Shattered Fears Page 6

  The room fell silent, and every person assembled turned to look toward one man who was sitting on a chair by the window. It was the biggest chair, and it seemed like it needed to be because the man was colossal in stature. She had no doubt this would be Kas, the alpha. She tried not to show any fear, but it was difficult. Especially when he got to his feet and came over to them. He examined her, and she felt, no heard, the rumbling growl coming out of Zain. It went straight through her body and caused her to shudder. The man ignored him, though, and continued to take her in.

  “You’re Senator Ross’s daughter?” The man finally spoke, his voice deep and commanding.

  “Yes,” she squeaked in reply.

  “Do you share his belief we’re wild animals who’ll tear you apart and eat the flesh from your bones for our dinner?”

  “No,” she replied with as much confidence as she could muster in the situation. “Although, Zain did warn me to watch out for Scott because if he gets hungry, and Tyler hasn’t cooked anything, then he has been known to nibble on anything at hand.” She looked around the man mountain in front of her to the lion, she’d mentioned, who was sitting on the sofa. He still held the baby in one hand, but in the other, he had a leg of what looked like pork. The lion looked up at her and winked. “Point proven.” She turned her attention back to Kas and smiled at him.

  Kas’ face still belied any emotion. He was unreadable. His eyes shifted to Zain.

  “You were a complete idiot. She would’ve fit in a long time ago.” The polar bear smiled warmly and held his hand out to her. “Welcome. Please make yourself at home. I’m sure the ladies of the pack will want to know all the details of your relationship with Zain. They haven’t had any interesting gossip for a while now.”

  “Thank you.” She took his hand and shook it. “My father is who he is. But, I promise you, I’m someone different. The truth of your existence is safe with me.”

  “I appreciate that.” The women of the pack moved from their rooted positions, behind their leader, and surrounded her with questions. Kas went over to Zain and slapped him on the back before disappearing from the room. Zain smiled over at her proudly.

  “So, tell me. How did you meet?” one woman asked.

  “Is he romantic? He better be,” another questioned and tripped over her own feet trying to move closer to them.

  “I love your skirt.” A third stroked down her thigh at the soft material.

  “Ladies.” A muscular man with jet black hair, flecked with smoky spots, came up to them and pulled one of the women, who had a baby bump, close to him. “Let her breathe. You’re a lot to take in when you get together.” He held his hand out to her. “Hi, I’m Brayden.”

  She shook his hand.

  “Isobel.”

  “I’m Selene.” The woman he was holding smiled at her.

  “Jessica.”

  “Teagan.”

  “Katia.”

  “Jane.”

  They were all introducing themselves, now. She was trying to put the names to the faces as well as the facts she’d learned about them.

  “Hi, I’m Emma.” The lady with a baby sashayed up to her. “This is Zahara.” The lioness showed her the baby she was cradling. “That’s Morocco.” Emma pointed to the other baby in the room. “I think you’ve already guessed who Scott is.” Isobel nodded that she had.

  “I’m Tyler.” Finally, the last person stepped up and gave her a peck on the cheek. The growl from Zain flooded through her again. “I’m so glad Zain finally has someone. I was getting a bit worried about his honey obsession. I knew it was masking something.”

  “Honey obsession?” she asked in confusion.

  “I think I’m going to take Isobel on a tour of the house before you lot spill all my secrets.” Zain pushed through the crowd surrounding her and snaked his arm around her waist to pull her to his side. “You lot are insatiable.”

  “We’re just shocked you have a girlfriend.” Emma pouted at him.

  “No, you’re all nosey. I’ll bring her back down later.”

  “Going to show her your honey collection?” Scott called from the sofa.

  “Fuck you.” Zain held his middle finger up to his friend, and the lion burst out laughing.

  “I’ll go make us all dinner.” Tyler stood up tall with excitement. “I’m thinking venison. Who’s up for catching it?”

  Nearly all the hands in the room went up and waved in anticipation. Isobel suddenly felt guilty.

  “Um.” Her voice sounded quiet. “I’m a vegetarian.”

  “Yes!” the witch, Jessica, screamed while everyone else groaned. “I finally have someone who understands.”

  “Vegetarian,” Zain exclaimed in utter devastation and shock. “When?”

  “When I was at university. I joined this group, and we tried to save the earth. I’ve always liked vegetables, though. I’ve never been much of a meat fan.”

  “You’ve just gone down in my estimation.” Tyler frowned at her.

  “I’m sorry,” she gulped. She really wanted them to like her, and she hadn’t thought about the fact that they’d all be meat eaters. Well all except the witch, and she wasn’t a wild animal. “I could try it.”

  Tyler laughed. “I’m joking, sorry. I wouldn’t expect you to try anything you don’t believe in eating. In fact, I’m happy. I like to experiment with food, so I’ve got another person to use as a guinea pig. Is it just meat? Do you eat dairy? fish?”

  “I eat dairy, no fish.”

  “No fish.” Zain looked pale next to her. “Salmon?”

  She shook her head at him.

  “No salmon?” he repeated.

  “No.”

  “I think I’m going to pass out.”

  Everyone in the room burst into laughter and started joking. She’d been so nervous coming here, but they’d welcomed her with great enthusiasm. As the hilarity continued, Zain took her hand and pulled her from the room.

  “Are you ok?” he asked.

  “Are you?” she returned the question. “I mean I’ve not upset you by being a vegetarian?”

  “Not at all.” He laughed. “More meat for me. You stick to the crazy vegetable things if you want to.”

  “Um...” she hesitated. “When Tyler asked who wanted to catch dinner, did he honestly mean catch?”

  “Yes, we live off the land. We don’t buy meat; we use what’s available, but we do it responsibly. No over hunting. We allow animals to grow to maturity before we feed on them.”

  “Ok.”

  “I have to ask. I think I know the answer, but I just want to check.”

  “Go ahead.” He knotted his eyebrows together.

  “Do you eat humans?”

  Zain exhaled deeply.

  “I mean the ones, maybe, you killed accidentally. No, that sounds wrong. Oh god.” She put her head in her hands, feeling really stupid. She wasn’t sure why she’d even asked. She knew they didn’t. Zain wouldn’t.

  “I can honestly say I’ve never eaten human. I like fish. Tyler cooks it for me. I eat a lot of berries as well.” His face turned serious. “We don’t hunt and kill humans. We don’t kill unless we have to. If we’re attacked, we’ll fight back to protect the pack. That’s what being part of this family means, but death is the last resort. I can honestly say I’ve not killed anyone. Maimed a few who’ve tried to hurt my family but never killed. It’s not in our nature, no matter what people say. We’re peaceful. We just want to look after the land. I guess we aren’t much different to the ‘save the earth’ group you joined. Our job is to run and protect the Glacial National Park. There are so many shifter families who live here. We spend our time making it a safe place for them and teaching them tolerance and respect. We’re a community, which protects.”

  “I like the sound of that.”

  “Come.” Zain pulled her toward a set of stairs. “I want to show you my room, seeing as you’re going to be spending lots of time in it.”

  “Am I, now?” she teased.


  “We’ve got five years to make up for. I think that’s sex, pretty much, at least five times a day.”

  “Five times.” She gulped but, secretly, desire pooled low in her belly.

  “Yes.” They took the stairs quickly.

  “Zain.” They reached the top, and he paused to look at her. The errant strand of hair was back, and he tucked it behind her ear.

  “What?”

  “I’m glad you found them. They all seem really nice.”

  “They are. Crazy, and a little scary when it comes to Kas, but I wouldn’t be without them. They’re your family now, as well.”

  “I’m not scary,” came a deep voice from somewhere nearby. They both burst into fits of laughter and ran down the corridor toward what she suspected was his room. He opened the door, and she entered.

  She’d expected a mess because, well let’s face it, he was a man, and they were never tidy in her experience. Kingsley was the world’s worst. She pitied the cleaner that her brother had hired to try and keep his place clean. Her father never seemed to be able to put things away either. She forever had to close kitchen cupboards after he’d been in there. Zain’s room was nothing like that, though. His room was masculine in its nature but had feminine hints. The walls were whitewashed brickwork with a tall oak wardrobe and cupboard against the far wall. The king-sized bed was covered in a navy throw, and there were a few pillows arranged neatly on it. There were no dirty clothes lying around.

  “You like it?” he asked, more than a little nervous.

  “I’m guessing it hasn’t always looked like this.”

  “No.” He looked guilty. “The girls may have spent most of yesterday cleaning it when I told them I was bringing someone here.”

  “I’ll have to thank them. I never remembered you being this tidy before.”

  “Yeah, you probably don’t want to look in the cupboards. That’s probably more how you remember me.”

  “Oh yeah.” She leaned forward and open the nearest cupboard. It was a low-level one, and she expected clothes to tumble all over the floor. Instead, she was greeted by row upon row of jars of honey. There must have been at least a hundred in there. “Er?” She turned to him. “Scott wasn’t joking about the honey obsession, was he?”

  Zain slapped his forehead.

  “I didn’t want you to see that.”

  “Why?” She picked up a jar, twisted off the top, stuck her finger inside and then popped it in her mouth. Zain visibly shook.

  “Can you put the honey down please?” His voice sounded strained. She closed and tightened the lid before putting it back in the cupboard.

  “You want to tell me about this?”

  “You have to promise you won't laugh at me.”

  “Ok.” She was starting to feel a little worried about what he was going to say.

  “It’s my replacement you. When I tasted you for the first time, I fell in love with your sweetness.”

  She looked at him in confusion. He came over to her and brought his hand to the cleft between her thighs.

  “Oh,” she said, suddenly realizing what he meant and blushed.

  When I left, I couldn’t find anything that tasted the same.. I didn’t want to try other women; that was the furthest thing from my mind. One day, I was given a honey sandwich by a stranger, it wasn’t the first time I’d had one as you know but something clicked and I’ve used it as my coping mechanism ever since. I’m a little bit protective of my honey. As I said, a replacement you.”

  She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

  “That’s probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.” She leaned back down to the cupboard and pulled the previously opened jar of honey out. Zain was watching her like a hawk.

  “I’ve got an idea.” she whispered close to his ear. “We’ve got a bit of time before dinner. Why don’t you try honey with your honey?” Next thing she knew; she was flat on her back on the bed.

  The rest of the day passed in a post-orgasmic haze. She’d entirely fallen in love with the Glacial Blood pack, and Zain had held her or been close to her the entire time. They had gone from zero to sixty in no time at all, and she couldn’t have been happier.

  They were driving back to the library, so she could be there for her father when he came to pick her up. She didn’t want to return home. She felt peace inside her, but knew that would change as soon as she returned to the pressures of being a senator’s daughter.

  Zain squeezed her hand when they pulled up into a secluded part of the parking lot, behind the library.

  “I’ll message you later, and I’ll come and see you first thing.”

  “Ok,” she murmured, feeling down.

  “Hey.” He brought her closer and kissed her. “I won’t leave you again.”

  “I know,” she replied. “It’s just…I really liked them. And I’m just feeling a little sad we can’t be open about what’s happening between us.”

  “We will.” He stroked her hair. “We’ve got to be careful, especially with the twins and your father finding out about them. They are too young to deal with any fall out from that. Let’s just take it slowly. Give it a week, and we can let your father know we’re seeing each other again.”

  “He’s going to want to know why you left. He’ll have people look into it.”

  “And he’ll find nothing to worry him. I’m a park ranger at Glacial National Park. That’s all he’ll ever find. There are no skeletons to un-earth except the obvious one and, on that, there’s no proof.”

  “I know. I’m just scared. I don’t think I’ll survive losing you again.”

  “You won’t. You have my word.”

  Zain looked toward the clock.

  “You better go. He’s never once been late.”

  “I still can’t believe you’ve been watching me like some creepy stalker all these years.”

  “I, and my pot of honey are both very guilty.” He winked at her. She kissed him again, on the lips, and slid from the car.

  “I’ll message you when I’m home. Love you,” she told him.

  “Love you, too.” He waved and pulled away. She watched him go. A sudden cold wind blew around the corner of the large building. She couldn’t help but think it was a bad omen for the future.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “I still don’t think this is a wise idea, me coming here.” Zain watched as Selene moaned to Brayden. Her mate stroked her stomach and kissed her on the cheek.

  “It’ll be fine. We need to get you some new clothes. Everything is getting far too tight and uncomfortable on you. I want you to enjoy your pregnancy and not hide away. The baby knows it’s protected. Daddy is here along with Uncle Zain and Auntie Jessica. Come on, when have I ever offered to take you clothes shopping?”

  “Never.” Selene rolled her eyes. “But I could just wear Emma’s old stuff.”

  “Emma is a different shape than you, and well, her clothes aren’t really your style. Besides, I think Scott got greasy marks over most of her clothes. I’m not feeling you wearing them as I know why he got the marks on them.”

  “Yuck! He couldn’t keep his hands off her when she was pregnant.”

  Brayden purred. “I know the feeling. It’s a male protective thing.”

  Zain cleared his throat. “If you two are going to make out, then I’m going to go and get a coffee.”

  “Sorry,” Selene offered and turned to look at a rack of jeans with elastic waists. “I’ll be quick.”

  Selene started to wander off; Jessica followed. Brayden stayed with him as they looked around for any trouble.

  “How are things with Isobel?” Brayden asked.

  “Good.” Zain felt a beaming smile spread across his face at the thought of his woman. It had been five days since she’d met the pack, and he’d brought her back once more to see them for dinner. It was the night Isobel usually spent with Kingsley, but her brother agreed she could be with Zain, and he’d cover for her. She’d stayed over night, and it had been wond
erful waking up next to her for the first time in a long time. She was with her father at a rally today, though, and he hadn’t seen her. He was itching to have this trip over and to go find her. He pulled a pot of honey from his pocket, opened it, stuck his finger in and then began sucking on it.

  “Still not over that particular obsession, then?”

  “It’s been twenty-four hours since I was last able to get her naked.”

  “So long?” Brayden sniggered.

  “Damn Father.”

  “He’s a bit of a troublemaker.”

  Brayden obviously lost sight of Selene for a second as he shifted his position. He spotted her again and settled.

  “Troublemaker is not the word I’d use for him. Imbecile, fool, egotistical maniac are a few of the more PC choice ones I’ve got running through my head.”

  “Fucking troublemaker is my best.”

  They both laughed.

  “What are you going to do about him?” Brayden asked.

  “As long as he doesn’t find out, we’ll be fine. There’s no reason for him to discover our secret.”

  “Not really.” Brayden shrugged

  “Do you like this?” Selene held up a purple short-sleeved dress.

  “Doesn’t look warm enough for around here. You planning on taking me to Death Valley again?”

  Selene stuck her tongue out at him and put the dress back on the rack.

  “If you annoy me…”

  The threat was ominous but playful. Brayden, being a snow leopard, hated anywhere remotely hotter than 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Zain had to admit he wasn’t much of a fan either. Bears liked the sun but not to the point where it was likely to melt you if you stood still for too long. He’d been to Death Valley once and had no plans to return there anytime soon.

  “You wouldn’t dare,” Brayden retorted. Selene blew him a kiss and returned to her shopping.

  “Are you worried about her?” Zain asked.

  “Every day,” Brayden replied, and the expression on his face grew grave. “She’s a target and knows it. She’s only been alive for about eighteen months, and she’s still trying to learn what the world is about. It’s not been long enough.”