Chapter 24: Protective Measures
302words
The suggestion took me by surprise. "You want me to stay with you?"
"It's safer," he said simply. "For both of us."
As we drove back to the cabin, I couldn't shake the feeling that something significant had just changed. Liam's concern seemed to go beyond mere self-preservation. And the way he'd reacted to my last name... there was something he wasn't telling me.
But for now, I was too tired to press the issue. Tomorrow would be soon enough to unravel this new mystery.
I woke the next morning in an unfamiliar bed, momentarily disoriented until I remembered I was in Liam's cabin. He had given me his room for the night while he slept on the sofa—an unexpected courtesy from someone who had been so determined to keep his distance.
The smell of coffee drew me to the kitchen, where I found Liam speaking in hushed tones with an older man I hadn't met before. They fell silent when I entered.
"Good morning," I said awkwardly, aware that I was interrupting something important.
"Charlotte, this is Ethan," Liam said, his expression carefully neutral. "He's our pack historian."
Ethan studied me with intense curiosity. He was older than Liam, perhaps in his sixties, with silver-streaked hair and sharp, intelligent eyes.
"So you're the human botanist," he said, his voice carrying a slight accent I couldn't place. "Liam tells me you've been helping Jackson."
"I'm trying to," I replied. "His condition is fascinating from a scientific perspective, and I think the moss compounds are showing real promise."
