Page 63 of His Wild Mate

“I won't let him anywhere near you. James is putting up a surveillance system, and I won't leave you alone again. No one will hurt you as long as I'm alive. I will protect you, sweetheart.”

Paige

Chapter 16

I heard what they were saying, but it wasn't fully registering yet either. A part of me felt vulnerable and scared. My flight instincts were already kicking in. It was preferred to fighting, though whenever necessary I've certainly done that before too.

This time things were different. I knew in my heart that running away wasn't as simple as it should be.

I looked back at Emmett.

Mate, my wolf whined.

Sighing, I knew I wasn't strong enough to just walk away from him.

Despite what any of them thought, I had never intended to leave. Maybe being away for the night was a good thing for me because it showed me just how much I wanted Emmett in my life. I wasn't ready to admit that to him, but I knew in my heart that no matter how scared I got or how much I wanted to run away, I wasn't going to be able to.

I would still need my time in the wild. I'd been on my own a long time and wasn't sure I'd ever get used to living in a Pack, but I needed my mate.

“I know my Alpha order is in place right now, Paige, but I'm still not certain it’s safe for you to wander around alone,” Thomas told her. “I really do not want to risk a repeat of the attack you guys faced.”

“But I'm not in heat right now,” I explained.

He paused with a questioning look then sniffed the air around us.

“Huh, I guess in all the excitement I hadn't really noticed. That's great.”

“It comes monthly, Thomas. She has a few weeks before the next round,” Emmett explained.

“Maybe you should lift the order while she’s not in heat and replace it with one that excludes Emmett,” James suggested.

I loved the sound of that.

“I'm sorry. I can't risk it right now. Someone ransacked this place and stole your blanket, Paige. That tells me that despite my order, you may have a stalker. If I lift the order, how much worse could he get? As frustrating as it is, I'm sure even Emmett would agree with me. Your safety and that of my Pack is of the utmost importance to me.”

My shoulders sagged in disappointment.

“I understand,” I told him.

“As long as my girl is here, I can deal with it. Just please no more running off without me.”

“I promise,” I said.

The thought of someone stalking me was unsettling. I didn't usually stay in one place long enough for something like that to happen. It was the curse of the siren. I was certain of it. As a little girl my grandmother told me tales of the extreme lengths men would go to as a way to prepare me. Obsessive behavior and stalking were amongst those warnings. I just never believed that it would happen to me.

And although sharing those details might give them more understanding of my situation, I didn't want to explain all of it to Emmett’s friends. I knew Emmett trusted these men, but I still didn't know them all that well. I'd be slightly more comfortable if their mates were present, but only slightly.

The only person I absolutely trusted was Emmett. I wasn't even sure why I felt that way. Sure, he'd been nice to me and he'd taken me in. He showed me things I'd never imagined possible and gave me hope for a future that didn't consist of running for my life and killing crazed men.

I gulped thinking about that.

Emmett was a good man. I didn't think he'd appreciate hearing how many men I'd killed along the way. It was a secret I had to keep to myself because there was no way he could possibly understand all the things I'd done to survive on my own. Something told me that if heknew, he'd turn me out, or worse, turn me in to face trial for the body count I'd left in my wake over the years.

He could never know about that.

Kate swung by and brought some dinner for all of us. I was starving and dug right in.

“She makes the best lasagna in the whole world,” James bragged.

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