“Fine.” He stood. “Suit yourself and starve.” He headed to the exit.
“Wait,” she called out. The mention of food turned her ravenous and her mouth watered. She swallowed the revulsion before she uttered the next words. “I’ll stop being snarky.”
Rafe appraised her with a long look that made her pulse jolt before he returned to her. He grabbed a fold-out chair that leaned against a wall and positioned it two feet from her cot. She gritted her teeth and warned her wolf to calm down.
He sat down and leaned back in the chair. “We’ve lived in peace for all these years. Why do you think we’d jeopardize that?”
She exhaled. “Really? We’re going to talk about this now?”
“Yes,” he declared.
“Fine.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “To try to claim more land.”
“You’re wrong. And your enforcer is dead because of that lie,” Rafe boomed. “He’s the one who crossed over here and kidnapped a human. He used her as bait to lure Damon to fight him. It’s entirely on him that he didn’t survive the outcome.”
Mila muscles tightened. Rafe had mentioned that yesterday, and it had sounded like it could be true. Worse, she was getting turned on by Rafe’s anger. Heat hummed through her veins. Maybe her wolf was right, an alpha would be the perfect match for her. He’d take charge in bed…
No, stop thinking this.
“Even so, your enforcer broke the treaty by crossing onto our land,” she argued. “We know he was spying on us.”
“That’s a complete fabrication.” Rafe leaned closer.
A tremor of fear pulsed through her. His scent tempted her to want to abandon control. She held her breath.
“Damon caught his mate’s scent and knew she was in trouble.” Rafe inhaled and his eyelids closed halfway, dark lashes casting a shadow. He leaned back in his chair, locking his hands behind his head, and smiled with pleasure before gazing at her once more. “I’ve heard that when wolves find their mates, they don’t always act on reason. Pure instinct seems to guide them. Driven by urgency to protect his mate, Damon ran to find her. Can you fault him that?”
Mila couldn’t hold her breath any longer. With him not so close, it was likely safe to breathe again. She did so in a slow and measured way so she wouldn’t by affected by this scent the way he appeared to be impacted by hers.
Still, his masculine aroma lingered in the air and stirred her with sudden awareness in her core.
Oh, hell.
Considering her wolf thought this exasperating shifter was their mate, she might eventually experience this uncontrollable urge to be with him first-hand.
She frowned. Not if she could help it.
Rafe watched her as if waiting for her response. Damn those penetrating eyes.
She exhaled audibly from her nostrils. “Whatever you’re thinking,” she replied. “Don’t.”
His lips twitched with amusement. “What do you possibly think might be on my mind?”
Mila bit her bottom lip. “You knowexactlywhat I’m talking about.” She motioned between them. “Whatever we may be feeling must be a mistake. Surely, that must happen sometimes.”
Rafe’s eyes widened, and his heart thumped. “So you admit you feel it, too?”
She attempted to throw her hands up, but they didn’t move far with the restraints. “Why are we even discussing it? It can’t happen. Itwon’thappen. We shouldn’t even talk about it.”
Rafe cocked his head. “You’re the one who brought it up.”
“Ugh, you’re so infuriating!”
He chuckled. “And you must be hungry as it’s making you angry.” He stood. “I’ll be back with some food and we will talk more then.”
After Rafe left the room, Mila remained statue still. The air seemed thick with his scent still lingering in the room, which didn’t help her situation one bit. The way they tiptoed around their complicated mess with their wolves thinking they were mates was something she didn’t know where to begin to untangle. All she knew was that it had zero chance of happening in reality. Rival packs did not mix.
Several minutes later,Rafe returned with a tray of food. He was accompanied by two other shifters, each of whom gave her a scathing glance. One carried another tray of food and the other a folded-up table and a paper bag. Her mouth watered at the scents of eggs and bacon.
