“We’ll always be here, I’ll make sure of it.”
But I couldn’t guarantee that, not really. Not the way the house was set up, the closest to the forest’s edge.
And if I left Jay at home with Claire, how would he fend off a bear attack single handed?
Impossible.
I turned towards my pack. “I want to know how the hell the bears found out about Claire. She’s only been here for a day.”
“They have spies, obviously.”
r /> “Or surveillance cameras.”
I shook my head. What were we going to do?
Claire was trembling again and her face was red.
I walked over to her and put my arms around her. “Claire. Everything is all right. You’re safe.”
She was shaking her head. “No. I want to go home. Now. Jay said you’d take me home, and I want to go home. Now.”
What were my choices? I needed to attend to the threat to our pack, but my mate needed me too.
Taylor stepped up next to me, my Beta. My best friend.
“I’ll go to the council for you, although I’m sure they’ll want to speak to you tomorrow. You look after Claire.”
And there was the answer, in the strength and numbers of a pack.
“Thanks, Taylor. Let them know I’ll come over to discuss strategies in the morning. For now, I’ll take Claire to bed.”
Taylor left and Claire was mumbling. “No, I don’t want to go to bed. I…”
I took both of her hands in mine. “Look at me, beautiful.”
She wouldn’t initially, but eventually she pulled her gaze up to meet mine.
“I know you’re in shock, and want to run away, but it’s dark, and it’s dangerous to drive these roads when you’re not in the right head space to do so. The bears won’t come back tonight, and if they do, we have three packs next door who will jump at the chance to protect us.”
Claire was nodding but I wasn’t sure how much she was hearing.
“So, let’s get you into bed and get some sleep, and tomorrow, if you still want to go home, I’ll drive you back myself.”
It hurt to say it, but what other choice did I have?
I’d never keep Claire here against her free will, and if she was the one the bears were after to stop us from breeding and continuing our pack, then perhaps she was safer in the city.
They’d never find her at the hospital.
“Okay,” she whispered.
I picked her up into my arms. “I’m going to put you in my bed and we’ll all join you to keep you warm and safe tonight, okay?”
I looked over at Jay, who nodded. We’d slept together on camping trips and when we were in our wolf form.
And considering we were about to spend the rest of our lives sharing a mate, we may need to redesign the house. We could have one massive bed, so Claire could be surrounded by all of us.
Or she may want us separately, but for some reason, I didn’t see that happening.