Page 7 of Stay With Me

Right. As one of the pack enforcers, Duke takes on the role of protector for the rest of us. The deltas and gammas who don’t want to have anything to do with pack politics or supe concerns. We live our lives in a secluded community, but we can do that because we have a powerful Alpha to lead us, and the more dominant wolves to keep us safe. Between prowling the mountain and patrolling the borders of our territory, anyone who wants to cause trouble has to go through them first.

Unless, of course, they’re a pack traitor. Someone like Shane Loup or Aidan Barrow… those who smiled to your face while they were trying to figure out where the best place was to stick the silver knife in your back.

They didn’t have to sneak onto the mountain. They were already here.

Another shake. Duke’s brow furrows, but I change the subject quickly before he gets concerned with just how dark my thoughts are these days.

“Is that where you were last night? Pack duty?” I ask casually.

Probably a bittoocasually.

Most decent Alphas take the safety of the pack seriously, and Ryker is no exception. There’s never a moment that there aren’t at least three wolves on duty, checking the border. That means overnight, too. Since Duke wasn’t outside of my cabin, I just assume that he must have been on.

And doesn’t that just prove that I’m still as selfish as ever? Duke could have been anywhere. He has a small single-room cabin set on the eastern side of the mountain, and he’s a high-ranking pack member. I know he’s not mated, but he could still have a female he meets with in his free time.

I’m out of the loop. Before California, I never paid that much attention to any other male than the Alpha. After, whenever I thought of Duke mounting one of the unmated females in Accalia, I had a hard time controlling my claws. I ruined my manicure enough times when they would unsheathe without any warning that I stopped polishing my human nails.

But I had a hard time getting the image of Duke—big, brawny, handsome Duke—in bed with someone else.

Now, I’ve never mated myself. I had waited for Ryker to take me as his mate, and when he refused, I still held out hope he might grow desperate one full moon and settle for me anyway. The last Luna before his mating ceremony with Gem, I even followed Shane’s assurance that, if I threw myself at him when the moon fever was high, he might fuck me just because I was willing.

Of course, I didn’t know then that Shane was manipulating me the same way he was screwing over the pack and our Alpha. He wanted Gem for himself, and he arranged it so that I was at the Alpha cabin when she came looking for Ryker while the Luna was at her peak. But Ryker wasn’t there—he was locked in the basement of his personal cabin, shifter chains restraining him from going after his mate—and that was the last chance I had before he banished me for trying to come between him and Gem.

I was only gone for a couple of weeks before I begged to be allowed back home. The next full moon, the Alphas were joined, and I was abducted a few days later. After how long I spent terrified that my first mating would be a forced one, I still haven’t found a male to attempt since I’ve been back.

I’d never tell another soul, but last month? That was the first time I wondered if maybe… maybe Duke would be interested. He was unmated. I’m unmated. Shifters go wild when they feel the pull of the full moon, and sex is nothing if not a biological urge. Growing up, I’d heard whispers about how powerful the need could be, and I finally felt my first hint of it then.

As if I needed another reminder that I was never meant for Ryker. Pride and envy had me sure that I’d be a good match for him, and Luna knows he’s a gorgeous male, but I never felt like I’d go to my hands and knees for him willingly.

But when I look at Duke—

Whoa. I’m looking at him now.

More importantly, he’s looking atme.

“Yeah, actually. I wasn’t supposed to do the overnight, but Benjy’s pup had her first shift. He was celebrating with his mate, so I took over for him.” He pauses, his forehead furrowed. “Why did you ask?”

“Uh.” Crap. How am I supposed to answer?

“Are you… did you need me?”

Double crap. I don’t want Duke to think that hehasto take care of me. That’s something I’d only ever expect from a mate, and I’ve given up hope that there’s some male in Accalia who wants to put up with what it means to choose Trish Danvers as his.

So I shrug. “Sometimes you’re there. Sometimes you’re not. I just noticed you weren’t, that’s all.”

It’s not all. See? This is why I go along with his choosing to stay quiet. I open my mouth, I say something that would have been better left unsaid.

“Oh, Trish… you had a nightmare again, didn’t you?”

And I just did it again.

Good thing that being a she-wolf means that I’m quick on my feet. When Duke’s soft murmur reaches me, I stumble over my feet, but I regain my balance before I land on my butt.

Duke’s quick, too. Though I sense his hand moving to steady me, he pulls back before his skin makes contact with mine. That’s a surefire way to insult a supe, and unless I give him permission to touch me, I could lash out at him if he catches me off guard.

Would I? I… I don’t know. Not on purpose. Not Duke.

But I might. Especially now that he’s mentioned my nightmare.

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