9781616503369 (8 page)

Cold eyes stared back at Julie, the fierce expression one she hadn’t seen since coming home from kindergarten with bruises after being bullied.

They knew? All of it? Why hadn’t Brendan warned her? He had to have known something like this was going to happen. She almost laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. What was she supposed to say?
Hey, guys, how was your evening? I spent the night screwing Brendan in every way imaginable.
That would’ve been fantastic breakfast conversation. Besides, she was twenty-three years old. She didn’t need to explain her love life to anyone.

“Damn it, I’m old enough to make my own decisions about who I sleep with. It’s none of your, or their, business.”

“The question isn’t whether you’re capable of making those decisions,” Laurie continued. “It’s whether Brendan took advantage, or forced you in any way. Well, that’s
my
concern. The guys would have beaten him up regardless.” The intensity of her stare belied her relaxed pose.

“Beat him up? Brendan was a complete gentleman last night. He in no way ‘forced’ anything on me.”

“A complete gentleman?” Gwen asked, smiling at her outburst. “How boring!”

A blush heated her cheeks.

“Well, ‘complete’ might have been the wrong word. Still, it’s none of their business.”

“You know, I think I believe you. Now you have to go convince the men or warn Brendan, if there’s anything left of him at this point. Those boys looked pretty determined.”

* * * *

This was not good. Squatting outside Julie’s place, Brendan examined the remains of her front door. The knob had been torn right off. Whoever had done this had been not only determined but incredibly strong. More-than-human strong. Claw marks surrounded the hole where the knob had been. This had shifter written all over it. But most worrisome? There was no way he’d done this.

When Julie had said broken lock, he’d assumed he’d done something wrong. But this damage was something else entirely. This wasn’t a botched lock picking. There was no finesse in this damage–the lock was irreparable. In fact, the whole doorjamb would need replacing.

How had he not heard anything? The perpetrator couldn’t have been quiet while tearing the door apart. Then again, they hadn’t been quiet themselves. If whoever had done this had struck at the right time, it was no wonder they hadn’t heard anything. He shuddered as he thought about what might have happened had he not come over last night. The thought of Julie alone–of someone breaking into her apartment when he wasn’t around to protect her–left him cold.

Whether she liked it or not, Julie would be staying with him tonight and every night thereafter until he figured out who had done this and eliminated the threat. He refused to risk her safety.

Now the hard part, telling her without causing panic. Worse, telling her brothers.

A car barreled into the parking lot, screeching to a stop behind him. He turned to see Julie’s three brothers pile out of the car. Judging by the looks on their faces, the secret was out. And it was apparent Julie hadn’t been able to talk sense into them.

If there’d been anger on their faces, he might have tried to explain, to reason with them. But the emotions seething in their eyes went deeper than mere anger. It was all Brendan could do to brace himself before Ethan’s punch landed. The force of the impact drove him to the ground. He was grateful his jaw hadn’t flown off. This might be more difficult than he’d originally thought.

Shaking his head to clear it, Brendan looked up at the three men from the ground. He held up a hand to stay them as they advanced.

“Wait. Just wait. There’s something you need to know. It’s about Julie’s safety.” If nothing else, the word safety would stall them. They’d do anything to keep their sister safe and happy. Beating him up was about protecting her happiness. But in a competition, “safe” beat “happy” hands down.

“If you care about her safety, you have a funny way of showing it.” Jason gestured toward the broken door. A growl burst out as he saw the damage. “It’s worse than you said, Danny. I ought to beat you to a bloody pulp.” Jason took a threatening step toward him.

“Yes, I broke into her apartment last night. But–” he held up a hand as they started toward him again, “I picked the lock. I didn’t do this to her door.” He paused, letting the information sink past their rage. “Which means someone else did.”

Fear seeped into their expressions as they examined the wreckage. When he thought they wouldn’t hit him again, he rose. At least he wasn’t alone in his concern.

“You didn’t do this?” Danny asked, leaning down to examine the broken doorframe.

“Not even close.”

“But you did break in.” It wasn’t a question. They already knew the answer. Judging by the Premier’s expression, there would be hell to pay later. But right now they had bigger fish to fry. On some level, her brothers must have been aware he would never hurt Julie, and would do whatever it took to keep her safe. Otherwise, they would kick him out of the pack so fast his head would spin.

“What did Julie say?” he questioned, not wanting to contradict whatever they’d already been told. From the uncomfortable expression on Danny’s face, he knew they hadn’t even asked. Instinct had taken over.
Protect. Defend
.

Then again, he looked down at the doorknob in his hand and realized he would have done the same.

Rubbing a hand over his abused jaw, he considered how best to reply. He opened his mouth to answer, but shut it as Laurie’s car tore into the parking lot, Julie at the wheel. Fire snapped from her eyes as she flung open her door and charged head first into the middle of the group. Pushing her brothers away from him, she stood between Brendan and the three alpha wolves like an avenging angel.

“What the hell do you three idiots think you’re doing?” She poked Jason in the chest as she continued her rant. “Whatever happened last night is none of your business. How dare you take turns sniffing me then dash out to defend my honor. Without even discussing it with me! I am an adult, and I’m old enough to make my own mistakes.”

Brendan frowned.
Mistakes?
Nothing about last night had been a mistake. His mouth opened to protest, but Jason beat him to it.

“Now, Julie–” he placated, but Julie wasn’t finished.

“Don’t you ‘now, Julie’ me! This in no way concerns you. And you better get used to it, because it’s not stopping anytime soon!” Brendan almost snickered at the shocked looks on all three brothers’ faces. He knew his answering smile was a bit smug, but he couldn’t help it. Watching his mate defend their relationship made his chest puff out with pride. She was so beautiful when riled. It made him want to do inappropriate things to her, even while confronting her three alpha brothers.

He stepped forward and ran soothing hands down her arms. Now that she was near, he and his wolf had settled, comfortable knowing their mate was safe. Besides, how could he stay upset when she made him so happy?

“It’s okay, beautiful. They’re looking out for you. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now since I know you couldn’t have eaten yet with the hubbub, why don’t all of you get back to your parents? I can pick you up there later.” He looked at her brothers, exchanging a silent message with them
. Take care of her. I’m entrusting her to you.
All three nodded in understanding. For now, they were on the same team.

“Why don’t you join us? I’m sure Mom made enough for one more.”

Brendan looked at Danny in surprise. An olive branch? Sure, he’d eaten plenty of meals with the Callahan family in the past, but everything had changed last night. He’d broken their one rule: Julie was off-limits.

“Sounds great,” he heard himself say. Julie’s hand slipped into his as they walked back to the car. His heart overflowed with love. He’d die if anything were to happen to her. Which meant he couldn’t let her out of his sight.

Chapter 7

“Owie,” Brendan whined as Julie applied an ice pack to his jaw. All of the real pain was gone, his body having already healed the damage. But the way she held his head in her lap as they sat on his couch, stroking his hair with her hand, was more than enough motivation to put on a little show.

“Poor baby,” she murmured, leaning down to place a gentle kiss against the bruise. He grabbed her hand as she started to sit up. Her hair cascaded around their faces, encasing them in a private cocoon.

Leaning up, he brushed his lips against hers. It was a soft kiss, and he struggled to keep it light. After a long moment, he released her, placing his head back into her lap. Her hand resumed the stroking that would’ve made his tail wag had he been in wolf form. As much as he wanted to stay just like this for the rest of the night, there were things they needed to discuss.

“I wanted to talk to you about something.” He needed to know that Julie would stay with him, at least until whoever, or whatever, had broken her door was found. If she wanted to leave afterward, he wouldn’t be able to stop her. But he had every intention of making sure she never wanted to leave.

Her stillness alerted him to her discomfort. Her hand stopped stroking his hair, and he felt her posture stiffen. Looking into her eyes, he saw curiosity but not fear–another reminder of how adept she was at hiding her emotions. Something he intended to remedy soon. She shouldn’t feel the need to hide anything from him.

At least he had more of a clue than her family. He couldn’t believe how blind they were. During brunch, her father had launched into the story about meeting Julie’s mother. He’d smiled as her father began the familiar tale that demonstrated the love between the couple. But as Charles had expressed his unending love for his mate, Brendan’s gaze had drifted to
his
mate. She would be the mother to his future children, the one he’d grow old with. It hadn’t taken long to realize something was wrong. Very wrong.

That fake smile had been fixed on her face. He hated that smile. And the pain in her eyes had nearly brought him to his feet, needing to defend her from whatever had caused her pain. She’d pushed around the food on her plate and gazed down at the pattern she’d made with her fork.

“And that’s when I realized, why would I want normal when I could have special?” Julie’s smile had slipped a little at the word “special.” It had been subtle, and if Brendan hadn’t been staring, he probably would have missed it. But he
had
been staring.

“Julie, you know how special you are, right?” He hadn’t cared if he appeared rude, interrupting his host in the middle of a sentence. All that had mattered was Julie and replacing her fake smile with a real one.

The look she gave him had been filled with wide-eyed panic as everyone’s gaze shot to her. She’d glanced at the others and bit her lip.

“Sure. I mean not like you guys, but yeah.” The hollow laugh that followed was one he never wanted to hear again. Her shrug displayed more discomfort than the assurance she’d strived for.

The ensuing silence had said it all. Everyone had heard the pain she’d tried to hide. Taking his gaze off his mate, Brendan had looked around the table and seen utter shock on the faces of her family. It was clear they’d never realized before how different Julie felt. Twenty-three years and none of them had seen the pain the story caused, even though it had to have been told a hundred times.

“Honey? What do you mean, ‘not like you guys?’” her mother had questioned. All gazes had remained glued on Julie.

She’d shrugged again. “You guys are wolf shifters. I’m just human. Ordinary.”

No one had spoken. Desperately, he had wracked his brains for the right words to say. He was her mate, and until recently he hadn’t realized anything was wrong.

“Julie.” He’d waited until her gaze met his before continuing. “There is nothing ‘ordinary’ about you. You are the most unique and special woman I have ever, and I do mean ever, met.” He’d found her blush endearing, and her smile, her real smile, had broken the tension around them. Conversation had resumed almost as if the event had never happened. But every now and then he’d seen one of her siblings or her parents glance at Julie with concern and regret.

At least now they knew. Everything was out in the open, and he would heal whatever emotional pain she harbored with love and patience.

“Okay,” she said, dragging him back to the present. “Am I going to like this talk or not?”

One thing at a time. Her emotional pain could wait. Her safety couldn’t. And if she agreed with his plans, maybe he could work on both at once.

“I hope so. The thing is, I think it would be better if you stayed here. At least until we fix your lock.”

He’d managed to sneak into the living room with her siblings while Julie had helped to clean up the dishes. The broken lock provided them with a perfect excuse to keep Julie with one of them. No one wanted to frighten her if they didn’t have to, especially knowing she could take off if she thought a shifter from town held some unknown grudge. They would figure out who meant her harm and take care of it. Until then, she’d be with Laurie at the bookstore during the day and with him at night. Her brothers were scheduling shifts to watch her as well.

“And when will that be?” Julie asked. He breathed a sigh of relief. The question wasn’t filled with the anger or frustration he’d anticipated, just curiosity. This might be easier than he thought. She made no move to put distance between them, so he left his head on her lap.

“Well, we have to fix the doorframe. And that lock is specially made. It might take a couple of weeks to get a new one. If you don’t want to stay with me, you can stay at one of your brothers’ places or at Laurie’s. But I don’t want you there alone with just the top door.”

She stared down at him in silence. He wished he knew what was going through her mind. With most people, he could sense some of their emotions, but Julie shielded her thoughts too well for him to break through.

“Of course–” He reached up to tug on a lock of her hair, “–it’ll be much easier to get you alone if you’re here. I can’t exactly sneak into your bed while you’re staying with one of your brothers. I don’t think I’d live to see morning if I tried. Although it would be worth it.” He smirked, grateful to see a shadow of a smile curl the corners of her lips. He’d never get tired of making her smile.