Me: New client and mattress.I’m okay.I made Osso promise to catch me if it looked like I was going down.
Declan: That’s my job.I don’t want some other man putting his hands on you.
I stared at the text, feeling like this conversation had gotten away from me.
Declan: Where are you?I’ll come now.
Me: I’m fine.I don’t need you here and I don’t appreciate being talked about like I’m your possession.
I turned off my phone and returned it to my pocket.Swinging my backpack into place, I walked far too aggressively back toward the demolished cabin.Stupid men left, right, and center.I should have been in my hot shop working on my order.
One of the heckling officers from earlier gave me a shitty look as I went by.My fingers twitched of their own volition.Mostly.I heard strangled yelps behind me as he tried to swat away a very determined wasp.
Osso caught up with me a minute later.“What’d he do?”
“Which he?”
He took one look at my face and held up his hands.“Nothing.I don’t want to be chased by a swarm of locusts.”
We walked through the cabins and were about to turn a corner that would put us back where the three bodies were when he caught my arm.“You weren’t angry before you started texting.Is everything okay?”
I really wasn’t sure what to do with a considerate Osso.It felt wrong.“Declan’s going all caveman with me.He’s pissed I didn’t tell him I was going with you to a crime scene, and he’s especially pissed that you might catch me instead of letting me hit the ground.Apparently, I belong to him and no one else is allowed to touch me—even if it means keeping me from landing in human remains.”
He pulled out his phone.“I knew I should have called him.”
I flicked my fingers, effectively yanking the phone from him and dropping it into my hand.“Don’t you dare,” I ground out.
Osso looked like he wanted to throttle me, but he kept his huge fists locked at his sides.He walked away and angry paced for a minute before stopping in front of me with his hand out for his phone.“Don’t spell me again.”
I handed it back.“Then don’t treat me like I’m a toy you and Declan are fighting over.”Magic boiled in my blood.“Do.You.Know.Who.I.Am?”
He held his hands up while looking over his shoulder.“Okay.Quit it.Calm down,” he whispered.“Your eyes are glowing and you’re levitating.We’re surrounded by humans here.”
I closed my eyes and tried to get my rage in check.It wasn’t easy.
“Are you ready?”the captain called.
Osso replied, “Give us a minute.She needs to prepare.”
When I heard footsteps recede, I opened my eyes.“Better?”
Osso nodded.“I told you when you first started seeing him that you had to be prepared to deal with a wolf’s nature, and an Alpha no less.Your condition is going to push his protective nature into overdrive.”
“What condition?”I was still angry, but it was fun to screw with him.
“Fine.Be a pain in my ass.I’ll say that when my wife was pregnant, I would have ripped the arms off any man who dared to touch her.”He shook his head.“Bloody stumps would have been on the ground before I had time to think about what I was doing.”
I turned on my heel.“Let’s get this over with so you can take me home.I’m sick of everyone.”
TWELVE
A Rough Day
Thankfully, there were only a couple of officers at the first body dump.Most had been ordered away to deal with all the other victims who still needed to be unearthed.I tried to look at the two wrapped bodies, but my eyes kept shying away from the ripped black garbage bag.
The captain stepped up beside me and pointed at the garbage bag.“That one.”
With a head shake, I handed my backpack to Osso, whispering, “Stay close.This one is going to be bad.”
