Page 17 of Brick

She shook his hand, her grip firm but cautious. As their gazes met once more, her eyes flashed amber and then back to a beautiful green.

“Jade was brought here by our fallen angel friend Alli,” Cinder said as she walked into the room. “She’s not in danger per se, but we do have some concerns and were going to talk to you about them. Perhaps…Jade would like to tell you herself?”

Jade looked at Cinder and then back to Brick, but she didn’t say anything.

“Have you been around the territory yet? We could go for a walk, and I could show you our security measures if it might ease your mind,” he offered.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Adam interjected. “Cinder invited some females over to meet Jade, but they can just hang out until you get back. Assuming you want to go for a walk, of course, Jade.”

“Sure,” Jade said. Her voice was flat but a spark of curiosity was in her eyes.

Brick took her out the front door and into the yard. He said, “The alphas’ house is the center of the territory. Our pack has aclearing nearby that we use for ceremonies and full moon get-togethers. Was your pack like that?”

“Yeah.”

“I suspect most of them are, but it just makes it easier to have a place to get together.” As they strolled through the woods, he kept the tone light, pointing out the security measures around the alphas’ home and then the ones toward the edge of the territory. He let her set the pace for the conversation, and eventually, as they reached the ledge where Caleb had nearly taken a header that morning, she talked about her past.

They stopped at the edge of the babbling creek and he listened as she told him about her mom being exiled when she was little and having no idea where she was or if she was even still alive, her distant father and his death the year before, that had opened the floodgates of her alpha’s crappy treatment of her.

She stared at the water and cracked a twig between her fingers. “I think I started rebelling when I was younger to get a reaction out of my dad. He never seemed to care about me one way or the other, but when he had to get me out of trouble, it was like he actually saw me. I don’t think he liked being a dad.”

She glanced at him and he saw the pain in her eyes. He wanted to wrap her up in a hug and promise to never let anyone hurt her like that again, but he kept his hands to himself. She was clearly going through things and needed time.

“I’m sorry about all of it,” he said. “I know that doesn’t change what you went through but still, I’m sorry.”

She gave him a half smile. “Thanks.” After a long pause, she continued the story of how she came to be in Thorn Hollow thanks to a pack member’s quick thinking and a benevolent fallen angel.

“Alli should start a rescue organization,” he said. “She’s been a friend to so many people over the years.” She’d even savedhis cousin Angie’s life when she was on the way home from the vampire club and they were attacked by the anti-vampire church wackos.

“She’d be really good at that,” Jade said.

“You don’t feel safe,” he said.

“What makes you say that?”

“You’re tense and looking everywhere, like you expect someone to pop out from behind a tree. It’s understandable that you’d worry about either your alpha looking for you or that dangerous male he was going to mate you with.”

“But?” She turned to face him, her eyes wide and her lips parted slightly.

“But what are the odds they could actually track you here? You said you turned off your phone before you left your pack and never had to turn it on, and you didn’t use a credit card for the bus ticket or buy anything on the trip. The odds they’d figure out you came here seem pretty damn tiny. Microscopic even.”

She pursed her lips together and then smiled. “Microscopic?”

“Definitely.”

When she actually smiled at him, genuinely, he almost fell to his knees. He’d thought her beautiful when he first met her, but she was truly a stunning female. Petite and curvy in all the right places, with a dimple in one cheek and long, dark lashes, and she had a waterfall of dark hair he itched to run his fingers through. He wanted to pull her close and kiss her, savor the taste of her like fine wine. And he thought about all the other wickedly wonderful things he desired to do to her.

“I’m worried I won’t ever be able to stop looking over my shoulder.”

“I understand,” he said. “But you don’t have to be afraid here. Not only does the wolf pack protect those within our territory, but I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

She stepped close, their bodies nearly touching.

“Why is that, Brick?”

He wondered for a heartbeat what she was looking for in an answer. But he was an honest male and wouldn’t try to beat around the bush.

“You’re my truemate, Jade. I knew it the second I saw you. But it’s also clear that you’ve been through hell. So I’m not going to ask you to be my mate until you’re ready. We’ll take it slow, get to know each other.” He lifted his hand and hesitated, then cupped her cheek. She sighed at the contact, and he smiled. “But no matter what, I promise you’re safe here in Thorn Hollow and with me.”

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