Page 10 of Savage

Resisting that sexy cowboy had been doable today because I’d puked on his boots. Tomorrow would be a different story.

I wasn’t sure I had the willpower necessary to resist the magnetic attraction I had to the father of my child.

4

CLINT

Mate.

How could I have been so stupid? I’d missed that the hot little nurse was my mate. Four months ago, I’d had my mate in my arms, my dick deep in her pussy, and I’d had no idea. That was one for the shifter record books.

Fuck! A growl rumbled from my chest as I drove out of town.

My nose had been freshly broken the night she and I hooked up at Cody’s, and I hadn’t been able to smell, but still—shouldn’t I have known?

Yeah, I’d been attracted to her from across the room, but so had lots of other guys. Including the one who’d punched me.

Prickles ran all down my arms, across the back of my neck thinking about it. Becky was my mate, and she’d been alone, unprotected while I’d been away. I hadn’t even had any of the other pack members watching out for her. Nothing from me.

Nothing. I was the shittiest mate ever. I wanted to beat the shit out of something, pissed at myself for not being there, even when I’d had no idea. It made leaving her behind now even worse.

I’d breathed in her honeyed scent at the meat counter in the fucking grocery store, and I knew.

My wolf had howled and preened with joy.

She’d been sick! I’d attentively driven her home, ensuring she was safe. What kind of mate left? Walked away when she was clearly feeling poorly?

Me.

As I drove my truck up the mountain to the pack cabin for our meeting, I ignored the curious glances from Shelby, who was probably smart enough to put two and two together. And stay silent.

A wolf didn’t get that interested over a human puking in the grocery store for nothing.

Now that I reviewed our interaction at the bachelorette party, all the signs were obvious. How I’d lost control when that asshole had tried to pick her up. How satisfied I’d been when she’d gone with me into the storage room. How satisfiedshe’dbeen when we were finished. How I hadn’t wanted it to be a one-time thing.

But it had never occurred to me that she might be mine.

Mine.

And now, it had taken all my willpower just to walk away from her and get in my truck when Shelby had pulled up in front of her place. Claiming a human wasn’t the same as claiming a she-wolf. They didn’t recognize you by scent. They had different ideas about how partnerships with the opposite sex were formed. Becky had no idea she was mine. Even worse, all she probably thought of me was the quickie she’d had at Cody’s over the summer.

She wasn’t a quickie. Sure, we’dhadone, and I’d walked away. I’d been gone pretty much the entire time since, dealing with enforcer shit. There had been no opportunity to revisit the connection we’d had. To see if there was more.

It was a coincidence we’d bumped into each other at the store. Coincidence she’d thrown up on me. I’d blocked her path not knowing… fuck, my mate was sick! That was going to torture me all fucking night until I got eyes on her again and could verify she was feeling better.

Yeah, I’d had to leave. It had been obvious she’d wanted me gone, embarrassed at being sick on me. I didn’t give a shit about that. I was in this with her, throw up and all. She just didn’t know it yet. Like Audrey and Marina before her, she knew nothing about shifters. What I really was. What she meant to me.

Which only had my frustration ratchet up another notch. The further I drove away from her, the angrier my wolf got. I had to figure out what to do because she was fucking mine, and I’d take care of her. In fact, I might need to get a place in town, so I could keep a closer eye on her. Even if she wasn’t ready to accept me as her mate, she required protection. Seeing her sick reminded me of just how vulnerable she was.

Protection.

Oh, fuck.

Reality hit me like a brick in the temple.

How could a council enforcer possibly mate? I’d already written it off as a bad idea. I’d gone into the role with my eyes wide open, knowing the danger, the threat to my life. My job had zero rainbows and unicorns. It was all silver bullets and neck snapping.

The assholes I hunted had zero problems with hurting those who I cared about to get back at me. Hell, being mated to an enforcer all but put a bullseye on a female’s back. It would be especially bad with a human. She was so vulnerable. One punch from a vengeful shifter could snap her neck. And humans didn’t have regeneration capabilities. She would die.