Page 17 of Lost Mate

Eli inclined his head. “Understood. We’ll protect our pack the whole time he’s here.”

“Oh goodie,” Owen muttered without enthusiasm. “More babysitting.”

Zeke bent down to whisper something in his ear and Owen shivered, his skin flushing. The wolves around the table clearly heard what he said by their sudden smirks, even Dylan. Ross didn’t need to know what the huge man said, the effect on Owen was enough.

Eli sighed.

Ross lost his mate somewhere between the end of the meeting and lunch. Dylan had been dragged away by Cal to find him more clothes and he’d been hauled into a meeting with Eli and Niles in what had been Joe’s childhood bedroom. Ross sniffed at the musky aroma. It smelled very familiar. Zeke and Owen hadn’t been just sleeping the night before. Eli and Niles didn’t seem to notice.

Ross had always liked his bosses. The two men were polar opposites. Eli was intense while Niles was a joker, but when it came to business, they were both focused. And right now, all that focus was on him and it was too much, particularly as he hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before.

“Let’s talk,” Niles said.

“About?”

“Your scorched earth performance in there.” Eli jabbed his finger at the door.

Ross gave him a steady look. “There’s nothing to discuss.”

“You can’t just resign on the word of a man you’ve known for five minutes,” Niles protested.

“He’s not just any man. He’s my mate. No one’s gonna hurt him.”

“You can’t know that,” Niles said.

Eli huffed. “I feel the same way about Milo.”

“Milo didn’t go dark for weeks.”

“Actually, he went dark for years,” Ross pointed out. “He wasn’t out as a shifter or as gay. We don’t call him the hidden wolf for nothing.”

“That’s true,” Eli admitted, although he scowled at Ross.

“And Milo is the one resigning as sheriff,” Ross continued. “So what’s the difference?”

“He’s not a traitor,” Eli snapped.

“You don’t know that Dylan is,” Ross shot back. “You know nothing at all.”

Niles leaned back in his seat. “He’s got you there.”

Eli’s scowl deepened. “Which is why we need you to help us find out.”

“How?” Ross demanded. “What do you expect me to do?”

Ross found Dylan on the verandah, leaning on the rail, staring out over the paddocks, his expression pensive. “There you are. Do you want to eat?”

“I’m not hungry,” Dylan said, sounding distracted.

He gathered Dylan into his arms, pressing a kiss into the nape of his neck. “Did Cal manage to find you more clothes?”

“I have enough flannel shirts and jeans to last me until I die. I didn’t know they came in that many colors. Did he buy up Target?”

“Cal seems to have them on demand. He did the same for me when I started working on the ranch. He takes care of us all.”

Dylan sighed and leaned back against him. “Interrogation over?”

“For now. They’re kinda annoyed at me for resigning.”

---