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9

CODY

The beer delivery was short four kegs. One waitress called in sick. Someone took a shit and clogged the toilet in the men’s room. That all happened before eight. Then the customers started to really pour in, and I was helping out behind the bar, trying to keep up with the orders. Besides the clogged toilet, it was all no big deal. Another night owning the only bar in town.

What was different tonight was that I had a fated mate. Sure, I had fucking blue balls, but I couldn’t help but smiling like I got laid. Riley’s taste was on my tongue, soaked into my skin. I knew what she sounded like when she came. Looked like when I gave her pleasure.

My dick pulsed at the idea that I was the only guy who’d done so. And ever would.

Except she was bowling with her friends. My wolf didn’t understand that concept, didn’t like the fact that we were apart. He wanted to hunt her down. Chase her again and go primal on her ass. Shit, now I was thinking about fucking that virgin hole, too.

Someday.

Someday, I’d have every inch of her.

Hopefully before the full moon because that approaching tension was going to drive me and my wolf into a frenzy. I pulled another beer then set it on the tray with the three others, slapped the damp order slip beside it, and placed it in the pickup area for Wanda, one of the waitresses.

Turning back to help the next customer, I found it wasn’t a guy who wanted another pitcher waiting, but Rob Wolf and his mate.

Fuck.

He leaned against the bar, casual as fucking ever, one arm slung about Willow’s waist. As if the loud country music didn’t faze him. Or the screaming bachelorette party in the corner. Or the whoops of a rowdy group by the mechanical bull. With his cowboy hat on his head and ranch-worn hands, he blended right in. The fact that he could probably hear a mouse fart in the alley because he was an alpha shifter wasn’t obvious.

Grabbing a clean rag, I wiped the glossy bar in front of them. “Hey guys. Beer?” I asked with my usual easygoing smile.

He looked to Willow. “That’d be great,” she said. “Thanks.”

Rob nodded for one as well.

They stayed quiet as I filled their mugs from the tap. I wasn’t sure if they really wanted the drinks or if Rob was giving me time to get my shit together. Or let me sweat because I felt like a teenager who got caught stealing his parent’s car for a joy ride.

I set a beer in front of Willow first then Rob. While she took a sip from hers, he ignored his.

“It seems that Marion never had anyone visit her today.” Rob obviously had no interest in pleasantries. This was the second time today he’d had to deal with a McIntire.

All the racket, all the waiting customers, slipped away. Rob’s gaze pierced me in place. He wasn’t angry. I’d never known our alpha to do angry. But he sure as hell wasn’t happy.

“No,” I replied .

“Got a good reason?”

I set my forearms on the bar, leaned in close. “She’s mine.”

Not a chance would I say fated mate in this crowd. While there was a mix of shifters and humans in the crowd, it stayed in balance because the humans had no clue as to the mix of bar-goers.

Willow let out a little gasp and grinned.

Rob didn’t offer as much emotion. Only one dark brow winged up in response. “You sure?”

I glared. “Seriously?”

He shrugged. “You’re old. Maybe your scent’s broken.”

Willow laughed again. “Rob,” she scolded.

I continued to glare. I didn’t dare disrespect my alpha by saying something I would regret, so I stayed silent.

“Now we know why Tyler’s kiss with her was off.”

I scrubbed at the not-dirty bar top with the rag instead of punching my alpha in the nose. “Don’t ever mention Tyler, kiss, and Riley again. Please,” I added through gritted teeth, out of deference.

Now Rob flashed a grin, which was a rare thing. It was his turn to lean forward. He didn’t have to do more than murmur since I had exceptional hearing .

“So you plan to claim her. Hard to do when she’s not here.”

I met his gaze. “She’s bowling with friends.”

“Shit.” He sighed then kissed Willow’s temple. “Stay here for a few, angel.”

She nodded, then Rob snagged a stool for her to sit on. Without saying more, he turned away from the bar and weaved around the high top tables.

“Shit,” I repeated. Signaling to my bartender that I was stepping away, I followed my alpha to my office.

“I’ll claim her, Alpha. But she’s nineteen . Still a virgin,” I told him once the door was closed behind us, cutting the noise down to only the thumping bass of the latest song.

He leaned against my desk and crossed his ankles. “Not surprising. I imagine her dad keeps the boys away at gunpoint. You have a helluva hurdle with both her age and the deputy.”

I groaned. “I know.”

For shifters, losing your virginity only meant you had sex for the first time. As simple as that. There were no flower petals–except when it happened on a full moon run out in a field. There was no candlelight. It wasn’t… special. But I knew humans made something of it. Based on the way Riley was begging me to fuck her, she didn’t seem to think it was all that pivotal either.

Except I doubted she thought it would be a forty-year-old guy doing the deed. My wolf snarled at the thought of someone else ridding her of it. Like Matt or Ethan, two boys I wanted to take out in the back country and teach a lesson on how to treat a woman. Any woman but Riley. Then I’d pull out some diagrams on female anatomy, so they got their shit together.

“I wanted her memory wiped. You disobeyed a direct order from your alpha.” Rob sliced his hand through the air. “She knows about us and is unclaimed. And she’s not tied to your hip .”

Instantly, I thought of her tied to the bed and willed my dick down.

“I’m sorry, Alpha.” I ran a hand over the back of my neck. “I went to her place and used the animal tranquilizer you gave me. I had every intention of taking her to Marion. To fix Tyler’s problem. Then I caught her scent.” Taking a deep breath, I remembered that first hit of her sweetness. “She’s not Tyler’s problem any longer. She’s my mate. There was no way I could wipe her mind. You know that can leave permanent damage.”

“Not with just one memory. Now she has a memory of you kidnapping her, too. The longer this goes on, the more memories that will have to be wiped. And that could cause permanent damage. That many holes in a person’s mind?” He shook his head ominously.

Fuck. I wouldn’t let that happen to Riley. Even if it meant defying my alpha and getting kicked out of the pack. I would die first.

“She won’t have to have them wiped,” I said fiercely. “I’ll get her on board. It just takes time. She’s a human. I have to–” Fuck. This was going to be a daunting task. “Woo her. Make her fall in love.”

“Right, and in the meantime, how many people will she tell our secret to? Maybe while at the bowling alley?” He shook his head. “You should’ve followed my orders and wiped her memory. Then you’d have all the time you needed to figure out how you’re going to get a teenager to fall for you without putting the pack at risk.”

I swallowed. He was right. I hadn’t even managed to explain the situation to Riley properly. I just confused her with orgasms and dropped her at home. She could’ve shared everything with her friends by now. Told her dad. Her grandmother. Anyone.

“I don’t like this, Cody.”

“Give me one week.” One week to make a teenager fall in love and be willing to spend the rest of her life with me. That was possible, wasn’t it?

Rob smirked. “Well, you do have a reputation for making women fall fast.”

I bit back a growl. My wolf didn’t like the implication that Riley was like any other female I’d been with.

“I guess if anyone knows how to make a human female fall in love fast, it’d be you.” He pushed to standing, slapped me on the shoulder before opening the office door. “Fine. You have one week, Cody. But that’s it because every day she’s got more and more memories of shifters existing to erase. Make her fall in love and get her on board with being claimed, or I will personally take her to Marion to have her mind wiped.”

FUCK.