Page 80 of Fated to the Wolf Cowboy

“I think we should test her,” Luke said. “Let’s find out what she’s really capable of and if there is any true cause for concern here.”

“No!” I said, holding my mate a little tighter.

“What do you mean, test me?” Tricia asked.

I sensed she was more curious now than afraid.

“When Tim was suspected to be an Alpha wolf, we tested his strength so we would know the threat level he posed. Why not do the same with Tricia?”

“Luke’s right. If she’s never commanded a wolf before, then that stupid threat level shit is just fear of something she might be able to do. And even if she can, that doesn’t make her a threat to us. You of all people know that, Thomas.”

“I know,” he assured us. “But I do think we need to know for sure, Tricia.”

Tricia

Chapter 23

“I don’t like it,” Brady argued.

While I appreciated his concern, my head was swirling with questions. Could I control a shifter in animal form?

It sounded absurd. I’d never dare to try.

“And we don’t like the idea of the Grand Council potentially becoming a threat to our Pack,” Luke warned.

“She’s my mate.”

“You haven’t claimed her,” he pointed out.

“Yet.” Brady said sharply.

My breath caught and my insides turned to goo. Even after all of this? He was still thinking of bonding with me?

We hadn’t exactly had the smoothest start. And after all of this, I hadn’t let myself hope that he would accept me as a mate even after our intimate evening. Despite my best bravado, I was too insecure to just go after him like that. Sex was one thing but acceptance and forever were so much bigger to me.

“I haven’t sealed our bond yet. That doesn’t make her any less my mate. And let me point out that she is in fact my one true mate. That used to mean something around here.”

I shivered as goosebumps broke out across my skin. I hadn’t seen this assertive side of him much lately and apparently, I still liked it. I liked it a lot.

If we weren’t in this mess and in the company of others, I probably would have crawled into his lap and tested his control right now.

I had to squeeze my thighs together tightly as desire slammed into me at the thought combined with the memories of last night.

Brady sniffed the air and smirked.

Sonofabitch knew exactly what he was doing to me, too.

My cheeks burned as I realized they all did.

Thomas grinned. “You’ve made your point. I do not and will not stand between true mates. You are well aware of my stance on that.

“And if I take her as my mate, she’s privy to the full protection of the Pack, right?”

Thomas’s grin turned into more of a smirk. “Right.”

“Hold up. I’m not mating you just to ensure Pack security. No offense, but I have a Pack and they don’t give a shit about such things. It’s all false bravado. If my Pack were protecting me, then why the hell is my name on this list at all?”

“I can’t control what other Packs do,” Thomas said. “But Pack means everything to me, Tricia. And we protect our own.”