Page 30 of A Beta Protects

“Fifty percent is not generous.”

“Thirty. Maybe. And that’s only because we have a human in the house who might wonder about that growling.”

He opens his mouth, then closes it, before shrugging. “Fair enough. So…”

I resume watching the streets. “I don’t know. It’s hard to focus on anything except the fact that as soon as Kira learns what I am, she will walk.”

How do you tell someone that you aren’t fully human? And that they’re your fated mate, a person you never believed you would ever meet? How can she believe the bond exists when she can’t even feel it?

“She might stay even knowing what we are.”

I turn away from a young couple entering Lacey’s, meeting Galen’s gaze. “You sound pretty confident of something you can’t know will even happen.”

“I can be confident because Kira must have been running scared. Bryce gave her a reason to be afraid, but you haven’t. She ran right here, to you.”

If Wylder wasn’t dead quiet, we wouldn’t be talking about any of this here. But I need to figure out what to do, and more importantly, what to say. The longer we don’t find Bryce, the more likely he’ll pop up when we’re least expecting it, and I might have to shift in front of Kira to save her.

I’ll do it without hesitation. Her life means more to me than anything. But if she sees something that shouldn’t exist, namely people who can turn into wolves, she will run.

“I think you should tell her,” he says quietly.

Did I hear him right? “You think I should do what?”

“I think you should tell her,” he repeats.

Has he forgotten that we don’t tell anyone what we are? Ever. That our very survival depends on the fewer people knowing we even exist.

“I thought you’d be encouraging me to keep my mouth shut.” Most alphas would. Scratch that. Most shifters would.

“Kira is your mate. Normal rules don’t apply. The sooner you tell her, the sooner you can get started showing her she has no reason to fear us.”

“She will leave me.” And I can’t let that happen when I thought I’d lost her forever. I sat on the porch waiting for her, hoping she would look at the address on the postcard I’d send her every year, and come to me.

But I never believed she would. Over the years, I pictured her getting pregnant with Bryce’s kids, and then throwing my postcards away.

Now she’s here, I can’t do anything that would make her leave.

I need to take my time, figure out exactly what to say, and how to say it so she won’t immediately run. I’d rather do that than risk losing her forever.

And if I lost her forever…

The future doesn’t bear thinking about.

There’s no sign of Bryce in Wylder.

Galen and I sit in the car for as long as we can without attracting attention, then we get out, and do what I had thought was a stupid idea: we go for a walk up to Lacey’s.

Nina has just brought us over a coffee as we sit at the window giving us prime view of Main Street, when the front door swings open and Shawn steps inside.

I pray he’s here to pick up a cup of coffee as a midday break before he leaves again.

His head swings one way, scoping out the space, then the other, before fixing on us. I mentally curse when he walks over.

“I was hoping to speak to you,” he says, pausing beside our table. “Do you have a minute?”

“Not really.” I give Galen a pointed look, since we are here in town for one reason. That reason is not to have a coffee break with the sheriff. It’s to hunt Kira’s husband. My wolf growls. Ex-husband, I mentally correct myself, and my wolf settles down.

We can’t do that with Shawn close by.

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