Page 4 of Due North

Tess Jarreau might not come up to my shoulders, but she packs one hell of a slap.

Footsteps storm toward me. Two sets of them. The Luna decided she’s not interested in dealing with me solo after all. Now, I’m standing in a near-empty office in their pack house. I would say I’m still coming out ahead.

Unfortunately, there’s still no sign of her.

Tasha. My wolf says her name with reverence. It’s been that way since I saw her picture on a stranger’s wall.

I’m not sure how they’ve managed to hide her from me this long—or why. I made sure no one knew I was coming for her so that she wouldn’t become anyone’s target. But it’s been weeks now without a sighting of her. They must be hiding her for a reason, and if so, I need to know who the fuck could be coming for her.

I’ll kill them. I’ll tear them limb from limb and burn their pieces to ash. Anyone who thinks to touch a hair on her head will answer to me first. It’s not the job of this Alpha or the one she answers to with her own pack.

I’m the one who will protect my mate.

I just have to find her first.

Finally, Dominic and Tess step into the office together. Both of them eye me wearily, and I can only imagine I’m returning the favor.

“Where is she?”

Dominic scowls. “I don’t answer to you, Glass.”

“Who sent you here?” Tess rests a hand on her mate’s arm, soothing him so he’ll allow her to speak for them.

“No one sent me.” I’ve told her this three times already as I trailed her to the pack house. I’m not sure why she doesn’t believe me seeing as I haven’t lied to her yet.

Dominic lets out the low, warning growl of a self-entitled Alpha. The wolves around here might cow to him, but I’ll do no such thing.

“My sister does not belong to you.” Tess says it with so much certainty that it threatens to bring my wolf to the surface. I’m not like these shifters. Not so fucking refined.

Dominic must sense the growing unease better than his mate. He jerks her away, nudging her back toward the doorway behind him. She bristles over it but doesn’t protest. She trusts him. I’m not used to seeing quite such an intense bond between Alpha and Luna—not one where he gives her protection and respect in equal parts.

I make note of it.

“You’ve come into our territory, hunting our family. Excuse us for having questions about your intentions. Especially in light of… recent announcements.” Dominic works his jaw from side to side.

Tess pales.

I can venture a guess about the direction of their thoughts based on what I heard from his Beta today. “My being here has nothing to do with the Luna Sovereign.”

“More than you think,” Tess mumbles, the words barely audible.

“What does that mean?” I shoot back.

The three of us descend into tense silence. For some reason, they’re being tight-lipped, and I don’t like it. There’s clearly an imminent threat to Tasha. Otherwise, they could have presented her to me immediately. Then I could be having this discussion with her instead of them.

Better yet, no discussion would be necessary. The second she feels our mate bond, she’ll be indisputably mine.

“I’ve been as respectful of your pack as I’m willing to be,” I grind out. “But I’ve practiced my patience for too long. Where is Tasha, and why are you hiding her?”

Dominic bares his teeth at me, and I can tell the two of us are at risk of coming to blows any minute now. I don’t like the game he’s playing. And he doesn’t seem to like me.

“Enough!” Tess snaps as the hairs along my arms start to rise.

We both jerk our heads to look at her as she glares between the two of us. I hope that Tasha will prove to be as fearless as her sister. I find it surprisingly endearing.

I haven’t met many Lunas that would stand beside their mate and withstand this kind of tension. Most packs keep their Luna close to the vest. Rewarding maternal instinct while expecting them to shut out the baser ones. The ones that make a wolf a fighter.

No one has ripped the fighting spirit away from Tess. I hope they haven’t taken it from my mate either.

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