Page 101 of Protected Promise
“You make me happy,” she said.
“Get to work, Dereck. We’re doing this.”
As talks began about a new venture that I knew was going to secure finances for the Pack for a very long time, I couldn’t help but stare at my mate in amazement. God definitely knew what he was doing when he brought her into my life.
“I’m going to have to file some paperwork with the humans. The place is going to need a name. You don’t have to think about it right now,” Dereck said.
I shook my head. “Kaitlyn’s Place.”
He grinned and nodded.
“It’s perfect,” she said. “Thank you. I love you so much.”
I kissed her for all to see. “I love you, too.”
Our table fell silent and I assumed it was because we were on full display for the Pack to see. They had never even witnessed me dating anyone before, so I knew it would take a little getting used to. I wasn’t going to hide my affections though.
Dereck caught my eye and nodded to something behind me.
A few growls echoed through the room.
My head whipped around to find Cadence and Abby standing there staring in surprise.
Before I could address the situation, Kaitlyn was on her feet and walking towards them.
“Please come, have some dinner,” she said.
“They aren’t welcome here,” Margie said sharply on Tito’s behalf.
Kaitlyn glared at the couple. “They have done nothing but help me. The least we can do is show them a little hospitality.”
“But they tried to poison you,” Margie insisted.
“That wasn’t Cadence and Abby, that was Clover,” she informed them.
I sighed. I had been so caught up in Kaitlyn’s full recovery and the distractions she provided that I hadn’t fully addressed the Clover issue yet, though the other girls had informed me that she had left in haste shortly after breakfast.
“Please, everyone listen up. Kaitlyn’s right. Cadence and Abby have my full protection as long as they remain in my territory. No one will threaten them here. Are we clear on that fact?”
Heads nodded around the room. “Yes, Alpha,” a few people mumbled.
“It is my understanding that she-wolf Clover was the cause behind the delays in Kaitlyn’s recovery. She, and shealone, is responsible. I have it on good authority that she has fled my territory and I’m in the process of identifying what Pack she belongs to in hopes of addressing it with her Alpha. In the meantime, I’d like a few of you to head out this evening on a run. See if you can pick up her scent and make damn sure she isn’t still in our territory.”
“What should we do if we find her?” someone asked.
“Bring her back to me,” I said in a lethal tone.
I still didn’t know what I would do if she returned, but the more I thought about it, the better terms I was coming to the idea of having to kill her.
“She’s from Maxwell Pack,” Abby blurted out. “Or at least that’s what she told me.”
“Thank you, Abby. I’ll reach out to the Alpha there right away.”
Tito and Shawn finished eating and rose as Shawn started barking orders to the others and they both began assembling parties for the hunt. If Clover was still in the area, they’d find her.
I knew I should have done this the second I returned with the proof I needed. Kaitlyn definitely had ways of distracting me from even my most focused goal. I’d been so surprised by her recovery that finding Clover had taken a backseat to my mate’s needs.
It was time to rectify that.
