Page 7 of Rejected Wolf Mate

His eyes narrowed. “But—”

“The longer you two argue, the longer it is before we can get Klyte,” Tannen pointed out.

Rand grumbled, folding his massive arms but not arguing. “Go get him, then,” he said. “I’ll wait outside if I have to.”

I rolled my eyes. In another life, his protectiveness might have been sweet. Now, it just made me bristle.

Jameson closed the door behind me, leaving me in a tidy office with a massive window that looked out on a lake, frozen over in the winter cold. For a moment, I stared out, admiring the beauty and tranquility, then I snapped to. I had a job to do, and access to what was presumably Jameson’s office. I shouldn’t waste the opportunity.

I hurried to the desk, skimming through the documents there. But after a couple of minutes, before I could really get searching, an argument broke out outside of the office.

“I’m going in there with you,” Rand’s voice said on the other side of the door.

“You sure that’s wise?” Tannen asked. “If you ask me, she didn’t really seem all that pleased to see you.”

“So? My ex shows up with a bunch of bruises and a hurt arm, and you don’t expect me to want to find out more.”

“I just think it would be better if—”

“Fuck that.”

“Rand, for once, stop being a stubborn ass,” a new voice drawled.

“I’m going in there. You want to try and stop me?”

“Considering I’ve been asked to check on a patient, I’d rather have all my limbs intact,” the voice retorted. “And I think you would, too.”

Rand grumbled. “I’m still going in.”

“Rand—”

“Just let him. He’s going to listen at the door, anyway,” Tannen said. “Which, by the way, pretty sure she’s been able to hear everything for the past couple of minutes.”

A sigh, and then the doorknob turned. Jameson stepped in, along with a lean, sharp-faced man clutching a medicine bag. Rand entered next, followed by Tannen.

“Do you mind?” Jameson asked, gesturing at the entourage. But I knew what he was really asking.

“Even if I said no, he’d stay,” I said. “He’s stubborn like that.”

“Some things never change,” the new guy said cheerily. He had the same voice as the new one I’d heard outside. He came to crouch next to me. “I’m Klyte. Jameson wanted me to take a look at you.”

“Astrid.”

“So I’ve heard.” His lips quirked upward. “Rather loudly. All right, I’m going to roll up your sleeve here and get a better look at it.”

“What happened?” Rand demanded.

I shot him a look, then launched into my story. “I’m really not sure,” I said. “I was out hunting and got grabbed by a group of shifters.”

“Any idea why?” Rand asked.

I pursed my lips. “If the questions they asked me were any indication, they seemed to think I knew one of the Silver Wolves. Specifically you.”

Everyone in the room stilled. Even Klyte, who had been working meticulously since he got here, stopped and looked up at me.

“I’d heard you’d gone military. I didn’t think you’d gone spec ops,” I said conversationally.

Rand had paled, eyes wide with shock. For once, he lost the ability to speak.

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