Protector's Mate. Katie Reus

first mate—as if she were some whore—no one had stepped up to defend her. Screw them. They weren’t her pack. They weren’t her anything. “You didn’t answer my question.”

      “No, I didn’t.”

      Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a yellow cab pulling up to the curb. It didn’t look like anyone had claimed it and she didn’t want to miss her chance. She didn’t know why Alaric was here but she wasn’t going to put herself in a position to be at his mercy. “Thanks for coming to the airport, but I’m afraid you wasted your time.”

      She turned away from him, but before she’d taken a step he plucked her suitcase and her carry-on from her hands and shoved them in the backseat of the SUV. She blinked once. The man moved lightning fast. Faster than any shifter she’d ever seen.

      “What are you doing?” Panic laced her voice and she was unable to mask it.

      “You’re coming with me, little wolf.” His voice softened slightly.

      Why had his voice gone all husky like that? And why do I like it? Maybe she really was more tired than she realized. She mentally shook herself. It didn’t matter. “Why didn’t you tell me your Alpha had taken over this territory, Alaric? You’ve had plenty of opportunities.”

      “Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving Afghanistan?” Now there was no softness in his voice. Just anger and something that sounded a lot like…hurt.

      She swallowed hard at the surge of guilt that erupted inside her. The thought of telling him had crossed her mind, but he’d have likely wanted to see her. And after those last few emails… She couldn’t deal with that now. Didn’t want to deal with anything. All she wanted to do was sleep in a soft bed. She shifted from foot to foot as she ran over her options. He had her bags and she certainly couldn’t overpower him. Not to mention, making a scene at the airport was stupid. His reputation was fearsome, but she’d never heard that he hurt females. Not much to go on, but her inner wolf didn’t fear him and that said a lot. She ignored his question and asked another one of her own. “Where are you taking me?”

      “Where you belong,” he growled softly. Possessively.

      She frowned at the tone of his voice, then raked a hand through her hair. She’d been traveling for nearly thirty-six hours and didn’t have the energy to figure out his riddles. Her entire body was tired. And she desperately needed to shift and run free for a while.

      When an unbidden thought assaulted her mind, her eyes narrowed on his. “Is the reason you started emailing because of the way I left my old pack? Is this about punishment for my defiance? Your Alpha’s angry with me so he sent you to deal with me?”

      His jaw clenched tightly, but he didn’t respond.

      When his expression transformed to an unreadable mask, she rolled her eyes to cover her nervousness. That seemed to annoy him and for some reason she took perverse pleasure in the fact. “Fine, but if you’re going to kill me or punish me make it quick.”

      He muttered something that sounded German but she couldn’t be sure. Whatever he’d said, it wasn’t endearing. He sounded pissed. At least he had the decency to open the passenger door for her. When she slid inside she was surprised to find they were alone. She’d assumed as second in command for a powerful pack, he’d travel with security. Of course someone like him likely didn’t need security. He could probably kill ten wolves with his pinky toe. Or just stare them down with that penetrating gaze until they submitted.

      * * *

      As Alaric pulled away from the curb, he wanted to strangle and kiss the gorgeous she-wolf at the same time. Kill her? Not bloody likely. The slim, dark-haired, blue-eyed beauty brought out all his protective instincts. She always had. He’d wanted to claim her years ago but she’d been too young. Barely nineteen, she wouldn’t have been ready for him then. And he’d wanted her to spread her wings and get an education before he made his move. By the time he’d heard what that bastard Lamont wanted from her, it had been too late.

      She’d been on a plane to a war zone and had ignored all attempts her pack made to contact her. That’s why he was surprised she’d returned his first attempt at contact all those months ago. A couple years had passed since she’d left the country and he’d gotten tired of waiting for her to come home. She was strong and old enough now and his inner wolf wanted her so bad he constantly ached for it. Given her distrust of her own kind, he needed to somehow convince her she was meant to be his. It surprised him she didn’t feel the same pull he did for her, but persuading her wouldn’t be a chore.

      He glanced over at her and had started to ask a question when he realized she was asleep. Not a deep slumber, but her breathing was calm and her eyes had drifted shut. She really must be tired. Only a couple minutes had passed since he’d pulled away from the airport. Her head lolled back against the headrest and although her arms were crossed protectively against herself, her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Even if she might not trust him, her inner wolf knew she was safe in his presence. That had to mean something.

      He resisted the primal urge to reach out and trail a finger down her cheek. To run his hands through her slightly curly, chestnut-colored hair. She’d let it grow a few inches since he’d seen her last. Hell, she’d probably had a dozen different styles since then. Her café au lait skin was darker, more tanned than the last time he’d seen her. No doubt from the time she’d spent outdoors. As a nurse for an international health organization, she’d spent a lot of time in refugee camps, something he vastly admired about her even if every day he’d worried about her. He forced his gaze to the road in front of him. He’d been dreaming about this moment for years. He could wait a few more minutes. Too bad his inner wolf didn’t want to listen.

      As he cruised through the quiet night streets, he spotted the same green truck that had tailed him to the airport. At first he’d thought he was being paranoid, but this was too much of a coincidence. When he neared the upcoming yellow light, instead of slowing down, he flipped a sharp U-turn into the parallel two-lane road.

      Felicia jerked awake with a gasp and grabbed her armrest. A few horns blared and the spike of adrenaline that rolled off her was sharp and acidic. Thanks to the close confines of the vehicle and his extrasensory abilities, he could hear the thump of her erratic heartbeat. “What’s going on?”

      “I think we’re being followed.”

      She whipped her head around.

      In the rearview mirror he watched the green truck jump the median and swerve into their lane. Lately both he and Knox suspected someone from the new pack they’d taken over was plotting to cause dissension among their ranks. Knox had recently mated with a vampire—something rare for a shifter to do, especially an Alpha—so all the warriors had been on edge lately. Especially since they’d had to kick out one of their own when he tried to attack Knox’s new mate. While Alaric couldn’t be sure this was related, he had no way of knowing that it wasn’t. Hell, it could just be a rogue vampire or rogue werewolf out for blood, but he didn’t think so. Alaric wasn’t easy prey and the rogue beasts from both species liked easy hunts.

      As the truck gained ground, he switched lanes and pulled down a side street.

      “Why would someone be following us?” Despite the tension he scented rolling off her, her voice was calm.

      Before he could answer, the back window exploded in a shower of raining glass. Metallic pings ricocheted off the inside of the vehicle.

      “Get down!” he shouted.

      A slight trail of fear trickled off her as she unstrapped her seat belt and scooted lower in her seat but she didn’t panic. “Do you have any weapons?”

      “Yes but they’re in the back—”

      Without pause, she dove into the second seat with a speed that impressed him. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and swerved down another one-way side street. For a moment they lost their tail and the only sound was the whistling of the wind rushing through the blown-out window. He caught sight of her in the rearview