Chapter 9
Russo
Everything feels perfect when I first open my eyes. I mean, everything is perfect. I have my mate tucked against my side. She’s wearing my mark, and I’m wearing hers. We’re together, claimed, and have the rest of our lives to do whatever we want.
A smile tugs at my lips as I look at Ever. She’s still asleep, curled against my chest with one hand fisted in my shirt. She’s never looked so peaceful.
Protect her, my bear growls.
We will, I promise him.
I brush a strand of hair away from her face before carefully slipping out of bed.
“I’ll make breakfast,” I whisper.
She hums softly but doesn’t wake.
I dress quietly and slip downstairs into the kitchen. I start the coffee and pull eggs from the refrigerator, whistling to myself as I make breakfast. It feels good to be taking care of Ever in this way. She deserves to be spoiled and pampered.
Three sharp raps sound at the door as I reach for the skillet.
Dread immediately settles in my gut, and my bear stirs uneasily beneath my skin, pacing restlessly.
Danger, he says.
I frown. We don’t even know who it is.
Another knock, sharp and insistent.
My bear explodes forward. Threat!
Every muscle in my body tightens. He’s right. No one from the pack knocks like that.
I cross the living room quietly and look through the narrow window beside the door. A middle-aged man and woman stand on the porch. The woman clutches a photograph, and she looks like she’s practicing looking worried. The man’s expression is hard enough to chip stone.
It’s them! my bear snarls.
I know before I even open the door that it’s Ever’s adopted parents.
Kill them, my bear orders.
I shake my head. Not with Ever asleep upstairs. We need to get rid of them. Then we can figure out a plan to deal with them.
My bear isn’t happy as I step outside, keeping my body between them and the cabin.
“Can I help you?”
The woman’s smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “Hi. My name is Margaret, and this is my husband, Thomas. Sorry to call so early, but it’s an emergency. We’re looking for our daughter.”
I glance down as she holds up the photgraph. My teeth grind together as I stare at a younger version of Ever. She looks like a hostage in the picture, smiling awkwardly. She looks tired. Exhausted. I want to tear their heads off as I spot a faint bruise peeking out from under her shirt sleeve.
Do it! my bear urges.
I clear my throat, shaking my head. “Sorry, I’ve never seen her.”
Thomas’s eyes sweep over my shoulder. “Mind if we come in?”
“Yeah, I do,” I answer flatly.
“I wasn’t asking,” he says, his voice dripping with malice.
My bear growls low inside me.
“You need to leave,” I tell them, the warning clear in my tone.
“Our daughter is mentally unstable,” Margaret says smoothly. “She wandered away from home.”
“I said”—I step closer—“leave.”
Thomas’s jaw flexes, and his beady eyes narrow on me. “We were told that a man matching your description was seen shopping with her.”
“Then whoever told you that was mistaken.”
Silence stretches between us.
“What a shame.” Margaret sighs dramatically and turns away.
Good. Just leave. I’ll call Ansel the second they drive away. If they go to his cabin next looking for my mate, I can have him stall them. I’ll kill them there.
My bear paces inside me, a ball of murderous rage. He’s ready to be let out. I’m ready to let him out. I just need them to get far enough away from my Ever.
I start to close the door when I hear footsteps upstairs. Light. Quick. Happy.
Oh shit.
I freeze, half-turned in the entryway. My eyes lock onto Ever as she comes into view at the top of the stairs.
“Russo?” Ever calls. “Did you burn breakfast?”
My blood runs cold.
No.
The front door swings wider before I can stop it, and I see the second that Ever spots them.
Her smile drops, and every ounce of color vanishes from her face. Her breath hitches audibly as she freezes at the top of the stairs.
“No,” she whispers, tears filling her eyes.
I take a step toward her, and her gaze flies to me, full of fear and panic.
“Russo—”
I slam the front door shut. “Upstairs,” I bark.
But Ever can’t move. She’s rooted to the spot.
A deafening crash splits the quiet morning. I spin around as the front door bursts inward. Thomas stands there, holding a pistol.
My bear roars.
Margaret steps calmly behind him, looking up at Ever. “There you are.”
Ever staggers backward. “You found me.”
“We always find what belongs to us,” Margaret spits out.
“She never belonged to you,” I snap, positioning myself between them and my mate. The gun swings toward me, but I don’t so much as blink.
“You stay out of this,” Thomas hisses.
“I don’t think so,” I growl.
“I’m not going back,” Ever says.
“You ungrateful little brat!” Margaret shrieks, her face twisting with fury.
“I was your daughter,” Ever chokes out.
“No,” Margaret shouts. “You were an investment.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I demand, my hands curling into fists at my sides.
Margaret laughs, her eyes darting between us. “We spent years trying to adopt a gifted child.”
Gifted? my bear snarls.
They know, I reply.
I level them with a hard look. “You knew she was a shifter.”
“Of course we did,” Thomas scoffs, keeping the pistol trained on my chest. “Her birth records were… special.”
“We paid good money to get her,” Margaret adds. “And what did we get?” She folds her arms over her chest and looks at Ever with open contempt. “A defective child.”
Ever flinches.
My stomach churns.
“You never shifted,” Margaret continues. “No bear. No instincts.”
“So we corrected the problem,” Thomas finishes darkly.
My vision darkens. “You beat her.”
“We disciplined her,” Margaret corrects.
“You locked her in a basement.”
“We were trying to force the animal out.”
“You could have killed her!”
“If she had shifted sooner, none of it would’ve been necessary.”
The room shakes, or maybe that’s me. I can’t tell anymore.
My bear claws at my skin. Kill them.
Ever’s breathing becomes ragged. Her eyes don’t hold fear anymore. They burn, glowing bright as her bear pushes forward. I can feel her anger through our bond. Years of pain, years of loneliness, years of believing she wasn’t enough, all crashing together.
Margaret takes a step forward, reaching past me toward Ever. “Come here.”
Ever doesn’t move.
“I said, come here.”
“No,” Ever replies, her voice strong. “I’m done obeying you.”
Margaret’s expression hardens.
“You’ll always belong to us,” Thomas bellows.
“No,” Ever repeats, straightening her shoulders. “I won’t. I never did.”
Thomas raises the gun. “Enough.”
I move instinctively as he squeezes the trigger, slamming into him. The gun discharges, the bullet tearing through the ceiling before the weapon skids across the floor.
Then the world explodes.
Bones crack, and fur bursts across my skin. My bear surges free with a thunderous roar. Across the room, Ever shifts too. Her bear is smaller than mine, but just as mighty.
She reacts before I can, charging toward her parents.
Margaret screams.
My bear dives at Thomas, mauling him against the entryway floor as he scrambles to recover his gun.
He tries to fight me, but it’s no use. Years in the Marines taught me how to end a fight.
My bear makes it even easier. A second later, his struggling stops, and I look down to see the life leaving his eyes.
Across the room, Ever’s bear stands over Margaret as she grabs for a broken stair railing. Ever knocks her away with one powerful swipe. Margaret falls backward, staring up at Ever, her eyes wide with fear and anger.
“You owe us!” she screeches.
Ever’s bear lets out a furious roar that echoes through the cabin. Years of fear vanish in that sound.
When Margaret lunges one last time…
Ever defends herself.
It’s over quickly, and silence settles over the cabin. Heavy. Absolute. The scent of blood fills the air as I step toward my mate.
Ever shifts first, staring at the floor as if she’s in shock.
She probably is.
“I—” Her voice breaks. “I killed them.”
I shift back immediately. Ignoring everything else, I cross the room and wrap her in my arms.
She collapses against me, sobbing hard. “I didn’t want this.”
“I know.”
“I never wanted anyone to die.”
“I know, baby.”
She shakes violently. “I just wanted them to stop.”
“They can’t hurt you anymore,” I say, holding her tighter, trying to soothe her.
It doesn’t seem to work. She cries into my chest while I stroke her hair, my bear rumbling softly inside me.
I tense as I hear footsteps, preparing for another fight. Ever freezes in my arms as I shift us away from the door.
“Russo!” Ansel shouts, bursting through the doorway.
He takes one look at the scene before him. The two bodies. The blood. The broken stair railing. The gun. Me holding a terrified Ever.
“I’ll make the calls,” he says.
His footsteps fade as he disappears outside.
I clear my throat. “So, that was my brother, Ansel.”
“He seems nice,” Ever says softly.
I chuckle at the absurdity of our conversation. “He is.”
“I wish we weren’t naked the first time we met.”
I laugh. Ever’s laugh is slightly hysterical.
We fall silent, both processing what’s happened.
After several minutes, Ever takes a shaky breath.
“What happens now?”
“Now”—I kiss the top of her head and reach into my pocket for my phone—“we get dressed and deal with the pack.”
I lift her into my arms, and she wraps herself around me without hesitation.
Outside, I can already hear trucks approaching. I know we have a long day ahead of us, but as I climb the stairs to our bedroom, I don’t feel tired. I’m at peace.
My mate is safe. She’s free from those monsters.
Now I just need to make sure she’s okay with how it happened.