Page 67 of Out of Peril

I glared at him. “What did we talk about?”

“Sorry. She was going to find out eventually anyway.”

I groaned. “They didn't know.”

“Didn't know what?”

“That you're my mate.”

“So it was okay to shoot me if I wasn't?”

Shelby stepped in. “Kids, why don't you all run upstairs and play for a bit while we talk.”

“Do we have to?” Maya whined, looking to me for assistance.

“Yes. Now,” I confirmed.

The five of them were getting along better than I ever dreamed. It warmed my heart to watch them.

Once the kids were gone, Shelby spoke again.

“You have to realize that we are well aware of the fact that the Raglan ran horrible experiments on shifters. It gives me regular nightmares to think about it. But until you, the few we knew of either had very mild to no signs of genetic mutations or were so altered that they no longer showed signs of humanity. When the teams encountered you, they assumed the latter. And right or wrong, they acted accordingly.”

Lindsey sighed, and I sensed she was in pain again.

“Where does it hurt?” I asked.

“My head,” she confirmed.

“You should shift and heal some more.”

“I'm still not convinced it's safe.”

“No one will hurt you here. Lucy and I would rip their throats out before we let that happen.”

“Who's Lucy?” she asked.

I rolled my eyes. “Lucy is mated to our Pack physician.”

“Grant?”

“No, Grant's a field medic for Westin Force. He's largely been overseeing your care since the attack. Micah assists when needed or for consultations.”

“Why would his mate want to protect me?”

“I'll explain it all when you're feeling better. Please shift and heal quickly. You have no idea how important you are to us,” Shelby said with tears glistening in her eyes.

Lindsey looked to me for help.

“She's not kidding. Shift. The sooner you're healed, the faster we can start to put this all behind us.”

Begrudgingly, she did, and soon was settled back down and sleeping.

“She really does have her humanity in tact despite her beast,” Shelby said, staring at my mate in wonder.

“She does,” I confirmed.

Tears spilled down her cheeks as I hugged her close.

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