alone. “You stayed in the same apartment after your dad died? Until now?”

She shook her head and swallowed her bite. “No. I couldn’t afford that one. I moved to a smaller one. I made the few thousand dollars my dad had in an account stretch as far as it would while I lived off babysitting and tutoring money. But I couldn’t keep up. I was treading water for years.”

“Why did you wait so long to leave the city?” He took his first bite, knowing it would taste like cardboard.

She swallowed another bite. “I didn’t know anyone. Anywhere. I was biding my time until I could figure out a way to come back here and sell my parents’ home.”

Waiting for his brother to be gone… Yep. Cardboard.

He set the sandwich down. “I know it’s too soon to say this, but I’m going to say it anyway. I want you to stay here. And by that, I mean here. In my home. Or if you aren’t ready for that yet, stay in Silvertip. You could stay with my parents or my sister Abigail or a friend.”

She slowly chewed. “I don’t know, Austin. That’s huge.”

“So is what we feel for each other.”

She stared at her plate, continuing to eat in silence. “I’m not sure it matters what we feel for each other,” she finally added.

“Just promise me you won’t run off and disappear. Promise me you’ll talk to me first. Give me a warning. I don’t think I can live through another separation from you. Even if you can’t find a way to forgive me—and I fully understand that—at least stay in town where I’ll know you’re okay. Safe.”

She wiped her mouth with a napkin and finished her beer before meeting his gaze.

Her face was intense. And her arousal filled the room. “Stop being nice.”

He blew out a breath. “I was always nice. I don’t think you can say I was ever not a nice guy.”

“Yeah. True.” She relaxed a little, giving him a small grin. “You were the perfect boyfriend.”

He smiled back. “Until I wasn’t because I got jealous and stupid.”

“Well, you weren’t mean. Just stupid.”

“Thanks. I think,” he teased.

“You used to kiss me when no one was looking. We were young. You never took it further. I thought it was awfully gallant of you considering you knew I was yours.”

“It wasn’t easy. By the time I was fifteen, my dick was perpetually hard for you.”

She flushed. He loved how her skin tinged a dark pink when he embarrassed her. Suddenly, a renewed need slammed into him like an avalanche. He wanted her worse than he’d ever wanted her. Or anyone else alive. He’d dated women over the years. He’d even tried to force himself to fall for another woman. Anyone. But it never worked.

Eventually, every woman he dated could tell she was never going to be number one, and she left him. He never specifically said anything out loud, but they knew he pined for someone else. It was hard to hide. His mind wandered, and though he tried to block it, he was only marginally successful.

“Why didn’t you leave the city and move to an area where shifters lived? There are so many packs in Quebec.”

She shrugged. “At least I knew people in my building. Lots of them. And I had several good jobs tutoring. I guess I was too scared to venture out on my own to someplace I didn’t know a soul.”

“Your French must be amazing.”

“It’s okay.” She had always been modest. She had also always been a good student.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to go to university. We can fix that.”

“I can fix that, Austin. It’s not your problem.”

He tried not to react. “Where were you planning to go?”

“I’ve been looking at Saskatchewan. Mostly because I can’t afford to go much farther. I’ll have to drive. Every mile costs more gas money.”

He reached out and took her hand over the island, clutching it. “Please. Consider staying.”

“I’ll think about it. Give me some time. Don’t pressure me.” She squirmed in her seat as he held her hand. She didn’t pull away this time.

His gaze settled on her lips when she licked them. Her pulse rate increased.

Finally, she slid off her stool, yanked her hand free, and carried their plates to the dishwasher. “You cooked. The least I can do is clean up.” She clapped her hands together. “Done.”

He watched her every movement as she leaned against the counter on the opposite side of the island. If she thought putting some distance between them would help, she was wrong.

His breathing was ragged. He was having trouble concentrating. It wasn’t that anything specific had changed, but both of them were more aroused than before. The need fed off one another. It was the way of their species.

“A run might be good,” she suggested. “Before last night, I haven’t run in ages. My parents used to take me to a rural area outside of the city so we could all shift and enjoy our other form from time to time. But sometimes months went by before we had an opportunity. And when my mom got sick, I once went almost a year.”

“Oh my God. I can’t imagine that. You’re back now. You can shift and run all you want to make up for lost time. But please, let me go with you.”

She cocked her head. “Wade’s in custody. Antoine’s in jail. What other threat do you think there is?”

“I don’t know. But I don’t want to take chances. Things have been a little strange and unsettled around here in recent months. No one runs alone. It’s not as safe as it used to be.”

“You have any other rogue shifters besides Antoine?”

He nodded. “We did. Another member of my pack, actually. A cousin. Jack. Not sure you ever met him. He was always odd. I didn’t see him often myself. But he was the one who originally attacked Heather.”

“That’s your friend Isaiah’s mate, right?”

“Yes.”

“What do you mean originally? Two shifters tried to bind to her? Two members of the Tarben pack?” She looked incredulous. Could he blame her?

“Well, at the time, she wasn’t a shifter.”

“What?” Nuria’s voice rose. “Heather isn’t a shifter?”

“She is now. Jack clawed her.”

“Holy fuck. Seriously? I heard there was a woman who was forced to transition in the West, but I didn’t realize it was Isaiah’s mate.”

Austin nodded. “She came here for a job, went for a hike, and twisted her ankle. Isaiah was sent to find her. Before he managed to get her to safety, Jack scratched her.”

“Shit.”

“Yes.”

“But she’s Isaiah’s mate? How the hell did that work?”

“Isaiah realized it before he ever saw her. He knew by her scent.”

“What? You have to be kidding. That’s not a thing.”

He shrugged, enjoying the open conversation. “It happens. You and I knew from a ridiculously young age. It’s one of those fluky things.”

“That’s… Wow… I can’t wait to meet this woman. How the hell did he tell her about shifters?”

“It wasn’t easy. She didn’t believe it at first. And the Arcadian Council wasn’t pleased, either. They wanted to whisk her off to the Northwest Territories to ensure she didn’t tell anyone. Eventually, Isaiah convinced them she was no threat, and they completed the binding.”

“I didn’t know all that. I only heard bits and pieces one day when two shifters were discussing it near me under their breath in the grocery store. When they realized I was also a shifter, they didn’t hide their conversation.”

“I can’t imagine being that isolated.”

“It was weird. Not going to lie. I’m glad to be back where most of the people I encounter know. It’s like a secret code. Like a forehead tattoo only the in crowd can see.” She giggled.

He jumped down from his stool at the sound. Seconds later, he was on the other side of the island, inches separating them. They both breathed heavily.

She tipped her head back to meet his gaze. Her hands went to her throat.

The longer he stood there in a standoff, the harder it got to deny the pull. His cock was rock hard. His balls were tight. Every breath drew her in deeper as if they were touching and not standing feet apart.

He fisted his hands at his sides. She would kill him if he advanced. And why were they on this roller coaster anyway? They went for gaps of time almost normal, and then the lust would slip in and take over. The gaps were shrinking. The lust was growing.

She moaned. “Shit.”