Howl My Name (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Grayslake Book 5) (4 page)

“I said,” his tone remained harsh, but he kept his voice even. Evelyn was busy pulling a pan from the oven and he didn’t want to startle her. “What the ever-loving fuck?”

The large male sitting at the breakfast bar carefully turned on his stool, identity gradually revealed with the careful movement. At least the idiot had enough self-preservation to move slowly. His wolf was ready to tear into anyone who drew his attention. It was angry—furious—over Evelyn’s continued work. She was baking, that much was obvious, but not a single man in the den should have let her on her feet. Sure, her inner-bear worked to repair the damage—many of her cuts and scrapes were nothing more than harsh red lines of skin—but she wasn’t healed by any stretch of the imagination.

Eventually the man faced him entirely and Reid glared. Fisting his hands, he stomped toward the male and he resisted the urge to punch the werebear in the face. Barely. “Asher, what are you doing here?” Reid’s palms stung as his claws pricked his skin. “What the hell—”

The clatter of metal on stone cut him off and his attention immediately snapped to Evelyn. “Woman!”

He abandoned Asher. He’d kick the bastard bear’s ass later. All the way back to his hometown in Grayslake. For now, he was forgotten and Reid focused on Evelyn, on the pan that’d clattered to the counter and sent cookies scattering over the island. “What the fuck?”

She reached for them, thin shirt pulling taut on her back and droplets of blood slowly staining the fabric. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and stopped her from snatching the obviously oven-hot dessert. “What are you doing?”

She gasped and tugged, attempting to break free. Her wide-eyed gaze collided with his, her light brown irises flickering midnight as her bear rushed forward and then retreated just as quickly.

“Reid,” she sighed and relaxed, no longer fighting him.

And that was all it took to calm his wolf; the soft whisper of his name from her bow-shaped lips. The animal damn near purred in response to her voice, her nearness. Pussy beast.

It didn’t disagree.

“Evie,” he murmured and softened his voice. “What are you doing? I left you in bed with Simone to recover. My orders were clear. Lock the doors and heal. No one in or out until I got back.”

He’d managed to take that time before he rushed out the door after Ezekiel. Spared fifteen minutes to shout for Simone, get Evie settled and under the care of her younger sister before he bolted. It’d been a dick move—the woman needed him—but his wolf overwhelmed him with the need for vengeance, for blood. His beast was consumed with a killing rage and it demanded he chase Zeke.

He’d done the best he could at the time. Secured her, ensured she was healing, and then hunted the last bastard who’d hurt her.

Ezekiel disappeared after crossing the stream that bordered the northern edge of the clan lands using the water to mask his retreat. He would have continued if he had others with him, but alone, there was no way he could find the new trail and follow it to the end.

So he’d returned… to this.

“Evelyn,” she whispered back and she trembled, her free hand coming to delicately rest atop his. Her fingers drew circles on his flesh, drawing his attention down, and making their differences abundantly clear. That one snapshot was enough to tell him Evie—the name Evelyn was too pretentious—wasn’t his concern.

Even if the wolf craved her. Even if the wolf howled for her. Even if the wolf…

She was pureness and light, her hands unblemished by destruction and death. Reid was… everything she wasn’t.

Damn. For the first time since Terrence took Reid into the clan, he wished his therapy would have been more successful. But he was still the wolf who liked to kill things, who liked to play with his prey before destroying it beyond recognition.

“Evie, why aren’t you resting? I made sure you had protein in the fridge. Did Simone not stick around?”

“I-I-I—” Simone’s stutters came from the opposite side of the room, the young girl curled in on herself as she sat on the counter. It was then he noticed the room’s setup and location of others.

And the way she was positioned between them all. The males in the space were at the breakfast bar, each of them known to him—obviously ordered to leave Grayslake and come to Brookfield. Then there was Evie in the center, cooking of all things, while Simone huddled and hid while remaining in sight.

“Reid…” Asher growled. As if Reid would hurt a child. He’d killed Patrick for—

“It’s fine,” he snapped at the bear and then focused on the girl. “You’re fine, Simone. Your sister here is another story.”

The kid nibbled her lower lip. “She didn’t… She only…”

“We’re good,” he assured her and wondered where all this kindness was coming from.

“Uh, Reid?”

The urge to rip Asher’s head off rushed forward and he realized he still had those homicidal urges. Good. At least he hadn’t been pussy whipped.

Yet, the wolf assured him.
Yet.

“Shut up, Ash. I’m talking to Evie and Simone.” Not
them
or
the women
. Not strangers, not random bears he was sent to protect. Somehow, as he’d chased Ezekiel across clan lands, they’d become more. The wolf was forced to breathe their scent with each pounding step, draw it in with every gust of wind, and fill him as the blood dried on his skin.

His.

Wolf wanted ’em. Wolf was taking ’em.

“Now, is one of you going to explain why Evie is baking when she should be resting?” Simone remained quiet so he focused on the woman. “Evie?”

“Evelyn.”

“You can keep saying that but it ain’t changing what I call you. Now answer the question.”

It was Evie’s turn to nibble her lip and he reached for her with his free hand to cup her cheek. The tension in the room ratcheted up, the males at his back tensing. The change in the air, the slight shifting of scents told him more than one bears’ fur slid from their pores. Two years as part of the clans, working for Terrence, and still they didn’t trust him. Then he remembered he’d never given them a reason to. Focusing on the woman before him, he used his thumb to gently tug the small bit of flesh from between her teeth. It was freed and he brushed the redness, soothing whatever ache remained.

“Evie?” he murmured. She still hadn’t answered him. If one of these assholes rolled her outta bed because they were hungry, he’d…

“Your friends came—”

“They’re not my friends.”

Asher gasped. “I’m hurt.”

They both ignored the dumb bear.

“—and they were waiting outside the house. Ash knocked—”

“His name’s Asher,” he snapped. He didn’t want her using cute nicknames with other males or getting close to any other shifter. It pissed off his wolf.

“I told her to call me Ash. We’re friends, too.” He could hear the smile in Asher’s voice.

He wondered if the bear had a death wish.

“—yelled through the door that they were here to help you and then Terrence called and… I didn’t think it was him at first. Why would the Southeast Itan call here?”

“Because I told him I’d resolved the problem.”

He ignored Asher’s snort and his mumbled, “If you call murdering everyone resolved.”

Reid continued. “And that we needed to come up with a plan to assist the clan in recovering from the twisted shit your father and uncles had going on.”

Her eyes flickered to her bear’s and back again. “How do you know it was twisted?”

“Evie,” he gentled his voice. “They tied you to a chair and nearly destroyed you. I caught Patrick trying to harm your sister.” Simone whimpered and he was glad he hadn’t voiced the truth. “There was no way the males treated the clan like they deserved. And the torture wasn’t limited to you two. And if it continued as long as I suspect, your clan needs bears strong enough to protect all of you.”

“I’m sure there are some good bears in the clan already.”

“I’m sure there are,” he quickly agreed. “But until we know who to trust, I need men like these at my back.”

“Aw, he likes us,” Asher murmured.

Reid was gonna gut the werebear and put his head on a pike.

“None of what you told me explains why you’re in here baking cookies,” he kept his tone soft. The strain in her eyes was unmistakable, the stress of the day and pain etched into every line of her face.

“He said I could trust the males he sent—that I should let his bears into the den—but I don’t know them. If I allowed strangers in the house, I refused to hide in a room with one door and one window. I wasn’t going to let Simone and me be that vulnerable.”

It made his dick hard that she thought of safety and escape.

“And…”

“And they grilled steaks for us and I refuse to sit on my hands.”

Reid lowered his head, bringing their faces closer. He breathed deeply, sorting through the scents surrounding them, finding hers. It was sweet and light, goodness tinged with an edge of bad. That was the part of her that goaded the three males in the basement and attacked while sending her sister running. It was the part he wanted to roll in.

“And? That’s not it. Why are you up and baking?” Her attention flicked to the small group of males as a tendril of unease unfolded. “Don’t look at them, look at me. No matter what you say, I have you. They let you do this. How bad do I need to hurt them for letting a wounded female wander around the kitchen when she should be in bed?”

His bed.

She licked her lips, the small move heading straight to his dick. He pushed the feelings down, shoving them aside when all he wanted was to throw her on the counter and sink into her wet heat.

Evie’s words were rushed. “The kitchen has the highest number of weapons, the easiest method of retreat, and the best defensible position in the den.”

“That,” Asher drawled, “is hot.”

Reid wondered how angry Terrence would be if he killed the bear.

Evelyn—not Evie no matter how many times Reid called her that—wasn’t sure what was going on. Like, at all.

Grayslake bears moved in and out of the den, carrying boxes, moving furniture, and sometimes removing pieces out of the house entirely. All under Reid’s close scrutiny.

The place was torn down to its bones, a new long wooden table now situated in the dining room and a few couches in the living room. Asher scented the bedrooms, Reid on his heels, and together they hauled away different pieces. The only spaces relatively untouched were her and Simone’s rooms.

Now, he leaned against the archway to the kitchen, the ever-present Asher at his side. It was the first time she’d found him anything close to alone and she padded toward him, intent on finding out what the males were doing.

“Reid?”

His amber gaze swung to her. “You’re supposed to be in bed. I put you there—again. I expect you to stay there,” he snapped.

That had her glaring. “I’m a grown woman.”

“Who had half her face ripped off.”

Evelyn turned her head, thankful her long hair fell forward to cover her damaged cheek. The pain no longer plagued her and she forgot about the wounds, the way they’d left her skin scarred. “That’s not the point.”

“Dammit, Evie,” he growled and all movement around them ceased, each male freezing in place.

She wasn’t sure why they were so afraid of Reid. She’d seen evil, stared it in the eye and begged for whatever they had to give. Because hurting her meant they weren’t hunting for Simone. “I just wanted to know what was going on. Why everything is being taken away. You’re destroying my home.”

Another growl and it seemed as if the whole room held its breath while Evelyn… didn’t. She knew she angered him, but the urge to tremble and quake didn’t assault her. “I’m cleaning
my
home.”

She wasn’t going to address ownership. Not while he was snarling.

“And I’m removing anything that’s tainted by fear and hate.”

She frowned and turned her head enough to expose her eyes and meet his stare. “How can you—”

Reid’s arm shot out, hand brushing her hair away. The tension in the room ratcheted higher, consuming her in the males’ unease, but she only had eyes for Reid. His callused fingers, bare of the blood and dirt that’d covered him hours ago, cupped her cheek. His thumb stroked her chin and then he shifted his hold until he was able to encourage her to look at him fully.

“Because I’ve caused it often enough. I’m familiar with every scent, every emotion, of every action, of every breath someone takes and each twitch of their muscles.” He caressed her lower lip, much like he had in the kitchen, and it had the same effect as before. Her breath hitched, heart stuttering, and a tiny flare of desire snaked into her blood. Could he scent it? The flash of his eyes told her he could. “So when I say they’re tainted, they are. They were used to cause fear or pain. They’re infused with those scents and I refuse to live with them in my home.”

The ability to discern the smells surprised her a little, but the last two words astounded her. She wasn’t sure why, really. He’d taken the place of the Itan. Even if he was a wolf, he was the leader of the clan. But still… “Your home?”

What would happen to her? To Simone?

“I misspoke,” he whispered against her mouth and she suddenly realized how close they’d become. She should back away, put space between them and shake her attraction off. “
Our
home. Me, you, and Simone. This place is ours.”

“I don’t… I…” She’d been so strong for so long. She’d had a purpose for years. Survive as a half-werebear with her grandmother’s clan. Work through medical school. Endure her father’s clan and uncles’ treatment. Now… “I don’t know what’s going on here, Reid. I’m lost.”

“And I found you. You’re not lost anymore.” His kiss was gentle and she didn’t have the strength to retreat. Hell, she didn’t
want
to pull away. Despite the emotional destruction and the physical pain still pummeling her, she wanted to stay close to him—to the male who’d killed without remorse. “You’re mine.”

“The clan is yours.”

“Evie,” his gaze was unwavering. “The clan became mine the minute I tore your father’s heart from his chest.”