ChapterTwelve
Scott
Once Harley had disappeared into the building with Levi, Zade began to walk toward the tree line, motioning for me to follow. Once the forest had swallowed us, he stopped and turned to face me, legs spread and fists planted on his hips.
"We need to talk," he said without preamble.
I raised a brow but held my tongue.
"I want you to give Harley some space."
I felt my eyes narrow but was more concerned with holding back the wolf trying to break free to worry about whether my evil eye offended him. I drew several deep breaths, the effort slightly hampered by my fangs erupting. Still, once I had my breath, I forced my voice to remain steady. "No."
Zade snarled at me, showing me that his fangs had breached his gums also. "Yes."
My fingers began to tingle as my claws broke free and a growl began deep in my gut, my lips twisting into a grimace as the wolf started to gain the upper hand.
"Hold up, boys," an unfamiliar but unmistakably Alpha voice rode the breeze toward the spot where I was squaring off with Harley's current Alpha.
To my surprise, Zade seemed embarrassed by his arrival. "Hey, Clint."
Clint? Oh, right, the CoruscationwerewolfAlpha. Trevor's mate and our host. I'd only crossed paths with him a few times, so it wasn't so odd that I hadn't recognized his voice. I turned to meet his eyes, still trying to force the wolf back into compliance. "Nice to see you, Clint."
"You, too, Scott." The werewolf glanced curiously at Zade. "Sure looked like you two were about to throw down," he commented.
Zade scowled and shook his head. "We were talking about Harley."
"Wrong," I snapped, my lips drawing back in a snarl. "You were ordering me away from him. That's hardly the same thing as talking about him."
Clint's forehead furrowed in confusion. "But Rafe said Scott saved Harley from tumbling down a cliff?" He waited for Zade's tight nod to confirm the story. "Then why are you trying to keep them apart?"
"Because I don't know their history and Harley isn't exactly in a position to tell me what he wants," Zade huffed.
"I already told you," I growled in turn. "We were planning on mating until he was sold away from me."
Clint looked from Zade to me and then back to Zade. "And?"
Zade sighed heavily and dropped to his butt in the crisp leaves on the forest floor. "And I can't collaborate it, Clint," he said quietly.
"Harley talked all the time when he first arrived. He told me everything. He told me about how he was raised, his hobbies, his schooling, his," Zade swallowed a sigh as a touch of red colored his cheeks, "heat cycles. He told me all kinds of things, including that he'd barely escaped being raped by an Alpha back before my pack elders offered for him." Zade lifted his eyes to meet mine. "But he never once mentioned Scott. Not by name, anyway."
What the Hell?
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" I hissed. "I wasn't the bastard who tried to rape him, you dolt. That was his fucking cousin." I ground my teeth together, hoping the sting would help me hold back. "Did he also tell you that a friend stumbled onto them and stopped it?" I waited for Zade's nod. "Thatwas me, asshole!"
Zade just shrugged. "There's no way for me to be sure," he snapped, "and I won't put Harley in any more danger."
"He's not in any danger from me!" I roared.
Clint stepped forward, one hand raised. "Okay. I really think that's enough." He looked at Zade. "Every inch of the living compound is under constant guard. Harley couldn't be any safer here. Why not let them hang together here, where he's safe, and give Scott a chance to jog his memory?"
Zade growled. "Why not just send Scott's ass home and I can let him knowwhen -or if – Harley remembers him?"
Before I could respond, Clint chuckled. "Send him home until the Omega wants to see him?" Clint's chuckles turned into deep laughs. "Oh, hell, son. That's rich!"
"It's notthatfunny," Zade huffed.
I looked from one to the other, completely lost.
