“Nothing to worry about. My pack will accept you… or they’ll lose their top retrieval expert.
“You’d leave with me?”
“In a heartbeat. But it won’t come to that.”
I wish I had his confidence, not to mention a skill that would make me invaluable to this pack. All I have is a truckload of emotional baggage and a work history that now includes the WSSO’s top lure… not a great start with a new pack, certainly not a reason for them to welcome me into the fold.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
GARRETT
The tension rolling off Angel puts me and my wolf on guard… in our own pack. Fuck, this isn’t right.
I’m tempted to walk ahead of her, not to lead the way but to get her scent out of my lungs long enough to clear my head, and yet I can’t. Maybe it’s having her at my side for three days and nights, where I could watch for signs of distress, that’s keeping me close to her.
Or maybe it’s my wolf, who has not been this blessedly calm for well over a year.
A low, deep growl stops me more effectively than a fist to the face. My hand leaves Angel’s in case I have to fight.
Complete silence surrounds us as I zero in on the direction of the growl. Dead ahead. A border guard, likely, though he shouldn’t be growling at me, even if I have an unknown shifter with me.
Unknown. Fuck, that’s not the right way to think of Angel. I know her, even if they don’t. I need the wind to shift, carry the scent to me so I can identify who’s there.
“Show yourself,” I order instead. “And be prepared to explain why the fuck you’re threatening us.”
A lone figure steps out from behind a tree. Tall, dark hair and eyes, very muscular, baring his teeth… seconds from shifting to wolf form. And he’s not alone. My wolf senses others nearby, even without the wind cooperating.
“Problem, Tiberius?” I call out to the one shifter I pissed off with my little jaunt over the highway the day before I left the pack in search of Angel.
I glance over my shoulder. Her body language is all wrong, tight and pulled in, as if she wants to lean in to me for safety but doesn’t dare. Because of Tiberius or me?
I slide my hand over hers and with a tug urge her closer. She takes two tiny steps, which I sense is a lot for her in this moment. And fucking Tiberius is scrutinizing my every move.
“It’s just me.” I keep walking as if I have every right to be here. I do, and no guard trying to prove his mettle is going to stop me.
“You can pass. She stays.”
Bitterness coats my tongue. This asshole isn’t worth my time, and he’s scaring the shit out of my innocent angel.
“You get one chance to explain why. If it’s not good, I’ll rip you a new one. Try to keep her out, and I’ll get really nasty. Touch her… there’ll be nothing left of you.”
The male lifts his chin, and fucking dares to run his eyes over her, lingering on her long legs exposed beneath the shirt she’s wearing. That’s not acceptable.
I lunge at him, shifting mid-air. My wolf’s jaws clamp around his throat before he can blink, let alone shift.
“Enough!” a voice shouts. Mason, one of the senior guards. “Release him, Garrett.” When I don’t, he growls. Low and commanding.
I don’t look behind me as I take in the scents and sounds.Angel hasn’t moved, but there are three guards including Mason with her. She must be terrified. She’s the priority, not this pissant shifter.
My wolf snarls as he releases Tiberius, and I shift. “Is this how you’re running things, Mason? Allowing your guards to keep pack from entering, threatening welcomed guests, and encouraging them to ogle females?”
“He did what?” Blue eyes snap to Tiberius, who has climbed to his feet.
“I wasn’t ogling. I was just looking for weapons.”
My fist flies, hitting hard flesh. The cracking of bone brings a satisfaction I want to repeat, but Mason places me in a chokehold.
“It’s my place to discipline my guards. Not yours. Clear?”
