Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Asher

She was in my car. Her scent, this combination of wild roses and the smell of the air on a summer night, filled the interior, forcing my hands to lock tightly around the steering wheel lest I reach for her. I had to keep that urge at bay by staring into the rear vision mirror, watching her find her seat in the back. Kyle would follow us in her car. I'd reasoned she was too shaky to drive, and Imogen had to agree when she looked down at her hands.

Imogen, my mate's name was Imogen.

It rolled around on my tongue, ready to be spoken, along with a whole lot more. That she was mine, ours, and we'd always…

Not yet. Not now. Not while adrenaline was still pumping through her veins, and she was glancing around wildly with the look of a hunted animal. Maybe not ever, if I didn't think it was best for Imogen. Protect, that's what I, what the bear thought, the impulse pulsing through every vein. I saw fur prickle across my arms, the bear too close, and Lucas shot me a warning look as I turned the key in the ignition.

Get her home. Get her moved into her new place. Make her feel safe. Those were promises I made to the bear and I was forced to visualise each one for him, to stop him from pushing forward. But right when the bear was starting to settle down, he stumbled into our path.

Imogen's rapidly inhaled breath told me everything.

I'd put the other bloke hassling her on his arse, making sure it was clear he needed to stay down. The bear wanted to rip his fucking head off and I wanted to let him. But this guy… My focus was my mate, not him, and I saw the way she pressed her back against her seat, trying to put as much space between him and her as possible. He was the real threat.

"That's…" she said, not able to finish the sentence.

"Don't worry, we've got this."

I swerved around the prick, something made slightly more difficult by his inebriated state, and took some satisfaction when a shower of dirt and pebbles hit him as we passed. It was enough to have him staggering back at least. I took off down the road then at greater speed than needed. Lucas shot me another long look, but he understood. It was go or jump out of the car and obliterate anything in my path.

And that wasn't hyperbole.

My first shift came way too young, from necessity rather than from going through puberty. Blood on my hands, the police siren's wail combining with my foster mother's screams. Precocious shifting meant my animal was wilder, less predictable, and the only way to manage him was to give him plenty of time in fur away from triggers.

And to get the fuck away from them when I couldn't do that.

One breath, two breaths, it felt like the noisy sounds of my exhales had a twin, and I saw that Imogen was subconsciously matching her breathing to mine. That was enough to have me slowing our speed, right before we hit the road.

"Siri, call Ursula," I told my phone when the growl was gone from my voice. The sound of the phone ringing filled the car as we drove through the darkness.

"What up, bro?" came my sister's familiar voice. "I thought you'd be out in the bush letting your?—"

"I've got someone with me." I had to cut Ursula off lest she reveal everything. "A guy was making Imogen's life difficult."

"Imogen?" There was a world of question in that one word, but they could be answered later. "Hey, I'm Ursula. I'm this dickhead's sister and we work together helping people deal with difficult situations. Are you in a tough spot right now?"

"Now?" My mate was trying so hard to put on a brave front, smiling, but it didn't last long. "No. There was this guy that was being a bit creepy, but your brother and his friends sorted him out for me."

"A bit creepy…" I heard Ursula's little exhale. "Like getting too close for comfort? Ignoring you when you're giving him signs that his attention wasn't welcome? And when you said something, he ignored that too?"

"Um… yeah?" Imogen blinked way too fast, staring at the centre console as if to get a read on Ursula's expression, but of course, she couldn't. "This guy… Phil, he's always made me feel uncomfortable. He stares too much and for too long, y'know?" This was why we always got Urse to talk to anyone we worked with first. She wasn't psych trained or anything, but she had a knack for helping people open up. "But he has a wife, kids…" Imogen frowned. "At least he did. He said they'd taken off…"

Lucas and I looked at each other then, the tension rising in the front of the car, but we needed to keep a lid on that.

"Phil Jackson?" Ursula asked.

If that's who this prick was, I wanted to turn the fucking car around. The bear showed me exactly how it would go. We'd tear his head from his shoulders, blood spraying everywhere, and as the last nerve impulses twitched through his body, I'd slash his flesh to shreds. Mary and her kids had come to our organisation a week ago, their story coming out in painful bursts.

Phil was a fucking monster who brutalised his wife for most of their marriage, but it was when her young son stepped in to protect her that Mary's nerve broke. Being forced to keep her child home from school due to the state of his face helped her find the courage to call the police. They'd taken her statement, recorded her son's injuries, and then referred to us when it became clear she had no support network to help get her out. We'd moved the entire family into our building, making sure they were safe.

"Um… yeah. Do you know him?" Imogen asked.

"He's a bad man," Lucas said, turning to face her. "Really bad. We?—"

"Can't discuss the details," Ursula interrupted smoothly, "but take it from us. You don't want him anywhere near you. My brother called me because he's worried about you…" There was more she wanted to say, but she knew the rules about bear shifters. The mate chooses when she's ready and telling Imogen what she was to us now, when she was vulnerable, wasn't right. "And he figured a female voice might help allay your fears. Asher, you're going to make sure Imogen is safe? We've got space here at headquarters?—"

"We're moving Imogen out of her old place and into her own apartment." I stared into the rear vision mirror, meeting my mate's eyes. "Those guys don't know where that is, do they?" She shook her head. Clever girl, my mate. "You were trying to placate him, drop him off at the party so you could?—"

"Move out." Imogen was coming back to herself. She was sitting straighter, her chin rising. "I've been working on it for months. I couldn't afford…" She looked around her as if seeing our SUV for the first time, her hand stroking the leather seats. "I couldn't afford to before this, but I can now. He doesn't know I'm moving out, doesn't know where I'll be living. It's on the other side of the city. He'll never find me."

This was a prayer not a plan, but that didn't matter. She'd stated her goals and we'd move heaven and earth to ensure every single one came true. Lucas nodded slowly to me, so I knew he was thinking the exact same thing.

"Well, the guys are going to help you to do that," Ursula said. "It's what we do, but if you feel unsafe at all, don't ignore that. Call the police."

"On your brother?" Imogen asked, her eyes darting my way.

"On anyone who is making you feel uncomfortable," my sister replied. "I'm going to give you the names of some other places you can get help from if that will make you feel more comfortable."

Imogen wouldn't need them, somehow, I knew that. We'd do whatever it took to get her out of her situation and into a better one, so the conversation came to an end.

"Keep me posted, bro," my sister said finally. "I'll be here all night."

Her words had me smiling, but whenever I did that, I felt the tight tug of scar tissue, reminding me of my reality.

"What were you saying about work-life balance?"

"That you need it," she replied. "Call me when you're done."

Before I slept tonight, I'd be giving Ursula a full recounting of what happened, but first, we needed to get Imogen somewhere safe.

"What's the address?" I asked when we got closer to the city.

My mate swallowed, frowned, and then told us where it was. I pressed down on the accelerator, pushing the car to race faster towards our destination.