Page 53 of Cupid's Pack

Sailor stands.

“Don’t go far,” Willem warns.You’re coming back, right?

Yes, I promise,I tell him across mind link, careful to be sure the words only go to him and not Sailor. Let the man sweat a little after leaving me to wake up in such panic.

I clutch the heart stones close to my chest and storm away. I get a couple of funny looks from a group of shifters I pass that are sitting around a bonfire. I’m sure it’s because my hair must be insane. Plus I’m wearing sleep shorts with unicorns on them and a black crop top that doesn’t match at all. The thick band of the sports bra I threw on in my haste pinches, and I twist in an attempt to relieve the slight sting of pain. I push the thought away as I pull the stones closer to my body–I’m sure the fact that I’m holding them like treasure probably doesn't help either.

I only make it a few cabins away when I become hyper-aware of the fact that Sailor is following me. I can sense him back there, and when I glance over my shoulder, he’s hardly attempting to be discreet.

I walk a little faster, but I know it won’t deter him. And as annoyed as I am with him, I’m glad he follows.

My wolf feels safe with Sailor, the same way I do with Willem, Mason, and Ian. There’s something about them that makes me feel secure in my mate bond, unlike how I felt with Jakob. It’s probably the fact that none of them seem to be complete monsters.

The jury is still out on whether there’s any real potential with Sailor, though. Willem, Mason, and Ian all seem to have settled in easily. They haven’t questioned the fact that I’ve kept them all like trading cards—collecting, collecting, collecting with no explanation of my plans for them. Technically, Sailor hasn’t either, but I worry it’s coming.

Maybe that’s a teeny bit of the reason I freaked out so hard on him. It’s too easy to picture him leaving.

This morning, for a second, I really thought he was gone, gone. And honestly, I don’t know how I would handle him leaving when I can feel the potential. I got a taste of what it could mean to have all of my mates, and now I want all four of these men.

My wolf jolts me out of my rambling thoughts, pulling my attention to the woods in front of me. I realize I very nearly stepped off campground territory again inadvertently.

Sailor stops behind me a second later, his hand grazing my arm before he pulls away. “We have company,” he growls.

Jakob steps out of the nearby tree line with a sneer on his face. No wonder my wolf pulled me up short. She was paying more attention than the rest of me. It’s funny that I’m better at hand-to-hand combat when she’s the one that pays better attention sometimes.

It’s preternatural,she growls as the blond asshole paces toward the campground territory line.

“Another new bodyguard, I see.” Jakob cracks his knuckles as if he thinks he’s intimidating. “It’s cute that you think anything is going to stop me from getting to you.”

Sailor tries to take a step forward, but I put my hand on his chest and turn into him.

“He doesn’t fight alone. You can’t see them, but I’m sure there are plenty of shifters nearby to fight his battles for him.” I say the words loudly and clearly, with a tone full of derision. I want Jakob to hear exactly how weak I think it makes him to have to bring an army to try to force a woman to submit to his will.

“That’s what an Alpha does, bitch,” Jakob snarls. Clearly, I’ve hit a nerve.

I shrug, which only seems to piss him off more. His whole face turns a dark red color followed quickly by an angry shade of purple right before my eyes.

“I would tell you to ask your new friend there, but Kazan’s pack has a new Alpha now. Isn’t that right?” Jakob looks past me to Sailor, and I glance up at Sailor wondering what that means.

“Tell her,” Jakob continues to goad. “Tell her how your daddy lost his pack to another Alpha and you were too weak to do anything about. Ran off with his tail between his legs.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Sailor’s voice is low and dangerous. Clearly, Jakob knows who Sailor is, but he must not know everything. He’s greatly underestimating Sailor’s physical strength.

If I let Sailor go, I have no doubt he would tear Jakob to pieces before Jakob’s pack could even react. I’m almost tempted. But there are consequences to killing another shifter, and I’m not prepared to let Sailor face them. Not when those consequences would mean me losing him. I might feel more on the fence with him than the others, but I’m totally willing to tumble to the side that lets me keep him.

I carefully shove both of the heart stones under one arm so I can wrap the other around his and burrow closer to his side.

I’m here, I remind him, wanting to keep him grounded. Jakob is an asshole, and I don’t doubt he pulls the worst out of those he encounters. I won’t let Sailor pay the price for my steadfast refusal to submit to the Alpha standing before us.

I’m not going to put you in danger by losing my head, he reassures me.I’ll never put you in danger, Cupid.

This time, I don’t correct the nickname.

Jakob isn’t the kind of man to take a hint, though. The longer Sailor and I stand here, the more brazen he seems to become. I’m not sure what his plan is if we don’t cross out of the neutral zone, but I’m sure I don’t want to find out.

“There are other ways of flushing you out.” Jakob leans against a tree like this is a simple, casual conversation. “For instance, that mother of yours is pretty defenseless without you. She just hasn’t been the same since poor dad died, huh?”

I snort. “I would hardly call my mom defenseless.”

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