Page 13 of Brutal Mate

“Oliver, take it down a notch. He's just here to keep us all safe,” Miley said, and the way she laid her hand on the other man's chest made Kane's tighten. “He's one of the mayor's men.”

The guy she had called Oliver continued to glower at Kane over her head.

Fucking idiot, Kane thought. If she had touched him as she was touching Oliver now, there's no way in hell he would still be staring at another guy. All his attention would be locked on her, on her hand on his chest.

“How do you know that?” Oliver snapped.

“He came into dad's shop today asking questions about Deneen and Tommy. He's just doing his job. We should leave.”

Kane wanted to thank her, but sensing it would make him look weak, he held his tongue. Besides, he wasn't sure she would thank him for making it look as if they respected one another.

Do we? He wondered, remembering how short she had been with him outside the shop and how she had rushed off before he could finish questioning her, before he could…

He forced all thoughts of that afternoon away. It wasn't safe to think of her like that.

When nobody made a move to listen to Miley, Kane growled, “Leave now, or I'm well within my rights to arrest you all for disturbing the peace.”

“Ha! I'd like to see you try!” Oliver laughed, but Miley shoved him hard just as he had Kane. This time, Oliver almost went flying off his feet, and Kane had to hide his admiration for the woman's strength. He set his lips in a grim line and crossed his arms.

“Callum, get him out of here before he makes a total fool of himself!” Miley insisted, and before anyone could protest, another girl stepped forward to help her.

“You heard her, time to go.”

“Thanks, Lauren,” Miley said, just loudly enough for the other woman to hear, but Kane heard her perfectly. An affectionate look passed between the two women, and Kane guessed they had to be fairly good friends.

Miley glanced at Kane just long enough to make his heart skip a beat, then turned and started to head across the clearing to where she had been sitting on the fallen tree.

“Get on home now and I'll pretend I didn't see any of this!” Kane called around the clearing. Oliver laughed aloud, and several of the others sneered with distaste. Clearly, they weren't happy about having their night ruined.

It was only as the clearing started to empty that Kane dared to move. He strode across the clearing and gripped hold of Miley’s wrist, dragging her to one side, out of earshot of the other humans.

“Are you alright?” he asked even as she fought his grip.

“What's it to you?” Miley demanded, glaring down at his fingers wrapped around her wrist.

He didn't answer. Instead, he warned, “You really need to be more careful.”

“Who are you?” Miley demanded, her tone so harsh it stung Kane as she yanked her wrist free of his grip. “My father?”

His stomach twisted, throat constricting. “No!” he growled, “I would never hurt you like he has!”

As if she were taken aback by the tone of his vow, she stepped away, her eyes wide. She stared at him as if she couldn't believe the words that had just left his lips.

“You don't…” Miley stammered, “I…”

It was clear that she was lost for words. Her gaze turned from shocked to hard. Her brow furrowed and she glared at him for several seconds before she turned on her heels.

Kane watched hopelessly as she hurried away from him, called along by her friend. Clearly, what he had said had stung her. It wasn't hard to guess why.

And all Kane could do was watch her leave.

In fact, he remained right where he was beside the dying bonfire until the clearing was empty of life.

It was only then, as he kicked dirt over the firepit to kill the last of the flames, that he finally managed to concentrate on the scent he had smelled before it had all kicked off properly.

A wolf had definitely been in the ravine, and recently—as recently as he had been. There was just one problem: the scent didn’t belong to any one of his packmates, old or new. And that made his hackles rise.

***

---