Crimson Hollow was just as Swift had left it weeks earlier. The only difference was, she had changed. It might have only been a week since she’d left but she’d survived. Years before, when Sin had begged her to leave with her, she couldn’t do it. She had been terrified that they would be eaten alive out there alone without an Alpha to protect them. While she might have only left because she felt Jase would have forced her to do so eventually, she still survived and was stronger for it.

“Come on, Noah will speak with Jase and I’ll walk you home.” Brett opened the truck door before climbing out and offering her a hand.

“Surely, Jase would allow you a few hours off.” She wasn’t sure what she was doing but she didn’t want to be on her own. The desire to be alone with him, as they’d been at the hotel, overwhelmed her. She wanted to be back there, curled up with him in bed. There was nothing sexual about it, but she needed the comfort and understanding she found in his arms.

“Jase knows how to reach me if he needs to but I’m not planning on going to him now.”

“What are you planning?” She accepted his hand, even though she didn’t need it to get out of the truck.

“What would you like me to do?”

Stay with me. Not wanting to admit she wanted him to come home with her, she brushed off the opportunity. “Do you always answer a question with another question?”

Outside of the cab, he pressed her against the extended cabin, letting his body brush along the front of hers. “Say it. Say you want me to stay with you.”

“I…I…don’t—”

“Don’t deny it, beautiful.” He leaned down until his face was just above hers and she thought he was going to kiss her. “You want me back in your bed, don’t you?”

“Yes.” The word came out breathier than she expected and she leaned forward, hoping to close the distance between their lips.

“Let’s go.” He took a step back, popping the intimacy that had developed between them in their closeness. Reaching into the back of the pickup, he grabbed their bags before turning back to her. “Your place or mine?”

“Do I even…umm…have a place anymore?” She had left; maybe someone had moved into her cabin. It was one of the nicer ones with two stories and close to the Chief’s own home.

“Sin has it ready for you. Fresh sheets, stocked with your favorite foods, and everything you might need. Ari and Kaden have installed a security system. Everything is ready for you.” He slipped his free arm around her waist and started toward her cabin.

“A security system?”

“Part of the changes happening here. Everyone is getting a system with panic alarms. They will all be connected to Jase and Sin’s cell phones, alerting them if anything happens. Another precaution that Kaden suggested. Guards will be at the doorsteps of whoever is in trouble within seconds. Does that give you peace of mind?” He didn’t look at her as they made their way to her place and she considered what he’d said.

It did make her feel safer, but it also made her wonder if there had been any attacks on the tribe while she was gone. There was a perimeter fence, guard houses with round-the-clock guards on duty, and others circling the perimeter. Wasn’t having each house alarmed overkill?

“Why does the idea of an alarm make you tense?”

They climbed the two steps onto the deck of her cabin. She pulled her key from her pocket and turned to him. “Has there been an attack since I’ve left? Alarm systems on every house seems like a waste of time, money, and manpower.”

“Nothing has happened since the drunk asshole plowed his truck through the back fence.” He pulled the key from her hand, opened the door, and ushered her inside. “Security systems are just a precaution. It’s Ari and Kaden’s business. There’s no reason not to utilize every option we can to keep everyone safe. The systems are not happening overnight and other things are taking priority as needed. Your cousin ordered this to be completed before you arrived because she thought it would make you feel safe.”

“How is it that every time I close my eyes I see the horrors of what happened, while Sin is able to let go of the past and get on with her life?”

“That is something you’ll have to ask her, but she did tell me not a day goes by when she doesn’t remember what happened.” He pushed the door shut behind them and dropped the bags next to the door. “She forced herself to continue living because that’s what her family would have wanted. She had Jase to help guide her through it when you first arrived here.”

“Jase.” She shook her head. “I remember, just after we came here, I was curled up in a ball in the corner while they were playing. How could she do that? She’d just lost her family. We’d just lost everything but she was playing like there was nothing wrong.”

“She was five.” He took her hands into his and brought them to his lips where he laid a gentle kiss on her knuckles. “Everyone takes something like that differently. You can’t blame her for needing the escape and wanting to be a kid again.”

“I don’t. I’m envious of it.” She glanced around the living room of her cabin until her gaze landed on the photos on the mantel above the fireplace. “It took time but I was able to put my fears aside, at least for the most part. I had a relatively normal life for a while, except I was terrified to leave here, but when the attacks started again…”

“Zoe arrived and you wanted to help her but everything came rushing back to you,” he finished for her. “That’s when the memories and anxiety returned.”

She nodded. “If I could do it once, I should be able to do it again.”

“You’re doing it.” When she turned back to face him, he continued, “Back at the hotel, your fears were rising again but you batted them away. You’re trying and while it might not be easy right now, each day will be easier. You won’t be alone; I’ll be by your side as you go through this. Sin, Jase, Garret, Noah, and the whole tribe are here to see you through it.”

“I’ve screwed up so much and now I don’t know how to make it right. Zoe blames herself and thinks I hate her. Camellia and I had a huge fight before I left and I accused her of sleeping with the enemy. Her mates, Ari and Kaden, did nothing to me but I couldn’t stop thoughts of them being outsiders sent to kill us from entering my mind.”

He placed his hands on her hips and brought her to stand in front of him. “Do you know the best thing about our kind? We’re forgiving. Camellia, Ari, and Kaden won’t hold what you said against you. They’ll forget it because we’re all family. We can go see her in the morning if you’d like? But first I suggest you get some sleep.”

“What about you?” Her lips curled up into a smile and she shook her head. “Screw it. I’ll just say it. Stay…stay with me.”

“Well now, that changes things.” In one quick motion, he scooped her into his arms. “Which way to the bedroom?”

“Upstairs.” Her voice squealed a little with surprise. “First door at the top of the stairs. But this is only to sleep, nothing more. Not yet.”

“I didn’t try to have my way with you at the hotel, did I? Being in your home doesn’t mean I’m going to become a ravishing bear.” He climbed the steps two at a time, making quick progress to her bedroom.

For the first time in years, she felt alive when he was around. The heat in his eyes told her he desired her. All of it was giving her something new to focus on—to replace the bad with good for the first time since the tragedy. The excitement took over the terror that normally coursed through her.

Mating—maybe that’s what she needed. Or maybe it was just Brett that she needed. Maybe they needed each other.