Page 58 of Lost Mate

It didn’t take a genius, and Ross was close to one of those though he hid it well, to work out Eli was scared for his pack. Niles had no idea just how dangerous the hunters were. He hadn’t seen it in action like the rest of them had.

Ross was interested to know more about the armor. Was this against the special bullets? Would they protect shifters too? No, because the shifters would be in their wolf form, and they couldn’t or wouldn’t wear protective armor.

“You’re expecting trouble,” he said. “Is it the hunters?”

Niles looked up at him. “Yeah. Possibly. We’ve heard chatter.”

“Why are you letting the run go ahead?” Then it clicked. Ross narrowed his eyes. “Are our mates bait? You’re putting them in danger? No! That won’t happen.”

“We all are,” Dylan said quietly.

“You should have told him,” Eli said. “Ross, all the wolves agreed to do this, including yours.”

Betrayed, Ross turned on Dylan who flinched at his mate’s anger. “You knew about this?”

“They asked me today. They gave me the choice of not going on the run.”

“You didn’t tell me? I’m your mate, or isn’t that important when it comes to decisions?”

Dylan fidgeted. “They asked me not to tell you. Eli and Niles thought you’d stop me going.”

“It was a test,” Niles said. “To see if Anderson could be trusted as a Cavalry member. He passed.”

Ross gave a derisive snort. “You failed. You all fucking failed me.”

Angry beyond belief, he pushed his way into the office, leaving Dylan behind. He felt the hurt coming from his mate, but he didn’t care. The run was over as far as he was concerned. They could put themselves up as bait. He’d be gone as soon as they were away. If they didn’t trust him with intel like this after years of working for the Cavalry, then what was the point? What was the fucking point?

Chapter Seventeen

The door had barely closed behind Ross when it burst open. He was lucky not to be sent flying. His mate rushed in, the door banging against the wall. Ross didn’t turn to look. He knew it was Dylan.

“Don’t you dare leave me,” Dylan burst out. “You said you’d stay with me forever. I trusted you. My wolf trusted you.”

Ross headed toward the bedroom to pack his bag. “You lied to me. You didn’t tell me about the danger. I trusted you. More fool me.”

“I didn’t want to lie to you.” Dylan sounded broken and it took everything in Ross to lock his muscles and not turn to face him. Everything in him wanted to take his mate in his arms. “I knew they were testing me. I thought if I passed this test, finally they would trust me and things can get back to normal for you.”

“And how did that work out for you?” Ross said sarcastically.

He grabbed his pack and started stuffing all the clothes he knew were his into it. He had more at the ranch house. They could post them or trash them. He didn’t care.

“I passed my employer’s test and lost my mate,” Dylan whispered. “Why are you so angry?”

“Work it out.” Ross clenched his jaw, vanishing into the bathroom to pick up his toiletries. Dylan would have to buy his own instead of sharing his. He zipped up his pack, returned to the bedroom and stopped, rocking back on his heels.

A large gray wolf faced him, hackles up, teeth bared, the green of his eyes barely visible. Ross’s line of escape was cut off. He wasn’t going anywhere unless the wolf allowed it. Hair stood up on the back of his neck as he faced down the wolf.

“Dylan?”

He made his voice as non-threatening as he could, but the wolf stayed where he was, head down between his shoulders, glaring at Ross. Fight warred with flight, but his leg muscles were frozen in place. In his wolf form, Dylan was larger and could eat him in three bites, maybe four. Maybe that was an exaggeration but not by much. Ross and all the Cavalry men had been trained to respect the wolves and always take a step back.

But this was his mate. His Dylan.

Not yours. You’re leaving me. You told me that.

The pain in Dylan’s thought wrenched at Ross’s heart, but he had to go. He couldn’t stay where his employer, his pack, and his mate lied to him. None of them trusted him.

Footsteps sounded in the small hallway. Dylan swung around to stand between Ross and the newcomers, growling, his hackles so large he looked twice the size. Now he appeared to be protecting Ross from the intruders.

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