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He made her feel freaking safe, and for an animal like him, that was important.
He ran his hand over his hair and stood, didn’t even wince because right now he was on a total high. Every one of his bones could be broken and he would still be walking on a cloud. God, what was wrong with him?
He was still smiling as he walked past the closed bathroom door, where he could hear the sink running, and as he padded through her living room and into the kitchen. The smile didn’t fall until he caught the scent of something familiar, and the animal stopped him in his tracks.
He inhaled sharply. Was that...
He frowned and sniffed again, unsure. It was so faint, and now he was questioning if he smelled him at all.
The hairs raised on the back of his neck as he scanned the room and saw the folded piece of paper that sat on Jenna’s kitchen counter.
He trod over to it in a daze. There was no way he got in here without Lucas sensing him. There was no fuckin’ way.
The paper made a crinkling sound as he unfolded it.
DON’T HUrT HEr.
Rage crept up his spine. Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm. You can’t Change in her home.
His sense of smell was right. There was only one person he’d ever seen write in neat, capital letters, all except his r’s.
Gunner.
Lucas crumpled up the note and was to the door before he had even registered that he’d moved. The door creaked as he yanked it open, and the rage inside of him roiled on as he stepped into the clearing and scanned the surrounding woods. He didn’t smell him at all out here. Lucas bolted around the side of the trailer and checked the woods behind, but there was no one here. He couldn’t hear a single heartbeat besides his own and a few birds resting in the trees. He didn’t feel watched, he didn’t feel any presence.
He was alone out here.
His fist tightened around the note. Whatever Gunner’s reason for coming into Jenna’s home uninvited was beyond him, but Gunner had left a while ago.
The door of the 1010 replica was hanging wide open, and he jogged up the stairs to check the mobile home. His things were still stacked neatly on the floor near the couch, where he’d placed them last night after Jenna had left. The scent of Gunner was so faint in here, he might have missed it entirely if he didn’t know what to look for.
He chucked the wadded-up note into the home and made his way to the bathroom, pulled on a shirt and brushed his teeth, gave himself a couple of minutes to settle the rage. Lucas wiped his face and glared at himself in the mirror. His face still had some bruising on his left side, but the swelling was almost gone. Thank God for shifter healing. He ran his hand through his messy hair and made his way out of the 1010 replica, shut the door behind him. He strode back to Jenna’s home and didn’t even bother to lock the door behind him. If Gunner wanted to come back and fight, fucking bring it.
He shook his head, trying to rid himself of some of the anger that was revamping just at the thought of that asshole. To a normal person, they wouldn’t see such fault in Gunner’s actions. It would look like a friend trying to warn a man off of hurting someone he cared about, but things were different with him and Gunner. That asshole had taunted him until he’d accepted Damon’s offer and left the entire territory that had gripped his heart.
Him sneaking in here under Lucas’s radar, leaving the same goddamn note he’d left him all those years ago when he’d been dating Cadence, pissed him off beyond belief. Gunner knew exactly what he was doing. He was building a war with the silverback.
“Keep it up, motherfucker,” he muttered as he scooped coffee grounds into the Mr. Coffee maker Jenna had sitting on her counter.
“Are you trying to start a fight with my coffee maker?” she asked.
It startled him a little, because he hadn’t heard her come out of the bathroom, and fuck, maybe she wasn’t as safe as he’d thought. Maybe his senses were broken.
He plastered on a smile and turned. “Just talking to myself.”
The smile fell from her face, and a slight frown furrowed her expression. “What’s wrong?”
Lie, the animal told him.
In his business, he had learned to dance around truths when he spoke. It was an art to trick a shifter, but here, in the early morning light of her kitchen, he didn’t want to trick her.
Lie, the animal said again. Don’t put her attention on Gunner. We will take care of him.
Jenna cocked her head, and her eyes filled with an understanding. “Is your animal talking to you?”
“Yes.”
“What is he saying?”
