Page 18 of Love Bites Hard

She wasn’t wrong.

As I finished eating, Kim stood up. “Evan said the bonfire’s starting. Porter’s looking for you.”

“He knows where to find me.” I lowered myself to my back on the bed, closing my eyes. “I could go for an early bedtime tonight. Do you think there’s any way I can convince him to leave me alone until tomorrow?”

She laughed. “No. I’ll tell him you’re not leaving without him, though.”

I would rather she didn’t tell him anything, but it was what it was.

“I know you’re not excited to be here, but thank you for making that deal with him. You saved us, even if you did it unintentionally. A lot of us owe you our lives.”

“The decision was purely selfish,” I murmured.

“It saved us anyway. I heard a few people talking about gifts for you, so don’t be surprised when they start coming in.”

I did remember hearing something about a gift through the pack bond, but I’d assumed it was going to be for Porter.

“I’ll be polite.”

The bedroom door opened, and a grumpy, gritty voice said, “Let’s go.”

“You would think a woman’s mate would know to ask politely if he wants to screw her in front of an audience, wouldn’t you, Kim?” I drawled.

She choked out a laugh when Porter growled.

A minute later, he’d tossed me over his shoulder again and was carrying me out of the room. Kim called out a goodbye, and I waved back.

“If you carry me everywhere, people are going to think I’m with you unwillingly,” I remarked. “Is that really the message you want your pack to get?”

“I don’t care what message they get. There’s a mark around my neck, so you were obviously willing.”

I rolled my eyes. “Unless you threatened my life.”

“We both know I didn’t.”

“They don’t, though. No one’s heard from you since you abandoned the pack.”

“I didn’t abandon them. I left, after they quietly watched their new alpha murder my mother and sisters in cold blood without intervening.” His voice was flat.

The admission was so brutal, I didn’t bother trying to defend them. I hadn’t been there, so it wasn’t like I could disagree.

“Were you in love with Kim?” I asked.

“Of course not. I barely knew her. She followed me and Evan around constantly as kids, but we were never close. Given the situation with her brother, that will never happen.”

“What situation with her brother?”

His jaw tightened. “He was engaged to my sister, but didn’t do a damn thing to try to protect her when she was attacked and killed. If he hadn’t run away before I got back here, he would be dead already. I can feel him hiding out somewhere in the pack right now, but I can’t track him through the link. I tried.”

Oh, shit.

That was dark, and he was clearly still furious about it.

Time for a subject change.

“Are there any other people in the pack that I need to watch out for? Women you had relationships with?”

“No. An alpha screwing his pack is a moron looking for a challenge. Business and pleasure don’t mix.”

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