“You saw the shaky aftermath of a human’s adrenaline dump, but you didn’t see her when we were fighting. There was no fear. There was only rage.”
“So what? Nory is tough. She survived this one. Congrats. Are you telling me I should risk another human here? Liam, we are under fire from the Elders, who definitely know we’ve set up territory here now.”
“Well, you can Turn her if you want,” Liam said much too lightly.
“And if she dies?” Dodger demanded, anger boiling inside of him.
Liam leaned forward on his knees and flashed his glowing eyes at him. “Now you know why I don’t like you mentioning that to Nory. No one is getting Turned. Teach her to shoot, Dodger.”
“She knows how to shoot.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I can’t put her in the line of fire right now! If any of the other Pack sees me with her, who do you think they will target? Tell me, when Nory goes into town alone, what do your instincts say?”
“She doesn’t go into town alone right now.”
“So, you want me to bring Destiny into our Pack and what? Hover? Suffocate her? Like you’re having to do for Nory?”
“You will have to protect her. That’s what the bond dictates. If she has a weak side, you protect that weak side.”
“She has all weak sides! She’s a fucking human!”
“You don’t give enough credit—”
“And you are too reckless!” Dodger yelled, standing. “What if we lose them?” The words echoed. “What if we lose them? What if we lose our humans. What if we don’t have them anymore. What if we form a bond and it gets broken?”
“That is spoken from a place of fear—”
“You’re goddamn right! I’ve spent four days away from her. Four. And yesterday I wanted Nathan to win our fight, and I wished that I would fucking bleed out alone in the woods, Liam. And that’s after one date. I’ve never hated being a werewolf as much as I do right now. The bond is way too much for me. I wish I was human—”
“You don’t mean that—”
“I do! If I was human, I could dick around and date a girl for four months. Fuck her and leave. Tell her I love you in my own time. Maybe take two years to do it. Get to know her. See if she is even a match.”
“If your wolf chose her, she is a match—”
“This bond will poison her entire life, and you know it.”
“Nory is happy.”
“Nory is in danger!”
“No, Dodger, Nory isadanger!” he roared. “Stop talking about my mate like she is fragile. She’s not! I’m not dragging some anchor, man! Delta is alive today because Nory protected her throat! Probably Vic too. Does your human know what you are?”
“Look at my face, Liam. Of course she does. I’ve never been one of those soft wolves that passes for human.”
“So you what? Deserted her?”
“One date, dude. It’s a normal thing for humans. You just ghost them and they go upgrade to something better.”
“You think there is anything better than the devotion of a werewolf bond?”
“I don’t fuckin’ know. My dad died before I even knew what a bond was, and all of my mom’s boyfriends left pretty damn easy, my brother’s couldn’t take care of a female properly if you paid them a million dollars, and my sisters only date assholes, so I guess I have never witnessed a bond actually work out.”
“Sounds like they didn’t have bonds in the first place.”
“Chh,” Dodger limped to the railing and locked his arms against it. The wood splintered under his grip. “I can’t just put her life in danger. What kind of man would I be?”
