Page 48 of His Wild Mate

I nodded and she settled down against my side. Before she began, she reached up and stroked my fur.

“Your wolf is really soft.”

Her sweetness seemed to calm my nerves some and her voice nearly lulled me to sleep while she read.

I had no idea how long we'd laid there, but the guys eventually returned.

Channeling my wolf hearing, I turned out the girl and listened in.

“There's just too many fresh scents from the attack. We tried, and for a minute I thought I picked it up but lost it at the woods,” Thomas said. “I couldn’t discern who it was.”

“The girls didn't get a good look at him either. They just ran inside quickly,” Lily confessed.

“They did the right thing,” Emmett said.

“What are you going to do?” Thomas asked.

“I already texted James about putting some security cameras around the house. It'll ease my nerves some, especially when I have to be away from her.”

“I can have someone else oversee things until we get this all sorted,” Thomas volunteered.

“You know I can't let you do that. Plus, they all feel bad about the attack and are far more compliant than I expected.”

“They're all kissing your ass now?”

He chuckled. “Mostly just agreeing to anything to get as far away from me as possible. Can you even believe Dalton Draper was affected too?”

“Dalton?” Winnie asked. “That's insane. He's ancient.”

“And technically unmated,” Lily said. “But yeah, crazy.”

I didn't know who they were talking about, but I'd had my fair share of old guy attraction. I shuddered, remembering the man that was to be my mate when I was just thirteen.

My wolf growled angrily in my head.

“Are you cold, Paige? You're shivering,” Willow said as she dug around to find a blanket and wrapped it around me.

I wasn't, but I also wasn't about to explain the reason my body was shaking.

Since arriving in Collier, I'd spent far more time in my skin than I was used to. I itched to get outdoors and run. I needed to stretch my legs, but I was also terrified. That attack had been the absolute worst thing I'd experienced in my life. It had been so scary, and I was constantly pushing it from my thoughts. Hearing a strange man was sneaking around and peeking in windows wasn't sitting well with me and my wolf. The urge to flee was strong, but the need to be near Emmett was worse.

It was causing an internal conflict that I didn't know how to resolve.

Footsteps alerted me to a new presence in the room, but I already knew it was him.

He squatted down and peeked into the closet then smiled when he saw Willow snuggled up with me.

“Hey Willow. Are you keeping Paige company?”

“Yup. She's a great listener and likes to hear me read.”

His smile nearly melted my lady bits, which I was horrified to realize with Willow in the room.

“Your mom wants you, kiddo. Time to go home.”

My head quirked. They were leaving?

Willow hugged me. “Bye Paige.”

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