“Why would he do that?” Theo asked through gritted teeth.
“Because he’s never going to find his mate.”
“Oh, and you’re an expert?” Theo asked, smiling in humor.
“You don’t know me, Theodore. You don’t know what I’m capable of.”
“Why don’t you tell me,” Theo offered, gesturing a hand. “You’ve been running onto different pack lands claiming to be looking for your mate or needing refuge, which story is it going to be this time?”
She pouted slightly, looking down like she wasn’t surprised he knew. “I was helping my friends search for their mates,” she paused and gulped. “But I ran into a little trouble along the way.”
“And where are these other friends of yours?”
“I want to talk to her.” Saskia pointed a fragile finger at me and closed her mouth.
“Why do you need to speak to my mate?”
“Because this is a sensitive topic,” she pressed, glaring at Theo. “And in case you haven’t noticed, she is the only other woman here. I’d feel more comfortable talking to her.”
“You aren’t-”
“That’s fine,” I interrupted Theo. He gave me a stern look, but I nodded my head, telling him I could do this.
“Fine,” he bit.
“Let’s go back to the packhouse, and we can discuss this further,” Caddy suggested. Theo nodded in agreement and placed a hand on my shoulder. Caddy led us back to the packhouse and into the only conference room towards the east end of the house. Caddy sat at the head of the table, Theo and I to one side, and Saskia settled on the other.
“What were the names of the other girls you were traveling with?” Theo reached over and pulled a thick pad of paper from the end of the table.
“That’s classified, Theodore,” Saskia said, placing both hands on the table in a folded pile.
“Why is that?”
“Because.” She smiled. “I don’t want to tell you.”
Theo set the pen on top of the pad of paper and stared at Saskia. “Why don’t you want to tell me? We can help them if they are in trouble.”
“You don’t help anyone in trouble.”
Theo’s calm façade shifted into one of offense, and he took three deep breaths before continuing. “That is my job, Saskia, to help people. If you or these girls are in danger or some sort of trouble, I can help you.”
“Just like you helped Reed Porter?”
The name sent shocks of ice into my bones.
“What do you know of Reed Porter?”
Saskia chuckled and unfolded her hands, placing them on her lap. “I know a lot more than you might think. I know that you murder people in cold blood and call it self-defense.”
“Reed Porter declared war and died defending his beliefs,” Theo claimed.
“Reed Porter was fighting for what he believed in, and his Enforcer did not facilitate a safe compromise. He contacted you in hopes you could help him, and you denied him that right.”
“If that’s what you think, then so be it.” Theo nodded noncommittally. “Now, what are the names of the women you were traveling with?”
“I won’t tell you.”
“Then you won’t leave.”
“I won’t tell you,” she repeated. “I’ll tell her.”
Theo and Caddy’s heads snapped to me as my eyes grew wider, and my mouth parted, ready to decline the offer.
“Fine,” Caddy spoke quickly. Theo angrily glared at him. “We will be right outside the door. If you need anything, just say so.” Caddy stood up and waited for Theo to do the same. Theo rose uneasily in his chair and touched my shoulder before walking out of the room.
Saskia released a nervous laugh and tucked some hair behind her ear.
“So, what are the names?” I asked, trying to have the same confidence as Theo.
She smiled at my attempt and shook her head. “You don’t have to be like them, you know?”
“Like what?”
“Ridiculously masculine and straight to the point.” Her head tilted right. “I like that you’re softer.”
“I’m not soft.”
Her eyes didn’t believe the words I said, but she nodded, nevertheless. “You remind me of me many years ago.”
“In what way?” I was curious to see if she would open up to me now that Theo and Caddy were on the other side of the door.
“Skittish,” she said, pursing her lips to one side. “Skittish and looking to man to guide you.”
“What makes you think I’m skittish?”
“You flinch every time I move my hands.” She laughed under her breath. “You’re scared. Of me. Of Reed Porter; when I mentioned his name, the blood drained from your face. But you’re trying to put on some persona of cockiness, and it just doesn’t suit you.”
“I can’t imagine you’d ever be skittish,” I told her.
Her eyebrow lifted, and her eyes melted away to another time and place. “I was quiet when I was younger,” she said nodding, recalling some memory. “My parents, they didn’t give me much room to speak. They were so tough on my brother and I. They would make us train for eight hours a day and then we’d be sent to our rooms for the rest of the night. They wanted my brother to become a pack warrior when he got older, and they wanted me to be strong enough for an Alpha to mate me.”
“They didn’t want you to find your mate?” The notion was foreign to me. All the wolves I’d ever met held mates sacred above all else; I couldn’t imagine parents trying to ignore that sanctity.
“My parents were Betas before my brother and I were born. My father made some mistakes, but they were trying to make up for it. They hoped with my brother in a warrior position and me mated to an Alpha or Beta, it would put them in a better position in our pack.” She allowed a false grin to cover the wobble of her lips. “But I met my mate before they could find an unmated Alpha and I was marked the same day. He wasn’t an Alpha, he was a Warrior in our pack, which they were sated
