Page 10 of Protector

I set down my fork and knife. “This is a sanctuary. I was told most of the humans here know about supes and are okay with us.”

“That’s true. But that doesn’t change anything I said.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “The human males are off-limits to any mated she-wolves. Same goes for the witches.”

I blink, then turn to glare at Fallon.

She holds up her hands, gripping her fork beneath her thumb so that she doesn’t drop it. There’s still a piece of scrambled egg coated in ketchup hanging off one of the tines. “Don’t glare at me like that, Jeannie.”

I jerk my head in the Alpha’s direction. “You told him?”

Fallon tilts her chin up at me. She might be a hybrid halfling, but that’s all wolf in the defiant expression as she says, “He’s my mate. I tell him everything.”

Not like it’s a secret. Despite the Beta being so quick to wash off my scent the first time we met, it’s hard to hide it when a shifter’s come in contact with their mate. Even if nothing ever comes of it, that initial recognition sparks the beginning of a bond. Put us anywhere near each other, and it doesn’t take a shifter with my twin’s gift to know that there’s something between us.

Or that there’s supposed to be.

Whatever. I should’ve expected that.

“Anyway, none of your rules apply to me.”

“Because you work for the Luna?” guesses Fallon, trading her fork for a piece of toast.

Usually, that’s my excuse for anything supe-related that I don’t want to deal with. But in this case?—

“No,” I say, keeping my voice flat because it’s the best way I’ve found not to tap into the Luna when I’m tiptoeing toward the edge of furiousness, bad decisions, and lost control. She might be missing right now, but getting into a pissing match with an Alpha? Even I’m not that reckless… though I do make myself clear as I tell Lucas, “Because I’m not mated.”

And with the way Tristan is purposely avoiding me without explaining why he’s leaving me on the hook or simply breaking our bond by out-and-out rejecting me so I can work toward finding a chosen mate of my own, it doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon.

Lucas opens his mouth, but whatever spark of wisdom the Alpha has—and if he tries to justify this awful limbo his Beta has put me through, I might stab him in the hand with my knife—he never gets the chance to say it before a new scent comes in through the open window.

It doesn’t matter that it’s January in Winter Creek. Half the windows in the pack house are at least cracked to let in fresh air, and as a breeze wafts in, it brings with it a unique scent: a combination of sage, sea spray, and something deep and rich and impossibly mine.

I go motionless.

The Alpha’s dark gold eyes flicker over my shoulder, toward the door leading outside to the back of the house.

Oblivious as ever, Fallon nibbles on her toast as though me and her mate weren’t just sniping at each other two seconds ago.

I can’t blame her. She spent twenty-five years believing she was human. Even now that she can shift, she doesn’t have the instincts to rely on her supernatural senses the way that Lucas and I do.

Right now, my instincts are telling me: mate, mate, maaaate.

Shit. I don’t have any time to push away from the table and disappear back up the stairs. And, holy hell, does it piss me off that if I could, I would, but all I can do is shift in my seat, staring daggers at the door right as it swings inward.

Tristan eases a few steps inside of the kitchen before his head swivels in my direction.

Our eyes lock, and all I can think is: you big liar, Jeannine.

Can’t stand this male?

If only.

He’s not quick enough today. Instead of keeping his emotions off of his face like he usually does, the way his blue eyes flash, white rolling over his gaze… it’s easy to see that the Beta also wasn’t using his sniffer.

He didn’t expect me to be here.

No, Jeannie, I correct. He doesn’t want me to be here.

Lucas nods at his Beta, breaking the awkward spell that had settled over the entire kitchen. “Glad to see you, Tris. I was just gonna go out for a run, see if I could find you.”

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