Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Nathan

Seeing Runa talking to a strange male was bad enough, but I felt the way he watched her. He was going to take her from me. I wasn’t going to let anyone touch my mate or my cub. I’d kill them first.

“Nathan, stop!” she demanded. She was out of the way now, but still too close to the other male, especially after he was joined by another shifter. If I could just get past the wall of wind, I could take care of them and keep her safe.

A familiar set of eyes blocked my vision. I snarled, trying to go around him, but Dad wasn’t interested in playing games. He matched every move I made, blocking me from going anywhere. If I wanted to get to the other males, I’d have to go through him. Even now, I couldn’t force myself to do that. I couldn’t hurt what little family I had left.

Once the white noise started to dissipate, I could hear Runa yelling. She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at the pair of shifters who were still too damn close to her. I growled, but Dad kept me from getting closer, and the dirty look Runa shot me said she wasn’t happy with my interference. I’d apologize as soon as she was safely away.

“I swear to the goddess, Ethan, if you don’t knock it off, I’ll hurt you. He’s a possessive idiot. You’re just being a shit.”

The male, Ethan, shifted back, his glare locked on her. “Can you even feel him? He was threatening you!”

“He was threatening you because you’re standing too close to his mate,” Martha argued.

“He’s not–” Runa growled to herself and waved her hand dismissively. “That’s not the point. I get that you want to protect me after what I did for your brother, but you can’t just attack someone who I invited into my home. You, more than anyone, should know the trials he faces as he heals.”

That seemed to shock the wolf shifter long enough to halt his tirade. He glanced at me, then back at Runa again.

“What’s wrong with him?”

My hackles went up, but Runa didn’t share what I’d told her the night prior. She just crossed her arms and glared at him. “Did I share your story without your permission? Then why would I share his? Next time listen to me when I tell you he’s not a damn threat!”

The black bear shifted and moved to stand behind the wolf, gripping his neck in a familiar way. I didn’t know their relationship, but Ethan followed him when the bear pulled him a few feet away. He murmured low in Ethan’s ear, and I was suspicious of what they were discussing, but Runa didn’t wait around to hear it. She turned her back on them, marching over to me to give me that same glare.

“And you! I was gracious in inviting you here. Attack my friends again and I’ll stop being so understanding.”

The tiger wasn’t happy about it, but I took back my skin so I could face her directly. “He was going to take you from me,” I growled.

She rolled her eyes so hard, it looked painful. “He’s mated, you idiot. To a man!”

I hadn’t expected that, but when I swung my gaze back to the pair from before, I saw them in a different light. The bear wasn’t joining in to steal Runa. He was protecting his mate. From me.

I took a step back automatically, but it was a step too far from Runa, and my tiger protested with a growl. Runa pointed a finger at me.

“Don’t you start. If you had let him keep his skin, I wouldn’t have needed protection in the first place. You need to let him think things through first.”

I shook my head. I could feel the discontent from my tiger, he was still pissed and wanted to drag Runa away and hide her from the world, but the human part of me knew the other two weren’t competition. I just couldn’t get him to listen.

Runa gripped my chin, forcing me to look at her. I locked onto her deep purple gaze, taking a breath when she did.

“Be at ease, my tiger. There is no threat here.”

Her claiming me did a lot to settle me and I drew in another slow breath, nodding when she raised an eyebrow at me. She didn’t move until she felt I was steady enough to face the group, and when she turned around, she didn’t walk away. I stumbled forward, wrapping myself around her. I needed to feel her, to know she was okay. I shouldn’t have acted like I had. I was too caught up in instinct to think straight. The tiger had too much damn control. If I wanted to be stable enough for Runa and my cub, I needed to do better.

It took a while to get my tiger to settle enough to let Runa out of my arms. After last night, I couldn’t bear the thought of being apart from her. I hadn’t realized she was my mate the first time we were together, but I felt it last night. She felt like she was part of me, and I wouldn’t survive without her now that I knew she existed. It made me possessive and put me on edge around the newcomers, despite the many reassurances from Runa that they weren’t a threat. Logically, I could understand that, but my tiger was less willing to listen to reason.

Martha shooed me inside to change after demanding the other two do the same. I only acknowledged her because the two males left first. I wouldn’t have been able to do it if they hadn’t. After changing faster than any human could, I hurried back to Runa’s side. I found her sitting on a low stool next to her garden, one hand sandwiched between Martha’s while she spoke.

“He’s not dangerous. He was once, but he’s spent a long time working to get steady. He’s safe now. He only reacts like that when he feels threatened. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“He looked ready to kill someone,” Martha grumbled, her gaze on their hands as they glowed. “With you in the middle of them both, I truly feared for your life.”

Runa sighed, running the fingers of her free hand through the leaves of the plants beside her. “They were both trying to protect me. They wouldn’t have hurt me.” She looked up at Laurie. “What you did was amazing, though. I don’t suppose you can teach me how to do that?”

Laurie tipped her head back and forth. “Maybe not as well as I can, wind weaving is our family’s original specialty, but enough to protect yourself, probably.”

“After your babe gets to air,” Martha interjected with a frown. “I’m glad you didn’t react with magic, you both seem stable to me. Much more stable now that you’ve accepted your mate. Sticking close to one another will heal you much faster than doing it alone.”

“Witches don’t have mates,” Runa argued. The instant rejection hurt, but it was hard to blame her. I didn’t trust her yesterday. The instant connection I felt to my mate settled that distrust. It wasn’t the same for her.

“Tigers do. And you’ll still reap the benefits of being near him. You already are, since you’re moving around on your own today without struggle. Don’t be so quick to dismiss him,” Martha chastised.

From the expression on her face, Runa wasn’t pleased with the reminder, but she didn’t argue anymore. She glanced at me over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

“Are you back under control?”

My automatic reply was to reassure her, but I saw the look in her eye. She wouldn’t believe me if I placated her. I paused for a moment to really think about it before answering. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with you around others right now. When it’s just us, I feel stable, but even the thought of a stranger getting near you makes me feel like I need to shift.”

She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Well, luckily for you, I don’t like visitors. You’ll need to get past the possessiveness eventually, but I don’t see the need to rush. For now, I’ll send a message for everyone to stay away until you and your tiger can get on the same page. You can’t hide from the world forever, but for now, I feel no need to rush things.”

Laurie nodded in agreement. “Right now probably isn’t the best time for visitors anyway. You need more rest. Dealing with situations like before will only hinder you. For now, we can keep things simple and focus on healing.”

I wanted to feel relieved, but I couldn’t help looking in the direction of the compound. It was too damn close. There were construction workers and shifters I didn't know both living there and visiting freely. I wished we could’ve been farther away from it all.

A warm hand settled on my shoulder and when I looked up, Dad smiled softly at me. “One day at a time, boy. We’ll focus on making a home for your family, and letting Runa heal. And I’ll be here with you. No one is getting close to this place without us knowing about it.”

Runa shook her head. “I’m not the only one who needs to heal.” She glanced at Martha and Laurie. “I can’t heal mental scars, but with your help, I think we can guide him on the right path.”

I stiffened, expecting them to ask questions, but Martha just nodded. “We’ll follow your lead, healer. We’re here to support you.” Her gaze flicked to me. “Both of you.”

My heart thundered in my ears from the implication. I wanted to get better. Both for Runa and for the cub. Maybe, with enough time and space, and a few healers, I could be good enough for them. It was all I wanted.