Page 18 of Protector Dragon's Shattered Mate

It wasn’t his place to pressure her to stay. “If you’d like to meet Rhett, then we can get in touch with him.”

“You said it was a motorcycle club. How does that work with shifters who stay in their animal forms?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve only met Rhett at the festivals; I’ve never traveled with him. But I think he sticks to very rural areas.”

“I’d like to meet him.”

No! Mine.His dragon rumbled.

He had to get away from her before he lost his temper. He did not want her to leave. And he sure asfuckdidn’t want her to go live with Rhett. The very idea of it was choking him. This wasn’t rational. He knew that. He kept his composure. It wasn’t her fault. She had every right to leave. But his dragon was clawing at him.

“I will get you in touch with Nora. She will know a lot more about this than I do. I know Kellen has some extra phones. I’m going to get one of them and get it set up for you.”

“Wait. Levi.” She got to her feet. “I don’t need it right now.”

He loved the way his name sounded coming from her mouth. But he could not wait. “I’ll be back. Don’t leave the property.”

Twenty minutes later he was back with an older phone. “You can go meet Rhett anytime this week. He’s not far away, and he said it’s a good time.”

“Oh,” was all she said.

“I will be escorting you,” he said.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I’ll be going with you. You aren’t familiar with this part of the country, and many of the people in the area where we’regoing are hunters. They’ll be armed and equipped to hunt a large deer, and they might try to shoot you.”

If she refused to let him take her, then he’d follow her. There was no way in hell she was going off alone.

13

Sofia

It was clear that something she had said upset Levi. He seemed to get agitated when they talked about Rhett.

That was unfortunate. She did not like to upset him. But it did not change her mind at all. She was going to meet Rhett and get a chance to observe his clan members who never shifted into their human forms. She wanted to see how they interacted with their fellow shifters.

She was reluctant to meet Kellan and his family. Especially after the way that they had first encountered her. But Levi insisted that it would be fine.

They were scheduled to leave to meet Rhett the following day. He and his crew were currently in Hot Springs, Arkansas. So, they were only about a six-hour drive away.

She’d been sleeping in the barn but finally Kellen came out himself. He didn’t come too close. She knew he wasn’t scared of her but trying to give her space. All these shifters had been so damn considerate. It made her wonder if they were the norm or if they were the anomaly. Was her clan just that fucked up? She was beginning to suspect that they were.

She thought that with time, Levi would get over whatever he was angry about. Or whatever he was upset about. But he didn’t get over it. His anger faded, but in its place was a polite coolness. He was still unfailingly kind to her, and considerate, but the warmth was gone. Why was he so upset? He barely knew her.

Yes, they’d kissed. But it’s not like he was in love with her. He couldn’t be.

She wanted the warmth back. But it wasn’t fair to push him, not when she was leaving. But she wanted to. Her few days with Levi had been some of the best of her life.

Don’t get sucked in. He doesn’t belong to you. This isn’t your clan.

He’d invited her to stay, but she was an outsider. She always had been, and she always would be. And a tiny part of her thought maybe she’d get trapped again and used for her magic. She didn’tthinkthat was likely, but she hadn’t thought the wolves were doing that either. She had to stay alert.

The fact that he didn’t want her to leave alarmed her. The wolves hadn’t wanted her to leave either. Not that she thought Levi was evil, but she didn’t want to learn another hard lesson. If Levi let her leave, then she’d gain a little more trust.

Was she being paranoid? Maybe. She was okay with that.

The same was true with this Rhett shifter. She wasn’t going to give him her blind trust. She had spent her life far too naive. It was time for her to grow up and get wise to the ways of the world. She’d escaped, but that was only the first part of being independent. Once she’d escaped, she’d been lost, until Levi stepped in. If he hadn’t, where would she be now? Still cowering in Kellan’s field. But she couldn’t keep relying on him. She had to learn to take care of herself.

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