Derren’s eyes narrowed in interest. “Why do you say that? I’m not disagreeing, I’m just curious.”
“Well, if he targets your mate, wouldn’t your instinct be to hunt him?” At his nod, Gwen continued, “Then I’m guessing that Ally wouldn’t want you doing that alone. That means that she’d either go with you or insist on someone else doing so. By making that move, he’d be dividing your group. And that would make Zander a clearer target.” Gwen looked at Zander. “I know that so far he’s focused on others, but you’re the ultimate target.”
“We can’t split up, no matter what he or anyone else does,” Ally insisted.
“We won’t,” stated Derren.
Noticing that each of the shifters had dirty boots from walking around the marsh, Gwen asked, “Want me to give your boots a quick rinse?” At their nods, she used the hose to quickly wash off the mud before the water could soak through the leather.
The Beta pair headed up the porch steps, promising to take off their wet boots before entering the house. Zander remained where he was, and now he was looking at her with such intensity that her stomach twisted.
“What are you thinking about that has you staring at me like that?” she asked.
“Baby, you’re standing there wet in a tank top and shorts. What do you think is going through my head?”
She rolled her eyes. “One-track mind.”
“And you just noticed?”
The front door swung open, and Yvonne leaned out. “Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes. If you need to shower, go now!”
With Zander’s help, Gwen quickly finished washing her truck and then took a shower. He joined her, of course. Conserving water was important. The brief bout of sex was just a bonus.
After dinner, they settled on Zander’s balcony with her sitting on his lap. At her request, he called Dawn to ask about Andie. Gwen had called Andie a few times herself, and though the cougar claimed to be okay, Gwen wanted to be sure. According to Dawn, Andie had settled in fine and was spending a lot of time with Heath—the male she’d met on the first day.
“I’m relieved she’s doing okay. And I’m super glad she left here before Rory showed up. He might have seen and hurt her.”
Zander skimmed his hand up and down her leg. “Probably. He’s an asshole that way.”
She sifted her fingers through his hair. “He never did even one thing good for you in his life?” she asked, sad at the idea. Even Hanna, neglectful and selfish though she was, had done the occasional good thing for her.
“He gave me a kidney, but my parents had to bribe him to do it.”
“Bribe him?”
He nodded. “He also tried to make me feel bad about it afterward. He still says I stole his kidney. He even said it in the attorney’s office.” Zander almost smiled when she leaned farther into him, giving him comfort. “You know, when he told me he’d take from me what’s mine, I dismissed the threat. At the time, I had nothing for him to take.”
She frowned. “You have your pack and your home.”
“Yeah, but they’re not something that’s mine and only mine. You are. In a sense, he’ll see you as an impostor.”
“Impostor?”
“He’s the same way with Jesse and Bracken. See, in some fucked-up way, Rory sees me as belonging to him. He doesn’t care about me. Doesn’t want me in his life. But he doesn’t want others to care about me—not even our sister—and he really doesn’t want me caring about others. He was always jealous of my friendships with Jesse and Bracken, and he’ll be jealous of what I have with you.”
“Tough,” she snapped.
Zander smiled. “Yeah, tough.”
“Tell me more about your sister. You’ve never really talked about her much.”
“Remember I told you that I know someone who’d once needed someone to stand up for them the way you’re standing up for Andie? I was talking about Shelby.”
Gwen gaped in horror as he told her about the shootings and how the witnesses had been bullied into silence. “No wonder you and Bracken offered to help me. You’re doing it for Shelby.”
Zander skimmed his fingers down her face. “No. I’m doing it for you. I told myself it was for Shelby. But it wasn’t. Not then, not now.”
She swallowed. “Thank you.”
“No thanks needed.” Zander reached back and yanked the tie out of her hair. He gently unraveled the intricate braid, unsurprised by her exasperated sigh.
“You need to stop taking out my braid.”
“I love your hair. Playing with it relaxes me.” With a firm grip on her hair, he tugged her head back and kissed along her neck.
Gwen let her eyes drift closed as he used his lips, tongue, and teeth to devastate her neck. “This relaxes you too?” It fired up her libido big-time.
“This makes me hard as a rock.” He swiped his tongue over the mark on her throat. “It also makes you wet.” He could smell it.
Hearing a familiar chiming coming from inside Zander’s room, she rasped, “That’s my phone.” She’d left it inside.
“Ignore it.”
She did, but it just kept on ringing. “Let me answer it. It could be Andie or Julie.” He reluctantly let her go and gave her a firm spank on the ass as she passed. “Hey!” She fished out her phone, but didn’t recognize the number. A little cautiously, she answered, “Hello?”
“Miss Miller, it’s Ezra.”
Her grip tightened around the phone as irritation blasted through her. She was about to ask how the hell he’d gotten her number, but then she supposed it couldn’t have been too hard for him, given he had people who’d electronically messed with her life.
“Rowan told me what Brandt did today. I wanted to apologize—”
“Aren’t you tired of apologizing for him, Moore?”
He sighed, sounding . . . weary. “It won’t happen again.”
“It better not.” She paused as Zander strolled into the room. “Brandt almost let the cat out of the bag earlier right in front of the shifters.”
Ezra whispered a curse. “Like I said, it won’t happen again.”
“Glad to hear it.” She ended the call. “That was Ezra, apologizing for Brandt.”
“I suspected he might contact you.”
She placed her phone on the dresser. “I don’t like that he called my cell.”
Zander crossed to her. “I don’t like that he called you at all.”
“Hopefully he’ll find a way to keep Brandt on a leash. It’s a vain hope, though.”
Softly, Zander brushed his mouth over hers. “Don’t let them mess with your mood.”
“Hard not to.”
“Forget about them.” He grazed her lower lip with his teeth. “I don’t want to talk about them.”
“Really?”
He snaked his hand around her throat and gave it a gentle squeeze that made her pupils dilate. “Really. Know what I do want?” He kissed his way up her neck, along her jaw, and over to her ear. “I want to play with my baby.”