Chapter 187

Just then, the moon came out from behind a cloud. Its faint light shined on the wolf’s golden fur. He’d been so stealthy that I hadn’t sensed him trailing me. I also didn’t have a shifter’s ability of detecting scent a mile away.

My heartbeat returned to normal, and I slid the dagger back into the sheath.

 The wolf shifted back into a naked Shade, all hard muscles and defined lines.

I lifted my ball cap and threw it at him.

“Cover your junk, Canary,” I said with irritation, but relief washed over me. I was glad it was him and no one else.

He laughed. The sound no longer held the same seductive purr as it had before he knew I was his brother’s fated mate.

“There’re worse things out here than me and my junk,” he said.

“So you say.” I tried to hide my smile at seeing my friend again.

At least I would get to say goodbye to him as long as he didn’t try to

stop me from leaving.

“How did you know to ambush me right here?”

And he’d gotten here before me, since he’d been running in his wolf

form.

“It didn’t take a genius to figure it out, Catnip,” he said, putting my ball

cap on his head instead of covering himself. Shifters didn’t mind their nudity. I bet it was because they had good, firm bodies. “You’ve been trying to run away since day one.”

“So what are you going to do? Drag me back to your brother and let him lock me up?”

“You know I don’t approve of how he treats you,” he sighed, “but he outranks me. But do not underestimate me, Pip. I promised to protect you when I got you out of that bush, and I won’t break my promise.”

“I appreciate it, Shade. I really do,” I said. “But it’s not in my nature to trust in anyone’s promises.”

“I get it. But if you leave now, there’ll be many more hunting parties going after you, including my brother’s men. You won’t end up in a better situation, no matter which party catches up with you. Alone, you can’t fend them off. Before you find your footing, the right course of action is to have shelter, even if it’s only temporary. Come with me, and I’ll guard you to the best of my ability. Shifter City might not be a forever home for you—I hope it is—but no one can get inside the walls. I don’t know what exactly happened to you, but I know you don’t remember a thing about your past. Someone did something bad to you, and it wasn’t jumping into the waterfall that erased your memory.”

My throat dried up and my chest tightened at his revelation. “What gave me away?” I asked quietly.

 “The arrow wound told me that you were being hunted,” he said carefully and coolly. “Your stalkers weren’t chasing a random young girl as you tried to lead us to believe. The burn marks and surgical cuts on your body also indicate that you’ve been tortured.”