Page 7 of Mitchell's Untamed Mate

“How?"

She squared her shoulders with determination and took a deep breath, clearly readying herself to begin a long, well-practiced speech.He leaned his shoulder against the tree he was standing next to and studied her.He liked the way her eyes flashed and her cheeks turned rosy.She must have sensed he was thinking of something other than their conversation because her cheeks turned a brighter pink.

She ignored it and answered his question, “There's a transition location within this National Park where you and the rest of your people could stay until a permanent location is completed.It will be close to home and more familiar to you than the permanent compound, but it's still relatively easy to defend, and it has infrastructure already in place, so we can give you supplies without attracting notice?—"

“You want to cage us.”Mitchell shook his head vehemently.

“No!No, you could leave.I swear it.You could leave—it's just...well, it would not beadvisableto leave, not at first.The goal is to welcome you into normal society.Before we can do that, we have to make sure you and your people are safe.Once shifters become used to the idea of there being humans, they will be more accepting and think of you less as… well, as novelties.Until that point is reached, it will be necessary to protect you.We can’t do that if you stay at your current location because any assistance we provide could be traced and we wouldn't be able to protect you as well out in the open forest.So we have a transition compound ready for you and then there would be a permanent one with a lot more space and security?—”

Mitchell narrowed his eyes."No."

"It's a big change, I know.You don't have to answer right away?—"

"No."

“Are you always so stubborn?”she snapped, exasperated again.

An unexpected chuckle slipped from him.He pointed out, “I’m not the one venturing into the forest alone, chasing ghosts.”

Her lips twitched, her eyes roving over his face with frustrated appreciation.She dropped her arms to her side and shoved her hands into her back pockets as she released a deep sigh.Curious, he stepped away from the tree and approached her.She didn’t move as he circled her.

“You’re not a ghost,” she murmured.

“How do I know you aren’t one?”he asked, stopping mere inches in front of her.He didn't much care that he wasn't making sense, he couldn't stop himself from daring her to touch him.Even so, shock still coursed through him when she placed her hands on his shoulders, leaned forward, and… paused.

Confusion, vulnerability, and uncertainty warred within her eyes.The unusual thread of awareness he'd felt when he first saw her tightened, wrapping him like a moth in a spider’s web.He swore he could almost see the silver strands of the web glistening in the midafternoon sunlight.

He lowered his head, capturing her upturned lips in an exploratory kiss.Her lips parted under the pressure of his, and he took command.He slid his hands along her hips under her jacket and pulled her against his body.She would feel his arousal, just as he could taste hers in her shuddering breath and soft lips.

Sanity was slow to return.She was a shifter… anOther.He was the leader of his clan.They were natural-born enemies, regardless of what she said.He had a responsibility to his people to be careful.Thiswas a disaster.He released her and stepped back.

“Go back where you came from, Tracy Bearclaw, and forget about us.”

Mitchell turned to walk away, but Tracy's hand shot out and she gripped his arm.He looked down at her.Her face was flushed.Her eyes were soft with confusion and desire.Her lips were swollen from their kiss.

“What about the dangers?”

“If the shifters come, we will deal with them,” he replied before striding back the way he had come.

“You’re wrong, you know.You don’t understand how dangerous it will be,” she called after him.

Tracy gritted her teeth and continued following Mitchell, the man who, for better or for worse, was going to be stuck with her as his annoying shadow.She pushed aside a fern and kept pace with him.With her curiosity on high alert, the scientist side of her meticulously analyzed every detail about him, searching for clues and insights.

Not just scientist, her grizzly snickered.

Shut up.

He good.I keep.

You know it’s not all about you, right?she silently retorted.

The warm, fuzzy feeling inside her gut when she first saw Mitchell had spread to the tips of her fingers and toes.As a shifter, she recognized what it meant.She had found her mate.

And he thinks I’m his enemy.

That was a sobering thought.She stumbled back a step when the bottom of her jacket caught on a saw-vine.With a displeased growl, she forcefully tried to yank it loose.

“You’ll rip the material if you keep doing that.”

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