Page 21 of Primal

Rob nodded for one as well.

They stayed quiet as I filled their mugs from the tap. I wasn’t sure if they really wanted the drinks or if Rob was giving me time to get my shit together. Or let me sweat because I felt like a teenager who got caught stealing his parent’s car for a joy ride.

I set a beer in front of Willow first then Rob. While she took a sip from hers, he ignored his.

“It seems that Marion never had anyone visit her today.” Rob obviously had no interest in pleasantries. This was the second time today he’d had to deal with a McIntire.

All the racket, all the waiting customers, slipped away. Rob’s gaze pierced me in place. He wasn’t angry. I’d never known our alpha to doangry.But he sure as hell wasn’t happy.

“No,” I replied.

“Got a good reason?”

I set my forearms on the bar, leaned in close. “She’s mine.”

Not a chance would I sayfated matein this crowd. While there was a mix of shifters and humans in the crowd, it stayed in balance because the humans had no clue as to the mix of bar-goers.

Willow let out a little gasp and grinned.

Rob didn’t offer as much emotion. Only one dark brow winged up in response. “You sure?”

I glared. “Seriously?”

He shrugged. “You’re old. Maybe your scent’s broken.”

Willow laughed again. “Rob,” she scolded.

I continued to glare. I didn’t dare disrespect my alpha by saying something I would regret, so I stayed silent.

“Now we know why Tyler’s kiss with her was off.”

I scrubbed at the not-dirty bar top with the rag instead of punching my alpha in the nose. “Don’t ever mention Tyler, kiss, and Riley again. Please,” I added through gritted teeth, out of deference.

Now Rob flashed a grin, which was a rare thing. It was his turn to lean forward. He didn’t have to do more than murmur since I had exceptional hearing.

“So you plan to claim her. Hard to do when she’s not here.”

I met his gaze. “She’s bowling with friends.”

“Shit.” He sighed then kissed Willow’s temple. “Stay here for a few, angel.”

She nodded, then Rob snagged a stool for her to sit on. Without saying more, he turned away from the bar and weaved around the high top tables.

“Shit,” I repeated. Signaling to my bartender that I was stepping away, I followed my alpha to my office.

“I’ll claim her, Alpha. But she’snineteen. Still a virgin,” I told him once the door was closed behind us, cutting the noise down to only the thumping bass of the latest song.

He leaned against my desk and crossed his ankles. “Not surprising. I imagine her dad keeps the boys away at gunpoint. You have a helluva hurdle with both her age and the deputy.”

I groaned. “I know.”

For shifters, losing your virginity only meant you had sex for the first time. As simple as that. There were no flower petals–except when it happened on a full moon run out in a field. There was no candlelight. It wasn’t…special.But I knew humans made something of it. Based on the way Riley was begging me tofuck her, she didn’t seem to think it was all that pivotal either.

Except I doubted she thought it would be a forty-year-old guy doing the deed. My wolf snarled at the thought of someone else ridding her of it. Like Matt or Ethan, twoboysI wanted to take out in the back country and teach a lesson on how to treat a woman. Any woman but Riley. Then I’d pull out some diagrams on female anatomy, so they got their shit together.

“I wanted her memory wiped. You disobeyed a direct order from your alpha.” Rob sliced his hand through the air. “She knows about us and is unclaimed.And she’s not tied to your hip.”

Instantly, I thought of her tied to the bed and willed my dick down.

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