“Awe! So you do care, you big softie. Better not let Claude find out. And I would like to thank you for confirming that Kennedy is, in fact, your mate. Was that so hard?” Danny chuckles in my head before he walks off to talk to Rayna and out of my reach to throttle him.
“Again, F*ck off!” But my blood boils at the thought of Claude coming anywhere near her and my wolf eggs it on. She can’t be away from us, no one can protect her the way we can. My decision is made for me, she’s leaving with us, she’s ours. I choke on an inhale. That was not my wolf’s thoughts. They are mine. Oh, sh* t! I am so f*cked.
My wolf takes advantage of me lost in my thoughts. My legs are moving before I realize and when I finally come to my senses I am right behind her, removing Ben’s arm from her body and angling myself in the small space I created between them.
“A-Alpha Ryker. I didn’t see you arrive.” Ben stutters at my sudden appearance, but stands his ground. Good Beta. He looks around me, most likely to check on Kennedy, but that isn’t his concern anymore so I move with him to keep her behind me. He looks back at me clearly confused. I can hear her soft breaths behind me, she’s not impressed with me. “Kennedy was just saying goodnight to everyone before I walked her upstairs.”
“No need, Beta. Keep your distance.” My growl is menacing.
“Excuse you!” Her voice was strong and pissed. I’m surprised it took her this long to say something, but my wolf purred at the sound and the feel of her hand on my arm turning me around. We could easily resist, but we don’t. He’ll never resist her. He’s already a whipped puppy. “With all due respect, Alpha.” Why do I like the way she says that? “I think how I get to my room and who goes with me is up to me.”
At the insinuation she was taking her beta up with her for the night, my wolf surges. He turns us to face her?full on, eyes flaring, we are chest to chest and the deeper I breathe the more contact I have with her and I love the feeling. She’s average height, but still has to tilt her head up to look me in the eye and she doesn’t back down from the look of rage I know my wolf is showing with his red eyes. Good girl. “Not anymore, mate.” My wolf growls out to her and there’s nothing I can do to stop him.
The entire party stops with collective gasps from all the guests. Even the music ceased and her face fell, all the color draining. “No!” She whispers so low I might have imagined it.
I just stare at her. It’s not a choice for either of us. She’s mine and I just told everyone here. There’s no going back now, but I can see the shock and war in her eyes. She doesn’t want this anymore than I do, but she also knows what mates mean to wolves. “Yes…mate.” My wolf forces out of my mouth again. I can’t help myself, I smirk at her reaction. I want to push her, to see how far I can before she breaks in front of all these people, needing to find a weakness, any excuse to reject her and leave her here. She should stay here.
She steps closer and puts her finger in my face. “Say that again and I will remove your tongue. I am no one’s mate. You keep your distance.” She turns on her heel and moves inside. I go to follow, no one walks away from me, but my sister steps in my way.
“Let her go, Ryker, you’ve done enough tonight.” I blink a few times and have to fight to pull my eyes from where Kennedy went through the door to look down at Rayna. Why does she look angry with me? I thought she, of all people, would be happy I finally found my mate. Even if it was like this.
I look at Bennet and he just nods and follows. It’s the only thing that calms my wolf enough to listen to Rayna. Kennedy is his responsibility now when she isn’t with me. He’ll stay outside her room all night if need be, especially when she is this angry and not very likely to talk to any of us. I can’t communicate with her or track her emotions and she needs protection now that my wolf has claimed her publicly. The news will spread like wildfire. She will be a target from now on no matter where she is. He seems to think this won’t be a problem. I, on the other hand, see this as a major disaster. I am an aggressive alpha known for taking out alphas and packs without breaking a sweat. My reputation has gained me loyalty and enemies in about the same amounts. My enemies will be salivating at the chance to get back at me by harming her. She will be an easy target as a human. She can get hurt so easily and heals so slowly, she’s a liability that I can’t afford. And yet…
“Let’s call it a night. Emotions are high right now.” Jeremiah wraps his arms around my sister and she visibly calms. “We can talk about this tomorrow once everyone has had time to process.” He looks me straight in the eye. It’s not a challenge, but a warning to be on my best behavior with my sister, and his, while in his pack and I can respect it. That doesn’t stop my wolf from letting a low, annoyed rumble break through my chest. It’s my sister’s reaction that shuts him up though.
“Oh, stop. You big brute. You couldn’t have chosen a better, less public time, to do that?” She rolls her eyes and turns to Jeremiah, “I need to go check on her, I’m afraid this is going to set her off tonight.”
Ryker
I grab her arm as she moves away from us. “What are you talking about? What’s wrong with her?” What other weakness could she possibly have? Naturally, when I need answers, my sister ignores me, so the rest of Jeremiah’s team leaves me guessing too. They clearly care more about her feelings than my anger.
“You maybe should have talked to her before claiming and embarrassing her in front of her friends and family like an alpha-hole.” Rayna pulls her arm from my grasp and I just stare at her as she goes.
What the hell just happened? Josh pats me on the shoulder as Jeremiah reaches out and shakes my hand.
“It’ll be okay, just give Rayna a bit to calm Ken down. I guess congrats are in order, and maybe good luck.” He winces. “My mom is going to lose her mind when she finds out.” He chuckles under his breath then follows my sister in the house.
“We’ll show you where you and your guys are staying.” Ben walks up to us with the delta, I think his name is Tommy. Ben is smart enough to look me in the eye, but not hold it long enough to be challenging. He’s not weak or a hot head, I can see why Kennedy would gravitate towards him, which makes my wolf grumble his annoyance at the beta.
“At least she didn’t choose to spend her time with some pansy ass.” I grumble back at him.
“She shouldn’t be spending any time with anyone but us.” He quips back.
“You do understand how stupid that sounds considering how many women we have entertained in just the last month alone.”
“You have never bedded any of them. We have been saving that for our mate. She should have the same respect.”
“You don’t know what her plans were.” I’m trying to shut down that train of thought. I just can’t, no matter how logical it is. “She’s human, there was never any reason for her to think she had a mate, settle down. Rayna is right, we have to tread carefully with her. We don’t know anything about her. She wasn’t raised the same way we were.’
“What are you talking about? She was raised in a wolf pack! She knows damn well what is expected!” He is so agitated, I may have to go on a run to settle him down, but I don’t trust him not to jump into her window and try to mark her while she sleeps.
“Knock it off! You’re getting me worked up again. And people say I’m a d*ck with a temper. Get your act together or she’s not going to want anything to do with us and I still don’t know if I even want her as a mate. I think it’s too dangerous for her. But she’s tied to us through Rayna no matter what and I won’t mess up that friendship. Rayna would never forgive me. We have to tread carefully.”
“Here you go, Alpha Ryker.” I stop and blink. Again, I was so distracted by her that we made it all the way inside and upstairs without my notice. “I hope this is okay, we weren’t aware of your…umm…situation.” Ben glances at a door that has to be Kennedy’s based on the strength of her scent right across the hall from the one we stopped at.
“It’s fine.” I try not to growl at him. It’s perfect and not fine all at the same time. My wolf is not going to let me sleep with her so close, but so far away. I will not make this any more uncomfortable for her or my sister who is still in there with her based on the scent. “What time will we be needed in the morning?” I ask, not looking away from Kennedy’s door, but needing a change of subject. Bennet is sitting in a chair right next to it, still in the suit he wore for the party.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.