Page 47 of Alpha Bond

“I’m working toward my future. One that will benefit me and our pack.” I tug free and start striding again. If I leave her behind, that’s her own problem. I start looking around for a safe place to shift. It’s been too long since my wolf ran free. And something is making my senses prickle.

“Your future?” She jogs to catch up. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“It means what it means.” I pause near a cluster of rocks and start tugging my shirt over my head.

“Jesus wept! You’re a real motherfucker, you know that?”

“And you have a real foul mouth.”

“Never bothered you before.” Casey is toeing her boots off as she casts cursory glances around us. “There’s something off about that female. I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to, I do. And I like everything about her.” I stop talking as I realize that it’s true. I’ve spent the past week taking in every detail about Sierra Barr – I’ve had no choice. But it hasn’t been a hardship. And I like her…a lot. Her scent, the way her hair moves, the flicker of green in her eyes. The way she pinches her lips when she’s worried about something. Even the little huffing sounds she makes when she’s sleeping. I like it all.

It takes me by surprise.

“I still don’t trust her. She hasn’t given us the full story, and that makes me suspicious. But you’re so wrapped up in pussy you can’t think straight, and…” Casey trails off and narrows her eyes at me. Then she steps closer, her nostrils flaring. “Wait.” She sniffs me. “You’re not fucking her.”

“That’s none of your business.”

“How the hell can you be telling everyone you’ve forged a bond when you haven’t even dipped your dick in the well yet?”

“Don’t talk about her like that.” It sets my teeth on edge. If I wasn’t already preparing to shift, I know my wolf would be surging to the fore. The animal in me likes my new mate as much as I do. And that’s odd since there’s been no hint of her wolf side since she dropped into my world.

“There’s something funny about this whole thing, Jagger Law. It’s all happening too fast. And if you haven’t even boned her yet—”

“For fuck’s sake, Stone, if you don’t quit it, you and I are going to have to settle this the hard way.” I run a hand over my hair. “I don’t need time to know that this is right. I can feel it. And you know that’s how we wolves are. The bond calls us. When you know, you know.”

Holy shit. Did I just say that?

Because each time it goes through my mind, it feels more right.

Casey glares at me for a moment, our eyes locked in anger. She’s stripped down to her underwear, unhooking her bra to let her tits swing free. As usual, they leave me cold. Yet the thought of getting even the slightest glimpse of Sierra’s cleavage makes my blood heat.

When you know, you know…

I turn away from her as I unbutton my pants and yank them down my legs. Already, my thighs shimmer with fine silver-gray hairs. The prickle of fur sprouting has my skin on fire. I prepare for the familiar flexing and contorting of bone and sinew that comes before the change.

“You can’t just brush this off, Jagger.” Casey won’t fucking let up. “You know her story. What’s she hiding?”

“She’s not hiding anything at all, goddammit. Let this go.” Even as I say it, I can’t ignore the nagging memory of how Sierra had managed to avoid another trip to see the doctor before I left. I’ll have to remedy that as soon as I get home. I grind my teeth in frustration and feel the sharp edge of fangs grating together. Even if I wasn’t about to go into shift, I think my wolf would be making his presence known. Casey’s pissing me the fuck off.

When I turn back to her, her eyes are flaring. We’re both stark naked, facing each other in the arid landscape, and just like always, there isn’t the faintest spark between us. No wonder it’s been so easy to keep my mating urges in check all these years. I’ve surrounded myself with pack mates who’ve done nothing for me physically.

Now that Sierra’s in my world, it feels like I have a constant need roiling deep in my gut.

When Casey doesn’t say anything, I huff out a breath. “Look, there’s more to it, okay?” I ignore the flicker of victory in her eyes as I admit it. “Have you noticed anything odd about Titer lately?”

She cocks her head. “Titer?” Her brow furrows. “What’s this got to do with you and your dick issues?”

“Fuck it, Stone, this is serious! Tell me you haven’t picked up anything strange.”

“You mean stranger than you losing your mind over a female we don’t even know?”

“Did you wake up this morning determined to bust my balls? When last did Titer oversee a team combat training session?”

Casey doesn’t say anything for a minute. “It’s been a while,” she finally admits.

“Months. It’s been months since he had anything to do with our security work. No training, no briefings.”

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