Page 43 of Protected By Her Mate

She’s right. I’ve waited this long for love, why let myself fall for the first wolf to show a spark of interest? I want more than interest. I want fireworks, cake, dancing bears, bended knee, flowers, and a rocking good time in the bedroom.

Maybe I am Lennox’s mate or maybe I’m not, but I get a choice in who takes up space in my life and I don’t have the time of day for a man, or wolf, who won’t make space for me in his.

LENNOX

I can hear her every fucking thought and it’s tearing me up.

I grip the metal of the fire escape so hard it bends beneath my hands as I watch Charlie and her sister stand at the curb talking.

She waves at her sister, her shoulders bowing, a tear trailing down her cheek when her sister is out of sight. Her sadness punches me in the chest, makes me want to tear down to street level and show her exactly how hot I can run.

The curse. Magdalene’s voice whispers through my brain.

Fuck the curse.

It could kill her. You can’t mess with this sort of thing, not unless you know what you’re doing, and you don’t. Underestimate this magic to your detriment, Lennox.

Vanessa survived,I point out.So did you and Sarina. Why not Charlie, too?

Charlie isn’t like the rest of us and the curse is unpredictable. Do you really want to take such a risk with her life?

Frustrated by the direction of our conversation, I snarl at her, Get the fuck outta my head, Magdalene, or I’ll tell your husband where you’re spending your mental energy. He’ll lock you in that tower and throw away the key.

She’s gone in a puff of green smoke.

But she’s right. I can’t risk Charlie, and the Oracle was clear. I need to watch over her but not touch her. I don’t care about her importance to the Oracle, but I do care how vital she is to her son, her family. To me. She is too important to lose.

Still below me on the street, Charlie squares her shoulders and thinks,I get a choice in who takes up space in my life and I don’t have the time of day for a man, or wolf, who won’t make space for me in his.

I’m gutted by her thoughts, but it’s for the best if she distances herself. Even if it feels like my heart is shattering one shard at a time. What I’m feeling doesn’t matter. Only her. Only Charlie.

Chapter 17

Po-po

LENNOX

I’m woken abruptly from a deep sleep, disoriented, my head lighting up like Madison Square Gardens at Christmas. I sit up, attempting to understand what woke me.

My twin brother’s wolf is howling in my head like he’s being murdered.

What’s happening?I demand, aiming the telepathic thought at Keenan. As the thought leaves my head, my cell phone rings. I pick it up from my nightstand, flicking on the light.

Checking the caller ID, I answer, “Captain?”

Captain Charlamagne, my direct superior, replies, his gruff voice serious, “Lennox, I need you on a plane to Los Angeles within the hour. You fly out of LaGuardia at 01:00. The ticket should’ve already been sent to you.”

I put the captain on speakerphone and check my messages. The ticket is there. “Got it.”

“Investigator Lopez has been notified and will meet you at the airport,” he continues. “Her explosives expertise will be needed on the ground.”

“What happened?” I demand, my head ringing with Keenan’s howls of fear and anger. “Is my brother in trouble?”

“Your brother?” Charlamagne asks, confused. “There was a bombing in Los Angeles. The group you’ve been investigating are claiming responsibility.”

“ASHRA,” I say grimly, launching myself out of bed and dragging my leather overnight bag from my closet.

“Yes, they hit a movie premier. There were a lot of shifters in attendance, which is why we believe it was targeted.”

---