Page 89 of Protected Promise

I shook my head. “No, the Pack should come first. He’s the Alpha.”

“Sweetheart, the Pack always comes first. And you are the Pack Mother. It’s natural for me to protect and care for you. Just because I worked from here, doesn’t mean I was slacking or anything.”

“That wasn’t what I meant,” I argued.

He sighed. “I know. I’ve got all the paperwork filed with the Grand Council and the official notice of our mating has gone out. If someone comes to challenge me anyway, then I’ll deal with it, just like you did.”

I nodded. He somehow knew that was exactly what I needed to hear.

“But what if they come for both of us? Then what? Your attention would be divided.” That was my real concern. When the shit hit the fan, would he protect himself, the Pack, or me first.

“That isn’t going to happen, but if it did, we fight together. I’ve got your back, you’ve got mine, plus our Pack might not be large in numbers, but we’ve been protecting this territory for many generations. It’s not a choice between one or the other.”

I sighed and relaxed a little. I understood his point and knew I was just being ridiculous and overly sensitive after my own attack.

There was a knock at the door and Clover peeked her head in. I hadn’t seen her since the incident by the cabin.

“Oh, I’ll come back,” she whispered.

It amazed me that this meek girl ever thought to challenge me in the first place. She looked as if she were scared of her own shadow.

“It’s okay,” I said.

The other two had flitted in and out to check on me a few times and I felt badly for my reaction to them every single time. As long as they were here, they were kind of my responsibility. I knew I needed to make at least some effort to get to know them.

Clover hesitantly walked in and handed me a hot cup of tea. “It will help you enhance your energy, Pack Mother.”

“Kaitlyn,” I corrected her.

She simply nodded in response.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Just some simple ingredients I found in the woods.”

“Like what?” I asked curiously.

I sniffed the tincture. It smelled nice. I took a little sip as she rattled off a list of herbs most of which I’d never heard of, but one in particular stood out.

“Drink up,” she said sweetly before turning to leave.

“Thanks,” I muttered.

As soon as she was out of the door, I set the cup down and pulled out my phone. I quickly ran a search on hemlock. I read through the various types. Just about all were bad, but water hemlock was deadly.

I pulled up the description of water hemlock…trembling, muscle pain and weakness, convulsions. I had a sinking feeling in my gut.

“Hey drink up, so you’ll feel better,” Landon encouraged.

I stared at the glass. “Did she say hemlock?”

“Water hemlock,” Tobi corrected.

“That’s what I was afraid of.”

“What’s wrong?” Landon asked. “She’s really good with herbs and plants. She knows what she’s doing.”

“And that’s what I’m really afraid of.”