I drugged her, so we could tell her whatever we wanted.
“I was in danger?” she asked. “What are you talking about? Who was I in danger from?”
“The wolf shifters,” I said. “They were going to attack you.”
She didn’t say anything for a long moment, and I was worried she didn’t believe me. But then, she took a deep breath and put her hand to her face.
“Matthew,” she moaned. “Why?”
I paused.
“We didn’t learn many details besides the fact that he was arranging an attack on you,” I said. “Do you know anything more?”
“He’s such an asshole,” she said. “He threatened me the other night...he said he would feed me to the wolves if I didn’t start behaving better. I can't believe that he would follow through.”
“Yeah,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief. I couldn’t believe our luck. “I’m sorry. It’s just...as shifters, we have to make sure that nothing happens that could get out in the human world. We deemed that too much of a risk.”
She looked at me.
“Are you wolves?” she said and then shook her head. “No, you are bears, right?”
“Yeah,” I said. “So there’s a bit of a difference between us. But shifters...are shifters, in the end. They are different from humans.”
“Don’t I know that,” she said with a sigh and then yawned. “Oh my God, I’m so tired. What happened? Did they hurt me already? Did they—”
“They drugged you,” I said. “Before we got to you.”
I really wasn’t very good at lying, but perhaps the drug was still in her system because she believed me. She yawned and shifted.
“That bastard,” she muttered, and then looked back at me. “Thank you.”
“Oh,” I replied with a shrug. “It was nothing. We just heard it through the grapevine and thought that we should...keep you safe. Especially after what we saw at dinner the other night.”
“Yeah, he can be a total ass,” she said.
“Do you need anything?”
“I don’t think so…” she said and squinted. “Where am I?”
“You’re at our cabin,” I said. “At Ursa Ranch."
“Oh, that’s right,” she replied. “You guys own the ranches. But I can’t stay here. I should call the police; I should—”
It’s really OK,” I answered. “You don’t have to call the police. You can stay here as long as you need to feel safe.”
Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me.
“Is there some reason why you don't want me to call the police?” she asked. I paused.
“Well,” I decided to put some truth into it, “the police and the shifter world don’t mix so well, so I would prefer if you didn’t involve them.”
“I wouldn’t get you in any sort of trouble,” she said, and I nodded.
“I know,” I said. “I trust you. I just...would rather not.”
She paused for a long moment, and her memory seemed to drift in and out. Then, she nodded.
“Sure,” she said. “No problem. Thank you so much for rescuing me.”
“Of course,” I answered. “Do you need anything?”
“Maybe just some water?” she asked, and I got up.
“Sure,” I said and headed for the kitchen. While I was in there, I looked out the window to see if either of my brothers were coming across the field. Now that she was awake, I would prefer to not be alone with her, just in case she managed to somehow get past me. I also didn’t want them to talk to her without talking to me first, because they might not get the story right, which could sink us.
They weren’t coming back, which annoyed me. Why did they think it was all right to just go and leave me with her? They were pretty reckless sometimes
I got her water and headed back to the couch, where she managed to sit up.
“Thank you,” she said and managed to take a few sips. She was looking better already, and I was glad. I would be pretty annoyed if the drug took effect for much longer when Johnathan swore that it would wear off pretty quickly.
“No problem,” I said as I sat. “Are you feeling OK?”
“Yeah,” she said and looked around. “So...where are your brothers?”
“Oh,” I replied. “They just uh...went out for a run.”
“I see,” she said. “Do they run often? They look like they do.”
She blushed
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Oh,” I replied. “No, that’s OK”
“Do you not want to run?” she asked and I shrugged
“I mean, we wanted someone here in case you needed any help.”
“I appreciate that,” she said. “So...are you guys close in age?”