Chapter 4 #2
Another whiff of burned rubber, though fainter this time. A partial lie, then.
My fingers twitched toward my laptop bag with the instinctive urgency of reaching for a weapon. Data. I needed data. Symptoms. Treatment protocols. Anything to drown out the sudden inexplicable hollowness spreading beneath my ribs.
“Bullshit,” I countered, leaning forward. “I’ve treated enough shifters to recognize the signs. Something’s wrong with you.”
His jaw tightened, a muscle jumping beneath the skin. “The tonic helps,” he said, deliberately vague. “It buys time.”
“Time for what?” I pressed.
“For your research to succeed,” he replied, his eyes meeting mine in the rearview mirror with an intensity that made my skin prickle. “For all of us.”
A memory flashed unbidden, Brody, vital and powerful, saving me from spotted hyenas, his eyes clear and fully human. The contrast with the man before me, fighting some invisible battle, sent an unexpected spike of something so sharp through my chest I had to press my hand against my sternum.
He caught the movement, his eyes reflecting terrible understanding. Whatever secret he was keeping, he knew I was piecing it together. And beneath his stoic expression, I glimpsed something that haunted me—resignation.
I curled my hands into fists to stop their trembling. No. This wasn’t my problem. I wouldn’t make it my problem.
But my treacherous body had other ideas. My skin flushing hot, then cold as suspicion settled into my bones. My eyes narrowed. “Is that why you were waxing poetic about wanting a second chance with me? You’re hoping I’ll help with whatever’s wrong with you? Are you trying to use me?”
“No!” He banged on the steering wheel. “I would never use you like that.”
I didn’t catch the scent of burned rubber this time.
“No snappy comeback?” he asked.
“Look, I get it. When we first met, you had gone through some emotional and mental challenges due to your parents. But I’m going to keep it 100 percent real with you—I have no interest in allowing you to claim me. I don’t want a mate. That ship sailed since we parted. And now I’m rejecting you.”
A beat of silence passed before he said, “I won’t push anymore. I just want a good working relationship with you.”
“Agreed,” I said, trying to ignore the flash of something that looked like pain in his eyes reflected in the rearview mirror.
The silence stretched between us as he navigated through the dense rain forest. After a few minutes, I realized there was something important we hadn’t discussed.
“Quinn mentioned lab facilities for my research. Where exactly will I be working?” I asked.
Brody’s hands gripped subtly on the steering wheel. “About that,” he began, clearing his throat. “Your lab equipment arrived three days ago.”
“And?”
“Quinn and I set it up in the east wing of my Brewstillery.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. “Your Brewstillery? My lab is in your building?”
“It made the most sense,” he said, eyes fixed carefully on the road ahead. “The equipment needs specific environmental controls, and my facility already has the infrastructure for botanical research.”
“And you were planning to tell me this… when?” I demanded, anger rising fast.
“I was waiting for a moment when you weren’t actively contemplating homicide,” he replied, a hint of dry humor in his tone.
“So not only will I see you around town, I’ll be working in your building? Every day?” The implications crashed through me. Daily proximity. His scent would be everywhere. No escape.
“To be fair, we set this up before I knew Dr. Dhahabu was you. Quinn assigned me airport pickup for the same reason. We’re both working on pre-feral treatment.”
My inner cheetah stirred with interest. Shared territory. Close proximity to our mate.
Shut up, I snapped internally. He’s not our mate anymore. I rejected him, remember?
Rejection words. Your body says differently, my cheetah observed.
“This is completely unprofessional,” I said, fighting to keep my voice steady.
“The OIA approved the arrangement,” Brody replied. “My Brewstillery has the only facility in the Ridge equipped for both botanical and neurological research.”
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.