Page 21 of Rhett

“Nova wasn’t lying, Rhett,” Quinn rebutted. “She didn’t know anything about her family.”

I knew that Nova wasn’t lying about anything she said. My shifter nose smelled the truth of her words. But I refused to back down from my stance. If Nova stayed in the Ridge, her safety was in jeopardy.

“I know that,” I barked. “Yes, I admit I took it too far by saying the things I did, but we’ve got enough on our plate with tracking down two fugitives, Sam and Clancy. We don’t need more work with protecting Nova.”

“Wait a minute,” Quinn barked. “Clancy’s back in town?”

Clancy was a town resident and feral shifter who had ventured outside the Ridge and killed humans. He was on the Shifter Council’s—a secretive group of alpha leaders from various shifter breeds that governed the shifter world across the globe—most wanted list.

I nodded. “Logan just reported that Clancy broke in and stole all his short loin. He smelled him all over his shop.”

“So you’re stressed about the workload?” Quinn eyed me suspiciously. “That’s why you have a problem with letting Nova stay?”

“It’s complicated,” I admitted.

Quinn and Imani frowned.

“Look, despite her bloodline,” I said, “I don’t want anything to happen to her under my watch.” That was half the story. The other part was that the moment I’d met her, I’d known that she was mine from her delicious scent that called to me in ways no other female had. I’d wanted her—well, before I’d found out she had a Hunter bloodline. Now my mind refused to cave in to the primal urge to claim my fated mate, and my inner beast was pissed about my decision.

“Wait a minute.” Imani’s nose twitched. “Are you attracted to her?”

“That’s none of your business,” I grumbled, shifting my eyes away.

“What’s going on with you, Rhett?” she asked. “Being so rude to a female is not like you.”

Tired of the back-and-forth about this subject, I blurted out, “She’s my fated mate.”

They both stared at me.

“I can’t claim her,” I rushed out. “She has Hunter blood. You both know what they did to my sister. I would never disrespect her memory by claiming a Hunter.”

“She’s not a Hunter, Rhett,” Quinn said.

“It’s not happening,” I replied.

“None of what you said makes any sense, Rhett,” Imani argued. “You forsaking your fated mate is unnatural.”

“And it’s utterly ridiculous,” Quinn asserted. “I can’t believe you’d rather not claim your mate over some vendetta with Hunters that she had nothing to do with.”

“It’s my decision,” I answered.

“And the fact that you’re sure to go feral without your fated mate—will that not persuade you to rethink your stance?” Imani asked.

I shook my head. “No.”

“Quinn.” She glared at me. “Talk sense to Rhett.”

“I know him,” Quinn replied. “His mind is made up about this.” He shot me a look of disappointment. “But we still have to protect her. There’s no doubt in my mind that, as we speak, the planning committee members are spreading gossip about Nova. She’s under our protection while in the Ridge.”

“Agreed,” Imani said.

“I still think the better solution is kicking her out of town,” I grumbled. She’d be safer anywhere but here.

Quinn frowned. “What the hell is wrong with you, Rhett? I can’t make you claim her, but Nova is Bonnie’s granddaughter, and she has the right to spend time getting to know her. They’re family.”

Anger and frustration bubbled to the surface. “Does anyone in this fucking room give a shit that her kind killed my sister?”

“It was her kind. Not Nova,” Imani rebutted.