Chapter Two
Jonah kept his gaze on Bre as they walked.
He didn’t offer her his hand, though he’d passed Emery to Mitch when the baby had fallen asleep.
He knew he was her crutch, the shield she used to block everything and everyone else.
He’d play that role for her as long as she needed him to, but he sensed her finding her feet.
She was glancing around, soaking in everything.
Every few moments, she’d close her eyes and inhale deeply as if discovering something pleasing in the air.
He wanted to know what so he could make sure she had that scent around her all the time.
He wanted to slay all her dragons and place the world at her feet.
In three weeks, he’d managed to support her without crossing any boundaries, and at some point, he’d started falling in love with her.
“What’s your take?” Mitch’s voice interrupted Jonah’s thoughts. Mitch glanced toward Bre then sighed. “You didn’t hear a word I said.”
“Leave it,” Jonah warned. “You’re the last person who should say anything.”
Mitch had met his wife, Quinn, when she’d escaped the hunting society who’d wanted to eradicate every shifter in existence.
Quinn had been an experiment for a monster named Talbot.
The man had spent his life torturing and killing shifters and any humans caught trying to protect them.
Talbot was no longer a threat, thankfully, and Quinn had healed.
Mitch had been at her side every step of the way.
They’d even shared a bed every night from day one because she felt safest with him there. The same as Bre did with Jonah.
“At least, she’s out of that damn room,” Mitch muttered, patting the baby on the back when Emery made a fussy noise.
“She’s still having the nightmares,” Jonah shared.
“And not talking?”
Jonah nodded at the question. They managed to communicate effectively without words, but damn, he wanted to hear her voice.
Craved it like a smoker in need of a hit of nicotine.
Mostly, he craved hearing her say his name.
He needed her smile and to hear her laugh.
Longed to see her eyes alight with pure joy instead of drowning in the shadows that ate away deep inside her, in places he couldn’t follow.
All he could do was hold her when she woke from her nightmares, when her body trembled with such a force he worried she’d shake apart.
“Her brothers are pushing again,” Mitch told him. “They want to see her.”
Jonah sighed. He liked Murphy and Finn Dockery.
Both had been through their own hells and come out the other side with mates at their sides.
Their women were just as fierce as the men they loved.
Hell, Murphy’s mate, Oakley, had been part of Tony’s unit since she was a teen.
Jonah admired her. Still, none of that made it okay to push something on Bre when she wasn’t ready.
“She needs more time,” he warned. “They’ll only make things worse if they force her to meet with them.”
“I know that,” Mitch agreed. “So does Tony. He’s pushing back, and currently, Tah’s agreeing with him.”
That was something. The head of the pride of shifters, Utah Pearce, Tah to most, wasn’t always a fan of Tony Sandoval and his antics.
Tony didn’t make it easy to like him, though.
He played by one set of rules. His own. He’d built an army of super soldiers to fight alongside shifters, though, because of the aunt he’d lost and the cousin he’d found.
Jonah admitted his boss had a little bit of a god complex, but as far as Jonah was concerned, it was deserved.
The man was brilliant whether in a lab or planning strategic infiltrations of known hunter groups.
Tony was very much a “my way is the only way” type.
This often put the two leaders at odds as Tony did what he wanted and made no apologies for it.
In Tah’s opinion, that made Tony a wild card, one who couldn’t always be trusted.
The funny thing was both men fought for a common goal due to their big hearts and love of those around them.
Both would die for their people. Tah almost had twice.
Tony had come back from the brink once during his time as an Army Ranger, but he never spoke of it.
Neither did his best friend, liger shifter Aleksy Costas, who’d been the one to rescue him.
Despite nine bullets and a flatline, Tony had managed to wake, looking better than ever.
Jonah knew it was from the serum Tony had created from shifter DNA.
A serum all his alpha squad soldiers were injected with to give them an edge in battle.
The enhanced senses and a boost in natural healing power allowed them to walk away from things that would kill ordinary humans.
Jonah snapped out of his thoughts and realized how close they were to the medical center.
Parts of it had collapsed when explosives were planted there and ignited to cause chaos.
It had been an attempt to disorient the pride and soldiers facing off with Marcus Blane, the head of the largest organized group of hunters in North America.
It hadn’t worked. The pride had quickly salvaged the equipment from the parts of the building still intact and removed the rubble to begin rebuilding what was needed. Marcus Blane was dead.
“Let’s turn around,” Jonah ordered then swore when he noted it was already too late. As if he’d been waiting for an opportunity to pounce, Finn Dockery headed toward them.
“No!” Jonah snapped before the man could speak.
A growl filled the air as Finn let his displeasure show. Jonah wasn’t intimidated. He was prepared to offer a growl of his own when a warm body pressed against his chest. He automatically dropped his arms to cuddle her close while her brother, her twin, stared on with anger.
“Don’t,” Jonah warned. “This is the first time she’s left the house. Don’t be the reason she doesn’t again.”
He rubbed his hand up and down Bre’s back, soothing her as she whimpered softly while she tried to burrow into him. “Shh,” he murmured, dropping his head toward her. “I’ve got you. You’re safe. I promise.”
Jonah glanced back up, ready to lay into Finn, but paused as he took in the devastation on the other man’s face.
Jonah didn’t know their backstory, and he wouldn’t ask the other man.
He’d wait until Bre was ready to talk. All he knew was, she didn’t seem to know her twin or their older brother, Murphy.
Currently, she showed no desire to be near them.
Until she said differently, Jonah would honor that wish.
“Let’s head back to the house,” he offered her and felt her nod against his chest.
“Please,” Finn whispered, sounding more broken than a man should. “I just want to know you’re okay. Please, Brenna.”
“Give her some space,” Mitch said. “Jonah’s right. This is the first time she’s left her room. Don’t do this. It’s not the right moment.”
“It’s been three weeks,” Finn snarled. “Three weeks of knowing she’s right there,” he pointed toward Tony’s farmhouse, “and I still can’t reach her. It’s killing me. It’s ripping me apart. Please!”
“Finn.” There was warning in Jonah’s tone. “Look at her. She’s terrified. Is that really what you want?”
Finn growled even as he shook his head. “It’s killing me.”
“I get it,” Mitch responded. Jonah knew his friend was remembering his own sister.
Jonah had met Misty a few times and knew how close Mitch had been to his sister.
Had been there when they’d found her murdered by hunters because she’d fallen in love and mated a wolf shifter named Walt. At least, Finn’s sister was alive.
“I get it,” Mitch repeated. “Take her back to the house while Finn and I talk,” he told Jonah.
Jonah didn’t waste time. He turned Bre back the way they’d come and walked as fast as he could with her still trying to burrow inside him.
He didn’t think she was even aware of her continued whimpers.
He hated it. Almost as much as he hated the way she trembled.
What had this tiny woman survived before she’d been thrown out onto the hot asphalt as if she were garbage?
How long had they had her? What hell remained hidden behind her silence?
“What happened?” Tony asked when they pushed through the front door.
“Not now,” Jonah warned as Bre flinched at Tony’s voice.
Tony snarled then led the way to the hallway, opening the panel for them before following.
Jonah ignored him as much as he could. Tony had a tendency to take up a lot of space when he wanted to.
Jonah wasn’t surprised when he stayed on Jonah’s heels as he maneuvered Bre back into their bedroom.
He took the oversized chair in the corner and wasn’t surprised when Bre slid into his lap and wrapped around him, burying her face in his neck.
“Shh,” he soothed, hugging her tight while he ran a palm up and down her spine. She was still shaking.
“She’s terrified.”
Jonah glanced up, ready to lay into Tony when he took in the way the other man was visually assessing Bre. Tony snagged a blanket off the bed and placed it gently over Bre.
“She’s shaking,” Tony said when Jonah continued to watch him. “What happened?”
“Finn.”
Tony growled, doing a good job of sounding like the shifters he’d spent his life protecting.
“I warned him not to come around yet. She’s making progress.
” Tony’s voice was soft but lethal, anger radiating from him even as he kept his tone low.
“It’s taken three weeks to feel safe enough to leave this damn room. ”
“I should have kept her at the house,” Jonah muttered as Bre’s trembling eased. He dipped his head and realized she’d fallen asleep. One hand was curled in his shirt. The other was wrapped around his neck. He’d noticed she couldn’t seem to settle unless she was touching him, skin-to-skin.
“Bullshit!” Tony snapped. “She needs to feel safe. It’s the only way she’ll ever get her voice back.”
“You still think she’s choosing not to talk?” Jonah asked.
Tony nodded. “When she’s ready, she’ll speak. Probably, just to you at first.”
Jonah glanced down again. He brushed some hair off Bre’s cheek and his heart melted as she rubbed against his palm with a sigh before settling again.
“Is she still having nightmares?”
“Yes,” Jonah admitted. “Almost every night. I think I’d prefer to wake up to the sound of her screaming than to the quiet terror that grips her. I don’t know how to help her.”
“You are helping her,” Tony said. “More than anyone.”
“It’s not enough,” Jonah whispered. “I want to slay her demons, Tony. I want to hear her voice, her laugh, see her smile.”
“Another one bites the dust,” Tony muttered.
“What?”
“You and Mitch are a lot alike.”
Jonah didn’t say anything to that. Tony wasn’t wrong. Mitch had fallen for the woman he’d helped rescue, and Jonah was definitely in the same boat. He was falling hard and fast for Bre.
“I need to know what happened to her,” he admitted.
“We all do,” Tony agreed. “Get some rest. I’ll make sure dinner is brought to you both.”
“Thanks,” Jonah offered, and with a nod Tony left, clicking the door shut behind him.
Because Jonah wouldn’t be able to talk Bre into leaving their room again any time soon.
He stood with her in his arms and gently lowered her to the bed.
He watched her, the pucker between her brows indicating something made her unhappy.
He kicked off his shoes then stripped to his boxers before sliding onto the bed beside her.
He wasn’t surprised when she immediately curled into him, wrapping her arm over his chest while she slipped one leg over his, her knee dangerously close to the erection he couldn’t control.
He rearranged her then pulled the blanket back over them.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered, smoothing her hair from her face again. “God help us both, Bre. I’ve got you, and I don’t know if I can ever let you go.”