Page 20 of Remy & the Wildcat

“I’m Remy,” he said.

“Leif.”

Remy moved on from the interaction with Leif by looking past him to Liam and Jacob as he took his seat. “She came into my former pack’s territory last night. I was visiting my family and we crossed paths in the woods, I brought her to my family’s home last night, and we journeyed here today.”

Leif straightened his shoulders as if he was trying to look bigger, but Remy didn’t pay him any attention.

“That’s great news,” Liam said. “Leif, sit down or leave.”

Brilla made an annoyed sound at the mild reprimand from the elder but didn’t say anything. Leif cleared his throat and sat by Brilla on the couch.

“Well, it’s certainly interesting that it happened last night,” Brilla said.

Brilla’s tone made Thyme take pause. She looked at her stepmom, bleached-blonde hair pulled into a high bun like a prima ballerina, making her sharp features even more prominent. Thyme had always thought she was trying to look regal, like a queen ruling over her subjects, more than an alpha female or even a mom.

“What do you mean?” Thyme asked.

“Well,” she snorted delicately, “you were told you had to find a mate before the next full moon, and none of the males in the pride want to mate with you. Then you come home in less than twenty-four hours with a male who you claim as your truemate?” She made an exaggerated I-don’t-believe-this motion to Jacob. “It’s a little convenient, isn’t it?”

“How the hell else do you think truemates meet? Of course it was fate that I wandered through Allen on the full moon and Remy just happened to be there when he’d been traveling for months. It doesn’t make it any less real.”

She didn’t particularly like Brilla’s tone.

“He’s a wolf,” Leif said.

“I am. Is there a problem?” Remy asked calmly.

“We’re wildcats,” Leif said. “I’m sure she told you she’s next in line for alpha, but she can’t take over unless she’s mated. Without a wildcat mate, it would figure she’d go slumming to the wolves. I heard they’re not picky at all.”

Thyme jumped up as Remy stood, and this time there was nothing calm about his demeanor.

“If you have a problem with me, come right out and say it, but I won’t allow you to disrespect my mate or our bond.”

“You’re not even mated,” Brilla said. “How serious can you be if you didn’t even mark each other?”

Liam stood and hissed, his eyes flashing to the red of his cat. “That’s enough. Thyme is next in line for the position of alpha female in alignment with our laws, and I will not allow anyone to treat her or Remy disrespectfully.” He glowered at Leif and Brilla. “You pushed the issue, both of you, as did Jacob. You demanded that Leif be allowed to challenge Thyme for the position once he turned twenty-one, which I’ll point out won’t happen for two more weeks. According to our laws, she was granted a month to take a mate. She’s done just that, but now you want to treat him like garbage and I won’t stand for it.”

“Leif should lead, not her!” Brilla said.

Liam let out a low roar. Remy positioned himself in front of Thyme, shielding her from whatever might happen, and right then, she fell in love with him a little bit.

Okay. A lot.

He was sexy and protective.

Be still her freaking heart!

The silence in the room was broken only by the sound of the grandfather clock ticking.

Leif stood and stalked away.

When Brilla looked like she was going to get up, Jacob shook his head and she settled back on the couch.

“Now,” Liam said, sitting and taking his mate’s hand, “before we go any further, you will be mating and marking each other before the full moon, yes?”

“Of course,” Thyme said. “We just met last night, it didn’t seem right to rush into things.”

“I understand,” he said. “When you’re marked and mated, we’ll have a joining ceremony in front of the pride and you’ll be interim alphas, shadowing me and Jacob as we transition the authority to you. Then on the full moon, we’ll have your ascension ceremony and you’ll take over.”

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