Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Nathan

After introductions were made, Aiden took the little bear to find his friend. I hadn’t met everyone who lived in the compound, I wasn’t even aware a cub was living here, but it shouldn’t have surprised me. Runa said everyone here was paired. That usually led to cubs.

I watched them go before tuning into the conversation Dad was having with the gorilla shifter. “I said I’d build her something better, but I need supplies. I was hopin’ you’d give me some help with that. Who to avoid, who to call, that kinda thing.”

Malcolm’s brows rose slightly. “You’re in construction?”

“I was,” Dad shrugged. “Paid the bills for a while. Wasn’t really my jam, so I quit once I could, but I know enough to build something decent. And Nate will help me. Won’t you, Nate?”

He clapped my shoulder amiably, a big smile on his face. I wished I could have his levity. I was tense with the knowledge that there were strangers on the property and I’d left Runa unguarded. But I couldn’t just leave Dad here, either. I wasn’t sure what to do.

When I didn’t automatically answer, Dad waved his hand airily. “Don’t mind him. So what do ya say? Can you help me out?”

Malcolm’s immediate agreement helped soften me toward him a little. He didn’t show even an ounce of hesitation to help. “Sure, I can do that. I was going to build her something better, but she refused to allow it. Me and my guys can help if you want to speed things along–”

“No,” I interrupted with a snarl. “We’ll do it.”

Malcolm’s gaze snapped to mine, and he looked me over with more caution after my outburst. This was why I couldn’t be around other shifters. I made them nervous because I was too untrusting and angry.

Dad stepped in before tensions could get any worse. “We appreciate the offer, but I told Runa I’d build it myself. It’s a gift. I’m sure I can handle it.” He frowned a little, glancing at me. “We’ll need to get a truck, though. Gotta have the bed to haul supplies.”

I was glad he hadn’t brought up Runa’s pregnancy. I didn’t want anyone to know about that unless absolutely necessary. We couldn’t have brought Dad’s truck with us because we left so quickly. It annoyed me that I still didn’t know why.

“I can help with that,” Christian said from his desk behind us. He’d been busy on the phone when Malcolm showed up, but he was listening now and his expression was kind when he offered, “The nearest dealership is in the next town, which is a little busy. If you are willing to make me your proxy, I can get it tomorrow. My mate will give me a ride to go get it.”

It was a toss-up between trusting an unknown person to speak for me or heading into the city, which would undoubtedly cause me issues. I decided against the second one, since just the thought of being around that many people unnerved me. Trusting Christian was the lesser of two evils.

“Fine. I appreciate it.”

“I’ll go with so we can find a good one,” Dad said with a bright smile. “That way me and Christian can catch up.”

Christian looked pleased by the offer, but I wasn’t happy about it. I shot my dad a look, which he ignored, and when I opened my mouth to protest, he cut me off just to spite me.

“It’ll give Nate and Runa time to talk. They’ve got a lot to talk about,” he said vaguely.

Both Malcolm and Christian looked confused by his cryptic comment, but I knew what he was getting at. Runa and I hadn’t had time to talk much since she told me she was pregnant. He was right. We had a lot to talk about.

After getting information about suppliers from Malcolm, Dad and I moved to the dining room with some spare graph paper Malcolm had in his truck so we could plan out what to make. I didn’t have any experience with construction, so I was mostly going to follow his lead, but he said I knew Runa better than he did, so he needed my input.

“I don’t know her that well,” I argued.

“You know her well enough to get her pregnant,” he pointed out with a sly grin. He laughed when I shoved his shoulder.

“Shut up. We were drunk. We don’t know each other.”

Still chuckling, he bent his head to start sketching. It was mostly concepts for now, we needed input from Runa, but he was a good artist. He could probably make money with art if he wanted to. He’d been looking into jobs in construction again since we couldn’t survive off my disability check alone, and I wanted to find something else that he’d be happier with.

The realization that I didn’t know the mother of my cub at all sank in and I felt a growing sense of unease in my stomach.

“Dad…”

He looked up, tilting his head when he noticed my expression. “What is it, Nate? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know her. She’s carrying my cub, and I don’t know her.” It was daunting to think about. Back before I joined the military, when I thought about finding a mate, or having cubs, I always thought it’d be with someone I knew well. Someone who was as much my best friend as my spouse. But Runa and I weren’t mates. We weren’t even friends. We were barely friendly to each other.

Dad’s hand settled on the back of my neck and he squeezed lightly to settle me. “You got months to get to know each other. That cub ain’t comin’ tomorrow. As long as you both put some of that animosity away and talk to one another, you’ll do fine, I’m sure.”

Runa

Martha and Laurie bustled around my home while I rested, cleaning up the mess I’d left in my haste to meet with Nathan. It had been troublesome to figure out how to buy a bus ticket without the dragon finding out, and more than a little irritating getting access to my money after months of being beholden to the dragon to get what I needed. I’d spared little thought to keeping the place clean. But Martha seemed pleased with the stockpile of herbs I had and set to work separating them and putting them in jars for spells later. I wasn’t sure how much later, she couldn’t give me an exact timeframe, but the idea of getting my magic back made me feel lighter than I had in months and I could relax a little easier because of her promise.

I wasn’t comfortable sleeping with so much activity around me, but I dozed for a while, which helped with the exhaustion. Being so close to nature helped too. They made comments about my cottage, but I loved it. It was simplistic, sure, but everything was made naturally and I felt surrounded by the spirits even when I was alone out here. I wanted the same for the seedling.

The wind woke me up, whispering in my ear about Nathan and Heath’s return. My eyes had just fluttered open when they came inside. Nathan made a beeline for me, his unease from being away from his cub clear on his face, while Heath stayed back to give us privacy.

“How are you?” Nathan demanded, looking me over with a frown.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “I’m fine. You need a shift, though. You look ready to crawl out of your skin.”

The refusal was instant, written all over his face. I sighed. If I could, I’d go with him just to put him at ease, but I didn't have the strength for that yet. With the way I was healing, I expected to be able to move more easily in a day or two, but not today. Not after the drive up the mountain. I was too tired.

Instead, I gestured to the bed next to me. “Let the tiger join me, then. I’m still tired from the trip. I can’t go with you yet.”

He seemed agreeable enough to the idea and stripped automatically, completely ignoring Martha’s indignant murmurs behind him. He let the tiger have his skin and hopped up onto my bed, settling in against my side so that I was pressed against him. Warmth, soft fur, and gentle grumbling purrs put me back to sleep effortlessly.

When I woke again, the sky was dark and the hearth was down to a low flame. The room was empty aside from me and Nathan. When I turned to look at him, I was startled a little to see the man, not the tiger next to me. He was asleep, his brow furrowed a little and a deep frown on his face. It couldn’t be good for his sleep to be frowning like that.

Without thinking, I reached for him, running my fingers along his brow to soften the lines there. His face twitched a little before the lines softened out and he relaxed. His grip tightened and he dragged me against him, burrowing his face against my hair with a sigh. A smile tugged at my lips. He treated me like his own personal teddy bear. It was sweet. I didn’t want to trust him, not while I still didn’t know why he came to me, but it was hard to be angry with him. He was broken, it was written all over his face when he jerked his head around to look for danger. My instincts screamed at me to help him.

I watched him for a little while, stroking his face whenever the lines showed back up. He couldn’t seem to settle for long before something made him frown again. I worried about him. The monsters in his mind wouldn’t be easily managed. He needed to settle to get any decent rest.

When the touch no longer offered him comfort and his grip on me started to get uncomfortable, I nudged his shoulder to wake him.

“Nathan. Wake up. You’re alright.”

His head jerked like he was fighting something in his sleep. He growled, jerking again, and his hands moved, curling around me to better protect me from something in his mind. My heart ached with that movement. Even in his sleep, he wanted to protect me. It was just hard to do so when the monsters were in his mind.

“Nathan!” I called him a little louder, and this time, he heard me. He sucked in a sharp breath and his eyes flew open. He twisted on instinct, putting me beneath him to protect me with his body as he looked around for the danger.

“It’s safe, Nathan,” I soothed, running a hand down his back. “It was just a dream.”

His brows drew together in confusion and it took a minute for his body to relax again. Only once he was sure we were safe did he look down at me. I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Comfortable?”

He finally realized how he was situated and even in the limited lighting coming from my bedroom window, I could see the flush on his cheeks. He rolled off me but didn’t seem to be able to completely pull away. I allowed it because I could see the unease on his face. It would be hard to fake reactions like that.

“What were you dreaming of?”

His expression closed off immediately. He wasn’t going to tell me without a good reason. Unfortunately for him, I had one.

“How often do those dreams wake you up in the night?”

No answer, but the dark look on his face told me a lot.

“You can’t keep things like that inside, Nathan,” I scolded. “It will only make things harder on you. Are the dreams the reason you’re so disconnected from your animal?”