Chapter 7 Reid
Reid
Days later, and I was still fuming about Evan’s appearance in the club.
How dare he think he could intervene in my life all these years later?
It was bad enough that he hadn’t helped me when I actually asked for it.
To try and do so when I specifically hadn’t asked him…
It beggared belief. I knew shifters often got stuck on an idea and then were unable to let it go, but if Evan’s wolf had gotten stuck on protecting me?
Well, he could just fuck off. Him and Evan both.
I didn’t want protecting, and even if I did, I didn’t want it from Evan. I’d be happy if I went the rest of my life without our paths ever crossing again.
It wasn’t just that he’d let me down. It was that he was an echo of what I’d escaped. The posturing shifter attitude. The belief that they knew best. The constant reminder that I wasn’t as strong as they were. That I needed their protection if I wanted to survive in this world.
Well fuck them, and fuck Evan too. I’d done alright surviving this far. If something bad did happen, then that was fine. I’d accept that before I’d accept Evan’s protection.
I’d been having a perfectly nice evening until Evan had come along. Sure, the bloke I was dancing with had decided to get a bit handsy, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. And even if I had needed back up, Bryce was there, with Mac and Cole heading my way.
I didn’t need Evan’s protection. I might’ve thought I needed it when I was ten, but I’d been wrong. I hadn’t needed him to save me.
I’d saved myself.
Alright, it had taken me another eight years, but I’d done it.
I couldn’t decide whether I was pissed or grateful that Evan had used a compulsion net in the club. On the one hand, I was furious that he’d tampered with my friends in that way. But on the other, it was a relief to know I didn’t have a fuck-tonne of explaining to do.
Seeing a six-foot-five brick shithouse appear from nowhere would’ve caused a lot of confusion. That he’d then picked up the prick who couldn’t take no for an answer like he was no heavier than a feather and threatened him would’ve taken more explanations than I had.
Evan using a compulsion net meant I could escape without having to tell the others who he was. If my friends had realised Evan was in the club then they’d certainly have had a word or two to say to him. Especially Bryce. He might give me shit, but he’d defend me to the ends of the earth.
Even if Evan could crush him under his thumb.
Something told me Evan wouldn’t do that. He hadn’t attempted to stop me advancing on him in the club. To be fair, my punch had barely registered, but that wasn’t the point. He’d approached that man like the predator I knew him to be.
But when I’d been poking him in the chest and yelling at him, he’d behaved more like a kicked puppy than a wolf. If he’d been shifted, I knew he’d have been baring his stomach with his tail between his legs.
Don’t think about that, I told myself sternly for the millionth time. Evan deserves everything you throw at him.
I wished that made it easier to forget the wounded way he’d watched me leave. Maybe then I could stop thinking about him altogether.
That was the excuse I gave myself for not bringing the incident up to Chester or Finn. From what the McCarthy leader had told me, I knew he’d ordered Evan to stay away. All it would take was mentioning Evan’s presence at the club and he’d be punished. It’d stop him attempting something similar.
But if I did that, it’d mean giving him more brain space than he was already occupying. That was the only reason. It wasn’t because I kept picturing his wounded round eyes or protruding bottom lip.
Nope.
It was because I was rising above and moving on with my life. The faster I forgot about Evan’s existence, the happier I’d be.
Besides, Chester and Finn had finally slept together. Finn was going to have enough trouble wooing Chester into spending more than one night with him. He didn’t need me adding clan drama on top.
No, it was better to just pretend Evan didn’t exist.
My plan might’ve worked if I hadn’t walked into the shop after a busy round of deliveries to find Evan hunched against the wall.
I came to an abrupt stop, rage rising again. “You.”
Evan cringed, lowering his head. My nostrils flared at the sight. I didn’t want him cowering before me.
Dimly, I was aware that there were others in the shop. Chester, Finn, and two more shifters, if I had to guess. I only had eyes for Evan though.
“I thought I told you never to come back here.” Technically, I’d told him more than that, but I wasn’t about to share that.
I might have been furious, but I still couldn’t bring myself to get Evan into trouble.
That, evidently, wasn’t going to stop me giving him yet another tongue lashing though.
“And not only have you come back, but you’ve brought the whole furry cavalry with you? ”
“What?” Chester’s voice carried a note of confusion as the smaller shifter covered his laugh with a cough.
I ignored them both, glaring at Evan. Why the fuck was he back in my world again?
Suddenly Chester was between us, his hands held up placatingly. “Reid, they’re here because someone came into the shop looking for you earlier.”
It was odd. Time seemed to be moving slower, and Chester’s voice sounded almost warped. “What?”
It couldn’t be someone from my clan. It wouldn’t be. Why would they come here?
“Something about him was off,” Chester continued grimly. “Finn came in shortly after he left, and then he called his friends here. They think they know who it was.”
“…he called his friends…”
“…they think they know who it was…”
“…who it was…”
The floor was slipping beneath me. This couldn’t be happening. I was dreaming. Having a nightmare that I’d wake up from shortly. I had to be.
Through the screaming fog, I sought out Evan. My voice sounded strange, like an old version of me. One I had thought I’d left behind. “Who was it, Ev?”
He didn’t duck his head this time. He answered me in a clear and steady voice. “It was your father, Reid. Clyde.”
I was shaking my head before he even finished speaking. It couldn’t have been him. It couldn’t have.
I took a step backwards, everything in me screaming to run. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t already. Why wasn’t I moving? I had to get away from here while I still had the chance.
I wasn’t going back there. There was no way. I’d die before returning to that life.
My brain was refusing to accept it. Maybe that was why I hadn’t fled. “No. No, it’s not possible.”
“Actually, I don’t think that is possible.” I heard Chester’s words as if from a distance. Like he was at the end of a very long tunnel. “That bloke looked around my age. There’s no way he was old enough to have a kid in his twenties.”
That was because Clyde wasn’t Chester’s age. He was in his second century.
A disbelieving laugh bubbled up in my throat. Great. I was officially crossing over into hysteria. I choked it back, horrified to find that tears replaced it.
Do not cry. Evan has already seen you at your most vulnerable. You are not that boy anymore.
But with the threat of my father breathing down my neck, it was near impossible to push back the tears. I blinked rapidly, desperately trying not to give in.
Chester obviously noticed, pulling me into a tight hug. “Don’t panic. It can’t have been your dad, he wasn’t old enough. Besides, Evan didn’t see him, so how would he even know?”
I could almost feel the pity emanating from the four shifters. Unlike Chester, we all knew that Evan didn’t need to see Clyde. His scent would’ve confirmed it. And, thanks to the time he’d spent with my clan, he’d recognise it.
I had to run. It was the only solution.
I was going to have to leave everything and everyone I loved. My little flat. This job. Chester. My friends. I was going to have to run and never look back.
Staying here would lead Clyde to me eventually. It was a risk I couldn’t take.
So I let Chester hold me, knowing it would be the final time he’d do so. Who knew how long it’d be before I let someone this close again? Maybe I never would. It was too dangerous.
And too painful when I inevitably had to leave.
A shifter who strongly resembled Finn spoke suddenly. “Right. Chester, would ye be okay with Reid cutting out a few hours early?”
“Of course,” Chester said without hesitation. “If he needs to go and sort this out, that’s fine.”
I wiped at my eyes as I stepped out of Chester’s grip. Fabulous. I should’ve known better. Shifters were far too interfering for this lot to let me run out of here without asking a few questions first.
The shifter who’d spoken nodded. “Then, Reid, why don’t you come on back with us to the cl—house. We can discuss how best to keep you safe.”
His near slip was a reminder of how closely aligned their life was to my former family’s. A life I had no intention of returning to.
Lifting my chin defiantly, I glared at the shifter. “I can keep myself safe.”
“Against your…family?”
Evan’s question might’ve been spoken softly, but the dubious note in his voice hit me like a train. It had my hackles rising, along with my defences, as I unleashed on him again. “I’ve been doing it all my life, Evan. I asked for your help once before. I’m not asking for it again.”
I mean, seriously, how many times did I need to tell him this before the message finally sank in?
Evan shoved off the wall. From the corner of my eye, I saw Finn take a step forwards, but Evan wasn’t heading for me. No, he was going for the door, vibrating for all he was worth. He didn’t stop, didn’t look back. Just kept moving until he vanished into the tree line.
Guilt hit me in the gut, even more solidly than Evan’s question had. Fuck, he’d looked really cut up. Was I being too harsh with him?
I chewed on my lip as I debated whether or not to go after him. I wasn’t this much of a dick, I really wasn’t. Something about Evan just brought out the worst in me. The hurt, angry little boy that I’d thought had been left behind.
Before I could come to a decision, Finn made it for me. “You were a child. Evan didn’t know any better.”
My guilt vanished as I turned my icy glare on the leader. “He should have.”
Finn sighed. “If he’d known, he would’ve acted. I promise you, Reid, no one regrets what happened more than Evan.”
“That’s not true,” I muttered darkly. “I think you’ll find I win the regret trophy, thanks very much.”
“Okay, I have no idea what’s going on.” The tiny shifter popped up beside me suddenly, looping his arm through mine. “Obviously there’s some tea just dying to be spilled. But I like you, Reid.”
I side-eyed him dubiously. “You barely know me.”
He waved that off. “Meh. You have a flair for the dramatic and can apparently hold a grudge almost as well as I can. That’s all I need to know.”
I snorted, my temper simmering down. “Thanks, I guess.”
“You’re welcome,” he chirped. “Now, I know you’re feeling weird fuzzy things about opening up to Evan and him keeping you safe, but he’s just one part of the…what did you call us?”
His innocent tone suggested he remembered exactly what I’d called them. From how the other two shifters reacted, they weren’t too happy about my word choice.
The shifter clinging onto my arm though, he seemed thrilled as he clicked his fingers. “The furry cavalry. Anyway, you have three other cavalry members here to help you. What do ye say?”
My lip found its way back between my teeth as I glanced at the woods again. “I’ll just be dealing with you three?”
Finn was the one who answered. “Just us three.”
Chester stepped forward suddenly, his lips thin. “Reid, you don’t have to go with anyone if you don’t feel comfortable. If you’re worried about being in danger, maybe we should call the police.”
I winced alongside the shifters. That wasn’t an option on the table. Supes didn’t bother with human law enforcement for very good reasons. Most notably because they didn’t know about the existence of the supe community.
“No.” I detached myself from the shorter shifter. I really needed to find out their names. “I don’t want the police involved, Chester.”
My boss exhaled as he shook his head. “Okay. I won’t push. I’ve been there and I get it.”
A pang of pain went through me. My reasons for not going to the police weren’t what Chester was thinking, but I fucking hated that he’d been in a situation even remotely similar to this.
I patted his arm gently, trying to ignore the tension rolling off the shifters at Chester’s statement. “Thanks, boss.”
Chester looked to Finn. “You’ll look after him?”
Finn inclined his head. “With my life, m’eudail.”
My heart sank at that promise. It should’ve been reassuring, but it wasn’t.
Something told me the McCarthys weren’t going to let me run without a fight.