One of two things would happen. Either she would take to the change naturally and go about her new and secret life. In so doing, she’d become Richie Rick’s wet dream. Not just a bonded mate, but ashifterbonded mate. That also meant that any child they might have wouldforsurebe a shifter, staking Rick’s third-generation claim to the pack.
The other possible—and more worrisome—option was that the change would break her mind, and the pack would take her out or exile her, leaving her to wander in madness until something else killed her.
Why was I feeling protective of her? Why did I care? This was a job, nothing more, nothing less. I did these all the time. Cruised into a town on my bike, did my job for a week or so, got paid, then left it in my rear view. It wasn’t simple lust, either. Sure, Cameron was hot, gorgeous, and fiery, but I felt myselfwanting tocarefor her. And I’d never experienced that feeling before. It was discomforting.
A sound behind me caught my attention, and I spun, ready for anything. The feral shifter? Rick, ready to defend the honor of his girlfriend? Maybe that pissy drunk shifter Ollie and I’d taken out at the bar a week ago was back for revenge? Any of those would have shocked me less than what I saw walking toward me.
I’d known Cameron was coming, yes, but I never expected this. My eyes widened in surprise as I took her in. She wore a low-cut dark crimson cocktail dress that accentuated her every curve. Her hair was pinned back with some type of glimmering jeweled clip. Her lips weredarkred, and I pictured it smeared on every part of my body. It was all I could do to keep my eyes off them as she spoke.
“Well, here I am,” she said laconically. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on or not?”
Recovering my composure, I grinned at her, resting my hands on the top rope of the ring.
“Wow. You didn’t need to get dressed up for me. I’m honored.”
Cameron let out a snort of derision. “Very funny. I think you’re more the type to go for girls in bikinis dancing on the stage of a strip club.”
“Ouch,” I said, giving a mock wince. “That hurts. I’ll have you know Daisy Comes was one of the nicest girls I ever dated. Just because someone is a stripper doesn’t mean they’re a bad person.”
“Daisy Comes? Is that actually a real person’s name?” Cameron scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Maybe. Maybe not. You’ll have to use your imagination.” I narrowed my eyes and licked my lower lip. “I bet you have areallygood imagination, don’t you, Cameron?”
I took pride in the red blush that rose to her cheeks. Her eyes darted behind me to the broken arm on the mat.
“Looks like you’re ripping the place apart.” She glanced around, taking in the old-school gym. “Does the owner know you’re here? Or did you break in?”
“We have what you’d call an understanding,” I replied. “I helped the owner with an issue a few years back. It’ll be fine. I’ll pay for it. No big deal.”
She nodded and stepped closer. One of the overhead lights illuminated her better. Her eyes were dark with worry, and she was trembling.
“Are you okay?” I asked, all hint of flirtation gone.
“Not really, Nate,” she said. “Are you going to tell me what the test said or not?”
She was terrified, and it showed. More scared than she’d looked when facing down that feral shifter in the alley. Her little banter back and forth with me was her way of trying to hold back the panic.
All she was worrying about were simple things. Diseases that might be a pain in the ass but could be mitigated or cured with drugs. She had no idea what mindfuck was in store for her.
I climbed through the ropes. “Let’s talk.”
“Oh, God,” she muttered, her voice trembling. “It’s bad, isn’t it? What is it? HIV? Hepatitis? What?”
Jumping down, I hurried over to her and put my hands on her shoulders. “Cameron, calm down. Take a breath. You don’t have a disease. Stop worrying about that. Okay?”
Her hand fell away from her face, and her shoulders sagged with relief. “Oh, thank fuck. I was freaking out.”
“I could tell,” I said.
She ran a hand across her forehead and took a couple steps back, trying to gather herself. I spotted it a half second before it happened.
“Watch your step!” I shouted, pointing behind her.
Her high-heeled shoes struck my gym bag, and she tilted back, ready to tumble onto the concrete floor. I caught her wrist and yanked her back to me, her body pressing into my chest, her hair tickling the skin on my collarbone. Surreal déjà vu swept over me as I recalled almost this exact moment from a week ago when I stopped her from falling down the stairs at her apartment.
“We gotta figure out how to keep you from falling,” I murmured against her ear. “I won’t always be there to catch you.”
Cameron looked up at me and gave me an embarrassed smile. “So far, you have been.”
