“Yes,” he replied.

“Convenient that she doesn’t know where he is,” scoffed Connal, one of the Wolf Guard currently bracketing Rafe.

“Don’t speak about her like that,” Binder warned and felt his Wolf rise within him.

A small hand grabbed his, and he looked down, stunned to see her pale fingers wrapped around his darker hand. And tightly, too. Fuck. That did something inside of him. Pulled at something long dormant. An instinct. A need. Call it whateveryou wanted, but Binder felt powerfully confident their hands belonged just like that.

Entwined. Together. Mine.

Shannon straightened in her seat.

“Mr. Sidak has been quite thorough in his telling you everything he knew of the situation, but I have not yet shared with him that there are places I know of my father might be hiding. Places only I can get to,” she announced, capturing the attention of every Wolf ear in the room.

“How could I allow you to simply go, Miss O’Doyle? You’ve admitted to trapping your people and your casino on my land with Fae magic, and from my understanding only the fae who cast the spell can break it—is that correct?”

“Yes, that is so. I give you my vow, Alpha?—”

“Not good enough,” Rafe said, cutting Shannon off.

The rumbling growl that followed his statement seemed to shock everyone. None more than Binder when he realized it was coming from his chest. He cleared his throat, shaking his head slightly. Then, he returned his attention to the small hand clinging so assuredly to his.

“I see,” the Alpha said, his lip curling on one side. “Balvinder, I am assigning you to be her guard during her journey to find her father. You have three days to bring him back or Miss O’Doyle will receive her father’s punishment for disobeying both me and the Shifter Council.”

“Three days?” Shannon gasped. “But time doesn’t work the same in the Fae Realm! I can’t guarantee?—”

“Three days, Miss O’Doyle. That is all the time I have for this mess your father created.”

Just like that, Binder and Shannon were summarily dismissed, and they were once again situated in his car. He hadn’t forgotten the rumble of her stomach earlier and was pulling into his favorite spot in the parking lot of the WolfDown Diner not five minutes later. The silence between the two of them ended the second he turned into the lot. Shannon was adamant they didn’t have time for this, but Binder was actually incapable of driving away.

“Are you mad? You want to eat now?”

“We need to eat,” he said.

“I’m not hungry,” she tried, but he shot her stomach a knowing look when it rumbled again.

Like a goddamned alarm clock. The fact she was hungry bothered the fuck out of him and he felt like an utter failure for making her wait so long while they got through that whole ordeal with Rafe. What kind of male didn’t feed his mate? Disgust roiled through him and a thousand memories of his father putting his mother’s needs before his over the years filled his brain.

“Bin—”

“Wait for me,” he growled, walking around the side of the car before she could finish her protest.

“I said we shouldn’t stop now. It’ll be dark by the time we get to where we need to go?—”

“I don’t care if it’s dark when we get there, Shannon. I need to feed you.”

He took her hand and pulled her out of the care without stepping back, forcing her to rub against him as she slid down. Christ, that felt good. Her soft against his hard was the perfect foil and had his Wolf panting for more. Big blue eyes met his, and he saw her tremble slightly before she ducked her gaze and took her lower lip between her teeth.

“I’m sorry I made you angry,” she whispered.

Binder frowned. He made her upset, and he wanted to kick himself for being such a heavy-handed jerk. He cupped her check, lifting her face until she looked at him directly, rubbinghis thumb against her lip until she released the bruised flesh there.

“I’m not mad, Butterfly. I just need to feed you. Will you let me?”

The air felt thick and heavy, and Binder practically fucking swooned on his feet. He bent his head, brushing her nose with his, those plump perfect lips so close. But her stomach growled again, and he stepped back, forcing himself to relax and not make things any more strained between them. Her cheeks were pink, and he couldn’t help himself as he tugged on her hand, he beamed, and it was all for her.

“Is that my big brother with a grin on his face?” Eira chuckled from her seat at the counter while her big hulking mate and husband stood on the other side, his chef’s hat sitting jauntily on his head.

“Wassup, sis?” I asked, bending to kiss her cheek as I pulled Shannon close to my side. “This is Shannon. Shannon, my kid sister, Eira.”