Page 17 of Love Bites Hard

Her lips curved upward. “You’re technically my alpha, so I can’t break your trust without consequences. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Thanks. I don’t know what Porter will do with the information, though.”

“He won’t put your family in danger. He wouldn’t do that after what he’s been through.”

Considering what I knew about his past, and his family being slaughtered without reason, I could believe that.

“So what are the dynamics like here?” I asked her, still working on the pasta.

“That’s a good question. Things were bad when Curtis was in charge. I don’t know what’s going to happen now. A lot will depend on how involved Porter decides to be.”

“He only agreed to challenge Curtis in exchange for mating with me,” I admitted. “He wanted a siren. I don’t know why, because he was furious when I drank from him.”

And honestly, I needed to feed on him again in the near future. Which didn’t seem to bode well for me, given the way everything was going.

“At least Curt’s gone,” Kim said, leaning back on the bed. “We’ll figure everything else out. If me and Evan have to step up, we’ll do our best.”

I nodded, though my true attention was fixed on the food I was just about inhaling.

She asked about my magic while I ate, and I explained everything to her. I had no reason not to. She seemed curious, and there was no way for her to use it against me. Not unless she talked Porter into refusing to drink from me. And considering his dislike, I didn’t think it would take any convincing.

If he wanted me to starve, I would starve.

Which was pretty damn terrifying.

“Is there any way to quiet the pack’s voices in my mind?” I asked her. “They seem to be getting louder. It’s making my head hurt something fierce.”

She gave me an apologetic look. “Porter’s parents trained him to take over for them, so he’s the only one who’ll know how to answer that. The rest of us can use the pack bond, but it goes through you guys when we do. That makes it a lot louder for you.”

“Great.” I bit into a thick slice of garlic bread.

“At least Curtis isn’t in charge anymore.”

And at least Clementine wasn’t at risk anymore.

I sent her a quick message.

Me

Is your mate mark gone?

Clem

Yes ma’am

My neck is freeeee

And begging to be marked by a sexy vamp dude

Me

Don’t go signing away your freedom just yet

Clem

I won’t

You already did that enough for both of us ;)

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