Page 34 of Betrayed Bullied Mate

“Okay,” I say, returning to the matter at hand. “We can use the smoke bombs. What else?”

“We should dig trenches around the perimeter,” comes a voice from the edge of the group, and Bigby and Percy move aside to reveal Linnea, who’s outfitted like she’s going to battle with us. She’s wearing another all-black outfit, this time in the new clothes Eva brought her back from the department store. The leggings and tight shirt hug her curves, and it takes my head a moment to focus.

“Linnea,” I say, narrowing my eyes at her. I’m torn—part of me wants to go to her, to take her in my arms, and the other part of me wants to hide her away. I can see the rage in her eyes, and I know it’s because I didn’t answer her earlier, her confession hanging in the air between us with so much weight I feel like I could reach out and touch it.

It’s too much—thinking of settling down with Linnea. Having a family. Potentially staying in Rosecreek. At one point in my life, that would have been my nightmare. And now I can’t deny the way my brain leans into the idea, thrilled at the image of Linnea carrying my child. I clear my throat as my voice comes back to me.

“Go back to the cabin,” I say, using my most authoritative voice, the one that makes other shifters shrink away. But Linnea stands tall, jutting out her hip and placing her hand there, her eyes full of fury as they meet mine.

“No,” she says, and the team collectively sucks in a breath. Even Eva, who regularly shows some sort of attitude, glances between the two of us with wide eyes. I feel my chest expanding, and I intend to show everyone that she will do as I say—whether my orders are logical or not.

“It’s a good idea,” Bigby says, drawing my attention away from my staring match with Linnea. She looks at him as well, breaking the tension between us for a moment. “We need to catch them off guard as much as possible. An opponent falling six feet during the fight wouldn’t hurt.”

“It will hurt them, though,” Linnea adds, her eyes bright with glee as she looks to Bigby, raising her eyebrows at him. “Because we’ll sharpen stakes and place them at the bottom.”

“Holy shit,” Percy says, sucking in a breath through his teeth and glancing at me excitedly. “Your woman is ruthless, Boss.”

I stare at her. My woman.

I could throw her over my shoulder and carry her back to the cabin. Show her who the alpha is in this situation and remind her that she isn’t to disobey me in front of my team, but the truth is that her suggestion is actually pretty good.

“Fine. You can stay and help with the preparations,” I concede, “But the second the rogues get close to here, you’re hiding. Got it?”

Linnea is still staring at me, and I realize even as bold and abrasive as she can be, there’s an affection for her buried in my chest that I can’t shake. The truth dawns on me. I love her. Of course I do.

I’m in love with her, and I would do anything to protect her. To cherish her. Looking at her now, her chin tipped up, that defiant gaze boring into me just like it did that day at the bar, I realize I want her to be the mother of my children. She will raise them to be defiant and wholly their own. And our son will become alpha of the Rosecreek pack after me, carrying on our legacy.

I have this thought, and at the same moment, I realize this means I must become the alpha of the Rosecreek pack first. Which means I’m going to kill Varun myself and take his place. I’m going to restore glory to this area and regain the credibility and respect we had back when my father was the alpha.

“Got it,” Linnea finally says, pulling me out of my thoughts. Her concession feels good, but she immediately turns on her heel, addressing Bigby again as though he’s chief of strategy. “We can also confuse and overwhelm them with scent,” she adds. “You all will need to wear bandanas over your noses, but we can bundle herbs and flowers in the fire pit and light them up when they get near. If we bring all the chemicals out of the cabins and dump them around the area, it will drive them nuts.”

I remember that day in the bar and how she’d smelled like a cleaning aisle herself. She’d admitted to me that she had plans to break away from the pack—something that’s basically inconceivable to me—and I wonder if that had something to do with it.

“Okay,” I say, “Bigby and Ado, you shift and get to work on those trenches. We’ll never finish them in human form. When you’re done, go to rest and regain your energy while we place the spikes. Eva, go and find us something to eat. We’ll need the fuel. Percy and Linnea, I want you on spike duty. Make as many as you can, and we’ll put them down as soon as the trenches are done.

It feels good to be doing something, giving orders again. Nods come my way, and people split off to get their jobs done. Before he can get too far away, I grab Percy’s bicep. Our eyes meet, and the never-ending question filters through my mind—is he the traitor? Am I making a huge mistake by leaving him alone with Linnea?

“Protect her with your life,” I say, keeping my voice low so Linnea can’t hear me.

“Of course,” Percy says, looking serious for once in his life. The expression on his face is as though I’ve said something redundant. “She’s our luna.”

The term hits me like a slap across the face. Linnea is my pack’s luna—the person on my arm, the strong woman who acts as a role model for the other women in the pack. She guides the nourishment, nurtures other mothers, ensures we can all connect, and maintains emotional balance. The luna of the pack teaches us how to feel and keeps us strong through our loyalty and love for one another.

My mother was the luna once, and I watched her coach women through pregnancy, help young shifters change for the first time, and mediate disputes between pack members. She and my father worked as a team to keep our pack strong. I glance over at Linnea, who is already gathering up sticks, examining them before adding them to a pile. She’ll make a great luna, even if she can’t shift. My pack will respect that and perhaps even see it for the strength it can be. Her visions are also an invaluable asset, though I’m not sure if we’ll disclose that.

I shake my head, realizing I’m already making plans for a pack that doesn’t even belong to me yet. I need to focus on what’s happening now. With a start, I release Percy’s bicep, wondering how long I was holding it. There are small white marks where my fingers were digging in.

“I know I’m not from Rosecreek,” Percy says, drawing my attention suddenly. He doesn’t seem bothered that I was just manhandling him or staring off into the distance after my mate. He has that same lopsided smile plastered on his face. “But I’ll follow you wherever you go, Boss.”

I blink hard, not wanting to betray how much that means to me.

“Of course you will,” I say gruffly, and Percy leans in, grasping my hand and pulling me in for a brief hug, his fist pounding my back once.

“Now, come on, Boss, we got preparations to get to.”

Percy turns and takes off in Linnea’s direction, spooking her as he taps on her shoulder, making her drop an armful of stakes. He can’t be the traitor. If he is, it might honestly break my heart. He’s been the light of our team for too long to turn out crooked.

I position myself so I can keep an eye on Linnea and start my project—constructing an area up in the trees in which I can hide her when the shifters come. Using spare wood that’s out by the cabins, I make a platform high enough that other shifters shouldn’t be able to see her or catch her scent if the scent-cover and chemicals don’t do their jobs. As I work, I watch Linnea and Percy laughing, a pile of sharpened stakes growing taller to their left.

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