“Why do you care about the humans so much?” Beckett scrutinized, eyes narrowing, lips scowling.
“Are you still hung up on the idea that I could be working with the hunters?” Beckett stayed quiet and continued to stare. “I’m not.”
“Then why do you care so much if they live or die?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” I threw my hand in the air, adding to my sarcasm. “Because they’re people too? They may be human, but we’re half human, too. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“People are going to get hurt,” Rush said sadly, and his hand settled on my lower back.
“But what if-”
“Sloane,” Rush interrupted in a steady but empathetic tone. “We’re not negotiating.”
I grumbled and stayed quiet for the rest of the meeting. Beckett and Rush pulled out maps of the territory, old battle plans, and strategies, discussing aspects of the pack I wasn’t even aware of. I committed it all to memory and began working on an alternate plan in my head in case theirs didn’t turn out as expected.
Beckett left the office sometime in the early afternoon, and Rush and I remained seated, talking about protection for the pack.
“I think we should appoint more guards to the border,” I suggested.
“I agree.” Rush folded his hands on his desk. “I also think we should remain with the idea of a buddy system, just to be safe.”
“I agree.” I mimicked him, folding my hands across the desk close to his.
“I also think that you should come over here and let me kiss you,” he said flirtatiously.
“Why don’t you come over here?” I could feel my eyes darkening, an obvious sign of a wolf’s arousal. Rush launched off the desk and picked me up from the office chair. My legs wrapped around his waist as he roughly pushed me against the wall, a picture frame falling to the ground.
He kissed me, hands roaming the undersides of my thighs, and they tightened around his waist. I tilted my head back, moaning in the sweetness of his lips on the mark etched in my skin. His hand reached for the doorknob and then resumed its position under my leg. He walked out of the office into the open hallway.
My hand gripped the back of his neck tightly, painfully, and he groaned against my skin. We came to the stairs, and when I thought he would ease me back onto the ground, he stepped up. Without looking, he climbed the familiar path to our bedroom and pressed me against the wall next to the door.
Our clothes were nothing but a distraction, mentally burning off as his hands roamed. We could have been naked, it wouldn’t have mattered, nothing was in between us.
As his hand touched the door handle, a small, spritely ‘eek’ erupted from behind Rush’s large body. He turned slightly, my body still wrapped around his hips and shoulders.
Kenna was spread out on the wall, pressing herself further into it like she was going to disappear through it. Her cheeks filled with color, and her large brown eyes remained frozen wide.
“I’m so sorry,” she said frantically, moving to leave. “I’ll just talk to you later.”
The sexual tension in the air decreased, and our moment was gone.
“What’s up, Kenna?” I sighed, loosening my legs and slipping to the ground.
“No, no.” She shook her head, covering her eyes with her hand, flinching away. “You continue on, I’ll catch up with you later!”
“The moment’s kind of gone now,” I joked.
Rush slumped away in disappointment.
“I’m so sorry. I was just going to ask if you wanted to come into town with my brother and me, we have to get some things for my dad’s birthday. I know you said you wanted to check out a few of the stores in town.”
“That’d actually be great,” I told her, fixing my shirt.
“Okay, I’ll uh, just wait for you downstairs.” She stumbled away.
Rush let out a frustrated grunt and walked through the open bedroom door. I followed him and snatched my purse from the side table.
“You shouldn’t leave.”
“It’s safer if there are more of us in town, I wouldn’t want anything to happen to Kenna.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to you,” he insisted. I pressed my palm to his cheek before kissing the opposite. “Just be careful. I’m sending extra guards with you.”
“We’ll continue this later,” I promised, smirking slightly. He chuckled and nodded his head.
“Be safe, stay with Kenna’s brother, he’s a Warrior. Link me if anything happens. If you see any of the men that attacked us, leave, and come home immediately. I want you all back before dinner,” he droned on.
I hurried out of the room in the middle of his speech and trailed after Kenna and her brother, Griffin, into the human town. Kenna rattled off all the things they needed to make a cake and wrap presents.
I sat in the backseat of the car, watching the road, memorizing the path to the shops. Griffin slowed the car as he looked for a parking spot, and I unbuckled my seatbelt in anticipation. As I turned my head, I noticed one of the men who attacked Rush and I getting into a large truck.
A small, brunette girl waved goodbye to him, and I saw her mouth form the word, “dad.” She wistfully walked into a clothing shop, and the door closed behind her.
Kenna and Griffin climbed out and started off towards a bakery. Another car filled with Warriors from our pack pulled up behind Griffin’s car and stood watch as we decided where to go first.
“Hey, do you mind if I go check something in that store?” I asked, already stepping a few feet in that direction.
“Yeah, just be quick,” Griffin said gruffly. I nodded in agreement and jogged across the street after looking for cars. Two Warriors followed me but stayed outside the store, watching me from the windows of the storefront. I opened the door to the shop hesitantly, not knowing what I
