Regardless, he didn’t want said trouble to find her. She was still his mate, even if he had no plans to solidify that bond. So, he’d instructed a few of his bears to take shifts watching her place daily, just to make sure she was alright.
His bear snarled in warning, so loud it was impossible to ignore.Theyshould have been watching over Nessa. Not some other male. She wastheirs. She neededthem.
“Enough,” Murphy snapped under his breath, hoping his bear would finally heed his order.
He looked away from his computer monitor, casting a quick glance around his office, searching for something to distract himself. He looked over at the markings he’d clawed into the walls a few nights ago, when his bear had literally attempted to claw its way to the surface in a bid to chase down Nessa. Just asquickly, Murphy looked away, his mouth hardening into a firm line as he tried to focus on the receipts once more.
The cellphone on his desk rang, the loud noise grating to his ears. Immediately, his already dark mood worsened. Growling, Murphy grabbed the device, his fingers tightening so hard around it that the small screen cracked. That was the third one this week he’d ruined.
“Son of a bitch,” he spat out angrily, tempted to throw this one at the wall, too. Instead, he took a deep breath, refusing to give in to his impulses.
‘Dad’ flashed across the cracked screen as the phone rang again.
Murphy’s brow furrowed. Why was his dad calling him? As Alpha, Murphy could communicate telepathically with anyone in his clan, and vice versa. His family didn’t need technology to contact him.
Gingerly, Murphy set his phone down on the desk, answering the call before quickly placing his father on speakerphone.
“Murph?” Phillip’s voice floated into the air, his gravelly timbre soothing a bit of Murphy’s ire. “You there, Son?”
“Yes,” Murphy replied shortly, glancing back up at his computer screen. He really should have finished his task before picking up the phone. Now, he’d have to endure whatever problem his dad had run into and then finish his work afterward.
It was already late in the evening, just past ten p.m., and he hadn’t even eaten lunch. At the rate he was going, he’d end up skipping dinner, too. His stomach chose that moment to twist with hunger before grumbling loudly.
Fuck.
Phillip released a long, low whistle. “Bit snappy toward your old man, don’t you think?”
An apology was on the tip of his tongue, but Murphy held it back. “What do you want, Dad?”
“Just called to check in.” There was a brief pause, and then his father sighed. “I heard through the grapevine that you’ve been acting a bit … off.”
Murphy glowered down at his desk, the statement rubbing him the wrong way. “Off?” What the hell was that supposed to mean? Had Mom told him that?
“I heard you’ve destroyed a few things—”
“The computer was an accident,” Murphy cut in, immediately on the defensive.
“What about the mug?”
His brows rose in surprise. “This is about a mug?”
“Tank said he also noticed a door missing from one room in your house—”
“I’m remodeling,” Murphy lied dryly, ready to nip this conversation in the bud.
He didn’t have time for this. Why did his dad even care that he’d broken a few things? Bears were often emotional, impulsive shifters—anyone could have gotten upset and destroyed something superficial.
Besides, his computer had been anaccident… Mostly.
Well, maybe calling it an ‘accident’ was a bit of a stretch. The truth was, Murphy might have gotten mad when his bear had scared him and he’d hurled the desk across the room in a fit of rage. While the computerwasan accident, the desk was not.
“This isn’t just about a computer, Murph, and I think you know that,” his dad answered cautiously. “How have you been sleeping?”
Taken aback by the question, Murphy sagged into his seat, suddenly feeling exhausted. “Fine.”
“Fine? I’m gonna need more specifics than that, Son. How many hours a night?”
He pursed his lips instead of answering. Another yawn threatened to surface and expose him.
