Seth lifted an eyebrow, letting the predator inside him show. “You want me dead that badly?”
Several members shifted their feet, and many looked at the ground.
Ralph faced him directly. “Nobody wants you dead, but what’s the alternative? Plus, you might win.”
Anybody who even remotely knew Seth understood that he’d never kill his brother.
“You could leave. Take Mia and go,” Susan Pake said quietly, her blond hair up in a bun and getting wet. She was around forty, a widow with three kids who could shoot better than any wolf Seth had ever met. “You could find a good life.”
Seth nodded. He’d be living without a pack, without his people. Though to stay with Mia, he’d do it. She mattered more than all else, although a part of him would always feel cut out and raw.
The scent of lilacs hit him, and his wolf stretched awake. He turned just his head to see Mia on the doorstep, dressed only in his flannel, her legs bare, and her hair curling wildly down her back.
“Seth?” she called, looking cautiously at the assembled group.
He swallowed. “Go back inside. I’ll be there in a minute.” It didn’t seem like anybody would challenge him right now.
She studied the group, faltered, and then threw her shoulders back. Barefooted, walking over rough grass and rocks, she headed right for him, her eyes on fire.
He couldn’t breathe.
She reached him and slipped her hand into his, facing his pack by his side. Small, fragile, unarmed, she barely reached his shoulder yet didn’t hesitate.
Everything inside him warmed, swelled, and settled.
His mate.
His wolf sprang fully awake, prepared to devastate any threat against her. The pack studied her, admiration entering the eyes of many. Susan even smiled.
He should tell Mia to go back inside, where she was protected, but she was making a statement, and he felt like it was safe enough to do so right now. “We’re leaving tonight,” he told her. Their chances weren’t good on their own, not with other packs out there wanting him taken out, but he would take the chance with her.
Her hand trembled in his, but her expression remained calm. She stared out at the assembled people, not flinching, her chin held high.
Pride filled him, along with heat. He looked directly at Ralph. “I’ll see everyone tonight at the ceremony for Ben. For now, get off my property.”
Ralph blinked and made a hand motion. Silently, the members of his pack disappeared back into the woods, and the atmosphere thickened as several must’ve shifted.
Seth kept Mia’s hand and strode through the light rain to the house, where he shut the door behind him. “That meant a lot. You standing by me.”
She wiped rain off her face and looked up at him. “I’ll always stand by you.”
He brushed her hair away from her shoulder. “In a situation like that, don’t do it again.” He kept his voice pleasant while his wolf agreed deep down.
She met his gaze evenly. “Excuse me?”
How could he explain that his primary goal at all times was to provide her with safety? He was an Alpha, even without a pack, and she was his mate. It was that simple, yet she was human and didn’t understand. “We had no idea what we were facing, and in that situation, you stay covered.” He kept his voice level, knowing she didn’t understand and hoping she would at least try and not make him show her in a way neither of them would like. She’d given herself to him during the mating and more specifically, the night before in the storm, and that meant something. Everything.
“Seth? I’m trained.”
“Not against wolves,” he said. “Obedience doesn’t come easily to you, and I understand that, but my patience isn’t limitless.”
Those eyes flared. “Oh, sweetheart. Don’t even try it.”
Yep. This would be more difficult than he’d considered. He sighed. She smiled. “I’ve given you fair warning,” he said.
“You have.” She leaned up and kissed him. “Now. I have things to do, big bad Alpha.”
Unfortunately, at some point, she would likely force him to live up to that title with her. He kissed her back, taking the reprieve.
