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He was the perfect balance of dominance and sweetness, and she knew that last part was just for her. He was a cactus to his Crew and barely said a kind word, but with her, he understood her and her needs, and was thoughtful.
She clutched his credit card and the coffee mug tighter and strode up the stairs past Owen, who was grinning, his hands on his hips.
She had always been awed when she’d seen shifters in public. They always seemed so full of confidence, and at times she had been envious. Now? She understood.
Not only did they individually have very powerful animals, but they banded together in these groups, these Crews, and despite very different personalities seemed to make these almost-familial groups work.
It was safety in individual power, and also safety in numbers.
She’d always thought that humans kept them tightly in control, as the stories on the news suggested, but she was realizing everything she thought was wrong.
Now, she couldn’t even fathom humans being able to control these people, much less a motherfreaking fire-starting phoenix.
The humans only felt they had control because the shifters allowed them to feel that way.
Wreck had said she was the fire, and that she would figure it out sooner or later.
She didn’t know about being the fire. That was him. She did feel more secure in this new life she was only beginning to understand though, and that was empowering.
She’d focused for so long on the healing process for her clients, teaching them the tools to get to know and appreciate themselves, but now?
It felt like her turn.
Chapter Eight
“Want some help?” Corey asked.
Timber set the heavy loveseat back on the ground at an angle with a grunt, huffed a breath, and wiped a flyaway strand of hair off her forehead. “You have all been helping me all day.”
Corey was the mate of Ace and the cousin of Hallie, the mate of Gunner and the Second of the Crew. She was slowly learning all the ranks of the Fastlanders. Corey had held back for most of the morning and just watched her. She’d barely spoken a word, so Timber did appreciate that she was going out of her way to help now.
“Just so you know, it does get easier,” Corey said, lifting the loveseat into the back of Silver’s truck like it weighed nothing. “A few of us used to be human. Really, Hallie and I are new shifters, so we definitely understand that frustration you’re feeling.”
“Is it that obvious?” Timber asked.
“I can see it building. Look over there,” she said, pointing to the little boy, Ruger, who was the son of Sloane and son-of-the-heart of Captain. “He’s human. He will remain human until he is eighteen. You aren’t the only one. Even some of the people camping in the woods are human, and retained that even after years of being paired with shifters.”
“I don’t like feeling like a weak link.”
Corey snorted. “Timber, you control the green fire of a phoenix. Ain’t no weak link here.” She gestured to the furniture they’d piled in the back. “You can strap everything down if you want.”
“Absolutely.” She climbed up on the huge tire of Silver’s truck and accepted the tie-down straps Corey handed her from the back seat.
“I like your style,” Corey said as she watched her tie down the furniture.
“Yeah?”
“I can see what you’re doing with it. You going to keep his walls white?”
“Chhh, if he installs shiplap. I can’t do white walls. Makes it feel too sterile. If he needed it, I would get used to it, but I think he’s just trying to keep it cold so he doesn’t attach to it.”
Corey had an impressed look on her face as she nodded. “You have probably figured out more about Wreck than the rest of us combined.”
“Really?”
“He’s a mystery to the mountains, but I saw you two this morning. He talks to you softly. He cares for you. He is open with you.”
She wrenched the straps tighter, and then straightened her spine. “We are still so new.”
