Page 28 of You're Not My Mate

“I can take care of myself,” she said.

“But, you don’t have to. I’ll be there to keep an eye on everything.” He even gave her a wink, to which she looked toward the Alpha.

She didn’t mind Rocco being with her. There would be jobs he needed to do.

Alpha sighed. He wasn’t happy.

“You’re right, but I’m not happy.” He reached into his jacket pocket and handed out the keys. “I suggest you take multiple tranquilizer darts with you, just in case, and make sure you call us if there is a single difference in his personality.”

Rose nodded, taking the keys from him. She spun on her heel and made her way out of the clubhouse. Agatha and Amelia were there, and she gave them a wave. Both women looked mighty disappointed, but she offered them a smile.

“You know, they’re trying to be friendly,” Boyan said, hot on her tail.

She’d walked all the way to the clubhouse and had no choice but to walk all the way through the forest, heading toward the cages.

“You don’t have to follow me,” she said.

Rocco surprised her even more by reaching out and taking hold of her hand, locking their fingers in place. He totally surprised her, and at first she didn’t know what to do. She was a little taken aback.

“What?” Rocco said. “You don’t mind me holding your hand, do you?”

“No, no, I don’t mind.” It had just shocked her that he would do that.

They walked, hand in hand, for several feet. It was cold, and the air was getting ever colder.

“You know, I like him,” Rocco said.

“Graham?”

“Yeah, he’s a good guy. Seems to know his stuff, you know.”

Rose nodded. “I hope we’re all wrong about this, and that Milton purposefully tried to kill others that might have been getting too strong or something. I don’t know. I don’t know what was going through a madman’s mind when he decided to start experimenting.”

“You know, I have wondered if he’d mixed some of our genetics with that of a bear.”

This made Rose stop. “A bear bite kills us.”

“That I know, but it doesn’t mean Milton was aware of it. Think about it, it might be why some of them don’t make it. A bear bite isn’t exactly a nice ending, is it.”

She couldn’t deny that. A bear bite was exceedingly painful, and a quick death was much nicer.

“None of this makes any sense,” she said. She rubbed at her temple.

“It’s hard to get your head around, and trust me, I’ve had a little more time than you to try and understand it.”

Rose sighed. It felt good, holding his hand, which was strange.

“Why did you offer to come and stay with me?” she asked.

“Alpha wasn’t going to allow you to take Graham without a guarantee that you had one of the guys with you. Seeing as you’re my mate, I don’t want to think of any other guy getting close to my woman, and besides, it means we’ve got a reason to hang out as well.”

Rose laughed. “You know, telling people we’re mates would be reason enough for most people.”

Rocco nodded. “Yeah, but that is going to come with a whole heap of questions, isn’t it, and it’s not going to put me in a good light.”

“So, all of this is to make sure you cover your ass?”

“Nope, but I know I’ve got a lot to make up for, and if we do that without prying eyes, I think that will help us.” He stopped and pulled her in close. “Don’t you want that?”

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