Page 113 of Wolf Blood

Sitting on the floor, with the door between his legs.

While he used a drill to remove the keypad portion of the locking mechanism.

I blinked.

On the floor at his side, there was a replacement lock.

One that would require a key.

When I looked back at Rhone, I noticed a new chain around his neck. With a key on it.

"Really?" I asked, and he glanced over.

"You started it." He looked back at the lock and pulled the last piece of the keypad off.

"Technically, you started it. You locked me out of my old room."

"The observation room. Where you weren't comfortable, devolved frequently, and couldn't sleep."

I made a face.

I wasn't going to win that argument, so I abandoned ship. "You can't lock your mate in an apartment. That has to be illegal, even for werewolves."

"It's a gray area."

"There's no way."

"It's frowned upon, but understandable in some situations. And I wasn't planning on locking you in here, so it's irrelevant."

"You weren't?"

"Of course not. I'm not a fucking monster. I'm the one who spent more than a month trying to convince you to stop living in an observation room, remember?"

"Right."Ipadded over to him, sitting on my ass a foot or two away from him and studying the new lock. "Then whyare you changing this?"

"My mate keeps locking me out."

"She's a bitch. You should ask fate for a reroll."

"I don't want a reroll."

He reached for the new lock, andIcaught his arm. When I lifted his wrist closer to my face so I could see the raised scar there, hedidn't protest. I felt his gaze on me while I dragged my thumb slowly over the mark.

"Do you hate it? Most wolves have mate marks on their necks," I said.

"I like being able to see it. I usually have a neck wound at some stage ofhealing, too. People will still know I'm taken."

My face warmed. "Bloom said my scar is scandalous."

"Show it to me."

I turned my shoulders and tipped my head down, so he could see the whole thing. I wasn't sure how much of it was covered by my hair.

Rhone rumbled. "Looks fucking hot to me."

It was definitely scandalous, then.

"I wasn't going to make you mate with me," I said, needing to clear the air. "I know you didn't want a mate bond. I didn't want you to have to deal with it, so?—"