Page 4 of A Beta Protects

“Dom.” The front door slams open behind me, yet I still don’t take my eyes off Kira as Galen, my alpha, and the leader of Pack Hunt, joins me on the porch. “I thought I heard voices. You lost?”

Kira hesitates, as the bitter tang of fear clouds her sweet floral scent.

She doesn’t know Galen. It’s night, and she’s in a remote farmhouse in an equally remote part of town, coming face to face with a 6’4 heavily muscled guy whose every word sounds like an order. Because it is. Alphas like to give orders, and none more so than Galen.

“This is Kira.” I keep my voice light, casual. Not like I have my mate in front of me and my wolf isn’t howling and howling at me to claim her. I hunt for the right way to introduce them because there’s no saying mate in front of her without her getting in her car and speeding away. “An acquaintance. Kira, Galen is a friend.”

The silence stretches out even longer.

I feel Galen’s stare bore into my back. “Well, did she want to come inside? It’s brisk out here.”

We look at each other, Kira and I.

She thinks I hate her, and I’ve done nothing to make her think otherwise. She was friendly then, warm and happy to speak to her older brother’s newest friend in town. Now her gaze is wary.

When I say nothing, she retreats a step. “It’s okay. I’m not?—”

“Stay.” She jumps at my bark, and I force myself to calm down.

Relax. No desperate signs you want her to stay. Just… calm.

I tell myself I can be the same calm Dom who held Pack Hunt together when Galen nearly got himself killed. But I look at Kira, and I’m not sure if I know how to be calm around her.

I drag my eyes off her, darting a rapid glance at the open front door where Galen is eyeing me curiously as footsteps head this way.

“Is everything okay out here?” Sierra stops beside Galen, her mate. Her gray eyes bounce from me to Kira and back again.

I should have known she would want to find out what was going on out here.

“Fine.” I nod toward Kira’s dark blue Toyota. “Do you have any bags you need carrying in?”

I hold my breath as I wait for her response. The bigger the bag, the more chance she’ll stay. A weekend bag suggests a day or two. If I can get a peek in her trunk and find a suitcase…

“No. I’m only going to be here for the night.” She pauses. “I mean, unless you?—”

“It’s fine.” My voice is sharper than I intended, frustrated because I am still getting the sense she’s lying to me and I don’t know why she would. Just that it’s pissing me off.

I feel Galen’s stare intensify. His attention doesn’t surprise me. It’s not often I lose my cool.

Kira hesitates beside her car. “Look, if you don’t want me to stay, I can find a hotel for the night. It’s no big deal.”

I hold my arm out. “Come on. I’ll show you the spare room.”

After a long moment, she leans into her car and cuts the engine, emerging with just her car keys. No bag, no cell phone, nothing but her keys.

My eyes slide to the car as I frown. She’s in a long black denim skirt, white tennis shoes, and a thin, long-sleeve gray T-shirt. The sort of outfit might be okay in summer in Missouri. We’re in upstate New York, and nights are brisk. Where is her coat or even a sweater?

She slams the door shut and walks toward me. “Thanks for this. I’ll be out of your hair first thing tomorrow.”

I nod, saying nothing as I lead her into the house, a large seven bedroom farmhouse we restored from a crumbling down building into a home.

Galen is blank-faced as I pass him, and Sierra looks confused. Probably because there is no spare room for Kira to stay in. Just the couch in the den that folds out into a bed.

I don’t head for the den. My mate is not sleeping on a couch.

Conscious Kira is a couple of steps behind me, I lead the way up the stairs, grateful it’s late and I don’t have to introduce her to my packmates. We went on a long pack run earlier, which wiped everyone out. Breakfast tomorrow will be interesting.

I’d have been in bed already, but no matter how tired I am, or how exhausting a day has been, I can’t go to bed until I’ve sat on the porch for an hour or two.

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