Page 49 of Wild

16

COLTON

“Are you fucking kidding me?”Boyd said, running his hand through his hair and pacing.

We were in the stable, and I’d just finished brushing down Lucy. She whinnied at his loud voice. It was cool inside, but the tempers were hot. Mine included. I was glad Marina was with Audrey and would miss this convo. It wasn’t going to be pretty, and I wasn’t going to be able to explain the shifter-related issues and why Markle was a pain in our ass. After Marina had driven off, I’d texted Boyd and Rob that there was trouble with Markle. They’d met me here to figure out what we were going to do next.

“Nope. They were grazing all the way up by the waterfall,” I told him, explaining what Marina and I had seen on our ride. I hadn’t met Markle nor had to deal with his shitty ways, so I wasn’t as hot under the collar as Boyd. Still, it had messed with my time with Marina and that made me hate the guy.

Rob leaned against the wall, crossed his ankles. “If they’re grazing that far, it means they’ve been on the other property for a few days.”

I agreed. They weren’t fast moving animals, and there was plenty of grazeland between the opened fence and the waterfall.

“I’m going to go over and give him another black eye.” Boyd turned to stalk out of the stable.

“Now hold on,” Rob called. “You’re getting married in—” He looked at his watch. “—three hours. I can handle Jett Markle but not a pissed off bride because her mate decided to go off half-cocked before the ceremony.”

He sighed, and I watched his shoulders slump, then he turned on his heel and faced us.

“Fine. You two go.” Boyd came over, took the lead for Lucy from me. “I’ll get her settled and fed.”

I looked to Rob, who nodded. I set the curry comb back on the shelf, then led Cinnamon outside to wait for him to get his horse ready.

It took us less time than it took me and Marina earlier. We rode harder to get to the furthest spot from the opened fence. While I liked my brother, Rob was a silent fucker and wasn’t remotely as cute as Marina. He wasn’t in the mood to chat, and I wasn’t going to rile him. Not that he was easily riled.

We herded the cattle back through the opening with whistling and weaving the horses from side to side to get the animals in the right direction. Fortunately, there were only about twenty or so. It took another fifteen minutes to put the fence back in place, then another stretch to ride down to Markle’s house.

I hadn’t been on this land since I was a kid. I remembered the family that used to live here back then. There were a couple kids who were older than us, in high school when we’d been playing in the woods for fun. They’d moved away when the kids had grown, then Rob said someone else had owned it for a few years before selling it to Markle. The house had once been white, but now it was a deep rust color. The roof was now black metal. The windows had all been replaced with sleek glass and black trim. He’d even bumped out the back for a sunroom, one whole wall was windows that faced the mountain. It had been an expensive remodel, and it looked like a fancy ski lodge. I had no idea what his heating bill was in the winter, but Markle had to have deep pockets just to pay it.

Off to the side was a brand new four stall garage that matched the styling of the house. I didn’t know how many vehicles one man needed, and I was in the military and drove everything from a Jeep to a tank.

“Back here, gentlemen.”

We turned at the words and steered our horses to the back. Markle was in an Adirondack chair with a plate of cheese and grapes on the glass coffee table in front of him. He held a glass of red wine.

At three in the afternoon.

Jesus.

I did a quick assessment of the enemy. Expensive clothes made to look casual. Tanned skin that came from a tanning bed somewhere in his house. Hair had product in it. His gaze was pleasant, but he gave off a vibe of being an ass.

“Wolf,” Markle said by way of greeting.

We were about twenty feet from the edge of the deck, remaining in our saddles.

“My brother, Colton,” Rob offered in reply without looking my way. If Markle wasn’t smart enough to figure out he was referring to me, then he wasn’t going to explain.

Markle looked to me. “Another brother. How many are there?”

I stayed silent, let Rob handle this. I didn’t know what had been said before, and he was the alpha. His land, his pack, was being affected by Markle, and it was his responsibility. Oh, I’d have his back, but I’d be beta in this.

“Saw some of your cows on the Shefield property. They seem to have gotten through a section of fence. Colton and I were courteous and brought them back for you.”

“Oh?”

“You mentioned having some issues with wolves, so it’d probably be best for your stock if they stayed on your land.”

“Didn’t realize you owned the property next door,” he said, taking a sip of his wine.