Fiona narrows her eyes him. She points the knife. “Back off, whiskey dick.”
“All right, all right.” He retreats, muttering something about a “fecking violent leprechaun.”
“I see you’re making friends,” I tease Fiona.
“What? Oh, he’ll be fine.” But Fiona scowls in Declan’s direction. “I was just messing with him.”
“He’s cute,” Allison says. “Not my type,” she pets the tall, gangly guy beside her. “But you two looked good together.”
“And I thought I was a matchmaker,” I say. “You called that pretty quick.”
“When Fiona likes someone she picks a fight,” Allison informs us. “It’s a test.”
“I see. To me, it looked like you wouldn’t touch his ten-foot pole,” I joke. Everyone’s eyes widen and I realize what I said. “I mean”-I wave my hands wishing I could rewind thirty seconds-“you wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole.”
“I was gonna say, ten feet? Damn, woman.” Fiona whistles. “Maybe I will go after him.”
“Mhhmmm.” Allison turns to me. “Sunny, do you have that willow bark? I know I’m a shifter, but I get these headaches.”
“I get headaches too,” Laurie murmurs, blinking at Allison. He looks like he’s seen an angel.
“I have the willow bark in my bus,” I say. “I’ll get it.”
Allison thanks me and shoots Laurie a smile that rocks him back on his feet.
Do all shifters pair up this fast? I guess when you find your mate, that’s it.
A prickle in my shoulder makes me cover the bite Titus gave me with my hand. I’ve never had a man be so rough in the bedroom, but I love it. The marks are healing nicely, but I’ll make him rub calendula or arnica cream on it later. Maybe both.
I’m rummaging around in my herb closet when Titus’ voice rumbles through the walls. I twitch aside the curtain. The window badly needs washing, but Titus’ bulk is recognizable. He’s talking to another big guy in slacks and a button-down and he looks tense.
Titus grew silent and remote the last leg of the journey. My gut says it’s over me. Us.
Is he worried about this being the end for us? I’m starting to feel like it doesn’t have to be. We still have the trip down to Tucson together. And what if… what if we could stick together a while longer? I don’t know how, but damn, it seems like for the first time, there’s a man worth giving up my independence for. Giving my trust and heart to.
Titus
FUCK. I noticed the nasty glance Alpha Green sent my way when he saw Sunny’s bus. I don’t know why I didn’t include her in any of my reports.
Yes I do.
I was a fucking coward, that’s why.
So here I am again. Letting a female blind me to my responsibilities to my pack. I could lose everything again, here.
“Interesting friends you made up there,” he remarks, his eyes traveling not to the refugees, but to the black wolf pack. Of course, I can’t help but wonder if he’s also talking about Sunny.
“Yes. They play it close to the chest. I believe they can be trusted, but it took a long time to get a read on them.”
“So they’re mercenaries, basically. Dangerous jobs for hire? Did you get the feeling they’d be sticking around up there?”
“I believe so, but they never revealed the location of their compound. I heard from one of the females that Lightfoot and his brother are from that area originally, but they joined the military right out of high school and haven’t been back until now.”
“And the human?” Alpha Green spits the word human as if he’s talking about dog shit on his lawn.
My wolf nearly lets out a growl.
Fuck. I need to get it under control. I’m talking to my Alpha. The most important person in my sphere. I cannot allow my irrationality when it comes to females affect me.
“What is she doing here?”
“She, ah, got caught up in things.”
“She knows about us.” Green’s voice is flat. Not a question. I can’t deny the truth. I may avoid certain topics, but I’m not a liar. Especially not to an alpha.
“Her daughter is a fox shifter. Of course Sunny figured things out.” It’s mostly true. She had it half-figured out before I nearly turned moon-mad and bit her.
“I mean, she knows about us, specifically. This pack. You should’ve asked for permission to bring a human into Wolf Ridge. To our private compound. This isn’t like you, Titus. I expect more.”
I’m hit by a wave of nausea-a visceral reaction to the condemnation of my alpha. All the memories of being called before the council of my previous pack. Receiving their physical attack, and then the more debilitating one of banishment come flashing back. My shame. My inadequacies as a father to protect my only pup. Losing my faith in my own ability to make good decisions.
Now I’m in the same place again.
“I guarantee she won’t talk. Her daughter’s part of the Tucson pack. She’s pack family. But I’ll get rid of her,” I hear myself say. My own voice sounds like it’s coming from a hundred miles away. Thin and empty. “No problem.”
“You sure? Because I saw that mark on her neck.” Green’s eyes narrow. He’s studying my face, and I can’t seem to school my features. I don’t even know what to show. What to say.
All the while, I’m fighting my wolf, who is howling, fucking howling inside at this betrayal of our mate.
I try to answer but my mind is blank. My tongue ten sizes too big.
“You have something to tell me?”
I shake my head dumbly. “Uh… no. We had a fling. The moon was full and I lost control, but it didn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean anything.”
Now I’m really going to puke. It’s like I just tore my wolf from my humanity. Separated the two parts of myself that have always been in harmony. Heat and cold flush through my body. My organs twist and shiver.