“Regardless, I don’t want you closing the store anymore.”
“That’s not your decision.” She folded her arms and stared up at me. “I don’t have any say in that, and you know it.”
I growled, glaring back at her, trying to make her understand that I was just trying to protect her. “If you’re going to keep insisting on closing, then I’m going to start walking home with you. I’m not going to let you stay out here on your own this late at night again.”
She gaped, incredulous. “God, you are so controlling,” she exploded. “Just because we’re mates doesn’t give you the right to dictate every little thing I do.”
“I’m supposed to protect you. Whether you like it or not.”
She opened her mouth to argue, then closed it as she looked around the store. Her lips thinned into a line.
“I’m going to finish locking up,” she said and walked away without another word.
***
“Thanks again, Sam,” Emma said, sand crunching beneath her feet. “I was itching to get in a hike.”
The sun beat down as Emma and I walked down the trail together. Elias and Grace were having a father-daughter day in Adobe Creek, going to a show Grace had been pestering him about for weeks. Emma had told him she wanted to go on a hike, pointing out an area where there hadn’t been any wraith or demon sightings. We’d heard of recent sightings on the opposite side of town, so it was the safest place we could go. After a bit of convincing, Elias had agreed, but he wasn’t going to let his mate go out into the wilderness on a hike on her own. So I had offered to stand in as her bodyguard.
“I’m surprised Elias is even letting you out of the house,” I said as we trudged up a steep slope. “With everything going on.”
She laughed. “I didn’t give him much of a choice,” she said. “I told him that if he tried to keep me locked up, I’d make sure he spoke three octaves higher for the rest of his life.” She flashed an amused grin.
“Effective,” I admitted. “Still, I don’t know how he isn’t sick with worry.”
I could feel her staring at me with interest even as we kept walking. I didn’t glance over.
“Why do I have the feeling that this has very little to do with Elias and me. How’s Rachel?” Emma asked.
When I let out a frustrated growl, she snorted and gave a knowing look. “That well, huh?”
“She’s fine,” I answered. “But she’s also stubborn as all get out. She thinks she can handle things, but she’s too weak and refuses to admit it.”
Footsteps thudded against the dirt for a moment as Emma remained silent. “Are you sure that’s the case? I’ve spent time with Rachel. She’s stronger than she looks.”
I didn’t respond right away. Rachel was tiny and so delicate. She was willowy in a way that made it seem like a heavy breeze would knock her over. She was beautiful, and I liked the way she looked. But strong? That was never a word I would ever attribute to someone as tiny and light as her.
“You’ve seen her,” I said. “She can’t defend herself.”
“Because no one ever gave her the opportunity to learn,” Emma pointed out. “You’re the first person to even try to get her some sort of training. And that doesn’t come right away.” Her lips tightened as she gave me a dangerous look. “But even if that weren’t the case, exterior appearances have nothing to do with strength, and if you think it does, then you have a lot to learn.”
I grumbled, staring out at the landscape as I tried to find a way to get Emma to understand. “I’m just trying to keep her safe, and she’s making it nearly impossible.”
Emma tilted her head as she looked at me, an intrigued smile playing on her lips. “And why do you care that much? I thought that your mating was supposed to be perfunctory.”
I kept my stride even as my insides froze. She couldn’t know.
“It is,” I said. “I care about her because she’s Elias’s sister. He’d kill me if anything happened to her.”
“He would,” Emma conceded with a small laugh. “But is that youronlyreason?”
No. Of course it wasn’t. I had always wanted to keep Rachel safe. I always would. I was always painfully aware of wherever she was at any given moment when we were in the same room, as if unconsciously tracking her. I hated it when she wasn’t near me, when she was too far away for me to know she was safe. Elias might kill me if anything happened to her, but that was nothing on what I would do to myself. Except I couldn’t tell Emma any of that, because admitting it was entering dangerous territory that I had no intention of stepping into.
“What does it matter?” I grunted.
“It matters because I’m your luna and want to keep track of the goings-on in my pack,” she said, her voice sharp and authoritative in a way I wasn’t used to from her. “Keeping things secret is what gets people hurt.”
This was one secret that I wasn’t going to share. I didn’t care what Emma thought. I wasn’t going to admit any of it.
