Page 34 of Predator

Especially when Kirk pipes up and says, “You can watch over Ellie while we’re gone.”

My hands go to my hips. “Let me guess: Ellie will watch me?”

“Fallon—”

I ignore Lucas. I already know I’m going to lose this one, but I’m not going to give in that easily. “

“Kirk. Tristan. Head out. Scatter. I’ll be right behind you. Kirk, east. Tristan, west. I’ll cover the rest of the ground. You understand?”

“Yes, Alpha,” says Kirk solemnly.

Tristan nods. “Got it, Luc.”

“Good. Go.”

Kirk kisses Eleanor on the cheek, gives her a quick squeeze, then jogs out the door. Tristan looks from me to Lucas, then back again. A tiny shake of his head—telling me that, if it was up to him, he’d let me go… but Lucas is the Alpha and he’s going to listen to him—before the Beta follows after Kirk.

Now it’s just Lucas, me, and Eleanor.

Realizing that she might be intruding, Eleanor makes up a quick excuse I barely hear, then slips out of the kitchen.

And then there were two.

My mate grips me by the back of my neck. It’s a gentle yet possessive hold, and it forces me to look up at him.

Huh. I guess it really bothered him when I purposely ignored him like that.

Even worse is how, the moment our eyes lock, all I see is his determination to do what’s right. To keep his mate safe, to go after a missing wolf… as the Alpha, all of the responsibilities land squarely on his shoulders. As much as I want to prove myself to him, I’m only making things harder for him by trying to convince him to let me tag along.

And what if he does? Will he even be able to give the search his full attention if he’s worrying about me?

I know the answer to that. Just like I know that he’s right. I don’t like it, and I can tell that, if I push, this big, bad wolf will crumble like a house of freaking straw… and that’s exactly why I don’t.

Damn it. I chose the Alpha to be mine. Fate or no Fate, I wanted Lucas. His glower, his overprotectiveness, his need to keep me close unless it puts me in danger… I want his good and his bad, and even if I don’t agree with him, I have to respect that he’s only doing what he thinks is right.

He’s my mate. I’m only beginning to understand what it means to be a wolf shifter. At the very least, the pack runs on a hierarchy. I might be a little higher than some others all because I’m his mate, but even I can’t deny that Lucas is firmly at the top.

I nod. “I’m not happy about it, Luc, but I get it. Jade needs you?—”

“You need me, too.”

I’m his mate. That’s part of the gig.

Only… there’s that note of hesitation again. Almost like he can’t believe I chose him at all, and that he’s expecting me to wake up and regret that I tied myself to him for life.

Never.

I go up on my tiptoes. He lowers his hand to support my back as I grip his chin, holding him in place as I press my lips to his. “I will always need you, Luc,” I promise him. “And I want you to think about letting me help protect the pack. But if you don’t think I’m ready yet?—”

“It’s just not safe,” he rumbles.

With the trauma in his past and his alpha instincts, when it comes to his mate, I don’t think he’ll ever believe it’s safe for me. It’ll be up to me to prove that I can handle it, that I can be just as much of a protector—a predator—as Lucas and the others… but I’ve learned when to pick my battles with him.

Now is not the time.

I pat his cheek. “When will you be back?”

“As soon as we find Jade. Something’s wrong, sucre.” He lifts his free hand, rubbing his chest between us. “An Alpha knows his pack. I can’t explain it so that you can understand it just yet, but something’s wrong. I have to do this.”

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