“Which means what?” she whispered.
His lids half-lowered. “I bite you during sex and mark you for life. You’d change then.”
Anger and frustration heated the air in her lungs. “That’s the lamest line I’ve ever heard to get someone into bed.”
He tucked his free hand into his pocket, his eyes darkening. “Darlin’, I’ve had you once, and I could easily have you again. If I wanted you naked and begging, I could make that happen in two seconds. You know it as much as I do.”
What an ass. Of course, her nipples peaked at the dark timbre of his sexy voice. “I’m not turning into a wolf.” What bizarre, crazy words to utter. But she’d seen him change into a wild animal, and she wasn’t insane. Not yet, anyway.
“I already told you there’s no chance you’d turn into a wolf. You’d be a mate, which means you’d change…a little,” he said.
Terrific. She was a big believer in hair removal. The last thing she wanted was to grow fur on her face. “A little?”
He nodded. “Yes. Your immune system would improve to match mine, and your life expectancy would about double. Plus, your strength and speed should increase somewhat, and any other wolf out there will be able to scent me on you. Forever.” A masculine, daring smile curved his lips.
“And if I say no?”
He lifted an eyebrow, losing the smile. “I’ll protect you for as long as possible, Mia. But if you refuse, then you and I will both die. There’s no way we can run from all four packs.”
“Why?” she whispered. “Why would you protect me?”
He stilled, and his focus somehow sharpened even more on her. “I meant what I said the other night. You changed me. I care about you. More than I can explain.”
She swallowed, her heart warming. There was no rational explanation for how much she already cared for him. Except maybe that she had lost her mind. “This is nuts.”
A strong sigh echoed on his exhale. “Even if we mate, you should understand that my life expectancy isn’t so great right now, anyway. But my family will protect you if I die.”
A trembling started down her larynx. “Why would you die?”
“Ben is getting old, and both Erik and I have Alpha in our blood. Erik from Ben, and me from my biological father, who’s long dead. A new Alpha has taken over that pack, so there’s no room for me. Erik is the rightful Alpha of this pack, but many people think I am because of the adoption.” Seth’s forehead wrinkled, his lips turning down. “The pack is being torn apart, and only one of us can rule. At some point, Erik will challenge me—he can’t help it. It’s in his blood.”
Mia jumped to her feet. “So beat him.”
“I can’t kill my brother.” Apology as well as stubborn determination flitted across Seth’s face. “Not even for you.”
None of this made any sense. “Why can’t you both rule?”
“We’re wolves. There’s only one Alpha.”
“That’s ridiculous,” she sputtered.
“Maybe. But it’s who we are,” he said.
She’d like to join the pack just to change things. “How does a mating work? I mean, how does a mate’s body change?”
Seth leaned the shotgun against the doorway. “I don’t really know. Don’t really care. Some think it’s magic, some biology. It’s just something we accept. Most of us are miners, not scientists. This is our way of life, and it is what it is. You in or not?”
Absolutely not. “I’m ex-FBI, Volk. Those people come after me, and they’ll regret it.”
His nostrils flared. “It’s an honor to die protecting your pack, sweetheart. You’d have some of the best hunters and killers stalking you—ready to die for the cause.”
A chill skittered down her spine. Based on Seth’s military file, she knew he was one of the most dangerous hunters and trackers, as well as snipers alive today. And that was from reading between the lines. For him to be so sure, and so afraid of someone, gave her serious pause.
She cleared her throat. “What else comes with a mating?”
“Nothing.” He looked her right in the eye.
Honesty shone on his face, but her instincts started humming. What wasn’t he telling her? “Say we mate, and I leave you. Do I die or something?”
