Page 26 of Grey
“Thanks for waiting for so long, sorry I couldn’t leave.”
“It’s honestly not a problem, Grey would do it for me in a heartbeat. Plus, I used the time to order supplies online and finally tracked down a replacement part for the stand mixer that Tris uses.”
Grey looked at Tatum. “I need to tell you about a problem our herd has been having, and it’s most likely related to what was going on today. And I also want you to come stay at the farmhouse. I know you don’t want to move in right now, so this can be temporary and you can have one of the spare bedrooms. But I don’t think it’s safe for you to stay at the cabin, not until we know for sure what’s going on. You can pack a bag and stay with us.”
“Even if you stayed with me?” she asked.
Ford interjected, “We’d want someone to be watching out for you two, and we don’t have that many herd members where we can spare another person for the night.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll stay at the farmhouse.”
When they got to her little cabin, Ford got out of the truck and walked around, and then came back to the truck. “Someone tried to break into the cabin. It doesn’t look like they were successful, but this just reiterates that it’s not safe here right now. Let’s be quick.”
She and Grey got out, and she saw the busted doorframe, but thankfully the cabin was still locked. She let them in, and after Grey said the cabin was safe, she packed a few days’ worth of clothes and toiletries in a bag and hurried back to the truck. She kept looking over her shoulder and wondering if they’d see that creepy green sedan.
Grey stopped on the porch and stuck something up under the overhang. A tiny green light glowed. “I had some spare minimotion cameras, so we can see if someone comes back. While you were packing, I put one on the back door and on two of the trees pointing at the house.”
“I hope they don’t come back,” she said with a shiver.
When they were on the way again, Grey told her who he thought had been watching her in the green sedan and trying to get into her cabin.
“Colton Kane is a stallion, the alpha of his herd. They’re from Virginia and came up here asking for sanctuary after they lost most of their herd in a battle with humans. They felt their home was vulnerable to discovery. He’s Avi’s cousin but they’re not close, so Crew offered them the storage barn and apartment until they found a place of their own. But it quickly became clear that Colton didn’t want to start over; he wanted to take what we had and push us out.”
Ford let out a grumbling growl. “He set fire to the field, laid traps where Crew’s mate Zara ended up getting hurt, and he and his people set fire to the barn and almost kidnapped Zara. He’s dangerous, and we hadn’t seen any evidence of him skulking around until the feed store’s delivery truck tires were all slashed and we were sure it was Colton and his people. If he was watching us, he most likely saw you and Grey together.”
She swallowed hard. “This is so creepy.”
Grey put his arm around her. “You’re my mate, Tatum. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”
When they arrived at the farmhouse, Grey led her inside and took her to a spare bedroom that he said Tris had gotten ready for her. “My room is two doors down,” he said. “So we’re close if you need me.” He gave her a long look. “We have security protocols in place. I promise you’re safe here, and I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She looked around the neatly appointed room, with the bed covered in a quilt and a vase of wildflowers on the nightstand.“I do feel safe,“ she said. “Which is weird because I feel like I should be freaked out. But it’s because I’m with you that I know I’m protected.”
He hugged her tightly and she inhaled his masculine scent as she hugged him back. She definitely felt safe with him.
They sat down to a meal with the herd, and no one mentioned someone watching her at the library or trying to get into her cabin; they just talked about their days until Ford headed out to patrol for the night.
Despite the danger that seemed to be looming, she was glad to be in the farmhouse, thankful she’d seen the sedan and had alerted Grey to what was going on.
She’d moved to New Jersey for a fresh start and found her soulmate, and as weird as it was, her stallion was the best guy she’d ever been around and she knew she could trust him with her heart as well as her safety.
She fell a little bit closer to full-blown love with him as they said goodnight and went to their separate bedrooms.
It was tempting to go to him, but she said she hadn’t wanted to move in just yet, and here she was moving in, even if it was only temporary. As she settled into the soft bed, she missed Grey immediately and his warm, strong presence.
But what if she didn’t want it to be temporary?
She needed some time to think.
Friday morning, Grey, who hadn’t slept well at all—partly because he was worried about everything going on with Colton and his herd and partly because Tatum was in the farmhouse butnotin his bed—finished up his chores before dawn and was on his second cup of coffee when Tatum came downstairs.
He greeted her with a hug and kissed the top of her head. “Good morning, how did you sleep?”
“Meh.”
“Same.”
“You look like you’ve been up for a while,” she said as she fixed coffee for herself.
