Page 14 of Lost Mate

He heard footsteps outside the door.

“Ross?”

“Yeah, we’re coming.”

“I’m here to take you back to the ranch.”

That wasn’t good. Ross felt Dylan’s muscles lock under his arm. “Wait here,” he murmured.

He stood, feeling the start of a headache brewing. He had to be dehydrated now. When was the last time he’d drunk anything? Ross pulled sweats out of his pack, yanked them on, and opened the door, unsurprised to find Zeke leaned against the wall, his arms folded.

“We’re not running anywhere,” he pointed out, scowling at Zeke. “We don’t need a bodyguard.”

“I know.”

That bleak “I know,” worried him.

“Are you gonna tell me what they found out?”

“I don’t know,” Zeke admitted. “Eli and Niles have been in meetings all morning. They got fed up waiting for your sorry ass to turn up.”

Ross flushed. He had no right to sleep away the day.

“Hey.” Zeke wrapped a large hand around his bicep. He made two of Ross. “You’re still my brother, okay? And my teammate. And now my packmate.”

“I know.” Ross let all his skepticism show.

Zeke grimaced. “Owen is too.”

Ross stared at him, and Zeke shrugged. “He understands what it’s like to be rejected.”

“Dylan is my mate. I’ll stand by him, no matter what.” He said it loudly so Dylan could hear. For that, he received an eyeroll from Zeke and a mental one from Dylan.

“Let’s get going before Eli believes you’ve run away and sends the rest of the Cavalry after you,” Zeke suggested. It was more of an order really.

An hour later, Ross thought running away would have been his best move.

Chapter Five

“No.” Ross said it flatly, making it clear there was no discussion. “Where Dylan goes, I go.”

“Your job is here,” Eli barked.

They sat around the kitchen table again, Dylan to the left of Ross, their legs pressed against each other for support. They faced a wall of grim faces, Eli and Milo, Joe and Cal, Zeke and Owen. Niles, Eli’s partner sat down one end of the table. The older wolves were nowhere to be seen. Cal had said Joe Senior wanted to show his mate around Sapphire Ranch.

Well, that one was simple.

Ross leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “I resign. With immediate effect.”

“I told you he’d say that,” Niles said to the table.

Eli scowled at him, but Ross noticed he didn’t seem surprised. He’d been expecting that answer. That realization caught in Ross’s throat. Did they want him to leave the Cavalry?

“You can’t take Dylan away from Ross,” Cal said quietly. “They are fated mates. They’re supposed to be together. You’d fight fang and claw if someone threatened to take Milo from you.”

Ross was grimly amused to see Eli’s involuntary gesture toward Milo. Eli was a damned possessive bastard, and they all knew it.

Cal gave a sharp nod. “Exactly.”

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