Page 28 of Bear Facts

Nell had deep brown eyes, like Shane’s, which held both compassion and steel. Her thick hair was dark with lighter highlights, very much like Shane’s, though Shane’s was so short the effect wasn’t as stark.

Cormac, in contrast, had dark hair and eyes of brilliant blue. Freya dimly wondered if he were a different kind of bear than Shane and his family, who were grizzlies.

“Shane tells me you are in Graham’s pack,” Nell said. She’d unlinked from Freya but remained very close to her, which was oddly comforting.

“Was,” Freya corrected.

“Are still,” Nell said. “You might run away, but you’re still connected. Packs have a bond, just like bear clans do.”

“I won’t go back to him,” Freya declared, her agitation rising. “I’m happy to leave you all and figure things out on my own again.”

Nell gently squeezed her arm. “I don’t blame you. But you’re not leaving. Not yet. It’s safer here.”

Freya’s moment of sharp fear dissipated at Nell’s touch. The magic of an alpha, her wolf whispered.

“You didn’t want to talk about it in the truck,” Shane said. He had his hands behind his back, a formidable barrier to anyone who might try to enter the house—or to leave it. “But we need to know. You said Graham protected you from the Collars. What didn’t he protect you from?”

Freya truly didn’t like to speak of it. Rolf had understood—he’d never brought up the subject once they were free of Graham and on their own.

She’d been so young, just past her Transition, uncertain of herself and what she wanted. She’d been forced into a choice, which hadn’t really been a choice. Young female orphaned wolves weren’t supposed to disobey.

“A mate-claim.” The words tumbled from Freya’s mouth before she could stop them. But, what the hell? The wolf in question might be dead by now or have been relocated to another Shiftertown far away. “I told you, Shane, that when Graham’s Shiftertown was being built, other packs were brought into the area, with Graham put in charge of them all. A Lupine from another pack mate-claimed me. I tried to turn it down, but no one was going to let me. His family set up the Sun and Moon ceremonies whether I liked it or not.”

Nell’s eyes went hard. “Graham did nothing?”

“He couldn’t really.” Freya had tried to be fair to Graham as she’d thought things through afterward, but it was difficult. “He was having a hell of a time keeping all the Lupines from killing one another. Lots of enemies now had to live together. My mate-claim was a minor concern. I knew I could never fight the Lupine who wanted me and win. So, I took off.”

“What about your own family?” Nell asked in her firm but compassionate tone. “How are you related to Graham?”

Freya gulped a breath. “My father was Graham’s cousin. He and Graham shared a grandfather. But my mother and father died when I was a cub. They never had enough to eat, and when my father was shot by hunters, he wasn’t strong enough to fight to stay alive. My mother went into a decline once their mate bond was broken. She took me and my brother to Graham with the last of her strength, and that was it. Graham promised to look after us. We both would have been okay, eventually, if Shifter Bureau hadn’t come.”

Freya had gone over the story so many times, stuffing the pain and sorrow into words to explain her situation.

She hadn’t told the tale to many, though. When pretending to be human, she greatly modified the details if she related the matter at all, but the emptiness was still there.

Waves of sympathy poured from her listeners, to her surprise. Also surprising was that she felt them so strongly that she sagged into the sofa. She wasn’t used to such a rush of palpable emotions.

Shane’s brows drew together. “Your brother. Is he here? Still with Graham?”

“No.” Freya’s throat tightened. “Rolf ran away with me. He couldn’t stop the mate-claim, but he could help me escape from it. We took off and eventually ended up in the Bay Area, where we’ve stayed, in various parts of it, ever since. I’d never have made it, if not for him.” Tears stung her eyes.

“Is he still in the Bay Area?” Cormac asked. “Waiting for you?”

Freya shook her head, tears threatening to fall. “He disappeared about a month ago. I’ve been searching for him ever since. I found Althea’s card in his apartment, the only thing I’d never seen there before. It took me a hell of a long time to get in touch with her—she doesn’t exactly advertise. I wanted to know if he’d gone to work for her, voluntarily or not. Or if she knew where he’d gone.”

She swallowed a sob as she finished. Freya had pushed her frantic worry into the background, having wiped her past from her mind long ago, knowing it was the only way to move forward. Now, with these four bears regarding her in compassion, Freya felt something within her break.

She was going to melt to the floor and cry, become a blubbering mess on Shane’s living room rug.

The couch sagged on Freya’s other side, the bulk of Shane warming her. Without a word, he put his arms around her and pulled her close.

Freya didn’t want to lean into him, but her body had other ideas. She closed her eyes as she sank into his warmth, some of her pain ebbing.

Women who didn’t know much about Shifters spoke about them with excitement, saying they could arouse at a touch, were walking sexual dreams.

Shane’s strength against Freya, even though his arms were tight around her, didn’t shout that he wanted her in his bed right now. His touch brushed solace into her, caring, a need to protect. This was the part of Shifters humans didn’t understand.

Freya wanted to turn to Shane, bury her face in his shoulder, let him brush her skin with gentle fingers. He could be gentle—she’d already experienced that, even though he was a fearsome fighter.

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