Jay hesitated, then crawled onto the bed and curled up behind her. “There’s no ghosts, honey. Just pain, and that fades in time.”
Her wolf’s power seethed just beneath her skin, wounded and wary, but Eden squirmed back against Jay in silent acceptance of his protection. “You never told me your secrets.”
No, he hadn’t, and now he found himself more reluctant to do so than ever before. More ghosts, more pain. “When I said I understand what you went through, watching what happened to Zack, it wasn’t entirely true. To be honest, I’m more familiar with his side of the whole equation.”
She twined their fingers together. “I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault.” The words came automatically, a reassurance he couldn’t help but offer. “I’m glad Zack had your mom and dad, not to mention you. Family who cared.”
Eden rolled over and stared up at him. “He made me promise never to tell. Made me swear when I was so young I can’t even remember doing it. And he was my hero, my protector. I think I would have told any lie he wanted me to.”
All he could give her was the brutal truth, layer one more blanket of cruelty on her world. “You couldn’t have stopped what was happening to him, Eden. It isn’t as though no one knew. There were investigations, examinations. They figured Albus couldn’t be beating Zack because he always healed too fast. They wouldn’t have listened to the truth.”
“I could have told my parents. If they’d known how bad it was…” She clenched her hand around the blankets. “It’s not right that people can know and not fix it.”
“No,” he agreed. “But when you have to hide away, you lose some of the protections people take for granted. Look at what happened in Memphis.”
“Zack talked like all the cities are like that. Is it really that bad everywhere?”
“Not in the smaller towns.” And not in the sanctuaries.
The import of what they were about to do hit Jay like a punch. As soon as his friends arrived, they’d be making a stand, probably even traveling to Memphis to deliver their message in person. From now on, Clover would be a safe place, a haven where wolves in need could take shelter.
More would come—provided he could hold the line and keep other alphas out of Clover.
Eden pushed up on one elbow and studied him. “You thought of something.” She placed her hand on his chest. “Something that made your heart beat faster.”
She’d be in for the long haul, even if she had no idea what they were in for, and it was his job to teach her. “Do you know what sanctuary means?”
Her eyebrows drew together. “Only in a human context. Does it mean something special for werewolves?”
“It means everything.” He settled his head on the extra pillow and let his hand rest on her hip. “The cities are bad, like Zack said. Most of them have alphas who take what they want and don’t really give a damn about anything else. Sanctuaries are different. They’re about safety.”
After a moment she stretched out to face him, her hand tucked under her chin. “Is that what we’re going to do? Turn the farm into some sort of sanctuary?”
“If I don’t, the wolves from Memphis will keep coming after Zack and the others.”
“Oh.” A moment’s silence as her gaze roamed over his face. “And they’ll respect that? It seems too easy. Why wouldn’t everyone do it?”
“They’ll respect it because they have to. Because we’ll kill them if they don’t.”
Her breathing hitched, and she squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m still not used to how good that feels to hear.”
He wouldn’t start any fights, but he damn sure wouldn’t sit by and let others get hurt or killed by his inaction. “We’ll do what it takes, Eden. I promised you—if your cousin came here in need, we’d help him, right?”
“You did.” When she opened her eyes again, the blue was lost to glowing gold. “Do you know what scares me most?”
Likely an intangible, something he couldn’t wrestle into submission with his bare hands. “Tell me.”
“I want to hurt them.” The words were barely a whisper, a rasped confession. “All those years of watching helplessly, but now I feel strong. And I want to find the men who harmed Zack and tear out their throats.”
A woman like her, who abhorred violence and had never lifted a hand to another in her life—no wonder it confused her. “Protection, Eden, not vengeance. Don’t do yourself the disservice of