Page 62 of Broken-Hearted

“Come on, Nate.” Talis loops her arm around his waist and urges him toward the house. Either Talis and Dayne discussed this conversation before the run, or I’m witnessing the result of the mental communication that results when shifter's mate.

Nathan and Talis walk on ahead, Talis’s voice slowly fading. Nathan is so silent, I imagine he’s doing his best to eavesdrop. Dayne must be thinking the same thing because he waits until Nathan and Talis must be near the house before he speaks.

“How are you finding Hardin?” he asks.

I eye him warily. “Okay, I guess. Why?”

Is he about to ask me to leave?

“Come here for a sec’. There’s something I want to show you.”

More curious than alarmed, I trail Dayne away from the lake where we ended our run, and into the forest.

“Regan said you weren’t happy in Dawley.”

“No,” I confirm. It’s why she suggested I come to stay in Hardin and see if I might be happier here. “That wasn’t where I was supposed to be.”

It’s weird to say it out loud, but that’s how I feel.

Dayne nods as he walks for a short while longer, stopping feet from a two-story wooden cabin. The top has a balcony that faces mountains in the distance. It’s too dark to see much mountain, but at sunrise or sunset, I imagine the view from up there would be amazing.

He crosses his arms, looking at the cabin as I wait to find out why he brought me here.

“Building a cabin is significantly more straightforward than building a pack, even though this one turned into one of thebiggest headaches I’ve ever dealt with. I hated building it. Hated that everything about it went wrong. It cost an absolute fortune, and I constantly worried it would fall down.”

The solution seems easy.

“So, why did you build it?”

He aims a wry smile my way. “It was for Talis, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my mate.”

That’s sweet.

“And you wanted to show me this because?”

“I want you to understand that each member of my pack has to fit. Just like a building with structural issues can collapse, a pack with the wrong member can cause lasting damage. Years ago, we had an alpha who threatened to destroy the entire pack.”

I think I know what happened to him. Rumors led me—and Martha—to believe that Dayne was dangerous and potentially crazy. Martha hadn’t wanted me to come to Hardin at all because of those rumors. Rumors I now believe were false.

“You killed the alpha. Didn’t you?”

He nods. “I did, though I should have done it before he killed most of my family. Because of the harm he caused, I’m very protective of my pack. They’ve hurt enough for a lifetime. I don’t want them to hurt more.”

“And you think I’m here to hurt them?” I’m strangely hurt by the accusation. “That’s why you wanted us to have this talk away from them. And Nathan.”

“Nathan and Hallee argue a lot. I’d say they were like a cat and dog, but you’d get more peace with a cat and dog than with those two sometimes. They’ve been that way for years.”

“That has to do with me because…?”

He snorts, his lips kicking up in a lopsided smile. “Do you know how many arguments Nathan has had with Hallee since you arrived?”

I shake my head.

“Not one.” He blows out a sigh of relief. “The quiet is bliss. I can hear myself think, and I’m not threatening to drown them in the lake if they don’t shut up for five minutes.”

I squint as I try to read him. “I don’t know if you’re being serious or joking.”

“Joking.” He pauses. “At least some of the time. It was the reason I sent him down to Dawley to get you.”

---