“Both.” Thankfully, Braun knew he couldn’t stop there. “I want him to see that Emeric isn’t alone or with a weak pack from a numbers perspective. If he actually follows us in, I’m hoping we get some kind of information from him. I also want him to feel the magic of the land and the pack. That’s different than just seeing that I can call up a dozen wolves at a moment’s notice.”
A dozen?
Oh.
“Do that many people work from home?” Ha. He grinned.
“Yes, and we have a few stay-at-home parents for a variety of reasons.” His expression grew more serious again as we got closer to the entrance to the pack land. “I think we might need to look at growing the pack again, though. We haven’t had anyone who’s job was just defending the pack in twenty years.”
“Because you have a strong pack and you’ve done a good job keeping it safe in other ways.” I wasn’t sure I’d have thought of doing that in his position. “You’ve created a stable pack and you’re thriving. It’s just bad luck that you’ve run into crazy.”
Of some sort.
Nodding slowly, Braun seemed to be pushing the issue to the back of his mind as he slowed and made the last turn. The area was so beautiful it just made me want to smile even though that wasn’t the reaction I needed to be giving off at the moment.
Because the man in the SUV thought following us was a good idea.
“Why is he doing the potty dance?” Wishing I could see more clearly, I huffed as Braun laughed. “What?”
“It’s the reaction to one of the spells. I was surprised you could drive onto the property without having a reaction.” He laughed when I turned to glare at him. “You should’ve at least been uncomfortable with following me.”
Really?
“No. The property is beautiful and, I guess, if I was looking to catalogue my response, I get slightly distracted because of that?” I usually didn’t notice the landscape but I thought it was just because of how old it felt. “We’ll figure that out later.”
Because we’d come to a stop.
“Oh, everyone is fast. They’re all so impressive looking.” I had no idea how to tell anyone apart or even if they were male or female, so I just appreciated the variation in the coloring and how fierce they looked…and that they were all smaller than Braun so I didn’t have to worry about anything.
Not that there was anything to worry about.
“I’m not even going to ask you to stay in the car.” He had to try not to smile when I nodded. “I am going to ask that you stay behind me or the others because you are a lot more fragile than we are.”
“Understandable.” And not an unreasonable request. “I am not headstrong and/or trying to get myself attacked so you have to rescue me. I’m practical.”
He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “A fact that I am eternally grateful for…and one that’s making me question what you’ve been reading.”
I was never going to explain that…or the monster smut that was currently on my Kindle.
Research was important.
“Let’s go see what the moron wants because he isn’t smart enough to have driven away.” Some people just weren’t bright. “I bet he was terrible in math class growing up.”
He probably hadn’t done his homework either.
“We’re not going to ask that.” Braun shot me a serious look but I just smiled and reached for the door before waiting patiently. “Thank you for letting me get out first.”
I wasn’t worried but I was smart enough to be cautious.
“Of course.” Werewolf pack or not, I didn’t want him distracted over my bad behavior.
I was smarter than the woman I’d been reading about on my lunch break.
“You don’t look any more innocent than I do.” Looking fierce and grumbly, he climbed out of the car and suddenly just looked bigger than he had moments before. I knew it was my own view of him, but it was like he’d just turned back into an Alpha when he’d simply been Braun before.
It probably wasn’t magic but I felt like I needed to pay more attention to my surroundings.
I was a bit worried the good part would start before I got out of the car, but he was silent and glowering as he walked around the font and came over to my door. It was perfect because he looked sexy doing it and I didn’t miss anything.
