Page 14 of Brody
I closed my eyes briefly.I’d worked in worse conditions for my research.After all, science had been my sanctuary since my mother died.
“Fine,” I said finally.“But we establish clear boundaries.Separate workspaces, limited interaction.”
“The east wing is completely yours,” he assured me.
I was about to respond when he added, “There’s something else you should know about tonight’s town hall meeting.”
“What about it?”
Brody’s jaw tightened as he glanced in the rearview mirror.“When we get to town hall tonight, expect resistance.Shane’s been hanging posters with your grandmother’s face crossed out in red.Gertrude’s been holding meetings in her living room, telling anyone who’ll listen that your treatments will steal their shifter souls.”
“On what grounds?”The words came out sharper than I intended.
“Tradition.Last week, an unmated bear shifter walked into the forest rather than try ‘outsider medicine.’They found his clothes folded neatly by the north river.He never came back in human form.”
Another male lost forever to his animal side rather than accept help from someone like me.
“What’s the traditional cure?”I prompted.
“Finding and claiming your fated mate,” he explained.“The Ridge has always held to the belief that the only true cure for pre-feral progression is the mate bond.Pharmaceutical treatments are seen as artificial, a shortcut that disrupts the natural order.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I said.“Finding a fated mate is like searching for a needle in a haystack.Most shifters go their entire lives without finding theirs.How many unmated males are just supposed to accept going feral while waiting for some mystical connection that might never happen?My elixir simulates what a mate bond does naturally.It buys them time to find the real thing.”
“That’s exactly why Quinn brought you here,” Brody replied.“The traditionalists cling to their beliefs, but the reality is, we’re losing shifters faster than the mates are arriving.Even with Freya’s spell increasing the odds.”
“So they’d rather let shifters suffer and potentially go feral than try a scientific solution,” I said, my anger building, not just at the absurdity but at the unnecessary suffering it caused.“That’s not tradition.That’s willful ignorance.”
“Shane’s been circulating a petition to reject any treatment that doesn’t originate from within the Ridge,” Brody explained.“These are proud people who’ve been isolated for generations.They see your research as a threat to their autonomy and their beliefs about how the world should work.”
“Great,” I muttered.“Hostile audience and working in my ex-mate’s town.Anything else I should know?”
“Just one thing,” he said, his eyes meeting mine briefly in the rearview mirror.“When we get to the town hall tonight, don’t let them see they’ve rattled you.The Ridge respects strength above all else.”
“Don’t worry about me,” I replied, squaring my shoulders.“I’ve presented to hostile pharmaceutical boards and government committees.I can handle a few traditionalists who think magic trumps science.”
My inner cheetah growled with approval.Show strength.Defend territory.
This time, I didn’t argue with her.
The SUV rounded a bend in the road, and through the trees, I caught my first glimpse of Black Forest Ridge, a town that didn’t want me, in a place that shouldn’t exist, where I’d be working alongside the man who had rejected me.
Perfect.
As we approached the town limits, his eyes constantly scanned the forest line, vigilant in a way that made my skin prickle with unease.
“Is something wrong?”I asked, unable to keep the edge from my voice.
“Nothing specific,” he said, but the tension in his jaw told a different story.“Just watch yourself tonight.Not everyone in the Ridge is going to welcome you with open arms.”
I glanced at Brody’s profile, his face cast in shadow as we entered the town.The man who’d rejected me was now my assigned protector in a town full of hostility.
As we entered the town limits, lights from hidden homes winked through the massive trees.My phone buzzed with a warning from Quinn.
Town Hall Packed.Locals Restless.Stay Close to Brody.
The strange town stretched before us, magic pulsating in the air like an electrical current.Behind us, a barrier no human could see.Beside me, a man whose mere proximity made my skin buzz, whose scent filled my lungs with each breath, whose heartbeat I could somehow feel echoing inside my own chest despite my determination to feel nothing at all.
A hostile town or a mate bond growing stronger with every turn of the wheels—I couldn’t decide which terrified me more.
