Page 7 of Possessive Mate

“What are you trying to say, Jack?” Elena growled and Hanson rolled his eyes. Was she one of those wolves?

“What he is saying is, this rival pack takes great interest in females for all kinds of sick fuck reasons, and you should be careful,” Eddie snapped at his sister. “More than that, you shouldn't question an alpha that's just offered you sanctuary.”

“Jeez, Eddie, don't get your panties in a bunch,” Elena snapped back, and Hanson had to bite back laughter. He couldn't imagine many women talking to the big, broad-shouldered soldier like that.

“What Eddie says is true,” Jack added, and Hanson could practically feel his stern alpha look as he added, “These are my terms. Do you accept them?”

“Yes, alpha,” Elena said in a most formal manner.

“Good. Eddie will show you to a spare bedroom,” Jack said, and Hanson heard footsteps approaching the door. “He'll be responsible for you while you're here.”

Fuck! It was only as the door handle was turned that he realized he had drawn closer to the entry of the office again. In fact, he was practically leaning against the door when it popped open.

He just barely managed to throw himself backwards before Eddie and his sister stepped out of the room.

The way Eddie's face dropped when he saw him caused Hanson’s stomach to drop with it.

Of late, he had been getting on much better with everyone. Up until the night before, he and Eddie had even been close to being friends, joking around the full moon campfire as if he'd always been a member of the pack.

But the way he looked at him now made Hanson's skin crawl.

“What the fuck are you doing out here?” Eddie demanded, and the way he held out his arm when his sister stepped out of the door behind him suggested he wanted to keep her as far away from him as possible.

Hanson had to fight the urge to grab him and shove him out of the way. He had every right to protect Elena, she was his sister, but why did he feel the need to do so? They were packmates. They had been through a lot together since Jack had taken over the pack, living and fighting side by side.

Yet the comradery that had been growing between them seemed to have vanished.

Shit! What do I say? Hanson thought. He couldn't very well let on that he had been listening in.

Seeing the way Elena glanced between them, clearly sensing the tension, he cleared his throat and lied, “I was just coming to talk to Jack.”

Eddie raised one golden brow. The suspicion in his gaze made Hanson’s stomach twist.

He was used to some pushback from Jack’s senior packmates, but the hostility that Eddie was showing to him now was off the scale. The way he tightened his hands into fists and squared his shoulders worried Hanson.

And it seemed to worry Elena, too. There was clear concern shining in her crystalline gaze. Feeling the urge to comfort her, he took a half-step forward only to be barred by Eddie's arm.

The pressure of it made him step back into place.

“Stay away from her,” Eddie growled low in his throat, a sharp warning. “You get more than enough female attention as it is. She's off limits.”

Hanson was surprised by the words. He wouldn't have thought he got any more attention off the females in the pack than anyone else. In fact, he likely got less. Lately many of them had been paired and mated, including Jack, his beta Zander, and even Kane, the brooding biker wolf who seemed far too miserable half the time for anyone to be attracted to him. But then again, like every wolf, he was super attractive.

But there was still Eddie and Will and a few of the other Nightstar males who had remained even after Karl was killed. And they all got their fair share of the ladies. After all, werewolves had seriously high libidos, and until they found their fated mate, what was the harm in a little fun?

Still, there was something in Eddie's tone that worried him, something personal. What have I done to deserve this? he wondered, unable to imagine what might have set Eddie off. Surely it couldn’t just be his sister's arrival?

Hanson raised his hands as if in surrender and assured his packmate, “You have nothing to worry about from me.”

Eddie looked him up and down, scoffed, and then turned to Elena. “Come on.”

He held out his hand as if to take hers, but she just glanced down at his hand and grumbled, “What are we, ten?”

Then she turned and started down the hall, leaving Eddie to glower one final warning at Hanson before following.

“Let's get your things from the truck and I'll show you to your room,” Eddie offered as they turned the corner in the hall.

It was only then Hanson glanced after them, able to imagine Elena's perky little buttocks bouncing and swaying as she walked. He bit back a growl of frustration.

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