It made no sense, considering how little we knew each other anymore, but standing in the circle of his arms, I’d never felt safer than I did now.
13
Easton
Cat was safe. Cat was safe. Cat was safe.
I repeated the words until I was sure my wolf wasn’t going to burst out of my skin and take off to murder Travis. Not yet, I promised the beast inside me. But he had it coming eventually.
Hell, the list of people I was going to kill kept getting longer.
Cat pressed herself against me, her heart slowing as I held her. She winced when my hands brushed the backs of her shoulders, and I knew he’d left a mark.
That was just fine. I’d find him when the time was right and leave a mark of my own.
“I’m so sorry. I think I just left mascara all over your shirt.”
“You’re insulting my manliness if you think a little mascara offends me.”
“Well, I wasn’t going to mention that I just wiped my nose all over your shirt too.”
I laughed.
She still had her sense of humor. That was a good sign.
“Come on. Let’s get you home.”
“Okay, but I need a tissue and a shower before you’re allowed to see me in the light.”
“Whatever you say, baby.”
I kept an arm around her as I led the way to her apartment. This time, she didn’t stop me from walking up with her.
At the door, she paused and frowned. “Shit.”
“What?”
“Rudy locked me out.”
“He what?”
“His way of forcing me to go out with you tonight.”
I smirked but then quickly smoothed out my expression at her glare.
“Did you have a hand in the coercion?” she asked.
“I—”
The door suddenly opened to reveal Rudy looking reproachful. “What are you two doing back? Oh, shit. Cat.” He broke off and grabbed her, hauling her against him and stroking her hair like a worried parent.
I didn’t mind it. As long as he gave her back.
Over her shoulder, Rudy met my eyes, and whatever he saw there must have conveyed the severity of things.
“Come in. Both of you.” He led her away and left me to lock up behind us.
I did, hoping Travis wouldn’t come looking for us here. A confrontation wouldn’t be good for either of us right now. Not with Cat still upset and with me still needing to maim or murder something.
“Tell me what happened.” Rudy led Cat to the couch and eased her down against the cushions, crouching in front of her.
I stood off to the side, watching and assessing.
“Travis found me in the alley near the clinic.”
Rudy’s eyes narrowed. “What did I tell you about cutting through there?”
She sighed. “I know. I just wanted to get home.”
“Why were you coming home?” Rudy asked, brows crinkling in confusion as he looked from her to me.
She glanced at me. “East was late. I thought he’d stood me up.”
Rudy pinned me with a glare that would have made a lesser man wither. “What the hell, pretty boy? I trusted you.”
I cleared my throat. “I got held up.” My voice was hoarse, thanks to the images of my mother now playing through my mind. I’d gone to meet Cat as soon as I could get away.
Rudy shot me a strange look. “Uh-huh.” He glanced at Cat, who was still looking at me. “I’m going to pour us all a drink. In my bedroom. For about twenty minutes.” Then, he disappeared, and I heard his door shut.
The silence between us stretched.
I tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t make it worse. “I don’t want to make this about me. Leaving you there alone . . . there’s no excuse.”
“What happened?”
I blew out a breath and ran a hand through my already-disheveled hair. Cat tracked the movement with her eyes. Not glassy with shock, either. Good. I didn’t want to pile on.
“I stopped by my mom’s house to ask for some advice before heading up here.”
“Advice about what?”
I hesitated, but after the day I’d just had, I couldn’t be anything but honest. “Whether she’d recommend that I continue in the family footsteps—a werewolf mating with a human.”
Her mouth fell open in shock.
Any other time, it would have been funny watching her flounder for composure. Not tonight.
“I see. What did she say?”
“Nothing. She was unconscious.”
“Holy…” Cat shoved to her feet. “What happened?”
“Broken nose. Busted lip. A couple of cracked ribs. They’re saying she might have brain damage after being unconscious so long.”
“Shit, what are we doing still here?” She moved for her coat, which Rudy had tossed aside for her earlier. “We should go to the hospital and be with her.”
“I was already there,” I said, grabbing her wrist to stop her before she could brush past me. “It’s why I was late. I had to make sure she’d pull through.”
Cat laid a hand on my chest. “Of course you did. I’m so sorry.”
I swallowed hard. “She’s resting now. It’s fine. She’ll be okay.”
The last words left a lump in my throat. The doc had assured me she’d make a full recovery, that she looked worse than she felt. That was good because she looked like hell.
“Do you know who did it?” Cat demanded. “They deserve to pay for this.”
I could see the anger bubbling up inside her. That alone got to me more than anything else my wolf had been drawn to. And in that moment, my resistance shattered. Something inside my chest opened, and a feeling bigger than anything I’d ever felt before came rushing in.
“East?” Cat pressed when I didn’t answer.
I blinked to clear my thoughts.
“My old man,” I finally said.
Cat’s eyes widened in horror. “God, East. Did you— I mean is he—?”
“He was already gone when I got there.”
She grabbed my wrist, her fingers searching out my pulse. Then she lifted my hand to her throat and guided my fingers
