Page 24 of Shattered Fears

Zain exhaled deeply.

“I mean the ones, maybe, you killed accidentally. No, that sounds wrong. Oh god.” She put her head in her hands, feeling really stupid. She wasn’t sure why she’d even asked. She knew they didn’t. Zain wouldn’t.

“I can honestly say I’ve never eaten human. I like fish. Tyler cooks it for me. I eat a lot of berries as well.” His face turned serious. “We don’t hunt and kill humans. We don’t kill unless we have to. If we’re attacked, we’ll fight back to protect the pack. That’s what being part of this family means, but death is the last resort. I can honestly say I’ve not killed anyone. Maimed a few who’ve tried to hurt my family but never killed. It’s not in our nature, no matter what people say. We’re peaceful. We just want to look after the land. I guess we aren’t much different to the ‘save the earth’ group you joined. Our job is to run and protect the Glacial National Park. There are so many shifter families who live here. We spend our time making it a safe place for them and teaching them tolerance and respect. We’re a community, which protects.”

“I like the sound of that.”

“Come.” Zain pulled her toward a set of stairs. “I want to show you my room, seeing as you’re going to be spending lots of time in it.”

“Am I, now?” she teased.

“We’ve got five years to make up for. I think that’s sex, pretty much, at least five times a day.”

“Five times.” She gulped but, secretly, desire pooled low in her belly.

“Yes.” They took the stairs quickly.

“Zain.” They reached the top, and he paused to look at her. The errant strand of hair was back, and he tucked it behind her ear.

“What?”

“I’m glad you found them. They all seem really nice.”

“They are. Crazy, and a little scary when it comes to Kas, but I wouldn’t be without them. They’re your family now, as well.”

“I’m not scary,” came a deep voice from somewhere nearby. They both burst into fits of laughter and ran down the corridor toward what she suspected was his room. He opened the door, and she entered.

She’d expected a mess because, well let’s face it, he was a man, and they were never tidy in her experience. Kingsley was the world’s worst. She pitied the cleaner that her brother had hired to try and keep his place clean. Her father never seemed to be able to put things away either. She forever had to close kitchen cupboards after he’d been in there. Zain’s room was nothing like that, though. His room was masculine in its nature but had feminine hints. The walls were whitewashed brickwork with a tall oak wardrobe and cupboard against the far wall. The king-sized bed was covered in a navy throw, and there were a few pillows arranged neatly on it. There were no dirty clothes lying around.

“You like it?” he asked, more than a little nervous.

“I’m guessing it hasn’t always looked like this.”

“No.” He looked guilty. “The girls may have spent most of yesterday cleaning it when I told them I was bringing someone here.”

“I’ll have to thank them. I never remembered you being this tidy before.”

“Yeah, you probably don’t want to look in the cupboards. That’s probably more how you remember me.”

“Oh yeah.” She leaned forward and open the nearest cupboard. It was a low-level one, and she expected clothes to tumble all over the floor. Instead, she was greeted by row upon row of jars of honey. There must have been at least a hundred in there. “Er?” She turned to him. “Scott wasn’t joking about the honey obsession, was he?”

Zain slapped his forehead.

“I didn’t want you to see that.”

“Why?” She picked up a jar, twisted off the top, stuck her finger inside and then popped it in her mouth. Zain visibly shook.

“Can you put the honey down please?” His voice sounded strained. She closed and tightened the lid before putting it back in the cupboard.

“You want to tell me about this?”

“You have to promise you won't laugh at me.”

“Ok.” She was starting to feel a little worried about what he was going to say.

“It’s my replacement you. When I tasted you for the first time, I fell in love with your sweetness.”

She looked at him in confusion. He came over to her and brought his hand to the cleft between her thighs.

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