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But he didn’t need a babysitter and he sure as hell didn’t need so his female so uncomfortable It was like she’d co out the , her dark hair covered most of her face so he couldn’t even look at her profile He ached to reach out and run his fingers through her hair, to pull her close But he figured she wouldn’t welcoh to know the right thing to do

As they pulled down her driveway, her hand was already on the door handle The second his brother parked, she was out of the car and striding toward the side of her house, clearly heading to the back where the door should still be unlocked Cursing under his breath he hurried after her

"Estrella" She stopped only when she reached the back door She opened it, but didn’t step inside

"What?" Nervousness rolled off her in potent waves She placed a hand on the fra herself Either that or trying to block hi to talk to me?"

"I just" Her voice cracked and it ripped open his heart When her eyes welled up with tears, it was like a double whaut

Gathering her into his aruided them inside He then picked her up and didn’t stop until they were in her kitchen So far it didn’t look like there had been any dae of her property line watching it had already done a sweep so he kneas clear of danger The va back to safety to stick around and tear apart her hoo, he set her down on one of the chairs at what looked like a custom-made oak kitchen table He took a step back then nodded at the coffeeerator "Coffee?"

She nodded gratefully so after searching the cabinet above the pot, he started ether "I don’t knohy I was crying," she said softly

"Vampires that you didn’t even know existed chased you down, you were forced to go on the run with a strange shifter, and last night between us was intense and unexpected At least it was for me I’ve never experienced that with a fe brother" He couldn’t even put into words what "that" was, but he hoped she felt the same

She chuckled softly and when he looked over from where he stood at the counter, he relaxed Her arms rapped defensively around herself like before yet she seeht was pretty insane And e sharedyeah, intense seeht word" Her cheeks flushed crimson and he was relieved she was clearly still affected by his down froainst the counter and watched her carefully The percolating coffeemaker was the only sound in the otherwise quiet kitchen When it became obvious she didn’t plan to continue, he said, "One of those vaht"

Her eyebrows furrowed as she nodded "I know It eird, right? At first I thought maybe it was an insult but that doesn’t really make sense, does it? And why didn’t they wantThe confusion rolling off her at the moment was so real, he had no doubt of her sincerity Rainer had already told his brothers all of this and he knew Alaric had definitely relayed the e to their Alpha, but Knox and Alaric had s to worry about at thewason with the va the distance between thes were crossed and that shirt his brother had brought for her shoay too , but it was hard to concentrate on talking when all he wanted to do was strip her again and bury himself inside her "Why did you pull away froed, the action jerky "I was overwhel and your" She trailed off

"And s any"

Estrella shook her head "It’s obvious he’s concerned about you I shouldn’t have called hiht, he was being a jerk But he’s not nor one of them "When I told you my parents were murdered because someone betrayed them--it was my fault"

Estrella’s dark eyes widened "What?"

He’d held back last night but if he wanted to take this relationship with her in the right direction, he had to be honest Noup to people eren’t his brothers was a foreign experience "It was about three hundred years ago" But even thinking about it still killed hihboring pack Things were different back then between supernatural beings We fought for land, even the right to choose a mate Life was definitely less civilized"

Surprise rolled off her and he knew he’d be explaining a lot about their different species in the future Not that heabout supernatural history and he wanted to be the one to teach her "This female," he spat the word, unable to even say her naht I loved--" He froze when he realized Estrella was growling