Page 5 of Dutiful Wolf's Mail Order Mate

The urge to bare my throat, to show my submission in the most primal way possible, was dizzying. My wolf whimpered eagerly, while the human side of me balked.

I was nobody’s plaything. Nobody’s little mate.

Shoving the instincts aside with a growl, I lifted my chin in a silent challenge. “Something I can help you with?”

Kai made a soft sound behind me, and Rafe blinked, seemingly shaken from his own daze. His gaze flickered over my shoulder. “Your brother’s room is ready. Orion can show him now if he’d like.”

In the room beyond, the named Orion twiddled his fingers and winked. Kai would either love him or kill him.

Stony-faced, I stepped aside in very clear indication that I wanted Kai gone. My brother looked uncertainly between Rafe and me.

No one moved, and the awkward silence stretched between us.

Rafe’s eyes narrowed. I watched the muscle in his jaw tense as he clenched his teeth.

He was sizing Kai up, assessing the potential threat. And from the tight set of Rafe’s shoulders, he wasn’t pleased by whatever conclusion he’d reached.

Great. Just great. Exactly what the doctor ordered, what we needed, please sir can we have some fucking more. Whatever doom and gloom phrasing I could possibly pull out of a hat wouldn’t come close to the disaster that would unfold if Bowen got his hands on us again.

The silence spiraled on until it started to feel suffocating. It had to stop. I had to make it stop and do the thing I signed up to do.

Rafe opened his mouth, but I beat him to the punch. “Was there anything else?”

My brother’s eyes bulged when he realized I spoke to him. He cocked his head and studied me for a beat, then simply said, “No. Enjoy your evening.”

Rafe, of course, blocked the door for an unnecessary extra moment before stepping aside.

Fucking alphas. I had the sneaking suspicion Rafe would have liked to throw Kai down and piss circles around him just to remind everyone who was boss.

And then we were alone.

CHAPTER THREE

MADDY

My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic bird desperate to escape its cage. I could feel Rafe’s gaze on me, heavy and assessing. Judging. What did he see when he looked at me? A means to an end? A broodmare to secure his legacy?

I turned slowly, meeting those icy blue eyes head-on. He stood with his arms crossed, biceps straining against the sleeves of his shirt. The scent of him—pine and leather and something uniquely male—filled my nose, making my head spin.

Damn him for being so hot. Damn my body for responding to him like a cat in heat.

“So,” he said, voice low and rough. “Here we are.”

I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the way my skin prickled with awareness. “Here we are,” I echoed hollowly.

Silence stretched between us again, thick and uncomfortable. I could practically hear the gears turning in his head as he searched for something to say.

“I know this isn’t ideal,” he finally settled on. “But I promise, I’ll do everything in my power to make you comfortable here.”

A harsh laugh escaped me before I could stop it. Comfortable? How had Kai put it, in a strange pack, mated to a man I barely knew? With said brother already up to no good, and the biggest threat our pack faced ready to tear us to shreds?

Sure. Comfortable.

Rafe’s jaw tightened at the sound. “Something funny?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Nothing at all.”

Another beat of silence. Another moment where I questioned every choice that had led me here.

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