Eddie drew in a deep breath and tried to contain the storm that raged inside her. She turned sharply and disappeared down the small hallway. She had to force herself to move, to do something instead of exploding.
She stepped into the bathroom and went over to the tub. She ran the water until steam rose. The generator powered the heater that fed the pipes. She leaned against the sink and gripped the porcelain, her knuckles going white.
Her reflection in the mirror was a stranger. Wild-eyed, streaked with dirt and blood. Her hair was a tangled mess from the shift. Her bear still clawed beneath the surface, restless and unsettled.
“You almost lost her,” she whispered. “Again.”
Her throat burned. She closed her eyes and forced a slow exhale through her lips. She had been careless. She should have kept a closer eye on Liana. Explained the dangers of the wild to her, warned her again about the wolf she’d spotted.
Maybe she should have stopped what she was doing when Liana had come outside and gone immediately to the car to gather her belongings. If she had, Liana wouldn’t have taken it upon herself to go and try to retrieve her things.
She opened her eyes and stared at her refection. She would have to speak with Liana about all of the dangers that would follow her as the mate of an alpha.
Her hands shook as she went over to the tub and turned off the water. She went to fetch clean towels and placed them on the vanity. When she returned to the living room, Liana was sitting upwith a blanket wrapped around her. She stared into the flames, but Eddie wasn’t sure she was truly seeing them.
Eddie’s heart skipped a beat.
Without a word, she knelt beside her. She scanned Liana for any signs of injury.
“Are you hurt?” she asked. The words were tight and clipped.
Liana shook her head. “No. Just cold.”
She didn’t offer to help her up. She couldn’t. Not yet. The sight of her, afraid and almost frozen in that car, had carved something deep and raw inside her. She didn’t trust herself to touch her without breaking down completely.
But then Liana tried to stand and winced. Eddie’s restraint crumbled.
“Easy,” she murmured. She slipped an arm around her and helped her stand. She took the bulk of Liana’s weight when she leaned into her. “I’ll need to recheck that ankle.”
They slowly made their way into the bathroom. Liana stole glances at Eddie when she thought she wasn’t paying attention.
“I’m sorry,” Liana whispered.
Eddie froze for a moment. The apology shouldn’t have mattered, but it did. Liana justdidn’t understand what Eddie had gone through when she’d thought she would lose her. What if she had been too late and the wolf was able to get to her? What if she had continued chopping more wood as she had wanted to? Or went to dig out her truck and bring it out of the garage to get it started?
She didn’t want to think of all of the what-ifs, but they kept coming.
Eddie was an alpha bear. It was in her nature to protect, but how was she failing to keep safe the one person fate had deemed for her? How would her clan react at knowing her recent failures?
“I know you are,” she said quietly. She helped Liana to the edge of the oversized clawfoot tub. It had been specially made for her family. When the cabin was constructed, her grandmother had demanded a tub large enough for her to soak in comfortably. She’d gotten her wish. “But that doesn’t mean you won’t do something reckless again.”
Maybe Liana was truly a test from fate. She eyed the woman before her, and in her heart she knew she was hers.
Mate, her bear growled.
“You make it sound like I make it a bad habit.” Liana’s lips quirked. She studied Eddie. “I knew halfway to the car that I had made a mistake. I wanted to come back here, but I couldn’t see my tracks anymore.”
“Don’t,” Eddie muttered. She closed her eyes briefly before they opened again. She didn’t want to know all the details that would drive her bear crazy and make her feel guilty about not being there for her. “Here. Get in the tub so you can be warmed.”
“But what about you? Don’t you need to be warmed?”
Eddie’s body temperature had dropped for a short time, but now she was back to her normal self. She no longer felt the cold or the chill.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Get in with me.” Liana stared at her with those large brown eyes.
There was something in them that Eddie couldn’t read.