7. Cole

The minute I suggested she sit in the living room, Eva shut down. A light went off in her eyes and she floated away, refusing to look at me. I thought back over what I'd said as I tidied up the kitchen, but there was nothing. At least nothing that made any sense.

I got the impression she was extremely uncomfortable with us, which was understandable given we were strangers and she hadn't chosen to be here. But there was more going on. I knew it.

She jumped at the slightest sound, and she struggled to make eye contact with us. Someone had beaten Eva; I'd put money on it. Who, I wasn't sure, but if I ever met the asshole, he was a dead man.

When I peeked through into the living room, Eva was sitting on the sofa staring into space, ignoring the small pile of books on the coffee table. It was as if she was trying to make herself small and inconspicuous to avoid drawing any unwanted attention.

Was this how she kept herself safe?

She'd scraped her long blond hair back into a ponytail with a hair elastic. Her face was pale, with dark shadows beneath her stunning blue eyes. I didn't think her exhaustion was a loss of sleep because of the accident. This woman clearly hadn't slept well in a long time. Maybe months.

I was so busy staring at her that a pan slipped through my fingers, falling to the stone floor with a loud clatter. Eva yelped and froze, her whole body locked in fight-or-flight mode.

The way she tried to curl up and hide made my wolf growl in my head. Did she associate loud noises with pain? As I watched, she shuffled back against the cushions and curled up, hugging her knees and rocking her body in what I suspected was a self-soothing mechanism.

The more I watched her, the more I felt certain she had been in an abusive relationship. Maybe this was why she was out on a mountain pass with a storm rolling in, when by rights she should be tucked up safely at home.

This woman needed protecting.

She needed to feel safe.

She needed us.

My wolf agreed.

Maybe she'd feel more relaxed if I put some music on. I found a classical music playlist that I liked on my phone and directed it to the speakers. Soft music filled the cabin, and after a few moments, Eva's shoulders relaxed.

I watched her while I wiped down the counters and started chopping vegetables for tonight's dinner. Eventually, she settled against the sofa cushions and closed her eyes.

Good. I wanted her to feel comfortable enough to relax here.

Maybe once Silas got back, he could coax her into telling us what happened. He was always good at getting people to talk. Like Tanner, but in a non-violent way.

Speaking of whom…

Silas said he messaged him. I wondered if he'd replied. I hoped he didn't come back for a couple of days. Eva needed to settle before she had to face his bad-tempered ass.

I loved my brother, but he had issues, and he wasn't great with females. At least, the ones who weren't there to fuck.

Fucking unattached females from the local packs was the only time he bothered to interact with women.

I got it. I really did. Human women were more fragile, but what happened to Jessie-Lynn was just a horrible accident. It wasn't Tanner's fault. Unfortunately, he still blamed himself.

Like Silas, I waited for the Full Moon parties or hit up a bar in one of the local towns when I wanted to get laid. Most women hated it this far out in the sticks, so relationships never lasted long.

There weren't enough home comforts high on the mountain. No satellite TV or beauty parlours within walking distance. Plus, I shared the cabin with my brothers, which made things awkward.

While Silas was easy-going, Tanner was a grumpy asshole.

We all attended the mating ceremonies when they took place, usually once a year, but so far, none of us had found our mate. It was strange, but not so unusual. Sometimes shifters never met their fated mates and ended up settling with someone who just fit in other ways.

Nothing stopped any of us from doing that and there were several females who had expressed an interest in both me and Silas, but we didn't take them up on it.

I preferred to wait for my fated mate to come along. I'd seen what happened when a shifter settled with someone who wasn't their fated mate. When they finally met the one, the ensuing breakup was painful and messy for all parties.

No way was I going through that - or putting some female through it. And I knew Silas felt the same way.

My eyes drifted back to Eva, dozing on the sofa. She lay with her head on a cushion, her legs tucked beneath her. Some of her blond hair had come loose from the hair elastic.

She looked so young. The tension I saw earlier had disappeared. Her face was softer. Her feet were still bare because the clothes she arrived in, which I had laundered, weren't dry yet and I hadn't dug out any socks.

Were her feet cold? Maybe I should cover her with a blanket. Just as I was about to do that, the back door opened and Silas walked inside shaking snow from his shoulders. He was naked from shifting back. Not wanting him to wake Eva, I raised one finger to my lips.

He nodded, understanding, and ducked into the laundry room to pull some clothes on. The last thing we needed was Eva thinking we were some kind of freaky naturists.

The truth was a whole lot more complicated, and while that conversation needed to happen, now was not the time.