Chapter 6 #2
“What time will we leave in the morning?” Kitto asked.
“Five,” Jago said.
Liam extended his hand to Sienna. She blinked before grasping his fingers. Liam couldn’t read her expression, and that frustrated him. What was wrong with their relationship?
“Good night,” he said.
The three brothers called their responses as he led Sienna to their bedroom.
“What’s wrong?” Liam asked.
“N-nothing. I guess knowing hunters are in the area has upset me.”
“It’s not ideal, but if we’re careful, we should be okay. It’s a lot of ground for three men to cover. Probably won’t take them long to decide the Beast of Bodmin is tourist hype.”
“I hope so,” Sienna said. “But I have a bad feeling.”
Yeah, he had one of those squirming around in his gut. But Sienna and her mother were worried enough without him adding to the tension.
“Is your head feeling better?” Sienna asked as he closed the bedroom door behind them.
“Yeah, shifting helped a lot.”
Sienna edged away, and tension gripped his muscles.
He hadn’t hit her—he didn’t think he’d ever struck a woman—but uncertainty gnawed at him.
Anxiety swelled in his chest. Maybe it was time to press Sienna for answers.
She was stunning. He wasn’t. His scar made people stare and sometimes recoil.
Of course, he had to consider her brothers and father.
Word about them must’ve spread from shifter to shifter, ruining her chances of finding a mate.
“Did you choose me because of my scar?” The words fell heavy with an accusation he hadn’t meant.
“No,” she snapped.
“Why me, then?”
“Why were you willing to come home with me?” she countered.
They glared at each other with distrust.
“I have sketchy memories. Fragments that make no sense.” He broke the silence. “But I’m not stupid. What’s bothering you? And don’t tell me it’s your family or the hunters.”
Sienna bit her lip and looked torn. “We argued—”
“It’s more than that. You flinch every time I touch you. If I don’t beat women, then what? We sleep in the same bed, but you’ll fall out if you move farther from me. You don’t wear a wedding ring.” He stared at his left hand. “Neither do I. Are we married?”
She refused to meet his gaze.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’ll sleep elsewhere.”
“No.” Sienna’s hand shot out, gripping his forearm firmly.
Frustration settled in his chest. With no memories, he felt adrift and directionless.
“We made a last-minute pact since neither of us found mates at the gathering. I know very little about you. No, that’s the truth. We’d agreed to explore a relationship, then you tripped and injured your head.”
“How much of it was real?” His voice was hoarse. “The way you looked at me, the things you said—was any of it actually about me, or was I just filling a role?”
“I don’t know.”
Somehow, her honesty cut deeper than any lie.
“That’s not good enough, Sienna. I need to know if I’m staying for people who want me here, or if I’m convenient.”
“You’re not convenient,” she said fiercely. “You’re—” She stopped, seeming to realize anything she said now might sound calculated.
“Your solution? Your backup plan?”
“You’re someone who strengthens us,” she said. “The way my father looks when you’re around, how my brothers respond to you—that’s not fake. That’s not something I could manufacture.”
“Why did you bring me here? Wouldn’t someone at the gathering know me?”
She looked at him then, with tears in her eyes. “We urgently need help, and I thought you might be the impetus we needed to turn our luck around.”
Liam gaped at her. “What if I have a mate or someone important to me? Did you consider that? Any self-respecting man would walk away right now.”
“You were alone at a singles gathering and didn’t wear a ring. Besides, you agreed to our pact just as I did. Please, Liam. We’re in danger because of the hunters, and I don’t trust our neighbors or anyone from the village.”
Sienna wasn’t wrong. Without Jamie, they wouldn’t have known about the hunters, nor would they have known to limit their shifting. It might’ve been too late, and that brought anger. Shifters should have each other’s backs.
“Why do they hate you so much?” Liam asked, putting the rest aside for now. The truth: while he wanted to learn about his past, he feared what he might find.
“Kitto got friendly with the mayor’s daughter, and her parents objected.
Strongly. Some locals beat up Kitto and warned him not to go near the girl again.
As far as I know, he hasn’t, but he refuses to discuss Jules.
Since then, things have been tougher. It’s a lot of aggravating microaggressions. We try to ignore them.”
“And now the hunters.”
“Yeah.”
“What happens if the hunters come to the house or if someone informs on your family?”
Sienna gave a helpless shrug. “I don’t know.”
“Do your father and brothers have a hidey-hole they can retreat to while the hunters are here?”
“Yes, but long-term concealment is no way to live.”
“Aren’t they doing this now?” Liam asked.
“Yes, but they have a bit of freedom.”
But it wasn’t autonomy, and Sienna knew it.
While Liam was driven to learn more about the gathering and understand the truth about himself, he couldn’t leave the Teague family.
He liked their calm acceptance of him and caring natures, even though it was increasingly clear Sienna was keeping secrets.