Page 108 of The Alpha's Protective Mate

One of them smirks at me, and as they reach for their drinks, I see a look in their eyes that has my instincts screaming. I’m already grabbing the steel tray, and when they fling the hot drinks at me, I shield myself. Some of the coffee splashes on my exposed fingers.

Jazz cries out in alarm. The feeling of déjà vu has me spinning inside.

Why is it always the coffee?!

“Charlotte!” Jazz is by my side in an instant.

As I lower the tray, both women glare at me fiercely, and the taller one spits at me. “Stay away from Robert Montgomery! Next time, I won’t be so lenient!”

The shifter who had arrived first hurries over and steps in front of the women, her voice dangerous. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

But I toss the tray aside, my blood boiling. My fingers are throbbing, but I don’t care. I march past the counter and over to the two women, pushing the interloper aside. “Robert? You’re warning me away from my boyfriend? Have you two lost your minds?”

“Do you know who I am?” The taller one, who seems to be the ringleader between the two, glowers at me.

“I don’t care.” I enunciate each word, getting right in her face. There is something wild clashing inside me, a blood thirst that I have so rarely experienced. I don’t care about the coffee. The rage inside me is focused on the fact that these women want to separate Robert and me. “Robert’s mine. If you want to try to do something about it, go ahead. But if I ever see you around him, I’ll do far worse to you than simply throw coffee in your pretty little face.”

Even as those words come out of me, it feels like somebody else is speaking them.

It shocks me that I mean every word of my threat.

The woman’s face pales for a second, but then she bares her teeth. “You think you can threaten me? Robert is just biding his time with a slut like you. In the end, I’m the one he’s going to marry!”

My blood turns cold at her words.

She must’ve seen the shock in my face because her laughter is high and cruel. “That’s right, I’m his fiancée, you bitch!”

Chapter 22

Robert Montgomery

Charlotte’s words get me thinking on the drive to Kenton.

What if we really are being led by the nose here?

We did verify that the samples of the drug we found contained shifter blood, but it was evident from the get-go. We could smell it. Any shifter, even if drunk, would be able to smell the blood, and its wolf would refuse to consume it. There is a reason why shifters don’t eat other shifters, even in animal form, aside from the cannibalism aspect of the whole idea. The flesh of our kind is toxic to us. I thought that was why the effect of the drug was so hard on those who consumed it.

But what if it’s something else?

We’ve managed to secure five samples. It was pretty easy getting hold of them. A little too convenient, if I think back to that night. There is only one remaining sample left, all the others having already been sent off for testing.

Morris and Adam are waiting for me when I reach the site. Slamming the car door shut, I approach them. “Any word?”

“We’ve scoured the area,” Adam says, shaking his head. “It’s like he vanished into thin air. From the middle of the road.”

“Are we thinking car?”

“Don’t know yet.” Morris looks irate. “Of course, none of the security cameras here are functioning. I thought you fixed this place up, Adam.”

“I did,” the Alpha of the Moore Pack responds. “But Kenton is on the edge of Nelo Clan territory. The disease keeps spreading here no matter how many times I disinfect it.”

“Charlotte thinks they’re trying to distract us,” I say suddenly.

Morris gives me a sharp look. “Charlotte?”

“She does?” Adam looks interested.

“Why’re you talking to that barista about this?” Morris says tightly. “I get that you’re having a fling and all, but—”

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