Chapter Ten
Jayden
Carter banged on my door. “She needs us.”
He didn’t have to wait for a reply or for me to ask why or whom.
Our omega was in trouble. And it didn’t matter what kind.
I grabbed my jeans from the chair in the corner and hopped into them while reaching for a shirt from the top dresser drawer.
Shoes in hand, I raced down the hallway, headed for the door, to find my two pack brothers pacing the living room floor.
“Why are we still here?” I halted and pivoted to face them. “We need to go.”
“Yes,” Elias agreed. “But we were saying if we all go, it might overwhelm her. Maybe I should in case of a medical emergency.”
“What did she say is wrong?” I sat down on the ottoman to put on my shoes. “Is she unwell?”
“She told me she heard something scratching on the outside of her window, and after the text from her sister, it scared her.” Carter shrugged. “Since I took the call, I should probably go.”
“No.” I was adamant. “We all go. With no idea what might be making those sounds, we cannot take a chance on not being able to help our female. Also, rather than overwhelming her, I think it shows that we all have her back. The same reason you gave her all our numbers and not just yours, Carter.”
He opened his mouth as if to argue then closed it and gave a nod. We all filed out and climbed into Carter’s pickup.
“I hope she’s all right,” Elias said from the back seat. “Her hand was so burned.”
Carter frowned. “Didn’t you say you bandaged it and told her to keep it covered?”
“I did. Why?”
“Because I’ve just realized she had no bandage on either hand. And I held one of them. Not a blister or redness on either.”
Elias slapped the seat. “That’s great. It means she healed enough her wolf allowed her to shift to complete it.”
“What are we going to do when we get to her place?” I asked. “Should we all go right to her door or maybe split up and look around?”
We worked on our plan, deciding that we should separate, Elias and Carter going around the outside to see if they could find the source of the noise that Anathea described, while I went up and met with her.
I couldn’t decide if I was glad to go right to her or would prefer to be one of those who were searching out the danger. Protecting her.
The second she opened the door, though, trembling, scared, eyes wide and panicked, I wanted to be nowhere else but with her.
I could protect her better from closer, throw my body in front of any and all dangers.
“Anathea, it’s okay. The other guys are outside looking to find out what or who is near your window. ”
“Thank you so much for coming.” She reached out as if to grab my hands then jerked hers back. “Come in, please. I am so sorry to have woken you all up, but I didn’t know what else to do. Carter gave me your numbers and said…”
I closed the door behind us and drew her over to the couch to sit down. When I sat right next to her, she scooted back, and I tried not to let it hurt my feelings. She was frightened. Of course she wasn’t melting into my arms.
“I’m sorry to take you away from your girlfriend,” she said. “She probably didn’t appreciate your running out to help a scaredy-cat.”
“My girl…oh!” I hadn’t had a chance to clear that up yet. “Jasmine isn’t my girlfriend. She’s my twin sister. She really loves the opal, by the way, and plans to come back and look at some of the other stones.”
As I babbled, Anathea knotted her fingers in her lap but slowly stopped, hands coming to rest. Then a slight smile tilted her lips. “I thought you were a couple. Oh my gosh. I was so rude to you because I thought you were flirting right in front of her. Holy…wow. So, you’re single?”
“Very much so. And I think Jasmine would hate anyone to think I was her boyfriend. She prides herself on her good taste.”
“That’s terrible. I’m sure she doesn’t feel that way!”
“Oh, she does.”
A rap at the door interrupted our pleasant argument and reminded us both of why we were sitting here together in the middle of the night.
Anathea paled.
“I’ll get it.” On my feet before she could move, I marched to the door and peeked through the peephole. Not something I was in the habit of doing at home, but at home, I wasn’t trying to protect someone precious to me. “It’s the guys.” Opening up, I let them in. “Did you find them?”
Carter shook his head. “We didn’t see anyone.”
“But I think we found the source of the noise.” Elias held up a length of wire. “This was tangled in the tree right outside your bedroom window, and it’s a little windy tonight.”
“It must have blown there and then as the branches bounced…”
“It scratched my window.” She dropped her head into her hands. “What must you think of me?”
“We think you were being careful in a situation where you know there are those who might harm you.” I sat beside her again, and this time she didn’t pull away. “We think you were smart.”