Page 66 of The Wolf

“Is that really necessary?” he commented dryly.

Damien grinned and shrugged a green scaled shoulder. “I hate clothes. Why should I wear them when I don’t need them?”

The dragon had a point. Why was he being so sensitive?

Pyre cleared his throat, pulling Brine’s attention back to his oldest friend. The kitsune’s amber eyes studied him thoughtfully. “What’s going on? I can almost feel your hackles from here. Has Old Mother done something?”

“No, but we have a complication.” A complication that he didn’t want anywhere near him and yet … all he could think about was how perfectly he fit between her sweet thighs.

Get your head out of the gutter.

Damien inhaled deeply. “Well, that’s potent stuff. What female has you panting over her? You smell of lust.”

While being Talagan had its advantages, rarely was anything private. He gritted his teeth as Pyre rubbed his nose and tried to hide his smirk.

“I am not panting over anyone, butweallhave a female problem.”

“Do tell,” Pyre drawled.

Brine stomped over to the small cabin and plopped down on the old porch, the wood groaning ominously. He clasped his hand between his knees and sighed. Time to come out with it.

“My grandmother’s assassin—Red, as you know her—cornered me yesterday. She knows of your involvement.”

Damien cursed. “I presume she wants something?” the dragon surmised.

The tips of Brine’s ears heated, and he said gruffly, “She wants to mate with me.”

“As in…?”

“A bond. Not just sex,” Brine replied, his voice rough.

Pyre whistled. “And the plot thickens. Do you believe Old Mother set her up to this?”

Anyone else would be offended at the idea but not Brine. His grandmother was a creature of darkness that bent anyone she wanted to her will.

“I thought about that, but I don’t believe so. She hates humans. Shifter and human pairs are forbidden in Betraz. Anyone caught fraternizing with each other are punished severely. No, Scarlet wants this for herself.”

“Do you think she will cause problems for you?” Damien asked. “It would be easy to make her disappear.”

Brine snarled, surprising himself, and abruptly cut off the sound as two pairs of eyes narrowed on him. He cleared his throat. “She has been trapped in Betraz for a long time. I think she wants the same things as we do but is going about it a different way. I can’t be completely sure what her motives are.”

“Then we proceed with caution,” Pyre replied, brushing off the front of his coat. He lifted his gaze and stared Brine down. “A bond is for life. We are not asking you to make that sacrifice for our cause. You do not need to take a mate because Old Mother demands it and you want to take back the pack.”

“If this goes wrong, I won’t live long enough to regret my decision.” Brine rolled his neck. “And if we do succeed, and Scarlet is on the wrong side … well, she will be imprisoned, and I will live my life like I expected. Alone.”

“Then it is settled,” Damien commented. “I will return to my duties and my wife.” He smiled once before sprinting away, the woods swallowing him up.

Brine turned his attention back to Pyre, who had been uncharacteristically quiet during the entire exchange. He glared at his friend. “Out with it. I know you have something to say.”

Pyre pushed away from the tree he was leaning on and approached, sitting next to Brine. “We are pack.”

“We are,” Brine echoed, side-eyeing the kitsune.

“You’re courting danger with your Scarlet. You need to tread carefully.”

“You don’t have to worry about me. I have it under control.”

But do I really?

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