Page 62 of Betrayed Alpha Bride

“Good thinking,” I say. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Galen snorts softly with amusement. “I could take ten of them easily by myself. My worry is that if I get out there and catch one of them, the others will run, and I won’t find out what they’re up to.”

“Okay,” I answer. “That makes sense.”

I’m standing so close to Galen, I can feel the heat rising from his skin. He’s only wearing loose pajama pants, and my eyes keep darting over to linger on his muscular chest, sculpted arms, and broad shoulders.

Watching him take out ten enemy wolves would be quite a thing to see.

Stop it!

We hear the scraping noise again, and Galen points. “There, see? It’s the garden shed door. Someone left it unlatched, and I just saw someone go past.”

I shudder. “What are we going to do?”

“In a minute, I’ll go out. I think I’ve got a pretty good idea where they are, and I can corner them.”

We watch for a couple more minutes, and I still can’t stop myself from looking at Galen.

Getting close to him is a mistake. Even if he does want to be with me, it’s out of duty, not love, and there’s a part of me that just can’t be convinced.

I take a step back to put some distance between our bodies. My head and my heart might be steadfast in keeping space between us, but my body still hasn’t gotten the message.

“Okay,” Galen says. “I’m going out. Stay right here and get ready to call for help.”

“You got it,” I say quickly, grabbing my phone.

Galen opens the door silently, then slips out, staying close to the side of the house until he gets close to the bushes that line the yard. He drops out of my sight as he rounds the far corner and runs towards the back of the shed.

The door scrapes and bangs again, making me jump. I’ve barely recovered from the fright when growls and barks erupt from behind the shed. I take two steps forward, desperate to find out what’s happening, but terrified to leave the safety of the house.

I have to stay here for Nico, and to call for help if Galen’s injured. But I have no idea what’s going on back there.

Then I hear a series of sharp yelps, and Galen herds two wolves into the yard. He shifts back to his human shape and points at the two small wolves.

“Change now and identify yourselves. I don’t know you, which means you’re intruders on my territory. You’ve got exactly five seconds to explain why you’re on my personal property before I tear you apart.”

The two wolves shift into males who look very young, maybe even still teenagers. Both of them also look a little rough, as if they’ve been on the run.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Galen demands.

“I’m real sorry,” the dark-haired one answers. “I was snooping around looking for stuff I could use to make a fire, or other tools. We’ve been living rough for a while, and I didn’t mean any harm.”

“Yeah,” the other one says. “I’m sorry, too. We shouldn’t have been hanging around your place or stealing.”

I frown and cock my head to the side slightly, put off by their tone.

They just don’t sound sincere.

One of them glances at me, and I see a quick grin before he hides it behind an innocent expression and looks back at Galen.

Did I really see that?

The kids are still making protests, and Galen waves his hands at them. “Okay, okay. How many of you are there? I heard a few running off when I pounced. Great loyalty there from your pals.”

“They’re just scared,” the dark-haired one says, standing up. “I’m Dan, and I’m the leader, kind of. I’m sorry, and I really mean it. I shouldn’t have been snooping around. But since we’re here, I’d like to ask if we can camp on your territory.”

Galen stares at him. “How many of you are there?” he asks again.

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