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And this isnota dream.

So who the hell is touching me?

The hand moves lower and I twist around, up out of bed in one fluid motion.

It’s the middle of the night, and even though I left the drapes covered, the moonlight spilling into the room is more than enough illumination to see what I thought I would.

A strange woman in my bed.

“Who are you?” I demand.

The blonde woman sitting up in my bed, clutching the sheets to her chest, is beautiful. But she is not Aerin, and no one is more beautiful than my mate.

“Lisa. Franklin said…”

Her voice trails off as I stalk to the doorway, flick on the light and wrench the door open, holding it. “Get out.”

I should have known Franklin would have something to do with this.

Lisa stares at me with big green eyes. “But I…”

She drops her head, covering her face as she sniffs.

I look at her, then at the open door.

I sigh, letting the door close as I walk over to my dresser and toss her the shirt I was wearing before. “Here. I’ll turn my back so you can put that on.”

She stares at me through watery eyes. “You don’t want to see?”

“No,” I tell her firmly. “I have a mate. I definitely donotwant to see.”

And I turn my back, crossing my arms as I wait for her to cover up. Nudity isn’t a big deal to most shifters. Or ordinarily, it wouldn’t be. But in this case, the more clothes she is wearing, the better.

A few seconds later, she clears her throat. “I’m finished.”

I turn around.

She’s still sitting in bed, though no longer holding the sheets up to her chest. Seeing her in my shirt is not a comfortable experience. I’m used to seeing Aerin wearing one of my shirts. Not another woman who clearly was sent here on some mission to seduce me.

“Why are you here?” I ask, though I think I can guess.

“Franklin sent me,” she says. “He said you’d settle in here faster with some help.”

Why does everything that man do make me want to choke the air from his lungs?

“I see.”

She gives me a wary look. “But he was wrong. Wasn’t he?”

“He might have had a slightly higher chance of success if he didn’t try to send a woman to my room on the same day I said goodbye to my pregnant mate.”

She winces, and at least has the decency to look embarrassed. “I, uh, I didn’t know.”

“But you were at the meeting in the dining room,” I tell her. I hadn’t seen all the women, but I’d glimpsed a few near the back.

She shakes her head. “No. He said I didn’t have to go. That I should prepare for tonight.”

So much for Franklin being keen to hand me control of the pack. He wants to keep at least some control for himself.

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