Page 59 of Taken By The Wolves

Protect.

Mate.

Mine.

The words buzz through me, bunching my muscles against an invisible threat.

Invisible until the breeze fills my nostrils with the scent of a rogue wolf.

A tall figure pauses fifteen feet ahead, his face tipped. He’s scented us, too. He’s lean and angular and his scent freezes me. One of Gregory’s pack has crawled out of the woodwork at the worst possible time.

Reed braces as Finn becomes aware. I position myself between the man and Scarlet, hoping it will be enough to mask Ahya’s scent. The stranger stares, not threatening but interested.

My wolf snarl is silent, but I bare the tips of my fangs beneath my mask of calm, enough to glint in the morning sunshine. His stare flicks to me and then to my brothers. Scarlet, unaware of the danger, moves slightly to the side toavoid bumping into my back, and I throw my arm up to prevent her. A flicker passes across his expression at the sight of her and our defensive stance. He knows she’s someone special now. Not our mate because she carries no wolf marking, but enough to warrant our protection. Then his eyes drift to the baby in her arms.

“Don’t move,” I grit out to Scarlet, who flinches with sudden awareness.

If he approaches, we’ll be forced to take action, and none of us wants a snarling battle of fangs and claws on Main Street.

“Nixon.”

A gravelly voice calls my name from the coffee shop to our right. Hunter is there with his family, holding a tray. My stillness alerts him, and Robert and Evan respond immediately, stepping forward and guiding Scarlet to where Goldie is sitting with their sons.

Like ice in the spring sun, the threat melts into the crowd.

“Take care of her,” I order Finn, striding after the enemy wolf to confirm he’s leaving town. Reed follows a little behind, and we both pause when we observe him climbing into a black truck.

Reed growls low and possessively. “It was going to happen sometime, but not when she’s unclaimed, Nixon. We can’t leave her unprotected.”

He’s right, of course.

I’m not a patient man, and now my hand has been forced.

“She’s ours,” I say. “They’re both ours. The claim happens tonight.”

***

“Thank you,” I say to Hunter, Robert, and Evan, shaking each man’s hand in turn.

“Trouble?” Hunter asks.

“Pack politics,” I say. Our truce with the bears of Blackwood Forest is new, and I’d rather not drag them any further into wolf business.

“It’s something we avoid.” Hunter rubs his thick brown beard, his frown deep enough to tell me he suffers with similar complications among his own kind.

We have made similar choices to set ourselves apart from our packs to find peace for our families. I’m unsure how Hunter avoids getting dragged into issues with the wider bear group, and I’m not in a position to ask for that kind of advice.

What I’m sure of is that wolf will report back to his alpha, and what happens next could impact everything we’re striving for.

Goldie is watchful, her attention only half on Scarlet, who’s holding Ahya close as she fusses. Can she sense the tension that’s vibrating through us all?

“We should go,” I say.

Hunter’s eyes scan the section of road outside the coffee shop. “Do you have others to call upon if necessary?”

I grit my teeth at the thought of being forced to call on the family we left and the memory of the blame they threw in our direction. It’s too bitter a pill to swallow, but if Gregory decides to make a claim for Ahya, I will humble myself and do whatever needs to be done, no matter the cost.

“We do,” I tell Hunter. “Reed. Finn. Get the truck and bring it outside.”