Page 15 of Protector

Tell that to the possessive growl under his breath as I go frown being laid out on my side to pulling myself up into a sitting position so I can face him…

I swallow the lump lodged in my throat. Then, in the flattest voice I can manage, I ask him, “You say something, Beta?”

A muscle ticks in his jaw. It’s amazing how, when Fallon talks about Tristan, the words ‘flirtatious’, ‘charming’, ‘sweet’, and ‘funny’ all find their way into the conversation. Then he looks at me and it’s ‘annoyed’ and ‘scowling’ and ‘confusing’...

“Yes. I asked you what you thought you were doing.”

I wait a beat. “Jeannie.”

His cheeks hollow now. “Excuse me?”

I shrug, a tiny thrill of satisfaction running through me when he can’t keep himself from following the motion of my bare tits with his darkened gaze.

“My name. If you’re gonna scold me like my mom used to do, it makes more of an impact if you use my name.” I tap my chin with one of my long nails. The polish is chipped near the point, a casualty of my shifter nature, and I make a mental note to do them again later. I might not have been able to pack much into the duffel I brought with me to Winter Creek, but you can be damn sure that I snagged a couple of bottles of supe-friendly nail polish from my dresser for my own sanity.

When a she-wolf’s claws can grow to three inches long, why not use the extra sturdy nail to practice my manicuring skills?

Dropping my hand so that I’m resting my chin on it, my other arm wrapped around my torso, coincidentally propping up my boobs, I give Tristan a slightly predatory grin. “To get the full impact, it’s really Jean Louise Lipton, but there are only two people in this world who can get away with calling me that without getting gutted, and neither one of them are you, so I’d stick with Jeannie, yeah?”

He blinks, mouth falling slightly open as he stares down at me. Poor male. I think I’ve stunned him.

Ha. I’ve always had that effect on people. Full humans mainly, but shifters are just as careful around me because, even if they don’t know exactly what I am, they can sense I’m different.

Then again, it’s usually my smart mouth that gets me in trouble.

“Who are they?” he bites out. And I mean bite. The rest of him looks as human as can be, but his canine fangs are digging into his bottom lip.

I cock my head. Then, for added measure, I kick my legs out in front of me. Slowly, I cross them at the ankle, and wait.

This time, my distractions don’t work. Shifters can be stubborn as hell, and it seems like Tristan’s not gonna drop the subject until he gets an answer.

Welp. He can try.

“Your twin’s gotta be one.” His nostrils flare, brow furrowing as if trying to figure out who I’m talking about is the most important thing in his life at this moment. “Fallon… not. Not her. Someone else.”

Huh. So he knows I have a twin. Interesting. Same thing with the complicated relationship between Fallon and me. If she ever used my full name on me, all I had to do was use my claws to slice along my finger, claim paper cut, and thrust the blood in her face to get her to stop.

But Tristan… Alphas are the most stubborn of all shifters. Betas have a more even-keel temper; they’re an Alpha’s right hand, and the calming, rational mind that serves to keep an Alpha from getting too hot-headed. A Beta’s still a wolf, though, and if I thought a daring smile would be enough of an answer to satisfy him, I was wrong.

Luna help me. Male supes can be a dog with a fucking bone sometimes. Bonded males ten times worse. I don’t know what’s going on with Tristan, but if he thinks that he can stroll his gorgeous behind—chest… face… eyes..—into this clearing, bark at me, and I’ll just take it, he has another think coming.

In fact, I don’t like the way he thinks he can question me so freely after ignoring me for months. I refuse to let the Alpha tell me what to do. His Beta? Forget it.

Maybe if he was my mate… but he’s not.

Even if the way he’s looking at me right now has me hesitating for a moment?—

No. No. Tristan is still purposely blocking our mate bond. I reach for him and though I see him, he’s not there.

So I don’t want to be here anymore, either.

I get up.

“Jeannie.”

I give Tristan my back.

He sucks in his breath. “Jeannie…”

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