Page 8 of The Wolf Prince's Mate

I looked at Charlie.

He lifted a shoulder. “Hunter said his brother is going with you.”

My eyebrows lifted higher.

“He told me how far away I need to stay to avoid the rut’s effects,” Clay clarified. “He’s not pimping you out.”

I scoffed. “He couldn’t if he tried.”

“You’d castrate him.”

“You’d hold him down for me.”

“Damn straight.” He patted the side of his car’s door. “Ready? I hear we’ve got to move.”

“Almost.” I opened my car’s back door and grabbed two sets of spare clothes, then strode around to the passenger side of Clay’s car.

At least Hunter wasn’t going to be there while I suffered.

Charlie lifted a hand, and I tossed him my keys. He would make sure my car got back safely. I wasn’t particularly attached to the vehicle, but since I basically lived out of it, I wasn’t about to leave all my stuff outside the studio.

“I’ll get it back to the Lodge. Good luck,” Charlie called out as I took the seat next to Clay’s.

“Thanks, Charles.” Clay saluted him.

I smacked him on the arm and leaned over so I could see past him. “Thank you!”

Charlie gave me a nod, and Clay backed out smoothly.

“I’m surprised Hunter’s letting you inside his mansion. He always makes me take the back entrance into the basement.”

“He’s always grumpy. It’s one of his best qualities.” Clay winked at me before turning his music up. My breathing grew easier with the steady beat. We both liked rock. “And we’re not going to his mansion.”

“We’re not?”

“Nah. I have my own place.”

“In Greenview?”

“Down in Stray.”

“Stray?” My nose wrinkled. “That tiny town down in the valley? Isn’t the population like twenty-five?”

“Yup. Nothing but farmers, cows, and trees down there. I own a couple hundred acres. It’s all gated off, and Hunter put up some cameras.”

“For your wolf?”

He dipped his head.

He’d never told me the details, but it was common knowledge in the pack that his wolf was kind of insane. Insane enough that Clay didn’t ever shift in Crimson River, or anywhere near the pack.

I expected my wolf to be terrified of his answer, but surprisingly, she wasn’t. I guess all the time I had spent with Clay made her more comfortable around him, because she wasn’t even cowering.

“It’s even bigger than Hunter’s mansion, huh?” I joked.

Clay grinned. “You’ll see.”

He turned the music up louder, and I relaxed as we wove through Crimson River, then out of town.

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