Hoping it would help distract her from the temptation to venture off alone, Tao took her to her uncles’ cabin first thing the next morning. He could smell bacon grilling and eggs frying before he even got to the front door. He’d no sooner raised his fist to knock than Max opened up and urged them inside.
“Morning,” said Max. He kissed Riley’s cheek. “Have you two eaten?”
Riley nodded. “How’s—”
“Ethan’s fine, sweetheart. He’s feeling groggy and shaky after waking from the healing sleep, but he’s otherwise okay. Go on up to the bedroom. Seeing you should perk him up.” As she shot out of the den and up the stairs, Max looked at Tao and said, “He’ll let her fuss over him because it’ll make her feel better and he’s missed her.”
Tao followed Max into the kitchen. “How’s his wound?”
Max scooped two eggs out of the pan and slid them onto a plate. “Not as well healed as I’d hoped. Maybe that’s a good thing, though, because if he was fully recovered, he’d be burning shit down right now. Go on up.”
Tao took the stairs two at a time and strolled into the bedroom just in time to watch Riley huff as Ethan walked awkwardly to the bed.
“I don’t know why you won’t let me help you,” Riley griped. “It’s not weak to admit you’re weak.”
Sliding into bed, Ethan sent her a frown. “I can go to and from the damn bathroom on my own steam. And I’m not weak.”
“Is that why you look close to passing out?” She plumped his pillow and pulled the covers over his legs.
Tao sidled up to her as he spoke to Ethan. “How are you doing?”
“Better,” said Ethan. “There’s no need for all her fussing.”
Tao suspected the guy was enjoying it, but, of course, pride dictated that he hide it.
“Oh, I love you too,” she sassed, dropping into the armchair beside the bed.
The smell of eggs, bacon, and ketchup was followed by the entrance of Max. He handed Ethan a tray on which a full plate of food and a bottle of water sat. “Eat.”
“He hasn’t stopped feeding me,” Ethan grumbled to Riley and Tao.
“Good,” she said. “You need to build up your strength.”
Glancing around the bedroom, Tao noticed the number of “Get well soon” cards that were positioned on the dressers and the wooden computer desk. “You’ve had a lot of visitors, I see.”
“Max didn’t let them past the front door,” said Ethan, but it wasn’t a complaint.
Tao frowned. “Really?”
Riley looked up at him. “Our kind doesn’t like having people around us while we’re not at full strength.”
Max straddled the dining chair he’d dragged into the room. “Riley, be a sweetheart and make some coffee. I forgot.”
Ethan grunted. “You make better coffee than he does.”
She gave her uncles a look of sheer disgust. “You just want to talk to Tao without me around, which means you want to talk to him about me.”
As if hurt, Max slapped a hand over his heart. “Would we trick you like that?”
“Yes. Yes, you would.”
Ethan chuckled. “Go, we won’t take long.”
She snorted at his reassuring smile. “Why don’t you just say it in front of me?”
“Because you’ll answer his questions for him so we only hear what you want us to hear,” said Ethan.
“I’m fine!” she growled.
“Then that’s what he’ll tell us, isn’t it?” said Max. “So there’s no need for you to stay.”
She stood, threw up her arms, and left the room—grumbling to herself the entire time.
Once she was out of hearing range, Max turned to Tao. “How’s she been? She seems better this morning.”
Tao slid into Riley’s seat and linked his fingers behind his head. “She seethed all the way back to the cabin. Thoughts of vengeance pretty much took over for a while. She calmed down eventually, but she barely touched her dinner.”
Ethan sighed. “Her appetite always suffers when she’s upset. Did she sleep much?”
Tao shook his head. “She woke up a lot earlier than she usually does, and she was too wired to relax and get back to sleep. I stayed up with her because I was worried she’d go off hunting for the bastard who shot you.”
“Good call on your part,” said Max. “You did a good job of bringing her out of her zone yesterday. That’s what we used to call it. She had a few grief triggers as a kid.”
“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen her like that,” said Tao, “so I think they lost their sharp edge a long time ago. Seeing Ethan hurt must have just thrown her back to the past.”
Ethan nodded. “You like our Riley a lot, don’t you?”
Tao snorted. “She’s a pain in my ass most of the time.”
Flashing him an understanding smile, Max said, “Riley has a bad habit of annoying people to keep them at a distance.”
“Yeah, it took me a while to realize that was what she was doing.” But she hadn’t done it recently; she’d kept her word and let him in. Both Tao and his wolf felt rather smug about that.
“It’s nothing personal to you.” Ethan paused to drink some water. “I don’t know if you’ve ever been around a child who’s lost a parent, but it’s heartbreaking. Riley was very close to Anabel and Daniel. She’d only just turned four when they died and she didn’t really understand what happened. Even though she pretty much watched Daniel die, she’d look for them, call out for them, wait at the window for them. We’d try to explain the situation to her and she’d nod like she understood, but then she’d go searching for them again.
“Eventually she stopped looking. And then all we’d ever see in her eyes was fear. Fear of being without her parents, fear of being alone, fear of anything else bad happening. She didn’t trust the world anymore. She changed from happy and open to wary and cautious. She didn’t accept new people in her life easily, and if she could annoy them into leaving her alone, she would.” Ethan paused. “You see, deep inside Riley is a little girl who doesn’t think she’s enough to hold anyone to her.”
“Because her father didn’t hold on for her,” Tao guessed.
“It’s probably not fair of me to judge him for it, but she’s my niece and I love her—it’s my right to judge anyone who hurts her.”
“Sage should never have put pressure on her to keep him alive,” said Tao.
“No, he shouldn’t have,” Ethan agreed. “He’s my Alpha and I respect him, but he let her down there.”
Max leaned back. “She’ll take a little time to let you fully in, but that’s only because a subconscious part of her is testing you—if you’re persistent, it will show you’re truly interested and worth the risk. It’s a defense mechanism, I guess, and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t even realize it’s there. But once she lets a person in, they’re in.”
Tao tilted his head. “What you’re saying is that I should be patient with her?”
“Patient?” echoed Ethan. “No. You don’t strike me as the patient type. We’re telling you to keep on chipping away at her walls. If you give her even a moment’s reprieve, she’ll shore up her defenses without even knowing she’s doing it. Riley will drive you crazy, but she’ll also protect you with her life and be loyal to you to the day she dies . . . if you’re worth it. So be worth it. She deserves that in a mate.”