Zander hadn’t heard all of Gwen’s conversation with the human who’d just left, but he’d heard enough to grasp the gist of the situation. And he was fucking pissed. A female shifter had been assaulted, and neither the culprit nor his family gave a rat’s ass. In their eyes, the victim was inferior to them and deserved no justice simply because she was a shifter. In addition, Gwen was the only person who was prepared to stand up for that shifter, even though it meant going against her own kind—people who were clearly harassing her.
His sister’s face flashed in his mind. Shelby had been thirteen when she was hit by stray bullets in a drive-by shooting. Several humans witnessed the incident and had identified the human shooter, but by the time the trial came around, all of them had “forgotten” relevant details. Why? Because running up to the trial, the bastard had pretended to be the victim, insisted that shifters were simply out to get humans. He’d riled up other anti-shifter humans, and they’d all focused their hate on Shelby, who’d suddenly become the guilty party. The witnesses had also been slated, and they’d eventually folded under the pressure.
Shelby’s testimony hadn’t been enough, and the shooter had walked free. He’d later shot someone else, this time at point-blank range. The situation wasn’t the same as Gwen’s, but it was similar enough to bring back all the rage and contempt Zander had felt for the shooter and his prejudiced supporters.
Nowadays, many anti-shifter humans grouped together. The extremists were violent, radical, and seemed to know no boundaries. They were known to use car bombs, grenades, and other explosives to attack shifters, their territories, and even their businesses—uncaring that there could be human casualties. They’d gotten so bad that even other humans were turning against them. Risking their wrath wasn’t advisable. Yet, Gwen was prepared to speak up for this female shifter who wouldn’t even speak up for herself. He admired that. Respected it. Appreciated it.
“What was all that about?” Zander asked her.
“Sorry if your sleep was disturbed by the visitor,” she said in that coolly polite and formal tone that, for some reason, offended him. “Marlon will prepare whatever you want for breakfast.” She faced forward once again as Marlon listed various options.
Unwilling to be dismissed, Zander stepped off the deck and moved to block her view. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Gwen swallowed a tired sigh. “If you’re worried that you might get caught up in what’s happening, we’ll certainly understand that and give you a refund.” Personally, she thought that was a pretty reasonable offer, but he didn’t appear to like it.
“Tell me what’s happening.”
Gwen frowned. He really thought she’d share her personal business with him? Surely he’d heard enough to understand that this was a private and very serious matter, one she wasn’t about to share with a complete stranger just to satisfy his curiosity. “You’re a guest here.”
Not seeing what that had to do with anything, Zander pushed, “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Look, Mr. Devlin—”
“Zander. My name is Zander. Use it,” he clipped. He wasn’t sure why it bothered him that she didn’t, but he wasn’t sure of a lot of things when it came to Gwen Miller. His wolf had again backed away from her, and the situation was getting old, fast.
“You’re a guest here.”
“Yeah, you keep saying that. Not sure why you think it’s relevant.”
“This doesn’t involve you. Like I said, we can sort you out with a refund—”
“I don’t want a refund.” He squatted in front of her. “I want to know if I heard correctly, and you witnessed a shifter being physically assaulted.”
She inhaled sharply. “Good hearing.”
“You’re being pressured to change your statement?”
Marlon sat beside her. “Pressured is an understatement. They’ve tried pretty much everything to make her do what they want.”
Zander wondered just what “pretty much everything” entailed. “But you won’t give in?”
She blinked. “Why would I?”
“Some humans would prefer not to go against people like the asshole who was just here, especially when they’re being targeted this way.”
Bracken leaned against the porch rail. “How long is it before the matter goes before the shifter council?”
“A month,” said Marlon.
“Where’s the girl?” asked Bracken.
Gwen’s eyes snapped to his. “Why?”
“We can offer her protection.”
She tilted her head. “Why would you do that? From what I’ve heard, lone shifters aren’t exactly liked or trusted.”
“Our pack is closely allied with another, and one of the members helps run a shelter for lone shifters,” Bracken explained. “She’d be safe there.”
“She’s already safe.”
“You’re hiding her,” Zander guessed.
“Even though they bullied her into altering her statement, they kept terrorizing her; she needed somewhere to go.”
Rising, Zander glanced around. “She’s living on your land in her animal form, isn’t she?”
“Not sure why you’d think that.” With a sigh, Gwen stood. “Well, it’s been great talking to you, but I have work to do.”
And he and Bracken had somewhere they needed to be, thought Zander, but he was reluctant to leave her. As he watched her walk away, he didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone who looked so lonely. There was an odd twinge in his chest.
“She’ll be okay,” said Marlon. “She’s a lot tougher than she looks. Now, what can I make you guys for breakfast?” He again reeled off the menu. After Zander and Bracken placed their orders, Marlon retreated inside.
Still leaning against the rail, Bracken said, “Not many humans would do what she’s doing for a shifter—hell, not many humans would do it for another human while being intimidated like that.” There was a great deal of respect in his voice. “Listen, I know you don’t like getting involved in other people’s shit. I’m not a big fan of it either. But . . .”
“You want to stick around in case she needs help,” Zander sensed.
Bracken pushed away from the rail. “I feel like we owe her. She’s not doing this for us—I know that. But what was done to the female shifter was a serious crime. And by standing up for one of our kind, Gwen’s placing herself in danger. We’d be bastards to just ignore that. I can’t. It’s not how I’m wired.”
Zander scraped his hand over his jaw. “All this shit makes me think of what happened to Shelby.”
“Me too. That bastard who shot her walked off into the sunset, free as a bird. Maybe we can make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to the little fucker that Gwen’s dealing with. I heard the way that human was talking to her just now. He’s not going to let this go. He’ll keep up the pressure. Gwen seems strong, but everyone has their limit. We could help, and I think we should.”
“And you’re bored,” Zander pushed.
“And I’m bored,” Bracken admitted. “But it’s more than that. Like I said, I feel like we owe her. Shelby’s like a sister to me. I hate what happened to her. If we walk away from Gwen and the shifter while they need help, we’re no better than the people who let Shelby down.”