“You’re gorgeous,” Brian said.
“If you’re trying to distract me with compliments, it’ll absolutely work so cut it out. We need to deal with this.”
“I’m not. I was just thinking out loud.” He placed his hand on Keith’s knee. “You take my breath away.”
“The feeling’s mutual.” Keith smiled at him and Brian wanted to keep that happy, peaceful expression on his face forever.
“Please don’t fight with me about protecting you. That’s like asking me to stop breathing. It goes against my most base instincts.”
Keith sighed. “We really can’t keep doing this back and forth.”
“I know.” He rubbed Keith’s knee. “You definitely scented Rupert Junior on Claire?”
“I definitely did.”
“Why would the Green Field Alpha send someone here with a weird cover story?” Brian asked.
“I believe the desperate seduction efforts and the almost-certainly-aphrodisiac she tried to get you to drink answer that question.”
“Right, but why? What would they get out of it?”
“She’d get your dick, which is a prize all on its own.” Keith reached for Brian’s groin and cupped it.
“If you want this conversation to continue, stop that.”
“Spoilsport.”
“You’re the one who insists on talking about this,” Brian pointed out.
“Fine.” He slowly trailed every fingertip from Brian’s balls to the tip of his dick as he removed his hand. “Much as I would understand anyone trying to get you into bed for the sheer pleasure of it alone, I think their goal hasn’t changed in the month I’ve been here.”
He frowned, trying to understand.
“Remember what Morgan said?” Keith asked.
Thinking back to the annoying conversation they’d had with the Golden Valley Alpha, Brian said, “They wanted him to come here and kill you so they wouldn’t have to do it themselves.”
“Exactly.”
“You think they sent that small woman here to kill an Alpha?” Brian said disbelievingly.
“I think they sent that woman here to seduceyouinto killing an Alpha.”
He gasped, horrified. “I would never harm you. Not ever.”
“They don’t know I’m your mate.” Keith drew his eyebrows together. “I’ve been thinking more about my parents.”
Brian’s parents were healthy and happy, living in a resource-filled pack, surrounded by friends. Mother Nature had always blessed them, and their lives had been relatively struggle-free, like his own. Although moving to Purple Sky had brought him a new set of challenges, Brian had come in with the surety and confidence that he could improve the pack in time. Or maybe it was arrogance. He had never considered any other possibility, and he now realized that was because he hadn’t ever had something not go his way.
Keith’s life had been the complete opposite. Seemingly nothing had gone his way, starting with losing his parents young. As much as Brian wanted to support his mate, he had noidea how to relate to his background or what he could do that would help. While he was trying to figure out what to say, Keith continued talking.
“Rupert Jackson was my mother’s ex. She brought him and his son to Green Field after my father died. Nobody liked him, but she wanted him, so if they wanted to keep me in Green Field, they had to tolerate him. They expected me to step into the Alpha role as soon as I came of age, so Rupert was supposed to be a temporary placeholder.” He fiddled with the end of the blanket. “To keep his place as pack Alpha, Rupert needs me gone.”
Brian nodded because he had already understood Rupert’s motive to ensure Keith stayed away.
“Seeing Claire today made me realize that his plan to be the Green Field Alpha may have started before me.”
“What do you mean?”
