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Jenn’s face went from angry to terrified. I had always been a kind and respectful alpha. That was the way I had been raised. But one thing I would not put up with was disrespect of my mate. Jenn had forgotten her place, and I would happily fucking remind her.

“E-Emmett.”

“It’s Mr. Winters to you. Summer is worth ten of you. No, a thousand. You don’t come even close to her, so how fucking dare you speak about her that way? Get the hell out of my office, or I will have your ass taken out by the police.”

Jenn shook for a moment, clearly scrambling to figure out her next steps.

After only a second or two of consideration, she turned on her heel, storming out of the office, slamming every door behind her as she left the building at top speed.

I stayed in my office for a moment, shaking in anger over what had just happened. Her scent was on me, and I needed it off desperately.

When I got home, I sat in my car for a moment, running a hand through my hair. I wanted desperately to get inside and wash her scent off of me, but I needed to calm down before talking to my pack.

I wasn’t going to keep what happened from Summer, but I would ensure that I was levelheaded when I told her.

It took me a few minutes of simply sitting there and taking deep breaths, but once I felt clearheaded enough, I got out of the car and made my way into the house.

Summer was reading in bed. She was wearing a new pair of pastel pink pajamas and was surrounded by a fuck ton of pillows. She had never technically set up a nest for herself, instead turning the bed in the bedroom into a little pseudo-nest.

“You should be asleep,” I told her.

I should have just gone straight to my bathroom to change, but I didn’t want to hide what had happened from my mate.

“Something felt off in the bond. I couldn’t sleep. Is everything okay?” she asked. Her nostrils flared as she took in Jenn’s scent. Her brow furrowed.

“I fired Jenn,” I explained.

Summer threw off the duvet and got up, coming over like she was going to wrap her arms around me, but I held my hand up to stop her.

“She threw herself at me, tried to seduce me, I think, and said some pretty vile things. I’m covered in her scent, and I want it off, badly.”

“Jenn came on to you?” she asked softly.

“Yeah. It seems like she’s had a thing for me for a while, and I had no freaking idea.”

“D-do you like her?” The hesitation in Summer’s voice broke my fucking heart.

“Summer. Look at me. I never have and never will think like that about another woman. You are it for me. Were it not for the fact I am covered in her scent right now, I would be hugging you. I fully intend to wash all this off, maybe burn this suit, and then spend the rest of the night hugging my mate, okay?”

She nodded softly. “Okay. I believe you.”

“I can get the security footage up on my phone so you can see everything that happened. I’m an open book, and I never want to lie to you.”

“It’s okay, I trust you.” Her nose scrunched. “But I think you do need a shower.”

“I’ll be back in just a moment,” I assured her.

A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “I suppose I could help you get rid of her scent…” She trailed off, looking in the direction of the bathroom.

I couldn’t help it. I burst out into relieved laughter. I had been so worried that Summer was going to be angry with me. It wasn’t exactly a good look, coming home with the scent of another woman on me.

“You, Summer Winters, are fucking perfect,” I declared, grabbing her hand and dragging her toward the bathroom.

Chapter 41

Summer

“How was the library—I see you picked up a stray.” Noah laughed as I pushed Milo’s stroller into the hallway.