Unleash the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

her. Cocking her head to one side, she studied him with a gimlet stare that made him extremely uneasy.
    Marvin jumped up and down on the sink, chattering.
    â€œYou’re trying to unmat your hair, aren’t you?”
    Wren didn’t say anything as he set the comb down beside Marvin. It was none of her business.
    â€œIt’s because of that human female, isn’t it?”
    He tried to move past Aimee, only to have her block his way.
    â€œIt’s okay, Wren,” Aimee said gently. “I won’t tell anyone about her. Believe me, I understand all about impossible relationships.”
    Yeah, he’d caught her with the wolf Fang a week ago. The two of them had been about to kiss. If anyone other than Wren had discovered her with Fang, Fang would have been killed or at the very least seriously mangled. But luckily for them, Wren couldn’t care less who Aimee took to her bed. It was none of his business anyway.
    She picked up the comb from the counter. “You want me to help?”
    Part of him wanted to growl at her and send her scurrying away, but the other realized that help would be kind of nice. “You can try,” he muttered. “But I think it’s hopeless.”
    He’d been trying for over an hour to comb through the mess of his hair, and so far he’d only met with failure and pain.
    And all because he wanted …
    He wanted the impossible. For one moment in time, he wanted to feel a woman’s hands in his hair, and it wasn’t Aimee he ached to feel there.
    He wanted Maggie.
    Aimee’s face softened as she tried to get the comb through a small matted lock. After a few minutes of trying that only resulted in her breaking the comb in half, she let out a frustrated sigh.
    â€œAll right, Wren, what we need is a specialist. Let me call Margie in here to help. She’s the best at getting matted hair untangled. If anyone can do this, she can.”
    As Aimee started out the door, Wren stopped her. “Why are you being so nice to me?” None of the other bears had ever been really nice to him. Most of them barely tolerated him.
    But Aimee had always been kind.
    She offered him a smile. “I like you, cub. I always have. I know you’re not dangerous.… I mean, I know that you could kill us, that you are dangerous, but that you don’t pose an unfounded danger to anyone other than yourself.”
    â€œBut you still fear me.”
    Her eyes softened as she looked at him. “No. I fear for you, Wren. There’s a big difference.”
    He frowned in confusion at her words.
    She let out a tired breath. “You don’t like anyone around you, cub. I know you do inappropriate things just to make people leave you alone, and I fear what you will do one day that could cause the others here to turn on you permanently.”
    She glanced to Marvin, who was watching her as if he understood and agreed. “I know the ferocity of your people. I know Bill sent you here to keep your father’s clan from killing you before you could defend yourself. Believe it or not, I don’t want to see you hurt. Everyone deserves some happiness in their life. Even tigards.”
    Those words touched him deeply. No wonder the wolf was so attracted to her. For a bear, she had a good heart. “Thanks, Aimee.”
    She nodded, then left. Marvin started chattering at Wren as he tried to detangle his hair again. The monkey didn’t understand why Wren was trying to change himself. It didn’t make sense to Marvin.
    â€œI know,” Wren said to the monkey. “But I want her to be able to touch me without it grossing her out. One day you’ll find a Marvina of your own and you’ll understand.”
    *   *   *
    â€œOh my God, Margeaux! You have got to see what’s outside in the hallway!”
    Marguerite looked up from where she was packing her books into her backpack to frown at Whitney, whose next class was