“My lunch hour was supposed to start over thirty minutes ago,” I pointed out. “I kept working to finish mopping the floors.”
“Well, you’re supposed to clear it with me, regardless of whether you’re starting late or not.”
Since when?I thought, exasperated. Not once had he pushed Alex or Liv to let him know precisely when they were taking lunch, regardless of whether they took it in the back room or went to one of the nearby restaurants.
“If you want to blame anyone, blame me,” Sam said, taking a half-step in front of me, half-blocking Jenson’s view of me. “I’m the one who suggested it.”
My urge for him dissipated with a flush of irritation. He didn’t need to fight my battles for me.
Regardless of my thoughts on the matter, though, it did the trick. All the wind seemed to rush out of Jenson’s sails. His eyes darted between Sam and me, hesitation flickering in his gaze.
I heard a low growl reverberate through Sam, annoyance flickering through the mating bond. He stalked forward until he stood in front of my boss, leaning down slightly.
“Or are you not able to push someone around if they aren’t smaller than you?” Sam said, his voice dangerously low as he stared Jenson down. I could imagine his glare, the way his eyes flashed wolf as he did.
Jenson’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he met Sam’s gaze, a glower spreading across his face as Sam remained motionless. After a moment, Jenson glanced away, breaking eye contact.
“She’s still my employee,” Jenson argued.
“And is she breaking any rules?” Sam asked. “Rules that you enforce on your other employees?”
Jenson snarled but didn’t respond. His entire face had blanched, and he suddenly seemed small.
“That’s what I thought.” Sam leaned down toward Jenson’s ear, but still spoke loudly enough that I could hear. “I expect you to start being nicer to my mate and start treating her like you do everyone else. If you don’t, I’ll come back here, and you and I will have a little chat. Do you understand?”
Jenson blanched. I might not want Sam to fight my battles, but the expression on Jenson’s face almost made it worth it.
Sam straightened and turned around to look at me. “Come on.”
“I’ll be back in an hour,” I said over my shoulder as Sam led me out, his hand pressing almost possessively between my shoulder blades. Neither of us spoke until we stepped out into bright sunlight streaming down, nearly blinding me.
“You know it isn’t going to change anything,” I said. “Once you’re not there, he’s going to start it back up again.”
“We’ll see,” Sam growled. “If he keeps giving you a hard time, tell me. I can’t stand bullies. Especially ones who go after you. Never have, never will.”
I thought about asking him what he meant by that, but before I could, he had steered us away from the store, and the moment was gone. It wasn’t until later that night that I remembered the band of bullies who used to pester me at school whenever they got the chance. At one point, I had seen Sam talking to them. The next day, all the bullies had been sporting bruises and black eyes, and none of them had ever pestered me again.
For the first time, I wondered if maybe Sam had paid more attention to me than I thought.
***
“So why did you want to speak with me, really?” I asked around a mouthful of pizza. “Because I’m guessing that you didn’t just come to ask me out on a lunch date.”
“Would it be so bad if I had?” he asked.
Honestly? No. I would have loved that. This entire lunch, it had felt like we were an actual couple, instead of two people forced to mate one another. It had been like I had pictured it when I was a kid, when I had still thought Sam and I might have a chance at being together.
“I could get used to the idea,” I said with a coy smirk. “But I also don’t think that’s what’s going on here.”
He smirked, giving a short snort. “You know me too well,” he murmured. “All right. Normally, I’d drag it out to annoy you because you’re cute when you’re irritated. But I’ll humor you this time. Do you still want to learn how to defend yourself?”
“Absolutely.” The word was out before I even registered it. “Though there aren’t any self-defense classes in Silver Falls. The closest one is in Adobe Creek.”
He finished his crust, wiping his fingers on his napkin as he swallowed. “You know Amelia, right?”
“Of course.” I didn’t think anyone in town didn’t know Amelia Endris. She was an incredible shifter, and she was the one who trained all the new shifters, helping them learn how to fight, control their abilities, hunt, and all the basics of being a shifter while allowing them to work as a pack. She was one of the few women in the pack who held some level of authority, and she made sure everyone knew she had earned that every day.
“She’s an old friend of mine,” he said.
