Page 39 of Love Bites Hard

“I’ll wear pants. No more swimming naked,”he said into my mind, the words clearly a command.

“You arenotmy alpha,” I said aloud.

Someone nearby gasped, and I immediately regretted the comment.

If that got me killed, there would be no one to blame but me.

Porter’s arms tightened around me just before he lifted me off the dirt and carried me into the trees, away from the lake and the wolves around it. When we were out of sight, he set me down long enough to strip out of his shorts. He tossed them into the basket before shifting forms, then gestured for me to get on his back.

I scowled, and didn’t move.

“We obviously have things to talk about. I’ll carry you to our room, and we’ll figure it out,”he said into my mind.

“You’re assuming I want to figure things out with you. I don’t.”

“We’re mated. You can talk to me now, or you can deal with me following you like a storm cloud until you finally give in.”

“Bastard,” I bit out.

“Just get on my back.”

As much as I didn’t want to let him have his way, it would be a nightmare to walk all the way back to the Manor with a wolf tailing me. And growling at me.

So, with a sound of annoyance, I threw a leg over his back and climbed on. I gripped his fur tighter than I needed to, but he didn’t complain.

Porter grabbed the basket in his mouth—which made me bite back a snort—and took off.

We made it back to the Manormuchfaster than I would’ve on foot, which I couldn’t deny was nice. He stayed in his wolf form as we approached the automatic doors, and carried me down a different hallway than the one I’d usually gone through.

“Where are you going? Our room is the other way.”

“The pack finished cleaning out the alpha’s quarters a few hours ago. Our things have been moved in already.”

Oh, geez.

I was going to have to adjust to yet another room.

Would I ever feel at home outside the water again?

I wondered if Porter’s family had lived in the alpha’s quarters, but didn’t ask. Considering how much he was already struggling with his past, I didn’t want to remind him. I didn’t particularly like the guy, but I did have a heart.

I reached out to open the door from Porter’s back, and when he stepped into the room, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

The room was cozy, with sage green walls, and the same rustic-looking flooring as the rest of Wolf Manor. The walls were full of framed family photos.

My heart squeezed for the man who’d lost the people he obviously loved so fiercely.

I didn’t want to hurt him, but I would be extremely uncomfortable living in a place that was basically a shrine to his loved ones. A few pictures would be great, but on every single wall, in every single photo?

That wasn’t going to work for me.

“My moving truck arrived today,”Porter said into my mind. “Everything is mine. Nothing in here should smell like Curtis.”

That was more important to him than me, I thought, but didn’t say aloud.

He set me on my feet and shifted back before making his way around the room to check everything out.

“I’m going to shower,” I said, needing some breathing room to figure out how to approach the décor conversation. “My new lake is filthy.”

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