Page 45 of Alpha Rising (Secrets of the Northland Shifters)

She rose from my chair. “I still need to report what happened to John Riordan.”

“Right.” I frowned, remembering how I’d once overheard Sarah’s phone conversation with the deputy marshal who’d placed her in witness protection. At the time, I’d thought he was her boyfriend.My competition.

Even though I now knew differently, I still didn’t like the thought of her talking to a man I knew nothing about. Maybe that made me an asshole, but there was little I could do about it with the mountain lion prowling so close to the surface.

Sarah shook her head in annoyance, easily reading my mood. “Even if last night had nothing to do with DaBruzzi, I still need to let John know. In fact, I should have called him already.”

“Of course,” I said, clinging to the edges of my rational mind and trying to sound civilized, despite the growl stuck in my throat.

“I’ll just be in my office.” She tipped her head in the direction of our shared wall. “Alone.”

My lion paced unhappily, but I nodded and shoved down the impulse to follow, silently taking a seat behind my desk.

Sarah gave me a look that told me she knew exactly what inner war I was waging. It probably glowed in my eyes.

Movement outside my window caught my attention, and I turned to see my little sister getting out of a stranger’s car in the pre-dawn light.

Normally, I would have busted her at the back door as she tried to sneak in. There’d been a moment last night when I didn’t know where she was, and I thought she might have been taken too.

When that fear had been put to rest, I’d switched to being pissed she wasn’t there for our moment of family solidarity as we decided what steps we needed to take in regard to Sarah.

This morning… Well… I was in no hurry to deal with my sister’s sneaking around. There were other conversations this family needed to have.

I texted my siblings, including Melanie:See me as soon as you’re awake.

I could already hear Sarah’s voice coming through the wall as she reported her recent misadventures to this deputy-marshal person.

When her voice grew louder and she said, “Iwascareful, John,” her palpable defensiveness made my skin itch. I was torn between my desire to stick close and protect, while at the same time needing to run off the built-up energy.

A presence appeared in my doorway. I assumed it would be Melanie—the only family member I knew for sure was awake, but it was Angel.

He took one step into my office. “Good—” He cut himself off, drawing to an abrupt halt. “Morning.Jesus. Alpha much?”

I grimaced. I was well aware of the turmoil brewing inside of me. I didn’t realize the pheromonal scent of it had leaked to the outside. Angel ducked his chin, and nearly bowed under the weight of it.

“I assume Toby filled you in on last night?” I asked.

He winced and adjusted the small cardboard box in his hands. “Yes, and on a separate note, I was planning to take the evidence we collected from the woods down to the police station this morning to file a report. I got your text; did you want me to wait?”

“No, but what do you make of this?”

He kept his chin tucked, but his eyes rose to meet mine, if only briefly. “Can I enter safely?”

Apparently my territorial impulses were putting off some serious danger vibes. No other male—not even a brother—would come near me without permission.

“That bad?” I asked.

“That bad,” he confirmed. “Sam and I were talking last night after you and Toby left. We think you should pull the trigger on this. Sarah’s already proven she’s strong enough to keep up with you.”

“You meanputup with me?”

“That too. If you don’t take her as your mate officially, you’re likely to implode.”

“Sounds messy.” My attempt at humor was bone dry.

“For all of us,” Angel agreed. He stepped sideways, moving cautiously into the room. When he reached my desk, he set the box of surveyor’s tape and broken camera bits on the corner and looked down at the paper in front of me. “What is it?”

“This is the remnant I found near Dad’s body.” I picked it up, then set it back down on top of the printout, lining it up.

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