Page 27 of The Reluctant Alpha

"No." He took a step closer, then seemed to think better of it and stopped. "But this is complicated, Danny. There's a revenant hunting my bears—hunting me. People are dying. This is the worst possible timing for...whatever this is."

"Is that your way of saying 'thanks but no thanks'?" I tried to keep my voice low, but I could feel the edges around my temper already fraying.

Bayer's jaw tightened. "It's my way of saying I don't want you to get hurt."

"Right," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Because heaven forbid I actually care about someone who's in danger." I crossed my arms over my chest, the familiar armor of snark sliding into place. "Don't worry about my delicate feelings, Bayer. I'm a big boy."

Bayer's expression hardened. "That's not what I meant."

"No? Then what did you mean exactly? Because it sounds like you're giving me the 'it's not you, it's me' speech, which is pretty rich considering I'm the one who made the mistake in the first place."

"Mistake?" The word hung between us, loaded with tension.

"Yes, mistake," I snapped, even as something in my chest cracked at the flicker of hurt in his eyes. "Obviously it was. I was concussed and emotional, and it didn't mean anything."

Bayer took a step back, and I hated how much that small retreat stung.

"If that's how you feel," he said quietly, "then you're right. It was a mistake."

"Great. We agree on something." I turned away, blinking hard against the burning in my eyes.

"Danny," Bayer called after me, but I was already walking away, my vision blurring.

I didn't stop, didn't look back. Because if I did, he might see the tears threatening to spill over, and I'd be damned if I let that happen. I'd already made enough of a fool of myself for one day.

I headed straight for the packhouse, ignoring the curious glances from the wolves I passed. My head was pounding again, the stress and emotional whiplash aggravating my concussion. All I wanted was to find a quiet corner somewhere and lick my wounds in private.

Instead, I ran directly into Emery.

"Whoa," he said, catching my shoulders to steady me. His expression immediately shifted from surprise to concern. "Danny? What happened?"

"Nothing," I muttered, trying to move past him. "I'm just tired."

"Bullshit." Em's grip on my shoulders tightened slightly. "I know that look. That's your 'I'm about to cry but would rather die than admit it' face."

"I don't have a face like that," I protested weakly.

"You absolutely do. You had it the first day we met when Alfie Neeman got excited and elbowed you in the nuts." He steered me toward a quiet alcove off the main hallway. "Talk to me."

I leaned against the wall, suddenly exhausted. "I told Bayer the kiss was a mistake."

Em's eyebrows shot up. "And was it?"

I slid down the wall, sitting on the floor with my knees pulled to my chest. "No," I admitted miserably. "But he was doing that thing—that noble, self-sacrificing thing where he tries to protect me from the big, bad world." I raked my hands through my hair. "He basically told me it was bad timing because of the revenant."

"And that made you angry," Emery said, sitting beside me.

"Of course it made me angry! I'm not some delicate flower who needs sheltering. I'm a grown man who can make his own decisions about who he wants to...to..."

"Kiss senseless in front of the entire pack?" Emery supplied helpfully.

I groaned, dropping my forehead to my knees. "Was it really that bad?"

"Bad? No. Memorable? Definitely." Emery bumped my shoulder with his. "Danny, have you considered that maybe Bayer isn't trying to protect you because he thinks you're weak, but because he cares about you?"

"That's what makes it worse," I mumbled into my knees. "I don't want him to care about me if it means he's going to go off and get himself killed trying to be some kind of hero."

Emery was quiet for a moment. "You know," he said finally, "when I first met Phoenix, I thought he was the most arrogant, overprotective jerk on the planet. Every decision I made, he tried to override. Every risk I wanted to take, he tried to prevent. It drove me absolutely crazy."