Page 16 of A Merry Misfit Christmas

“I spent a week in the hospital because I ended up having to have surgery to remove my spleen, and also repair the damage he did to my left arm, hip, and face,” I admit. “The police officer who came to take my statement is the one who helped me file a restraining order, and she also knew of an organization who would help me disappear.”

“Why did she offer that if it was his first offense against you?” he asks. “Not that he should’ve laid his hands on you at all, but that seems kind of extreme to me. Just break up and go on with your life, right?”

“Because it wasn’t the first time Jeremy had physically assaulted someone he dated. One girl was permanently injured and is now in a nursing facility in a vegetative state,” I whisper. “Officer Bowlden was worried it would happen to me. Since I really had no ties to the area, it wasn’t a difficult decision to make, Kodiak.”

“Your instincts were warning you,” he replies, kissing the top of my head.

“I believe so. Jeremy wasn’t a good person or nice at all,” I tell him. “Officer Bowlden also told me that he was involved in the local drug trade, so he had a lot of sketchy friends who came around, which scared me.”Especiallysince they made sure I saw them when I was initially released from the hospital while I was regrouping to flee.

“You’re safe now,” Kodiak states, tightening his embrace to prove it.

“I just don’t know how he could’ve found me,” I muse. “Like I said, all my legal documentation was changed to my new name, and I moved as soon as I was able to drive. Officer Bowlden is the one who told me about Yukon Bluff. She said that it was one of the safest towns in the country.”

“We keep it that way,” he advises. “Well, we as in the club, that is. Callie, there’s a reason it’s one of the safest places.”

“Really? Why does Yukon Bluff carry that distinction?” I ask.

“Because the club is made up of shifters.” He swallows loud enough that I hear it. “People who can shift into animal forms and back again,” Kodiak clarifies.

My jaw drops and I start laughing. Surely, I misheard him, right? “There’s no such thing as shifters,” I manage to say between my giggles. “I mean, I’ve heard rumors in town, of course, but just figured they came from someone who had imbibed a little too much.”

When he doesn’t say anything to contradict my words, I sit there in silence, trying to wrap my head around his words.Shifters. Real.

No. That’s impossible. Right?

Chapter Eight

Kodiak

My thoughts are all over the place, running wild in my head as my bear struggles with my distress and Callie’s disbelief. I’m torn between handling her fucking ex and making him pay for what he did to her and trying to help my mate understand the truth. It’s equally daunting as I hold her in myarms, debating if I want to see her expression and the doubt I can guess will be evident in her eyes.

I need to call Spike and get him updated, then see if Sly can run her ex’s information. He’ll be able to determine whether or not that fucker is sniffing around my mate. But first, I need to allay her fears about not being safe because I won’t let anything happen to her.

Our mate, my bear grumbles.We won’t let anything happen to her ever again.

I shake my head at his shenanigans. I’m well-aware that he and I are in this together, but for some possessed reason, he wants to be an asshole. Maybe it’s because he’s raging like I am at a man putting his hands on Callie in such a way she had to have surgery.

We’ll make him suffer.

On that, we’re united.

“The rumors are likely true,” I admit, returning to our conversation. “Wolves running around? An alligator in the water out at the kayak shop? The elephant in City Park? All truth, Sweetheart. Yukon Bluff is the perfect place for shifters who are misfits in their own packs, clans, clowders, or murders. While shifters as a whole don’t advertise our existence, there are so many here in town that there’s not much of a choice.”

“So, they’re real,” she slowly concludes as she turns and faces me.

“Yes,” I confirm, holding her gaze. I notice the moment she realizes what that means and how it connects to me.

“So, if shifters are real,” she pauses as her eyes widen. “That means you’re a shifter too, Kodiak.”

“I am.”

I watch as she blinks, nibbling on her bottom lip. “Uh, what kind?”

“A bear,” I growl as my bear uses that moment to insert his gruff and powerful tone. The asshole’s preening for our mate and it’s not the right time!

Callie jumps.

Shit. She’s scared.

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