She was half his size and half his weight, but he had a sudden feeling this fierce old woman could take on a hundred men his size and still come out on top.
"I've been nothing but honest with her."
"Then be honest with yourself, or it's going to cause problems."
"I have no idea — "
"You have every idea," she said angrily. "Don't you lie to me."
Anger rose, a tide so strong the effort to control it left him shaking. "I haven't lied to anyone," he said, his voice surprisingly calm. "And she's a big girl who doesn't need her grandmother's protection."
Gwen snorted and released his hand. He resisted the urge to flex his fingers as she leaned back in the chair.
"Who says I'm trying to protect her? You're the one who's going to regret it if you don't wake up to yourself."
"You can't hurt what you haven't got," he said bitterly.
"Oh, you have it, wolf. You're just too blinded by the perceived hurts of the past to realize it."
He clenched his fists and took a step toward her, then realized what he was doing and walked across to the window. "You have no idea what you're talking about."
"Don't I?"
Gwen's voice, though soft, still reached him easily. And though his hearing was naturally better than any human's, he had a vague suspicion there was something supernatural — or magical — in the fact that he was hearing her now. And that Kat obviously wasn't.
"In the meantime," she continued in that same soft but angry tone. "I'll just leave you with a warning. If what is freely given is rejected, it is never offered again. We Tanners tend not to forgive nor forget."
"What the hell is going on in here?"
Ethan glanced around sharply. Kat stood in the doorway, her gaze jumping between him and Gwen.
He took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Nothing. We were just talking."
"Yeah. Right. Tell that to someone who can't feel the tension."
His gaze slid to Gwen's. The older woman only raised her eyebrows, as if daring him to deny the possibility. He turned away from them both and stared out the window again. He couldn't explain why the old woman seemed to be catching his emotions any more than he could explain him catching hers.
"Are we going to go save this kid or not?" he said without looking around.
"We will as soon as you put this on." He heard the air stir and raised his hand, instinctively catching what she'd thrown. It turned out to be a leather thong threaded with three stones. He looked around. "What's this?"
"It's a necklace. You put it around your neck." She didn't even glance at him as she began tying an identical strip around hers.
Two of the stones felt warm against his palm. One felt colder than the artic. "I mean, what is it meant to do?"
"Protect you."
"How are three stones supposed to do that?" He tied it on regardless, then grabbed his shoulder harness and strapped it on. He'd left it in here earlier, and it was just as well. If the captain had realized he still had his gun, he would have been in real trouble.
"The red stone will stop the mara from sensing your presence unless she's in your face. The green stone provides a shield that'll help stop her from entering your mind to take control."
"And the blue stone?" he asked when she hesitated.
Heat touched her cheeks, but her gaze met his defiantly. "It's a last minute warning that the mara is about to steal your soul."
Anger stirred through him again. "She's never going to get that close."
Her eyes mocked him. "But the moon is full, and you're a werewolf in heat. Who knows what'll happen if push comes to shove."