“Is she in some kind of danger?” Micah asked.
I hesitated, a growing discomfort rose in my gut, along with the growl of my wolf in my ear. Any thought of a threat to our mate sent my wolf into a rage. He didn’t care that she was human and not one of us. All my wolf wanted was his mate.
“Not on my watch,” I told Micah.
My comment hung in the air.
I wouldn’t go into the details. The truth was, however, that Reese being my mate, did place her in a certain amount of danger. The National Shifter Alliance, or the Alliance for short, had strict regulations around shifters intermingling with humans. Multiple shifters and their mates were held captive or killed when they tried to be together without the Alliance’s confirmation.
It’d been over a century since the Alliance approved any mating between a human and a shifter.
“Are you in danger?” The worried note in Micah’s voice was evident.
“Nothing I can’t handle.” I quickly dismissed his concern. “But until I can get what I need, I’ll need you to keep an eye on her for me.”
Micah didn’t immediately answer. That wasn’t surprising. Micah was smart, and I rarely asked him or his family for favors. He likely picked up on that if I was asking him for something, then it was serious.
“And you don’t plan on giving me any more information than what you’ve already shared?”
“No. You know how this works, cousin.” A year earlier, I’d gotten Micah and his brother, Ace, out of a problem that went deeper than their human world. I’d had to be scant on the details of that situation also because telling them the truth would expose them to more of my world.
That could place my pack under threat with the Alliance, and that was not something I would ever do. As the alpha, it was my sole responsibility to ensure the safety of my pack. And now, my mate. But I planned to wait to approach Reese until I could guarantee that she wouldn’t be in danger with the Alliance.
My gut twisted with the thought that this decision would somehow come back to haunt me. My wolf howled at the moon every night since I first scented Reese because we had yet to meet in person.
All I had was her scent and a glimpse of her from behind. Not enough for my wolf or for me.
“Will you do it?” I asked Micah, still not revealing more than I needed to.
Micah lifted his hands. “If you’re asking me for a favor, I know it must be serious. Yes, of course.” There was a pause. “You seem to be in luck anyway.”
I jutted my chin forward. “How so?”
“From what I know about her, she’s not the type who gets into a lot of trouble. Danger doesn’t follow her.”
From what he knew…
It caused my palms to itch that Micah knew Reese better than I did. She was a friend and colleague of his sister-in-law, Savannah. I still had yet to be in the same room as her. A surge of anger flowed through me, and I clenched and unclenched my fists to relieve it.
I would do this the right way. I would go to the Alliance and get their approval to be with my mate.
My wolf growled, rebellious that we had to seek consent to claim what was ours. But not doing so could harm my pack. I was raised since birth that my number one job was to protect my pack at all and every cost.
We will not be like our father.
My wolf countered.
My stomach clenched at the reminder of how my father’s desire for the preservation and growth of our pack led to my mother’s death. I wouldn’t be like him.
I didn’t respond to Micah because as much as I hated it, the truth was that by the very act of being born as my mate, Reese was in danger.
Micah started to say something, but in an instant, my attention on him faded. With my excellent hearing, I heard the main door of the PI firm open. A second later, I caught her whiff.
My wolf stood up as an anxiousness tightened around my chest. He whimpered, and I stood to my full six-six height. I sniffed at the air again, and the band around my chest squeezed. An urgency like no other filled my entire body.
I turned to Micah. “She’s here.”
* * *
