Page 39 of The Alpha's Protective Mate

I stare at her, my pants feeling tight and uncomfortable. “I should have sent that last drink back.”

How that one drink managed to make her even more bold, I don’t know. But she seems to be getting progressively worse, and I need to get her out of here rather than enjoy it.

I manage to pay the bill, and with one hand firmly around Charlotte’s, I walk her out of there.

“So, where to next?” she asks brightly.

I have to press my lips together to keep the laughter from spilling out. It’s taking every ounce of self-control not to whip out my phone and record her. Once she’s sober, she won’t believe she ever did or said any of this. The way she’s behaving is such a contrast from the woman I know.

“I’m taking you home,” I tell her, tucking her arm in mine. “Your home, so you can sleep off the alcohol.”

“You don’t even know where I live,” she chuckles.

“Yes, I do,” I reply simply, trying to focus on the footpath rather than the warmth of the woman glued to my side. Even drunk, she smells wonderful.

My car is parked outside my office building, and I make sure Charlotte is strapped in before I begin driving.

She’s being quiet now, and when I look at her, she has a pensive expression on her face, one that sparks a hint of concern within me. “Charlotte?”

“You don’t like me, do you?”

“What?” I ask, confused.

She sighs. “It sucks being like this. I can’t be with anyone.”

I can’t follow her train of thought. Nothing she’s saying is making much sense to me. How she went from happy to sad has me baffled.

“What do you mean, you can’t be with anyone?” I turn the car onto one of the side streets to avoid the traffic.

“Nothing,” She smiles and looks away.

She seems to be slowly sobering up. Remarkable. It isn’t that she doesn’t possess the metabolism that wolves and vampires have that makes us immune to human alcohol, but that hers is simply a little slower than ours. When she glances at me, my theory solidifies. Her eyes are growing sharper, more aware.

I pull up in front of her building, and when she gets out of the car, she stumbles. I’m out of my seat and by her side in an instant. “I’ll take you to your door.”

“I can walk,” she insists, but her gait is unsteady. She sinks back into the seat and looks at me. “I’m really okay. I just feel a little dizzy.”

I crouch by her side. “Let me bring you inside and make you some coffee.”

She lifts her gaze toward her building. “I—”

Before she can say anything further, two things happen at the same time. Charlotte stiffens, and I catch an icy scent that can only belong to a vampire. Charlotte is looking at something, and when I turn my head to follow her gaze, my eyes squint, but I see no one.

My senses are sharp. I know exactly when someone is watching me. I’m having the same familiar feeling from a few days ago when I was standing outside the animal shelter where Charlotte volunteers. Either somebody is stalking me or somebody is watching her.

I straighten up and look around.

The scent is beginning to fade. Whoever it was must have realized both of us detected their presence.

My voice is careful. “Does anyone know where you live?”

Charlotte meets my gaze, and I see the moment she understands what I’m talking about. She shakes her head. “This apartment is under my human name, Beaumont. Nobody should know. If they did…” She hesitates before continuing. “There are a lot of people in the clan who would like nothing better than for me to suffer. If they knew where I was, they wouldn’t have let me live in peace for this long.”

I’m silent for a moment, and then I murmur, “Whoever it was, they’re gone now. I think I’m going to hang around for a bit to make sure you don’t get any surprise visitors.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Charlotte exclaims, but I see the relief in her eyes.

“Just for a little while,” I assure her. “Come on.”

---