Free 9781616503369 by Sondrae Bennett Page B

long to realize something was wrong. Very wrong.
    That fake smile had been fixed on her face. He hated that smile. And the pain in her eyes had nearly brought him to his feet, needing to defend her from whatever had caused her pain. She’d pushed around the food on her plate and gazed down at the pattern she’d made with her fork.
    “And that’s when I realized, why would I want normal when I could have special?” Julie’s smile had slipped a little at the word “special.” It had been subtle, and if Brendan hadn’t been staring, he probably would have missed it. But he had been staring.
    “Julie, you know how special you are, right?” He hadn’t cared if he appeared rude, interrupting his host in the middle of a sentence. All that had mattered was Julie and replacing her fake smile with a real one.
    The look she gave him had been filled with wide-eyed panic as everyone’s gaze shot to her. She’d glanced at the others and bit her lip.
    “Sure. I mean not like you guys, but yeah.” The hollow laugh that followed was one he never wanted to hear again. Her shrug displayed more discomfort than the assurance she’d strived for.
    The ensuing silence had said it all. Everyone had heard the pain she’d tried to hide. Taking his gaze off his mate, Brendan had looked around the table and seen utter shock on the faces of her family. It was clear they’d never realized before how different Julie felt. Twenty-three years and none of them had seen the pain the story caused, even though it had to have been told a hundred times.
    “Honey? What do you mean, ‘not like you guys?’” her mother had questioned. All gazes had remained glued on Julie.
    She’d shrugged again. “You guys are wolf shifters. I’m just human. Ordinary.”
    No one had spoken. Desperately, he had wracked his brains for the right words to say. He was her mate, and until recently he hadn’t realized anything was wrong.
    “Julie.” He’d waited until her gaze met his before continuing. “There is nothing ‘ordinary’ about you. You are the most unique and special woman I have ever, and I do mean ever, met.” He’d found her blush endearing, and her smile, her real smile, had broken the tension around them. Conversation had resumed almost as if the event had never happened. But every now and then he’d seen one of her siblings or her parents glance at Julie with concern and regret.
    At least now they knew. Everything was out in the open, and he would heal whatever emotional pain she harbored with love and patience.
    “Okay,” she said, dragging him back to the present. “Am I going to like this talk or not?”
    One thing at a time. Her emotional pain could wait. Her safety couldn’t. And if she agreed with his plans, maybe he could work on both at once.
    “I hope so. The thing is, I think it would be better if you stayed here. At least until we fix your lock.”
    He’d managed to sneak into the living room with her siblings while Julie had helped to clean up the dishes. The broken lock provided them with a perfect excuse to keep Julie with one of them. No one wanted to frighten her if they didn’t have to, especially knowing she could take off if she thought a shifter from town held some unknown grudge. They would figure out who meant her harm and take care of it. Until then, she’d be with Laurie at the bookstore during the day and with him at night. Her brothers were scheduling shifts to watch her as well.
    “And when will that be?” Julie asked. He breathed a sigh of relief. The question wasn’t filled with the anger or frustration he’d anticipated, just curiosity. This might be easier than he thought. She made no move to put distance between them, so he left his head on her lap.
    “Well, we have to fix the doorframe. And that lock is specially made. It might take a couple of weeks to get a new one. If you don’t want to stay with me, you can stay at one of your brothers’ places or at Laurie’s. But I don’t want you