Howl My Name (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Grayslake Book 5) by Celia Kyle Page B

It didn’t want to let her out of its sight. Not now. Not ever.
    “What are you doing out here on your own?” She didn’t raise her voice, her question soft like a gentle wind.
    “Better question is why you’re risking your life by getting close to me?”
    She smiled against his neck. “Because I don’t really think you’ll hurt me.”
    “That’s not what everyone else says.”
    Evie went quiet and he wasn’t sure she’d speak again. Didn’t really matter though. He had her close and that’s all he cared about. “Everyone else hasn’t seen what I’ve seen.”
    Wasn’t that the truth? “They’re still going to give you shit. They’re still going to cling to your arm when you leave them and come to me.”
    That was the only explanation he could come to when he’d spied the nicks in her arm. Someone objected—firmly—to her following him.
    “They can say—and do—whatever they want.” She shrugged. “It won’t change anything.” When she pulled away from him, their gazes clashed. “Are you going to harm anyone in the clan?”
    “Not unless they deserve it. I won’t let men like your uncles live and I won’t apologize for their deaths.”
    “Then we don’t have a problem.” She said it like it was that simple.
    Sometimes the easiest things are the hardest.
    “You can’t believe that.”
    “I can,” she shrugged. “I,” she shook her head. “You know what? I grew up happy. I had my grandmother’s clan—”
    “Your father’s mother?”
    She shook her head. “No, my mom’s. She was mostly human, enough that most considered her human, but my family has enough that my grandmother was welcome at the local clan’s gatherings. When I came, I spent a lot of time with those bears.” She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts. “I was happy if picked on.” The urge to destroy every person who made Evie cry reared up in him and a soft whisper of his name had him settling. “I was still happy. It was normal kid stuff.”
    He grunted and she continued.
    “I had a good childhood. I had support when I went to medical school and even more when my grandmother became ill and I had to come home early. When she passed…” Moisture gathered in her eyes and a single tear slipped down her cheek. He didn’t really have a handle on the whole comforting thing, but he tried anyway.
    He brushed away the salty liquid and rubbed her hand in small circles. “Her will forced me to come here. She thought it was time to return to my birth clan. Grandma took me when I was younger, worried about whoever killed my mother, and then I stayed. Now, with the will, the Itan couldn’t deny her last request and my fath—Patrick wanted me to come. He was nice on the phone, smooth when he talked to my Itan.” Another tear, another gentle swipe.
    “I know what happiness is. I know what goodness is. And now I know what pure evil looks like. I saw it every day for weeks. I saw it every time I opened my eyes and heard it with every scream.” She shook her head, dislodging a few soft curls until they framed her heart-shaped face. “I see anger and pain in your eyes, but I don’t see evil, Reid.” She leaned toward him, forehead on his as she whispered. “I see what you try to show others, but I don’t believe it. Not for a second.”
    “You should.” He didn’t want her looking close, didn’t want her digging into places she didn’t belong. Evie… saw too much.
    “No, I shouldn’t.”
    This close, her scent enveloped him, consuming him and sinking into every inch of his body. His wolf howled its appreciation, urging him to take her, to capture her and drag her to their den. The house at their back belonged to them now. They were strong enough to evict everyone within its walls and then they’d have Evie to themselves.
    It was tempting, a thought and desire that grew with each passing second. He wanted her alone, wrapped around him and only focused on him.
    “Evie,” he spoke her name with a