She was nearly to the truck, intent on grabbing her purse and getting the hell out of Dodge, when a rhythmic pounding on the ground reached her ears. Heart lodging in her throat, she whirled around, frozen as she watched Cody’s gorilla—hell, was that even what he was?—rushing toward the truck.
Spotting her standing in fear, he instantly slowed. Pausing, he held his hands up with his palms out, and she knew he was trying to show her she had nothing to fear.
But that gesture did nothing to ease the terror inside her. Her heart was still pounding, her chest heaving as her breath sawed in and out.
And if she had a momentary thought about how uniquely beautiful his animal was, well, she was refusing to acknowledge it.
Wild tigers were beautiful too, but they’d still eat you the moment your back was turned.
Keeping a large amount of distance between them, he circled past her as he went for his truck. Grasping the door handle with his oddly colored hand, he pulled it open and reached inside, emerging a moment later with a spare set of clothes.
He looked over at her, imploring her with his strange red eyes to not leave, and then he walked around the truck. A moment later, she heard the loud pop of bones breaking and reforming, and she knew he was shifting back to his human form.
This was her moment to run. She doubted that he’d chase after her naked, and she was fast. She could be away from him before he even knew she was gone.
Biting her lip, she stared at the truck for a moment. She’d wanted to get her purse, but maybe her sanity was worth more than its contents.
She didn’t know just how dangerous he might really be, and she could replace her things.
She couldn’t replace her life.
Yet, she still couldn’t make herself move. It felt like a huge moment. Trust him or not? Believe that he could be the same man he’d been before he shifted, like she was the same before she shifted?
This was something she just wasn’t sure she could have faith in.
Chapter 11
Cody
Rubbing eyes gritty from lack of sleep, Cody switched off the shower before grabbing a towel. His body felt heavy and sluggish as he dried off and dressed, but his thoughts hadn’t stopped racing since the night before.
Olivia found out about him in the worst possible way, and she’d been scared of him. He’d seen it in her green eyes, in the way she hugged her door as he drove her home.
He was honestly surprised she’d let him. He didn’t think she’d had any intention of allowing him to, but when he pointed out that she might not know the way home—and that her friends probably wouldn’t know where to pick her up at—she reluctantly relented.
Staring at himself in the mirror for a moment, he exhaled heavily as he went back into his bedroom. He immediately checked his phone, but she hadn’t replied to any of the texts he’d sent. Not that he’d expected her to, but he’d hoped.
It was probably stupid, but as he stared at the phone in his hand, he still hoped.
The night started out amazing, and it only continued to get better as the evening went on. That conversation during intermission had been the icing on the cake. Even as the words poured out of him, he thought it was way too soon to be telling her how into her he was—but he hadn’t been able to stop the tidal wave of words.
But it’d actually turned out okay. More than okay, really, because she told him she felt the same pull that he did, that she liked him too, and agreed to give them a shot.
And then the night went to hell in a handbasket faster than he could blink.
Fuck. He wished she hadn’t found out what he was like that. Maybe she could have accepted it easier, or at least tried to, if he’d been able to tell her, if they could have had a discussion about it.
Or maybe her reaction would have been the same. He guessed he’d never know.
What he did know, though, was that someone had learned about his people and had come to take them out. He’d stopped them, but he wasn’t completely sure those had been all of them—and even if they were, he still owed it to his troop to tell them what happened.
With one more glance at his silent phone, he shoved it in his pocket and went downstairs. His grandfather had been gone when he returned home the night before, and he still hadn’t returned, but Lindsey was sitting at the counter when he walked into the kitchen.
Glancing up at his footsteps, she gave him a bright smile. “Hey! How’d it go last night?”
“Really good at first, but it went downhill fast.” Knowing she’d need to be informed about what happened, he told her everything, going into detail in a way he wouldn’t with the others.
Smile fading as his story poured out of him, she listened intently as a frown grew between her brows. Wincing as he finished, she looked at him with sympathy in her brown eyes. “That’s how she found out what you are?”