Well, there were no men like him, to be fair.
A sharp gasp came from my lips as a large hand came around my wrist in a solid grip, tugging me back as I not so subtly slammed into Tore’s chest. I had barely made it a few feet. How the heck did he grab me so fast?
I winced at the pressure on my old bruises there while at the same time leaning into him. My fear ebbed away once I was pressed up against him though, my wolf sniffing him and seeming to calm down as if we recognized him. How odd.
“Don’t run from me,” he grit out, his voice hard and at the same time almost rough. “Please.”
My eyes flickered up to his, my wince growing at the tight hold on my wrist as I saw guilt in his gaze… and fear.
Why was he afraid? Oh man. I had no idea what was going on right now.
“Can you let go of my wrist?” I whispered. His fingers instantly released, his other hand sliding around my lower back as I cradled my wrist against my chest.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked, alarmed. I jumped as he tugged my arm forward again, making me wonder if this guy knew how strong he was. I swallowed as he pushed up my sleeve, and I realized very quickly he was going to think that the bruising there was from him. I could hear Julian saying something about being ‘more careful,’ or something to that effect.
“Did I do this?” Tore asked, his voice edged in true panic and guilt. Something that was beyond overwhelming, considering this man was already filling up my space, even without his extreme emotions.
“No,” I answered immediately, but his eyes were still stormy and filled with flashes of lightning. My other hand moved up to press his jaw so he would look at me, my wolf and I not liking how upset he looked. “You didn’t do that.”
“Didn’t do what?” Julian’s voice was harder and edged in far more dangerous of a tone. I would have jumped at it, but I knew that no side of Julian would hurt me. I had absolutely no reason or proof to believe that, but my wolf, who I usually trusted, was completely at home with the man.
Tore… not so much. It wasn’t his fault. It was just his energy that was scaring me, or had scared me. I was already feeling a bit better around him. It was like the closer I got to him, the more I touched and scented him, the less threatened I felt.
“She has bruises all around her wrist,” Tore murmured, looking torn up and furious about it at the same time.
“Who did this to you, precioso?” Julian asked softly, almost too soft. I couldn’t read the expression on his face, and that worried me a bit. I shrunk in on myself, not knowing how to respond fully.
I finally managed to answer, both of them waiting. “Gerald. He was angry about me putting on nail polish.”
Oh yes, Effie, tell them how weird your life is. Which it was, clearly, for the record.
I was starting to realize that my life had been a bit weird, and it was unsettling. Julian—and now Tore—kept reacting to the things I said as if they were oddities, and it made me both frustrated that I didn’t understand why and angry that some perceived wrong had been done to me.
“Who the hell is Gerald?” Tore demanded.
I hesitated, not knowing how to label him. “My adopted father?” That sounded like a question, but I wasn’t positive how else to describe him besides ‘Gerald.’
A microwave beep had me jumping. Julian muttered under his breath, going back into the kitchen, and Tore wrapped his fingers tighter against my waist, his grip almost too tight but at the same time oddly reassuring. I continued to meet his gaze as a deep rumble broke from his throat, a weird connection jumping between the two of us and making my entire body break out into shivers. I really wish I understood what was going on between the two of us, because this wasn’t normal.
“You promise I didn’t hurt you?” he asked softly, his voice still filled with worry. There was a softness between us that he hadn’t had at first, and I both loved it and found it confusing. I could see truth radiating from him, and as I nodded, he let out a sharp exhale, intertwining our fingers and gently leading me towards the kitchen island.
I let out a small surprised sound when he lifted me onto the top of the island and leaned against the marble surface next to me, Julian rounding it before placing a plate of what appeared to be mini pizzas next to me. And I did mean mini, for the record. It was like they had fit all the ingredients you would expect on a frozen pizza onto a tiny bagel. It was actually rather adorable.
“She’s a bitten wolf,” Tore observed, worry crossing his face.
“Yes,” Julian almost hissed as I looked at his expression that was in contrast very calm. Except for his gaze, which kept darting to my wrist, seeming to make him more angry. I couldn’t tell how Tore felt about me being a bitten wolf, but I knew I felt self-conscious about it. Highly so.
Tore’s voice was edged in insecurity as he asked, “You don’t like fenrir wolves?”
Why was he insecure? Was he worried about me not liking the type of wolf he was? Goddess. Now I felt terrible. I would absolutely never want anyone to feel the type of rejection I’d felt for something that was intrinsically a part of me.
“It’s not that.” I reached forward, pressing a hand to his heart, feeling like there was something important about the action as his eyes tracked it. “I just… well, you can probably tell I haven’t had the best experiences around them. My wolf just freaked out a little bit until you were closer to me. She sometimes pushes through and forces my reactions before I can stop them.” Because I’m weak.
No need to add that last part—I felt like it was probably pretty obvious.
“Why haven’t you had the best experiences? Was it just your father?”
Adopted father. Gerald. I wasn’t positive why that was such an important distinction to me, but I suppose it was that I knew they didn’t consider me family, so I didn’t consider them family either.
“No,” I murmured. “My pack didn’t like me because I was a bitten.”
“Oh, I highly doubt that,” Julian muttered as I frowned, but Tore’s fingers were smoothing my hand against his chest, making my cheeks turn pink. Honestly, the man wasn’t nearly as scary up close.
Well, he was, but the way he was treating me made me feel special. Delicate. I had never felt important to someone before. Not like this.
“Does Caedmon know yet?” Tore asked suddenly, his eyes sharpening and body going tense. “Did you tell him?”
Tell him what? I nearly asked.
“Yeah, about that.” Julian sighed before frowning at the plate in realization. “Effie, you should eat.”
I grabbed one of the mini pizza bagels and took a bite as he offered me a pleased smile, looking back at his friend.
“She met him about five minutes ago.”
Tore suddenly stood up straight, his jaw clenching, but he kept his hand over mine so that I wouldn’t move it from his heart. “Dakota is going to be here literally any minute, if he sees Caedmon before—”
The elevator opened once more, and I froze until the familiar scent of the odd, intense man from outside had me relaxing slightly. He may have been crazy, but I’d met him already, and that was reassuring to some extent. His scent was almost cinnamon and spice-like in nature, the Christmasy scent making me not only happy but wanting to be closer to him. Caedmon rounded the space, and his dark green eyes almost immediately met mine. The tension that was in his frame from earlier eased a bit as he ran a hand through his hair and took off his suit coat without a word.