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“Tru. I can’t fix it if you just panic and leave all the time.”
“I don’t need you to fix anything!” she snapped, but then her eyes softened suddenly. “I’m so sorry.”
For a moment, Tabian wanted to let her slam her door and drive off. This was a lot and she was confusing the hell out of him. He didn’t like the way any of this made him feel.
But…he could see the regret and panic in her eyes, and he had this sinking feeling he was close to something big with her.
Slowly, he knelt down beside her and looked at her eye to eye. “Tell me what’s wrong. Please.”
“I…” She looked at him with this helpless expression on her face. “I’m embarrassed.”
“Don’t be,” Tabian said with the shake of his head. “We all have our own shit. What’s going on?”
She exhaled a slow, shaking breath and gripped the steering wheel harder in her petite hands. “My ex wouldn’t let me meet his friends that were girls. He had…coworkers. He had all of these compelling excuses for me to never meet them and made me feel like I was asking too much, and nagging when I would ask questions about them. And in the end, everything I was suspicious of turned out to be true. But now I feel like it’s against the rules to meet girls who are friends. I feel like I’m doing something wrong.”
“Fuck,” Tabian murmured. “So, it went deep. He really worked on you.”
“Yeah. I lost my mind. I started feeling like it was my fault and like I was doing something wrong by asking about them. Like I was the cause of his anger about it. Meeting your girls…well, I feel like I’m about to break some rules.”
“Some rules he made.”
She nodded, unable to meet Tabian’s eyes.
Oh, he wanted to gut that motherfucker who had manipulated her into this. He would have to figure out a way to ask more about him so he could track him down. But for now, he needed to settle the panic running through her.
“Tonight, you’re going to meet Nory, who is human, and she is Liam, my Alpha’s mate. She’s hella cool. Delta is Nathan’s Mate. He’s Second of my Pack. They’re bringing Lyric who is newly paired with Vic. She’s a werewolf, and a total badass, but a girl’s girl. Destiny is Dodger’s mate, and she was human, and is newly Turned into a werewolf. She has good control now, so you don’t have to worry about an accidental bite or anything. You can meet the boys too. I think Dodger and Vic are still at work,” he muttered, searching the clearing for their trucks. “Bridger might be too, but if you stick around long enough, they’ll be back.”
She exhaled a shaky breath again. “Have you slept with any of the females here?”
“Oh, fuck no!” He cleared his throat. “Sorry for the swearing. Hell no. They belonged with their mates from day one. I’m single, was never interested in anyone here. In fact, when they are all together, I think they’re annoying as hell. I’m sorry about what your husband did to you, but this isn’t that, and I’m not him.”
“Right,” she whispered, eyes locked on his.
He gave her a reassuring smile and stood, offered his hand. “Want to meet some of my Pack?”
Tru hesitated, then slipped her hand into his. “Okay.”
He could feel the hum of tension in her body, and he knew her ex had done a number on her nervous system.
He couldn’t imagine the amount of manipulation it had taken to get an independent woman to feel guilty for asking simple questions.
Liam had been right.
He was going to have to be patient.
Chapter Four
What was she doing here?
Tru stared in shock at her small hand wrapped in his large, strong one.
Tabian was so hot. Tonight he was wearing a black T-shirt, and his muscles were defined against the thin fabric. His biceps and shoulder shape were crazy under the material. His eyes were glowing bright blue like his wolf was ramped up, but he wore such an easy smile. The way he looked directly into her had been unsettling, but she thought that’s just how he was. He was a direct kind of man.
She’d had an insecure moment left over from a past relationship, and instead of yelling at her, he’d knelt down and asked her softly to explain, and then he hadn’t made her feel stupid for it. He’d solidified his decision to put her at ease here.
But why?
He was young and strong, and clearly capable of taking care of himself. His home was small and homey, but everything was nice in it, from the wood siding to the sprawling brand-new deck that still smelled like sawdust and fresh cedar, to the granite countertops in the kitchen and new furniture.
