“No one thinks that. And Tess isn’t the type to assume the worst about a shifter, but I wasn’t there. Did it feel like you were being interrogated?”
“Not exactly.”
“Tess doesn’t get involved in ops, but she and Damien are mates. You have to assume anything you tell her will get back to Damien. That doesn’t mean she had a hidden agenda.”
Angel starts shaking. Something I said triggered my angel, which is making it harder to push her away. Fuck, all I want to do is wrap my arms around her and hold her. She’s not a stranger, not in the least.
“Look, Angel, I told Damien everything I know, from what I saw at that WSSO facility and what you told me. He believed me. He has no reason not to. He knows you’re an innocent, that anything you did while prisoner is on them, not you. My standing with the pack won’t taint you, if you keep your distance from me.”
“I’m not going to do any such thing. I know who you are, Garrett…”
“Black. The last name is the same as Damien’s. But you didn’t know that. Just shows you don’t know much about me.”
She pokes her finger in my chest. “Maybe I didn’t know your last name, but I know you. And you, Garrett Black, are a stubborn male, one who thinks he’s in charge.”
“Damien’s in charge.”
“I’m not talking about the alpha. Talking about us.”
“There is no us.”
His words, the neutrality of his voice, cut deep but he’ll dig in deeper if I let him see how he affects me. “And that just proves you don’t knowme, shifter. I don’t give up.”
“You looked like you’d given up in that cage.”
She winces, but she stopped shaking, the moment she got riled up. My wolf’s sure protesting though. I finally figured out why, too. He likes her, more than he likes me.
But he doesn’t understand what’s happening here. The damn animal is thinking like an alpha trying to protect his female, which is exactly what I’m trying to do, but in a way that will give her the freedom she needs, not keep her locked up in my cabin, tucked away from the world.
“You think throwing my captivity in my face is going to change anything?”
She’s stubborn when she wants to be. Or maybe resilient is theword. All I know is she has some idea in her head aboutuswhich I need to destroy. Fast.
“Go back to the compound, Angel. Start a new life. In the women’s cabin or elsewhere, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s nowhere near me.”
“What if I choose here, with you?”
I laugh, hard and obnoxious, as I toss her over my shoulder and carry her outside the cabin. She’s not seeing the best side of me, which is precisely the point. I’ll drag her down, just like I did Marla.
“Put me down, Garrett!”
I drop her flat on her ass, harder than I intended, but she bolts to her feet.
“I can’t believe you just did that.”
“Do you want me to escort you back or not? It wouldn’t be the first time I helped a lost wolf back to camp, though usually they’re five or six years old.”
She reaches out to slap me, but I catch her hand. “You don’t want to be anywhere near me, Angel. I’m toxic.” I let go, then go inside and shut the door in her face.
Her words pierce the door. “I will start a new life, but I’ll do it on my terms where and with whom I want.”
That spit-fire determination of hers stirs me, as much as every other part of her, but there’s little choice here. I press my forehead against the door. “There’s nothing between us, Angel. Not now, not ever.”
I lean against the door for several minutes, listening, but she doesn’t reply. I don’t dare open the door for fear that one look at her and I’ll cave.
My wolf’s whimpers finally break the silence. He’s laying down, moping. I take his lead, and crawl beneath the covers, drawing in the last of my angel’s scent from the bed, where I tell myself this is best for my Angel… and she’s all that matters.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
