“Hey,” he murmured, lifting a plate out of the bubbly water on one side of the sink and setting it on the other.
“Hey yourself.”
“Thanks for humoring her. That meant a lot to her.”
“Why don’t you let me finish the dishes? I feel like a mooch.”
“You’re aguest. We’re supposed to wait on you.”
I scooped up a handful of bubbles and flicked them at him. “That’s weird, and I don’t like it.”
Rhett chuckled. “Stop being so antsy. Do you ever just sit still and relax?”
“Relax? Can you define that for me?”
He paused in his cleaning, using his foot to hook my leg and pull me closer. His lips pressed to my forehead, my skin tingling as he said, “Things are about to change for you.”
I narrowed my eyes, trying to interpret the vague sentence, but Rhett had already returned to the dishes, face forward and calm.
I swallowed, feeling much less at ease.
“You can put the lids on those containers and set them in the fridge if you really need something to do.” He gestured to the leftovers on the kitchen island.
Tyler was helping Cindy up from the table. I waved goodnight to her, then got to work clicking on lids. I was almost finished when Dustin appeared from behind the fridge door, startling a squeak out of me.
“Did I scare you?”
“You move so quietly.”
He shrugged. “It’s a wolf thing. I can’t help it.”
My hand was still on my heart, drawing Dustin’s attention. He eyed my tattoos, gaze roving over the moons before it settled onto my neck.
“Mates, huh?” He followed me back to the island, leaning against it. “How come you didn’t let him mark you yet?”
Rhett whirled around. “Don’t ask her that. It’s none of your business.”
“It’s just that fated mates are in short supply. It seems risky to leave her unmarked. I could swoop in and take her for myself.” Dustin grinned, clearly pleased to get a reaction from his otherwise quiet brother.
I froze as he flicked my hair off my shoulder, leaning over me with his teeth bared. This was officially taking the joke too far.
Glass shattered. Rhett was completely rigid as he marched from the sink, eyes glowing. The angles of his face were sharper. A growl sawed from his throat.
This was not cool, collected Rhett from a minute ago, and I had a feeling that a man as controlled as him was dangerous when that control finally snapped.
Dustin put his hands up, stepping away from me. “Hey, c’mon, I was kidding.”
Rhett descended on his brother. Without thinking, I intercepted him, stepping between the two men and dropping my hands on Rhett’s shoulders. He crushed me to his chest, breathing heavily, his eyes never leaving Dustin.
I started walking against him, and he didn’t resist, letting me push him away from his brother. I could feel eyes on the back of my head, but I ignored them, steering Rhett to a sliding glass door. He was shaking so violently he could barely pull it open.
I hissed when my bare feet touched the snow, the cold seizing my lungs. Rhett lifted me off the ground.
Then he was running, black silhouettes of trees flying past us. It was pitch black in the forest, not a glimmer of starlight penetrating the canopy.
My breath puffed around my head. Fear slithered through me as we moved further and further away from the house.
“Rhett? Where are you taking me?”
