Page 29 of Broken-Hearted

“Where are you going?” he asks, pillowing his head with one arm as the sheets slide down his bare chest.

I rip my eyes away before he can accuse me of staring.

Long shadows stretch across the floor. Not only is the curtain covering the window over the kitchen sink open, Matilda and Simon’s bedroom door is ajar. “Where are Simon and Matilda?”

Nathan pushes himself to his feet and holds his hand out for mine. He’s not sleeping naked. Thank God. He must have borrowed a pair of shorts from Simon last night.

“They went to check the road to make sure those shifters weren’t causing trouble.”

“Was that a good idea?” I frown at the cabin door, and Nathan takes advantage of my distraction to snag my hand and pull me to my feet.

“Yeah, I know. They insisted. And—” He tugs me back as he steps in front of me when footsteps head this way, his posture nothing less than protective.

My fears about trouble finding us fade when two familiar scents reassure me that Simon and Matilda are safe.

Seconds later, a large brown wolf butts the door open and walks in, followed by a smaller blonde wolf. Nathan urges me toward the dining table as Simon and Matilda pad toward the bedroom. “Come on, I’ll make us coffee while they shift.”

“Any trouble?” Nathan asks Simon when he and Matilda slip out of their bedroom, dressed in sweats, having finished shifting back to their human form.

Simon takes the mug of coffee that Nathan hands him with a grateful smile and leans against a kitchen counter. “Just your car parked up on the side of the road. It smelled like the shifters sniffed around your car but didn’t touch it. There were some claw marks on your car.”

Nathan’s shoulders relax. “Those claw marks were there before. Thank fuck. I left my cell phone in there and I need to call Dayne and let him know we’re safe and on our way.”

Matilda’s face freezes. “Dayne? That name sounds familiar. I hope you don’t mean…”

“Yep. He does mean the cold-blooded alpha.” I keep talking when her eyes widen in alarm. Her response is a familiar one. Martha looked like she was getting ready to grab me and run for the hills when she found out who I would be staying with. “But everything you heard was just rumors.”

Her wariness doesn’t fade. “I heard a lot about him.”

If I didn’t have Regan—an omega—I trust, reassure me, I’d be a lot more wary too.

“Like Clara said, just rumors. How about I make us breakfast?” Nathan suggests.

Matilda and Simon share a long look. I’m not surprised when, after Nathan has thrown together a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon for us all, Simon and Matilda say they won’t be joining us in Hardin. At least, not yet.

“Well, stop by whenever you want,” Nathan says, like it’s no big deal. “You have paper and a pen?”

“We do.” Simon gets to his feet and crosses the room to a small desk, returning to the dining table with a pad and pen.

Nathan nudges his plate aside and writes his message. “Here’s our address and my cell phone number if you want totalk. Stop by and have a meal with us or stay a couple of nights. You saved our lives and gave us a place to stay. I’d like to return the favor.”

I think I like Nathan Blackshaw a little more for that offer.

Simon nods, taking the pad and tucking it away before we resume eating our breakfast.

Nathan and I don’t stay long. He wants to check in with his pack so they won’t worry, and I’m conscious that just because Adrian has left for now, he could soon return to cause trouble for Simon and Matilda.

We use the bathroom and Simon and Matilda walk us back to the road, waving us off to continue the long drive to Hardin.

“It was nice of you to invite them to stay,” I tell him after we’ve lost sight of Simon and Matilda.

“It was the right thing to do, and I meant it.”

I study him as he drives down the lonely stretch of road.

He’s a good guy, I think.

“I feel you watching me,” he says, changing gears.

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