Filed to story: Luna Lovette and Alpha Kodak Story
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the Sequoia Pack wants to talk to you, wanting to know what you’re doing in town,” said Kent. “You’re not exactly inconspicuous.”
Nick smiled. “I’ve already had that ‘talk.'”
“What?” demanded Shaya. “You talked with the Sequoia Pack?” And why had “talk” sounded more like “fight”? “Nick, those guys aren’t good. Please tell me you’re not thinking of joining their pack.”
Liking the concern in her voice, Nick ran the tip of his finger over her bottom lip. “I have no interest in joining their pack or any other.” He chuckled when she slapped his hand again.
“If you ask me,” began Kent, “the humans have a good chance of getting those laws put in place. It’s shifters like the ones around here that give us a bad name.”
“Is there more than one pack here?” asked Nick.
“No. The rebels are a small number of wolves who left the Sequoia Pack, but they refuse to leave town, so fights break out often between them and members of the Sequoia Pack. The human extremists use it as evidence to support their argument that we’re wild and dangerous. The humans also know how the Nazi makes his money, but they have no way of proving it, so they follow him everywhere, desperate to pin something on him. The rebels are closely watched by humans too, but they don’t have a permanent tail.”
“So the extremists in this town are particularly active?”
“Yes.” Kent gestured over Nick’s shoulder. “And I think they wish to speak to you. They’re at the end of the street, and they’re slowly coming this way.”
Nick had sensed them approaching before Kent’s response. A white van had been following him and Derren around all day, and he’d figured it was the extremists-shifters wouldn’t have delayed a confrontation for that long. He’d known it would only be a matter of time before they came to speak to him. Turning, he replied, “So I see.”
The dark edge to his tone made Shaya shiver. In a millisecond, he had gone straight from gentle and cool to commanding and assertive. But that was the thing about Nick. Despite his casual posture, despite how supremely composed he seemed and his way of always seeming at total ease with his surroundings, he was never truly relaxed. He was constantly alert, ready to act. That dark energy he was loaded with was now radiating from him. It was a reminder of just how dangerous he was-like she needed that reminder. Although with her he could be gentle, she got the feeling that she might be the exception.
“Shay, I need you to get in the SUV with Derren.” His wolf growled at the sight of the hateful humans slowly and cautiously approaching; he didn’t want them anywhere near his mate.
“Derren?” she echoed, confused. It was only then that she noticed his SUV was parked behind Nick’s Mercedes.
“Take Kent with you.”
Before Shaya could say a word, Kent slipped his arm into hers and began dragging her to the SUV. Derren was out of the vehicle and holding the rear door open for them.
“In,” urged Kent, shoving her inside.
A part of her wanted to stay with Nick, particularly as her natural soothing aura might just stop the confrontation from escalating. But she had to consider that her presence out there might instead cause the confrontation to get out of control-for her to be around the extremists would make Nick’s wolf frantic enough to snap easily. Besides, presenting a united front was what mated pairs did, and they weren’t mated. Her wolf growled and snapped her teeth at Shaya, unhappy with her refusal to stand at their mate’s side in any case.
When Derren returned to the driver’s seat, Shaya frowned. “Shouldn’t you be out there with him?”
“He’ll be fine.”
“You don’t think they’ll attack him?”
He shot her an odd look in the rearview mirror. “Would you care if they did?”
“Of course I’d care.” She might not want to mate with him, but she didn’t want him hurt.
Derren returned his eyes to the spectacle outside. “If they have any sense, they won’t dare threaten him, let alone attack him.”
Distracting her, Kent elbowed her and gestured at Derren. “Sorry, Kent this is Derren, Nick’s bodyguard. Derren, this is Kent, my friend and boss.”
Kent cocked his head, confused. “Nick has a bodyguard?”
“Actually, he said he fired him.”
Derren smiled. “He did. Repeatedly.”
“So why do you stay with him?” She remembered Nick had said it was “personal.”
Without removing his gaze from what was happening outside, he replied, “A few reasons. The main one is I owe him my life.”
That had been unexpected. “And you’re going to stay with him until you’ve returned the favor,” she guessed.
“No. I want to ensure that there’s never a reason for me to have to return the favor.”
“In other words, you’ll always be at his side trying to protect him.” Which was weird. “Are you, like, gay?”
“Depends if I’m in prison or not.” Hearing her gasp, he threw her an amused sideways glance. “Kidding. Be assured I have no designs whatsoever on your mate.”
Kent gawked. “Nick’s your mate?”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?