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Monroe.” She looked over at Brayden, her hand still absently stroking Josh’s neck. “That woman took me from the cage.” She turned to look up at Isabelle.
    “Yes, Abbie,” Aiden said. “She brought you here to her daughter, my mate, because she is like you and was also attacked by Selwyn Graves.”
    Abbie shuddered in his arms. She recognized that vampire’s name. He’d hurt her. He’d die for that, Shane would make sure he did.
    “You said that before. I don’t understand. I’m a wolf, not a panther. You saw that.”
    “I think your mates can have that discussion with you at a later stage,” Charlie said. She ignored Josh’s loud growl and pushed his head away from Abbie. “Will you let me examine you, Abbie? I’d like to see if there’s any more I can do for you?”
    “Not here,” Abbie said.
    Her eyes grew wide, and she drew her hand back under the coat that covered her. She curled her legs up under it as well. The bruises and bites to her legs didn’t escape Shane’s notice before they disappeared.
    “I have no clothes on.”
    “Leave,” Charlie said. “Your mate needs for you to leave so that I can examine her.”
    Shane felt Abbie tense at the same time he did. Fear tainted her sweet woodsy scent. “We won’t leave,” he said. He’d blurted out the words in a rush. He wanted to take them back, but he wouldn’t because they expressed how he really felt, despite not wanting to feel that way.
    “Come on, Shane,” Brayden said. He rose and held out his hand to help Shane stand. “We’ll be right outside the door, Abbie. That’s as far as I can go. I’ll arrange for some clothes to be brought for you. Then I’d like to come back in. Would that be all right?”
    Shane felt her gasp in pain as he lifted her from his lap and placed her gently on the sofa. They will all die. He promised his wolf. His body felt the loss of her immediately. He felt like he’d lost half of himself. Fuck it all. She really is half of my soul. Now that I’ve felt what it’s like to be whole, how the hell can I go back to the way I was?
    “We’ll be just outside that door, Abbie. You need me just say my name and I’ll be back. Okay?” Shane shook his head in disbelief as he walked away. He couldn’t believe he’d just said that, and he dared not look back at her in case he couldn’t continue to walk away from her.
    “Aiden, I’m screwed, aren’t I?”
    “No, Shane,” Aiden said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “You’re finally starting to feel again.”
    Shane wasn’t sure he wanted to feel anything but anger. Anger was safe. Anger he understood. He felt weak and fatigued, as though he’d been running for days. He hadn’t done this much thinking, or feeling, in his whole life. It was exhausting. It took much less effort to be pissed off all the time.

Chapter 5
     
    “Thank you, Charlie,” Abbie said. “You’re a doctor?” Abbie was sure that she’d been told that a couple of times now, but with her mates all around her she’d had trouble concentrating. Their scent was intoxicating.
    “Yes, Abbie. Before I examine you, is there any area that’s more painful than the rest?”
    “Everywhere hurts, but I guess my head hurts the most.”
    Abbie let the doctor do her examination before she spoke again. “I don’t want to have those bastard’s baby.” Abbie jumped when thunderous growls erupted from the other side of the door. She pulled the big coat back over herself. Whoever wears this must be a giant. It’s huge. She noticed now that it smelled of bear. That made sense. They were big even as humans.
    “Shifter hearing,” Charlie said blandly. By way of an explanation, she pointed at the door that was doing little to filter out the continued sounds of snarling and growling. “You’re a hybrid shifter, as we mentioned before.”
    “That still makes no sense to me, Charlie. Sorry.”
    “It means you are the result of the mating between one shifter parent and one vampire