6. Gage

I couldn't wait to get out of those four walls that were closing in on me. The room was stifling with four people in it, even though one was a shifter, one fae, and only one human.

The human who is our mate.

I wished… sometimes… I could mute my beast and keep some things to myself.

Do… do… you… you mean that?His stammering voice in my head had my shoulders sagging, and I was overcome with guilt.

No. Sorry.

Gods, I was fucking up in all ways possible.

I tore through the woods, not wanting to shift, but needing the hard ground beneath my feet, the prickly vines scratching at my skin and the low branches smacking their leaves on my face. I needed to feel something other than… confusion and… fear and… And what?

I paused and bent over, panting. What else was niggling at me? Cedric's scent maybe. But if we didn't meet again, that wouldn't be a problem. And if I packed up what little I had and left tonight, I'd avoid any chance of us running into one another.

Perspiration streamed over my chest, and I glanced down at the sweat trailing through the dirt. I needed to clean myself up, get rid of the scents that were embedded in my skin, and forget about what a shit day this had been.

While I stayed clear of most people, especially humans, in Riverford and didn't interact much with the shifters in and around the town, I was content with my life here. Picking up and finding somewhere else to live where no one would disturb me or kick me off the land, that was also close to where I could find work and make an occasional trip to the grocery store, would be almost impossible.

Mr. Lucas's kindness in allowing me to stay here would not be repeated elsewhere. Perhaps if I hunkered down until Cedric went away, life would go back to normal and I could forget it ever happened.

I dived into the river and scrubbed my skin until I was a shiny pink blob. But when I returned to the cabin and put water on to boil, I opened the coffee jar and discovered it empty. I might not crave many modern conveniences, but coffee I did enjoy and I had none. It was all someone else's fault. Reed's, definitely Mr. Lucas, Harry, even Mrs. Ambrose, but I couldn't fathom why. And Cedric, he was the instigator of all this shit.

Or was it fate?

I cursed them all and stomped around the cabin. I'd go fishing later at sunset, but for now, I'd think of the goodies Mrs. Ambrose cooked that I didn't bring with me.

I lay on my bed, the old springs broken and the mattress sagging in the middle. Each morning when I woke, my back ached, but a quick shift fixed the problem. Putting my hands behind my head, I allowed my mind to wander back to this morning when Mrs. Ambrose had invited me inside.

I wasn't great at conversation, but we'd chatted until that scent wafted through the sliding doors leading from the deck into the house. My world that I'd built so carefully, putting together the broken pieces of my shattered previous life, wasn't perfect, but it suited me. I had a roof over my head, food, and some money to buy necessities, and I was surrounded by an ancient forest.

And now that had been destroyed once more. That barrier I'd created came crashing down and it was just me against the world.

And me. You'll always have me.

Sometimes I wished my beast and I could meet as two separate entities and he could hug me or just walk at my side.

A sound, not native to the forest, disturbed the tranquility of the woods. Adrenaline surged through my veins, and I leaped up. Mr. Lucas's four-wheel drive was smooth and unbothered by the terrain, but this vehicle wasn't suited to the environment, and it grunted and groaned up and down the slopes and around the sharp bends.

Reed. He'd not been here before, and it was odd that he lived the life he did and yet he had a city car. If he'd come to apologize, I'd hear him out then send him back to Riverford.

I stood in the doorway, wary of this unwelcome visitor. But there was more than one person in the car. I tensed, thinking I could run, but Mr. Lucas got out of the passenger seat and waved his cane at me.

Reed slammed the driver's door and leaned against the car, but made no move to come closer. Harry stood beside him, but there was a fourth person in the vehicle. I didn't need my shifter eyesight to see who it was. His scent invaded my nostrils, making my body sway, and goosebumps crawled over my skin. Gritting my teeth, I ignored it.

"Gage, I'm so sorry. Our methods may have been a little clumsy in the past, but we never hurt anyone, did we, Harry?"

"No, Uncle."

Mr. Lucas turned his head toward the car. "We've said sorry to Cedric too. He came here looking for a new life, and Reed had to talk him off the edge to get him to stay for his vacation."

"He was on the edge of a building?" Riverford didn't have tall buildings unless the community center counted or the two-story hotel near the café.

"It's an expression. He was upset and rightly so." Reed shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I'm sorry, too." There were tears in Harry's eyes.

A door opened, and Cedric stepped out of the car. "May I come a little closer?"

I nodded and steeled myself for his scent assaulting my nostrils.

"From what I've gathered, Mr. Lucas and Harry are the local matchmakers, and their objective was not to hurt us but the opposite. They don't like seeing us in pain. Their intentions were good."

He glanced at all three, and they shuffled their feet and studied the ground, even Mr. Lucas, and I'd never seen anyone intimidate him.

"I have a proposal."

I held up both hands, trying to push away his words, to stop them from hurting me. Humans proposed marriage, didn't they?

"More of a suggestion."

That sounded better.

Cedric explained how he'd done marketing for Reed's company for years, and he was considering moving here and taking a job with his new firm that oversaw the running of the nature reserve.

"But if I'm to take this job, I need to be more familiar with the forest, its plants, animals, the climate, and the topography." He spread out his arms. "And I think you are the person to do that."

"Me? Oh, I don't think so."

"I don't know any shifter or human who understands and loves the woods as you do, Gage," Mr. Lucas interrupted. "You'd be doing something you love and getting paid for it."

"No matter what you decide, I hope we can be friends." Cedric's infectious smile got my heart beating faster.

"And we are out of the matchmaking business," Harry promised.

It sounded like a dream opportunity, except could I do the job and not be affected by Cedric's scent? I couldn't answer that unless I tried.

"I hope you'll think about it."

Cedric moved back to the car. There was an air of sadness about him, and I didn't think it was because of that meddlesome duo—or trio, if I counted Reed. I was so confused this morning, I didn't pick up on it, but it was there in the way he held his body and it underlaid his scent.

Cedric was considering moving here, not just for the job opportunity but to escape something. Maybe we weren't that different, and perhaps that was the reason for the universe pairing us together.

Harry handed over a jar of coffee and some of Mrs. Ambrose's goodies, the ones I'd left at the house.

The four of them got into the car, and Reed reversed and turned the vehicle around. I relished being alone, only surrounded by birdsong and the forest animals, but as the car drove over the bumps I experienced a sense of loss, of longing for company.

Running after the car, I waved my arms and hollered, "Okay, I'll do it."

The red brake lights illuminated, and Cedric stuck his head out the window. "You haven't heard the terms."

"What terms?" Oh no. This was where they put up barriers or expected me to dance to their tune.

"The money side of it."

I trusted my three friends. Maybe not with my heart, but they wouldn't screw me financially. Reed yelled out a daily amount. Whoa, depending on how many lessons Cedric needed, I might be able to patch up the cabin, maybe even buy a new pickup.

"Can we start tomorrow?" Cedric grinned.

"I'll pick you up at six am."

His brows shot up. "Six?"

"Do you want to learn about the woods or not?"

"Okay. Six it is."

They drove off, everyone waving except Mr. Lucas. He probably needed tea and was complaining he didn't get any.

But as I returned to the cabin, doubts niggled at me. What had I agreed to and could I back out?