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"I still think we should be a little more worried about the danger he presents, not just the danger he's in," Donovan pointed out, earning him a disappointed look from Alex. "I'm not holding a grudge. Protecting people is literally my job. I'm just trying to make sure there are no repeats of the last few weeks."

"It's like we're not even here," Quinn whispered to me and finally, finally, there was no fear in his eyes when they met mine. Worry, exhaustion, a touch of exasperation, but he didn't flinch away when he looked at me. That had to mean something.

"I can tell them to leave."

"It's tempting, but we really do need the help. It sounds like there's a lot more going on in this town than I knew about, and I don't even know where to begin figuring all this out." Quinn shifted closer, his hip pressed against my arm. Our hands still rested on my shoulder, and the new position made the angle even more awkward, but I refused to let go.

The beast all but purred at the contact, and I followed his instinct, resting my head against Quinn's side. The smells in the room were muddled, too many people in the small space, but underneath it all was Quinn. Damp earth after a spring rain, the promise of new growth, the pure, clean scent of the open sky… it felt like home. Freedom. It had called to us even when the beast was out of his mind with pain and I'd been nothing more than a battered, broken voice in the back of his head, easily subdued.

We'd known before we'd ever seen Quinn that he was ours and we would do whatever it took to protect him. It was the one constant in the sea of chaos and uncertainty surrounding us.

The feel of Quinn's hand slipping away from mine brought my focus back to the room, where the others were still hotly debating my fate. I ignored them, looking up at Quinn and already missing his touch. I didn't have to mourn long, though. Rather than pulling his hand away, gentle fingers stroked through the thick mass of my hair. He massaged my scalp and the beast melted. There was no other word for it. If we'd been in his body, he would have rolled over and given Quinn his belly. A purr rumbled up through our chest, our eyes closing in pure pleasure.

Nothing could feel quite as breathtakingly good as kissing Quinn, but this was close. This was intimacy in a way I'd never experienced, at least that I knew of. His touch soothed the beast's agitation and my fear, and we sagged further against his side. The beast nudged his way past me, and I surrendered without a fight. Why would I protest when he nuzzled against Quinn in the way I'd wanted to?

The irritating voices of the humans faded to nothing more than the annoying background noise they were. The only human who mattered was the one touching us, his fingers gentle but sure. We couldn't stop purring. No one had ever touched us like this. We were a killer, a monster created to terrify our prey before ending them, brutal and efficient. There was no room for tenderness or affection, yet Quinn offered them both freely. He had every right to be scared of us, but he'd put his own fear aside for our sake.

"Um… what's happening here?"

One of the humans spoke to us, but we ignored them. They weren't important. Our Quinn was the only human we cared about.

"Quinn?"

That voice was more familiar. Lain, the human who'd taken care of our injuries. The only other human we cared about, then.

"Just… give us a minute," Quinn murmured. His fingers drifted to a spot near the base of my scalp as he spoke and I groaned, a jolt of arousal hitting like a lightning strike. We leaned into the touch, uncaring of our audience, silently begging for more.

"Let's not," Lain said, but he sounded amused. "Save that for after we're gone, okay?"

Quinn's hand fell away and the beast whined in disappointment, pressing against Quinn's side. Lulled into lazy relaxation by our human's touch, it took almost more effort than I possessed at the moment to rein the beast in. If Quinn didn't want to touch us, we wouldn't force him.

I reluctantly opened my eyes and immediately saw it was the right choice. Quinn's cheeks were red and he stared at the floor, clearly embarrassed. Had he forgotten others were watching? Or had my unexpected desire made him stop? Even now, I had to shift in my seat, half-hard just from that one touch. Perhaps pulling away had been the right call, after all, but I didn't have to like it.

"Anyway," Ori drawled, giving me a faint smirk. "We're agreed, then?"

"Agreed on what?" I asked.

"Why am I not surprised that you weren't listening?" they sighed. "Lain and I are going to discreetly reach out to see if anyone recognizes you. Donovan is going to talk to his boss about the strangers, so the local police can help keep an eye on them. The shifter community will run patrols, as well. Alex and Quinn are going to go about their lives like normal, but neither of you are to be alone until this is dealt with." Ori gave them both a warning look.

"And me?"

They turned back to me. "You are to stay out of sight as much as possible. You're less conspicuous as a human, but we can't be sure they don't know what you look like as a human. Until they're dealt with, it's safer for you to stay like this."

The beast disagreed, as did I. What argument could we make, though, when I didn't know how to change back? We would rather chew our own leg off than admit such a weakness to these strangers, though, so I said nothing.

"They knew who I was," Quinn whispered. "When I went into the bookstore, they knew my name. That means they know where I live, right? What if they come after us here?"

"We will make them regret it," the beast growled, shoving me to the side and taking control at the mere thought of anyone hurting our mate.

"You've got enough security here that they can't get close without you knowing," Lain reminded him gently. "You'll be safe at work in town and someone will be with you all the way home, just in case."

"They seem to be focused on Alex, at the moment. They have no reason to consider you anything more than someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Ori agreed.

"That's not as reassuring as you think it is," Alex said under his breath, leaning closer to Donovan.

"I don't think you have to worry about anything, but we can't be too careful, which is why we're taking these precautions," Ori went on, ignoring Alex's muttering. "Now that they've made themselves a threat, the community will take care of them in short order."

"That's another thing I have a lot of questions about," Quinn said, his curiosity momentarily overriding his fear.