Page 110 of Bear Facts

Graham let out a very Graham sigh, but he looked exhausted as he gestured for them to come in.

The comfortably furnished bedroom was cozy, Misty’s decorative touches everywhere. The last rays of sunshine flooded the room, turning the walls golden.

Rolf sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed, his arms folded as he stared out the window at the sky. He’d dressed in borrowed clean sweatpants and sweatshirt.

He glanced listlessly at Freya when she entered, the red tint gone from his eyes. He wouldn’t look at Shane.

Freya sank to the edge of the bed, while Shane remained next to Graham, both watchful. Rolf didn’t appear to be a threat now, but one never knew.

“Why are you here?” Rolf asked Freya. His voice was flat, uninflected. Sad.

“Cause you’re my bro, that’s why.” Freya studied him, but he didn’t respond. “You okay?”

Rolf let out a weak huff of laughter. “You can ask me that? I went feral, thought I’d take over the world, and I tried to kill you.”

“We all have shitty days,” Freya said.

The corners of Rolf’s lips moved the slightest bit, but his eyes remained listless.

“Does it do me any good to say I’m sorry?” he all but whispered.

“Of course it does,” Freya said firmly. “What happened wasn’t your fault. It was that man, Heaney, who kidnapped you and wrecked you. His tough luck that he captured someone as badass as you.”

“Stop.” Rolf sent her the ghost of an annoyed-brother glance. “If I’m so badass, I wouldn’t have let him take me. I’m supposed to be a throwback to a powerful Shifter breed, right? But I went down fast and easy.”

“Cormac thinks maybe going feral triggered it. That we didn’t really understand what we could do until we were in deep shit. Cormac’s Shane’s stepdad,” Freya explained.

Rolf finally turned his head and looked at her, but his eyes held deep shame. “You know all the Shifters around here already.”

“Not all of them,” Freya said. “But the ones I’ve met are pretty good.”

Her smile at Shane made him want to take her out of here and find the nearest bed not occupied by a healing Shifter. He balled his fists and fought to control himself, but mating frenzy was rising fast and strong.

“Graham didn’t even ream me out for running away all those years ago,” Rolf said to her. “Means he’s really worried about me.”

“Oh, I’ll ream you out later,” Graham said. “Trust me.”

“No, he won’t.” Freya flashed Graham a stern look. “We already had it out—all the whys and wherefores. We’re good. Right, Graham?”

“Yeah.” Graham’s voice was gruff. “We’re good.”

“See? He’s worried.” Rolf’s half smile made him look more like Freya.

Freya reached for Rolf’s hand, and he let her clasp it. “Please stay with me, bro,” she said. “I missed you. I’m mated now, but that doesn’t mean you and I are done.”

Rolf shot a glance at Shane. “You sure? You were pretty adamant when you were accepting that mate-claim. No killing my mate, you said.”

“And I meant it.” A gleam in her eye made Shane’s heart squeeze. “But you’re family, my pack. Now, that family has grown.”

“Right, because Shane wants a half-insane glowing wolf brother-in-law underfoot.”

Shane coughed. “You clearly have never been in my house. My brother, my mom, and her mate … all big-ass bears. Talk about underfoot.”

Rolf actually laughed, making him sound almost like his normal self. “Dylan says he wants me to come with him,” he said, calming again. “He wants to talk about this Guard thing, and have me help him find out if more still exist.”

“Oh.” Freya frowned as she tightened her grip. “But I’ve only just found you again.”

“He’s not locking me away,” Rolf said. “He promised me that. No Collars, no Shiftertowns. I don’t know how he’ll do it, but whatever. I can visit you whenever I want, he said.”

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