Page 13 of Not My Mate

Relief touched the man's gaze. "Yeah. Your mother's just finished it. Go on. Freshen up for lunch, or whatever you kids call it these days." He gave me a teasing wink.

I stared back awkwardly, not sure how to respond.

"Ahem. Well, you boys go ahead. Don't let me keep you."

He waved us on awkwardly towards a home up ahead. I kept my head down and followed Russ's lead, only after a moment remembering to pull away from him.

"All right, sweetheart, calm your jets," he told me in a low voice. "My dad doesn't bite. It's Mom you've got to worry about. Kidding! I'm kidding!"

I was not hyperventilating. I wasnot.

"You're really a mess, you know that?"

"Shut the fuck up," I managed to growl, opening and closing my fists. It would be so easy to punch him. Here, on his pack land, in front of his family. They'd probably devour me.

He nudged me towards the house. "Get going. We'll fight later if you want." Dammit, he shouldn't sound so fucking amused by me. I cast him a look of great dislike, but I went.

The house was decorated in a rustic country style, with wide, rough floorboards, white-painted walls, wildflowers in the kitchen, an ancient wood-burning cooking stove, battered wooden chairs, and a scarred old kitchen table.

His mother, a round woman with very curly hair, took one look at us and tsked. "That boy really needs to keep his truck working. Here, you both look famished. Have some biscuits. Lunch is soon!"

She pressed warm biscuits into our hands before Russ could even get his arms around her in a hug. I stood awkwardly on the sidelines, holding a biscuit, not sure what to do. I always froze around strangers when I wasn't on a mission, and I didn't like it. Normal wolves wouldn't do this.

Sahil had thought a trip like this could fix me. Nope; it just shone a bright light on my inadequacies.Great.

Russ gave her a long hug. A fucking long hug.

"We'll be down soon, Mom," he told her, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Then he grabbed my hand and drew me after him.

I was too stunned to resist. We clattered up the stairs, him finally releasing my hand, and burst into a friendly, rather bare bedroom with a double bed with a pink, tattered quilt on top. The only other furniture was a very battered old armoire. The windows had no curtains or blinds and looked out over a rustic farmyard scene stretching away into the distance. It was very green and very nature-y, but right now it couldn't hold my attention.

I stared around the room in disbelief. One bed. No chairs. What were they thinking? I gave him an incredulous, displeased look.

He shrugged and pushed me towards the bed. "Sit. Rest. I won't bug you. If you can't stand to eat with us, I'll tell them you're too tired and bring you a plate instead."

I grunted softly, impressed by his uncharacteristic consideration. "Fine. But I'm not sharing a bed with you."

He laughed. "Go on. Rest. Take your wolf form if you want." He waggled his eyebrows at me. Whatever that was supposed to mean.

Ew, did he—? No, he couldn't meanthat. He wasn't that much of a perv, surely. He was just getting a charge out of teasing me. Asshole. Still, no way was I getting undressed in front of him after that remark.

I snorted and turned away from him. "Go on. Get out of here."

"Such a polite houseguest," he egged. "His manners are im-pecc-able."

I threw a pillow at him. It connected with his head hard enough to make him choke on his laugh. He threw it back.

I was seriously going to punch him. Any second now.

#

"You like my family. Don't lie. You fucking love them."

"I hate them," I informed him.

We were lying on a green riverbank, stretched out and watching the water flow past. It was the most beautiful scene I'd been in in some time. If only he hadn't been here to ruin it, of course. Chewing on blades of grass and listening to the water would have been peaceful, otherwise.

"They like you." He nudged my thigh with one finger.