Page 37 of Remy & the Wildcat

“One-hundred-percent,” Thyme said.

“We’re going to stand near them and make sure they don’t try anything funny,” Marty said. “Good luck.”

The trio left and she and Remy followed them into the backyard. She and Remy headed to the porch where Liam was standing, and they joined hands as they had back in the clearing by the bonfire.

At least this time she wasn’t getting roasted by the flames because the bonfire had been so large.

Glancing at the crowd of pride families, she saw smiling faces. Completing the joining ceremony was the very best thing she and Remy could do. It showed the pride that they weren’t so easily cowed.

In her wildest dreams she hadn’t imagined taking over the pride would be so dangerous. She was damn thankful to have Remy on her side.

Finding her half-brother, stepmom, and Jacob in the crowd, she gave them a smug look, then grinned inwardly as Mila, Marty, and Dana stood by them. They were definitely not getting away with anything else tonight.

Eat a dick, Leif.

Satisfied that they could tell she knew what they’d been up to, she turned her attention to her sexy mate.

He’d saved her life tonight, so not only was he the best-looking male she’d ever seen in her life, he was also strong and protective, and she couldn’t imagine a better male to lead with.

She was falling for him.

Her wolfy truemate.

Thyme was a bundle of emotion as she and Remy made their way back to the house after the joining ceremony. She’d seriously missed her dad tonight. He should have been presiding over the joining ceremony, not Liam and especially not Jacob, who’d chosen not to join Liam when the ceremony was continued at the house. She was angry and hurt that her half-brother had tried to have her killed, or at the very least gravely injured, all for a position of authority over the pride. It certainly didn’t seem like something worth killing for.

While she was excited to be interim alphas with Remy and thankful that things were moving forward with only a few weeks to go until the full moon, she couldn’t shake the feeling that they weren’t out of the woods yet.

The elders had agreed to punish Brentiss when he was healed, and she and Remy were going to talk to him in the morning and get him on record saying it was Leif or someone on his side of the family that had engineered the situation.

Remy opened the door to the house and paused, looking back at her. “Stay out here for a minute.”

He stepped inside and left the door ajar. She watched as he made his way through the family room and could hear him scenting the air. He would pause occasionally and tilt his head, indicating he was listening intently.

Once she lost sight of him as he moved deeper into the house, she smiled as she realized he was checking the house to make sure no one had been inside while they’d been gone.

He appeared a few minutes later and then walked the perimeter of the house. Once he was back at the front door, he said, “All clear.”

“I’m glad,” she said.

He pushed the door open and then surprised her by sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her across the threshold. She giggled and held on as he maneuvered through the doorway, then kicked the door shut. He tilted her toward the door so she could lock it.

“Tonight,” he said, “I almost lost you.” He stared down at her, the amber of his wolf shining in his intense gaze. “Whether he actually intended for you to be killed by Brentiss’s actions, or just harmed, doesn’t really matter because it was clear that he doesn’t care about your welfare.”

“I think he’s so blinded by wanting to be alpha that he doesn’t care that I’m his blood relation, he just sees me as an obstacle.”

She’d realized that tonight, when she saw how Leif had treated her potential death: with a smirk.

She shivered as she thought about how callous it all was.

“If my dad were alive, he could put a stop to Leif’s behavior, but without an alpha in official capacity, no one can make any declarations about anyone in the pride, and Brilla isn’t considered an alpha without her mate as she’s not the one with the potential to inherit the position…Leif is.”

The same would happen with Remy once they were officially alphas. If something happened to her, he couldn’t continue on as alpha. And only an alpha could stop Leif from trying to take her out.

“He’s a coward,” Remy said. “He’s working in the shadows and trying to get others to turn against you, to discredit you. He won’t challenge me directly because he knows he can’t win.”

“But he can sure challenge me.”

Remy snarled softly and kissed her. “I won’t let him challenge you. We’re going to stop his attacks and get to the full moon, then once we’re officially alphas, we’ll kick him and everyone else on his side out of the pride and start over in Copper Creek.”

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